The Prayer Shawl...

I've been busy. This last MBA class is kicking my butt and I've got the holiday knitting well underway. And there were those 2 wedding cakes... Yeesh! I'm happily busy (except for the homework stuff) but it's been awhile.

So, one of the projects that's recently finished is a shawl for my MIL. We lost my FIL this year due to Parkinson's Disease. If you want to know more, or if you want to donate in someone's honor or memory, go to http://www.pdf.org/ - the website for the Parkinson's Disease group.

Anyway, there's a story here (what's new?). About 3 years ago, I went into the hospital for a 24-hour observation that turned into 4 days of tests for pneumonia that I kept telling them I didn't have. Well, for the first 3 days, I wasn't telling them ANYTHING because I couldn't talk! This was after 4 days on a 5-day antibiotic; I actually got worse, and my doctor was concerned. I was pretty much scared because that's not normal for me. I don't get sick often, but when I do, it's usually a doozy. It ended up that it was bronchitis, which is what I'd been telling them!



See the puppy bottom left? Ham!



Back to my story: I have a group of friends who know I knit; the one who lives closest to me brought me a basket from the group, and it included 2 DVDs of mysteries, some wonderful HoneyCrisp apples (my favorite, and only available this time of year), a mum and 7 skeins of Homespun yarn. The yarn sat around a while till I figured out what I wanted to do with it. I don't use Homespun often, but once the inspiration hit me, it was clear.



 I made this shawl for my MIL. The color is Sierra, and as you can see, it's rather large! What's hard to see (sorry - the only place I had room to spread out for a shot was in the hallway!) is that the colors are very pretty: there's tan, brown, black, cream and a rosy pink in there, and the colors just wash down the body of the shawl in almost a sunset pattern.

The shawl is a pattern from Lion Brand yarn and can be found here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/khs-triangleShawl.html

Minus the fringe. I don't like fringe. I did like the fact that this was (a) an easy pattern to do - I needed mindless knitting; and (b) an easy-to-care-for yarn. There's nothing special needed - my mother-in-law can just toss it in the wash. It's certainly big enough for her, since she's shorter AND thinner than I am!

As you can see, it reaches past my rear end, and will drape around her nicely. Click on the picture to enlarge it and get a better view of the shawl. Notice our puppy in the lower left? She couldn't stand that she wasn't part of the action!

I did this on needles 2 sizes larger than the pattern recommends; I think it's nicer this way - the "bulk" of the shawl is there, but it's more drapey and more fluid. The gals at the LYS said they thought it'd be too dense if it was done on the needles called for - and frankly, I didn't need yet another pair of big needles I was only going to use once in a while.

I need to run this in the fluff cycle of the dryer; the dogs came around to check on me as I knitted, but they left the shawl alone; our middle dog kind of barely touched the shawl, but I don't think she liked the "bouncy" feel of it, which is fine! One problem I do have with Homespun is that it does snag! Since my MIL has no pets, that shouldn't be an issue for her.

The shawl used 2.5 skeins; I had 7!! So it'll be a few more shawls, and maybe a scarf or two. But not now. I have some more Xmas gifts to get to, and a few more baby items. Pictures of those will come shortly.

We'll be taking this to our parish priest for a blessing, too. She'll like that, and I think it's appropriate as she faces the first holidays without her spouse of 60 years.

If you knit or crochet, consider a prayer shawl. You don't have to pray over it! You just knit and think about the person for whom you're knitting. Couldn't be easier. When they're wrapped in the warmth of what you've made - whether shawl, lap robe or afghan - they'll know you've held them in your heart as you've worked this with your hands.

Cake #2... All Done!

So I have finally reclaimed my kitchen and office. In the past 2 weeks, I've baked enough cake to feed 350 people. Yowza.

This last one, however, was fulfillment of a promise I made nearly 15 years ago. The bride has been my friend for a long time and is the last of our core group to be married. We 3 others in the "pack" used to joke that we'd wear the tartiest dresses we could find - in fact, we'd delight in picking out the most inappropriate dresses we could find on our quarterly shopping trips (and our ages ranged from md-40s to nearly 70) and we'd tell Bride that "that's what we're wearing to your wedding."

I'd kid her that she'd better get married before my hands got too old to do her cake. And finally, that day came. The Groom looked a little stunned. We all laughed during the ceremony, held outside, when it started to sprinkle. It must've discombobulated the groom because he got all flusterpated and couldn't even recite the vows. Bride ended up cracking up and saying, "Close enough!" But seriously, the fun is what makes the ceremony memorable.

A deacon friend of ours (he officiated at our wedding) mentioned that he'd had a ceremony that morning "that was perfect; and the couple won't remember a thing. If you can't laugh or have one personal moment during the ceremony, it's pretty boring!"

Formal Wedding Cake

So here's the cake. Sorry the picture quality isn't great. My camera decided to flake out on me and the flash went wonky.

This cake was much more formal than the Softball Bride's cake. This is a yellow cake with chocolate buttercream filling and white buttercream frosting. The ribbons were ordered online and took me a good 2 weeks to find! They're cake ribbons, and the top one(as you'll see in a close-up shot) had Swarovski crystals in it. I could've put that ribbon on the entire cake except it was $20/yard!! The crystal-studded ribbon looked lovely when the lights were dimmed and the spotlight was on the head table. I have to find the link that I used; they did have ribbon where you could customize the colors of the crystals, but for the small amount I knew I wanted, it was easier to go with the plain crystal. Particularly since I knew what her topper looked like already. I didn't want to clash with it - I wanted to accent it.

The cake stand was something we found online, and I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with it. It does look crooked, and I think it would've worked better with a 3" cake that was torted (cut into thinner layers) and then frosted. This cake was (from the bottom) 16" x 2 (2") layers; 12" x 2 (2") layers; and 8" x 2 (2") layers. That's six layers of cake plus the filling. Maybe it would've worked better with less cake in the middle! At any rate, I can use it for a lovely cookie display for the holidays.

The chocolate buttercream actually made my hubby's knees wobble! Three words: organic dutch process. Oh. My. It was such a rich chocolate; you really got the scent and then the hit of chocolate in your mouth. The white buttercream kept it from being overpowering, and the overall effect wasn't a tooth-rattling sweetness, which can happen with some cake fillings.

I ended up glazing this cake with apricot preserves. That keeps it from crumbing too much and also keeps the cake moist. Only a few people caught the apricot. Usually it's a pretty neutral taste, but if you're good, you can tell!

