They're walking together again

About 10 years ago I wrote something to my Dad for Father's Day. I happen to find it last week not knowing how much it would mean to me later in the week.

It's easy to remember good times when there are so many.

As a little girl I remember looking up at the tall, strong man holding my hand tightly as we walked. I remember how much I loved him and thought nobody was as lucky as me to have this love. I remember the patience it took to teach me so many things - how to canoe and drive the car. I know how easy it would have been to shoo that little girl out of the workshop but somehow, each time I came into the shop or stuck my head under the hood of the car with you, I was met with a smiling face that made me feel welcomed. All the questions were answered, and there were a lot.
Of course, I also remember being disciplined and not getting my way every time I wanted something. Now I know discipline is part of love, that we all need to learn lessons of life - happy and sad. I also know that love does not mean spoiling the child.
As I grew up, that tall, strong man was not as tall as I once thought but was strong in ways I'll never fully understand. I know I gave you more than a fair share of traumas; but because of you and Mom, I grew to become an adult who could love others and accept love. An adult who could look at the world and not be afraid to try. The best gifts anyone can give another are love, knowledge and a sense of self worth. Thank you for giving me these gifts and so many more. I love you now and forever!

Last Sunday I got a call from the hospital that Dad was in ER with an apparent heart attack. Later that day he was moved to their hospice care and on Thursday morning while I was with him he very peacefully and quietly breathed his last breathe on earth and went on to hold hands with Mom again. They were a couple that needed each other and I'm so glad they are back together again.

Unknown Heroes and Inventors

Driving home in rush hour traffic is a great way to let the mind wander (safely so there's no accident!) I bounce past so many topics in my head, its hard figure out how I started at Chief & Bert and end up at pasta salad. Somehow there's thread that binds all the topics but I'll be darned if I can keep up with my free flow thoughts.

Yesterday it all started with the knot in my shoe getting stuck while I was putting them on in the morning. By the time I got in the car I was thinking about my shoes. Who was the person who invented the way we tie our shoes? At some point in history someone decided to use shoe laces and tie them in a bow. People like this person - let's called her Sally cause I'm guessing it was a very clever woman who's husband then took credit. So anyway, Sally was untying the knots in her kids shoes for the 8 millionth time and she decided there has to be a better way. She plays around with the leather laces and discovered if she put little loops in them she could pull them out so much easier. What a time saver. So Sally showed her friends and her husband. They showed other people and eventually it became the normal way for us to tie our shoes. None of us will ever know Sally's real name.

In knitting the same thing happens. Who invented knit? purl? YO? So many things we do in knitting that are just there. Taking fiber and twisting it together and then taking 2 of these twisted strands together to make a stronger one called plied yarn. Who thought of that the first time!?!

Now with the Internet some of the new techniques are getting people's names attached to them. We're learning about the people who make of knitting lives different. Barbara Walker invented SSK (slip,slip, knit) some 20-30 years ago, It decreases a stitch but instead of the stitch leaning to right as they do in k2tog, the SSK leans to the left.

It's a simple thing to us now but when I learned how to knit- it didn't exist. Magic loop didn't exist back then. Knitting is just 2 stitches - knit and purl - but thanks to our unsung heroes, knitting today is so much better than it was even since I started knitting. So, thank you Barbara Walker. Thank you everyone to all the unknown inventors who have invented a new technique for us or created a new tool to make our knitting such a new pleasure.

And- if anyone knows who invented tying shoe laces with loops - let me know so I can thank that person too!

Chief takes over

Mom is busy so she said I could write a post. So all you kitties out there, get your Mom & Dad's out of the way and I'll tell you how to get extra cuddle time. I have Mom totally under my control and she doesn't even know it.

Step 1 - Get Mom's Attention. Sit on the arm of the chair while she's working on the laptop and stare at her with big blue eyes until she can't stand it anymore.


Step 2 - Once she has decided you're not going to give up, she'll help you get into the sweet spot between the computer and the arm. This spot is very comfortable for sleeping and Mom will even pet you while she is working on the computer.

Step 3 - After a while you may need to get her total attention because she's too busy with the computer and not petting you enough. Get up and crawl onto her chest where she can't ignore you. This will get you the best petting time.

