Olden Days

I've been thinking today of way back when.  A time nearing 14-15 years ago when I went to Romania just out of high school and also after my first year of college.  I am thinking of a place called Iasi and the Casa de Copii Copou and the Casa de Copii Bucium.  I am thinking of the children I met who are full grown now, but that I will probably never see again.  I am thinking of Christi and Bogdan and Gabi and Vlad and Florin and George and Edy and Adi and so many other names that I can't even think how to spell anymore, but I am thinking of them.

At the Broken Piano--Casa de Copii Bucium July or August 1998

Don't know where you are, but still I think of you often!

Wedding Presents

I just received a wedding present this week.

Dan and I have been married nearly 8 years.

We are so blessed to have been given this gift.  It may not have been in the making for 8 years (or maybe it has, I don't know), but when this dear friend was making this gift and was ready to give it she thought it would make a wonderful wedding present for us.

And it is a beautiful wedding present . . . something I will cherish . . .

Look at this quilt!  It is my quilt of many colors!

Our local community theater group put on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in July and now that song just keeps running through my head--it was red and purple and yellow and green and . . . or however that goes . . .

Anyway, this quilt was made by a dear friend of my mother who we used to go visit in the Summer up on the Leech Lake Reservation.  She and her husband (a pastor) had a small mission church and my mom would help run a Vacation Bible School with the kids.

I was little enough to be in the VBS with all of the kids and we would go swimming and ride on her husband's pontoon.  They had a beautiful home on the lake right next to the woods.  They also had a special spot in their hearts for orphaned animals.

One of those was a fawn who would come running out of the woods for a bottle of milk when it was young and corn (I suppose) when it was older.  They had a special collar on it to signify that nobody should hunt it (that was when I was really little, so I don't remember exactly what happened with that one--probably someone did eventually decide that they didn't care about the collar :( but there are also tons of bears around there).  The other little orphaned critter they cared for was a porcupine.  His name was Thorny.  He would come out of the woods every night for a bit of bread and milk.  Duane would pick him up (he didn't want anyone else to chance it just in case, but Thorny was a really nice porcupine) and because of this I know that porcupines have really soft fur on their bellies.

I'll have to search through my parent's photo albums and find some photos to scan in from those days.  I also saw my first black bear close up at their place.  It came out of the woods to scavenge after a bunch of the VBS kids had a food fight the evening before.

Hmmmm . . . anyway, I'm sure Susie doesn't go on the internet much (if at all) and she may never see this tribute to her and this thanks (a card will be going out in the mail soon, though), but Thank you Susie!  This wedding present was well worth the wait and I didn't even know I was waiting for it--those are the best presents anyway--the ones from the heart that you never expected!

Eye Camel Friday(or Oliver takes in the local sites)

Hi, everyone!
I've guess I've been silent this week. I suppose it is because I've been busy trying to exercise for about an hour or more everyday and all that and trying to get myself into some kind of schedule. I didn't do any kind of knitting or making of anything this week-sorry,

BUT, I did plant my garden (along with my mom), and planted most of the flowers that I had hoped to plant around my house. I still have a couple of containers to fill and I would like to rework a section of a perennial garden area that we have, but that means lots of hoeing and planting and buying more seeds and plants and that will have to wait until I have some money in my bank account. (my, my I do enjoy run-on sentences. My old high school English teacher would be shocked. (totally unrelated tidbit-I see her on occasion and she can still make me think about the fact that I don't use proper grammar-I mean I did very well in her class and everything, but I know how to be a good little student when I have to be and then I promptly forget everything anyone taught me))

Yesterday, Oliver the Camel and I walked to the little bandstand park we have across the street from the gallery for a little break.

Here is Oliver enjoying the park swing as the scent of the lilacs behind him waft through the breeze.

And a close-up of Oliver enjoying himself.

We enjoyed the view for a while and took a couple of pictures!