I used Duncan Hines butter recipe golden. That's a lovely firm cake with a nice texture that holds up well.



Cake Top with Crystal Studded Ribbon

 Here's a close-up of the top of the cake. The cake topper was provided by the Bride, and my hubby had to make the base for it. She wanted it on the top, and we weren't sure, since it was lead crystal, if it wouldn't end up IN the top! We also put a piece of cardstock in the back so you could see what the inscription was.

It almost ended up on the floor!! We were watching, after the ceremonial "cake cut" to see when the wait staff was going to take the cake. And I happened to see Hubby dash up to the front. Look at the picture above. Do you see anything anchoring those cakes to the stand? That's because there ISN'T anything holding them in place. Except gravity!

The waiters were just about going to whisk the cake onto a bus cart. Hubby grabbed the topper and told them, "STOP!" and then explained that you had to take each layer off the stand; it couldn't be moved all of a piece. Whew! Disaster averted... till I saw how they were cutting it.

I think that I'll start including cake cutting diagrams when I deliver them. You know you have a problem when the woman says, in a somewhat snippy tone, "I know how to cut a cake." Well...any 4 year old can cut a cake. But do you know how to properly cut a wedding  cake? This woman didn't! The pieces ranged from clumsy chunks to slivers. I was disappointed. The other thing? They're cutting it and whipping it onto a table, but didn't bring forks out! Hello, people!! They finally got forks out for the guests.

One thing I did like was that they cut a certain portion of the cakes and then they put the remaining slices into lovely little cake bags. That is such a nice way to allow the guests to take the cake home, and hopefully it avoids waste of the cake.



Little Buddies...

 One more picture: the bride loves teddy bears. I couldn't resist parking these two next to her cake. Yeah, she probably has 6 or 7 of the same ones, but what the heck... I had to have a little fun! I put their names and date on the tag. Also, in their wedding card, I gave her two snips of the ribbon to put in her album. If nothing else, the bears are just a little bit of fun for a bride who's found the love of her life.

I am not sure that I want to do that many cakes in that short of time as a regular thing! I enjoyed the real creativity that I was able to use. Even this one: I was told "I want simple and elegant" and I think that's what I gave her. I did have some white satin ribbon roses, but it ended up that I really didn't need them. The complete simplicity of just the topper and the ribbon was enough.

No telling when my next cake will come about. Or what the subject will be. But to me, that's half the fun.

The Latest Wedding Cake...

I've been doing cakes (the fancy kind) for almost 30 years. Whew! I counted it up when someone asked me, and it surprised me that it's been that long.

Normally, I do a couple of cakes per quarter; baby showers, christenings, the odd wedding. Well, this time, I seem to have acquired TWO wedding cakes in TWO WEEKS. The first one is pictured here. It was for 190 people, and the groom is military. The fun part was that the bride and groom are softball players.

It came about because I know the bride's sister. I've taken classes with her and she mentioned that her sister was having a hard time finding someone to do her wedding cake. I'm not sure if it was because of what some bakeries charge, if it was a matter of getting a design she wanted or what, but the wedding was about a month away when I told my friend I'd talk to her sister.

Here's my cake-making philosophy: I don't do fondant. I do home-made buttercream that even avowed "frosting-haters" will eat. I don't deal well with people who dither. I do my own interpretation of your idea and my cakes taste good. All of my fillings are home-made, too.

You are getting a really good cake for what you're paying - which is usually less than a bakery will charge you.

Batter up! Softball themed cake

Soooooooo. I meet the bride, we discuss what she wants. And she says that she wants a softball for the cake top, and it's a "surprise." Okay. We can do that! See the picture for how it turned out.

Originally, the bride wanted round cakes and sheet cakes. That's a trend that's a few years old. You make a "presentation" fancy cake and then the remainder of the cake is usually a sheet cake or two, which are basically undecorated. Makes it easy on the designer but it's kind of boring.

This was a white cake, with chocolate buttercream filling, and white buttercream frosting. I asked if she was wedded to the circular cakes. She asked if she could see a drawing or spec. Nope. I don't do that because half the time I don't know what I'm doing till the point where any reasonable bride would be panic-stricken.

But not to fear. I've never missed a deadline, and I've gotten rave reviews from everyone I've done cakes for. As you can see, there are stars on the side of the cake. If you look closely at the pillars, you'll see red, white & blue beads in the pillars, too. The groom's military affiliation is noted in these decorations. The stars are gum paste, which I cut out using a cookie cutter. Gum paste is "old school" and I love it! It's edible, tintable and you can do flowers, shapes and all kinds of things (including people if you want!) with it.



Play Ball! Groom pitches low-and-inside to bride.



You may notice the photo here: the "cake topper" was actually not on top! With the bride's request for a softball for the top, I had to do something with the darling figures she had - and I only had 6" pillars! So the happy couple went off on their own cake, complete with little bases set in. Obviously, not to scale, but fun all the same.

The border is actually a shell border. But if you look at it from a little distance, it almost looks like little softballs! Believe me, that was a happy accident!

Of course, upon delivery, there was a "fat-finger" moment. Everyone who's ever delivered a cake has those, and if they say they don't, well...they're telling stories! Every time you deliver a cake, you pack a "kit" in which you have an extra tub of frosting, a spatula, a bag with tip, wet cloth and extra decorations if needed. Believe me, you'll need them!

One time I was delivering a cake and someone cut me off in traffic. As I slammed on the brakes, I uttered a quick prayer to the "Cake Genie" that the cakes were ok. Well, the top went over a couple of times. So as my mom is telling the bride that the cake will be ready in a few minutes, "...and why don't you go check your veil and make sure your make-up is ok," I'm frantically making roses and re-frosting a good 2/3 of the cake! It was lovely when it was done! But it sure told me to ALWAYS bring a kit. Failure to do so will cost you because it will come back to bite you.

Top view showing softball detail

Here's another quick look at the top, so you can see the softball. I intended to do it with the star tip, but after looking at it, I ended up going "smooth" so you could see the stitches. It's tecnically not correct, because a real 14" softball has white stitches, but for this purpose, I used the chocolate buttercream. I ended up getting a picture off the Internet so I could be sure.

Did you know that 14" and 16" (a Chicago invention mainly) softballs have different stitch patterns? I didn't know that till I had to call the bride to figure out what size softball they played -- thanks to my assistant at the office who asked! Whoops!! It would've been a baseball otherwise!

