Wanderin' Star

My brother and I have always liked the song from Paint Your Wagon called "Wanderin' Star". It was sung in the movie by Lee Marvin, of all folks. A line we took to heart was "wheels were made for rolling. Mules were made to pack. I never saw a sight that didn't look better lookin' back."

Besides living all over the Midwest, I've done a bit of visiting too, with and without my brother.
My whole family has itchy feet. My brother could put more states on his map, and a few foreign countries, too, thanks to Uncle Sam. He was stationed in Germany before he was sent to Viet Nam. Of course we both got to visit Mexico when we lived in South Texas. My present husband took a 48 state motorcycle trip a few years ago. He'd get to color in the whole US map for the Lower 48 and Hawaii. He's been to Mexico for fun and Viet Nam thanks to Uncle Sam. My first husband was born in Honduras, so he could add that one to his map. When he was stationed at NAS Dallas, he was sent to Rota, Spain and Sicily for a few weeks. More spots for the map.

Maybe the best traveled of my friends is my friend Steve, from whom I cribbed the source of these maps. http://www.epgsoft.com/VisitedStatesMap/index.html Steve was an Air Force brat so he covered a lot of states and foreign countries while growing up. Oddly enough, he graduated from high school in Wichita, Kansas and looks at Kansas as home base. I'm a Kansan, too, but we had to go to Dallas-Ft.Worth to meet each other.

I guess that just goes to show it's really a small world, and getting smaller everyday. If we put pins in the map forall the folks who read this blog ... Well, we'd probably manage to get a goodly part of the globe.

Guess that Wanderin' Star shines on all of us.

Transplanted Iris

I can't quite sing the song "I've Been Everywhere, Man" but I can sure claim the Midwest. The above map shows where I've lived. It doesn't quite tell the whole story, because I'm 58 and have moved 34 times. With all of that, we managed to live 20 years in the same town -- Grand Prairie,Texas. Of course, my moving started when I was two years old, so that gives me some running room on the traveling. It also instilled an early love of geography and fascination with geology. How did that get formed? Why is it there and not over yonder?
I'm glad to be settled where it all began now. I was born 25 miles from where I am now living. It's all come full circle. If you want to know about our adventures remodeling our 104 year old house, check my other blog http://grannytilla.blogspot.com