The Railroad tracks behind the bandstand (whenever we have events at the bandstand, we have a couple interruptions from the trains)

Pillars

Bandstand Railing

Hmmm . . . looking at these pictures makes me excited for Summer. We have a bunch of fun activities at this little park. There is always Dairy/Berry Day when we have root beer floats and strawberry sundaes served (fresh strawberries from local growers-my favorite!) and music from the Mid-Minnesota Concert Band. Then we have a brat feed or two with proceeds going toward fireworks for our town festival on Labor Day Weekend. We also have a street dance (where very few people actually dance- mostly just mill around chatting with friends listening to the live music) on Labor Day Weekend.
Some people may find my little town a bit hokey, but I really enjoyed growing up here and living here, still.

Well, I hope you all enjoy your weekend- I hope to be spending mine outside! (probably not knitting, though-bad, bad knit blogger)

Aaack! It's Friday, again-(plus, Eye Camel Friday and a new FO!)

Golly, I sure have a tendency to forget that its Friday. The same thing happened to me as last week. I know full well that today is Friday. Golly geewhilikers, I sure know that it is Friday today (for reasons that I will tell in a bit, and let me tell you I am getting NERVOUS).

Alrighty, now for the show (by the way, at this very moment there is a song from Pirates of Penzance playing on the radio. I love that show. I played a policeman (and, yes, I do mean man) in it and had the most fun dancing and goofing off.)

This week Oliver the Camel pretended to be Tiny Tim and went on a little "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"

You wouldn't think that Camels could sing, but I can tell you he was singing in that clear, freakishly high Tiny Tim voice "won't you tiptoe through the tulips with meeeee?"

Now, down to business. I know that you guys probably don't believe that I ever really knit or do much of anything with yarn because I never really finish a whole lot, but I now have something to show you.

This little hat was made for by best friend from college's baby that is due in June. It is made with handspun yarn from this post and lion brand handspun for the lining. (I love the color and the look of the wool, but it is way to scratchy for a little baby head and the lion brand handspun acrylic is really soft) The basic pattern came from a free lion brand pattern for use with velvetspun, but I modified the pattern for the yarn I used (a lot less bulky) and made up the green lining stuff.
Mmmm, I think it is really cute!
Here's the lining. I pretty much made another little hat inside because I wanted to make sure that the little one's head wouldn't get itched anywhere, plus I really like how the green yarn shows through the natural wool. (By the by, I just made that all yesterday and sewed in the two little ends this morning--see, I can get things finished if I have to. (The baby shower is tomorrow))Here are Rebekah (made of plaster, twine, and wax) and the hat having a little fun.

And the thing you have all been waiting to hear since I told you I was NERVOUS as the beginning of the post. I'm going to be playing guitar and singing at our local coffee shop tonight. Eeep! I'm a little nervous. Soooo, tonight I am supposed to play music for about an hour and a half. I don't think I have enough music for all that, so hopefully I can take a break part way through. Now, don't get me wrong, I could play for hours if I had a piano in front of me, but this isn't that kind of coffee shop that has a stage and piano and everything. This is just our little coffee shop in our 1200 person town, so I will be bringing my guitar (that I have played for under 2 years) and my voice (that I've had for 20 something years) and that's it. I am hoping that people won't get scared off by me singin' some acappella because I don't know no 1.5 hours of music on my geeetar. Wish me luck!

Flowers in My Yard

Yesterday's post was of the flowers in the road ditch and today's pictures will be of the one's right around my house. Do you want to know one of the first things I would do to my house if I became rich? I would fill my home with fresh cut flowers and flowering plants. (The name of my blog reflects that as well (although it is also a twist on my name). Around here in early June, the wild roses start blooming and I love them a whole big bunch.)

