What's Knitting?

Not Lace Mitts...

They are beautiful, but way to complicated for me to be concentrating on here.

It was a good day. I made another pair of these.

 

The white lace mitts are in a tangle in my purse.  One day I swear I will learn to knit lace.  Just not one of 'these' days.

:) Anne

 

The Blessing

God has blessed us
with a gift that is beyond compare in this world.

A family has chosen to give an organ for transplant. 

God gives freely and with great magnitude.  This family has also.

Out of the deep and profound loss of their twenty year old son or daughter they have been somehow able to give life to others.  How?  It is so hard to imagine this kind of bravery. 

It is life changing.
There are no words...

I have spent 24 years thinking how some day this gift and ONLY this gift would save the life of someone I love.  I have prayed for this countless nights.
I have begged, I have wept, I have had faith and I have lost faith only to find it again.  I have given it to God and I have taken it back many times. 

God in his great Mercy knows a mother's heart. 

There are three mother's hearts here. A birth mother. The mother of the donor. There is my heart the adoptive mother's heart.  God holds them all.

How do I go on.  What can I give of myself?  So great these gifts to me have been.

It is truly humbling and life changing.

We are all still in the midst of this.  As the days go by I need to find a path that will allow me to give back some how, some way, even a measure of
this gift. 

The Dr said today to measure progress one day at a time. Yesterday I was told by the same Dr to measure progress in hours.  I have been told this is a roller coaster ride this experience of receiving an organ transplant. It is.

Only God knows the answers to life's mystery.  To God and God alone I turn and give thanks and ask for Peace to be upon these other Mother's. 

Registering to be an organ doner is easy.  It is a box to check that says yes this is my wish.  It is an important choice to make.  Important because the act of giving these organs is far far more complicated for the loved ones the donor leaves behind.  I have thought about this so much in the last five days.

The reality that the death of a loved one is imminent.
The family gathering.
The bewildering choices and decisions to carry out this request. 
The final good byes.
The transplant team of Dr's and Interns waiting at the end of the hall. 
The behind the scenes team of experts and coordinators.
The long list of waiting terminally ill patients.
The donor's wishes.
The final choice and permission.
The transplant recipient waiting.  Getting the call. Waiting. Getting prepared. Waiting.
The unknown.  The known.
It is unknown who each other are.
It is known that there is love and hope.
Hope from the donor family that a life cut short will have Grace and Meaning in this sharing.
Hope from the receipients family that life will be given an opportunity to flourish with Grace and Meaning.

God is in this balance.  It is neither fair or unfair. None of life is. 
It is what we get.  What God gives or takes is beyond words. 

I am praying for understanding of what I cannot imagine. 
I am praying for a good outcome for us all. For the Grace of God that passes all understanding to enfold each one of us and give us peace.

Anne.













 

Packing For the Hospital

I started packing. There is only worrying and packing to do. I choose to pack.
I have my mother's bible ready. It is crammed with notes and papers.

Mom's Bible

There are passages marked in here that I know will be perfect when I need them.
Then I packed the project bags.
Hospital Knitting is different from any ordinary knitting.  I guess it is even more ordinary.  It is knitting that you just knit. The stitches you know and can rely on.  The ones that comfort you. 
I have an old friend in this bag.

Kathleen Taylor's wristers

 Wristersby Kathleen Taylor. They are the perfect wristers and so pretty made with bright self striping yarn. Kathleen writes a blog that I follow. She is a writer and fiber instructed her patterns are easy to follow.
In this bag I have Knitty wristers.  Knitty is always good. Like thousands of old and dear friends are stitting with you knitting along on their much beloved patterns.
This is my knitty project bag with some beautiful wool yarn a friend sent me last year.


Fall Berry By Knitty
 

this wrister has a pattern so it will be for the really good days. Since the yarn is white I will be able to see the pattern through my cataracts.  Yeah I'm hoping too.


Groups of Loops Cowl

by Dani Hodge

I have lush old Shetland Wool in this bag. For a simple cowl. I found this yarn at a thrift shop and I know it has waited years for this chance to be picked up and worked with.



Silver's Sock Class
 

Here is a bag of socks.  The endless socks. Not the colonoscopy socks those are a dead end... These are hopeful pretty blue stretchy socks  .... Hopeful I can find the original pattern. (and I did on ravelry)
Here is everything all lying out and ready for packng.

