Pay it Forward: Free Knitting Goodies


While the rest of the country enjoys the steamy last month of summer, I am back at work.  Busy scrambling, I am hoping to present my students (who return on Monday) with a classroom with some modicum of organization (managed by an instructor who doesn’t look as if she just rolled out of bed).  After an emotionally fraught first day back yesterday, when I discovered that over 15 years’ worth of my digital files had been erased from my school’s server, I am back on track today toward my goals for a smooth start to the school year.  My hysterical rant to several of my school system’s technology staff resulted not only in traumatized young male engineers, but also in my files being extricated from some mysterious cyber storage area, so I am back in business.  
In the midst of my desperate quest to retrieve files, en route to our school system's central technology office,  I made a frantic trip to Target to purchase an external hard drive (to use to store transferred data).  There, I made a quick stop in the ladies room.  As I speedily washed my hands, an old silver-haired lady with a walker, who stood near the paper towel holder, smiled at me and inquired, “In a hurry?”

She had such a pleasant face and for the first time in the several hours since my discovery of a vacant space on the “H Drive” of my computer, I exhaled and released some tension.  I told the woman that I needed to be at work, but that I had an urgent errand.  She gazed at me warmly and said, “You’ll slow down someday.” 

While her statement might be interpreted as reflective of a pessimistic, cranky attitude, the woman's delivery and demeanor was so comforting that her words had a positive effect.  They, coupled with her walker and feeble appearance, made me take pause, bringing me back to reality from my overindulgence in stressful emotion.  Her presence highlighted more essential and important human concerns, and made my loss somehow seem trivial—not nearly as important as aging with its physical frailty and ultimate outcome. 

In honor of this woman (whose name I don’t know), I am giving away a couple of items:  Tea Cozies 3 (a new book with lots of cute patterns), the newest issue of Interweave Knits (for some reason I receive two copies every month), and a small gift of yarn (specific type to be determined).  Here’s how to enter to win:

Post a comment here, telling me what type of yarn is your favorite and why.  You do not have to mention brand names, but doing so is okay.  I will randomly pick a winner. 

Comments

  1. Hi Liz :) I'm glad your files were rescued :) I tend to like natural fibers.. One in particular that I am drawn to is Bamboo. I like that it is soft and I like it even more that it is a renewable resource.

    I hope your weekend is calm and relaxing and that you have a great start back on Monday!

    Deann :)

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  2. I love alpaca! It could be that was the yarn I used when I first started to learn how to knit. One of my first projects was knitting a teddy bear with that wool!

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  3. Hi Liz,

    I love double knit as its so versatile. My nan taught me to knit when i was a child and she loved knitting toys with double knit so im the same way.

    Have a great weekend!

    Sarah. ;))

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  4. Goodness what a stressful start to your new academic year. I don't know what it is about computers but any time anything goes wrong with them, the stress levels go stratospherically high in nano seconds! You have my considerable sympathy! So glad you managed to get the files retrieved - I can well imagine you were not exactly calm at the tine though. I love the little vignette you tell of the elderly lady in the washroom. Sometimes it's little encounters like that which change our perspective instantly. Don't enter me in your giveaway - much though I would love the tea cosy book, my knitting isn't up to it! The yarn of course could become crochet rather than knitting though so on second thoughts enter me partially if that's possible!
    I am afraid I have expensive tastes as far as yarn is concerned and my favourites are silk and cashmere mixes - so beautiful to work with - visually and in the hand - and the resulting crochet is light, warm and soft. Fyberspates do some lovely yarn like this but it's eye-wateringly expensive. Sublime Cashmerino is great too though and more reasonable although still not a bargain!
    Hope no further computer glitches mar the beginning of term. Take care. E x

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  5. I definitely prefer natural fibers, except for a little nylon to strengthen sock yarns. Right now my favorite yarn is Columbia from Imperial Stock Ranch.

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  6. Knitmish on RavelryAugust 5, 2012 at 2:57 PM

    As a nursing student, I encounter elderly people very often, and so often in less than ideal situation, i.e. sick and in the hospital. Yet, so many of them offer words of wisdom and some encouragement to me when I come in with my instructor, all nervous and frazzled :) I enojyed reading about your encounter, albeit amidst a very stressful time for you, I'm sure.

    This giveaway is really sweet, I'd love to be entered. I do love natural fibres the most, and often find myself gravitating towards a simple yarn such as Cascade 220 Wool. It comes in many nice colours, and works great for a variety of projects from hats to sweaters or shawls.

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    Replies
    1. Hi. You've won! I sent you a note on Ravelry with information.

      Delete

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