This week's cake is the total opposite: basic and traditional. I'm not sure how it'll look yet; I'm frosting tomorrow. I'll take pictures and you can see what you think. There's a little more pressure on this one: it's my friend's wedding and this is our gift to her. I hope she likes it!



Yes, it IS important...

I've been listening to and reading the news for a while and I've come to a couple of conclusions.

(1)  Democrats are incapable of fighting dirty; even when they try, it turns against them. I'm not sure if this is a fundamental part of their DNA or if people who naturally may be disinclined to fight are more naturally drawn to be Democrats.

(2) Republicans know how to organize and get their members all on the same (albeit crazy) page and script.

And (3) If Democrats sit on their collective rumps this November, we will have deserved what we have gotten.

You need to get involved. Not necessarily in a national way. Not necessarily being a "big donor"... but get off your rear end, quit complaining about how "nothing is getting done" and GO DO SOMETHING.  You have to be part of the change. Change doesn't happen when everyone is waiting for "someone else" to do it. Change happens when EVERY single person gets up and does ONE thing to change his or her world. Whether globally or locally - one person CAN and WILL make a difference.

Work on a campaign for something that is important to you. Work on a charity or for a cause that means something to you. Contribute, if you can, time OR money to a worthy cause.

Write letters. Make phone calls. TALK to people about why your issue is important.

Go vote.

Please, I beg you. Do not be one of those "my vote doesn't matter so why bother?" people. If everyone waited for "the other guy" to do something, what would happen? Not much.

There's been talk in the punditsphere that people are apathetic. The economy sucks (to put it mildly), corporations are acting in their own best interests by giving their CEOs huge bonuses and not hiring anyone to "cut costs." And they don't quite see that if nobody's working, nobody's spending... There's also talk that people who are poor and who vote Republican are acting against their own rational self interest. And they may be. You have Republicans in Washington who want to cut benefits for kids, the poor and the unemployed.

Kids? Who needs to worry about them? The poor? They're just not making enough money. Let them eat cake. The unemployed? Lazy buggers who don't deserve any jobless benefits.

Hey, guys??? Didja hear about the corporations who were NOT hiring and who gave their CEOs big bonuses for cutting costs? And didja notice that when people DON'T work, they DON'T spend??

My purpose is to persuade each of you to act in your own rational self-interest. If we lose a majority of seats this November, and if in 2012 the Republicans are back in power, it's going to be dark days for our country. Remember back, if you will, to the past 8 years. Bush created fewer jobs in eight years and he had a surplus to work with. We're mired in 1.5 unjust wars; we're spending our great-great-great-grandkids' money. People in this country go to bed hungry. Seniors worry about whether or not to pay the bills or get their medicines. Husbands and wives worry that the next round of job cuts will include their jobs. There's talk of another "Great Depression."

But Republicans in DC can say that Medicare is a giant "milk cow" and that Viet Nam vets get "too much" health care. And that there's "no money" to pay for additional unemployment benefits. Well, let me think...how about taxing your corporate buddies (you know, the corporations who are now considered "persons" by the Supreme Court) when they ship jobs overseas? Those jobs are essentially "free" for the corporations. For tax purposes, overseas headcount "doesn't count."

Or how about we stop trying to fight wars everywhere and pay attention to the mess that is our own back yard. Wars cost a lot but somehow, there's always money for that, even if the war itself is an unjust act.

How can we change this? Maybe we can't make a sweeping change. Like pregnancy, it takes a while to get into this shape and it will take a while to get out of it. But that is no reason to weep, wail and sit on your backside bemoaning the state of things.

You need, now more than ever, to become involved. You protect your own self-interest by helping another person.

Go out and vote when elections come around. Go out into your community and see what you can do to help. First off, it'll make you feel good. Second, it's a great example for your kids.

Third -- it's the right thing to do.

Grandma's Pearls...

As I've said before, my grandma was a talented needlewoman. My mom sews up a storm and can do lots of other things, but needlework (the fancy kind: knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, embroidery)? Nope. Not her.

None of the females in the family except me - I'm the only one who picked up a pair of needles or a hook and went to town. I guess I've always like things that you do while sitting!

Anyway, I have a bunch of Grandma's needles and hooks, and I was lucky enough to have some of her swatches, which I am going to frame in a shadow-box arrangement. There are bits of stitch patterns, one baby bootie, some edging - just things you could tell she was trying out.

(top) white pearl lariat; (bottom) pearl rope with multicolor thread

And her pearls. Grandma did these ropes -- oh, I don't know how long ago. But I am lucky enough to have them. And I wear them. And everywhere I wear them, I am asked about them.

And reminded again - whether in my own mind or in the comments of others - of how lucky I am to have them. And to have had her to teach me.

The top ones are probably my most favorite. It's basically an I-cord strung with tiny little seed pearls and it's a lariat: I can tie it wherever I want and wear it however long I want. It's beautiful with a sweater set, a suit or my black velvet dress.

The bottom ones I actually snagged from my mom; I told her that since I was still working, I could wear them (and I do) with lots of outfits. This one is a rope that Grandma did with the variegated crochet thread. This is something I usually wear doubled, but the other day, I tied two knots in the rope and it was quite pretty. I wore it with a white tank top and a tailored oxford shirt (in blue) that I wore open as a jacket, with black chinos. The blue of the shirt really picked up the blue parts of the thread.

I have no idea where she got the pattern or if she made it  up herself, which is entirely possible. She was surprised when I showed her the "front post-back post" pattern in crochet because she had been doing that for several years, and calling it a "waffle" stitch.

I have so many of her items: baby afghans for the two boys. An afghan I've been using for 30 years on my bed. Stashes of her favorite yarns. A bone crochet hook, a wooden crochet hook, and many of the aluminum and plastic ones. These teeny-tiny steel crochet hooks she used to use -- at least on the pearl ropes for sure -- but also on the dishtowel hangers you put on your kitchen drawers. She crocheted the tops for hers. She taught me that. She taught me to knit.

She taught me that with patience, you work one stitch at a time, and then you have a finished object that's beautiful and useful. For years and years, if you're lucky.

Akin to the poem about "I Had a Mother Who Read to Me" I am thinking "I Had a Grandma Who Taught Me Needlework." The skills she taught me got me through lonely times, depressed times, sick times...sad times.

While neither boy has decided to pick up needles of any sort (though they do mend - I managed to tell them it's a very "manly" thing to mend your own clothes!), they appreciate what I do and they've benefitted from it. Countless scarves, each one getting a hat this Christmas. One afghan done, another one a WIP. Hacky-sacks, if I can figure out the *^&% crochet for making a ball!! Juggling balls that they use to amaze their friends.

