The Atonement Hat

Not too long ago, I was watching this great stand-up comedian. He was joking about meeting a woman at an airport bar and having a couple of drinks.  I’m going to just nutshell this for you- the punch line is that every time you meet a Jewish person they will always drop into the conversation like a zillion times that they are Jewish.

 I’m Jewish.

Didn’t see that one coming did you?

At the risk of offending tens of my readers, that information has bearing on this blog post in-so-far as it would explain why I would knit up, what I like to call, The Atonement Hat and why it got done in the break between Yom Kippur services. Obviously I’m Reform.

If you’ve never been to a Yom Kippur service it’s a little hard to explain. You're packed into pews like sardines pretty much all day long praying as hard as you can that G-d will not only forgive you of all your sins but prescribe you a great life in the upcoming year. You are also starving, wearing no make-up and have not showered.  It’s great.

I know I sound a little cavalier but I actually dig Yom Kippur and take it very seriously. Hence my Atonement Hat.  I decided that instead of napping in-between the morning and afternoon service like I usually do, that this year I was going to put my new found skill to good use and knit up a quick knit hat that could be donated to my local craft store for kids with cancer. That’s not the actual name of the charity by the way.

I don’t know if this hat had any influence on my atonement, but honestly, that’s not why I did it. Instead of Tikkun Olam it’s like Tikkun Knits. Repairing the world, you know?

Here’s the Youtube link for the tutorial and pattern for the hat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23gmF0WFXdI&spfreload=10

I’m not sure if the author intended her hat to wind up being knitted by a Jew on Yom Kippur to help repair the world while doing some hard-core atoning but that’s what happened. I think I’ll start doing this every year. And maybe some tzedakkah  knitting in between.

What about you? What good causes are you knitting for?

 

A little nosh and knitting

Tonight I met up with a wonderful friend for a little nosh and some knitting.

In public. I'm always amazed at the attention one gets when any type of 

craft is done out in the community. 

 

By the way, this first picture is of her hands. I’ve kind of got a thing for hands and hers are really beautiful. Not in a creepy way though. I don’t keep a container of severed hands in my apartment.

I promise.

In the several hours that we sat and stitched at least two people
commented on our craft. It's nice.       
 

I think it also speaks to something
about our current culture. We were greeted with nothing but positive interest and admiration.  While that pleases me, I also find it a little sad.  What does it say about us as a society that something that was once a typical life skill born of necessity is now something reduced to an interesting hobby that impresses random passerby’s at the local eatery?

It says, to be quite frank, that I've learned a post apocalyptic life skill that will serve me well after the zombie outbreak.  If anybody is interested in joining my survival team, by the way, I'm taking applications.

In exchange for keeping me alive, you will always have a cute knitted hat and scarf. I think that's fair.

Happy Friday!

Thank you Buzzfeed.

Shabbat Shalom!!!!

Skills that err don't pay the bills???

I think technically I’m still considered a new knitter.  I mean, I consider myself a new knitter. After all I’ve only been knitting for about 4 or 5 months now. Maybe at this point an advance beginner, but a newb nonetheless.

As I tackle and complete each new knitting project I like to keep a running mental list of all the skills I’m learning.  I’d also like to share it. I’m curious, is there a standard order of skills that people learn when knitting? Or do knitters typically learn skills based on their own interest?

My skill list (at the time of this writing)

Long tail cast on

Knit

Purl (and several stitches based on combo’s of these)

Bind off in knit stitch

Bind off in purl stitch

Knitting in the round

Decreases on DPN

Weaving in

The Trinity Stitch (and everything that entails)

Fair Isle – I followed a pattern, used 2 colors on each row, and learned how to secure long carries in the back. Boom.

Make one – I know how to do this but don’t really like fooling with increases and decreases right now. They are very intimidating.

Slip one purl wise

Slip one knit wise –I’m still struggling to really grasp why this matters

Unknit my knits

Unpurl my purls

Cable's 

I’m sure there is a couple of skills I’m forgetting, but I’m quite impressed with myself.

How about the rest of you, how did you all pick up your skills and in what order?

Finished.

Well. I've finished the dreaded washcloths. Two are done in a simple garter stitch and the third was just a random combination of knit and purl rows.All where knitted with 2 strands held together on size 10 strait needles with Lilly Sugar and Cream yarn. They are thick, soft and actually pretty wonderful as far as dreaded washcloths go. 

