Reflections over Knitting

Why is it that I knit? That's a good question, really. Is it because making things are cheaper than buying them? Nope, not with the kind of yarn I use! Is it because I like giving and having things that I made with my very own hands? Partly, but if that was it then I would finish more projects in a more efficient manner! Is it because I think it's cute and trendy to knit? Well yes, that's how I got started... (although, I get a lot of "isn't that what little old grandmas do?" from people so it might not be quite as trendy as I think it is). Is it a good reflective and therapeutic activity?? I think that is one of the biggest reasons why I knit - along with just loving the feel and colors of fibers. They excite me. I love the stitches too. Simple stockinette, supple moss stitch, wandering lace and overlapping cables. So many ways to be creative!!!
Alright, so onto the details of the real reason why I knit - it's a good "deep thinking" and/or "conversational" kind of activity - same as throwing pottery, but with less expensive equipment. Driving kinda does it for me too. And editing pictures. So when you see one of my knitted projects, or pieces of pottery, or a picture that I took in a near or distant land... you can trust that many thoughts, reflections and/or conversations went into that piece. Every stitch, every finger ridge, every pixel contains a precious little bit of my mind and heart and soul. This is what makes it the most worthwhile.
So yesterday, I took a drive. It was a short one, but substantial nonetheless - with a continuation of thoughts from my drive to and from Montana. On my trip, God revealed to me a lot of things about how hard I work to sustain my own comfort level - only compromising it for my own recreational purposes or if it is "convenient" to do so for the purposes of comforting others. I slept in the snowy forest for "fun", then spent the night in a motel, and then drove all the way home a day early all so that I could spend the last night of my three day weekend in my own warm comfy bed. On my drive yesterday I got to thinking about all that and if I will ever put action behind what God revealed to me. So many of us just say, "Well, it's the thought that counts"... especially when it comes to gift-giving. Also goes the saying... "God knows our hearts" and there is an extreme amount of truth to that. So where's the bridge between what's on our minds and hearts and translating that into action that matters? So many of my prayers these days have to do with how and why I love people - is it for my glory or God's glory? What would happen if all the incentives for loving others were suddenly removed, would I/could I still love?
At some point, I think we can all have faith to really know that He accomplished through His Blood what mere following of rules, regulations and sacrifices could not do - Cleansed our consciences and our hearts so that He can write His perfect will, imbed it, into the very fiber of our being (Hebrews 10) just as clearly as He has engraved us on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). Christ's extravagant love for us inspires our extravagant obedience in response as we encounter circumstances that literally cause our head knowlegde of God to work it's way down into our hearts. We display the glory of God best when we realize our identity in Him and embrace His word (Psalm 19).
Many times, I believe our follow through takes His Perfect Timing too. There has been a certain spot up near Green Bluff, just west of the traffic circle on Day-Mt Spokane Road. The rolling hills dive into this winding irrigation ditch - very beautiful when the light hits it just right. Every time I drive by I think about how much I want to take a picture of it, but every time I'm either too busy, or it's too dark, or too overcast and it doesn't look pretty enough for me to take a picture. There have even been times where I set out to take pictures up there, but I went somewhere else instead. So yesterday I finally did it. I was driving by and almost just went on my way, but I stopped. The sunlight was gorgeous. Partly cloudy and the soft sunlight hitting the hills just right. What a beautiful piece of God's redemption for my delay in taking that picture. 
I also went to Starbucks to sit and knit. I wanted to go to Rocket, but they were crowded. Starbucks was fine. I started a scarf with yarn that I've started to knit a scarf with several times.... only to take it out and roll it back up again. I put many thoughts into the cable pattern I was knitting while I was there, related to what I've written about in this post, wondering if this was really the time for this yarn to become a scarf. At the end of my time there at Starbucks, I quickly unraveled the scarf, rolled it back up into a ball and went home.
Do those thoughts count??

My Epic Mountainous Christmas Adventure.... and it's only day #2

Merry Christmas Eve!!!


