Jan's Shawl

Last month I posted about my sister-in-law, Jan. I also said I wanted to create a shawl in her honor with profits going to the LA County fire department. The shawl is now ready and I hope you like it. Please consider purchasing this pattern so we can show some love to the people who risk (and some lose) their lives daily for our protection and safety.

Jan's Shawl is knit with 1 skein each of 2 colors of fingering weight yarn. The sample was made in Arucania Ranco (376 yd/ skein). The main color used virtually all of the skein while the second color had about 20% left. Jan was a strong person, physically and mentally so I didn't want the shawl to be fussy. She also had her soft side so I added a simple lace edging. The shawl, like Jan, has some unexpected details - the center is a slight wedge which creates a softer edge to the tip.

Below is the description from the pattern's front page:

Jan's Shawl 

by Jill Chatelain

My sister-in-law, Jan, choose a life that involved helping people. She became a fire fighter knowing the risks. Jan worked her way up the ranks and became the first female Fire Captain for LA County. One of the risks I never thought about was cancer. Fire fighters have a far greater chance of getting cancer from all the toxins they encounter on the job than the average person. Jan had another first when she became the first female Fire Captain to pass away on active duty when she lost her battle with job-related cancer this year.

In honor of Jan I've designed this shawl. It's not a fussy shawl but is strong with some unexpected details including a small wedge in the center to soften the tip.  Like Jan, it commands respect but has a softer side with the lace. I think she would have liked this shawl.

All profits will be donated to a Fire Fighter support group.

Chaplin Matt of the LA County Dept. will be helping choose which specific support groups will best benefit from these funds. I'd like to thank you all in advance for buying the pattern and supporting the fire fighters that became Jan's second family.

To purchase - click on this link  Jan's Shawl

The link will take you to Ravelry's Store where you can purchase the pattern for $5.00 via Paypal.

As stated above - all profits will be donated to a fire fighter support group that Chaplin Matt will help choose.



SO What Next?

Sometimes things just keep happening and you barely recover from one thing before a new event takes place. That is what this summer has been about.

First, there was the big storm that knocked out by power for 4 days. Next, there was Jan's funeral and all the events that went along with that. The weekend after I got home found me with a massive tooth infection and basically out for the count.

Lucky for me, I had some leftover Vicodin from my foot surgery. And before you say anything, I know I shouldn't be taking it without doctor approval but, it was Friday night and I had a whole weekend of a boatload of pain to look forward to and I decided to carefully self medicate and get to a dentist first thing Monday morning. So, that weekend was take a pill - eat a little - sleep a lot - repeat.

That Monday morning my dentist got me in first thing and by the end of the day I had emergency root canal and more Vicodin and Antibiotics to make things better. It took 10 days to get my cheek/tooth under control and next up is a new crown for that tooth.

In between all this I've dealt with the hottest summer we've had in a long time and  well, I'm ready for a little bit of nothing for a while.

This weekend will be a family gathering that is a celebration. No trauma, no diseased teeth, no anything bad - just family good times together. Maybe the last month of the summer will be better than the first part!

I'm hoping to get some pictures of the Jan Shawl this weekend and finish up the pattern to put it up for sale. When it's all ready, I'll write a post about it and let everyone know where it get it.

Just so you have a picture and something to look at - here's a project bag I made for a friend during a swap this summer. It's a small 8x8x8 lined cube with 3 loops and a handle. The handle fits thru the loops to close the top and make it a nice little bag to carry. The embroidery design on the front is from Embroidery Library but I didn't stitch the "Love to Knit" that was below the design.

Stars, Yarnbombing and a surprise

This past week I've been in LA for my SIL's memorial service. You can't go to LA without having a little drive around to see the houses of the stars.The typical view is of gates and a lot of bushes. This is 9481 Readcrest Dr in Beverly Hills. Isn't is a pretty house? Oh, you can't see the house?

