As a mother, I constantly feel like I am juggling many plates. There are so many things that need my attention and everyone feels their item is more important than anyone else’s. This is a problem most of my friends experience at some point in their life. However, I have no solution to offer you. If you are in a season of life where the juggling seems hard, know that you are not alone and one day this season will end.
Juggling the plates of motherhood is not where I was headed with this post, and I’m not sure exactly where it came from. Rather… I wanted to share with you a set of juggling balls I knitted for my son. He has managed to teach himself how to juggle by reading a book that came with an inexpensive set of balls he received a few Christmas’s ago. He has gone through two sets of balls, but they do not seem to last. I decided I would knit him a set that will hopefully last longer. With tomorrow being World Juggling Day, it seemed the perfect time to share these.
I began with 100% cotton yarn from my stash, size 5 dpn’s and a free pattern I found on Ravelry.
The pattern is for a basic ball and recommends that you stuff them with bits of yarn or batting. However, juggling balls need more weight. I took a piece of old panty hose and knotted one end. I filled the panty hose with 1/2 cup of un-popped popcorn and tied the other end off. This “sack” was placed inside the ball before it was finished. This ensures the kernels cannot escape from in-between my stitches.
My son has loved playing with these. It won’t be long until I need to add another ball to his collection.
Happy Knitting
