Work-in-Perpetuity

My dear little blog,

Please don't be offended that I haven't added to you in quite some time... it's not that I haven't been thinking of you... I have! Often, in fact! Many a time throughout my day I think of you, ponder quaint messages to share with you, take pictures that I might share with you... but alas, I have neglected you.

Sigh.

But I have good news! Genevieve's socks are finally finished (sort of - I just have to graft the toes... oh tortuous process... oh beautiful result...) Mark was starting to call them a "work in perpetuity" ... but I finished them with a sigh... It has taken me four months to complete what I can usually do in four days. Seeing as knitting is a prayerful act for me, a way of meditating on God's heart for the recipient, I usually finish a project with a sigh... all the more so for Genevieve's Welcome With Love socks... it is the closing of a chapter of a most beautiful phase of my life... the journey of meeting two lovely people - our son and our midwife.

But it is just a chapter that has been finished... many more await...

Welcome With Love v2.0

Ok... I frogged the socks. I love the feel of the yarn, but it wasn't turning out quite the way I was hoping... partly due to the fact that I wasn't able to get the right colour combination. I'm having to go with an "inspired by:" version, as oppossed to a replica. And... I've made my peace with that...

But the socks were lacking pizzazz. So I decided to frog them...

to frog: to undo one's knitting, partially or completely,
thus named as one must "rip it... rip it..." in order to correct an error

Here's v1.0














And here's v2.0

Ok... so it's not the greatest picture, but you get the idea. The variegated yarn is such a surprise to work with... the pattern has been unpredictable. I had no idea how it would swirl around. I still think that I will eventually do a true Welcome With Love sock but I've enjoyed the process, as this has been my cross-over project into Knitterhood... I feel as if I am now a Knitter - capital K... not merely one who knits.

I've also discovered that I'm not so much attached to the end result, but rather I enjoy the process. For me, it is the time that I spend sitting down, thinking about the recipient for whom I knitting that I enjoy. And so, I've enjoyed my reverie with the WWL socks... my reflections on Jaden's birth and the warm place in my heart that Genevieve now holds. It has been a joy to knit for her...

So off I go to cast on sock #2, before "SSS" sits in.

SSS: Second Sock Syndrome

The dreadful malady that plagues many a sock, and many a knitter.
Yarn from one's sacred stash calls out to be knit
before the second sock is cast on or completed.

More than a Midwife

I'm a little late posting this blog but I've had the words and thoughts swirling around in my mind for a while...

(Look at that gorgeous baby with our midwives, Daina and Genevieve. He's just a couple days old.)

I love my life. I love the place that I'm in right now. When everything around me is fading into winter, I feel as if my life is vibrant and blooming. My new son is a pure delight and I've been blessed to have some wonderful companions on the journey to welcoming him into the world. Midwives are more than just health care providers. They are companions, nurturers, encouragers. Words do not suffice in exemplifying them or thanking them.

For Mark & me, it truly was a journey... with a few ups and downs along the way. Jaden was a complete surprise to us, and it took me a while to adjust to the detour in the road... a most beautiful detour. Morning sickness was horrid, lasting into my 5th month, making it tough to be totally excited. We experienced loss along the way as well - Mark & I both lost one of our grandparents, and a wonderful friend finally succumed to cancer after battling it for 8 years. In the wake of all that, an ultrasound showed two cysts on our baby's brain... and although we were told that it's probably nothing, the possibility existed that it could indicate an issue that was "incompatible with life." Ahhh... but God is so good. Immediately, He spoke to me profoundly... it was as if the world slowed down and became distant... I was "in" but not "of"... and He said "This is not for you." And I knew that everything was going to be ok. And well, the proof is in the puddin! Just look at this wonderful baby!

Anyway...

The journey would not have been the same without Genevieve. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. Her quiet confidence is remarkable and her smile and sense of humour are absolutely contagious. She nurtured our family. With each visit, she spoke gently and kindly to my children, helping them feel more prepared the transition of welcoming a new baby, and during the birth, she was a calming influence. (Jordan said that she is more than our midwife... she is our friend. I agree.)

I once heard someone compare beautiful people to fruitful trees... how wonderful it is to be with them, as if sitting in the shade of a fragrant apple tree... how fulfilling to share in life with them, to share the fruit of their lives. This illustration came to mind as Genevieve told funny stories about her family's orchard not far from here... Kind of ironic.

I remember sitting on my bed during my first week, postpartum. I journaled while regaining my strength. I wanted to write down every detail of Jaden's birth before they started to slip away. In the course of a week, I saw the leaves turning colour and falling off the trees outside, beautiful and vibrant. My life was changing too, and full of beautiful, vibrant colours. Genevieve was one of them.

She shared with us the wonderful book, Welcome With Love... a homebirth story, parallel to ours. For us, Genevieve will always be an important part of our story... and we are so thankful, that even though the book has closed, its final words were not "The End." A new chapter awaits to be written...

Daina's Scarf

One WIP I can cross of my list... a delightful project for a delightful gal.

Daina was our student midwife attending Jaden's birth. Like a rose coming into full bloom, it was wonderful to watch her blossom in confidence and skills on our journey to welcoming Jaden. She was always wide-eyed and ready to soak in everything around her. Encouraging, inquisitive, joyful. She's a truly lovely person. Often during our appointments she would be wearing a beautiful scarf, so as a thank-you, I knew that a scarf would be a fitting gift.



The yarn is a blend of alpaca and... and... oh geez... I forget. Anyways... it was gorgeous yarn to work with, incredibly soft and smooth. It's not a complicated pattern, but other fancier stitches didn't show off the yarn as beautifully. Sometimes less is more, as they say.

Pattern: Cast on a bunch of stitches. Knit 4 rows.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit 3, purl until last 3 stictches, knit 3.

Pretty simple. It's tough to block it enough to not get it to curl under though... but sometimes that's a nice feature too.

May God bless you, Daina, as you continue on your own journey.

Thrumming

These are the thrummed mittens I am making for Genevieve, our midwife, to go along with the Welcome With Love socks. Mitten #2 is on the needles still, and #1 is finished and turned inside out, to show what the thrumming looks like on the inside. The ball to the right is the roving from Belle Vallee.

Welcome With Love

Here is another WIP... a knitting work in progress. A pair of socks for my widwife, inspired by a most amazing children's book. It's called Welcome With Love, by Australian author Jenni Overend, with wonderful illustrations by Julie Vivas.

In Welcome With Love, a little boy tells of the (home)birth of his new brother. It follows the family on their journey of preparing for the homebirth, the midwife's arrival, the noise and emotion, and finally the joy of the baby's birth. It's such a warm and heart-touching story. The book wouldn't be the same with the handiwork of Julie Vivas. Her illustrations are warm and beautifully detailed, sketched to show the vast array of emotions encompassing birth. They are absolutely captivating... and I loved seeing the family wearing handknit garments... especially socks. When our midwife, Genevieve, shared this book with us, I knew that I would make these socks for her.

I couldn't find the separate colours in order to do the exact striping from the pictures, but this Peter Pan varigated wool has the same colours. The effect is different... but the inspiration is there. I hope she likes them!