Angel's birthday

Yesterday was Angel's birthday.  She's nine years old now.  I can hardly believe it.  They grow so quickly....

It was a fun day.  She went to breakfast with Daddy, and he gave her a pair of beautiful Black Hills Gold earrings.  Then we all went to Chuck E Cheese's for lunch, and had a lot of fun.  I gave Angel the shawl I made while we were on vacation, and a little wooden box for her knitting tools, and a bunch of stitch markers and such to keep in it.  Princess gave her a t-shirt from Mount Rushmore, and Kitty gave her a really pretty necklace from the thrift shop.  Angel helped make the cupcakes, and iced them herself.  So all in all, it was a good birthday.

I did a bunch of yardwork yesterday afternoon, and my muscles are still protesting today.  Now that we know we're not moving to Florida, we're going to fix up our yard and make it nicer.  We're going to trim trees, and sod the front yard, and mulch the shady area in the backyard, and create a stepping-stone path in the side yard, and plant shade-loving perennials in the stupid planting beds that are too close to the house to get enough sun for most plants, and build a little storage shed for the rakes and shovels and such.  And when I say "we" I mean mostly "I".  Which is just fine with me.  I like building stuff.  Other yardwork, not so much, but it's worth the effort, now that the weather is cool enough to do it.  The forcasted high for today is less than 80 degrees.  I love it.  It's sunny, but breezy and cool.  Fall is here!

Because I just don't have enough projects on my needles...

And because I got a swap package yesterday.....
This is the beginning of a laceweight cowl. I'm using the basic stitch pattern from "The Waltz" scarf, since I enjoyed making that scarf so much. The yarn is Cascade Alpaca Lace, colorway "Red", although it's actually more of a tonal burgundy. It's lovely yarn, and I just had to start knitting with it right away. I also got some of the new Knit Picks Capra (merino/cashmere) in the swap package, so I'm trying to decide what I want to make with it too. My friend Dawn really spoiled me!

Knitting up a storm...

Okay, I've finally got time to blog about my recent knitting projects! While on vacation I completed this baby blanket:

Here's a closeup of the lace pattern. I showed the blanket to my sister, asking whether she liked it, and her baby Evellyn grabbed it and claimed it as her own before Sara could say a word! I hadn't been able to decide on a name for this pattern before then, so its name is Evellyn Anne, after my little niece.
And here is Angel, modeling a shawl I made on vacation. She doesn't yet know that it's for her. I'm giving it to her for her birthday on Monday. She'll be nine years old.

And since we got home from vacation, I made these mitts! These are the samples I'll be sending to Knit Picks, as soon as I get some good pictures of them on someone's arms. The blue ones fit me, but I won't be modeling them because I have no fingernails right now(thanks to my nervousness over flying). I think I'll ask my neighbor to model them. Angel will model the red ones, once I get a chance to paint her nails.

And here is the beginning of my new Upstream scarf. The picture was taken a couple days ago. I've completed five repeats of the cable pattern now. The photo doesn't do the colors justice. There's much more variation in the blues, and a hint of green; it's a gorgeous colorway. This is also a sample for Knit Picks. I am very excited about the prospect of having two more patterns published.

Would I have believed? Would you?

Warning: religious/spiritual content ahead. Haha. More like rambling.

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This is just something I've been thinking of this week. I was watching a movie with my dad while on vacation, and wondered if I had been alive at that time in history, would I have followed?

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Imagine with me, if you will...you have grown up in a very religious culture, essentially a theocracy. You have heard about God all your life, and have gone to religious services since you were an infant. You are a good person. You know what you believe. You obey all the laws, even the ones you might think are a bit ridiculous. Because of this, and because of how you were raised, you believe your place in Heaven is assured.

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And along comes a man, a heretic, who turns all that on its head. He is a common laborer, not any more educated than you are...not technically a teacher or minister, but he preaches. And what he preaches goes directly against what you've always believed. He says that being a "good person" isn't enough; you have to be perfect. And since you can't possibly be perfect, you can't get to Heaven. He tells you that God, whom you have always believed in as the Almighty Creator, loves you passionately, a radical idea in and of itself. And so God, who loves you, has come up with a plan to get you there. This man claims that he was sent by God, to take your place; he will die, so that the penalty for your misdeeds is paid, and all you have to do is trust him. Follow him. Learn from him. Oh, and by the way, he tells you...God is his father.

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What would you think? How would you respond? Would you follow him? Or would you tell him he was crazy? Would you say that he ought to be locked up for his insanity?

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The thing is, I'm not sure how I would have responded if I had lived at the time of Christ, and had been face-to-face with Him. Having been born in 1980, and raised by wonderful Christian parents, I put my trust in Christ on February 4, 1988. I tried to run from Him as a teenager, but came to my senses and came running back. I have seen Him working in my life, and the lives of people around me. I love and trust Him more than anyone. He is my everything, even ahead of my husband.

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But still, I wonder, when face-to-face with Him, whether I would have fallen to my knees and wholeheartedly pledged my life to Him as I did when I was seven, or whether I would have shaken my head in disgust, and walked away. Because if someone did that today, I'd do the latter. I am no fool.....but I am willing to look foolish because of my faith in Jesus Christ. He loved me while I was still a sinner. He was willing to give up His life to redeem me. I still try to be a "good person", but not to earn my way to Heaven...instead, to bring Him glory because He loves me even though I am not perfect.

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Perhaps He knew I wouldn't have believed if I had been alive at that time, and that's why I was not. Or maybe I'm just being too introspective for my own good.

Still here!

I haven't been able to post anything for a few weeks, because we've been on vacation. We were visiting family, and using my father-in-law's computer. I have my computer set up to remember my passwords, so I can forget them. Which means, I wasn't able to login to my account until now, as I'm using my own computer. We're still on vacation, so I won't post much right now. But I'm very excited, because I'll have yarn waiting when I get home, for me to make samples of my "Girl's Best Friend" mitts, and my "Upstream" scarf for Knit Picks! They like both designs, and I'm thrilled about the prospect of getting them published! I'll post more once we're home, I promise. ☺