Yarns for Hands...

Speaking of “Hands and Yarns,” massage has been somewhat slow this month, but my hands are busy making mittens to keep other hands warm. For example, my son asked for a pair of flip-top mittens. So who was I to deny him?


Also, I finished the Icewine mittens, my second pair of stranded colorwork. They came out very nicely I think—and again, I learned new techniques, such as the peasant thumb, and I was able to read the charts a little more clearly this time. I wore them for a couple of days, saw a good friend for dinner, and decided that she should have them. Her husband seemed surprised that I would give them away so impulsively, but I told him that as much as the end result is gorgeous, for me the real joy is in the process.



I’m finding this to be truer for me every passing day.

I wonder if that’s why once Christmas Day has come and gone, I almost feel a sense of loss—-like when I finish a knitting project. Shopping for gifts, making Christmas cards, the thought and trial and error that goes into these projects…cooking, baking! It’s a lot of fun for me! I enjoy the journey of tree-decorating, hanging of pine garlands and wreaths.

Even wrapping gifts for the homeless in a local church with the Angel Team, or helping people create their own gifts at the Advent Creative Fair at my own church, or unfolding plastic bags for the big holiday food distribution at the Irving Park Community Food Pantry, are gratifying experiences. I meet new people, we’re all doing something worthwhile, we’re there for the same reason. We’re all filled with zeal, excitement, and sometimes even a little stress and anxiety...for that big day on the 25th!

We’re always told that the holidays are about sharing our love with each other, more about giving and not so much receiving. It should be so throughout the year.
When I first started knitting, my primary goal was to have something nice for me to wear. Now as work on new projects, more and more the process of creating and learning is more important than the end result. Although it’s important that the end result is beautiful, I’m satisfied with the knowledge that yes, I made this, and someone else can enjoy it, while I make something new!

That’s not to say I won’t knit anything for myself in the future, that can’t be further from the truth, but I know in my heart I’ll probably be giving even more stuff away in the New Year! In the meantime, I’ve started a new pair of stranded mittens, a more traditional (dare I say, easy?) pattern, with the traditional “white and other-color” combination.

So, I’ll wrap it up now. Happy Holidays to everyone, and to all a happy, creative and adventurous New Year!