So glad it’s live-streamed nowadays
Sunday October 07th 2012, 11:42 pm
Filed under: Family,Life

It was General Conference weekend, wherein leaders of the Mormon Church speak to the members. Favorites: Henry B. Eyring, and that listing at the very bottom of the page is his talk I mentioned earlier about his daughter’s recent life-and-death delivery at 15 weeks early and her visiting teaching companion’s having happened to show up just when she direly needed it. (Women’s Conference was last week.) Also, Richard G. Scott, whose younger kids I used to babysit back when he was a nuclear physicist in Washington, DC. and who gave an hour of his time to talk to my husband when he was a 19-year-old about to leave on a mission, hoping for a little guidance and wise words and so, seeking out an old family friend. Elder Uchtdorf. Whose family escaped on one of the last trains out of East Germany to West when he was little.

Jeffrey Holland: “The crowning characteristic of love is loyalty.” I had to think about that a moment. Yes, I can see that. Definitely.

How’s the closed captioning going? asked Richard, glancing over, watching from his own screen.

They’ve got the words going to yesterday’s talks, I answered. Oops. But then, they said it was still in beta. ‘Sokay, I’m not needing it.

Early on, I finished the project I was working on and being a captive listener, needed something else to do with my hands.

I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t want to…  I just don’t do baby knitting… I had to. I knew it. And so I picked up the outfit I started making maybe a month ago for my namesake great-niece (wow does that make me sound old, but I was 16 when her mom was born to my oldest sister). I had gotten a great start on it, had wavered on the width I had going and whether it would work and had ziplocked it away.

When else would I do it? In time for her to wear it? Or for her own baby someday? Alright, then.

I added a few inches to what I had, started into the armscyes (ie picture the J and backwards J indentations at the underarms), counted stitches while the Tabernacle Choir sang and started the decreasing.

It looked terrible. I had merrily knitted a few more inches. No go. Rip. I did the decreases, *then* the armscyes. So much better.

I finally put it aside when I got to where I would need to find a pattern somewhere to doublecheck the length to the back of the neck on that dress.

But what I’m coming here to say is, I had this project that was important to me that had stumped me and it had bugged me. Listening to all those talks about the effects and the dear necessity of love in our lives, of looking out for the children, hearing stories told and experiences shared and wisdom offered, the thing in my hands became easy at last. And not just because I was at the stockinette part.

This morning I had no idea how I was supposed to make that beginning look like anything that could fit a baby well. But it gradually came to me as I just kept going, ripping and redoing, and before too long I knew exactly how it was going to come out and what will be next. I don’t like the idea of ribbing around the arms and around the front because it wouldn’t go well with the lacework at the bottom? But the raw edge look, no? Well then, repeat the lacework, there you go!

“The crowning characteristic of love is loyalty.”

And I love my niece and her baby I get to meet in a couple months. And so, hearing that, it was all the more imperative that I get this done, and after being afraid of it for too long, now I love how it’s coming out.

I can’t wait to see it finished and on Eden Alison!


4 Comments so far
Leave a comment

Interesting where encouragement and determination find their source, huh?

Kuddos to you for knitting on!

Comment by Suzanne from Montreal 10.08.12 @ 8:09 am

I’m sure it will be beautiful and greatly appreciated.

Comment by Jody 10.08.12 @ 8:16 am

I absolutely and completely agree that the crowning characteristic of love is loyalty. Which perhaps is why when someone would ask, Where’s your better half?”, I would respond with, “Other half!” And Am used to do the same.

Comment by Don Meyer 10.08.12 @ 8:48 am

No coincidences, and I do agree… Love and loyalty go hand-in-hand.

Comment by Channon 10.08.12 @ 9:16 am



Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

(required)

(required)