Shawl Growth, Nostepinnes, Borders Fun, and Trying to Understand

Shawl Report

I'm thrilled to report that the shawl for my grandmother is officially *half* knitted to completion. The knitting has gotten easier as the pattern has progressed, but I still have a couple of questions to have answered by XRX Publications pattern support.

The lavendar Misti Alpaca is absolutely lucious and a joy to knit. It is softer than you can imagine. It does shed a bit, but not any more than any long staple, very smooth and wonderful fiber. : )

Nostepinne

Also, please notice the *nostepinne* (or nostepinde) in the picture above. My kind, loving, and talented husband made this nostepinne for me on his lathe with his own hands. He's also made 2 other nostepinnes for me that are not pictured.

Nostepinnes are used for manually making center-pull balls of yarn from hanks. It is a very relaxing and quite quick activity, and I don't think I'll ever prefer a mechanical ball winder over his hand made nostepinnes.

Nostepinnes have been used for generations in Scandanavia and they traveled to the US in the 1980's with a knitting technique called twined knitting. In Scandanavia (and the US) men, young and old, carve or turn nostepinnes for their sweethearts...and to have something to do while their wives or girlfriends were off knitting.

Nope, no mechanical ball winder is in my future. I'll cherish every nostepinne that my husband creates for me. Also, I'd like to dispell the myth that a flat, cake type ball cannot be wound on a nostepinne. As you can see in the picture above, 2 hanks of Koigu have been wound into center pull cakes/balls on my nostepinne with ease. : )


Borders Fun

Last night was our weekly Thursday Sit N Stitch meeting at Borders. Our meetings are open to anyone that likes to knit, crochet, spindle, or any form of fiber craft. We have such fun stitching and chatting, comparing projects, petting yarn and fibers, and it is a great treat near the end of a busy week.

The picture of our Borders group is of just some of our members. I believe our group has grown to almost 30 members now! So, if you are in Norman, OK on a Thursday evening at 7 PM, come and join us at Borders.


Trying to Understand

This is a picture of Ellie, our senior Dachshund, and *my* sweetie. Ellie is a long-haired Dachshund, black and tan, with a small amount of dappling.

Ellie is in charge of our farm, or at least that is her impression. She keeps all the other dogs, cats, and critters of all sorts in line. : )

She is quiet, brave to a fault, very gentle and snuggly, and quite obsessed with searching for things underground. She loves to keep at least one large hole in progress at all times. And, she's very protective of her hole. She only allows the other dogs to watch from afar.

I understand that Dachshunds were bred to go after Badgers in holes beneath the ground, but we don't have any Badgers on our farm. And, we are evidently short on *holes* for her to search out...so, she makes her own.

Of all the holes that Ellie has dug over the years, she still has never found a single Badger. Yet, she continues as if she knows there is a Badger with the next paw push of dirt.

Ellie gets loads of exercise, tons of love, and has lots of animal friends. However, she remains committed to the search for her elusive Badger. As a result, during the warm and not-so-warm months, Ellie digs holes....and I fill holes. Ellie digs, I fill. Ellie digs... : )

I often wonder if the Lord looks down on me, when I get overly concerned about something, or worried and consumed with *making sure things work out* as *I* had planned....I wonder if He sees me as being obsessed with *digging holes* (figuratively speaking, of course). I pray to keep my mind clear and looking for guidance from above, so that my time is productive, that I'm keeping on track, and that I'm not just feverishly, *digging holes*.

I pray that each of you have a wonderful day, peace in your heart, and that we are each not distracted by the need to *dig holes*. : )

Your Friend,

Shelly

NLT
Hosea 6:3
Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring."