Its Anew

A new day. A new start. For our country and why not for ourselves as well? I know that I need to be renewed. I thank our God for allowing each day to be fresh and clean. I vowed during this sometimes  mostly vicious campaign season that whomever would win, I would get behind that person and join in the vision for our country and I will do that. We all watched history in the making! How has everyone been? Why not take one day at a time and begin to slow down life. Let's simplify and value what we have. I have spent several days moving some of the files from this blog over to a new server. The page loads so much better now. I just might be starting something here! I am giving thought to posting more regularly... what do you think? I'll try if you do. This past week, I have valued what I have. I valued my good old tried and true Ballband pattern. OK, so I gave it a little twist. But I rather liked the way it turned out. This was knit by knitting each slipped stitch row offset by a single stitch. I think I'll have some more of these soon! There are rather addicting... What do you think? It is really eye-catching. But, of course, the Ballband always has been hasn't it? In every one of the bazillion color combinations I have seen and tried. You've gotta love it! Plus, no better time to knit for those precious gift aways. The Diagonal Ballband Dishcloth - a variation of the classic "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.     John 15:5 Oh Lord, let me abide in you, Let me cast my worries on you for you O Lord, long to carry them. May these days be blessed. ...

So long heat

I am so thankful that our heat here in the Midwest has finally subsided. Although I am able to leave at will I begin to feel like a prisoner in my own home! Yes... I even anticipate autumn! God has a way of preparing us, doesn't He?   I am frequently away. In October, we will be going to Atlanta to finish our spring buying. This is my only remaining haven where I can get my baby fix. There are no babies in our family right now and we all miss it so much. So as a single mom, artist, and a knitter, you can see why I can keep (too) busy. You should see my laundry pile! But  I thank the Lord each day for my sister. Without her, I could not function. Here is the final cloth that I was working on earlier in the week: And here are the colors that I used for this cloth from top to bottom: Main background color: S&C Warm Brown S&C Rose S&C Shell Pink S&C Hot Pink S&C Geranium P&C Pastel Pink S&C Rose S&C Shell Pink S&C Geranium S&C Hot Pink S&C Geranium S&C Shell Pink S&C Hot Pink P&C Pastel Pink S&C Geranium   I have added something new to my left sidebar. Often times in my path, I come across so many people who have prayer needs or those whom God has placed on my heart to pray for. "Keeping you in prayer" is for those very precious people who I lay before God in prayer. Stella is a 2 year old girl, living in California that I was made aware of last week. She was just diagnosed with Leukemia. I pray that the Lord grants wisdom to all those in place of decision-making where her health is concerned. I also ask the Lord to grant comfort - even in unknown circumstances - to her parents.   If you have knowledge of someone that needs prayer or someone that God has laid on your heart, or you, yourself needs prayer, please comment me or drop me a note so that I may add these to this prayer circle If you would like to take the "Keeping you in prayer" button to your blog, please feel free to take it. I will update or change the button as necessary.   Soon I will be posting my baby care instruction tag which was pictured in a prior post - and in the not-to-distant future, I hope to be adding a free pattern. Does anyone have an opinion on the wording of that baby tag? Should it be for a baby washcloth, or should the text be worded more general so that it could be used for a baby blanket or other cotton baby items as well? Your thoughts requested :)   Thank you for visiting me here in this little world. I so much appreciate your words! Be blessed on your weekend and make the most of these last summer days.   ... "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me".   Psalm 51:10

Again & again: Ballbands

One of my all-time favorite kitchen cloths has got to be the beloved Ballband cloth. I just love the colors, the texture and the over all appeal of this cloth. Perhaps it is simply that it looks so complicated and it is so easy to knit. Especially in the eyes of a non-knitter. In a way it is a well kept secret in the knitters bag of tricks. Here are my latest Ballband projects. I am knitting several of these as gifts for 20 something girls. One set as a birthday gift and a set of them for a wedding shower gift. The top photo below is simply my stash of cloths to choose from when the need for gift-giving arises.      It is not that I particularly enjoy knitting these because the color changes take a bit of extra time... especially if I use a wide variety of colors. But I can easily overlook that when I can enjoy the finished projects. I don't believe that I have ever knit the same color way twice. This truly is one of my favorite scrap-busting projects, although weaving in thirty or so ends is also time-consuming, it is well worth it.      What are your favorite "dishcloth recipes"? Why not post them to my flicker group? The link can be found on the lower left of this page. ...