I'm not sure why I put a seashell in the frame. Just go with it.

The Dreaded WashCloth and Too Sick to Knit

Almost 2 weeks ago one of my best friends in the entire world got married down in Va Beach.  As I live way out of town I stayed with our other best friend in the entire world along with her wonderful husband and 4 children. BFF number 2 and her family happened to be sick. And because I have the immune system of someone who should be living in a plastic bubble I caught the bug.  I have been practically bedridden since I got back. As such, I’ve been too sick to knit.

Too. Sick. To. Knit. 

Literally too sick to sit up in my super comfy chair and hold knitting needles with one of my WIP draped beautifully over my lap.  Until yesterday that is.

Yesterday was the first day I felt like doing anything other than laying in bed with Vicks Vapor Rub slathered in layers over my body and bequeathing all of my worldly possessions to my friends via text.  So I drug myself to my super comfy chair and did two things.

1. Randomly started a blog about knitting. You are reading the consequences of that decision and what was probably an over dose of cough syrup now.  Sorry. 2. I debated for a good 15 minutes which WIP to start on. Problem is that they are all gifts for various friends and family and since my house was (and still very much is) a petri dish of germs I didn’t want to work on a project that could possibly get contaminated with whatever this funk is.

Me: Hi future sister in law, please accept this hand knitted cowl and hat along with a healthy dose of West Nile Virus. Happy Chanukah.

I decided to avoid that scenario altogether and work on the dreaded washcloth. 

Sigh.

3 months ago I bought 3 skeins of Lilly Sugar and Cream cotton yarn intent to knit up some quick washcloths. Not liking how thin they were I decided to learn how to knit with 2 strands held together; I MacGyver’d a Ziploc bag to hold the yarn so the strands wouldn’t get all tangled and set about my business.  And O my G-d it took forever to finish the first washcloth.  To tight stiches, to much attention for a simple garter stitch, Oy I was done.  I would just buy a dishcloth. Until yesterday when I decided that I would not buy any more yarn for future WIP’s until I used up the remaining 2 skeins in order to motivate myself to finish these friggin dishcloths.

That decision was heavily influenced by a large amount of cough syrup and sleep deprivation but apparently I mentioned this to my boyfriend and now it’s set in stone.  So while I finish up my convalescence I plan on knitting up these dishcloths and being done with it.  If nothing else, I will have hand knitted the very washcloths used to sponge down my fever ridden body, quite possibly saving my own life, if this funk takes a turn for another worst. Good thing I’m not melodramatic right? Right.

Knit For Life

Step in the way back machine. Here, let me get that door for you. It’s now 2002. We are in my mother’s living room and I’m about twenty  something….um age doesn’t really matter.  I am holding a crochet hook, a scarf I’ve no crap been working on for about 4 years and a wtf look on my face. My mother is patiently trying (for the hundredth time) to teach me how to do more than single crochet.

Fast forward 3 months and I’ve turned the scarf over to my mom to finish. She has it back to me in about 3 hours.

Fast forward again to 2014 mid summer.  I’m sitting in my mothers living room and I’m now in my thir….. you know, age isn’t really relevant to the story.  I’m holding 2 knitting needles and rectangular swatch I knitted in about 3 hours that will ultimately become a cup cozy. My mother has a wtf look on her face. I am patiently explaining to her all about the garter stitch.

Not surprisingly my mother is shocked that I’m knitting. I’m shocked that I’m knitting. All my super cool hip non-knitting friends are shocked that I’m knitting.  I’m loving it. I don’t think I’ll ever stop. I’ve caught the knitting bug and theirs no cure. And I don’t think I could tell you why.

Maybe it’s because I hate (aka not being very successful) at crochet. Maybe it’s because it challenged my mind and my hands in a unique way. Maybe its because I have a super stressful job working as a community mental health professional and I needed a coping skill that supports stress management in a healthy way, unlike drinking.  Maybe it’s because none of my friends do it and it makes me ahhh unique. Unique, yeah that sounds good. It’s most likely a couple of the above-mentioned reasons; regardless I’m a knitter for life.

(taps chest and throws up the deuces).