Sunday, April 17, 2005

A Prayer For The Children

We pray for the Children
Who sneak popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who never "counted potatoes,"
Who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who watch their parents watch them die,
Who can't find any bread to steal,
Who don't have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
Whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
Who never rinse out the tub,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
Who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
Whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children
Who want to be carried and for those who must,
Who we never give up on,
And for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother and . . .
For those who will grab the hand
Of anybody kind enough to offer it.

by Ina Hughs

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Paisley Passion


I recently bought an old magazine off ebay, called Good Housekeeping Needlecraft. It is the spring/summer 1978 issue. I bought it because I want to make this shawl. I think it appeals to the hippie in me. :)

Now to find the appropriate yarn. The yarn it calls for is Berroco Mirabella, which is no longer made. I asked the members of Crochet Partners and contacted the company, and they all gave me the same information:

Mirabella was 87%wool and 13% nylon. 105 yards per 50 g skein, with 4 sts = 1" on a number 9 needle.

Hmmm.. so now I need to find a yarn (that is 20% wool or less.. allergies, mine and husbands) that will work up about the same (or bigger. I don't want smaller) and have lots of colors.

After doing some looking at yarn sites and at stitchguide.com, I've
come up with two or three possible substitutions for the Mirabella.
I'm open to other yarn suggestions, but I need to be able to get these
colors (or close to them): Raspberry, Saffron, Lime, Turquoise,
Lilac, Natural, and Rose-Mist.

1) Paton's Melody ~ a little on the chunky side, but has many of the colors.

2) Lionbrand Woolease ~ many of the colors and low amt of wool.

3) Caron Dazzleaire ~ discontinued, but still sells on eBay, and I have a few skeins.

I'm still looking around, but I think these are the main contenders.

Monday, April 04, 2005

Wool Gathering

I wish I could wear wool. Look at this GORGEOUS coat.

Some fiber related Haiku. This is my favorite:

e-haiku002.gif
(One more stitch... One more row... Ah..? It's dawn.)


And one other thing: I recently emailed a small yarn supplier, praising the patterns (all knitted) that one of the owners had asking if by any chance they were available in crochet. They very kindly took the time to write back, but one of their first sentences was "I hate to crochet".

I know it wasn't intended as a personal insult, but it feels like one. I've pondered this for a few days and haven't responded to the person. While I much prefer crocheting and knit very poorly now, I once could do a decent stockinette stitch. I would never say I "hated" knitting.

Perhaps it's from my upbringing, Momma would always tell us that hate is such a strong word and to save it for when we really needed it. And she grew up with a father whose strongest expression was "Tarnation"!

Back to the knitter who hates crochet, I guess I should feel sorry for her, her scope is limited.

Before I forget, here's one more site of lovely work. I want the pattern for the Pineapple shawl in the middle. And CrochetMe's Halcyon Shawl is pretty too.

Sister #2 wants a Fleuri purse in RED RED.. and Sister #1 wants a larger Fleuri purse ( I made her a mini version for her bday). The extra bridal purses went over well.. except now I have an order for another royal/navy blue one. Success is wonderful, non?

I WON!!!

Some time back I had joined an email list at one of the online crochet stores, just to keep informed of when they get new patterns. Yes, I did notice that they had a monthly give away, but thought nothing of it, I never win anything.

Saturday, April 2, I got an email saying "Congratulations! You are the lucky winner of the Fashion Stole Kit from Yarn Obsession."

Wow.

Read it again

"Congratulations! You are the lucky winner of the Fashion Stole Kit from Yarn Obsession."

Double Wow.

Ok, I think to myself, I won a pattern, that's great. Then I read more in the mail.."Please contact me and let me know which color you would like and where I can send the package."

HUH? Patterns come in colors?

Ok, time to mosey over to the site and see what I didn't remember about this place. Zoiks!! They're not giving me JUST a pattern, they're giving me a pattern AND the yarn to make it.
A Fashion Stole Kit!

oh boy oh boy oh boy.

Looking at the colors listed, it sounds like Homespun for the body and trimmed with Funfur.. oooohhh I love this stuff, I dont care what other people say about working with it, it's soooo soft and cuddly when made up. And I haven't had that much trouble finding where to put the stitches.

Nouveau & Chocolate; Carribbean & White; Edwardian & Black; Ranch & Copper; Covered Bridge Red &Champagne; or Corinthian & Copper are the color choices. I've made my selection, but not telling what I picked out just yet.

I've got more news, but will save some for another post. Now off to find a place to hide this free yarn... LOL.