Knit and Crochet Bible Study

Category: Crochet

  • A Good Foundation

    For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  – I Cor 3:11

    A good foundation will hold firm whether it is our knitted project or our Christian faith.

    Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
    practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the
    streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash. –  Matt 7:24-27

    The foundation is the base upon which any project will stand. You can make the most
    beautiful of stitches and a pattern that is intricate but if the foundation row is not secure the entire item will ravel at the first sign of wear.

    Do you remember the song we used to sing in Sunday School? It went like this. (By the way, it‟s OK if you sing along.)

    A wise man built his house upon the rock,
    a wise man built his house upon the rock,
    a wise man built his house upon the rock,
    and the rains came tumbling down.
    The rains came down and the floods went up
    the rains came down and the floods went up
    the rains came down and the floods went up
    and the house on the rock stood firm.
    A foolish man built his house upon the sand,
    a foolish man built his house upon the sand,
    a foolish man built his house upon the sand
    and the rains came tumbling down.
    The rains came down and the floods went up
    the rains came down and the floods went up
    the rains came down and the floods went up
    and the house on the sand fell flat.
    author unknown

    To begin any knitting project you must first “cast on” a series of stitches. In crochet, we chain a foundation row. These stitches form the base, the foundation of the project. Our life is like that, filled with stitches that are woven together to create a pattern. We need a firm foundation to keep the stitches of our lives from unraveling.

    Scripture gives us a pattern for our lives and directs us to “cast” onto Christ.
    For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
    I Cor 3:11

    Once the foundation is laid, we are guided through the knitting/crochet (building) process.

    For through him we have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God‟s people and members of God‟s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built
    together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. – Eph 2:18-22

    In other words, to keep our lives securely stitched in the peace that comes only from God. We must “cast on” to Him.

    When a project is finished we must “cast off” (also referred to in knitting patterns as binding off) the stitches. Once we are “cast on” to God, David tells us to “cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you”. Psalm 55:22. 

    Cast on to God and be knit in His peace. Cast off your old life and become new in Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Cast your burdens, worries, fears, and anxieties on to God and cast off from your old self. The outer edges must be secure or all the stitching that is between them will unravel.

    With Christ as our foundation we will face opposition (purl stitch), we will move in various directions (cable stitch), and we will find intricacies that make us unique (fair isle) but in all this we will stand firm because of our solid foundation, Jesus Christ.

  • In the Blink of an Eye

    But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

    (from “Stitched in Christ” by TerryAnn Porter available on Amazon)

    I was working on a doll that I was crocheting for my grandchild which was done in a way that had the clothes worked into the pattern. This means there will be color changes along the way.

    I was half way through the project, mindlessly making the stitches, when I looked back at the doll and realized something was wrong. This outfit didn’t look well at all crocheted into the doll body. It was then I realized that although I made the color change for the waistband, I missed the color change back on row 17 for the bodice. Can you say FROG!  (you know, rip-it  rip-it  rip-it).

    On another project I noticed the scarf I was working on had become quite askew. No more did I have the straight even edge that looked so smooth the first 6 inches of the project.  Now, nearly 24 inches later I picked up a wrong needle from the basket it was laying in. I had knitted the last 18 inches on one needle of appropriate size and one 2 sizes smaller.

    These events are very similar to the day I woke up with a smile on my face, plans for the weekend all set, only to receive a phone call that my dear friend has passed away a few hours prior. “In the blink of eye, disaster!” (Psalm 73:19)

    Jesus was escorted into Jerusalem on what we now call “Palm Sunday”. (see the story in John 12)  When people heard he was coming to the Feast; they gathered palm branches and shouted as he approached, “Hosanna” “Blessed is the King of Israel”. (see John 12)

    A few days later these same people stood in a crowd in front of Pilate and cried out “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (see John 19)

    So quickly things change. Every day offers new challenges and new rewards. That dark day was brightened when the women went to the tomb and found it empty. (see John 20) A sad day quickly became bright as Jesus appeared to many who loved him.

    Your life, like the wrongly knit scarf, can change with or without notice. Every day offers new opportunities. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” is our promise in Psalm 30:5.

    God is a steady fortress,(Psalms 91:2)  unchanging (Hebrews 6:7),  ever present (Proverbs 15:3). When things turn suddenly to dark, hold tight to the hand of God. Walk with Him daily, and He will be at your side. Stay with Him when the stitches of your life are straight and smooth; and He will be there when you miss that color change or drop a stitch in your life. “Hold tight to God, your God, just as you have done up to now.” (Joshua 23:8)

  • Gift Idea

    I am putting together a couple of gift bags I am donating to a local single mom’s ministry.

    A friend saw them and thought it was a great gift idea for a friend of hers. This made me want to share the idea with you.

    First, a disclaimer, there are links in the posts to which I am affiliated and may receive a small royalty.

    Now, on to the project.

    I have prepared one with a knit focus, and one focusing on crochet.

    Each started with a Knit and Crochet Bible Study tote I purchased from Zazzle.  I watch for sales and discounts, then order several for my use.

