Bonus Material: Scrubby Pattern, Zoom Class and Where to get the book. Scroll Down for the meditative post!

If you would like to go deeper, the book is out and available. It is full of stories similar to what you have read in the blog. If you would like a copy, you can buy it here.

SCRUBBY PATTERN:

Scrubby
Cast on 27 stitches or the number that you need to make this as wide as
you would want.
Sl 1, knit 25, p1
repeat this line until you have reached your desired length.
Cast off.
Securely weave in the ends.
I am able to get 2-3 scrubbiest from one solid skein. If I add stripes,
( there is less yarn per skein on the more decorative) With a decorative
yarn, I can usually make one with the decorative and use the remaining for
stripes on two other scrubbies. So out of a solid and a variegated you will
likely end up with 6 scrubbies.
The diagonal stripe one is a little trickier but basically knitting as well.
Cast on 3 stitches
Sl1, increase two stitches in the next stitch, p 1
Sl 1 knit to within the last stitch, p1
Sl 1, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1,p1
Sl 1, k to within the last stitch, p1
Continue with a yo at the beginning and end of every other row until you
have the desired size.
Every other row will be a decrease by 2. You still continue to yo
Sl 1, k1, yo, sl 1, k2 tog, pass sl st over, k to within the last 5 stitches,
k3 tog, yo, k1, p1.
Sl1, k to within the last stitch, p1
When you get to where you have 3 stitches remaining on your needle, sl1,
k2 tog, pass sl st over.
End yarn

Contemplative Knitting – Zoom Class!

Join us for this introduction to Julie Cicora, author of “Contemplative Knitting” and “All I Can Do Is Pray” and her contemplative knitting class starting April 14, 2021. Julie will be speaking about creating a deeper connection with God through prayer while knitting. Discover how to set up and sustain a knitting prayer practice while learning how the experience of knitting can be a metaphor for our spiritual lives from starting something new to how we handle mistakes.  

This is a 90 minute introduction about what the eight session class will cover.

Facilitator: Julie Cicora
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Zoom
Fee: Free will, suggested offering $10

There will be an eight session class starting on April 14th! Go to Mercy Spirituality Center for more information. Click here.

Regular Post – Winding Yarn

Do you wind your balls by hand or do you use a ball winder? I have a ball winder at my house which I drag out and set up when I have a sweater quantity of yarn to wind or I’m doing over 400 feet of fingering yarn. I’m not at my house so I have been winding all of my yarn during the last year.

I used to like to wind my yarn by hand. This was in the days when it was part of the process because I wasn’t aware of ball winders. It wasn’t an option. I stood with my arms apart for my mother holding the skein tight, bobbing and weaving to help her efforts along. I used to put the skein on a chair and walk around it. Now the skein sits over my knees. I must say 400 yards of fingering is long. It’s a little over 2 tenths of a mile. Winding my yarn myself is like walking whereas using a ball winder is like riding in a car. You miss a alot with the ball winder.

There are small imperfections in the yarn that are noticeable when your hands connect with the entire length of the skein. Finding these small imperfections can prevent greater disappointment down the road.

I was preparing to cast on a lace shawl made using a fine sticky mohair. While I was winding the ball, I found a knot. I would have been horrified if I had discovered the knot in the middle of a row. I hate taking out lace but sticky mohair lace??? Yikes. I cut the yarn and started a new ball. Now I could be in control of when I started the new ball of yarn which would NOT be in the middle of a row.

We all have small imperfections that can blossom into bigger problems if we don’t recognize them. When we discover some of the little things, we can try not to let them blow up out of proportion. We can cut out the knot, create a second ball, decide when to join the new yarn instead of having a big mess in our well planned lace. We can splice together the two ends and let the knot fall to the ground. But we have to find them first. We may have to put away the super fast ball winder and slow our process down. We may need to spend more time with our raw material, feeling each inch of the 400 yards until we discover where the problem areas are. This can take time, but it is time well spent.

8 rows of stockinette