Patterns
Lent
Mar
It’s like knitshame, but for your whole life.
Jac, Mr. Llama, and I were all raised Catholic, but I’m the only one of us that still practices. Lent tends to be one of those rare occasions when we talk about religion at home, because I make some grandiose promise to give up something I love, which I usually fail to keep. For those of you that aren’t Catholic, Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter. Traditionally, Catholics fast and make personal sacrifices and “offer our suffering up to the Lord.”
That was always a strange concept for me, and Lent is a strange 40 days of my life. On the one hand, I want to be a good Catholic and on the other, I can’t imagine God sitting up in Heaven and looking down, saying to himself, “THE ONLY WAY I’LL KNOW MEGAN-ANNE LOVES ME IS IF SHE STOPS EATING OREOS FOR THE NEXT 40 DAYS.”
(God is super old and one can only assume that he talks with the caps lock stuck on.)
So this year, I’m going to try doing things a little differently. I’m going to keep eating Oreo’s. I might even eat more Oreo’s. But, I am going to make a special effort to give back and serve my community. I know many of you are not Catholic or even Christian, but no matter what you believe in, I think we can all agree that it’s worthwhile to spend some time making the world a better place. I hope you’ll consider joining me this month and do something nice for someone else.
To get us off on the right foot, I begin my 40 days of awesomeness with a free pattern! Please enjoy the worlds greatest slippers.
I’m going to drop another free pattern on you every Wednesday for the next 4 weeks, so stay tuned. :D
It’s also no secret that here at Lattes and Llamas, we have a soft spot for Child’s Play Charity. We’ve told you about Child’s Play itself, but I’ve never told you why it’s so special for me. When I was completing my undergraduate degree and working as a nanny, I saw the benefits of the charity first hand when I cared for a young woman with Rett Syndrome.
Rett Syndrome is a unique postnatal neurological disorder that is first recognized in infancy and is caused by mutations on the X chromosome on a gene called MECP2. When I first began working with her family, Tay was relatively independent. Rett Syndrome is a cruel mistress though, and over the three years I worked there, her condition rapidly declined from being mobile and relatively healthy to almost entirely in a wheelchair and battling several severe health complications.
Tay has spent a truly unfair amount of her life in hospitals. Shortly after I moved to Pennsylvania to attend the Drexel College of Medicine, she gave us all a pretty extreme scare and had to be rushed from her family’s Midwest farm to a hospital in Huston, Texas. No kid likes to be in a hospital, and it’s harder still for a kid that can’t always communicate her wants and needs to the staff. Video games, however, are a universal equalizer. Whether you’re stuck in a hospital bed or on a couch with your friends, you can share the same experience. Thanks to Child’s Play, several of the hospitals Tay stayed in were equipped with consoles, games, and accessories that allowed her to at least have one part of her childhood remain intact.
Every dollar helps, so please consider making a donation to Child’s Play.
Please note that the pattern was updated on 3/29/14 to fix a typo. If you downloaded the pattern before 3/29/14 Row 9 should read: K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2 P1, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2tog. (K2P2 ribbing to end for sizes L and XL).
11/24: A glitch caused an older, incorrect version of the pattern to be connected to the link recently. If you recently downloaded the pattern, please download it again for the correct version. Thanks!
~ Megan-Anne
The karmic exchange rate for donated dollars to guilt free Oreos is 1:3.
My mum has told me that before the 80s lent was about doing good not giving up so you are returning to a tradition. good luck
Giving, rather than giving up seems like a much better plan to me :)
Yes! This was the first time I felt as if I accomplished something positive for Lent. I think I’ll do this again next year. :D
I am a practicing Catholic and this is what the priest said on Ash Wed mass .. giving and doing something good to community, giving up something we really like doesn’t do any good to others.
I think the giving up of stuff is meant to align ourselves with Jesus suffering. During Lent maybe do both, Give and give up. Thanks for sharing.
Colleen
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Thank you. What a nice lady you sound. I am a bit boring and have only given up chocolate for lent
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I am not a catholic but seems like Lent is an occation everyone should include in their life.
Thankyou so much for your discription on Lent.