Bron's Blog II

I Was Called In To Work

And yesterday wasn't nearly as fun as the day before. Same crowd, but much busier. My legs really hurt this morning because of all the walking. It seems like every call was out to the barracks (the far back portables) then clear back to the front office, only to do it again 5 minutes later. I barely had time to read a page or two in my book let alone knit or crochet!

i did knit a bit when I got home & collapsed - Bianca's sleeves are at 12" and counting. 6 more and I can put everything together & start the yoke. I know we're all waiting impatiently for that!

I did go through a few more of my Workbaskets and found some things to share. The first leaf pattern I found & thought I'd be able to adapt just didn't work out:

It looked good on paper, but I just wasn't feeling the love in Sugar & Cream. But last night I found this one, and it seems to be working much better:

You'll know tomorrow whether or not it works out!

I found a shawl that has possibilities:

And a hot pad pattern that actually calls for Sugar & Cream:

I think this stalagmite candle is the coolest thing ever - I'm SO going to try this!:

And this is something we all know is true:

In every magazine I've looked through from the 50's, this ad was included - just to remind us that Medieval torture devices had many incarnations:

It's a corset gone wild! My mom didn't have a full body version like this but she did wear an industrial strength panty girdle 'cause she thought her rear end was too big. Ouch!

As for me - I'd rather torture myself by dieting! LOL

Not sure yet if I work today and I'm really hoping I don't. The schedule is really wonky. Testing in the AM, then 3B class, lunch and about half an hour of 4B before the big basketball game between teachers & students. The game costs $2 and if you don't go, you have to be sent to a classroom that has a TV to either watch a movie or watch the game as it's broadcast.

I'd rather be home knitting!

I Really Did Have The Day Off

It still seems surreal. LOL It's been so long since I've been alone in the house it kind of freaked me out. But I managed to get some things done. :) It's a good thing I was home since the carpet installers were able to come out to the rental yesterday. It really looks great with new carpet to go with all the new paint. :)

Our appraisal is going to be adjusted upward also. Yay!

Things always happen for a reason, and obviously the original purchase deal falling through was the best thing for us.

Next up: We'll have the carpet cleaners come out to clean the filthy tile/grout in the family room, kitchen & bathrooms. Then we'll have the Merry Maids or some such organization come out & see if they can work miracles with the bathroom's tub & shower enclosure. I have a feeling we'll be resurfacing the tub and the shower but otherwise, the bathrooms should just take some work & industrial strength cleaner to fix.

And notice how I'm hiring it done. ::wink::

I finished the back of Bianca yesterday:

The scary thing is that I added five inches to the length on this and it's still only 14" from the bottom of the armhole to the hem. Whew!

I've finished the shaping on the right front:

I'll take this to school today as my proctor knitting, along with the butterfly dishcloth/hot pad combo. And anything else that strikes my fancy because I'll have at least 4 hours to sit & do nothing tomorrow. Sigh.

Why they don't just call in the job as a single period, I don't know. Then, at least, I could be home doing something constructive around here!

Tomorrow, at least, is a full day teaching. But I proctor again Mon., Tues. & Wed. As it stands, I'll have next Thurs. & Fri. off, so I shouldn't complain, I guess, if I get a 4 day weekend!

The winds here were awful yesterday so I didn't get out to take pics of the house. I'll do that today if the weather has calmed down. :)

Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday - she would have been 94.

It's strange to think it's been 5 months since her funeral.

She would've loved a set of dishcloths for her birthday. But she never would've used them. The last set I gave her (back in '90 or so) she used as doilies under pictures in the living room. I told her to use them, I could make more! But no - she insisted they never touch a dirty dish.

That was Mom.

Let's Play Catch Up

Not only did I go off on a nostalgia tangent, I also skipped a day of blogging so I'm a wee bit behind!
I do have lots of progress on both the black crochet cardi AND on a new project, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow's entry. (When I should have even more progress to share.) So - on to a very special Bullet Monday:

• I found a horn button at JoAnn for my purse - here's what it looks like:

• I got motivated to fix my Grape Whip (Licorice Whip) because Jess was so pleased with hers. So, I picked out the first 4 rows of knitting at the neck and voila! That choking feeling was gone. Yay!

The "un-picking" was made easy because it was a top-down design. When you take stitches out there are no live stitches left to mess with. (Which, of course, everyone knows but I just had to mention. ::wink::) Cool! I wore this all day yesterday with a tank top underneath and, although the thermometer said 38 degrees, I was comfy out in the cold. I'm officially moving Grape Whip from the failed pile to the success pile. Woohoo!