I think my grandma would love the fact that I am carrying on her tradition. I have the afghan for my nephew's baby on the needles already, and while Grandma preferred crochet over all the other forms, I'm knitting the baby stuff. And I think she'd approve. She'd have loved the car seat blanket I've already got done. And she'd love this afghan, the hat and the booties. It's amazing. She's been gone a year already, and I'm not sure where the time went. Truth be told, she'd have been over-the-moon with the announcement of the new baby. That would've made her a great-great-grandma. I hope she knows and I hope she's smiling.

If you're a grandma who does this, teach it to your kids or grandkids. If you're a kid or grandkid, learn. Not because celebrities do it.

But because your Grandma can teach you. You'll love it. I promise.

It's D-O-N-E!!!

The baby car-seat blanket, I mean.  After several "frogs" -- including frogging to the entire end of the project and starting over once, this is finished.

As you can see, the blanket is done in a non-gender-specific color that I equate to a "Dreamsicle" and it's in the pima cotton that I just love. 


I'm actually violating my "no computer on Sundays" habit to get this out - I was that excited! I washed it in Woolite and then blocked it on Friday, and let it sit till this morning.

It's lighter than I thought it would be - but then I've never knitted a baby afghan in cotton before, so I wasn't sure what it would look like. Nonetheless, I'm pleased with it. It's just the right size for a car seat and it's just the right weight for a "too-cold" seat in a restaurant, at a friend's house - whatever the situation warrants; and while it won't keep the little one toasty in winter, at least it'll do for the other 3 seasons. And it'll make a nice additional layer in the winter.

The lace was a very simple pattern, and I'm really jazzed at how nicely this worked up. I was able to join the second ball at the beginning of a purl row, which worked out nicely. I have most of that second ball left, so I may take a fly at a bonnet or some booties or mitts. I don't want to do anything more than that, because I don't want to buy another hank of this color and have leftovers! Maybe I'll just do a few baby-sized wash cloths. This is much softer than the Sugar 'N Cream that I use for dishcloths and my own face. I can imagine this on a baby's bottom would feel really nice.

Stitch definition pops!

As you can see, the stitch definition of this yarn is really extraordinary. And I used Addi Turbo circular needles (not lace needles, just a plain size 6).

This is my gift to knitters everywhere who are intimidated by "lace knitting." This isn't a fine mohair shawl. It's not one of those gorgeous old Russian patterns.

But this is lace. So if you haven't tried it, please add it to your skill set. It's simple yarnovers, SSK, and K2tog.

I have to say that the weirdest thing is the decrease when you finish the border row and start the chevron panels and then the subsequent increase at the end. I think this was the designer's way of being able to fit the whole bottom and top bands into the design. A little clunky, in my opinion, but it does give you the chance to practice your increases and decreases.

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima, and you can find all kinds of information at http://www.cascadeyarns.com/ along with all the yummy colors. It's a 100 gram (3.5 oz) hank, about 220 yards, and this is color number 3749.


Again, give this type of pattern a try. "Lace" isn't a scary word after all. I can remember telling my Knitsters that I "wouldn't have the guts to try lace." Well. I was wrong. Here's the proof.

Expand your horizons. All you need to do if you really don't like it is rip it out!

Maybe "Thinking" Is In Order...Instead of "Hysteria."

OK, so everyone's shorts are in a knot about the community center and mosque being built in Lower Manhattan. And everyone's shorts are in a knot about President Obama's comments that (gasp!) even MUSLIMS have the right, in this country, to worship freely.

Let's dissect this for a second, before we all act like lemmings going headlong over a cliff.

Remember OK City? Remember the Murrah Federal Building? How many Christian churches are in the vicinity of that site? Because, if there ARE churches there, they need to be torn down. Because Timothy McVeigh was a CHRISTIAN terrorist who blew up a building, killing innocent Americans, including so many children! So tear down that evil, anti-American CHRISTIAN church near the hallowed ground of the Murrah Federal Building. Because a TERRORIST took innocent lives there. A TERRORIST killed Americans.

Oops. I guess it makes a difference if the "terrorist" looks like us.

Do you see how foolish that is?

Do you see how we are one nation that allows particular religious freedom, and that's one of our inherent rights as citizens?

Do you see how, if these screeching harpies get their way, we will have taken a hatchet to one of our most cherished beliefs and rights?

This nation was not founded on Christianity. This nation was founded on the idea of religious freedom. That means, in essence, the freedom to worship in your own religion. In peace. Without the threat of persecution from zealots from another religion who would prefer to kill off ANY other religion than their own.

So we stop the Muslims. Look at the math, people. The Muslim religion is a major religion which is just as old as, if not older than, the Jewish faith and Buddhism. Christianity is the "new kid on the block." When did Christianity become a bully religion?

We really need to regain our humanity. And our ability to think instead of react in a knee-jerk, sound-byte fashion.

Bad Influence...

Quinn in total bliss!

So Quinn, our puppy, is notorious for sleeping in the most contorted poses ever! I swear she has no spine. Here's a picture of her in one of her favorite poses: what we in yoga might call "Twisted Root" but without the extreme hip-swivel.

She used to try to get under my chair as a puppy, but now she's so big, she's likely to overturn the chair onto me!

Our elder dog, River, is pretty staid. She's a very dignified Husky, former show dog and champion. We adopted her when her kennel owner was downsizing, and so she was a rescue of sorts. She's the Grand Dame of the household and gets certain privileges.

She gets greeted first. She gets the first treat (though she has to sit for it, at least). She gets the first belly-rub. She's got glaucoma, so she's half-blind; the one eye is totally gone, but the other is really sharp, particularly if you're carrying an apple, a piece of cheese or anything remotely consumable. She also has Cushing's Disease, an ailment common to humans, which means her adrenal glands are out of whack. Extreme thirst is one of the indicators, so she gets to drink out of any of the 3 dog water bowls. She gets a shot of V-8 juice in her dinner (her pre-dinner drink, we say) for the potassium.

And she likes to lay in the traffic. I mean, if you have to walk over her, she's pretty much where she thinks she ought to be: in the middle of it all. We say that she'd make a horrible watch dog - she doesn't bark (she will woo-woo, but only in extreme provocation), and she'd likely help you out with the stuff you're stealing. On the other hand, she makes a great tripping hazard.