This tulip picture is the one I decided to print off and frame for my neighbor Adeline. She absolutely loved it and gave me a big hug. She then proceeded to show me the pictures of all of her grandkids and the quilt that she is making for her great-granddaughter who will be graduating from high school. --Adeline is one of the people in my life who has inspired me to make useful craft items. She's in her 80's and needs to use a walker to get around, but she can't let her hands be idle. She is always sewing something for someone. When Dan and I got married she gave us a counted cross stitch picture of flowers and a garden gate. I also bought the most beautiful quilted Christmas Tree skirt from her. It is something I will treasure always.

Violets growing next to the foundation of our house. We have violets that cover the area between the house and our windmill every May. They grow wild in the grass and we always put off mowing the lawn as long as possible in order to see them for as long as we can. They are just starting to blossom now.

The Creeping Charlie is blooming. Yes, it's a weed, but it's pretty, too. It isn't doing any damage, so why not let it grow and be happy?

Dandelion by the front porch. I have a fondness for dandelions. (I think my mom does, too) I used to pick them for my mom all the time and then I would put them into a round vase that had all sorts of holes around the top and then we would set them on the table for a nice centerpiece.

Happy Wednesday!

It's May Day!

Our farm on May Day 2007!

Did any of you guys ever do anything for May Day? I remember going around to our neighbor's homes when I was younger and bringing them little baskets of flowers with my mom. We don't do it anymore (and haven't for a long time), but I distinctly remember going up to our neighbor Adeline's house as a child.

There aren't usually a ton of flowers growing on the first of May in Minnesota, but we do have dandelions and the tulips are coming up as well. Oh yeah, the blood root (or that's what my mom always called it) is growing in damp, tree-filled areas, too. Anyway, I'm thinking we must have put those kinds of flowers in the little basket I made from paper and brought it up to her. We walked up to her house (about an 1/8 to a 1/4 of a mile away), knocked on the door, she would let us in, and then we would chat and have little treats. I have a lot of fond memories of going up to Adeline's house as a child.

(I just ran out to the farm and took some pictures along the road)
I don't know what the little white flower on the top is, but the bottom one, I believe, is Blood Root. Although I'm confused why it is called blood root being as it is white, but these flowers only last a very short time in the spring. Likely it has more to do with what they do the rest of the year. (A week ago the entire road ditch was covered with these, now I could only find these couple flowers)
(Updated: My mother just happened by and I asked her some questions-turns out the top picture is Blood Root and the bottom one is a May Flower (goodness, a picture of a May Flower on May Day, I'm pretty good!). Also, the reason Blood Root is called Blood Root is because its roots are blood red. Go figure ;o) Ever since I was little my mom has told me these things, but I can be an in one ear out the other kind of person sometimes)

We also went to a few other people homes-a woman named Ruth from my church (I remember bringing her flowers and sitting in her kitchen talking, but I'm not sure if it was May Day) and another woman-hmmm, can't remember her name, but her husband's name was John Carlson-(I know this because their house is at the bottom of a big hill that is called, by the old timers-and me ;o), John Carlson Hill) -Soooo, we went to visit John Carlson's wife on May Day as well, but that memory is really cloudy because I am sure she passed away before I was five.

Butternut Lake-Just down the road from our house.

Well, this May Day I am thinking I will stop by Adeline's house and drop off a little gift on my way home from work for old time's sake. (She's in her 80's now) Maybe I will print off a pretty flower picture for her. (I took more pictures on my little jaunt out in the country this afternoon). Sooooo, on this May Day (or May 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) think of someone that might like a little cheer of some kind, pop over to their house with a flower or kid print, and see their smile grow!

"Balena the Blue Whale"

When I was little we had a few books that you could read and follow along with on either tape or record-One was called "Balena the Blue Whale" (I think). (We had other ones too, like one about a squirrel hiding acorns, one about a cobbler (a shoemaker-not a fruity, pie-like desert), and one called "Too Much Noise"-oh that one was good, I think I still have the book somewhere, but I am sure the tape is long gone-or wait was that one on a record-it could have been and my parents still have most of the records we had, hmmmmm, I'll have to check it out) Okay back to the subject.
Balena the Blue Whale-a story about a baby blue whale and her adventures-I think there might be poachers and a harpoon involved even-not sure. Anyway, my new blue mitten reminds me of the story.

It still needs a thumb and a partner, but my blue scarf and mitten set is past that halfway point-woohoo!

I've named this picture--blue whale with hot pink geranium.

Even though I have associated these mittens with blue whales (which are attractive in their own way), it does not mean that they are giant mitts. They're just blue and a little bit fish- shaped (I know-whales are mammels, but they are fish-shaped, too), but they make beautiful mittens and go very well with the scarf.

How'd it happen?

Well, Maya got engaged in February and she just wrote about how it happened in her blog, so it got me to thinking about how my husband proposed to me.
We've been married for going on five years now, but I remember it anyway :0)

So here goes--we were already pretty much figuring on getting married the next fall, but Dan's kind of a slow guy sometimes. (I recall that he compared us getting married to selling his old truck (not when we got engaged-I promise)-meaning that even though he knew he wanted to sell his old truck he just hadn't been ready to do it right away, but then he ended up selling it-what a romantic guy, huh? (this was is the summer before he proposed to me-I still tell him that he should never again compare me to an old truck, but I digress))

Anyway, on a very cold and windy day in January (the 19th) he came over to my parent's house (the one we live in now) to take me on a date. We had been planning to go for a walk in the snow, but it was nasty cold. Instead I played something for him on the piano that I was going to play for church the next day. He sat on the couch across the room from me with my cat, Cleo. When I had finished with the song I turned around and then got up and walked over to him. He got off of the couch, knelt down and proposed to me. I said yes to my most romantic man. (He said to me later that he had been asking the cat whether or not he should ask me) Then we went up to St. Cloud to go pick out a ring-he was nervous about picking one out, so we got it that night and even though we would have liked to have gone to this fifties diner that we had seen up there once or twice-for whatever reason we couldn't find it and ended up eating out at Pizza Hut.

Ahhh, the memories. Well, what my Dan sometimes lacks in romantic notions he makes up for in boundless kindness and forgiveness for all of my faults. I will be able to show our children someday the place where their dad proposed to me . . .

Us on our wedding day outside the church

So that, in my long-winded nutshell is how my husband proposed to me-Anyone else?

Someday soon sometime once again there will be knitting content, but, eh, there isn't very much to talk about on that subject.

. . . oh, what a beautiful day . . .

. . . I've got beautiful feeling -every thing's going my way
Well, maybe not so much, but it is a beautiful day. The temp is in the 30's and there is sun outside shining on the snow. It is truly very pretty out there. Not that I have a picture of it to show you, so you'll have to believe me. I'm seriously thinking I need to get a digital camera of my very own. I always feel bad when I steal my dad's and put pictures on it-even though I am only walking outside of the gallery that the camera resides in.
Anyway, all that said-did you know that in 10th grade I was in the HLWW/DC High School version of Oklahoma? You probably didn't know that, but I was. I was a part of the "chorus" and got to wear a white dress with bright purple, pink and green flowers on it with a giant purple sash. I think it was the brightest dress on stage. I knew the costumer well and she told me she thought I could handle it. She has been a director of a few plays that I was in as well and she always had me wear some strange outfit or in charge of some strange giant prop. Much as I can't act that well, I can handle props and looking strange. What a gift!!!!

Since, my parents live next door to the gallery, I ran next door to see if there were any pictures of this dress and lo, and behold-here they are. The picture might be a little small, but anyway they give you an idea of how it looked. Well, that's all for now. Have a good weekend!

Hello All!

I've been silent the past few days-and for that I am sorry. Monday-was a Monday, Tuesday-sick at home (no internet), Wednesday-bad blogger, Today-good blogger!!!!

