Pretty Little Treasures All In A Row

Through out January and February, I searched for a knitting project which would put energy into my needles.  I finally found something in the 10 Stitch Zigzag Afghan, but I found something else also.  I was in the Stash Studio and picked up Close To You done in Twisted Fiber Arts Lucky Penny.  Remember that?

Then I thought of my dear friend Barb Foor who had taken my Mom to the ER while we were at the Coastal Condo.

That's Barb in the center with the red hair.  Look at Barb then look at Close To You.  Doesn't it look like I knit it for her!?!?!?!  I decided Close To You had to be for Barb and all of a sudden realized why I hadn't been able to give it away for Christmas.  There was something more important in store for it.  

It looks better on Barb than Lydia but you get the idea.  I've been wanting to knit something for Barb because I've knit things for Kay and Sally (the other two friends in the selfie) and thought Barb should have something, too.  After I made the decision to give Close To You to Barb, I thought of Mary Lou, my other friend who looked out for Mom while we were at the Coastal Condo.  I wanted to find something perfect for her, and I did.

Mary Lou is a master quilter.  Doesn't this look like a glorious quilt!?!?!  I remember working on this in the car.  It was perfect car knitting.  It is made from Noro Kureyon using many different colorways.  The beauty of Kureyon is, you could knit from the inside and out from one ball and get a remarkable color change for each rectangle.  Or you could use two different colorways.  You were always working on rectangles which were small enough to be the perfect travel knitting.  When I was done, I gave it to Mom for Christmas the first year she lived in her Brookdale apartment.  It looked beautiful on her couch. When I was trying to find the perfect treasure for Mary Lou, it became obvious this was it.  Mary Lou always visited Mom when we were away and I knew Mom would love her to have it.  First Barb then Mary Lou, giving away treasures felt great and made me smile.  

I had one more person I wanted to thank for their kindness and that was Mary Fox who is our neighbor at the Coastal Condo.  Mary has been amazing since we first moved in.  She has introduced us to people, helped us find bridge groups and shared her cell phone with Dick when I was in Michigan and Dick's cell had a nervous breakdown.  Once again, I had the perfect thing waiting in the Stash Studio.

This is one of my favorite things to knit, the Olga Jazzy pleated scarf.  I have knit so many of these that I really can't count.  The yarn is Blue Herron and has a little sparkle to it.  This was perfect because Mary has a little sparkle to her.  

See the sparkle?  I love Blue Herron.  Would you believe I have a tub of Blue Herron just waiting for the next project?  Once I find a yarn I love, sometimes I go a little over board.  What if I find the perfect pattern for Blue Herron but it is discontinued and I can't get any more??????  You've heard about my phobia over discontinued yarn many times.  

My learning in all of this is:  knitting feels great but sometimes giving treasures away feels even better.  Giving these treasures away were just what the doctor ordered.  It did boost my spirits.