Mocking Me

Over the weekend I was forced to convert to the new blogger. I was completely satisfied with the old one, but I suspected sooner or later I would have to change. It was not a soon as I expected and not as late as I wished.

When I tried to log in, and I selected the "Old Blogger" option I was presented a screen with instructions to create a Google ID. So I got the heck out of there and tried the whole thing again. Four times. Big sigh. Oh, all right. But I'm only doing this because I have to.

Now when I go to the website to log in I am given the mocking choice:

Sign in to use Blogger

But first, where do you blog?

New Blogger Using your account

Old Blogger Using your Blogger account

Choice? What choice? I was coerced!

I heard of all the template frustrations some bloggers were having. A few weeks ago I made a printout of my current template so I could recover anything that got messed up. Thankfully, I have not needed it (yet).

Later this week I'll have to learn about labels, how and why to use them.

Recycled Sweater

It is so close to being done, I'm calling it 'done.' The Artist's new pink pullover tunic is complete except for weaving in the ends related to the neckline. The pattern photo shows a contrast color for the carter stitch cuffs, hem, and neckline, but I used the same color throughout. When I follow patterns to the letter, the sleeves for my garments come out a little too long for my arms. The same thing has happened here. When I had her try it on this morning, we needed to cuff the sleeves a bit. Some of this is due to the fact that I made a size 12 while she would currently wear an 8, but even when she grows to fit the sweater the arms will still need to be cuffed. I never realized I had short arms before! Now I know to just shorten the required length on long sleeved patterns a little.I'm so pleased I was able to make this garment for a grand yarn expenditure of $4.00. Next time I will try to straighten the yarn a little by wetting it down and letting it dry before I wind it into balls.

Vintage Blouses

The last items from the Big Box of heirlooms from my grandmother include these three blouses. They were rather ordinary Sears brand blouses until my great aunt, my grandmother's sister, took her needle to them and created some lovely embroidery work.

These every-day blouses harken back to a day when a lady cleaned her house dressed in smart, put-together outfit and covered that outfit with an apron appropriate to the task.

I suppose when I'm done with this post I should go change out of the pajamas I wore to load the dishwasher, straighten my kitchen and vacuum the living and dining rooms this morning!

My great-aunt designed these for my cousin. But the women in my grandmother's generation were smaller and more petite than my cousin and myself. I think I, at my slightly-shorter-than-average height, am the tallest woman in my dad's family. My cousin passed these along to me hoping they would fit, but it is not to be. Still, I cast a sidelong glance at the Artist and see she is a petite girl. So I'll pack the blouses away for her to try on one day. She may or may not wear them, but it will be fun to see her admire the handiwork and connect with past generations for a few brief moments.

The red and blue have similar floral designs on the front and back. I just love the brown one! The mushrooms look so much like little German Pilze to me. The butterflies, flowers and fern remind me of fairy tale land. Maybe my great aunt was most pleased with this one too, she added her signature to it.

Baptism Day

Today is the anniversary of the Engineer's baptism day, January 27th, 2002.

Tea Party

The Artist was invited to a tea party by a German-speaking family friend. She dressed up and wore a hat for the occasion. She was to bring some German letters she had written and received. I am thrilled she could get this kind of help and attention from someone who can help her with her German skills.

I let her take the camera along. She got some photos of the elegant tea party, but I regret to say The Artist cropped a bit too much of her hostess's head in the photo of her friend! Maybe next week :-)It was a boon to find a letter from our German relatives in the mailbox the morning of the tea party. We learned that a new baby was born into the family there last summer.

Mommy Moment

Last night I had a few errands to run after picking
up the Artist from Tae Kwon Do. When we exited the car in the library parking lot, the Artist asked if she could hold my hand.

I said yes. She continued, "It is going to be hard to stop wanting to hold your hand."

As my heart melted I assured her, "It will not be hard when you are ready to stop."

Her immediate reply, "Well I'm not ready!" accompanied a squeeze to my hand.

Finished Bolero!

At last the Bolero is completed and the lace edging is attached. I'm glad I kept the edging stitches live when I started attaching it to the vest. Wouldn't you know, my measurements were about one half inch off, and I needed to add one more pattern repeat to finish it off evenly.

This is the bolero, and the dress I plan to pair it with. I have a few close-ups for the knitters out there.
Front neckline and opening. Curves from front panels to waist. Back waistline.

Snow

I am thankful for the snow for at least two good reasons. Having this blanket of ice on the ground will limit the number of garden slugs I need to come across in the spring and summer. Bring on the cold! I have informed the Quipper that he too should be thankful for the cold, and perhaps even hope for a little more of it. The cold keeps me from asking him to place pie tins full of beer around the yard to attract and drown those slimy slugs. Furthermore, it also prevents me from asking him to dispose of pie tins full of spoiled beer and drowned slugs. That should be enough to make anyone thankful for snow and cold!

