UPDATE: Gracie

Poor Grace passed away last fall from Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma, but just to share with you all that good things follow bad, I wanted to tell what happened next. My other cat, Jasper seemed lonely and more needy than usual. So when my sister mentioned that when we came down for Christmas we could see the kittens she was working to tame of a feral cat living under her steps, I had the idea in my head that maybe we'd take one home with us. As it turned out, by the time we got there there was only one left - the rest had perished from climbing under the hoods of people's cars to get warm in the cold and then jumping down when the car started. We named her "Itty Bitty Kitty" because at 3 months old she was closer to the size of a 6-week old kitten. It turned out that part of the problem was she had a tooth infection so she had trouble eating.

Jasper adores her as do all the rest of us. At 4 months now, she's about half the size of a normal cat, so it looks like the name will stick. You can see a video of her here on YouTube.

Coming Shawl - Rosary shawl

Some brilliant knitter on Ravelry recently brought up the topic of incorporating rosary beads into a prayer shawl. It's a truly wonderful idea, and is inspiring me to design a cape-style shawl with a rosary of beads around the front edge.

I don't know how long you'll have to wait, tho as I have some knitting commitments to finish up first including a Christmas lace sweater from some lovely Cascade Ecological wool that is so soft I can't wait to get started!

Holiday Shopping Guide

Protecting the world for our children is important to me. We need to keep resources and clean water and air for our children and grandchildren. The human race cannot maintain itself if we continue to be so irresponsible about the earth's resources!

Freya shawl

You can see the Stor Rund Dug doily I adapted this pattern from here.

This makes a gorgeous cape-style shawl, that looks similar to the feather-and-fan types but nicer, I think.

Some of the stitches are a little hard for beginners, but if you watch tutorial videos and keep at them until they look right, you'll be a pro in no time at making them. And don't forget, blocking erases many an uneven stitch!

I did two versions of this one, the first in a baby alpaca worsted that I stranded with a baby mohair laceweight. I used about 500 yards of those on my #10 circulars to make a shawl that measured around 21" long from neck to bottom. Then I did it on some mill end Caron Simply Soft and since I'm not sure how much I used I can't share that, but I made that one even larger so I could repeat the diamonds at the bottom edge.

I've decided to dedicate this shawl to a friend, Freya Koss, who, after curing her health problems that she found were due to mercury in her dental fillings has become a tireless worker to educate the public on the dangers of mercury in your teeth. It is a Danish pattern and Freya is a Danish name! :)

Here's the pattern (click here to download a printable .pdf of this):

ABBREVIATIONS:
K = knit
YO = yarn over
Slip = slip stitch from left needle to right without knitting.
K2TOG = knit 2 together as if they are one stitch
P2TOG = purl 2 together as if they are one stitch
SSK = slip, slip, knit
SSP = Slip 1 k-wise, slip another k-wise. Return slipped sts to left needle. p2tog tbl: Insert right needle up into back loops of the two stitches and purl them together from this position. (I find it easier to pass them from the right to left through the back loop and then purl them together as if they are one regular purl stitch.)
S2K1psso = Slip the next two stitches at the same time onto the right-hand needle knitwise, knit the next stitch, and pass the two slipped stitches at the same time over the knit stitch. It makes a somewhat raised but perfectly formed knit stitch in the centre of a pair of decreased stitches which slope towards it symmetrically
C** = This is the only hard stitch - a double decrease where the center stitch is on top when viewed from the right side. To do it, purl 1, slip the next 2 together through the back loop (all three are now on the right needle), pass all three to left needle, slip the right needle over the first stitch and under the next two to pass them over the first stitch (the one you purled). The remaining stitch is still on the right needle, so pass it to the left.
()x = knit text in brackets as many times as indicated after the "x"
[]x = repeat enclosed instructions as many times as indicated after the "x"
*-* = repeat enclosed instructions till end of round.
All rows not mentioned are knit plain (knit on knit side; purl on purl side).

