So many people have asked me over the years, how I store my woolens and my wool stash so as to avoid the dreaded wool moths. I have always knocked on wood as I've said that they've never been a problem here. I thought, perhaps, it was because our house was so very chilly nearly all the near long. And maybe that was true. And maybe, as we've tightened up the house over the years, making it a bit cozier and warm, it was only natural that I discovered wool moths this year for the very first time. Ah! The horrors! Thankfully, most of my favorite knits are stored in a cedar chest and much of my yarn stash is kept in cases, so it wasn't too terrible of a problem. But there is a bit of yarn in the open air, and just a few things in random closets here and there. And it seems that this summer, the moths found their way to Ezra and Harper's closet in particular. As I went about cleaning things out for the coming season, what a heartbreak it was to discover a basket of sweaters with holes! So many of my favorite knits for those boys - ready to head down to younger siblings - that were left with a bit of moth-eaten this or that. I gulped a bit, but knew that I had been lucky until now. And knew that all was not for waste - I could mend. And maybe even make things a little more unique for the next wearer of the woolens.
That's how I spent yesterday - beside the firepit in the woods with my crew. Some in costume, some with goat and chickens at their side, and definitely one with a hatchet in his hand. With roving, I did a bit of felting some shapes onto the holes that emerged from those knits. Harper got his favorite sheep Jane (or rather, her fleece) felted into the shape of stars (with the help of a cookie cutter) on his sweater. Annabel got a pink and purple heart on one vest, and blue and white moons on another. (In case you're wondering, the original knits appear here - Tomten for Ezra, vest for Adelaide and a Pebble for Harper. Oh my goodness, how they've grown!!)
It would have been sad to lose these garments, but not the end of the world. I made them with a whole lot of love and joy, they were worn by one or two or three or four kids with a whole lot of life, and really they don't owe us much more than that, these knits. But to get another life out of them, well that pleases me to no end. And who knows, with a bit of mending, maybe they'll make it another round or two, of friends or family or grandbabies, if I store them just right this time. We shall see. For now, at least, they are onto the next child in the family in the lineup. And truly, there is little that pleases me more than this. A favorite knitting project that I can remember on all - or many - of my babies handed down to the next. Bliss....