• Remember that teacher who commented negatively on my choice of lime green for my Nantucket Jacket? Well, as luck would have it, she came into my room last week while I was wearing CeCe which, as you all might remember, is a very bright, lime green. The conversation went something like this:

Teacher: Is that the same sweater I saw you working on last month?
Me: No - this is a different one.
Teacher: But it's almost the same color! (her voice actually raised!)
Me: Yes, it is actually.
Teacher: If you remember, I asked you before what possessed you to choose such a color for yourself.
Me: YES. I remember. (Believe me, I had tone in my voice!)
Teacher: Well, I'm not trying to be rude, honest.
Me, thinking to myself: (I guess being rude comes naturally, eh?)
Teacher: But I just couldn't help noticing that color again and had to comment.
Me: I've actually worn that other sweater a couple of times, you just haven't seen me.
Teacher: You mean you finished it???
Me: Yes.
Teacher: Well.
Me: (gritting teeth) Good bye!

Sometimes the actions of others just boggle my mind. Truly, that woman is certifiable!!

• I really wish I liked Bernat Boa yarn. You can get a package of 10 skeins for 10 dollars at my local Tuesday Morning and it's in pretty decent colors too. Instead, with kitchen dishcloths in mind, I purchased 3 skeins of Lion Cotton that was on clearance:

To go with the two skeins I bought earlier at JoAnn. (Notice the lime green. I can't seem to stay away from it now! LOL):

So I can make some fun patterns from this book:

• Because I'm not quite done with nostalgia, I wanted to show you my last baby who lost his last baby tooth a few days ago:

He managed to con a fiver out of his bemused & nostalgic Tooth Fairy. Sigh.

Happy Monday!

Sitting In The Light, Remembering The Dark

While I've been dipping my oars in the sea of remembrance (dang - that's poetic!) there are some things I've dredged up that I'd rather forget. I'm sure we all have one or two less than stellar memories that we prefer stay buried deep in our past. But, like it or not, our experiences and our memories of them shape who we are for the rest of our lives. That's what makes us interesting creatures, eh?

Whenever I think of my Mom, I think of aprons. Not only because she wore one every day around the house but because an apron is the perfect symbol of my housebound-through-choice mother. She had no self-esteem and was truly terrified her family would leave her. (She was adopted & always felt rejected by her birth mother, her adoptive father divorced her adoptive mother when she was 16 and died a year later the day before her 17th birthday, etc., etc..) I don't think she necessarily loved my father, but she married him a few months after her own father died, just to make sure she'd have someone to take care of her. Instinctively she knew Dad would never leave her.

For the next 73 years, until they were both put in separate Homes, she did exactly as Dad told her. Once in awhile there was a flare of independence, the last vestiges of a feisty girl that was drowning in a sea of fear, but mostly what Dad said was what happened. (And that wasn't always a good thing either, but I'm not discussing my Dad today. ::wink::)

When we (the children) went to the house with a police escort to take my mother away from my father a few years ago so she could have proper medical treatment and a clean place to stay, she was wearing an apron when she came to the door.

It hadn't been washed for months if not years, but I remembered that apron from my childhood.

All through the medical examination, up until the time the nurses helped her strip down for a shower and fresh clothing, Mom's hands alternately crumbled & smoothed that apron. Her memory was so far gone that she had no idea who her children were and didn't remember her husband's name, but her hands went through the old familiar motions.

Her hands that were always busy throughout her long life. Playing piano was her passion - when the time came that she couldn't remember how to play at the Home, we knew the end was near. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, cooking, her hands were constantly in motion.

I think she tried to keep as busy as she could as a distraction against the dark.

When I was digging through my fabric stash looking for vintage-type fabrics for aprons, I came across something that Mom gave me years ago:

This is an apron from the 40s that she had stashed down in the basement. I don't think she ever wore it and I have a suspicion that my Great Aunt Nina made it. (Mom tended to keep everything Aunt Nina made fresh & unused.) Here's what the apron looks like on:

I really love the design of this one and it's something I've not seen in recent years. I even did a search on Google yesterday and out of the hundreds of vintage aprons I saw, I couldn't find this particular style.

The details are interesting - darts at the back of the neck:

and also where the ties join the body:

Not needed, of course, but interesting. :) The only hard thing about this is sewing around all those curves. But I think I'm up to the challenge.

The first apron I make from this pattern will be for me.

And every time I take it off to go out the door into the world without fear, I'll remember Mom and hope that a little bit of her might still be hanging around to live vicariously through me.

Crafty Nostalgia, Part 2

I told you yesterday that Mom & I used to make a lot of what's called kitsch today. Well...I have a confession.....

It seems I still do. Take a look at what I found in Kitschy Crafts;

And take a look at what I pulled from my kitchen drawer:

I made a couple of these one year after finding the pattern in a Workbasket magazine. I had no idea they were tacky! LOL I think I finally threw out the collection of bottle caps I had - just in case I wanted another. ::Grin:: However, seeing the one made in variegated purples makes me want just one more!

Here - let's go tripping down memory lane again....