Cast on 40 stitches.
Row 1: P
Row 6: K3, (YO, K1) x 35, K2
Row 12: K2, (K7, YO, K1, YO)x8, K9
Row 14: K2, (K2TOG, K3, SSK, YO, K3, YO)x8, K2TOG, K3, SSK, K2
Row 16: K2, (K2TOG, K1, SSK, YO, SSK, YO, K1, YO, K2TOG, YO)x8, K2TOG, K1, SSK, K2
Row 18: K2, S2K1psso, (YO, SSK, YO, K3, YO, K2TOG, YO, S2K1psso )x8, K2
Row 20: K2, (K2, YO, K2TOG, YO, S2K1psso , YO, SSK, YO, K1)x8, K3
Row 21: P7, (slip, P9)x7, slip, P7
Row 22: K2, (K3, YO, K2TOG, K1, SSK, YO, K2)x8, K3
Row 23: P7, (slip, P9)x7, slip, P7
Row 24: K2, (K4, YO, S2K1psso , YO, K3)x8, K3
Row 26: K2, (K1, YO)x4, [S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x7, YO]x7, S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x4, K2
Row 28: K9, (S2K1psso , K13)x7, S2K1psso , K9
Row 29: P8, (C**, P11)x7, C**, P8
Row 30: K2, (K1, YO)x5, [S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x9, YO]x7, S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x5, K2
Row 31: P11, (C**, P17)x7, C**, P11
Row 32: K10, (S2K1psso , K15)x7, S2K1psso , K10
Row 33: P9, (C**, P13)x7, C**, P9
Row 34: K2, (K1, YO)x6, [S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x11, YO]x7, S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x5, YO, K2
Row 35: P13, (C**, P21)x7, C**, P13
Row 36: K12, (S2K1psso , K19)x7, S2K1psso , K12
Row 37: P11, (C**, P17)x7, C**, P11
Row 38: K10, (S2K1psso , K15)x7, S2K1psso , K10
Row 39: P2, (P1, YO)x7, [C**, (YO, P1)x13, YO]x7, C**, (YO, P1)x6, YO, P3
Row 40: K15, (S2K1psso , K25)x7, S2K1psso , K15
Row 41: P14, (C**, P23)x7, C**, P14
Row 42: K13, (S2K1psso , K21)x7, S2K1psso , K13
Row 43: P12, (C**, K19)x7, C**, K12
Row 44: K2, (K1, YO, K2TOG, K5, SSK, YO)x16, K3
Row 46: K2, (K2, YO, K2TOG, K3, SSK, YO, K1)x16, K3
Row 48: K2, (K1, YO, K2TOG, YO, K2TOG, K1, SSK, YO, SSK, YO)x16, K3
Row 50: K2, (K2, YO, K2TOG, YO, S2K1psso , YO, SSK, YO, K1)x16, K4
Row 52: K2, [K1, (SSK, YO)x2, K1, (YO, K2TOG)x2]x16, K3
Row 54: K2, K2TOG, (YO, SSK, YO, K3, YO, K2TOG, YO, S2K1psso )x15,YO, SSK, YO, K3, YO, K2TOG, YO, SSK, K2
Row 55: P2, (slip, P9)x16,slip, P2
Row 56: K2, (K1, SSK, YO, K5, YO, K2 TOG)x16, K3
Row 58: K2, K2TOG, (YO, K7, YO, S2K1psso )X15, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K2
Row 59: P2, (slip, P9)x16,slip, P2
Row 60: K2, K2TOG, [(YO, K1)X7, YO,S2K1psso ]X15, (YO, K1)X7, YO, SSK, K2
Row 61: P2, (slip, P15)x16, slip, P2
Row 62: K2, K2TOG, K13, (S2K1psso , K13)x15, SSK, K2
Row 63: P2, P2TOG, P11, (C**, P11)x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 64: K2, K2TOG, (YO, K1)x9, [S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x9), YO]x15, SSK, K2
Row 65: P2, P2TOG, P17, (C**, P17)x15, P2TOG, P2
**If you aren’t counting stitches anymore because you’ve grasped the pattern, do count them every few rows. At this point it is easy to miss a YO or somehow end up with too many stitches which can get magnified as you go on and is really hard to repair if it’s gone on for too long! If you find your stitch count off, don’t despair! You can easily fudge this pattern so it looks good to all but the most discerning eye. For too many stitches, in the S2K1psso, you can slip 3 instead of two to eat an extra stitch. For too few, you can do a K2TOG instead of the S2K1psso at the end of the repeat to create a stitch for the next row.
Row 66: K2, K2TOG, K15, (S2K1psso , K15)x15, SSK, K2
Row 67: P2, P2TOG, P13, (C**, P13)x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 68: K2, K2TOG, (YO, K1)x11, YO, [S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x11), YO]x15, SSK, K2
Row 69: P2, P2TOG, P21, (C**, P21)x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 70: K2, K2TOG, K19, (S2K1psso , K19)x15, SSK, K2
Row 71: P2, P2TOG, P17, (C**, P17)x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 72: K2, K2TOG, K15, (S2K1psso , K15)x15, SSK, K2
Row 73: P2, P2TOG, (YO, P1)x13, YO, [C**, (YO, P1)x13), YO]x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 74: K2, K2TOG, K25, (S2K1psso , K25)x15, SSK, K2
Row 75: P2, P2TOG, P23, (C**, P23)x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 76: K2, K2TOG, K21, (S2K1psso , K21)x15, SSK, K2
Row 77: P2, P2TOG, P19, (C**, P19)x15, P2TOG, P2
Row 78: K2, (K1, YO, K2TOG, K5, SSK, YO)x32, K3
Row 80: K2, (K2, YO, K2TOG, K3, SSK, YO, K1)x32, K3
Row 82: K2, [K1, (YO, K2TOG)x2, K1, (SSK, YO)x2]x32, K3
Row 84: K2, (K2, YO, K2TOG, YO, S2K1psso , YO, SSK, YO, K1)x32, K3
Row 86: K2, [K1, (K2TOG, YO)x2, K1, (YO, SSK)x2]x32, K3
Row 88: K2, K2TOG, (YO, K2TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK, YO, S2K1psso )x31, YO, K2TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK, YO, SSK, K2
Row 90: K2, (K1, K2TOG, YO, K5, YO, SSK)x32, K3
Row 92: K2, K2TOG, YO, K7, YO, (S2K1psso , YO, K7, YO)x31, SSK, K2
Row 94: K2, K2TOG, (YO, K1)x7, [S2K1psso , (YO, K1)x7, YO]x31, SSK, K2
Row 96: Like row 62, but with 32 repeats.
Row 97-111: Like row 63-77, but with 32 repeats.
Row 111-123: Like row 78-90 but with 64 repeats instead of 32.

