Fetching Cabled Fingerless Mitts

I recently finished these Fetching Cabled Fingerless Mitts, designed by Cheryl Niamath.  The pattern is available at Knitty:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTfetching.html

I followed the pattern except that I used Mochi Plus, a merino/nylon blend yarn that is soft, scrumptiously warm and cozy.  As you can see, the mitts as knitted are too small for me.  So these will go to a friend with smaller hands.

I have started a second pair and am increasing each section by  5-6 rows.  They are a fast knit and I can't wait to be able to wear them on cold mornings driving to work!

More Knitting Mindfully

 

I spent several days between Christmas and New Year's Day at Deer Park Monastery along with nearly 300 other people.  It was a beautiful way to end 2011 and start 2012.  People came from all over the United States and even from  South America for this holiday retreat.  The sense of community was strong and I made several new friends. 

I did a little mindful knitting during lazy afternoons while at the monastery - started a pair of cabled fingerless mitts which I will show you in my next posting.   So what is mindful knitting, exactly?  Well, mindfulness is simply a quality of attention that is focused, relaxed, alert and also friendly and caring, even affectionate.  One sees and experiences clearly what is happening right now in the present moment.  So when I am knitting mindfully, my knitting has my full, clear, relaxed and alert attention.  I am aware of my breathing and of my whole body and at the same time fully enjoy the feel of the yarn and needles in my hands, the colors and textures of the yarn, the patterns of the knitted piece, even the smell of the yarn.  The joy and pleasure are immense.

Robert's Reindeer Christmas Stocking

 Well, I didn't quite finish Robert's reindeer stocking by Christmas.
Here it is without antlers.  You can see that it was entirely functional anyway.  Santa filled it to overflowing!

Today I finally finished it.  It's not exactly like the one my sister made for Katherine many years ago, but it is sweet enough. 

Crocheted Reindeer Christmas Stocking

Years ago when my sister's children were born, she found a pattern for this adorable crocheted reindeer Christmas stocking in a magazine called "Ladies Home Journal."  It was in a November or December issue sometime between 1980 - 1983.  Over the next few years, she made reindeer stockings for all the members of her family.  She made this one in the photo for my daughter, Katherine, for one of her first Christmases.

This year, Katherine and her partner, Robert, are coming to California for Christmas and Robert doesn't have a Christmas stocking.  So I am making one for him.  I do much more knitting than crocheting, so I had to get help to get started.  Now I have the hang of it and am having fun!

After I took the photograph pictured above, I noticed a glaring error in the middle of the stocking.  You can probably see the error if you click on the photo to see it up close. It was impossible to ignore, so I ripped out to that point and corrected my error.  It's actually a lot easier to rip out crocheting than knitting! The yarn is a microfiber with rich chocolate color and nice stitch definition.  The stocking design has interesting texture patterns.

My Russian Orenburg Shawl

Welcome, my Russian friends! In honor of visitors to my blog from Russia, I am posting photos of my exquisite handknitted lace shawl from Russia.  It was given to me as a gift when I lived in Moscow in 1976. The person who gave it to me alluded to its uniqueness and value and said the women who knit these lace shawls do their knitting using bicycle spokes for knitting needles.

From Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit: The Gossamer Webs Design Collection by Galina Khmeleva: "For over three hundred years, knitters from the Orenburg region of Russia have been creating Gossamer-style lace shawls and scarves from a series of basic elements and patterns handed down from generation to generation."  The author also says that the shawls are knit with the "special Orenburg-down fiber," but she doesn't elaborate on what the fiber is, exactly.  According to the Wikipedia page on Orenburg shawls  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orenburg_shawl), the fiber is a two ply blend of silk and the down of indigenous Orenburg goats (finer even than Angora goat down).

I don't know if my shawl is an authentic Orenburg shawl, or an Orenburg-style shawl made by a Russian knitter outside of the Orenburg region.  If any of my blog readers know how to identify authentic Orenburg knitting, I invite you to leave a comment on my blog.  I would also be grateful for any instructions on how to safely wash my shawl.  Through the years it has become slightly yellow colored and I have been afraid to wash it, it is so delicate.

Here are a few more photographs.  I encourage you to click on each photograph so you can see the fine detail of the knitting up close.

Red and White Aprons for Christmas

My daughter and I found this adorable red and white egg beater fabric last year and made my mother an apron for Christmas.  My mother's favorite color is red and she has red throughout her kitchen and her house.  We also made one for Katherine.

This year I went on line and bought up all the red egg beater fabric I could find.  There is no more!  Katherine and I made aprons for her Danish grandparents and her Danish aunts and uncles.  Red and white are the colors of the Danish flag and Danes, being very patriotic people, love anything that is red and white.  We've made a total of eight aprons!

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My mother asked for some pot holders to match and here they are.

Knitting Mindfully at the Monastery

I just returned from a weekend at Deer Park Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh in Escondido, California.  This weekend marks the start of the annual 90-day winter retreat.  I had heard that the ceremonies to begin the retreat are beautiful and touching, and they were.  

Saturday afternoon with some time to myself, I sat in the gazebo by the big bell (pictured above) and knitted a bit on my baby blanket.  Mostly, I just sat and listened to the sounds of the birds and insects in the canyon below and enjoyed the immense stillness.