Portrait of Valiant

Someone asked me to put up some pictures of Valiant on my blog, so here they are. They really bring tears to my eyes. One is just a sweet portrait, and the other shows the terrible way that he had been abused and then injured. We think someone dumped him at the end of the road and then when he tried to follow, ran over him. The injuries were from being run over but his fear of coming near anyone but my Mom was likely due to previous abuse.

Valiant's Prayer Shawl

My Mother asked me if I would bring a Prayer Shawl to bury Valiant in. Here are some pictures. It is Red Heart Super Saver Watercolor -- an absolutely *beautiful* color. It was a shawl-in-progress, but was far enough along to be just the right size. I was very moved that she asked for a Prayer Shawl for Valiant, and that I had one that was just right for him. He was such a sweet, gentle dog. In fact, my mother always spoke of him as feminine. He had a very light, delicate build, like a girl. Our dear cousins and good neighbors came over yesterday in the rain and dug his grave and buried him for us. I don't know what we would have done without them! We are so grateful. We spread the Prayer Shawl over him, and said a brief prayer commending him to God.

The TEXAS Dishcloth!

Here is a picture of the TEXAS dishcloth. I used #7 needles, whereas I have been using #6 for the others, so it came out a little bit larger (and the pattern itself was actually a bit larger than the others). My Mom was *thrilled* and I was so happy to have this to give to her when she was grieving so badly over Valiant's death. She *loved* it and says she is going to put it in the bathroom as a facecloth rather than in the kitchen as a dishcloth. I was very pleased with the way it came out, BUT when I first started it, I was ready to throw it out! I am not sure *what* the problem was, but I think a combination of having been knitting with much thicker, less slippery yarn while making the two hats, and using a slightly larger needle, and maybe having washed my hands with a soap that may have stayed on and left them more slippery. Anyway, I had a *terrible* time -- the yarn just slipped and slid around and I felt as though I had *no* control over it, and I could not get a rhythm or any kind of speed. I would have just said the heck with it, but I knew the Texas picture would be well-received. Another problem was that it was a pattern by a different author and was exactly the *opposite* of the way I had done all the others. All the ones from the Garden Dishcloths book, the picture was done on the *right* side, whereas the Texas picture was done on the *wrong* side.

However, I perservered and eventually, it got better, and I started to enjoy it the way I had the previous ones.

The *darkest* picture is the truest color of the actual dishcloth.

Butterfly Discloth Finished!

I don't know why the colors on my camera are so off. The original picture is closer to the actual color.

This dishcloth came from the Leisure Arts booklet called Garden Dishcloths to Knit. There are 12 projects and I like almost all of them. In fact, I have made about half of them so far.

I am really more of a blues and greens person than a pink person, but the kitchen my Mom wanted the dishcloths for is green and pink. As for the hats, it just turned out the yarn I needed for those projects was pink or had pink in it. In the case of the Twisted Mosaic, I was intrigued with that color, which is called Black Cherry, but I have loads more skeins in various patterns of blues and greens.

Pink Hat in the Round

This is the first hat I made *in the round* -- in fact, the first item I have EVER knitted in the round! It is very *easy* once you have successfully joined it without twisting the stitches. In spite of the warnings, I did that the first time and had to start over.

FIRST Hat!

Here is a Photo of my *first* Hat! I used Yarn Bee Twisted Mosaic. I love the colors of this yarn. Usually, it is very expensive, but when it was on sale, I went and bought a skein of each color. I wanted to study them and was then going to go back and get more, but didn't get back before the sale was over! So now, I have 20 skeins of Twisted Mosaic, but only ONE of each color! It is a Super Bulky (6) yarn and so there isn't a lot of yarn in each skein. I have been trying to find a good project for those skeins, other than waiting for another sale and getting more of my favorite colors. This hat came out great, except that it is a little bit too big around. Next time, I will try a smaller needle and fewer stitches. The pattern I was using called for Worsted and #10 needles, but didn't give a gauge.

About My Knitting Prayer

Since my Dad died, I have taken over all the bookkeeping and other paperwork for our Bed & Breakfast. It really isn't my kind of thing and I struggle with it a lot. I don't really have a lot of time to sit and knit, especially since I don't watch TV. But I have realized that I can sit and knit and pray at the same time, if the pattern is simple and repetitive in the right rhythm. So, it is a win-win situation, since I am able to justify spending an hour or so knitting each day. The downside is that I have to keep my patterns very *simple* and that can mean also kind of boring. I look at all the wonderful patterns out there, which would be interesting and challenging to do. I could *do* them, but I couldn't pray while doing them. That doesn't mean I can't or won't ever do them, only that they would be something I do separate from my formal prayer time. OTOH, "prayer" is also an attitude of heart and mind and spirit, so one can be in a prayerful state while one is doing something that does require concentration, like a complex knitting or crochet project. There is a difference, but not too much, between that, when it is real, and being able to literally pray on every stitch.

Knit Orthodox Cross

Here is a picture of the Orthodox Cross I made:

I realized I ought to say a few words about what I am going to do with this/these Orthodox Prayer Squares. I am not officially Orthodox, but I participate in the group of Orthodox students called OCF. I want to give each student, especially the new, incoming ones, an Orthodox Cross Prayer Cloth as a way to symbolize that people care about them and their lives and pressures, academic and otherwise, and that they are being prayed for. The students seem to really appreciate being assured of that.