Crafting in Progress

Hi friends, I've been enjoying myself making some crafts this week.

This is a crochet scarf in shell pattern. It is made in beautiful Fall colours and has metallic thread running throughout which gives it a touch of elegance.

Click on this photo to enlarge and see the metallic thread as well as the true colour.

It isn't quite finished. I still have to weave in the end threads and then it will be done. When it is finished I will be making another scarf or a cowl/neck warmer, in shades of deep blue and green.

Two dishcloths in a traditional pattern. This is a small present for a young woman who just moved from a room, into a new apartment and is setting up house. 

My knitted square in a weave pattern. It has crocheted edges. You might remember this work from here. As you can see, I decided on a beige colour trim instead of the blue as I thought this could be used for a lap blanket  or a unisex baby blanket.

Once I finish these works and a few others, I will put them up for sale in my Etsy shop. Perhaps you would like a scarf or a hat for a Christmas gift or simply to wear for the Fall and Winter season.

All profits go to the Missions of Hope.  Potential buyer enquiries welcome.

Slippers in My World

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Yesterday I was practising knitting a sleeping sock to wear instead of slippers.  But I got frustrated. No matter what I did, I kept goofing on my rib stitch pattern. After many tries, I gave up for the time being. I need to be able to concentrate on the stitches more so will wait until I am better rested.  This photo shows my progress to a certain point n the sock, but I've since unravelled it all and will try again another day.

Today I tried a new pattern for slippers rather than socks. This one requires me to cast on stitches in the middle of a project so I had to figure out how to do that. It took me awhile to find a satisfactory method and I can now do it! Yeah! But I will have to work on the actual knitting with more care. I made a model of it just so I know how the whole thing goes together.

Next, I will now focus on making this slipper and making the purled seams properly as well as the ribbing at the toe. This is a great little slipper; a classic pattern and once I get the hang of it, I can make it in several different sizes for the Kenyan orphans with the Missions of Hope.

Blue Doily, Blue Monday & Socks

I've been making doilies this past week. I finished the second one a few days ago and I simply love the turquoise blue colour. Though this pattern is called Pineapple Blossom and pineapples are yellow/gold when ripe, I think the turquoise thread really brings out the pattern nicely. If you would like, you can see my first doily here.

Next thing I am working on is my first pair of knitted socks. It seems like a simple pattern but I've started over and over again because I'm not used to knitting a rib stitch. I'm working it in a 2x2 knit and purl rib stitch (or at least the first part of it) and I keep goofing. Unravelling the stitches and picking them up again took a little getting used to and I don't unravel all my mistakes. If I can make the first sock, the next one will be much easier. That is always how it goes for me.

I'm hoping to make some of these socks as sleeping socks (instead of slippers) for some of the orphan children near Kericho, Kenya. Many of them don't have adequate blankets and I think the socks will help to keep them warm at night, especially in their winter months.  Socks are easier to ship than afghans or quilts, especially when you want to send a lot.  If I have funds, I prefer to wire funds so that blankets and mattresses can be purchased there by the leadership.  This helps the local economy and also saves a fortune on shipping costs.

If you would like to help with these needs by sending funds or hand made goods, please let me know.  Perhaps you even have a group of women you know who would be pleased to get together to make things and raise funds to ship them to Kenya. I'd be happy to put you in touch with the leadership.

For more blue Monday, click here.

Beautiful Blue

It is amazing how many people I've found on the who love the colour blue. I happened across these people as I was browsing blogs not as a result of searching for them. It warms my heart because I too love blue and I love that I can look at what other people find in the colour blue.

This weekend was initially supposed to be a lovely, dry weekend, then Friday night I learned that it was expected to rain. It has been doing a lot of that this spring so I still don't have my garden in.  When I woke up this morning it was quite gray but progressively the sun came out and the sky turned blue and it became quite lovely.

My tentative plans to go to knitting class didn't pan out so instead I enjoyed the day lounging, grazing (eating food here and there rather than eating a meal), telephoning family and friends and answering telephone calls. Normally I do not enjoy talking on the phone. Long calls often interfere with plans to run errands or watch a favourite program. (I am a bit of a quiet freak though some of my friends likely won't believe it, lol). Don't you know it but phone calls always seem to be timed for the worst possible time when you're right in the middle of something. So thank goodness for the voice messaging service because I usually end up having to return phone calls.

Earlier in the week I had gone out to purchase potting soil for the 7 or so pots I have. This year I will plant some herbs in the containers. If I have containers left over I will plant some geraniums and pansies as well. I've always loved both types of flowers and these are usually what I plant in the containers.

I got a small start on the container gardening by putting new soil in the pots. I also potted one container of rosemary and one container of lemon balm. Here is my lemon balm in a blue ceramic pot.

