Simple Knitting Tips: Don't gripe

I love it when friends say things that make me think. Recently a friend was making a point about the importance of having a positive attitude and I realized that I am very often guilty of forgetting this.

Rex, who didn't really drive and very much likes my Simple Knitting Tip: Don't gripe!

Later that day, as I was having to do a previously unscheduled kid pick up due to a change in my hubby's plans, I caught myself feeling a little a grouchy about having to do this errand and thought, this is exactly what she was talking about. So instead of complaining to myself about my lack of down time, I turned it around and focused on what I wasn't lacking: a kid to pick up, a husband who had the opportunity to go do something fun on the spur of the moment, a car that works well and gets me where I need to go, beautiful weather to drive in, and of course an adorable dog to ride along with me. This change in my focus made my whole evening better and what had been a chore became a treat.

And then I found some knitting parallels, naturally.

When you feel tempted to complain about knitting gone bad, be thankful you have the opportunity to knit. When you feel the sting of injustice because you can't afford expensive yarn, accept the fact that it's not always the price of a thing that makes it precious. When you can't master a complicated project and this makes you want to give up altogether, stop and pick up something with a simple garter stitch and remember the joys of just knitting for the fun of it.

In knitting, as in life, when you choose to focus on what you have and the positive things around you, then you will discover that life is good and so is knitting. Isn't that why we started knitting in the first place?

I know it's not always easy to remember this. Sometimes it seems like literally nothing is going as planned. Sometimes we just need to vent and be grouchy. Sometimes no matter how many times you rip back a project, you still won't come out with the correct stitch count at the end of Row 12. I have found that if I am also griping about whatever is going wrong, it makes it harder to do/endure/fix.

I hope this tip is helpful for you in knitting and in life. In searching for some lofty, poetic, intellectual-sounding quote to cap off this post, I ran across this, which I liked even better, by Bernard M. Baruch, former Presidential adviser and South Carolinian:

"You can overcome anything if you don't bellyache."

Exactly.

Travel through Time and Space? No problem!

TARDIS Socks

The idea of time travel has captured the imagination since before H.G. Wells' The Time Machine made it a household name. If only we could travel to the past and prevent wars; or travel to the future and bring back cures to common illnesses.

Dr. Who fans know that with the TARDIS, the Doctor has upped the game a bit--travel in space AND time. The TARDIS looks a lot like a blue police call box, but is able to transport its occupants to any point in time and space. There are lots of knobs and gauges and lights inside (in fact, it's way bigger on the inside) and it has taken the Doctor and his companions on many adventures for many years.

Big blue police box aside, I think I have found the key to traveling through time and space, by flying home to attend my high school reunion! I'll be doing that this month, and knowing some of my high school friends, after I have traveled through air space to get from here to there, it will feel exactly like I have traveled back in time. I am so blessed to have friends who make it seem like no time has passed since we last hung out together. It really does feel like we have turned back time.

If you don't have a high school reunion to attend (I have been told that this is a strictly American phenomenon) you could try this:

Buy my shiny new pattern and knit yourself some TARDIS Socks! It's a long shot and not guaranteed to enable time travel, but frankly I think it's worth the try. These socks have been approved by my resident Dr. Who fan (my 14 year old son, who isn't likely to approve them just to make me feel better) and by others in my circle who saw me knitting them and immediately wanted to know when the pattern would be available.

History: We remember D-Day

Long before I could knit, I was an amateur historian and the first era of history that I fell in love with was the wartime 1940's. The thought that people could sacrifice in the ways they did on the home front was so inspiring to me.

History is not a bunch of boring facts and dates--it's real people who lived and worked and loved and fought and dreamed. It's your grandparents and great-grandparents waiting for letters in the mail, hanging a star in their window, huddled around the radio for the news of the day. It matters more than you think to our current world, because the headlines of today have their roots in yesterday's stories.

Today is an important day in history. It will be remembered more publicly and universally in Europe than in America. For some reason, history is kept alive and passed on to the younger generations much more efficiently in Europe and England and Australia than it is in this country. Today is the 71st anniversary of D-Day.

D-Day was the name given for the invasion of Europe during WWII when more than 160,000 Allied troops invaded enemy-occupied France and began the push that ended the war. To remember D-Day is to remember courage, sacrifice, dedication and excellent leadership.

And of course, it is a day to remember knitters. Knitting had been an important part of home front life in WWI and during WWII, needles were once again clacking with the rhythm of hope and the assurance that every little bit helped.

A pattern from "Practical, Warm Hand Knits for Service Men, published by Fleisher Yarns.

As we remember the horrific battles fought on this day in history on those beaches in northern France, don't forget the knitters who were at home, waiting to hear news of those battles.

For more information about wartime knitting and other vintage knitting patterns check out my Pinterest board: Vintage Knitting.

Big 10 Knit-a-Long: Horseshoe Cable and another contest!

Can you believe it's June already? We are half-way through the year with this month and half-way through our Big 10 Charity Knit-a-Long for the Carolina Youth Development Center! To date we have knit more than 50 afghan blocks--isn't that incredible? It takes 49 to make a blanket so we are well on our way to finishing a second blanket and starting on a third one. I've been asked what my goal is and honestly, I don't want to limit the amazing generosity and talent of the knitters I know, so I have thus far not put forth a number. Wouldn't 5 completed blankets be wonderful, though? That's a total of 245 blocks, knit with love for kids in need.

To "spur" you on, another pattern and another contest!

The pattern:

Horseshoe Cable Afghan Block

You'll need: US Size 7 needles or size needed to achieve gauge of 5 sts = 1 inch; Worsted weight acrylic yarn. Finished size should be 7” x 9”.

C4B: Slip 2 stitches to cable needle, hold in back. Knit next 2 stitches off left needle, then knit the 2 stitches that were put on the cable needle.

C4F: Slip 2 stitches to cable needle, hold in front. Knit next 2 stitches off left needle, then knit the 2 stitches that were put on the cable needle.

CO 36 stitches
Rows 1, 3, 5, 7: k8, p2, k4, p8, k4, p2, k8

Row 2: k10, p4, C4B, C4F, p4, k10

Rows 4, 6, 8: k10, p4, k8, p4, k10

Knit for 8 repeats or a total of 9”.

Bind off in pattern. Weave in ends.

The contest(s):

At the Charleston Knit in Public Day event on June 13, fabulous prizes will be awarded for:

• Most afghan blocks turned in by the time the event ends at 12:30
• Most knitting completed on a block during the morning.
• Most crocheting completed on a block during the morning.

If you can't make it to Knit in Public Day,  you can instead participate in the alternate contest:

• Most afghan blocks turned in for the month of June.

Remember to weave in your ends before turning them in and you have until June 30 to be eligible for the month-long contest. Blocks turned in on June 13 at Knit in Public Day won't be counted for both contests, just for the contests on that day.

Questions? Let me know!

Here is the link to the page with previous patterns: Charity Knit-a-Long. You can use these patterns or make up your own--just aim for 7" x 9" for each block. Like this month's Horseshoe Cable block, they may not always come out exactly square but the magic of seaming covers a multitude of issues.