We figured River would teach Quinn her puppy manners, since Tippi, Quinn's mother, rejected the litter and when we brought Quinn home, Tippi ignored her. River used the "Husky Paw of Pain" on her a couple of times. Not really "pain" but a big old hairy husky paw on top of the head of a misbehaving puppy has quite a startling effect. And a well-placed snarl or lip-lifting does wonders; as does a glare from the one eye that still works. That ice-blue stare puts Quinn right in her place.

River upside down!

However...it seems that River has learned something from Quinn, as evidenced from the following picture. I'll set the scene for you. River is napping next to my chair. Quinn is touching her (which she likes to do - she's got to touch one of us if she can). I see a movement out of the corner of my eye, and I glance over to see about 65 lbs. of husky R-O-L-L-I-N-G to a dead-center stop. She does a stretch, curls up her toes, and then lets loose with a big, long S-I-G-H-H-H-H as she naps in this position for about 10 minutes. I thought I'd never get the picture because I was laughing so hard.

I guess that this is proof that old dogs can learn new tricks! 

Cry Me a River...

So Tony "I Want My Life Back" Hayward has left the position of CEO of BP. Don't bother shedding any tears for the man. He leaves, after totally screwing up one of our most precious resources, with a platinum parachute: he'll get a year's salary of about $1.6 million (yes, one-point-six million dollars) as part of his severance package. And he gets his pension, and retains his rights to stock options.

Nice work for messing up the Gulf of Mexico and being a walking gaffe in action every time he opened his mouth.

He's being reassigned to Russia working on a joint venture. I think with his severance, he can afford a pretty nice place over there.

Just a reminder of what he's leaving: 

Oil-covered pelican

Blown well polluting the Gulf

Clean-up crew (notice no haz-mat gear?)

Well on fire

I'm thinking this is a pretty good day's work for Tony. He has nothing to regret for his tour as BP's CEO.  Quoting a former president, "Heckuva job, Tony!"

I hope he can sleep at night.

Two Down...

Yay for me!! The hats for the kids are D-O-N-E!  But there's a funny thing. Look at the picture.

Christmas Hats in Superwash Wool

You may think "wow, the blue one is bigger." And it is, a little. But look at the blue stripes - there are 2 stripes per color on each hat. For some reason - and maybe it's me, but I think it's the yarn - the brown stripes are "thicker" than the blue ones. The blue hat took a whole extra pattern round to get to the 6.25" from the cast-on edge. Same pattern; same brand of yarn; same needles.

Anyway, they're done. I'm chugging along on the Learning Sweater; taking my time finishing it. And frankly, I need to. I'm kind of sick of looking at it right now, and I need to work on some other projects.

Speaking of work --- I really need to get Dear Hubby to look at this laptop's keyboard. It hasn't been the same since the Puppy Drop Test... it works much better when I have an external keyboard attached; otherwise, it feels like I'm banging away on it. Yeesh; just like the shoemaker's kid; it'll take me several rounds of "strongly suggesting" that he look at it!! LOL -- poor guy; he really doesn't need me to nag.

He just needs to fix my keyboard.

Back to knitting - I'm on a roll with a baby car-seat-sized blanket!

The Smell of Irony...

So the Republican'ts can't seem to force themselves to vote to extend unemployment benefits because it only "encourages laziness" among the worker-bees.

This is the group (along with any Democrazies who vote against it) who have LIFETIME health and retirement benefits, and pretty much life-time jobs as long as they don't screw up too badly.

They've just appointed a temporary seat-warmer for Robert Byrd's seat (the recently deceased Senator who became the longest-serving US Senator in the history of the US in 2009) - and they'll have to hold a special election to fill the seat permanently.

Now, you have to realize, this temporary seat-warmer will be a senator for about 6 months. Lucky for him, he won't serve long enough to receive either a pension or health benefits. According to http://usgovinfo.about.com/ members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans as other federal employees. They are not eligible for a pension till they reach age 50, but only with 20+ years of service. Without doing a crap-load of digging, I can't tell you if the temp-guy gets health benefits, but somehow, I don't think so.

Thank goodness.

However, my kid - an unemployed welder - could be denied further unemployment benefits because some rich fat white guys/gals (and that's not racist: look up the percentage of minorities in Congress) decide that he (my kid) will "become lazy." I snort in the general direction of those people. Those people who have lifetime pensions larger than I'm likely to receive; who have lifetime health care likely better than I will receive. They want to deny people with and without families who are suffering in this nasty economy a basic right to which they have contributed. There's something both ironic and mean-spirited about that. Don't even give me any bunk about "contributing to the deficit." Particularly if you subscribe to the new Republican't mantra of "It's the Democrats spending like crazy."

Are the Republican'ts that tone-deaf? They're getting as bad as the Democrazies who are unable to get a  coalition of the willing together, even WITH an instruction booklet. Hey, Dems - the Repubs are NOT interested in bipartisanship.

Here's more in the smell of irony category. Apparently, Newt Gingrich, who wants to run for Prez in 2012,  says on the Today Show that the bank bailout is Obama's fault. So is the war in Iraq. Newtie, Newtie, NEWTIE... Can you count, dude?? The bailout was a last-ditch effort of Shrub's to leave Obama with a steaming pile of manure. And that "drunken sailor" remark in regard to Democrat spending??? I do believe Shrub was spending all that money on a preemptive war of dubious worth in Iraq.

Let's look at those pesky facts. Shrub invaded Iraq in 2003. Obama got elected in 2008. Simple math: 2008 - 2003 = FIVE. FIVE YEARS of Shrub's War. Not Obama's.

Right now, I'm not a total fan of Obama's - he needs to play rough, and he can't. Adding the abortion clause to the health care legislation is playing along with (R)s who wouldn't pee on him if he was on fire. Sorry - it's the bald truth.

On October 3, 2008, the Senate passed the $700 BILLION bank bailout bill. Obama got elected on NOVEMBER 2, 2008.  That bailout was done under Shrub's watch TWENTY-NINE days prior to the 2008 election. And even after the election, Obama wasn't sworn in till January, 2009. Again - Shrub's Bailout. Not Obama's.

I realize how when the smoke of the burning irony gets into the eyes, it's hard to see the facts. But they're there. And we can easily find them. Finding those facts, from reputable non-partisan websites, took me all of 5 minutes using Bing.

Before you wholeheartedly put your vote or support behind a political party, please do some basic research. Before you listen to a talking head, no matter what TV or radio station, please help yourself by researching the topics.

