Life after Covid

 I suppose it was only a matter of time to test positive for Covid, but it still took me by surprise.  After all, I had two vaccinations and a booster shot.  Without that it would most likely have been a worst experience, but even so it was a tough couple of weeks.

One of the hardest things for me was feeling extremely listless and sleeping a lot.  I had no desire to knit and at one point wondered if I ever would again.

My journey back

I finally picked up a crochet hook and crocheted a swiffer cover and then another. To crochet was somewhat easier at that point and especially easier to put down and pick up at random.

Then I read about a knitalong for a shawl, the January 2022 Neon Shawl KAL, and since I already had one skein of Merino Cloud, I started looking up on line which other multi color would go well with it.  My husband said he’d treat me to that second skein of yarn.  There was the first spark to knit again.  And so I went down the road to my LYS as soon as quarantine was over and had a look at the two colors I considered.  One just really popped next to the yarn I already had, the lemon slice and Mood ring seemed a match made in heaven. 

 And so I began again.  Within a couple of days I finished part one.

 Right away part two was emailed to me and after printing that out at my local library, I finished that rather quickly.  

This pattern was like medicine to me, it pulled me right back into knitting and the colors brought such joy just looking at them. Holding the yarn, was my lifeline.  That yarn is really nice to knit with!!!

Before I knew it, the shawl was finished and blocking.

So it took me just ten days from start to finish and Tony ( hubby) was a good sport and did two photo sessions with me, one in our backyard and one by the Hudson River. 

Well, Iris Schreier, the pattern designer, liked my photos so much that she shared them not only on ravelry but other social media ( Facebook and Instagram).  That in turn gave me a huge boost of confidence and put a smile on my face.

I am back now to knitting and giving lessons and the moderater of a knitting group on zoom just commented yesterday that I look like my old self again.

After all that I picked up a sweater again which I had started in October ( the Weekender Light in BT Loft) and started a baby blanket for a niece ( Honeycomb stroller blanket).

I hope that you ( the reader of my little story) can find inspiration in this that if you are going through any kind of blues, knitting can see you through it if you let it. 💖🥰 🙏🏻 

Let’s stay in touch

 

As you can see, I am not very active on my Blog any more, but please let’s stay in touch through my Page on Facebook.

I also always try my best to respond to emails or comments.

And of course for those of you who live close by, let’s get together for a lesson.  

It’s always fun to learn new things.

Pandemic, snow and knitting

What better way to spend a day than knitting in the safety of your home, especially when you are snowed in and during this pandemic.

The only thing to make it even better is knitting with likeminded friends through zoom right in your own living room.

If you agree with this statement, send an email to Nan Jackson for a link to our Knit and Natter. Once you have the link, it’s the same for each of the sessions. Hope to see you. 🧶 ❄️ 💬 

Creating a knitting community one stitch at a time.

The making of an heirloom / About letting go and holding on

Three stories in pictures

This post has been marinating for quite a while.

In a way it is a follow-up, Part II of my last post which was inspired by Cat Bordhi who since has left this earthly realm, leaving us with much to remember her by.  In my last post I mused about letting go of expectations and living with what is.

Memories are a special gift if they are of good times and loved ones and holding on to those memories can often see us through the darkest days.  They can be triggered in a moment’s notice. They can be triggered by a scent, a taste, a sound, an image and by touch.  As a knitter we can probably relate most to touch, the tactile memory.

In order to not make this post too long, I am telling about three heirloom knits mostly in pictures, but as always you can find more notes on the projects ( except the last one) on my ravelry page; links are provided.

The wedding blanket/ the new piece with a twist from the past 

Many years ago my Mother in law gifted me with two huge balls of yarn.  They took up almost half of the space in my husband’s suitcase and I stored the yarn away for a special occasion.

Mum passed away since, but not before meeting my son’s girlfriend whom he married this summer.

After they announced their engagement, I thought how nice it would be to knit up a wedding blanket for them.  I had to procrastinate on the project when I broke my wrist, but was able to finish in just under one year using Mum’s yarn for the three panels in the middle of the blanket and ordering more of the same yarn from England.More notes on this on ravelry:  Gift of Love Wedding Blanket.

The heirloom layette set/ finishing a set across time and a generation later

When I received this email , I was right on-board with the project.

So special to finish the set ♥️

“ I was wondering if I could hire you to knit a baby bonnet for me.

My mom started a set for my niece before she was born, unfortunately my mom passed away 2 months before she was born and the bonnet was not made.  We did not find it until after my dad also passed when we cleaned out the house.  Well now 35 years later, my niece is having a baby and I thought it would be a lovely gift to give her the complete set.”

On ravelry: Baby bonnet

The Baby Blanket/ repair

When my eldest son and his wife moved into their new home, they came across a baby blanket my mother in law had knitted some 35 years ago when I was pregnant with him.  

