It's A.......

The project is in the hands of its new owner so I can post pictures but first I have to say a HUGE Thank You to Deb - LosetheMittens on Ravelry. A couple weeks ago Deb was in town for a class and as it happened my Ravelry knitting group was meeting the one night she had available. I drove past downtown on the way to the group and picked up Deb. We had a quick supper at Culver's cause there aren't any where she's from and everyone has to try Culver's at least once. Then - on to the knitting group. We had a great time. I got her home.

This week I got a surprise in the mail. Deb sent it a new book. I absolutely love reading topical books - knitting mysteries; quilt series; etc. This book is "The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club" by Gil McNeil. It's a novel about a lady who is newly widowed and in need of a fresh start. I know I'm going to enjoy it and THANK YOU DEB!!!

It's a....... Afghan

I hang out on the She-Knits Podcast group on Ravelry a lot. Sharon started her podcast a while ago to create a cyber-knitting circle. When Ravelry came along she started a group where we have small talk everyday and -well- we are a chatty group. Over the past year I've come to know several of the ladies and had a chance to meet some, including Sharon, in person. We all care about each other as much as we would if we lived in the same town. When all this latest financial garbage hit Sharon's family I decided she needed a hug from the group. I send messages to several of the ladies and asked for 8" squares out of a cotton blend (wool itches her).

Within a short time I was receiving mail from all over the country as well as Germany, Japan and Puerto Rico. Chief helped sort the mail and he thoroughly enjoyed checking out the packages with plastic or tape.

Num, num num. I can't get enough plastic to chew - This is good stuff. - Chief

Once all the squares arrived, I crocheted around each one to give them a border and make it easier to stitch together. Lorri (LJWT on Ravelry) came over one Sunday afternoon and helped decide where the afghans should be and helped stitch it together.

All the squares have special meaning to the maker - there's a tree of life with 9 leaves- 2 for Sharon and her husband and 7 for their kids. There's a square on the top using the design of one of her bag patterns. There's one with 9 hearts for her family. I made her She-Knits logo.

There's a Queen Owl square because through some silliness on the forum Sharon became our Queen Owl. There's a fish because Sharon tells everyone to -keep on swimming.
Each square - a special meaning.

We needed one more square so Chief got in the act and knit his own square to add to the afghan.

Sharon opened the package Thursday. Part of the instructions were to turn on her podcast equipment before opening the box. If you want to hear her reaction you can listen.

It's amazing how connected we can be to people we don't even know in person. The Internet has created a new version of pen pals. What great is- I get a chance to meet some of these pen pals in person. Stitches Midwest I met some and I'll be seeing them again this year. I'll see Sharon again. In the meantime - she has a hug from the whole group.

Naptime

The boys have started taking naps together again. This spot is Chief's napping place. I guess Bert decided it was pretty comfortable and Chief is such a loving boy he'll snuggle with anyone.

He'll even give Bert a good bath in the morning. Bert is such a baby!