The political talk is going to get uglier, if you can believe that. And I truly AM a cranky piece of work when it comes to my kids and what will happen to them. I'm all for them not being pampered, but trust me - unemployment is not pampering my kid. He's lost his home; he's lost his vehicle (an old Ford F150 pickup); he has bills which we are NOT paying for him. He's living in our basement. I'm telling you - he's feeling awfully ashamed of himself, and there is nothing he did wrong. He's a victim of an economy that went into the crapper and he has a lot of company.

Finding a way out of this mess will cost money that Obama has to spend. It's not entirely his fault. Afghanistan IS his baby. The economy and Iraq are not. In order for us to make and keep our nation great, we can't sit back and be spoon-fed. We need to wake up and smell the irony.

Of hats, booties and news...

Good news: The Learning Sweater is done! Not assembled, but done. I will put it together next week with the help of my knitting teacher. I won't be able to wear it till fall. Since the joke at the shop is that it was a "Two-year sweater project," it's probably better that I have a season to let the sweater sit.

So, on the Project List, we can cross off TWO items! Well, one actually done: the hat pictured here. This is for Kid One; Kid Two's hat is on the needles now. It looks small, but it's a beanie hat, from Knitting for Him by Martin Storey & Wendy Baker. I did it in 3 colors of SandesGarn "smart" super-wash wool. Since the kids do their own laundry, it's bound to happen that a hat will end up in the wash. And if it's in regular wool, it'll be a Barbie-hat!!

I didn't want my hard work to go through the rinse cycle, and I wanted the hats to be warm and durable. Acrylic wasn't an option. My LYS owner suggested this superwash, which is kind of a unique feel to me, since I've lately been knitting with either a cotton/merino blend or a pima cotton. What a "scratchy" yarn, I thought. Till I washed it. It softened up really nicely.

Kid One wanted "browns and greens." Kid Two wanted something to sort of match his winter coat. His will be navy as the base color, tan to match his coat and gold. So far, I think I honestly like the first version better, but maybe that'll change as the second hat moves along. Remarkably, it's knit flat, and seamed. All in all, it's a super-quick hat - a faster knitter would've had it done in a weekend. I carried the colors up the side, since you change every 2 rows. No sense spending time and effort weaving in a gazillion ends. I thought about ripping Kid Two's hat out and starting with tan as the base color, but I really like the idea of a darker base color.

And the leftover yarn will be used for (insert drum roll here): my new great-neice or nephew! My sister is beating me to the Grandma-Train, which is certainly fine by me. She couldn't contain herself, and told me. The kids are happy with the news and will wait a bit to announce to the family at-large. So, after the announcement, my Inner Granny (which I thought was somewhat dormant, but I guess after the afghan and quilt I did for friends' kids, and the bib/burp cloth combo, that Inner Granny does stir once in a while) --- well, my Inner Granny went nuts.

I have a list of things which will be knitted for the wee one: I'm using the leftover hat yarn for some simple booties; the colors are kind of non-gender-specific, and even if I only use the gold and tan, they'll be nice additions for the youngster. I'm also doing a car-seat-sized afghan in a really pretty (but not girly, just in case) lace pattern - which will probably be done in the pima cotton for ease of care. And I'll do a bonnet and mitts. Those are also non-gender-specific, because they'll be a simple basket-weave, if I can find the flyer I'm looking for!!

The flyer was a hand-over from a nun friend of mine. When her mom died, she left an abundance of crochet hooks and knitting needles, a selection of old (I'm talking 40+ years old) patterns and some stash. I used the stash as pet afghans, which were appreciated by the dogs that got them. I have been using the needles and hooks, and the baby patterns will now come in handy - but I have to find them!!

If I get really ambitious and ahead of schedule, the little one will also have a simple quilt.

My kids have already announced that I shouldn't wait for grandkids. Kid One announced it first, and said to Kid Two: "It's all you, buddy." Was my world rocked? Not really. I like to think that I raised my kids to live their own lives. I'm not pining for grandkids. I can be the crazy great-aunt who knits for the rest of the family.

Kid One already said he knows he's not "father material." And yeah - that can change if he meets the right girl and the circumstances are right. The only thing I told him was to keep an open mind and make sure that there were no instances where he was "surprised."

Kid Two has a while yet. :)  He may or may not follow that path, and I'm ok with whatever they decide. My wish is that they have a job they love, income enough to be comfortable, and with any luck: someone to make them happy.

I like to think that my Inner Granny is channeling my own Grandma. This August will be a year since she died. It was at least 6 years prior to her death that she laid down her needles and hooks, and gave in to the blindness that caused her so much pain. I'm the only grandkid who picked up the implements and I feel like I'm carrying on her legacy.

Grandma, you'd have loved to have been a great-great-grandma! I'll keep you in mind as I knit these things for the little one to come.

The Phone Call, Great Grey Dogs, and Rescues

So my sister calls me today, rather sheepishly.

Seems she's rescued a dog; problem is - we took in Quinn the puppy because she (Sis) was going to adopt her. Oh well... she was really afraid I was going to be upset, and kept emphasizing, "but it's a rescue and if I hadn't taken her in, she'd have been killed!"

Which is, unfortunately, true. I told her that I'd come see the dog in a few weeks (give the dog time to adjust, give her other dog enough time to settle in, etc.) and I'd take a look at her (the new one) to see what I thought. Of course, I did tell her that I was glad she took in a rescue rather than purchasing from a pet store or back yard breeder.

Not to give ALL backyard breeders a bad name, but they've got more "bad apples" than good, and some folks who selectively breed are tarred with that brush, which is unfortunate.

So it looks like we're a household of "Great Grey Dogs" - Norwegian Elkhounds. Or, if you prefer, "elghund" - which is Norwegian for "moose dog." Elkhounds are a compact dog with a talent for flushing moose, occasionally bear and sometimes elk. They go out in packs of two or 3 dogs - sometimes one dog will go by itself. The dogs track and corner the moose and bark like crazy, alerting the hunter(s) to come get it. They're fast, agile dogs who can think for themselves.

Thus, they are not a dog for everyone! In Norway, they're considered a "farm dog" but here in the US, they're most often seen in dog shows or specialty breed shows. They're excellent therapy dogs, good at obedience trials (they love to solve puzzles) and great at agility and rally, because of their energy and eagerness to complete a task. They're happiest when they're kept busy, and are not good for people who don't want to spend time around their dog.

