Knitting & Purling

Back in November, I corralled a bunch of my local friends to come and choose fabulous hand knits for their very own. After a few years of knitting my way through my mother's unfinished projects and vast stash of yarn, I was finally ready to release these gifts into the universe so others could share in the bounty. I also reserved a few choice knits for family members and mailed off some pieces to old family friends. All told, I had completed well more than two dozen hats and two dozen scarves. (Read more about this in The Finisher .) I donated scads more hats and scarves to Ithaca charities, along with several throws to the Cancer Resource Center. Among friends, I asked only for a picture of themselves each wearing their choices.  Not everyone sent in pictures, but I amassed quite a few! Doesn't everyone look wonderful?! My mom's love and care has rippled out beyond her imagining. Wondering what's next on the agenda? Here's my current, still large,...

Treasured stitches: I have finished some four dozen hats and scarves, along with several sweaters, completing half-done projects and knitting up a vast stash of high quality yarns and fibers. One day a few months after our mother passed away, my sister and I loaded up my car with a bounty of my mother's uncompleted knitting projects and her abundant stash of luxury fibers. "It's your inheritance!" my sister joked, though we were both heartbroken. She is not a knitter—not yet anyway. I'm the one with the knitting gene, and my Mom always called me "the finisher." Here is a fraction of my Mom's projects and  yarn stash — all of which I brought home. Back home, I unpacked and took a long look at my new UFO's (unfinished objects). The dozens of half-finished and nearly done scarves, hats, and sweaters filling my living room were all gorgeous, all made with quality yarn, and all just a bit overwhelming. "What on earth ...