 

 

Let's try Bing maps. I love checking things out on the computer to get those lovely shots you would never see in real life. This is, according to the info I got, Bette Midler's house. Or, at least it was her house at some point, I don't know if it still is. If you look toward the middle right of the picture you can see the gate where I took my picture.

 

 

Moving on down the road a bit and over near Rodeo Drive is Roxbury Dr. It is/was the home of many, many stars. The exciting thing about Roxbury is you actually see the houses. They are on the street just like our houses. Here's one of them. It belonged to Lucille Ball. Her next door neighbor was Jack Benny, next to him - Peter Falk.

 

 

The one thing that surprised me about the house was how small it was. Yea, its big compared to my house when you think of a star's house, not so big. Until you do the Bing map thing. Here's how the house looks from above. Much bigger, much more what I expected.

 

 

Another thing you need to do is have dinner at the beach. My last night my brother and I headed over to Redondo Beach pier and ate at Kincaid's. Wonderful food and the view was the sun setting over the ocean. That doesn't happen in Minnesota!

 

My trip to LA included a couple fiber related things. While driving along the beach on a small side road I had to stop suddenly and take a quick picture. Yarn bombing big time - on the beach! This is the yard of a house about 2 houses away from Santa Monica Beach. Knitters are everywhere!

 

 

The other fiber thing that happened this week was a surprise. I've made my brother afghans and quilts over the years but never expected to see this.....

 

 

 

This is the first quilt I made him. It used to be more vibrant colors but then that was in the mid 1970s. Can you believe it! I made this quilt almost 40 years ago. It was made block by block. Each block was sewn as a complete piece - velour backing, batting and top sewn as a sew and flip. Then the blocks were sewn together top and batting together and the backing was hand sewn. There are a few holes in the top, its very faded but here it is - proof I can make things that can be used and survive the years.

 

So, now I'm back home. Back to Minnesota with no ocean beaches but I do have a yard. Grass that is bigger than 5 feet by 5 feet. A yard I can move around in and breathe in without bumping into 20 other people. A yard I can celebrate July 4th in. We live in a great country where everyone can find a place that works for them. My brother loves LA - I love Minnesota - we both love this country!

Fire Captain Jan Chatelain - you will be missed

I don't like to announce when I go out of town until I've returned because of the whole " someone's going to see I'm gone and break into the house" theory of things. Now that I'm back I can talk about my trip to LA. Unfortunately, it wasn't a vacation - it was for my sister-in-law's memorial service.

Jan passed away a couple weeks ago from a job related cancer. That's a term you don't see too often unless you know someone in the fire department. You see, fire fighters work with smoke and asbestos and other toxins that increase their chances of getting cancer to way more than the regular people. They know this going in and take on the job anyway. If you look at the reasons firefighter pass they are almost always heart attacks or job related cancer. This is a fact I didn't know until recently.

My SIL was a Fire Captain for LA County. She was the 13th woman to become a fire fighter in LA County. She is the first female captain to pass while on active duty. She was in line to become a Battalion Chief. Jan was a force to be reckoned with. A strong woman who knew what her passion was and she went for it.

Last Saturday we all gathered to remember this remarkable person. The we being friends and family and what felt like the entire LA County fire department. It was a hot day and about 200 firefighters showed up with their trucks, rigs, cars, paramedic vehicles and more. There was a giant flag hanging from two ladder trucks over the street we drove in on. The department provided my brother and me with an official escort for the day so we didn't have to drive or worry about anything but showing up and being amazed at how much organization and care went into the memorial.

Chief Daryl Osby, fire chief of LA County, gave a talk about Jan and her service. He also had some personal words about her that showed he really knew her. There was an honor guard with bag pipes and it all ended with a flyby of 2 helicopters. Later we learned they held off heading out to a brush fire for one minutes so they could complete the flyby.

The LA Fire Department is amazing. The 2 chaplains (Matt and Rick) who spent time with us were great guys. The union rep from Local 1014, Andy, had everything so in control and did so with such care. The term family really does description the fire dept. By the day before the service Andy had already made sure Jan would be included in this year's service at the fire fighter memorial in Sacramento and was working on getting her included in the National memorial in Colorado for next year's service. Thanks everyone, you made a tough time easier to endure for my brother!