I still  have much more to do in planting the containers and in putting in the garden. I hope to get a start this week if the weather will cooperate.

And guess what? Though I missed out on the knitting class, I have made arrangements for private lessons which is actually turning out to be better since it is on my own schedule, close by and also no more expensive. Even better I will have individualized attention. I learn best this way. I can't wait to get started!

To cap off my day, I'm having some wonderful Kenyan tea with fresh mint in a beautiful blue Chinese tea cup. Won't you join me in a cup?

And how did you spend your weekend?

(Click on the blue bird at the top of this entry to see other Blue Monday participants.)

Purls of Love

Children are important to God.

I love children but I've never had any of my own. I guess this means I have more love to share with children everywhere.

I always thought I'd have children but it was never the right time so it never happened. Recent events and surgeries now make it impossible from a human perspective for me to have children. For awhile it made me sad, but it didn't take too long to realize that this isn't a hardship. I can love the children that God created. There are so many that need our love and care. There are so many needy children in the world who need our love. Many of them are right here in North America, but there are also countless others across the waters, in places like India, Asia & Africa.

God has given me a burden for the children of Africa. He gave me this burden when I was a young child who had yet to see much beyond the backyard. From as long as I can remember I've had a heart for these children and I could only dream of far distant places like Africa. Back then I wanted to be a missionary and after years of the dream lying seemingly dormant, it seems God is now granting me this wish. Perhaps now it is God's timing for the vision to be fulfilled. I am ready to do as He asks.

[Children of Kericho, Kenya]

My specific leading has been a great burden to help orphans and widows in Kericho, Kenya. I'm privileged to be a part of what they are trying to do in a number of small ways, one of which I would like to tell you about now. Before I do that I want to share what a fellow blogger, Tom Davis had to share about why orphans are important to God. He puts it far better than I could ever hope to do.

1. God calls Himself the Father of the fatherless.

• Psalm 68:5, “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.”

2. God considers spiritual service the purest when His people are taking care of orphans. (and) A religion that does not care for orphans is no religion at all.

• James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”

3. God’s people are commanded to care for orphans. To see an orphan afflicted, and to turn a deaf ear, is sin, even rebellion.

• Exodus 22:22, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.”

• Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

• Isaiah 1:23, “Your rulers are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless.”

4. We can be the hands and love of Christ Himself by providing practical care.

• Deuteronomy 10:18, “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.”

• Psalm 10:14, “But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

• Matthew 18:5, “Whoever receives a child in My name, receives Me.”

• Matthew 25: 45, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me.”

5. Orphans are to be taken care of with the same honor and provision as a Pastor or Priest.

• Deuteronomy 14:28-30, “The Levite (priest), because he has not portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”

6. A portion of all that we possess is sacred and belongs to the orphan.

• Deuteronomy 26:12-14, “You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.”

One of my contributions, is to try to raise awareness of the work and the needs in the village. Consequently, I have developed a modest web site and a weblog for the work of Missions of Hope. See the website here and the weblog here

Pastor Jonah of Kericho provides the photos and updates and I do the design, editing and uploading. We would love to have you visit the Missions of Hope and see how you might also be inspired to help. Now let me tell you about an exciting small project I've begun to help the villagers. It is so delightful how this project came together.

It is a small knitting project to make sweaters, hats and scarves for the orphan children & small village of Kericho, Kenya. The children own very little in the way of clothing and bedding. Often they must sleep on the hard floor with no covers. I thought how wonderful if we could provide a small comfort to them to keep them warm and let them know that someone cares.

The other day I put the idea to a friend of mine in Missouri if she would be interested in making some hand knit sweaters for the children. She said "yes"! I offered to purchase some yarn for her and to send what I could by mail. The very next day (yesterday) I found a wonderful bargain on wool so I snapped up a number of skeins.

Here are some lovely pastel colours

Here are some lovely black and gray shades

Here are the ever faithful natural colours

And here are some white skeins for accent pieces.

I am so pleased with what I found. In Kenya in the village, it is best to have darker or neutral colours that won't show dirt so quickly so these colours are just right. I also have some baby blues, pinks and yellows to begin crocheting some small blankets.

Maybe you have some talents and skills you could share with the children and women? Things like quilt making or making small clothes for the children. Perhaps you would like to donate Bibles, or books, or perhaps you are travelling to Kenya and want to donate something directly? If you are feeling inspired or motivated, please let me know.

In closing friends, let me say that I won't be posting for awhile now as I will be travelling and won't have that much time to access the computer. In the meantime, I pray you will pray and consider if you can help. Please drop me a comment or an email if you want to help out and let me know where I can reach you back!

Take care now til we meet again dear reader. Big hugs