Wednesday, January 26, 2011

This is the story of my scarf


For me every item that I knit has a meaning at the end.
When I started knitting the scarf I felt invincible, because even though it was a difficult pattern for me I decided to make it. Well it was not easy.
I started the scarf about 6 times, and it was always something wrong. I was about to give up, to start another project easier. I was angry with myself.
One day I called my mother and she was not having a good day, things were getting complicated with my dad, she said to me: “ I don’t know what to do or from where to get more strength to keep me going, but I do know one thing hijita, I’m not giving up, I must keep going for him and for me, everything is going to be all right”.
After that conversation I realized that this scarf needed to be perfect and it needed to be done on time to take it to her.
Yesterday I finished the scarf for my mom. I can’t explain to you the satisfaction I felt when I cast of the last stitch, I felt proud because I didn’t give up, I did what my mother taught me, I kept going.  I have to start blocking it tonight when I get home.

 Today I wrote a story to my viejita (mom) about what that scarf represents to me, and besides all the content I wrote that I won’t share there is a part of it that I do want to share;
All the yarns over forming holes represent all the moments my mother needed me and I needed her and we were separated for thousand of miles, the bubbles represent happiness and each of it its full of happy memories!
Red is her favorite color and for me represents faith and strength. I choose a complicated pattern because it represents all the difficult moments that we went through with my dad and because we were all united and strong as a family he is doing better. I decided to make for her a scarf because when she’ll wear it will be close to her heart.
This is Me, a dreamer, a warrior and maybe this story might sound weird for you because you might have never associated your knitting with moments but remember that everything is related to everything.
I am going back home next week; I will be there for a month so if you don’t see me now you know why.

Hugs to you and thank you for stopping by and remember thing do get better.
Sabrina

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Knitting Lace

 Happiness:
What wonderful day today! My dad is doing better yay!!!. He has started to walk a little by himself again ladies! I know that this has nothing to do with knitting, but I had to share this with you! You have not idea how happy this news made me!
Knitting:
Yesterday I started to knit the Lily of the Valley Estonian Lace Scarf, OMG!!! I forgot why I didn’t like Lace projects! I had to start the scarf 3 times! I know, what an idiot right? Well let me tell you something this is me knitting lace stitch, Ha!

Well the thing is that after the 3rd try I master it! Yay!!!! And I was able to complete 36 rows without any mistakes! So tonight I will continue with that same goal, no making mistakes!
                                                       Here is how my Nupps looks
Oh, I wanted to tell you that last night while knitting and watching TV with my husband, he asked me if I could please make him a matching scarf for the Passion Hat II!
He designed it and everything, well he told me how he wants the colors to go together, and the length! How about that? So today I started knitting the called matching Passion Scarf, for him. I’m using US 6 because he likes when the feeling of the knitting is tight “without holes”, so it’s going slow!

A lot to knit and not enough time!

Hugs to you

Sabrina

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New year, New projects!

Well, Happy New Year for everybody!
This is the first post of the year, for that reason I want to start with something fresh, something new. I want to talk about the Estonian knitting technique and all the fabulous shawls that you can make following this style. I discovered this just the other day, and I was fascinated by it. They use so many different stitches on one piece, so many details to pay attention to. I had to learn how to make the NUPP (Estonian word for bubble), and the lace weight yarn that it looks gorgeous once the project is done, but it’s tedious to work with! Everything looks so complicated and different. I said to myself “ Sabrina… you have to try this, you must try to love lace technique and lace yarn”.
I felt attracted for a new challenge.
They are two shawls that I really like and I plan to make, well one of them is actually a scarf and the other one it’s a shawl.
The scarf is called: Lily of the Valley Estonian Lace Scarf / Estniska liljekonvaljer by Helene Wallin. This designer went to Estonia exclusively to learn the techniques and all the secrets to knit the Estonian shawls! I thought it was so cool.
Well, the shawl I want to knit is called: Echo Flower Shawl by Jenny Johnson Johnen. It is so beautiful!
Since I have never got into such a complicated lace project, I want to start with the easier one, I will make the scarf for my mother, and then I will make the wonderful shawl.
The thing is that I get distracted very easily when I knit lace and I mess up the stitches so that’s why I try to avoid it all the time, but now it’s time to grow up and focus.
In my opinion knitting lace makes you grow as a knitter.
So here I go today I started the scarf and I also started to love lace!!!!

I also wanted to share that I already started and finish two projects for 2011!! Yay the first 2 of the year!
This is what happened: Remember that I told you that I was making a hat (Passion Hat) for my husband with the baby alpaca? Well I did finish that hat for the 31st of December, so he was able to use it for that night, as I wanted it. He completely loved it; he loved the colors, the feeling of the yarn and the fit not so much, because it came out a little to loose. But he was so excited that the hat was so warm and soft that he used it.
                                                    Here are some pics of the Passion hat
                                                                          Up look
                                                           Close look so you can see the yarn

Well, On January 2nd, I started another hat  (I called it Passion hat II). I started and finished the same day! OMG it was a lot of work, I knitted all afternoon, but by 9:00pm it was ready and it was perfect! He couldn’t believe that I made another one so quick. I asked him “ Do you like it?”
He said: “ I love it, more than the first one, because it fits me perfectly, Thank you so much, I love you!” So there he is using the Passion Hat II all the time!!!!

Hugs, everybody
Sabrina