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Though I hovered over my spring bulbs today coaxing them to grow faster, I don’t have to wait for baseball anymore.
Spring Training has begun. My boys are back!
To celebrate the occassion, my cousin bought me a new Phillies shirt designed by Thom Lessner. I just love it.
Originally uploaded by freakin pizza
In memory of my grandfather who fought in WWII, in memory of Dan’s grandfather who fought in the Korean war, and in memory of the millions who fought for the freedom we hold so dear
Happy Memorial Day!
To my readers in the States, I hope you enjoyed the long weekend. I certainly did! I’ll be back tomorrow with knitting news and a tag.
On our daily walk, Jake and I cut through the park next to the Borough Hall. Within the park is a lovely statue of a black bear holding a trout.
Once Jake caught site of the bear, he began to growl and hunch down (attack mode). At first I wasn’t sure what Jake was growling for; I was busy searching around for what was bothering him. Not finding any danger, I commanded Jake to cease with his growling and continued on through the park, advancing towards the statue. Jake stopped in his tracks and started growling again. Looking back at him, I realized he was growling at the bear statue.
Of course, I giggled at him. Determined not to have a dog scared of inanimate objects, I advanced to the bear without Jake. I knocked on the statue, proving to Jake that the bear was hollow and not real. Jake advanced cautiously, but soon agreed with me; it didn’t smell like a bear.
Though I tried to get a picture of Jake with the bear, Jake proved unwilling. It still looked like a bear. One can never be too sure. Apparently, when meeting a bear, you are supposed to growl at it, letting him know you are voracious hunter. Then, you walk briskly away.
I’ve never felt so safe in my life.
PS. This picture was taken by a fellow Flickr user.
I feel the time has finally come for me to frog the sweater jacket I made 6 years ago. It never looked right on me. It was never long enough. Rather, it was too long in the front and not long enough in the back. Two of me could have fit in it. The cables were way too big for my frame. I’m only 5 feet tall (let me convert that for the rest of the world – 152 cm). Each cable repeat measured 3 inches (7.6 cm), 5% of my height.
Do you see the size of those sleeves? They measure 18 inches (45.7 cm) wide!
It has taken me 6 years to frog a sweater jacket that did nothing but sit in storage all those years because it is more than just a jacket. It was my crowning achievement to the early knitting years. I was proud as a peacock that I knit something so large and so beautiful. I can also tell you exactly where I was when I was knitting it: in Tennessee attending Dan’s grandparent’s 50th anniversary. I was sitting in a glider chair in Dan’s Uncle Scott’s house on picture day, the day we all lined up outside to take pictures of the whole family together. I was younger. Dan and I had only been married for approx 2 years. I was still uneasy around his family – his father’s side of the family to be specific. I can’t ever remember being uneasy around his mother’s side.
There is a big difference between Dan’s mother’s side and Dan’s father’s side. His mother’s side welcomed me into the family with open arms. I felt loved, totally comfortable, and an integral part of the family within a month. Only now do I feel like I am a part of Dan’s father’s side of the family. I truly enjoy spending time with his father and fam where before I dreaded going down to TN or over to his father’s house. Partly because time has worked its magic, but mostly it is due to the fact that I no longer the anxious, wanting-their-approval, naive girl. OK, I’m still a bit naive, but I’m ten times more confident and have no need for anybody’s approval.
My marriage with Dan has blossomed over the years. My sister now loves to tell me that we’re old married people. Part of her teasing comes from the fact that her marriage isn’t as strong or as happy. It pains me. Long have I wished for her to have the happiness I have known.
So, this sweater is a testament to our marriage. It is a gauge of how much I have grown into a woman. It is still a crowning achievement of my FOs.
My mind is made up though. I am frogging it. I plan to make it into the sweater jacket I have always wanted it to be.
Cables & Ribs Scarf
Originally uploaded by craftygirl83.
CraftyGirl83 made a scarf for herself from my Cabled & Ribbed scarf pattern. Isn’t it lovely? I just love the yarn that she chose to use. Craftygirl83 informed me that the yarn was a birthday present from her friend.
If only we could all train more of our friends and relatives to buy us yarn …..
Jane of Glorious Hats tagged me. Well, shucks, color me bashful (the color of grey if Eeyore is to be trusted). I’m honored to be tagged by somebody whose hat making skills blow me away.
The rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.
7 Facts About Me
1. I like my tea the way the Irish do: Strong enough for a mouse to scurry over.
2. In order for me to recall an event, I first have to remember where I was when it happened.
3. My favorite Christmas song is “I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas”.
4. I eat 2 breakfasts (almost) every day.
5. Every Fall, I go on a Leaf Tour with my husband and 2 dear friends.
6. I am a dedicated thrower (knitting term that means I knit in the English way).
7. When hand quilting, I do not use a thimble, preferring to use the inside of my fingernail to push the needle along.
Tagging 7 People
1. Mrs. H who always makes me laugh when I read her blog
2. Marti and Laurie, sisters who share their funny life stories and their beautiful knitting patterns
3. Loren who roots for the wrong baseball team (the Phillies is the Right team, of course), but makes up for it in her stories of her very large family (1 husband, 2 sons, 1 chocolate lab, 1 cat, 2 goats, and several sheep … plus I might have missed some others) and her hand spinning
4. Jean LaRue who makes truly unique felted bags
5. Maple & Cassie whose pictures of their many alpacas never cease to make you go “Awwww”. Maple then spins and dyes the alpaca fleece into yummy yarns, while Cassie supervises.
6. Tracie, an avid crocheter, has just recently made the move to become a full-time designer & teacher. Congrats to her for having her very first submission to a magazine be approved!
7. Brenda who spins natural fibers into beautiful yarns on just a drop spindle. You may recall that she is spinning my Christmas yarn up. 
Have I ever mentioned that I am married to a computer geek? If I hadn’t, let me tell you now. I am married to a computer programmer. He’s a consultant for Arris Systems in KOP (King of Prussia for those not in the Philly area).
So, when I have told family members in the past that I have a blog and an Etsy store, they automatically assumed that the Husband set it up. I’ve actually fought with people who wouldn’t believe when I said, “No, no I did it all by myself”.
So, why am I telling you this? Because, today I set up my own website using Google Pages. No help from the husband, I did this all myself. I’m awfully proud even though it’s rudimentary at best. I still have 9 more patterns to upload onto the site, but I couldn’t wait to tell someone.
The pic on the front I created in PowerPoint to showcase all my 14 designs. I borrowed (stole!) the idea from Tracie. Thanks!
The “Buy Now” links on my website are from Payloadz. I learned about this company through the Designer’s group in Ravelry. Payloadz works in cooperation with Paypal so designers like me can offer downloadable patterns. For the icing on the top, the service is free until you start selling over $100/month. How great is that?
Have you heard? The indie (independent artists) community has a new website where artists can meet each other, meet prospective buyers, and meet prospective retailers. It is called IndiePublic. Of course, I have already set up my page on it.
Knitting news: After many attempts and a boatload of frustration, I have finally worked the kinks out of my Lucky Purse lining and drawstring. Hubby is home today so I may not have a chance to post pictures this afternoon, but I’ll have them up by Thursday for sure.
Have a wonderful day, All!
More exciting news of the day: I’ve been invited to Ravelry. I’ve heard all the craze about it. I’ve been envious for months while I read blog after blog about how other knitters and crocheters were being invited.
I received the e-mail invite this morning. I updated my profile right away and that is where I am stuck. I’m a little bit confused as to how to use the rest of the Ravelry tools. They have instructions. I just might have to break down and read them.
Well, I promised more knitting news later today. And I do have a sweater to show you, but you must have noticed the lack of pictures by now.
My husband’s grandfather passed away this morning. So, rather than tell you about trivial knitting stories, I want to tell you about him.
When I first met Pop, shortly after my husband and I were engaged, I thought him a quiet, old man who only raised his voice every once in a while and who loved his fat cat, Nermal. Then, I got to know him. He was filled with so many good stories. Stories about how his mother canned tomatoes (he knew how much I loved to cook and to hear cooking stories, how he fought in the Korea War (though he never spoke of his time over there), how his mother and then his step-mother would make home-made strudels (you had to stretch them out on a huge table until they were paper thin) and how he met Gran. He was full of songs too. While he was in the hospital, he sang German drinking songs to my husband. He had a great sense of humor.
He will be sorely missed.
