Holy and Precious

"Whether we are poets or parents or teachers or artists or gardeners, we must start where we are and use what we have. In the process of creation and relationship, what seems mundane and trivial may show itself to holy, precious, part of a pattern." -- Luci Shaw

Angel Karen Egolf from Wheeling, IL sent in her first batch of yarny goodness for the year this week, and all kinds of wonderful things were in it! Just look at the hat and matching mittens for a toddler up top -- perfect for one of the children we serve at Parenting PROgress. And the teen moms will love the hats next to them -- I just love the lace edging Karen knitted on the edge. These lovelies will also be perfect for them:

Karen's cabling is just gorgeous, and I envy her skill with lace -- so beautiful!

She also made some great baby things for our newborns at Swedish Covenant Hospital -- and they will be delivered this coming week!

Over 300 babies are being born each month at Swedish Covenant Hospital, so they were very happy to learn the Angels had filled TWO GIANT BINS with baby blankets and TWO LARGE bins with baby hats and sweaters already this year!

Angel Karen was also thinking about the women in Cornerstone Community Outreach's shelters when she made these lovely spa cloths:

And just look at the beautiful prayer shawl and comfort afghan she made:

She used the same stitch pattern on both of them, and I really like it. It give just enough texture to make the item interesting, but doesn't overwhelm the yarn. It even looks great with the variegated yarn in the afghan -- and usually textured stitches and variegated yarn just don't work too well together. I'm going to email her for the pattern she used for the shawl -- I'm totally enraptured by it!

I truly do believe that the Angels take something mundane -- basically sticks, hooks, and string -- and with love, care, creativity, and skill, turn the mundane into love gifts that are indeed part of God's grand plan. The resulting yarny goodness is most certainly holy and precious in His eyes, and in the eyes of the recipients. Thank you, Karen, for creating such holy and precious gifts!