Knitters Without Borders

Technology has brought us a lot of conveniences and it has made our world a very global community. We see and hear about what's happening worldwide nearly as soon as it happens. Yet so many of us live in an isolated world where it is very easy to acknowledge pain and suffering in all parts of the earth while still not embracing the fact that we can help make a difference in the lives of those who are without so much of what we take for granted.

Our children will inherit an even more global community than we have. Many will live and work in places far from home. I hope that they will accept responsibility for helping others less fortunate than themselves, both locally and internationally.

Please go to Yarn Harlot's blog and this link for more information about Doctors Without Borders and Knitters Without Borders. If you are able, accept the challenge. Our children learn what we teach them.

It's Winter

This is the view from my kitchen window in the morning. It looks like we have been burying bodies on the barbecue. If you look closely you can see my reflection in the window panes.

Fall lasted a long time this year around here but winter suddenly hit with a vengeance a couple of weeks ago. It started snowing and then just kept on snowing and snowing and snowing.... and then it got cold, January cold, indoor recess cold. Only teachers understand the shudder that just the words "indoor recess" can provoke in otherwise hardy, patient adults. We finally saw some warmer weather yesterday and they are predicting above average temps for the next few days.

Although it's been cold outside I'm usually toasty warm - and then some. Got to be perimenopause. As a result I find myself reluctant to pick up my FLAK sweater. I'm just too uncomfortable with all that wool in my lap. Consequently I'm getting lots of socks knit. I finished Carmen's socks, started a pair for my sister who requested that the STR Granite be hers, and started a pair for myself out of STR Chapman Springs. I almost had the first one of mine done and then frogged it back to the heel flap. I knit the sole using the same slip stitch as the heel flap and was quite delighted with it until I tried it on and realized that the sole was considerably shorter than the instep because of the slip stitch pulling in the stitches. We're talking an inch or two difference from top of foot to bottom of foot. I decided that the toe would look goofy so ripped it back. It is now a plain vanilla sock but should fit nicely and be warm. I got Sock Wizard software and it's really fun to play with. I could do all the adjustments and patterns myself but it's cool to just plug the numbers into the program and watch it spit out directions and a graphic.