& yes the Xanax is packed.  A mother needs HER Mother's  bible, her knitting and her Xanax when her child is in the hospital. 
They all fit in the big red Donate Blood project bag

I have not donated blood lately, my H & H don't want to cooperate, neither does my blood pressure.  Maybe you will have the opportunity to donate.  It is so important.

I am ready and waiting for the call that says "yes YES" and then I will book my flight and leave for Boston.  It is just hours away. I am ready. I have been ready for years. 
I am praying for the donor family. I am praying for my family and for the Dr's hands and hearts.
I am relying on my angels above and my friends and family here on earth.  I am in God's hands and so is my son.
I am full of hope and Xanax. Please pray with me. God to guide us, God to Hold us. God to bring us Salvation.
Anne.

Picking Up the Needles

As if arthritis wasn't enough to make me slow down knitting this summer...the colonoscopy socks were. link  I didn't read ahead into the pattern. They are tube socks. No heal to turn = NO FUN just 16" of tube and then a toe.  Well those are nicely stashed in their bag until another trip to the Dr's or hospital brings them back out.
I saw this on Facebook the other day and I had to steal it.

Doesn't my Skip look cute with those needles in his head.

 

Etsy knitting and weelambieknits are taking a new direction this year.  I am in the process of combining my two shops. I will just have Weelambievintage and in it there is a Knits by Wee Lambie  section. link
I have some items that are being moved over from Weelambieknits.  The majority of this little shop will be devoted to fingerless gloves and cowls.  I love making these.  No Wee will not be having a 'sock' section anytime soon.
Here are some of what is being offered.

Garnet Cowl for Fall here a deep rich garnet color is super squishy bulky soft yarn. 

Blue Fingerless gloves for fall. Agate Blue! link

 

All my favorite Etsians are busy getting ready for the Fall and Holiday Season.
Big topics for conversation are packaging tips, where to get the best value for tape.  Finding good sources for recycling boxes and packaging.  My garage is starting to look like a warehouse as carboard piles up in ready.
What ever you're working on I hope you're enjoying it.  

And if you need to get the perfect Christmas Dress for your little girl look no further than my friend's NannaJustbananas. Take a look at her creations.

Girls Christmas Dress from NanaJustbananas

Teri is a Master seamstress and all her creations are perfection and made from the highest quality fabrics and notions.  Get your orders in early.
you can find her shop here: link  Teri also has an amazing line of wedding flower girl fashions....even the cutest shoes you ever dreamed of.

Weelambie/Anne

Quilt Estate Find

I found this beautiful quilt at an estate sale yesterday.  Now I am trying to identify the pattern. When I first looked at it I thought it might be a Hawaiian quilt pattern as it is such a tropical color and has the all over one color on white look. I don't know much about quilts.  I used to. Sadly have forgotten much of what I did know and my mother would help me with this, but well Mom is gone off to quilter's heaven.

A friend on Etsy has found two possibilities.  Star of the West and Star Crescent.  I think it is some variation of these.  I love how the compass is rounded in between the four diamond pieces.

It is large approx. 6 x 6'
The quilting is tiny. There are at least 12 stitches to the inch and it is quilted all over. The back being just as pretty as the front.  I think I have to look at it for a while before I part with it and list it in my ship.

Thanks to Vic from My Victorian Cottage for helping me  She knows a lot about textiles and has some beautiful ones for sale in her Etsy shop.  Like this amazing crazy quilt.

My Victorian Cottage
Crazy Quilt

Isn't that a beautiful crazy quilt?  Take a look in her shop link for more treasures.

Another friend on Etsy thinks it is a variation of Star Crescent or Compass Rose. Either way the beauty and fun of quilting is the endless variation and design between block patterns, color, fabric, applique' and quilting techniques. 
Thanks to Inspired Trader for more ideas you can find her shop here, link she has these big chunks of Amethyst and Quartz in her shop


bookends from
TheInspiredTrader @ Etsy
 

I am totally in love with amethyst and those bookends are heavenly.
Going to go snuggle with that green and white beauty for a little while and then it is off to baby sit the grandbabies...
weelambie/ Anne