Mongolian Knitting

I’ve been knitting like a mad woman. Why? I’ve been following a blog of one of my former high school friend’s, son and daughter-in-law, “A Couple of Sojourners”. They are Peace Corps Volunteers assigned to Mongolia. Their cold winter get as low as –50 below. They have been assigned a very modest house and warm it with coal, but surviving the cold is quite an ordeal. Can you imagine young people from sunny California, having to experience this? Talk about culture shock! Therefore, what better use of my yarn, but to knit them up “ wooley warmy” things for their survival. If they can’t use the items, I’m sure they can find someone there in Mongolia who can. It’s my own little “Dulaan Project”.

I have no idea how long their winter is, but I feel the pressure of getting it done soon, before it gets too cold to deliver mail. Can that happen? I have been imagining that perhaps its like Antartica, where if you don’t get your supplies shipped early, you won’t be able to get them through. The blog indicated that some mail has been affected by the H1N1 situation, possibly limited contact with a lot of people and shutting down services. However, I am encouraged that they are still receiving some care packages from their families.

I have been knitting some Helmet warmers. I finished one from the handspun yarn I made from the Cormo-Romney fleece I purchased at Black Sheep Gathering this summer. It came out nice but a little big. I am making another one with some handspun grey Merino/Alpaca.

I’m also knitting up a rug, using my Red Heart acrylic yarn. What a great stash buster! I am knitting it with Size 35 needles. These are gigantic needles. Brenda Dane from “Cast On” podcast inspired me from her Knitting in Trafalgar Square with the same kind of needles. It is really using up the yarn fast, but handling these needles make my hands hurt after and hour so I switch to other knitting to give a break and go back when I can.

I am also planning on packing some knitting wool and needles with a How to Knit Book included. Perhaps when our Mongolian volunteers are confined to the inside, they might have some time to learn to knit. One never knows how experiencing the hardship of “cold”, may motivate a person to be resourceful and make something that is warm: perhaps a scarf or hat?

Thinking about someone else’s situation is very therapeutic for me. It keeps me from being depressed about my own situation with W’s cancer. His emotional reserves are practically non-existent and I believe it is starting to affect me, as well. Work is also my salvation as it provides some respite in terms of distraction from home. Work never seems to slow down. I just don’t have much time to think until I get home. Thinking too far ahead is too overwhelming right now. The holidays are coming, and I am trying to sort out how to enjoy them this year. It’s getting harder to find that “joy” one needs in a life.

Recovery

It’s amazing how much effort we put into preparing for Christmas when all of a sudden the day is spent. Everything is over. You collapse in a heap of fatigue and satisfaction and wonder…..it is really over?

This past month has been a flurry of shopping, decorating, cooking, and knitting feverishly to finish those last minute gifts. It was nice to have a few days off before Christmas to prepare at my leisure. The results were quite nice….

Our tree….

My table….
My mother made this beautiful flower arrangement at her class.

The stockings were hung by the chimney…..

The day was glorious, filled with people and good conversation. The weather also cooperated by holding off the rain while we went of a photo scavenger hunt around town.

The weather being cold and rainy has inspired me to make simple knitwear again. I’ve been thinking about my stash and how I can use it up. Hats have been on my needles. They are quick and can be as simple or elaborate as you want them. I trade off between the two. One is complicated and the other is simple. This gives me the quick gratification of finishing something as well as the challenge of working towards a great looking cap for someone. One of the hats I made was Coronet Hat, a simple cable hat. It turned out great except that I had to graft the ends together in kitchener stitich, which is not my favorite stitch. The hat looks great.

This is a Koolhaas hat in progress...

I’ve also acquired an obsession in making the Calorimetry head bands. I’ve wore my red one all week. I’ve given some for Christmas Presents. They knit up in about an hour, depending on whether you are using bulky or thinner yarn and needles. If using wool, they are warm and smooth back your hair without hiding it in a full hat.

As the year winds down I’m feeling the need to clear out things I don’t use. Perhaps another New Year’s resolution in the making……..

Blessings of Family

There are moments in life when sudden unexpected events in life causes one to stop and reorganize priorities in life to Thank God for his blessings of Family.

Upon arriving home from work, I received a call from my son’s partner the weekend before Thanksgiving. She was taking her mother to the hospital and asked if I could help my son take care of his 3-month old son and 2-year old daughter. He had not taken care of both alone. I immediately went to their home but in the back of my mind, I was thinking whether I should cancel all the Thanksgiving plans I had made. This year, my work was given the delightful surprise of being allowed to take the full Thanksgiving week off. I had planned a full week of cooking and decorating to celebrate this Thanksgiving at my house with my family.

It was beginning to look like I would be spending my preparation days, babysitting as the other grandmother continued to be hospitalized and then convalesced at home, unable to take care of the grandchildren, which was her usual arrangement. As I contemplated how I would prepare for Thanksgiving, arriving home exhausted from 12 hr days with my active grandchildren, I started receiving calls. I was getting offers from the invitees to bring the turkey and all the fixings. My husband and son pitched in to help clean the house while I was gone. Little by little it all came together so that we all celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving together. It really brought the true meaning of being in a “family” home to us all.

On those exhausting days, I didn’t have the energy to even pick up the knitting needles. However, I found that spinning helped me relax and think about the days activities. I loved being with my grandchildren. It brought back precious memories of raising my boys. My two oldest were about the same age difference. I remember the days of exhaustion juggling feedings, diaperings and entertaining an active two-yr-old.

As I was spinning, it gave me time to think and my thoughts wandered to how best to use my spun yarn. With so many projects started, I strayed away from starting another involved project and toward making simple Charity hats from my handspun yarn. As Christmas is near, I picked a soft red and green Romney wool yarn I dyed two summers ago. I decided to experiment with a basket stitch but gave it up when I saw how this yarn was a nice self-striping yarn. These are some of the results…..

Another hat I started was Jared Flood’s Koohaas Hat. I found a skein of handspun grey merino and decided to figure this pattern out. Lo and behold, I realized that he wrote this pattern for my style of knitting (Eastern Uncrossed), which is “through the back loop”. The single cables make it go slow, but once the pattern is established, the knitting progressed at a steady pace. I think I’ll offer it to my son, who is traveling to The White House to sing for the Holidays with his choral group. The weather will be chilly and the warm hat may help.