The Traveler Retires

The CraftyTraveler has officially retired! We have unpacked...our luggage is stored...we've settled in! And while I absolutely loved the years of traveling around with hubby from state to state...and place to place...it feels sooooooooo good to be still! It took several months for us to decide where we should be...job-wise...retirement-wise...but our daughter, family, and grandchildren are here in Ohio...and this is where we settled in.

I felt the need to retire the craftytraveler blog, as stories of traveling to the grocery each week does not hold much excitement. However, knitting and needlework always holds excitement...a finished project...new yarn...new patterns...hence, a new blog, The Crafty Needle! We may have occasional travels coming up, but there's no place like home!!

And speaking of home, one of the things I missed while traveling about, was the beautiful Spring season in Ohio. I know that every state has it's particular beauty, but I missed the riot of Spring colors that Ohio offers...in the Miami Valley area...and this Spring has been outstanding. Because of the warm weather, the tree buds were able to absolutely burst open in beauty!!

These are just a few examples right around our apartment complex...the whole valley is full of color!! As we drive around doing errands and such, I am trying to drink in as much as I can before the blossoms fade. And, I decided that this year, I would do some "patio gardening" to keep some colors and blooms going throughout the summer.

Since we are home now, my sister-in-law and I meet every Tuesday. I have been teaching her to knit and of course, we got excited about making Christmas gifts. We both decided to make the Felted Posy Bag by Patons. The felted roses were so easy to make...and to felt...and to assemble.

Because of trying to finish so many projects, I put off finishing this until after Christmas...because I wanted to line the bag and I did not know how. Did you know that you can learn how to do most anything by going to Youtube.com and typing in what you want to see...and there is probably a video that someone has made so that you can learn? I just typed in "lining a purse" and several hits came up. I watched the video...took a couple of notes...and voila`...a lined felted posy purse!!

After we got settled in and rested for awhile, we began looking for churches. We found the place where we knew the Lord wanted us to be. I had it on my mind for a couple of months that if anyone wanted to learn to knit, or just get together to knit, I would love it. As I pondered on this for a number of weeks, wondering if I should say anything, a woman at church approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing a knitting group...helping those who needed help with knitting...woohooo, I said yes!!

And so, we began to meet last month. A number of them expressed a desire to knit scarves and hats for the homeless...to have a prayer shawl ministry...and to just encourage each other to finish projects that had been started, but set aside.

We looked at several patterns for prayer shawls and hats and such...and I found this pattern from LionBrand.com, the Splendid Triangle Shawl, using their Homespun yarn...the color is called Tudor.

The pattern called for a size 13 needle, but when I did several rows, I did not like how loose it looked, so I frogged it and started over using a size 11 needle...perfect! It worked up quickly and I had it done within 4 days. The pattern also called for a crocheted bind off...very easy! We will do a number of other styles, but this particular pattern is a nice, quick knit.

I found this beanie hat pattern on Ravelry... and I modified it a bit by adding more ribbing to make a "cuff". So far, I've got two done and one more halfway done.

I'll say it again, it feels so good to be back home. At the beginning, it felt almost surreal...being back to the area where we were from, yet we were certainly changed from the years of being gone...how did we now fit in now...experiences over the years that challenged us and expanded who we were. Yet after a time of rest and slowly easing back into things, it's all good!

The best part is being on 30 minutes from our daughter and grandchildren. The kids get to spend the night...we get to see them regularly...watch them grow up...attend sporting activities...sewing fashion shows...walk through the woods with my grandsons...oh yes...it's good to be back home!