Time to Catch Up

I've been knitting a bit each night on the cape hood...but there really isn't any significant progress to report. Soon enough I will have a picture to post.

I keep thinking about Meagheen. That lovely lady has had bad news after bad news and medical issue after medical issue lately. And yet, whenever I speak with her, her voice is full of cheer and love and good spirits. Nothing seems to get her down. She says that when this whole journey is over, she will probably fall apart, but for now, she remains full of hope and conviction that she will come out on top. With her as an example, I can do no less. So I sit and knit a few rows of this hood each night, adding a prayer to each stitch, with the knowledge that Meggie will prevail in this battle. And we ALL will be better for journeying with her.

Bless you, dear girl.

THE DREAM

"Every child is born with a dream, for my great grandparents it was a free Ireland. For me it is to see Northern Ireland be united with the Ireland. My great grandparents saw their dream, I doubt in my lifetime I will ever see mine, but I dream it none-the-less" -- Meagheen Ryan February 2011.

This is one of the accessories Meggie is including in the 12 month Celtic cape knit-a-long. She has designed a pair of socks, kilt hose, mittens, gauntlets, a hat, a shawl, elbow-length gloves and the tam. I've not knit a hat for myself, ever, so I decided that this tam would be for me. Since I'm using a denim colour for the cape, I decided to use a different colour for the tam. I grabbed a worsted weight yarn by Berroco in deep teal and cast on last weekend. The pattern is easy, intuitive, and written perfectly. I really like the design - the Celtic knots are elegant.

Now I need to finish the edging so I can go on to get the hood done in time for the next part of the pattern which is scheduled to be released at the end of February.

My dream? I dream that my son has a happy life and my grandchildren grow to be productive members of society like their father. Rather prosaic, I'm sure, but it's my dream and I'm sticking' to it!

Progress - a little bit

Well, I'll admit I've been so extraordinarily busy that I've not knit on this cape project in a few days. With the weather and work and trying to get some other test knits done for Miss Meggie, the cape project has been pushed to the back burner. But I'm not feeling a lot of stress because I'm not done with the parts that we've received so far...that alone is progress of sorts for me. I'm one of those overachiever-type people...you know the kind. Sign up for a mystery quilt workshop and work like mad to finish the quilt before everyone else. Be given a whole month the finish a clue on a mystery sock and have it done the same day you got it. Get a quilt block at a meeting a go home immediately and sew it up so you have a whole month to wait till the next one. Yeah, I'm an overachiever!

But this Cape project is going to take a year to complete. The designer is giving us parts of the cape at the end of each month. So far, we've gotten all the parts of the hood...I haven't even finished the edging to the hood. And, for the first time in a long time, I'm not stressed about it. It will get done when it gets done.

In the meantime, Meggie has designed some lovely accessories to the cape. Socks, kilt hose, gauntlets, mittens, a hat, a tam, and a shawl. I am test-knitting the tam and so far, it's a delightful knit! I've only knit one hat in the past and it was a beanie-type hat for my husband. I really think this tam is going to be a beautiful one and it's going to be for ME! I'm using a yarn that is 50% acrylic, 40% wool, and 10% nylon. A lovely deep turquoisy-blue. Hoping it will be a quick knit so I can wear it this winter. Will post a picture once it's done.

Why a Celtic Journey?

About 6 months ago, I joined a pattern testers' group on Ravelry, an online community of knitters. Shortly after joining that group, I met a lady named Meagheen, Meggie to her friends. She invited me to join another group, "Ryan Eejits and all who fit in". I found a wonderful group of folks, all with Irish hearts. Not all of us have Irish ancestry -- I have none as far back as the 1700's. But we are all bound by a love of Ireland, Meggie, and all the Ryans.

Meggie is Irish born and bred...one of 26 children, and the youngest girl in a family of amazing people. When she is not working her regular job, or working with Doctors without Borders, or one of the many other jobs she has taken upon her shoulders, she designs socks, scarves, hats, shawls, mittens, and wee tiny socks. In addition, she has taken it upon herself to translate her family patterns that have been handed down for years. With the help of her 101 year old Gran, several of her sisters and brothers, and those of us who have been adopted into the Ryan clan, those patterns are tested and then put up for sale, the proceeds of which ALL go to charity.

Meggie asked the group back in late fall if we would be interested in a year-long Knit-along (fondly called a KAL be knitters). Little did she expect that over 100 people, men and women, from around the world would clamor to knit one of her pieces. The KAL, which began officially in January 2011, is a fingertip length hooded cape.

Beginning at the edging of the hood and knitted as one piece to the hem, this is not only a stunning piece of knitwear, it is the story of Meggie's life in Ireland, and Ireland's evolution from early times to what it is today. And so we don't get overwhelmed or confused, the parts of the cape are being released to the knitters periodically through the year. To date, we've received the edging and the first half of the hood.

Why this fascination with Ireland? For me, I think its the almost mystic legendary land. The people and the hills and the sheep and the green. Who hasn't watched the movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" at least once in their lives? I don't know a single American who has never wanted to visit Ireland. To meander across green fields to little groves of mossy trees with the hope of spotting a wee leprechaun. Hoping that a druid might whisper the secrets of the land to them. Hearing a bit of pipe in the distance, or catch a glimpse of a kilted Irishman along the lane. That's the romance of Ireland. But Ireland is more than leprechauns and druids and kilts. It's struggle and strife and courage and joy and laughter and joy.

Meggie's cape will tell the story of her beloved Ireland, with all the struggle and joy and humor that I've come to expect from her. And, in taking on this enormous project, for me, it's a beginning of an heirloom for the people who follow me. I plan on keeping this online journal to document my own journey through Meggie's Ireland with the hope of discovering my own struggle, courage, joy, and humor!

To that end, here is the first picture of My Celtic Journey:

Please feel free to stop by and leave comments...And don't mind me if I start to speak with an Irish accent...