WEEK 41 OF YEAR 9

Hello again.  Palm Sunday has arrived, meaning, this coming week is Holy Week in my faith.  It seems quite odd not to be heading to church almost everyday this coming week. The thought of Easter Sunday being celebrated behind closed doors has not quite sunk in yet.  All church services are being televised, which is nice, but not quite the same.  It seems strange to be "attending" Mass in my pajamas with a dog by my side and knitting in my lap. Praying that the world will right itself soon.

With all this extended time at home, a person would think quite a bit of crafting, decluttering, cleaning would be accomplished.   Some of that did happen this week.  Take a look.

Still going strong on the High Effects Feather and Fan shawl.  The blue dot is where I was last Sunday.  This held my attention for 3 days and then I was tired of looking at it.  Even though it is a nice easy knit, I wanted to do something else.

Thursday is supposed to be my Prayer Shawl day.  I miss going to the meetings and seeing the ladies.  My plan has been to work on a prayer shawl each Thursday, anyway, to kind of keep track of the days of the week.  This week I decided to start a new prayer shawl.  The Cabled Rosary Prayer Shawl is still in the works but, takes so much time to even do one pattern round.  I was getting discouraged.  Right now is not the time to be discouraged.  Here is what I did.

Another 'To The Point Shawl'.  As most of you know, this is my 'go to' shawl pattern when I want to accomplish something in a short amount of time.  This shawl only takes a day to make.  Watching TV while crocheting it is not an issue either.  Of course that could be because I have made so many of them.  It is also a great way for me to use up my worsted weight yarn that is hanging around my house.

After the shawl was completed, I was still looking for quick satisfying projects.  

Yup, dishcloths.  I decided to work on Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth pattern for a change of pace.  Golly gee!  I forgot how quickly these work up.  I can do 2 a day compared to the others that take me at least one day to do one.  So far have completed 3 1/2 of them.  Only 1 1/2 more to go and I will have 12 cloths made and can get them to my daughter for the wedding present she wants to give.  (Providing there is still going to be a wedding. Things are a bit different right now)  The other plus side to this pattern, since it is done in garter stitch, I knit it Portuguese style and purl each row.  If you have never done Portuguese knitting, let me tell you purling that way is so fast and easy on the hands and wrists.  If I was smart, I would knit my socks inside out and just purl them all the time.  Bet the would get done quicker.

Today I will be focusing my attention on this:

A large pile of fabric.  All quilters cotton that has been washed in hot water, dried in a hot dryer and ironed.  These squares are destined to become civilian face masks.  My niece's mom is a nurse and she started making them for her family and sent me the pattern she is using.  The only change I will be making is; I will not be using elastic to go around the ears but rather strings of some sort to tie around the back of the head.  Here is the link for the pattern.  "Face Masks"  The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) just said they thought it might be a good idea if we all started wearing masks while in public.  There are some tricks though about wearing said masks.

1.  wash your hands before applying the mask

2.  do not touch the mask or your face while wearing it.

3. wash your hands before removing the mask

4. place the mask in hot soapy water as soon as it is removed

5.  wash your hands right after placing the mask in hot soapy water.

6.  if mask becomes wet while wearing it, remove and replace with dry mask (don't forget to sanitize hands when doing this.  Guess you should carry a Ziploc bag and hand sanitizer with you too)

The masks are more of a protection from you spreading the virus than from you catching the virus.  Since you can have the virus without any symptoms, they are hoping this will flatten the curve.

The one item that I thought interesting, the health care people I talked to said wearing the mask for more than 2 hours is not recommended.  So, if you think putting a mask on is a ticket for a shopping spree at the mall, think again LOL.  Since my hubby is the one still running errands for us, I will be making the first few for him.  After that, I will make some for myself and also for friends who do not sew.  I have plenty of material for this, so no need to got out to buy more.

Cooking at home has been good so far.  I am trying different recipes at least 4 times a week.  So far, there has only been one we have not been fond of.  Abut the only items we need to purchase each week are fresh fruits and veggies.  Lucky for us, we have produce market 1/2 mile from our home.  Saves us from having to go to the BIG grocery store.

I pray you all are staying safe and in good health.  Please stay at home if at all possible.  Let's flatten the curve and save lives.

Until Next Time.....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!

PS:  This is day 13 of me staying out of public.  No cabin fever!  All is good here.