Knitting in Public at ALA

Last week I was in Washington, D.C. for the American Library Assn. convention. It was ALA's 100th birthday and the largest convention they've ever held. Librarians, vendors and other guests brought the total around 26,000 people. Wow! That's a small city.
I enjoyed the convention. There were all sorts of great sessions to attend. I came home feeling less intimidated by Library Boards of Trustees because of one session. I have contact information for continuing education ideas, and ideas about training Technical Processing staff. There were far more speakers than I could listen to. My roommate came home pumped from hearing Robert Kennedy, Jr. speak. Together, she and I attended the premiere of the documentary The Hollywood Librarian. I was expecting something fluffy about how librarians are depicted in movies but the film maker (a librarian herself) juxtaposed celluloid librarians with real life librarians facing real life problems -- whether it's fighting to keep the doors open or reaching out to prisoners to encourage reading and literacy.
Julie Andrews gave a short, but on-target speech about libraries and reading. I was less impressed with Garrison Kiellor as the closing speaker, but maybe it was just too early in the morning. I do believe I dosed off during some of his talk.
I took my knitting with me. I knitted on the plane going and coming, and knitted in the airport and hotel lobby when I was waiting for things. I didn't have room to carry knitting to the sessions but there were some down-times when I wished I had it with me. My roommate was a walker, so she hiked me all over DC until the blisters got too bad and I had to bow out of some of her projects.
That's when I did most of my knitting in public. I knit when I found time to sit and give my feet a rest. The knitting attracted many interesting people who stopped to chat with me.
My seatmate going to DC on the second leg of my journey was traveling from Wisconsin to DC for a wedding. She said she crocheted, but always liked the look of knitting. Unfortunately, she didn't knit. She hadn't been able to get the hang of knitting when she tried it many years ago. Her frustration was how to pick up dropped stitches. I promised I'd add a message on my blog explaining how to do it. I will, too, but it will have to wait until I can get into the guest room for my camera. We have company using the room for the next three weeks. I promise to add a blog on that topic around the end of the month.
I suggested the lady visit her local library for a book or video on the knitting. There are lots of good instructional materials available today. A great online source is http://knittinghelp.com.
When I gave the Wisconsin lady this blog address, the woman sitting in front of me turned around, handing me a piece of paper. "Can I have the address, too?" Wild! I hope you all enjoy reading this.
I had a lot of waiting time on Tuesday when I returned to Kansas. First at the hotel I waited for my roommate to finish some of her projects so we could share a taxi to the airport. Then I had a seven hour wait until my plane left. At the hotel I met three young librarians from California. They were my daughter's age or a bit younger. It surprised me that one spotted my knitting and had to know what I was making. She knits and is part of a knitting group at their library. Again the blog address came out. She said she's going to share it with her group. Wow. More readers!!
I spent about five hours as the only person seated at the gate where the Kansas City plane would eventually depart. As I waited, I met a young man from Hamburg who missed his flight to Mexico City by 5 minutes. He was so frustrated. I don't blame him. The plane from Hamburg must have been delayed and that ruined a tight schedule. He could see the Mexico City plane, but they wouldn't let him on because his luggage hadn't gotten off the Hamburg plane and made it through customs.
Later in the afternoon, one of the workers, a Muslim man, came in, found an unobtrusive corner facing East, made his salaams and began his prayers. I was knitting in public, but he was praying in public. That warmed me. I quietly crossed myself and said a few prayers for travelers and understanding. Two of us, of different religions, but taking a moment to talk to God during the day. He's far more faithful than I am. I wouldn't have thought to pray if he hadn't lead me.
I met a girl from Serbia who was en route to Kansas to see her boyfriend. She was fun to talk to. We compared notes on many things, then together we befriended a Hungarian lady who was also going to Kansas. She had her 5 yr old son and 2 year old daughter with her. They had been visiting the grandparents in Hungary. The kids were restless and the (by then) three hour wait was hard on them. I ended up cutting some of my extra yarn and making story strings for the kids. Mom was able to teach the boy to do cat's cradle, but the girl didn't have the attention span for anything.
I tried to remember how to do some of the string stories I did as a children's librarian. Of course, the brain went blank. So I knitted instead. The little girl joined me and I showed her how the knit stitch was made and told her the ditty that Lala likes for the knit stitch: "Through the door, run around the back. Out the window, Off jumps Jack!" The girl liked that and had me show her several times. Planting knitting seeds early? Hm..
By the time I got on the plane, I felt I was honorary grandma for the entire airport.
I was working on Sandy's baby blanket as I waited in the airport. I got within 100 rows of having it finished by the time I got to Kansas City. (Yeah!). I really expected to have it finished sooner, but it just kept using yarn, and more yarn, and more yarn. I did finish it on Saturday June 30. Now I have to get Jaime's finished. Today is her due date! I hope the baby came. I have to wait until I get back to work on Monday to see if there is any news. (Sandy is due in 2 weeks. I've been telling them Sandy will come early and we'll get "library twins". )
Now I hear all this rain we've been having caused Iola to flood over the weekend. I called my boss to see if there was anything I needed to know. He wasn't worried about the library or Iola, he was just wondering if the roads I usually take will be passable. Well, the rain quit Saturday afternoon. Hopefully the creeks will be down on the back roads I take to work. Otherwise I'll have to come home and work from home. Glad I brought my library computer home with me.
Then again, if I'm here, that knitting project will be beckoning me. Jaime's baby kimono is nearly done. Just 1/4 of the right side to finish.
Maybe I'd better try really hard on getting to work. Working at home might be difficult.

Great-Grandma's McCoy Teapot Set

I have to show this off. It says McCoy on the bottom. Mom tucked a note inside to say it was a present from her step-grandmother on Mom's wedding day (July 28, 1943). Great-Grandma told Mom "Sometimes getting something old is better than getting something new."  [My apologies. Somewhere in the either my photo got lost and I have borrowed one from the internet.]

It may have been a collectible even then. I'm guessing it was made in the 1930s, but I have no idea about it's value as a tea set.

I'm getting quite a collection of teapots by accident. I like to drink tea and I like teapots. Now that I've inherited Mom's things and Grandma Bethell's things that Mom had and some of Grandma Hull's things. Well, like I said, I'm getting quite a collection of teapots. 

The McCoy is one of the more interesting ones in the collection.

New Note: a McCoy collector, Dewayne Imsand, gave me some background on my teapot. He tells me this:

What you have is a tea pot set that was made by the Nelson McCoy Pottery and issued in 1942. It is called "Daisy Tea Pot." The primary color that this tea pot was issued in is a brown-green combination. Your pink and green is also a production color, but somewhat more uncommon.

In good condition its value is around $100.00 to $125.00.

Thanks, Dewayne! Guess I'll take better care of it. I don't have very many $100 teapots.
(I actually gave the teapot set to my sister-in-law who loved it. It resides in a place of honor in their living room.)

Look What Lion Brand Has!

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/BK4K-0702003.html?noImages=0 Eco-Friendly Expandable Shopping Bag Lion Brand® Lion Organic Cotton GAUGE: 16 stitches by 24 rows = 4" (10 cm) with US #8 (5mm) needles BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR GAUGE.