The other reason, last summer the Artist realized -- we did not go sledding at all the previous winter. When the snow was around we were not able to go. When the time allowed, the conditions did not permit it. The kids were longing to go sledding with Daddy. That is just fine with me!

Saturday was the big day. We did not mention sledding to the kids until it was time to get into the car for fear of something happening to prevent them from going. On Saturday, their joy was, at last, fulfilled.

Birthday Party

Yesterday the Engineer had a little birthday party. He had some specific requests:
Chocolate cake with green frosting, no candles, and leaving the lights on for his birthday cake. Those were easy enough to accommodate. We had some little guests lunch with us... ...then it was down to the serious business of playing. Marble runForrest animals for the girls and dinosaur construction/demolition set for the boys.
The Engineer is pleased as punch with his new cowboy duds. He exclaimed, "I'm a cow!" We all laughed and added an extra syllable when we repeated beck to him, "Yes, you're a cowboy." The new outfit inspired our guests to dress up too. Soon a stealthy ninja and slightly tentative astronaut were spotted among us. Our guests were asked to please bring a home made birthday card for the birthday boy. These will be the first entries into his new scrap book. Thank you for the lovely cards! When the birthday boy grows older it will be fun for him to look back over these mementoes of his youth. And one's first friend-party is a great memory.

Pink

I'm so pleased with the shade of pink in this reclaimed yarn. Here are the beginnings of a tunic pullover for the Artist in a pink perfect for her.

I could not get out of my own shadow and the patio doors that usually flood the room with light let a dim grey in through thickly falling snow this morning. But in the close up you can get a better idea of the color. The back is completed, but rather than binding off I have kept the stitches live on holders. I like to use a three-needle bind off at the shoulders and I will need live stitches at the back of the neck to continue with the neckband after the garment is assembled.

More Big Box: Patterns

Among the knitting supplies in the Big Box of my Maman's things was a vintage pattern book full of knit, crochet and tatting designs.

It was in bad shape, falling apart at the fold, yellowed with age and dog-eared at the edges. It was printed by American Thread Company of West Broadway in New York city, but alas, the section that might contain the date had crumbled away. More pages crumbled to dust in my fingers. Other pages I though would be interesting to share. For instance, did you know

"Beading is Back in Fashion"? All these photos are from pattern book #18. The closest I can date the booklet is late 1940s or early 1950s. I don't know how often it was published. I did find someone has book # 61 from 1948 for sale on Ebay.

And To the Ladies...Frills & Furbelows. There's a word I bet you have not used in your blog! I never thought I'd use it either. I wonder if I've even heard anyone utter it? It sounds like something my grandmother from New York would say. It means frills and fussy trimmings. Maybe it is in the dialog of a film like Easter Parade?

Sew Liturgical, I thought of you when I saw this next one. Sorry you need to turn either your head or your screen to the side to get a good look. This was the only alter piece/communion ware pattern page in the book.

I have been keeping up with my own knitting too. The bolero is done, but I decided to add a lace border. I was not happy with the way the stitches looked at the curve on the bottom of the center front panels. This is the little swatch I made of the curved area with some of the lace attached. In this photo it is nearly dry from blocking. The pearls are pin heads -- not worked into the lace. The lace edging rounds out the edges nicely. I now have about 40 inches of the edging knitted. I need to go about another 20. I'll probably make the edging longer than I need and keep the stitches live on a holder while I begin attaching it. I'd hate for it to be short (as it was for my little swatch). It will be much easier to make it long, unravel a few inches and bind it off in the exact length needed.

Liberties With Lady Liberty?

This is a story that happened over a month ago already, but I find myself laughing about it almost every day.

In school, the Engineer (4.5 years at the time) recently learned about several US monuments, including the Statue of Liberty. He was fascinated by all this and was engrossed in looking at all the photos I could find on the web.

For days after we learned about the Statue of Liberty, and even occasionally now, he would strike her pose. He would shoot his right fist up in the air wielding a pretend torch and his left arm cradle a pretend tablet, and exclaim, "I'm the Statue of Liberdee!"

On Dec. 6th, as I was cutting up the oranges St. Nicklaus left in the shoes, I told the Engineer to get dressed while I prepared breakfast. At one point, while streaking from the laundry chute back to his bedroom, he stepped into the dining room and posed, naked but for his socks, with another enthusiastic "Look! I'm the Statue of Liberdee!"

I appeared annoyed on the outside, but I'm laughing on the inside. I repeated my request for him to get dressed!

It reminded me of a favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoon in which Calvin climbs out of the bathtub and takes a dripping wet walk down the stairs claiming to be Nude Descending a Staircase, based on this reference.

Inside the Big Box: Who Knew?!?!?

Underneath all those hats in the big box my cousin sent to me was a dear, heart warming surprise -- a bunch of knitting and crochet tools. I never saw my grandmother hold a needle. As I removed the items from the box I kept asking myself, "Who knew?!?!" I had no idea. But, I suppose, it was a big deal when we were able to visit. Maman had guests when we were in town, so perhaps such things were put away.

