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February 13, 2006
blending yarns, a pouch for a penny whistle and remembering two friends
Feb 12, 2006
A pouch for a wooden penny whistle,
blending yarns,
remembering 2 friends
A pouch for a wooden penny whistle,
blending yarns,
remembering 2 friends
by Noreen
Crone-Findlay (c)
www.crone-findlay.com
Sometimes,
things happen
that make us stop
and
embrace
the blessings of our lives.
Last weekend,
we were shocked to learn
that one of our friends had passed away in her sleep.
It happened out of the blue,
and her family and friends are struggling to accept her death.
Yesterday,
at her funeral,
a young man played a wooden flute beautifully.
I felt our friend's presence so deeply
that it felt like a loving embrace
and one of her huge delight filled grins.
She and I used to have conversations about
art and life and children and and and
that would get us so inspired that we would
literally jump up and down,
like wild things,
shrieking
'Y E S! YES! YES!!!!!!!'
and I felt her
YES!
in the breath of the flute.
It reminded me that I haven't been making music lately,
and
that I need to take the time to make music
and to say
~yes~
So,
today,
I got out my wooden pennywhistle
and I played
for her
and her children
and her little daughter who went to heaven a decade ago
and for
'Yes'
yes
yes................
I had been planning on writing a blog entry
about blending yarns to make your own designer yarn,
and I decided that the project that I was working on
needed to become a
pouch for my wooden pennywhistle
www.crone-findlay.com
Sometimes,
things happen
that make us stop
and
embrace
the blessings of our lives.
Last weekend,
we were shocked to learn
that one of our friends had passed away in her sleep.
It happened out of the blue,
and her family and friends are struggling to accept her death.
Yesterday,
at her funeral,
a young man played a wooden flute beautifully.
I felt our friend's presence so deeply
that it felt like a loving embrace
and one of her huge delight filled grins.
She and I used to have conversations about
art and life and children and and and
that would get us so inspired that we would
literally jump up and down,
like wild things,
shrieking
'Y E S! YES! YES!!!!!!!'
and I felt her
YES!
in the breath of the flute.
It reminded me that I haven't been making music lately,
and
that I need to take the time to make music
and to say
~yes~
So,
today,
I got out my wooden pennywhistle
and I played
for her
and her children
and her little daughter who went to heaven a decade ago
and for
'Yes'
yes
yes................
I had been planning on writing a blog entry
about blending yarns to make your own designer yarn,
and I decided that the project that I was working on
needed to become a
pouch for my wooden pennywhistle
First, a note about blending yarns
to create your own unique designer yarns.
I love putting together yarns to make them richer and
more visually intriguing.
For instance, if you take a strand of
Lion Brand 'Big' in Panoramic Pink, and add a strand of
Lion Brand Stripes in Bright Spring Pattern and a strand of LB's Microspun in Lime,
you end up with a very neat
'designer' yarn.
You might even want to add a strand of Fun Fur
for even more texture.
I really like adding LB's 'Stripes' sock yarn to other yarns, as
it gives a wonderful, subtle color shift that takes your project to
another level.
Try it! It's very neat!
The thing is, when working with a super thick yarn like 'Big'
you do need a very large spool knitter.
To make the pouch for my penny whistle,
I used one of the Mighty Mamma Spool knitters
that my husband, Jim, and I make.
I worked all 7 pegs in the round until the cord was slightly longer
than my penny whistle.
Then, I cast off 3 pegs and worked back and forth on 4 pegs until I had a
flat piece that looked good for the flap.
I took off those 4 stitches with a darning needle, pulled them up to gather them,
and the flap was done.
I sewed on a large round bead for the closure.
I pressed it and sewed the lower edge shut.
I knew that I wasn't done.
I needed to make 2 tiny butterflies for it.
When my friend's little daughter died,
we folded many origami butterflies,
and glued them to sticks to make puppets to give to everyone.
(She was very young, but she was a gifted puppeteer.
I am a professional puppeteer,
and she was one of my most treasured and astute apprentices.
I still miss her.)
And this was printed in the program at her funeral:
'When we have done all the work we were sent here to do,
we are allowed to shed our body-
which imprisons our soul like a cocoon encloses the future butterfly;
and when the time is right we can let go of it and we will be free of pain,
free of fears and worries- free as a very beautiful butterfly, returning home to God
which is a place where we are never alone.
A place where we continue to sing and dance, where we are with those
we loved (who shed their cocoons earlier) and where we are surrounded with more
love than you can ever imagine."
And yesterday, it was once again,
printed
but this time, in her mother,
our friend's program.......
So,
I knew that I needed to make 2 little butterflies
for this 'cocoon' for my penny whistle:
for them..........
so, when I play my penny whistle
I will remember
to cherish
every
moment......
to
celebrate
and to remember that
really
the most important thing
is
very simple
............
You know what it is..........
so,
take this hug
and pass it on....
and sing and dance a little
and remember the butterflies!
And celebrate your family, and your friends.
and.........
try something different
....... even if it's just using yarn in a new way.......
hugs all round
Noreen
www.crone-findlay.com