"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." {Luke 2:4-7}

There is just something utterly romantic about being a lone traveler over Christmas. No, I'm not talking about traveling to see family, while that is always nice. But something a little more uncommon. The thought that it is "ok" to spend a Christmas alone is a very curious thought to almost everyone. It was certainly for me. My parents were talking about going to New York City for Christmas, but I had already planned my trip for New York in October and did not have any more vacay time at work. It wasn't until early November that I started thinking about what I was going to do for 3 glorious days on my own while everyone else had their own festivities to attend.... why not another mountain adventure?? Of course with this white slippery stuff called snow and below freezing temps, might be a teensy bit more difficult. Alas, I could not think of a better way to spend Christmas than to get away from all the distractions and materialism of the holiday season and subject myself to bitter cold temps and spectacular mountain views of the Bitterroot Mountains in Montana. Someplace I had heard a lot about from my grandmother, but never gone before.

So. Here I am. I left after I got off work yesterday. I took the long way to get here - down Highway 95 to Lewiston then through the gorgeous Clearwater National Forest on Highway 12. I spent the night parked at a trailhead in the forest - I flattened down the backseat of my Chevy Malibu Maxx, blew up an air mattress and bundled myself and my little dog up in two sleeping bags. Yep. It was a tad chilly to say the least. My little dog helped keep me warm and vice versa. I woke up in the morning and did not want to leave my sleeping bag, neither did my little dog. Finally got it together to get going about 8:30ish. My phone was literally too frozen to take a charge. Drove the rest of the way through the forest and stopped at Lochsa Lodge to use their restroom, change and got a cup of coffee. I then continued over Lolo Pass and into the Bitterroot Valley. 

After exploring the Valley a bit, the mountains started calling my name so I started up this small country road... that turned into a mountain road... and I just went up and up and up and up until I noticed that my car was slipping around a little too much on the ice, so I decided to turn around. Big mistake. The place I choose to turn around was perhaps the most precarious place to do so. I would have to make a several point turn with one side being an almost vertical mountainside and the other side being an almost vertical dropoff. I found myself high centered on the snowbank, half my car on the road, the other half in the ditch and it wasn't going anywhere. To "gun it" would have sent me flying off the side of the mountain. eeek! I tried pushing my car and even digging it out with nifty little shovel/pick axe that just happens to be in my car. After talking with daddy.... I called for a tow and then took pictures just as the sun broke through the clouds across the valley. 

After getting off the mountain, I explored a bit more, then settled into this cute little motel room where I am just chillin' and knittin' ... and bloggin' :)

This is the mountain I got stuck on:

And here is a cute little holiday tune about another Christmas traveler:

:)

Randomness.... with pictures

This is what my life has been lately. Between work, church, Bible Study, random trips, random time with friends, random adventures, a lot of coffee, aaaaand just a little bit of random down times where I can knit, I have a few pictures to show for it all.

At the beginning of last month, November - yes, it has been that long, o my gosh - I went on a short little trip to the Oregon Coast. Went with a couple girlfriends and we had a blast fellowshipping, drinking coffee, frolicking on the beach, and even did a little yarnshopping! We went to this little shop in Cannon Beach, Coastal yarns where I bought some yarn and so did one of my friends. Then I taught her how to knit with it over coffee. Very fun time!!
So in case you were wondering, I bought some gorgeously red hand-dyed merino yarn - Madelinetosh Tosh Merino in "tart". It's pretty awesome. My friend bought three skeins of some kind of silk/alpaca yarn in very Autumnal colors - yellow, orange and white to make a striped scarf. Sorry, don't have have the exact deets on the yarn. But it's all very pretty and I got pictures!

Did I mention we had fun at the beach?? :)

I also had a birthday where my mom got me cubbies for my yarn! They are set up, but no organization has taken place yet...

Other than that, I have been wishing for snow and going on adventures looking for snow with varying success. 

Cataldo Mission in North Idaho

Lake Cocolalla in North Idaho, covered in snow and ice

I do have a few knitting projects in progress ~ one is a very cute dishcloth that I do not have a picture of. The other two, I'm a little too lazy right now to get out my real camera to take a picture, but I have an I-pod picture to share! I'm knitting a striped garter stitch scarf with the yarn I got in New York and some lace fingerless hand warmers with some alpaca I bought at Alpaca Direct in Hayden, ID - the pattern is Monkey Fingerless Mitts, a free pattern on Ravelry.

One more random thing - I'm going on a mountain adventure for Christmas!! My family has left for New York and will be gone this whole week, so I thought I'd take my three day weekend and go do something fun. I will be going to explore the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho and Bitterroot Valley in Montana and hoping I do not freeze to death!! I fully believe that knitting and the body heat of my little dog will keep this from happening!