I've had this fabulous post in mind that I should do for the past bunch of days and weeks. I wanted to tell you all how I started knitting. It does seem like something one should do when you first start a blog about knitting, so I'm gonna do it now.

The very first time I learned to knit, I learned from my grandmother. I was somewhere about in fourth or fifth grade.

This is my Grandma Dode.

She was a wonderful grandma that was always knitting things. She knitted booties for every little baby she heard about being born and knitted sweaters and Christmas stockings and everything under the sun (or so it seemed). She taught me how to knit and purl, so I made a scarf. The scarf was a bright magenta and black striped one. (If I ever find a picture of it, I will make sure to scan it so that you can all see it) It matched a bright magenta and black checked winter coat that she gave me for Christmas one year. It was great to learn to knit from her because she was left handed and I am as well and I wish that I would have kept on knitting all the time after that. Then I could say all of the techniques that I used were the same as my grandma's, but I didn't. I stopped knitting not too long after she taught me because she lived far away and I had a hard time figuring things out.

Then sometime when I was about twenty or so or something I started knitting again by looking at an old knitting book that was my mother's and grandmother's. I also asked my mom some questions when I was confused. She doesn't knit much, but she knows how to do it.

Here's the book!

The first thing I did was relearn how to cast-on and knit and purl and cast-off. Guess what . . . one of the first things I knit was a regular garter stitch scarf for a friend of mine that was going with the Peace Corps to Kyrgistan. Then I made a scarf for myself from one of the patterns in the book (look above). I also started some mittens that matched the scarf and made some mittens for a couple nieces and a couple hats all with patterns from this book. It took me a year or so to finally decide to finish the mittens for myself because the thumbs confused me, but I finished them and wear the scarf and mittens all the time.

Here they are!

Anyway, I have made a ton of patterns from this book that was published in 1947 and I love them. Someday, when my husband and I have children, I have an idea that they will be dressed a lot like little babies from the fifties. This book has a ton of patterns in it included knitted neckties and vests for men that go well with those 5 inch above the belly-button pants. I have seen quite a few patterns that I would be very willing to wear if I would ever get around to making them, but I have a hard time finding anything my husband would wear. (This has nothing to do with learning to knit-but my husband has absolutely no sweaters. He wears leather gloves-not knitted ones, he wears cotton button-up shirts-not sweaters, I did make him a knitted neck warmer for skiing and he loves that, but I would love to make him a sweater someday-it will have to be extremely special though)

Well, I keep learning all the time and like to try all sorts of new things. I love to make things that are challenging and beautiful. Well, I hope that you have a great day!

Shetlands

Now, I don't know if you all know this, but I grew up with sheep and goats. None of them were the variety that had anything beautiful that could be spun. The goats were dairy goats and the sheep were the kind where you sent the males (or, actually the used to be males) to the "shipping yard." I still think about getting sheep again sometimes and this time getting some that we could use their wool, but that would mean re-fencing and also our property has issues with burdock (or so called "vegetable matter." I always laugh a little when I see the words vegetable matter, as though the sheep got a little too close to the carrots and broccoli in the garden. They were in the weeds-the burdock and other sticky stuff-or at least ours were). When I have worked with handspun, which has only been a little bit, I am amazed how clean those sheep were kept and applaud the sheep farmers for their wonderfully mostly weed free farms!
Here's a pic of some of our sheep (The one in the sort of middle with a really white face is Ewe-nice. Not pictured are some more of my favorites like: Nose, Killer, Aretha, and Mouth)

So, anyway, why is this post called Shetlands? I just got some local handspun shetland wool with which I am going to make some mittens. Here are the little balls of wool lounging in the gallery window.

And why am I mentioning the names of some of my old sheep? Well, when you take a little closer look at this in-its-natural-state-wool, you will notice that they each have some pretty special names:)

I look forward to making some double-colored Posey, Molly and Shona mittens and will make sure to show my finished product to their proud human mother!