    To each, I added the two Knit and Crochet Bible Study Devotional/Journals I have posted to Amazon.  As a side note, if you purchase the paperback, you are eligible for a Kindle version at no cost – give the paperback, keep the digital version.

    Then I went to Hobby Lobby where I purchased a pattern booklet for each, and one skein of yarn and the proper sized needle/hook to complete one project in the book.

    Who will you encourage with a similar gift idea?

     

  • Stitched in Christ

    After much procrastination, prayer, hard work, editing, and more prayer, a second ‘Knit and Crochet Bible Study Devotional/Journal’ is now available in Kindle and paperback formats on Amazon.

     

    Books

     

    I have no big testimony. I live a simple life. I often wonder how God can use someone who enjoys yarn crafts and loves teddy bears. Then I found the verse in Matthew 18 about seeking Him ‘like a little child’. To me this means look for His love, mercies, and grace in the simple things.

     

    This is not intended as a deep study of Scripture. It is designed to encourage you to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10); to seek Him in the small things, even in the gift of knitting and crochet He has instilled in you. It is designed to encourage you to seek a deeper relationship to become ‘Stitched In Christ’.

     

     

    I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.  Col 2:2 MSG

  • Calming

    A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body. – Prov 14:30

     

    Prov14_30



    I learned to knit and crochet as a child. I made lots of afghans. As a young mother I expanded my skills to include dolls and other fun items for my children. My children grew up, other skills and opportunities entered my life, and over time I set down the yarn and moved on to other hobbies.

    I later developed chronic back pain that left me bed-ridden quite often. In an effort to change my focus from the pain, I picked up a skein a yarn and started to knit and crochet again. This is actually where the Knit and Crochet Bible Study started to stitch together.

    There are many articles available in print and online about the health benefits of knitting and crochet. Some of these benefits include:

    • reducing anxiety
    • relieving depression
    • increasing self-esteem
    • working through grief and pain
    • alleviating stress


    One big benefit is reflected in Knit Crochet Bible Studies and other Groups: it creates community.

    When feeling pain, depression, anxiety, etcetera, many will isolate themselves. This unknowingly adds to the symptoms furthering the condition.  (this I can affirm from experience)

    Speaking with others, sharing life and it’s many stressors, helps create a sense of community, of belonging. We are reminded others experience these same things, though in different manners. Scripture encourages us not be isolated.

    And let us not neglect our meeting together, but encourage one another – Hebrews 10:25

    For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them – Matthew 18:20

    Bear one another’s burdens – Galatians 6:2

    You are not alone. Find someone you can share with, pick up your yarn and stitch your way into His Word, into each other’s lives, into better health and focus.

  • Felted in Jesus

    Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

    (download a copy of the lesson FELTED here)

    Project Suggestion: knit or crochet a square with wool and felt it, then cut out a shape to use as a reminder you are felted.

    Wool felts with water and agitation which causes the scales on the wool to swell, rub against each other and bind together. This process creates a denser, shrunken fabric. Felting is the name of the process that give us the finished product.

    Have you ever noticed in Bible stories that a person is often put in situations that can be described as felted, often rubbing against someone or something? In the end, they become stronger in the Lord.

    Think about King David. Before he slew Goliath, before he became king he was a shepherd boy. How did David know he could take down Goliath? By the many years he spent protecting the sheep from wolves, bears, and other torments. He had been in danger, in agitating situations, many times and had learned how to handle himself. (see 1 Samuel 17:12-30)

    What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego? Imagine the agitation they felt standing in a fiery furnace. (see Daniel 3)

    Ruth went through the loss of her husband, leaving her family and hometown. She cared for her mother-in-law and moved to a country where she was an unwanted foreigner. She went on to be a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. (Read the biblical book of Ruth for the full story)

    Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He gained the confidence of the Pharoah and was promoted to being second in command. He was imprisoned when Pharoah’s wife falsely accused him of rape and still, years later, he was back in a position of authority again. Talk about being agitated.

    What other Bible persons can you name? How about persons in your life you have witnessed experience this felting in their life? Do you remember Martin and Gracia Burnham? They were missionaries from Kansas who serves as missionaries in the Phillippines. They were captured and held hostage for over a year by a militant group of Muslims in 2001. Martin was killed during their rescue. (You can read the story in Gracia’s book In the Presence of My Enemies. You can also read more about this on her website GraciaBurnham.org .) They endured because they were felted with the Lord.

    How have you been felted? Have people around you created the hot water and agitation in your life? God doesn’t give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED – To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.

    Can these discouraging periods of our times remove us from God? Read Romans 8:35-39.

    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    Once a piece is felted it cannot be torn. It can be cut and shaped as desired. Once you are felted with God, nothing can rip you away from Him.

    Are you felted into Jesus?

  • Unfinished–But Not Frogged

    While working on the final edits of the Proverbs 31 Woman personal devotional my husband pointed out I needed a better cover.

    So I headed to my craft room to find a WIP to possibly photograph and use since the subtitle of the devotional is “God’s Work In Progress”.

    I found something I had totally forgotten I even started.

