Crises

I'm so sorry for the blog silence. I was working along on the Tour de Fleece and really enjoying it when things took a big change. Last week on Tuesday my great aunt was in a car accident. She was killed instantly. We weren't very close in the last few years but we exchanged Christmas cards every year and I had been out to her house for coffee a few times with my mom and grandma. She had health issues, including her heart but we never expected anything like this. It came as a huge shock.
Things immediately changed as I had to travel to be with family, help plan and attend a funeral. It's times like these when you truly appreciate the Elizabeth Zimmermann quote:

"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." 

That's what I did. I packed several knitting projects and some spinning because it was the Tour de Fleece and I travelled to be with my family. And I knit. I packed about 4 knitting projects. Over the week I was with my family, I finished 3 of them. They'll each have their moment in the sun but for now, let's focus on one.
I had taken my Multnomah out and was knitting away again. It didn't look like much finished.

But blocking is magical and it's waiting to dry now. It looks wonderful!

I really like this pattern and I would totally consider knitting it again, I love the idea of doing one that's larger too. I love the way it breaks up the colors in a hand-dyed yarn too. Although this Alpaca Sox is a commercial yarn, I had lots of trouble with pooling when I tried to knit other patterns.
The days were busy, full of family and lots to do but the nights, trying to sleep with your mind racing was difficult. Although we weren't close in the last few years, my grandmother and her sister were very close, they spoke daily. They lived close to each other and spent many days together, this will be difficult for her. I have so many memories of visiting her farm and playing as a child and yes, learning to knit. This amazing aunt is the one who taught me to knit. Coming to terms with the end of that has been difficult, more difficult than I thought it would be but I'm happy to say; I'm coming through the other side, thanks in no small part to my knitting and my family. This shawl's for you Gloria.
My husband did his best to understand why I was gone so long (although he was down for the funeral, he travelled home after) and to try to tidy up the house for me so it wouldn't be such a shock to come home. The lovely things awaiting my arrival from the mailbox helped too!

For now I'm going to settle back into life at home and take some time to knit.