Who in the world would get a dog and then not want to spend time with it? What a silly person!

Quinn actually went to my sister's house to play with her one mixed breed (I'm thinking greyhound mix). That dog was fast, but Quinn was quicker. She took corners at lightning-fast speeds, and confounded the bigger dog, who stood there a couple of times, whipping her head around looking for her. And then Quinn wanted water. So she jumped onto my sister's deck. A deck that's about 4 1/2 feet off the ground. And she cleared it, without touching a step. Good thing she never figured out she could leap over my sister's 4' fence surrounding her yard!  Here's a quick picture of the two of them playing: (hint: Quinn is the furry one)...

There are very few Elkhound people in our area, and in a way that's good for the breed. Those who know the dog, love the dog. And while we'd love our Great Grey Dogs to be in the spotlight, we also have seen the downside of that. Think 101 Dalmations... Overbreeding and puppymill people coming out of the woodwork have tanked the Dalmation breed for the casual owner. The folks who know what they're doing will continue to breed great Dalmations.

Idiots will breed without regard to pedigree - unknowingly, or uncaringly breeding dogs with bad temperaments, congenital defects (like the deafness that's common in Dalmations) and other issues - and then sell them to unsuspecting and ill-educated owners who "want the cuted spotted puppies" and don't realize what they're getting into. The idiots will breed "to make lots of money."

Those dogs are the ones we see in rescue transports every week. And they're not only one breed. I can rattle off about a dozen breeds we've seen, both large and small, where the dogs were kept in crates their entire lives, and females were literally worn to a nub from breeding, breeding, breeding.

Talk to a responsible breeder. See how much "money" there is, and be prepared for the responsible breeder to laugh his or her head off. Talk to my one friend who had stayed up literally 3 or 4 nights in a row because her mommy-dog had mastitis and had brand-new puppies who couldn't nurse. Talk to her about how, when one little boy was born, she had to do doggy-CPR on him to get him breathing. Talk to her about the vet bills. And what happens when she doesn't sell her dogs - or if someone buys one and finds out that it's not a good fit for any reason. Responsible breeders make a contract with you - if for any reason, the dog doesn't fit anymore, they take it back.

I could go on. And I frequently do, particularly when people find out that we foster and are involved in rescue. And then they mention getting a dog from "Furry Friends" or a "guy in the neighborhood who breeds dogs as a hobby" or any of the chain stores that sell them.

The point is, my sister did put a kink in our plans, but it was a good kink. I'm glad - and proud of her for taking on the responsibility. She's in for a challenge, but she's also in for the good stuff: the dog who realizes that he or she is "home forever" and turns into the most loyal companion you will know. No matter the breed or the heritage - that look in their eyes (see my profile picture) says it all.

Garden Bounty, Frogging and Re-doing

Seems like an abrupt change of subject from the Godawful pictures I posted last time. But it does have a certain rhythm to it, if you think about it.

So recently, we were able to get our first harvest from the backyard garden. In my hand is a bowl of lettuce: 4 varieties, with more sprouting during this very wet spring. And in my hand is a bunch of radishes. These juicy red globes of goodness have a very mild flavor until after you swallow. Then, there's this slow-starting afterburn. Yum!!

The lettuce includes butter, red oak, red sail and romaine. We try to mix it with iceberg and spinach. It's spicy, sweet and tender. We think we'll get a second (and maybe a third) planting if the season holds out on us.

We have carrots coming up. Our beans are about 1-2" long. The peas are flowering. And the tomatoes are coming along nicely.

All of this life in our yard makes us sad when we see the news. We feel impotent and unable to do anything regarding the Gulf. Our oldest kid, unemployed for the moment in this absolutely stinky environment, has applied for clean-up jobs. He'd like to volunteer, but he'd rather get paid at this point. I worry about the things a mom worries about: the lack of oversight (in my opinion) of the clean-up people; the lack of HazMat equipment; the long-term health effects he may encounter; the fact that people seem to ignore the toxicologists who say that this stuff brings with it a host of health issues that are both short- and long-term. But as he says, "I feel like a schmuck just sitting here, since I'm not working anyway." He's one of those "I want to fix this" kind of people; whether it's people, a sick animal or a dying Gulf. He has a more-than-healthy dose of scorn and disdain for Corporate America, since he's in the generation of those young folks who are "Boomerang Babies" - out on their own and then suddenly caught in the worst recession in modern history, living in Mom's basement with no foreseeable move-out date.

I don't know what the future holds for him or the Gulf. But he seems to think that their futures are entwined somehow.

"Frogging" has a long history as a knitting term. What sound does a frog make? "Ribbit, ribbit," right? Well, what does a knitter do when he or she screws up big-time on a project? "Rip-it, rip-it." Thus, frogging. And I just did that.

Remember the burgundy prayer shawl? My first lace project? Well, there were some mistakes in the first part. Apparently, Sl1 kw (slip 1 stitch, knit-wise) was something my head understood, but my hands didn't. And then there was a nice long stretch of pattern on the knit side where I just wasn't paying attention.

I looked at it. It was not good. So... rip-it, rip-it, rip-it. I'm re-doing it and in the process I changed the foundation rows, too. It's a better project. And I'm a better knitter because of the fearless (well, ok, not fearless but necessary) ripping of a good 6+ inches of work!

Re-doing is sometimes necessary in knitting and in life. In knitting as well as in life, a re-do gives you the opportunity to rectify mistakes, fix a concept that "sounded good" but wasn't practical in execution, and generally make yourself a more skilled technician. You get to learn to read your knitting. You can literally 'feel' where you went wrong. And there's no penalty from the knitting scorekeepers for re-doing something. Knitting mulligans go on and on, till you are satisified with your project.

As should be the case with the oil industry and the fiasco in the Gulf. Re-do the standards that allowed the Oil Barons to get away with not only screwing up our environment but screwing up our own heads and our own government. Our heads got screwed with because we began to believe that oil was the be-all and end-all for our energy needs.

It's not. And you know what? It's a very finite resource, considering the world's population, its needs, and the actual amount of oil available.

Our government got screwed with because they were seduced by the money that Oil Barons had to spread around. Look at MMS and what happened when the foxes were in charge of the henhouse. Oil people would "pencil in" the inspection reports for MMS personnel to re-do in ink. This is a case of a re-do that should have been a re-don't.

Our environment is screwed with because oil and water truly do not mix. The dispersant that BP has used has a MSD sheet (Material Safety Data sheet) that's as long as your arm. The MSDS as it's known is a sheet (or several) of information on a product that tells you what's in it, how it will react in certain situation (environmental, etc.) and what happens when the particular product encounters a living organism. And what to do about that when the thing that happens is really, really bad.

I used to work with a product that, in its parts, was fairly innocent. But together, they were exothermic. They cast off heat. Enough to give you second-degree burns. And then, if you mixed one part with water, it exploded. Those are not nice things to have happen when you're near the product.

The dispersant causes health problems to the people using it. It's allowing BP to "fudge the numbers" because it's causing the oil to change character - be less easily accounted for, basically. And it's causing the oil to sink down to the lower depths where the "dark creatures" do the work of creating life.

Think about it. There are bottom-dwelling creatures that eat the detritus of life: the carcasses of dead animals and plant castoffs. They eat these, essentially recycle them, and recreate that life in fertilizer, allowing others to benefit from their work.

They don't eat oil. They'll die. And when the bottom-feeders die, the Gulf will die. It may well never recover. All of the Earth's water will be affected.

And as the water goes, humanity goes. This is one re-do that should have been re-done 5 or 6 Administrations ago. We all know that politicians often don't see past the next election. And their acceptance of this money from BP and other Oil Barons is a measure of their own greed.

Our acceptance of the "fact" that Oil is the one resource is a measure of our own reluctance to be the brave Americans we once were. We need to step outside of our petroleum-based lifestyle and look at solar, wind and water power. Each has its own drawbacks, true.

But we've already seen the drawback of Big Oil. And our childrens' children will continue to see what we let happen on our watch.

How''s that "drill-y-spill-y" thing workin' for ya?

Drill, baby, drill? Look.

And remember.

This is what our Gulf, our gift from our Creator, our treasure, our priceless wildlife refuge, and our unspoiled bit of nature has become.

Remember this and think of your kids, your grandkids, and your family to come. They're going to miss what you knew.

And we have ourselves to blame. We have had a Cosmic Thump On The Head. We'd better heed the message and start getting serious about alternative energy. We are hogs. And we're paying the price.

Apparently On a Roll...

I must be on a roll, in a good way. I've finished a second baby project. And both were done before shower or due dates! Wow. I may faint.

This is the crocheted afghan for a friend's grandbaby-to-be. She's been madly knitting and crocheting her own heart out, and I thought that she'd like to have this for the little one.

This also has a story... My niece wanted to learn to crochet. My grandma taught me when I was in the single-digit ages and nobody else in the family was eager to learn. They all thought I was a suck-up, apparently. But I enjoyed knitting and crocheting, even though I never got very far with crochet - only doing afghans, wash cloths, scarves.

So when my niece said she wanted to learn, I was more than happy to teach her. I went out to buy this yarn, figuring that I'd start her with something out of my stash; start her on simple squares before she got to the point of having to change colors, etc.

She is struggling, needless to say. Her busy schedule prevented further lessons, though I expect she'll get back to it soon. I told her she could have THIS yarn when she learned the 12 squares I gave her.

This is a Caron yarn, in "brights" - 100% acrylic and done in 10 strips, all sewn together with a mattress stitch, and then a half-double crochet around the edge. I think the lucky baby will enjoy it and the lucky mommy will find it really easy to care for.

And I can always get my niece more yarn. When she does her squares.

One Down, One to Go...

OK, so my oldest friend's daughter is having a baby. The shower is in June. I figured, since there are no grandmas to knit or crochet, and my friend can't sew worth a lick, I'd do a quilt and afghan for the baby. Here's the quilt. I appealed to a friend of mine, a Quilt Queen, for "the most idiot-proof" quilt pattern she knew. This is as simple as it gets, and STILL - it took me all day.

It's basically a rectangle with 4 patterns of fabric. We know she's having a boy (and if the ultrasound is wrong, I hope she likes blue!), so I chose a pattern in the center that's comprised of red and blue bandanas scattered across it. The middle shade of blue is covered in small white dots - kind of like the sky with stars in it. And the end piece is a pale blue, cloud-themed fabric with actual white stars on it. The back piece is a dark blue paisley that folds up around the top. We mitered the corners and those were hand-sewn. There are two rows of straight stitching around the binding, and a fancy zig-zag on the straight parts of each of the stripes.

Well, part of the trouble is this reason: I wasn't using my own sewing machine. The last project I did on the sewing machine was a dozen "chapbooks" for Son #2 for his Creative Writing class. Chapbooks are collections of writings in a hand-made book format. Son #2 decided on the layout and all that, and I offered to sew up the binding. The sewing machine is an ancient Brother heavy-duty that has been my "old reliable" for over 30 years. I've had it repaired exactly 2 times, and each time the guy tries to talk me into some fancy-schmancy machine that I'll never use - much less learn to operate! I need forward, backward, zig-zag and zippers. That's it. Nothing more.

Anyway, I messed up the tension. As I was trying to get the bobbin to behave, the thread kept winding AROUND the bobbin compartment, instead of picking up and coming through. I have to work on that. And I was determined to get this quilt done this weekend.

So I used Hubby's machine. He has a Singer portable that he uses to sew leashes for our canine rescue stuff. It was fine for the top assembly. We were on the floor of my office pinning it together - which was another issue: no room (at least no dog-free room) to lay the thing out to put it together. As it was, our foster puppy kept coming by wondering what Mom and Dad were doing in there!

I used a natural cotton batting, so it'll be nice now as a floor quilt and then in the fall and winter in the crib. It's basically crib-sized, though we had to trim off quite a bit to get it to fit. I couldn't find 60" fabric, so it's about 48 x 36.

I go to assemble. While watching a marathon of "Deadliest Catch" - a show that's strangely addicting... And sewing on the dining room table, which was a good place, since I had room enough to turn the quilt without dragging it on the floor or over dogs. And the fold-over binding goes well. Then I try to do a fancy zig-zag down the strips. Well, all heck breaks loose. The tension gets all balled up and I have to rip. And rip. And rip.  I was not happy. Finally, Hubby figured it out and we got the tension fixed.

I'm finishing up the crocheted afghan this week. Picture will follow.

Not to sound mean, but I hope my friend and her daughter appreciate this!

I want to thank my friend Mary Lynn for her advice. I also want to tell her that I truly admire her quilts; I don't know that I'll ever really be a quilter. This one about kicked my butt. I can't imagine a Log Cabin or a Wedding Ring! I think I'll stick to knitting and leave the quilting to the experts.