    IMG_20170201_142820

    I found this in one of the dozens of tote bags I have hanging in a closet. I found the original pattern and my notes for a sweater, though I did not mark what size I was making.  I found the right front complete and the left front 1/4 done.  Unfortunately it is a lace pattern with a 16 row repeat while decreasing. I had a bit of trouble deciphering my scribbled notes and determining where I was in the pattern.

    I am too far in to this sweater to frog it. Determined to move forward, I placed a lifeline in the row before I attempted to move forward. After a rocky start I did mange to determine where I was in the pattern and work through 2 full repeats.  I am on my way.

    I am excited to know that as God’s work-in-progress He never puts me in a tote bag and hides me away in the closet.  He didn’t frog the whole project (rip-it, rip-it, rip-it). He is always working on me.

    I look back at how God has brought me to this point in my life. I made a lot of mistakes and turn some wrong turns. But God has never left my side.

    Just like the Proverbs 31 woman was not born with all the qualities describes, I must learn, make decisions, and grow.

    I am a work-in-progress on God’s knitting needle.

    Now to get back to that sweater. I wonder what weight point I was at when I started it. Will it fit?

  • My First Knit Crochet Bible Study Groups

    My First Knit Crochet Bible Study Groups
    I thought I’d use this month to share how I started my first groups. You could call it ‘the foundation row’. (for the story of how the Knit and Crochet Bible Studies started check out the about page on my website CLICK HERE)

    After compiling several ‘lessons’ I approached the Women’s Director of my church. She read the stories and really liked the idea. The church leaders agreed to try a semester to see if and how it would go over.
    We met in our church coffee shop where the ladies were allowed to sit in comfy chairs and on sofas instead of at a table like most other classes. This allowed for a very relaxed atmosphere.
    At our first meeting there were about 6 ladies and myself.  I gave a brief description of what the next few weeks would be like then launched into a knitting lesson. (The ladies had all been instructed to bring in a skein of yarn and set of needles.)  By the end of the evening, everyone had cast on and was working on the knit stitch. Over time, the purl stitch, increase, decrease, casting off and more were added as well as some crochet techniques.

    The routine after the first session was to have everyone working on their projects while I read the short lesson and then led a discussion.  During the first weeks there was a not a lot of discussion as many find it hard to knit/crochet and talk at the same time while in the early stages of learning. However, it wasn’t long before everyone could move their hands to the stitch and add their thoughts to the conversation without losing their place. Yes, we did learn to frog (rip it) during these episodes as well 🙂 
    By the next semester, getting started was a bit less hectic in my teaching of the craft as I now had some experienced knitters and crocheters. Instead of standing in the midst of several and trying to teach everyone, I could stand in the middle, demonstrate, and each new person would be alongside an experienced person who would help them one-on-one with what I was saying.

    Not all participants wanted to knit or crochet. We had one join our group who brought along a rug she was hooking and others brought in embroidery work.
    As in all groups, some excelled quickly into the craft; some had difficulty and lagged behind. The same applies to Bible Study and our individual relationship with Jesus Christ. We are all at various levels, no matter how long we have been involved.

    Have you hosted a Knit Crochet Bible Study?  What techniques worked for you? What didn’t?  I’d love to hear your stories.

  • Knit Crochet for Others

    I started this thread on my Facebook page. I thought I might extend it to the blog.

    Do you knit/crochet for charity, hospital, etc? I am curious. What do you make and who do you give to?
    I have just committed to completing 20 small bears/dolls for a church group to give to a local hospital. These are usually my favorite. I have a couple of go-to patterns that work up quickly, like this one.
    PinkLittleLady

    (click on the picture to go the pattern on the kandjdolls website.

    Your turn.

  • UNFINISHED Life–Week 3and4

    It’s been a busy, busy couple of weeks. First, I didn’t get week 3 posted. My husband and I celebrated our anniversary by shopping for a new set of silverware, new bath towels and a kitchen hutch. (we are much more practical than romantic)

    My husband has warned me this is not another horizontal surface in need of clutter. However, he didn’t say I couldn’t stash/hide yarn in the cupboard!

    Then, I got a set of cubby shelves by ClosetMaid for my craft room. That is coming along nicely.

    I am a couple of days behind on my daily Bible reading plan. I use an Android app called You Versionâ. (there is also an iPad version)  It is really cool. I can close my eyes and have the days reading read to me. Sometimes, I get more out of the passage when I hear it. It is a great feature of this app. And no, it is not a computer voice that reads it.

    My local church posts the notes for each weeks sermon to You Version. I can download the notes and edit them on my tablet during the service using a free app called Evernote. I also use Evernote to save some of my patterns. It syncs between my computer and tablet.

    I purchased a slipper kit on clearance at Hobby Lobby and made them for myself .

    The sole and foot is premade in this kit. I knitted the cuff. I later resewed the foot to the sole because their stitching came out. These are so comfy and cosy to wear.

    I thought I had made video of all the stitches used in the Colors of Salvation afghan, but I can’t find them. So either I lost them in the many past crashes of my system or I didn’t get the done. So I am working on that right now.

    Until next week,