BAG With A and smaller needles, cast on 59 stitches. Rows 1-8: Knit Row 9: Knit 1, *bind off one stitch, knit 1. Repeat from * to end of row - 30 stitches. Row 10-34: Change to B and larger needles. Knit. Row 35: Change to A and smaller needles. Knit 1, **yarn over, knit 1. Repeat from ** until end of row -- 59 stitches. Rows 36-44: Knit Row 45: Change to circular needle. Place a marker. Knit to end of row. Cast on 196 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist knitting. Rows 46-50: Knit Row 51: Purl Row 52: Knit Row 53: Purl Row 54-58: Knit Row 59: Knit 59 stitches, bind off until the marker is reached. Row 60-68: Change to straight needle, knit. Row 69: Knit 1, *bind off one stitch, knit 1. Repeat from * to end of row - 30 stitches. Rows 70-94: Change to B and larger needles. Knit. Row 95: Change to A and smaller needles. Knit 1, **yarn over, knit 1. Repeat from ** until end of row -- 59 stitches. Rows 96-104: Knit Bind off all stitches. When the piece is lying flat before assembly, there will be two sides and a continuous loop that is the handle. FINISHING: Thread a large-eyed, blunt needle with about 24 inches [60 cm] of A. Starting at the bottom of the bag, sew sides to handle. Where A is joined to A, one row should join to one stitch. Where the side row of (A) is being joined to (B), the center part of the (B) stitches is positioned every third stitch on the strap. Tie off, weave in ends. During assembly, the two sides are folded up along the loop and sewn so that the continuous loop becomes the handle of the bag

Slow Progress -- Second Pair of Socks

No pictures yet to post of my second set of socks. I've spent more time frogging this adventure than knitting. Sock 1 is past the heel and 1/2 way up the ankle now. FINALLY!

My first socks were knitted top down. I wanted to learn toe up. Carmen recommended her favorite book. Johanna recommended her favorite website. AJ gave me more advice. I visited them all, read them all and it was Greek. I couldn't figure out how to get started.

This is a blow to my ego because I've been knitting close to 40 years now. I should be able to do this. SO -- I took a little from one; a little from the other and just started. I liked the way the toe cast on and decided this would be a pair of socks for Pat. Rip out the white yarn. Start over with black. I'm going to make Pat's socks white with black toe and heel.

First problem: how long do I make the foot of the sock? We were in the process of traveling to Texas for Easter when I was at this point so I kept making Joe and Pat bare their feet and let me measure to see if it was long enough. (Joe's feet are same size as Pat's. He was wearing sandals, so he became the official measuring source. Besides that, Pat was driving.)

When I got back to Kansas and my computer, Johanna told me the trick of measuring the wearer's hand to get the foot size. She said the length of the hand from longest finger to bottom of the heel is same as distance from where the heel ends and rest of sock goes to the toes. GREAT! I started measuring to Pat's hand.

Second problem: The patterns I was reading were doing a heel turn much like I had done on the top down sock. I dropped the white thread and started black for the heel flap, picking up white on the other side. After about six rows I discovered my black wasn't attathed to the white at all. This heel would not work. FROG! I resigned myself to a white heel and maybe some black trim at the top of the sock to balance the black toe.

Keeping track of the peacock stitch and the gussetting of the heel was driving me to distraction. While in Manhattan, Ks. (The Little Apple, as they call themselves) for a library meeting, I visited Wildflower, AJ and Johanna's favorite yarn store. The lady there had a small pamphlet on toe up sock knitting! AND it made sense! Even better, it had a different sort of heel turn that would let me use the black yarn. ( I can't remember what the turn is called, but it doesn't require a gusset.) FROG again. (about the 6th time by now. Had a lot of problems at the beginning.)

OOPS! The heel was turned and I had about an inch of white knitted above it when I tried the sock on Pat. It was too short. It fit me. I still don't know how this happened with all the measuring I was doing, but I can only figure this new heel turn made a shorter turn than the gusseted one. I'm not frogging again! The socks will be for Reyes, now, instead of Pat. Nice to have grandsons...

But now it's Spring and there's yard work and lots of library visits and I'm not getting home until late (or inside the house until late.) I also need to finish the baby gifts for Sandy and Jaime. They are both due in July. Looks like the sock is on the back burner.

One the bright side, we have found a broadband provider and left the dial-up service we had. (YEA!!) I can play my stupid computer game again!! (Runescape.) Steve is working for lvl 99 cooking which requires lots of fish. I'm helping him fish and fishing is one of the most boring activities on Runescape. Irial does it all with very little interaction from me. I just move the mouse once in a while to keep the screen from logging off. SO -- I knit while I fish.

See, there's always a way to work in the vices (knitting and Runescape being high on my list.)

Oh yes -- after I make this pair of toe up socks, I'm going to learn knitting two socks at the same time. With 8 more pairs (at least) to make before Christmas, I need to get faster at this.

Kansas Alpaca Farm

I'm looking forward to Saturday. My cousin Marie and I are going north of Ottawa to the holiday Open House at Kansas Alpaca Farm. Bonnie Samuel, one of the farm's owners, is a member of KansasKnits.

She surprised me when Pat and I visited last winter. The first thing you see when you enter the barn/show room is an 8x10 framed print of the KansasKnits logo! Bonnie doesn't chat much on this list, but you can tell she enjoys reading it!

Another reason I'm looking forward to the outing is reconnecting with Marie. She's the oldest of the cousins and I'm the baby. We haven't had much chance to get to know each other until recently. Ten years and lots of physical distance has separated us at other times in our lives. Now we're finding out how much we have in common. Isn't it great to reconnect with family?