To continue on a grape theme, I've already made one grape doily,

Can this one be far behind?:

When I was around 12, I embroidered a denim shirt to within an inch of it's life. I remember the big motif on the back was a freckled face boy with a fishing pole. I think he was at least a foot high! In comparison, this shirt featured is positively sedate:

During the 70's, there was a very popular doily/tablecloth pattern being passed around between crocheters in our area. Back then you photocopied patterns with impunity. No one even spared a thought for copyrights. My Aunt made one in peach for her dining room table and my Mom crocheted one in pink for herself and one in ecru for my Bio-Mom. I have a copy of that old pattern, left to me in my mother's crafting things, but this doily reminds me strongly of that one and I think I just might make it:

Next up, something I saw at other people's homes, but this craft is one I'd never have been allowed to do at MY home:

And coasters to match!

In our new house we're going to have two living areas - one will be Doug's pool room. I think a couple of record chip bowls and a bunch of these coasters would be perfect for the ambiance. I'm going to have the kids make these for him for Xmas. They'll love melting records in the oven and it's something that Doug will love receiving. :) Oh - and while we're at it, I'll have them find a colored vinyl record and make one of these too:

Now...I just need to find a friend who wouldn't mind receiving one of these for Christmas:

Surely I can find someone that would laugh at these as much as I do??? hehehe

By the way, speaking of fridgies, anyone out there remember those crocheted butterflies that were really popular in the 70's? You crocheted a hexagon (I think) then folded it over to look like butterfly wings, using a pipe cleaner twisted down the center for the body & antennae. I've got to Google that - it would be fun to make a couple. For nostalgia's sake. ::wink::

In part 3 I'll talk about a little something from Mom I rediscovered....that's going to give me another project to work on!

Nostalgia - A Post In Two (Or Three) Parts

It all started when a. I had the afternoon off yesterday and b. I was putting the Crocheted Triangle Purse together.

I came home at 11:30 (after having 1st period prep, then only subbing 45 minutes in a classroom until the teacher came back - long story, but I still got paid for 4 full hours - whoohoo!) and found these waiting for me in an Amazon box:

Now - I for one, love kitsch. I grew up with all those crafts & decorating faux pas that most people call kitsch today. Heck - my Mom & I MADE some of that stuff! So when I saw the first book at Michael's, I knew I had to find it on Amazon. The second book popped up at the same time & that crocheted baby fridgie sold me on getting it too. ::wink::

But more on those later in the entry. First, let me show you the finished purse. Well, all except for the button, which I'll find at JoAnn this weekend:

This is actually a lot roomier than I thought it would be, but I'll still need to "think small" when and if I use it. (This might be a present for Xmas - we'll see!)

It's a very heavy purse - there is a lot of bulky yarn in this - and while I was making it I kept thinking of the very first purse I ever made. I was 10 and it was made of rectangles & squares...lots & lots of them. It was my first ever "design" and I loved pockets. I kept crocheting little squares and sewing them on & in the purse until finally there were so many pockets, I couldn't fit anything else in the purse!

The minute I hefted the Triangle Purse, the weight and thickness brought it all back to me. Which isn't such a bad thing, I suppose. I got a chuckle out of the remembrance and and it got me thinking about my Mom...which led to another discovery....but that I'm saving for part three of my entry.

Here are the official stats on Triangle Purse:

Pattern: Triangle-Motif Purse from the spring 2007 Family Circle Crochet magazine
Yarn: 3 and a smidge skeins of Patons SWS
Hook: I
Mods: None

A really quick pattern, easy to crochet, kinda tricky to sew together but it goes faster once you get the hang of it. I like it! I still need to get a big, funky button for the front. I'll post another pic when that's accomplished.

Now - back to kitsch...

Although my house was full of kitsch when I was growing up, there were a few things we didn't have that I lusted for as a child. In the book, Kitschy Crafts, they have 'em. Honestly, in the 60's I wanted these grapes sooooo badly!:

I had no idea they were a craft (resin pouring) that you could do at home! I thought everyone bought them! Even more shocking, I had no idea you could STILL make them today! Will wonders never cease. As a kid I thought they were the coolest thing ever. In fact, just looking at them in this post reminds me of the clackers we had as kids. Remember those? Must've been in the early 70's. Those big heavy balls that you flung around on strings & they "clacked" together...when they weren't hitting you in the head and causing severe injuries!

I remember I had a pair of purple ones. ::Grin::: Ahem....moving right along....

Another thing that was in my Aunt's house and I coveted was the ubiquitous poodle TP roll cover:

I'm not quite sure how it was that we never ended up with one. Especially since Mom crocheted and my Aunt had one and Mom tended to make anything my Aunt did. After all, Mom put a felt Santa face seat cover on our toilet (complete with sequins in strategic spots!) every Christmas - surely after that nothing could've have been too kitschy for her????

I really love this book. The illustrations are straight out of the magazines of that time and really bring back memories:

Tomorrow I'll talk about the crafts I've done & ones I'd like to do from these books and then in part 3 you'll see the discovery I made after thinking of Mom, crafts & nostalgia, and I'll have a picture of a nostalgic milestone of my own.

Wow - it's kinda like a story arc in a TV show. ::Grin:::

The excitement never ends here at Casa De Bron!