We can do this,Yes we can!

When you enter QTQ (Quackertown Quilts) in Friendswood,Texas, you expect a fire a’blazing and the smell of cookies baking in the oven.  It is a friendly, cozy kind of place, with plenty for your eyes to feast upon.  There is just the right amount of busyness going on to draw you into every corner of the store.  We knitters/crocheters/crafters occupy one of those corners on Wednesday morning.  We are a laughing-out-loud bunch, with much to share with each other each week.  The one feeling that prevails throughout is, that you can do anything you set your mind to with a little help from friends.  Many projects get inspired, fixed, or started in our corner.  I have dyed yarn on an antique table with Kool-aid in that corner.  Some of our knitted bears for the Mother Bear Project have received needed faces in that corner.              

  One week not too long ago, Kathy came in as a newbie with yarn and hook in hand.  She was hot to learn crochet….and did….and with two stitches learned, was sent off to practice.  This week she finished a blue cotton towel in that corner, to cheers all around. Please, Kathy, tell us you are using it RIGHT now!  It was Janet the Weaver in that corner, who amazed us with the fact that by using a product called, Vintage Textile Soak by The Star Spangled Sampler & Co., she removed some ugly brown spots (baby formula?) from an antique woven wool baby blanket.  It also restored its snowy white color….wow, that stuff is great.  She is also headed to Chicago this week for a taping of the Oprah Show…..have a blast, Janet!

Every once in a while The Staff pulls up a chair and sits awhile, and that happened this week when Vickie took her break with us and learned how to do short rows.  A cresent-shaped purse was being born right before our very eyes!  We might get a visit from Sally-the-president-of-product, or Winona-the-wizard-of-events, or even Pat-the-Great, who allows all this ruckus to be going on in her store.  It is always great to have more to laugh with, but this week sad news came to us from Debbie-the-diva-display-genius.  Her 26 year old daughter and son-in-law are dealing with the discovery of breast cancer in her daughter.  All prayers and good wishes are needed for this young couple.  We can do that, Yes we can!!

Louise, Ann,and Marianne were busy with baby hats and wee  blankets, some to keep and most to give to groups needing such items.  Most of the ladies are involved in some kind of giving.  It is the best way to keep your hands busy and out of other mischief.  If you need help finding a cause, pick up the “Knitting for Peace“ book by Betty Christiansen,(it’s where we found the Mother Bear Project).  It is a great read, as well as being full of wonderful and easy patterns. 

*** DISHRAG TAG UPDATE ***

As of today, my team, the Cotton Commandoes are only two dishrags and two states away from our goal of returning the BOX to Emily in Alabama.  You never saw such buzzing going on at the   Yarnmiracle.com website, home of the Dishrag Tag.  Several teams are already at the finish line and NO one wants this thing to end.  Already team members are wanting to sign up for Dishrag Tag #2, which doesn’t exist, yet.  It has been two months of solid fun and forming new frienships.  We have had to plot and plan and replan.  Our team decided to do a reverse swap, knitting dishrags for the person who knit us one for the TAG.  Only this time a bit slower, AND with goodies that don’t have to be a shipping weight concern….like a large bag of peanut M&Ms might be……m-m-m-M&Ms………………..Well, stay tuned,  I am the last one on the list to send the BOX on my team and I am certain that it will be this week.  Butterflies in the stomach just think’in about it!   I’m off to warm up those  #8s…

Dishrag Tag Shocks & Awes Kemah Boardwalk

Being a team member of the Cotton Commandoes for Dishrag Tag has been a learning and fun experience.  Emily at YarnMiracle. com started this race on August 1st, and it has evolved into a much talked about and blogged about adventure.  We thought we were racing against time in the form of just how fast one can REALLY knit a dishrag and get it to the USPS.  We were wrong.  It has turned out to be a test of patience, a waiting game in this relay race ,if you will.  Waiting, and waiting, and waiting,…sigh..and waiting for the box to arrive at its destination in one piece.  So, while all this waiting is happening, other contests for TAG have been on the minds of all the teams.  One such contest is the Knitting-IN-Public picture to be e-mailed back to Emily for consideration.  I was really up for doing this one and came up with a partial plan.  The theme after all was built into our team name.  Dress in camo, sit or stand and knit.  But it had to be different, interesting or unusual…that was the kicker.  My DD and I hit the Boardwalk in search of the SPOT and then, THERE IT WAS!

With no particular pose in mind, I just thought COMMANDO, and sat down at the caricature booth to have a colored drawing done.  The artist was really excited to be a part of this TAG, and spent extra time on the drawing.  We drew quite a crowd of on-lookers near the end of the piece, pointing and smiling……haven’t they ever seen a silver haired lady, dressed in full camo, sporting a skein of green in her side pocket with knitting on needles, yarn in teeth, wearing a fierce face ever before??!!  It must have been a sight and oh what fun I had that night…..well, see for yourself.

Origin of the title

It happened at Quakertown Quilts.  It was an unusual day anyway, because I decided to put my hair up….I never do that!  Out the door I went to browse, touch, and explore fabric.  I came across a small yarn section in the store, and after some conversation with staff, offered to make knitted samples.  A snowball of events transpired, which included teaching the staff to knit, meeting yarn reps, planning projects for display to coordinate with store events, and so much more.  A knit group was formed on Wednesdays, and here we all are in this sewing environment, with many beginning knitters. This title is a tribute to the hard work and support of the quilting staff , who gave it their all to learn how to knit. And sew, knit begins. 

This blog is about all the learning that has gone on in the last year, and all that is to come.  A testiment is this very blog.  Who would have imagined it….not I.