In the meantime, Bert is very happy in the kitty cottage in his special spot. He just doesn't have the cuddle time thing figured out yet.

Leaking Brain Day

I read other blogs that have random posts and thought - what a good idea. Some days there are so many things bouncing around my brain I can't come up with a topic. Today is that kind of day. I haven't posted for a bit but really have nothing to post so today is -open up the gate and let the random stuff leak out.

1. I've had the week off and have done virtually nothing productive. Sure, I loaded up the car with donation stuff and drove over to the Bible for Missions store; and I finished my flying saucer socks; and I caught up on sleep and down time; and I got quite a bit done on a sweater; and I got a lot done on my pi shawl; and the laundry is being done as I type and the kitchen was cleaned but - when you think about it - that's a small list compared to the time I have had to do things in. I usually end up doing a lot less than I plan on. It's just the way life is.

2. You can make a meal with virtually nothing in the house. Last night I had noodles, canned diced tomatoes and the usually spices, etc in the cupboard. I made a pretty pretty sauce by adding cupboard stuff to the tomatoes and cooking them down for an hour. Problem is- I have to go shopping today or starve. That's really nothing in the house. Really. The refrigerator has a few cans of pop, condiments, and one bagel. The freezer - one egg muffin; package of corn; and ice. That's it. Really. And I like to cook. I just hate to go grocery shopping.

3. A friend has been having a lot of problems getting her Husqvarna sewing machine fixing (Hi, Toni). This whole story has really bothered me because I was a dealer when I had my shop. I never had a customer wait as long as she has for parts and then have the machine not work properly. I had a great repairman and parts were in within a week - not a month or longer like her took. Toni lives in a totally different state and I am no longer a dealer so I am not able to help her but the story makes me very sad.

4. There are somethings that are so totally unexpected that they give you the giggles that turn into a belly aching laugh - that's a good thing. Last night on Mythbusters Jamie and Adam were testing how far a sneeze will go. They had to make themselves sneeze "on command" and then have the resulting sneeze particles show up and be able to measure the distance. Their method was to use snuff and just before a sneeze came to get some food coloring in their mouths. The result was colored sneezes and leftover color on their faces and in Adam's case, on his mustache. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. Chief and Bert both came in the room to see what was wrong with me and I had Chief so worried he kept meowing and pacing until I managed to stop crying and laughing. If you want a good laugh check out this Youtube video of the show. The colored sneeze starts about 7 minutes in. But- go to the bathroom first; it's that funny!

5. I mention above there's been knitting this week. I have been bouncing between projects each with a different needle size and different technique. This keeps the fingers from getting tired and the mind from wandering too far. Right now I've got a lace pi shawl; garter stitch sweater; simple sock; a knit version of Rust Goes Green bag; Tree of Life afghan; then when I have nothing else going on I'm still working on my sock yarn, mitered, haven't decided what it's going to be project. I tell people it's going to be a shawl but - who knows. People have been donating their sock yarn to the cause and right now I think I have enough for a huge shawl or an afghan or???? We'll see.

6. Bubble Spinner is a huge time suck. I noticed a friend was playing it on Facebook and thought I'd give it a try. BAD MOVE! It's one of those games where you have a cannon to shoot different colored balls and try to hit 3 or more to make them drop off the group. The normal group is colored balls coming down from the sky but this one has the group in a circle in the middle and when you hit the circle it spins around based on where you hit it. I've been playing - just one more game - a lot this week. The link above is for the game at deadwhale.com you can try it there or on facebook if you belong. But be warned - it's very adictive!

Finally some knitting

I did some blocking this week so I could finally call a few projects complete and get some pictures taken. I block a bit differently than some people - I use an ironing board and steam iron. This all started in my machine knitting days when some projects just needed to have the knit "killed" to become a fabric instead of a knit. This technique works great when blocking wool shawls and some other items. For the wool shawl I actual touch iron to shawl after misting quite a bit with a water bottle/mister. The other items are misted and then the iron sort of hovers over the items without actually touching it. Works great on seams. Once they are "steamed" I set them on a flat surface to dry and finish blocking. Using this technique means no pinning or blocking wires.