Many thanks to YarnOver http://www.yarnover.net for translating this beautiful pattern from the Danish! For the doily pattern, which could make a lovely round blanket, see http://www.yarnover.net/patterns/doilies/kunststrik/storrund.html

Shawls for Grace

Today as my little kitty dies of VAS - Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma, I'd like to dedicate a pattern of sorts in her memory.

Gracie was a fighter. I got her when, as a volunteer in the Red Cross Disaster Services Unit I responded to a house fire. The home was burned to the ground and the family - parents and several children, some quite young, were being sent to a hotel for the night. A friendly and quite pregnant little cat was threading through all of our legs, purring loudly the whole time we did the paperwork and made arrangements. As I petted her, the woman said I could have her, as she was their cat and they couldn't take her with them. I took her home and she had kittens the next day in my basement.

We had our differences over the years. She bullied my beloved Ricky (male cat) unmercifully. She liked to bring live birds through the pet door to kill them in the bathroom where the mirrors confused them. Once she brought in a live snake during a dinner party and left it under the table, quickly clearing the room. But looking back I can see the humor in some of it now.

I'm trying to tell myself she's not suffering the pangs of death for nothing, but they are birth pains toward a new life. I believe, as George MacDonald did, that animals don't just pass away into nothingness but are also welcomed into God's warm embrace at the end.


The Shawl:

This may perhaps be the easiest shawl pattern ever. You simply find a repeating lace pattern you like and keep going. I think good shawl dimensions are 18 - 22 inches wide by at least 36 inches long. It takes at least 380 yards, closer to 500 if you want to make it really nice. The pattern can be found in books or online. My favorite sources for lace patterns are the library - where they have books like Stitchionary that are filled with lace patterns. I prefer size 10 needles so it doesn't take forever to knit the shawl and I can use larger yarns - sport, DK, etc. and still have it with a lacy, open effect.

To get the gauge, knit one repetition of the pattern through once (in this way you can also see if you can do all the stitches!). Wash and block it and then measure it to see how many repeats you'll need to get the desired width. For length, I usually keep going until I've used up all the yarn. I don't like tassels because I worry they won't hold up over time and will make the shawl start to look shabby.

To class it up, you can add a knit-on or crocheted on edging on all sides. You can find many of them in pattern books as well.

I wanted to put in more pictures of some examples but evidently my printer just discovered it doesn't support Vista and no longer uploads photos! GRRR!

Mind wandering

If life is like a giant buffet, where you can choose from the offerings - seductive foods that you know will lead to your eventual ill health or indigestion or nourishing foods that give you strength, don't most of us sample some of each? Not too much of the bad, but we don't want to do without them either.

So if we make our choices, some of which further the work of Satan, but some further the work of God, but we don't want to miss out on the seductiveness of what Satan has to offer completely, aren't we in the middle? Aren't most of us?

Some few choose only God's offering - Francis of Assisi, Elder Porphyrios, St. Antony the Desert Father. I guess some choose mostly the other way too - the notable villains of our history. I do wonder what happens to those of us in the middle.

I had a dream once that I was in a Road Runner cartoon and I fell off the cliff, hit the bottom, and died. I went to Heaven, but it wasn't what I expected. I had to live in a humble room with my mother. There was a TV but only wholesome shows - no action, violence, or even villains. The food was all wholesome - fruit and bread, I think. Not even meat. No oreo cookies, ever again. I have to say I was disappointed. When I awoke, the dream stayed with me, and this was at least 15 years ago. I wonder sometimes, if heaven doesn't suit me, what does that mean about me? Am I too worldly?