I wonder if my maman bought this large and very complete case of Susan Bates needles and hooks. It is very complete and looks slightly used. Maybe she took up knitting for a short time in her life. Or did someone give these things to her? Were they her mother's or her sister's before they came to her. Oh how I wish they could talk!

Inside the case are crochet hooks sizes ranging from 00 - 14, dpns sizes ranging from US 1 - 7, and long needles sizes all sizes US 1 - 8. There are also some stitch holders and a yarn needle case. Outside are some newer needles in aluminum, a set of wood needles, and a set of dpns. Maybe some day I'll learn to use those crochet hooks for more than picking up knit stitches!

There were also a number of circular needles. I have never handled circulars like these before, just metal or bamboo with plastic cords. Most are all metal with a tightly coiled flex wire connecting the two points. And one is a plastic loop that is size US 7 throughout. It is one long , looped double point. I've got to try using it to see how it feels and how yarn moves on it. These are various sizes from US 0 to 5. There were also two envelopes in the big box. One is addressed to my great grandmother and is comes from Duluth, Minnesota all the way down to her in New Orleans with a one cent stamp. Inside is a tatting ring, a butterfly of pink cotton thread, and some lace she had begun to tat. I don't know if I could ever take this up. The detail is amazing. And last-- a copy of the birth announcement my grandparents sent out when my dad came into the world!

Baker in Training

The Artist enjoys baking. In fact, she has maintained for years that she wants to be a baker when she grows up.

Today she had an opportunity to practice. I thoroughly enjoy that her practice sessions require less and less of my involvement each time.

In today's lesson she produced her first pepperoni bread.

The house smells sooooo good! The Engineer did not care for "ham" in his bread, but the Artist and I loved it. Don't get too jealous, Quipper! The bread made a nice paring with the Greek Salad we had for dinner (garbonzo beans, red bell pepper, cucumber, black olives, and a whole lot of basil-with- sun-dried-tomato feta cheese and anchovies). No suitable salad dressing was in the pantry so we mixed olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce and honey with some dried oregano.

I suppose you can say
When the Quipper's away
The palate will play!

Naaa, that's not completely true. I just enjoy a wider variety than he does.

Thinking Spring

This morning I am holding the engineer home from Sunday School so I have an extra hour in the morning. As you know, any job can be expanded to fit the time allowed! While I have been leisurely getting the two of us ready for church, I have also been fixing lunch and folding laundry, and apparently creating a rare weekend blog post, all with the radio on for company.

My favorite local station runs a show called In The Garden With Ron Wilson on Sunday mornings. When I get to listen to the show I feel like a gardener, at least somewhat. My favorite time to listen is the early spring when vegetable garden questions and tips dominate the discussion.

I was interested to hear a tidbit about new updated heartiness zones in the contiguous 48 states as a backdrop to prompting the Engineer through tying his shoes. That was all it took to get me on the computer this morning. (Well, that and the fact that the Quipper left the computer on last night!)

Lo and behold, my state is no longer in zone 5! I wonder how long it will stay this way. This site also has links for specific states and the changes made to the map in the last 16 years. I'll have to get out my books to see if this explains why any of my flowers have been languishing lately. But I suspect it still has more to do with the dense shade the little grove of large, mature oak trees produces. They are easily the dominant feature of our back yard landscape.

Must See TV

This is usually an oxymoron.

But in my lifetime there are a few shows I have considered "must see", or must record to see later.

Some The Quipper and I have enjoyed immensely are:
Highlander

Star Trek Next Generation (The Quipper says this is all mine, he can take it or leave it!)

House (but that feeling has waned, especially for the Quipper this current season)

Northern Exposure

Life Goes On

Alias (first two seasons)

Little House on the Prairie (also all me! I watched with my family every Sunday night for years)

Everwood

and now...
24

My brother-in-law's girlfriend and friend must not be national security threats, they lived to tell... :-)

Happy Birthday, Engineer!

Happy birthday to the Engineer!

He is 5 today.
He is starting do to so many big-boy things,
like taking piano lessons.
He wants to do all the big-kid things his sister does!It is miserable to be sick on your birthday.
We will move your party to next week
so you have lots of time to recover
and you can enjoy yourself at your celebration.
Feel better soon, Bubbie.

Bolero

I have been knitting since I completed the diamond pattern sweater at the beginning of the year. I had enough yarn left over to make this bolero.

So far it is going well, and it feels good to make a quick project after spending lots of time on the sweater. I am now knitting the last sleeve. I have a dress that would be more comfortable to wear with this little jacket than without, so it already has a home waiting in my closet. The Daily Knitter is new to me. I look forward to browsing around their site some more. And just today I found another source, ChicKnits, from a blogfriend at Life in LaLaLumay Land.