The one problem with this technique is - well - the iron board is left alone for a few minutes while I bring the completed item to the flat surface and get the next item. I usually don't come back to an empty ironing board and have to reclaim it before I can continue.


First up - my first cousin twice removed had a first birthday party today. (For those of you trying to figure that out - it is my cousin's daughter's daughter)

About a month ago someone at my knit group brought in some hats she had made from Bernat Baby Jacquard. I totally fell in love with the yarn and had to make something out of it. So- the project I had just finished for the party became a Christmas present (it's a little big) and I ran out to get some Baby Jacquard to make something.

I made 2 things. A little vest using a couple patterns and some ideas of my own. It has a couple little green flower buttons and ruffled sleeves. I love this yarn the way it makes little flowers without having to do anything except knit.

The second item to go with the little top/vest is a skirt. The skirt is on the Bernat website in the free patterns for this yarn. It's so cute and was very quick to make. The ruffle is just knit/purl and decreases, very easy.

I had a simple surgery procedure this week and needed to take it easy for a couple days. The first day I hunted up some green stash cotton and Susan Anderson's Ribbit pattern (another free pattern).

Mom of birthday girl loves frogs so I thought it would be fun to make this cute little guy to give to the birthday girl. He was quick and a big hit - especially with the Mom!

Back in April I made a short sleeve vest/top from the Drops patterns that I planned on wearing to Yarnover. We ended up with very warm weather so the top never got blocked and finished. Well, it's finished on except for button, which is typical of me. I've been wearing one sweater for about 15 years and it still doesn't have buttons.

The yoke of this top is all bobbles (actually mini-bobbles) and the body has cables running down the front next to the button band and down the middle are a more complex cable. Yarn is Woolease cause the budget is a bit tight and this yarn is a good basic budget yarn.

Don't look too close at the button band cause you can see the string I based the button band together with for blocking.

Actually - maybe you should look at the string. When you are making something that splits like a cardigan and want to be sure things line up right, the best thing to do is baste the two sides together for blocking and they will match once it's dry and ready to wear.

One more item. Quite a while ago I knit the Haruni Shawl. According to my Ravelry page I finished in April. Well, it got blocked this weekend too - finally.

It's out of Knit Picks Telemark yarn. Thicker than the recommended but it works and will be a nice warm shawl on cool evenings.

There's a few more items but I won't be posting them until I decided what I'm going to do with them. There's the Christmas present for our little 1st birthday girl; several accessory items that will either be submitted to magazines or I'll be doing a self published accessory booklet. We'll see what I decide.....

Coming Soon

There's a couple things coming soon...

1. I've been knitting but things that I can't post because of a few people that read the blog. This weekend all will be revealed and I can post pictures after that.

2. I had a simple day surgery procedure this week that ended a long time problem. This means coming soon is healthier, less problem filled me. Sorry not much in details but this is the Internet and it's very public. Some things are best left a bit private.

Knitting pics and cats pics later this weekend - stay tuned........

Happy Birthday Bert

August 14, 2004 was a big day in our family but at the time I didn't know it. That was the day a cute little bundle of energy was born.

3 months later this little bundle came to live with Chief and me and he told us his name was Bert. Bert has made our lives much fuller and taught us many things.

Bert showed us how to do his best Yoda impersonation on the first day he came to us.

It took a few days for Chief to get used to this little guy but soon they were sharing everything including meals.


Bert learned how to sit and would spend long lengths of time sitting up just looking at the world

He loves to watch TV but has decided Craig Ferguson is his favorite.

Bert and Chief love to play with each other. Just like all little boys they play hard and they play rough.

After a hard day of playing Bert loves to relax and watch more TV.

Bert has been a great hunter lately. He helped stop 2 mice from setting up housekeeping. This great skill came from hours and hours of practicing catching the little gray mousey.

One of Bert best skills the past 6 years has been to pose for pictures. Tell him you have a camera and he strikes his best pose. Or should I say - I tell him I have a camera because as cute and full of energy as this little guy is - he's scared of people. No one gets to meet Bert which is just a shame.

So little guy - sit back and enjoy your birthday. Today you'll get some special treats and big snuggle time. Thanks for agreeing to be a member of our family and bringing so much joy.