Then the major kicker: "What if we all go to the same place, but for some it's Heaven for some it's Hell?"

Momma T sweater

There are a lot of charities that are asking for hand knit wool sweaters in higher gauge, durable wool; sending them to places from Mongolia to Afghanistan to reservations in the U.S. - places where it gets cold, the people have little or no heat in their homes, and they can't afford warm coats. I have a wool sweater I made for myself out of this same yarn that I practically LIVE in all winter - it doesn't overheat you indoors but is warm enough for going out in the cold as well, so I know the power of a good sweater!

When knitting for charities like Warm Woolies, Knit for Kids or Afghans for Afghans (yes, they're asking for sweaters now!), you want to put durable over almost everything else. This is a piece of clothing that will get used, passed on, and used some more, daily, and maybe even worn to bed. So pass over the soft yarns that would pill with that kind of use and get the sturdier but coarser yarns and the recipients will thank you. The old-fashioned wool can last for generations and look almost as good as new. My favorite sweater looks better now than when I knit it, because it's fully bloomed and has a fuzzy-ness to it that I love.

Here is a pattern, dedicated to Mother Teresa (Shane Claiborne called her "Momma T" and it stuck in my head) who really needs no introduction. I made it with two strands knit together of a DK weight yarn that I hand dyed. The gauge was 13 stitches = 4" on #10 needles. I used around 800 yards, probably less.

Most of the charities I saw this year were asking for a size 10 child's sweater. I guess that's a popular size; or maybe the smaller ones are faster to knit so they get more of them.

The directions to dye the wool are below (or click here). This makes a very nice, colorful sweater. You don't need to do it in a rainbow, different shades of a few colors would work well too.

BACK:
To begin, cast on 43 stitches. Do 6 rows of k2, p2 ribbing (or whatever kind of ribbing you like). After that, do stockinette, making a stitch by knitting in both sides of the stitch on each end of the row on alternating 6th and 8th rows for a gentle increase up the sides.

The pattern for the colors I used was 10 rows using both skeins of the same color, then 4 rows of one strand the color I was just using and 1 strand of the next color (for instance, between the green and the blue I'd use a strand of green and a strand of blue for 4 rows). The body was 14" wide by 18" high. It took me 80 rows, so I finished on the 10th row of the yellow (last color). When you get to the top, count your stitches. The neck opening should be 4", or 13 stitches. Subtract 13 from your total and divide the remainder by 2 - bind off that many stitches on each side, putting the middle 13 on a stitch holder (if you had an odd number of stitches left after you subtracted the 13, leave 14 in the center.)

FRONT:
Knit same as for back but when you get about 3" from the top make a neck opening. Count the stitches on your needles and subtract 5 from the total. Divide the remainder by 2 (if it was an odd number subtract 6 from the total). Add the 5(6) back to the number you got (if you have 75, subtract 5 to get 70, half of that is 35, add the 5 back and you have 40). Knit that many stitches then transfer the rest to a stitch holder (I use a contrasting yarn for a stitch holder and the darning needle to transfer the stitches on, 3-4 at a time). From now on, do the increases on the shoulder side, and on the neck side alternate knit and purl like a rib stitch the last 4 stitches so it doesn't curl. When you get to the top, bind off as many as you did for the back on a side and put the rest on a stitch holder.

Then pick up the ones from the other side of the front from your stitch holder, plus 5(6) from the neck edge from the same row (from the front, pick up one side of each loop; or from the back, pick up the tops of the stitches, your choice). Starting at the shoulder and leaving a tail of yarn, knit two rows like the other side. When you get back where you started you can tie the loose end of yarn off to the working yarn and then continue to the top.

Sew the front to the back and transfer all the neck stitches to a circular needle. Knit one row, making stitches every 3rd stitch (unless it is at the shoulder seam) by picking up a stitch from under the working stitch and knitting one into that (lifted increase if you want to look it up). Do 4 more rows and bind off loosly.

SLEEVES:
Cast on 20 stitches. Do 4 rows of k2, p2 ribbing then stockinette stitch. The color pattern for the sleeves is 8 rows of both strands the same color, with 3 rows of one strand each color for the transition. Every 4th row, increase at each end of the row by knitting in both sides of the stitch. They should wind up about 14" long by 13" wide at the top and about 5" wide at the cuff. (They are extra long in case the child doesn't have mittens!)

To assemble, find the center of the top of the sleeve. Tie or pin it to the center seam of the shoulder with right sides together. Stitch one side of the sleeve on. See where on the strip pattern it ends and start the other side at the same place on the stripe on the other side of the sweater and sew that side on. When the sleeves are on, sew up the sides, from the cuff of the sleeve to the bottom of the sweater. (Hand)Wash and block and see your beautiful results!