The Wrapping

  You saw the afghan. You saw the poem I wrote for the card. Now you get to see the wrapping. I don't pretend to sophistication, but when it comes to practicality, I have an edge. Paper wrapping is pretty, but it ends up in the trash. And when wrapping something soft like an afghan, it requires a box besides. Why not wrap gifts with something useful?

A simple draw string bag can be used to store the afghan, sheets, or linens for years. I made this one out of the lining from a cast off set of drapes. A more elegant fabric and a better seamstress could make something much classier and still very useful.

For the present I didn't draw the string, but folded and pinned it.

I added some yarn and a felt flower. When I have one available, a reusable brooch is nice for adorning this type of package.

                                          Even if it wrinkles, it won't tear!

No losing the card to this gift! The envelope is pinned on under the flower.

A Wedding Poem

Composed for use in wedding cards. Feel free to adapt it for your own use.

From this day we walk together;

   We have made a solemn pact.

Be it sweet or stormy weather,

   It’s a step we can’t retract.

You’re the one that I am choosing;

   We will share life’s changing ways;

Every other love refusing,

   Through the journey of our days.

Starting with a Purl Row

   My instructions for bags knitted in the round usually begin with this line: Starting with a purl row . . . There is a reason for this. When you use the long tail cast on (the only pleasant cast on), the stitches in the first row you work have a tight twist at the base that resembles a purl stitch. This is often on the front of the work. It makes a neat edge, and it looks very nice as the edge of a ribbing for a sweater. However, when you are working in the round, it is a little more difficult to pick up stitches in this twist. The other side of the cast on stitch has a loose horizontal piece at the base which is easier to see, easier to count, and easier to get your needle into. If you start with a purl row, then when it is time to pick up the stitches around your bottom piece, this handy yarn will be there waiting for you on the knit side of your work.

See the nice diagonal yarn at the bottom of each stitch?

Picking up stitches on this side of the cast on is a breeze.

Only a line of twisted stitches shows
where you cast on and picked up.

After felting you see no indication at all of where the stitches are picked up,

and it is very difficult to tell the front from the back. 

One Square Mile

   Around the block out here on the prairie is a four mile trek. It took me almost a year to venture so far on foot. The varied scenery which extends far beyond a square mile is well worth the walk. My photography skills are nowhere equal to the beauty of it, but here are a few glimpses. This morning I went first west then north, east, south, then west again. The pictures are in order, but I didn't always point the camera the direction I was walking.

Starting down the driveway, going north:

Looking behind me at the sunrise:

Hoff Lutheran in Heimdal, a little town just to my north.

Almost home.
Our house is nestled in the trees on the left.

God's Choice

An old, broken vessel that no one can use

Is just such an instrument God says He’ll choose.

The weak and the foolish, cast off by the wise,

Are valued by God and esteemed in His eyes.

The standard by which He appraises our worth

Is not the one used by the men of the earth.

It’s not that He’s willing to take second best:

He really prefers what the worldly detest.

He chooses the poor and the crippled and blind,

Ignoring the glory of proud humankind,

The legs of a man and the strength of a horse,

And all the idolatry man may endorse.

In these the Creator takes no real delight,

For faith is the thing which is great in His sight,

And those who will fear Him and hope in His grace,

Regardless of what their condition or place,

Are pleasing to Him — and to them He is nigh.

He reckons them righteous and hears when they cry.

1 Corinthians 1, Psalm 147, Psalm 34

The Narrow Way

The way indeed is narrow;

   The entrance to it strait.

Don’t think with wicked baggage

   To enter at the gate.

The heart of Christ our Savior

   Is big enough for all,

But He reserves the pathway

   For those who heed His call.

His call is self-denial;

   Repentance is His cry.

Before the promised comfort,

   He says that we must die.

No more allowed to wander,

   Like sheep who’ve gone astray,

He calls us to surrender,

   And walk the narrow way.

There is a way that’s broader,

   That doesn’t cramp your style,

And doesn’t make much difference

   ‘Tween holy things and vile;

And lots of people take it,

   Who do just as they please,

Without a thought or worry

   Of God and His decrees.

All kinds of speech and music

   Are welcome on that road —

And every fad and fashion,

   However base the mode.

Some travellers there are trying

   To make themselves look good,

But none of them has power

   To live the way they should.

Some folks there speak of Jesus,

   And even call Him “Lord,”

But when they stand before Him,

   Expecting a reward,

He’ll tell them they are sinners

   Whom He has never known,

And into outer darkness

   In anguish they’ll be thrown.

The narrow way is better,

   Where sins are left behind —

With all the forms and theories

   That please the carnal mind.

By leading of the Spirit,

   Our carnal notions cease;

And trusting in our Savior,

   We find all joy and peace.

Nita Brainard,  Harvey, ND, July 3, 2012

Quick Afghan

   I needed a wedding present, so I chose a pattern for an afghan I thought would knit up quickly. I was right. I made this in less than a week.

   The pattern I chose was Lion Brand's Plush Throw, using Jiffy yarn, but I changed it slightly, using larger needles and adding embellishment. My version is:

Size:
40" x 50"

Materials:
5 balls each two colors of Jiffy yarn (I used Dove and Oat.)
size 13 circular needles
size 8 needles for embellishments

Holding two strands of yarn together, one of each color, cast on 84 stitches, using size 13 needles.
Knit 6 rows garter stitch. (Knit every row.)
Row 7: K across all stitches.
Row 8: K4, purl to within 4 of end; K4.
Repeat rows 7 & 8 until piece measures 48", ending with a right side row.
Knit 5 rows garter stitch.
Bind off on right side.

Finishing:
Weave in yarn ends.
Using one strand of yarn and size 8 needles, make  Nita's Flower, using one color for the center and the other for the petals of your flower. 
Make leaf on size 8 needles.


Leaf:
Cast on 5.
Row 1: K2 YO K1 YO K2
Row 2 and all wrong side rows: Purl
Row 3: K3 YO K1 YO K3
Row 5: K4 YO K! YO K4
Row 7: K5 YO K1 YO K5 (13 stitches)
Rows 9, 11, 13, & 15: K1 SSK, K to within 3 stitches of end, K2tog, K (5 stitches)
Row 17: K1 Sl1, K2tog, PSSO, K1
Row 19:  Sl1, K2tog, PSSO. Cut yarn, pull through last stitch.


Sew flower and leaf to lower right corner of afghan.


This afghan is available for sale on a make-to-order basis.