Through all this I was knitting. On the plane, at my brother's house and now at home. I've designed a shawl that is basic, strong and has some feminine accents to it. It reminds me of Jan. When I've completed the shawl it will be for sale as a PDF download. The proceeds will be going to a group to support firefighter families. I'm talking to Chaplain Matt about which specific group and will let everyone know when we decide the best one. He's checking around to see if there was a group Jan spoke of or worked with and that's what we will send the proceeds to. It seems so little but its what I can do to honor Jan and all the members of her department that give their lives to protect others.

The Boys Big Week



It's been a big week around here so The Boys decided to show you what they've been up to.

 

 

We had some knitting and watching quilting videos time. Notice we're into June and there was still a sweater on my body for this pic. At least we're finally into summer like weather now. It's about time! Back to knitting and watching videos - I've been very happy watching "The Quilt Show". It's a web show and you have to buy each season but I lucked into getting Season 8 for free. They offer several episodes from past seasons for free so you can give them a test drive. Bert seems to like them very much! If you want to see all the free episodes you'll need to "join" but it's free.

 

We also had some time to hang out in the kitty cottage. Bert loves to find the smallest window in the cottage possible and hang his head out till he makes choking noise. Very strange! It had Chief confused too.

 

We had normal versions of napping with each of them taking their place on the kitty jungle gym.

 

After a nice restful nap there has to be bath time. Chief usually gives Bert a bath but every once in a while Bert will return the favor. I think it's Chief thinking he's the older brother and having to take care of the baby.

 

 

This week has also started a new and rather disturbing thing. Check out the picture. I'm standing in the den/cave. The room with the tile across the hall is the bathroom. Notice anything that might cause problems when I don't bother to turn on the lights to go "across the hall"? Multiple times this week Chief has decided to stretch out right in my pathway. I don't know if its because the floor is cooler there or what. It can't be because he wants more attention because he spends a huge amount of time on my chair or my chest with me watching TV and he's never been denied cuddles so I just don't get this.

But - it's spreading. Tonight right in front of the bathroom door was both Boys. With swishing tails. Very proud of themselves because this seems to be a new game of "Let's see if we can trip up Mom". I can hardly wait to see what they come up with next.

 



I have a couple things that I can't show quite yet. I'm part of a secret swap with one of my Ravelry groups and I can't post thing thing I made until my swapee gets it. I hope it makes her very happy. I had fun designing it.

I'm also designing a shawl in honor of my sister-in-law. She's a Fire Captain (recently retired) with LA County. I was not aware of how many fire fighters end up suffering from various forms of cancer because of the work they do. It makes sense. You can't work around smoke and toxins and all the things fire break free from buildings without having some nasty effects. There is a group that supports the firefighters and their families and have been a great source of support with my sister-in-law because, she too ended up having to fight the cancer battle. When the shawl is done I will be writing it up and putting it on Ravelry for sale. It will be a small cost and all profits will be donated to the fire fighter support group. I'll give more details and pictures when everything is ready to go.

Happy Father's Day

Miss 'ya Daddy!

Happy Yarn Bombing Day

I did absolutely nothing to celebrate International Yarn bombing Day but - I have friends. I have awesome friends! Lori gets into yarn bombing in a very creative way. She doesn't knit a flat yarn piece and just slap it up on a tree or something, she creates works of art.

A few year's ago she knit a hat to fit over the hat on the Mary Tyler Moore statue in downtown Minneapolis.

This year a dragon over a bike rack. What is extra special about this dragon is it's location. Apparently, she didn't even notice the pub across the street until after the dragon was "birthed". Across the street is a pub called George and the Dragon. How perfect is that!

 

 

The last picture may take a bit to open because I left it "full size" so you can enlarge to see the dragon and pub better.