It had holes ( luckily not from moths) and some stains.

It looked like the yarn itself had become frail and large areas of stitches had dropped.

First I did some reversed engineering and wrote down the pattern as I read the stitches in a complete area, then I found some yarn which best matched the original yarn ( not all whites are the same!).  Then I finally  fixed holes and other weak areas in the knitting.

After giving it a good wash ( using Mrs Stewart’s liquid bluing) , it came out as good as new.

#4CatBordhi

 

One of the knitting greats, Cat Bordhi, is battling cancer with such poise and grace that if I didn’t already admire her for all of her knitting wisdom , I would respect her “just” for that, but as it is she has given so much and still is giving wholeheartedly..

You may have already read her letter to the knitting community which includes this very lovely cowl pattern for free, but let me share her letter with you again ( click on the link for both the letter and the pattern):

A letter from Cat and the Rio Calina Cowl

I felt drawn to knit up the cowl and it became more than a knitting project, but my own journey to let go and to find my inner peace and drive with each bend of the cables.

No two of these cowls will look alike, just like each one of us has a different life path, as you place the cables seemingly randomly to your design and liking.

Here are some pictures of my cowl and a link to my project notes on ravelry which go a little more into depth:  Strickliese’s “Letting go”

I hope to sit with Cat and knit and chat one day in the afterlife as I feel a kindred spirit.

Here is to Cat in gratitude, praying that her path will be smooth and gentle as she is.

Some Knitted Items come with a Story

First of all I want to apologize that it has been over two months since my last blog post.  I did reach out in other ways during these times of social isolation and social unrest; with weekly virtual knitting meetings on zoom and lots of posts on my Facebook page which were meant to be encouraging at times, funny at other times and sometimes educational.
But all of those efforts leave out those who have come to like my blog.

Luckily I have a little story which is best shared on my blog.
Let me take you back to 1991, the summer when my Mother in Law came to visit us for the first time; this was also the first time that she was in an airplane and the first time to travel outside the UK (she applied for her first passport at age 71).  Since I did not drive then yet and I also looked after not only our three, but babysat one more child, we spent most of our time at the house in our small village Upstate NY.
My Mother in Law must have gotten a little bored and asked me for some yarn and knitting needles and before I knew it, she had knitted not one but two lovely tea cozies while sitting under our willow tree behind the house. One for me and one for a friend of mine who recently had a baby.

Those tea cozies really do the trick and keep your pot of tea hot.  I always get a little nostalgic when I come across mine.
Since then I knitted one for a friend who is an expat from the UK and I felt needed a little slice of home.
This month I finished knitting one tea cozy for my future daughter in law for her bridal shower after hearing that she was quite taken by them during a trip to England last summer.
How to convey that this feels like passing on a baton, letting love and tradition flow through the generations....perhaps some pictures will do the trick and make you feel that this is not just a knitted object to keep the pot of tea hot longer, but it is bringing warmth in other ways ...

Perhaps you own or have knitted items which mean more to you than the eye can see?

For more project notes on ravelry click here:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/pompom-fancy-2

Mum’s tea cozy for me , knitted August 1991

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/pompom-fancy-2

The young man on the right ( my son Rich),  is the same as the little boy sitting with his grandma under the willow tree 29 years ago ♥️

We can get through this together.

How is everyone doing?
My days are filled with knitting.
I don’t know about you, but I have been knitting much more than usual during this time.  Knitting seems to be my lifeline to keep me sane and grounded and brings some happiness into my days especially when I am knitting for others and thinking of them.  It also makes me mind less that I am not leaving my home.
But when I was listening to my husband talking on the phone with his brothers and sister in England to check in on them and saying “ Doris gets up, starts knitting and keeps at it until she goes to bed by which time she has knitted about 100 cubic feet of knits”, I had to chuckle , but also I had to pause and think about that this social distancing does not mean to detach and go into ourselves, but it means only to stay apart physically.  Emotionally we are in this together and we need each other to uplift and encourage.  Let’s put our needles down for a little while today and call a friend or loved one and check on them, make plans for the future, because there will be a future.
One of my favorite songs is the one the Liverpool Football Club has adopted as its motto and which is sung by the supporters before every game.
YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE
You’ll never walk alone

Even our cat has friends who come and check on him.  They keep the social distancing staring at each other through the window. 😺. They stare at each other for a long time each day.  The one outside just got distracted in the picture, because a rabbit hopped by.

And last, but not least let me share some of my most recent projects.
You can click on the links to get more information on each project.

Climbing Mountains MKAL

Faded Memories

 Deschain

Hang it two ways

Be well everyone.

Wash your hands.

Take care of yourselves.

♥️ And stay connected ♥️