Made My Day

My sons, L and K, have been taking violin in school. For the first few weeks of summer vacation, private lessons are available from the teachers they had the previous year. L's teacher, Nate Strick, is the son of Strickwear designer and book author, Candace Eisner Strick.

I met Candace briefly over a year ago, when I attended The Ewephoric Knitter's weekend, hosted by Marji's Yarncrafts. I introduced myself to Candance because I had two of her books on my bookshelf - "Sweaters From a New England Village" and "Sweaters From New England Sheep Farms." I found out then that Nate was going to be L's violin instructor in 5th grade. Small world! When I met Nate that September, I mentioned I had met his mother the previous spring, probably branding myself as one of those nutty knitters.

This morning was our last summer violin lesson, and when we arrived, Nate handed me some reading material - "Beyond Wool," Candace's book published in 2004, and one not yet on my bookshelf. At first I thought he was giving it to me for the duration of the lesson - until I opened the cover and found an inscription made out to me. I must say - this made my day, and I spent the next thirty minutes listening to wonderful violin music, learning about various non-wool-fibers, and deciding what to add to my Ravelry queue (the Heavenly Blue Cardigan). For someone who had once dreamed of becoming an alpaca rancher before my husband's job took us from New Jersey to a wooded property not suited for alpacas in Connecticut, and whose father raised angora rabbits for their fiber as a boy in Hungary, the book is a real treat!

I'm still smiling....

Crochet Away!

My Hillswick Lumber sweater is moving right along. I've already set the steeks for the armholes, and except for the inch I had to frog last week, I think it's turning out to be a pretty quick knit. Then again, I haven't gotten to the sleeves yet.



I learned to knit in high school, taught by my maternal grandmother's sister, known to us all as Kit. Years before I was in high school, Kit would keep me and my younger sister and brother occupied by handing us each a crochet hook and a "hank" of yarn as she called it, and made a contest out of who could crochet the longest chain. It kept us quiet, and I'm not sure why it doesn't work today for my two boys...

My grandmother was a crocheter, and made some lovely granny square afghans. Because of her, I've always been fond of granny squares, although I never attempted one until last Christmas, when I became aware of a group knitting and crocheting afghan squares for the residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota - one of the poorest places in the U.S. I thought I could make squares more quickly if I crocheted them instead of knitting them, plus it was fun to learn a new skill.

One twin sized afghan takes 120 6" squares - knitted or crocheted - so I decided to take Christmas break and see how many I could do. In a lot less time than it would have taken me to knit them, I finished all 120. This past June, the Ravelry group Afghan Squares for Pine Ridge held a friendly challenge between the Red Birds and the Wolves to see which group could produce more squares by midnight on July 4th. As no squares are turned away, a third team made up of friends of Ravelry members who wanted to contribute was added after the start and did quite well!

While I didn't quite make it to 120 this time before the deadline, I came close - 96 - but I should have the rest for a complete afghan done before I mail my squares to Pam in Louisiana who amazingly takes all the squares mailed to her from all over and assembles them, along with help from family and friends, into afghans.



Although the Ravelry group, and Pam's Yahoo group before that, have made thousands of squares, there is still much need on the reservation. So, this summer, if you don't feel like taking your latest big project along on vacation or to the town pool, perhaps a few afghan squares for Pine Ridge are what you're looking for!

Ravelry Group :Afghan Squares for Pine Ridge Reservation

Yahoo Group: LoveAfghans4PRR

Although I find it fun to see if I can make a full afghan's worth, any number of squares are welcome, even if all you have time for is just one.

Sister Group on Ravelry: For the Children of Pine Ridge