Knitting on a Sleepless Night

I know it's late - 3:35 AM, and even though I would like to go back to my morning person ways, I think both the genetics of the females in my family (who are all night women) and because Patrick is working nights, I just can't seem to sleep. I was just laying down to attempt to go to sleep, and after tossing and turning with the start of this new blog entry repeating in my head more times than I would like them to, I realized that I was not going to be able to get that blessed rest until I wrote what was going through my mind. I think all the knitting I did this evening affected my brain. I guess you could say I have stitches going through my mind! As a military spouse, you get used to being away from your friends and family. But there are times when that it is more difficult than others. You miss so many important events - the good times such as births, birthdays, new jobs and promotions. Then there are the not so good times, the times people need your shoulder to cry on such as deaths, break-ups and divorce. You let friendships slide as you are trying to get used to your new duty station, and the longer that you are away - the worse that this becomes. I have spent the last 13 years as a Navy spouse, and although Patrick is no longer active duty, I find myself missing the people that I have known and loved more and more. It is very difficult to remain as close to both your old and new friends when you are so far away from them and trying to learn your new city, or country, depending on where you have been stationed! I have completely lost contact with many people who are important to me, and am barely in touch with others.



Perhaps this is in the forefront of my mind because of the newness of the year. Or perhaps it is because I am in the process of making several baby blankets for friends who are expecting. I am not an expert knitter, and I had not knitted for several years but I began again when Patrick was in Germany. I needed something to keep me occupied while he was gone, and that was a good thing. For those of you who dislike Martha - I'm sorry, but I do! I do think it was a good time for me to start knitting again because I just found out that several good friends of mine are expecting. It's not that these women are the only friends I have had who have been lucky enough to bring a baby into the world in the last few years, it's just that they are unlucky enough to be expecting when I have more time on my hands! Like I said, I'm not an expert knitter, and these first few knits that I am doing are not exactly works of art. I guess what I really want them to know is that although I cannot be there, that I am thinking of them and their new bundles of joy, and that I wish them warmth, happiness and only the best! I have already made and even mailed out one! It was for my friend Theresa, a woman I met in Washington DC. We worked together, and although we haven't kept in touch quite as much as I would have liked us to, I still want her to know that I am wishing her and her new family only the best. The second is for a woman who is like my sister, for better or for worse, Shazi - we have been friends since we were in the sixth grade (and no, I am not going to tell you how many years that has been because I already feel older than I want to!). The third, the one I haven't even bought the yarn for yet, is for my friend Crystal. The one who could always call my bluffs and remind me that the pot calls the kettle black.



I really have wanted to do something very sophisticated and beautiful. Something that people would look at with great awe, but alas, that is not to be. I have been fighting the yarn, and the patterns that I have been trying. I have ripped out more lately than I have knitted. I got this pattern free online at http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/babyafruffle.htmonthenet.com/patterns/babyafruffle.htm. I know that the colors of the yarn are a little, ahem... different. But I wanted to do something that wasn't your typical pink or blue. I just hope that Shazi likes it! Here is a picture of what I have done so far...