Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

I need to get back to knitting. I got caught in that situation where you keep thinking, "I am almost done with this project. Just let me finish it." I like mesh bags. They keep crafting supplies together. They let fibers breathe. And you can see through the bag so you know what is in it. Hence, I was rather happy when I came across a nested set of three mesh zippered bags while cleaning out the house in Pennsylvania. The set included instructions to make a Threader Keep Adornment — a fob with a pocket. This project came from Napier Needlepoint in Stockton, California. The chart has a 1998 copyright date. I am not sure how this came into my mother's stash. Maybe it wasn't even one of hers? I don't recall my mother traveling to California. Picture on the kit from Napier Needlepoint, Stockton, CA. Many options! The kit included a small piece of canvas, a chart, a needle threader, and a metal clip. The stitcher supplies the embroidery thr...

Here's another post in my running series of finished items from my mother's stash. Mill Hill Buttons & Beads Autumn Series MH14-1623 "Haunted Laboratory" Image shown is 6×6 inches. This first one was completed by her. My mother was a microbiologist. She worked in a laboratory at the local hospital. For those of you who don't know, here's how stuff works. When your doctor takes a sample such as a throat culture or spinal fluid, it is sent to a laboratory. The laboratory technicians run the tests and then tell the doctors what they found. For infectious bacteria, the laboratory can run a test across a panel of wells with different antibiotics at different strengths. The results reveal where the organism is resistant (Ack! That drug won't kill it,) or sensitive (Hurray! This drug at this strength will help the patient get well.) The super-bugs that are antibiotic resistant are resistant across the entire panel — i.e. they grow ...

Here's another of my mother's unfinished projects, now complete. This one is called "A Whisper of Roses." It is a scissor case designed by Cheryl Schaeffer. The black and white pamphlet says the design was distributed by Susan Portra through her shop My Friend & Eye in Huntington Beach, California. When I attended a meeting of the Thimble and Thread Chapter of Embroiderers' Guild of America, there was someone else who had this project in almost exactly the same state of not-quite-finished. I am thinking this was a guild class? When I searched online, I could not find a picture of this design. Searching "Cheryl Schaeffer needlepoint" returns lots of lovely needlepoint designs, but not this one, not even when I added "roses" or "scissor case" to the search. There were a bunch of gnome scissor cases, but not this one with flowers. I never found a color image of the finished project. Black &...

I finished another of my mother's unfinished embroidery projects. This one is a Just Nan pamphlet titled "Gloriana." My mother had a folder with a series of these. "Gabriella," "Serena," "Celeste," and "Angelique" are already framed and hanging in the house in Pennsylvania. Pamphlets for "Evangeline," "Grace," "Joy," "Hope," and "Liberty" are in the folder, along with the pamphlets for the completed angels. There's even a packet of beads and embellishments for "Liberty" stapled to the pamphlet. The size of this image is 3 inches wide by 5½ inches high (7.5 by 14cm). I thought "Gloriana" fit the series, but when I see her next to "Serena," I can tell they aren't quite the same scale. And how can I check her against the other angels, if they are framed on the wall 750 miles from here? Because there is a second finished copy...

The autumn show season is behind me. I plan to be home until mid-January. The sentiment, "There's no place like home," feels very strong right now! There is, of course, plenty to do. I have handouts to write. I have proposals to submit. A houseful of tasks have been delayed. I find myself trying to make up the last 10½ months in only 6 weeks. Probably not possible. Likely not a good idea. I have done very little knitting this year. On the other hand, I've rediscovered my love of embroidery. My mother had a surprisingly large number of nearly-completed projects. While I gave away a bunch of things in the half-done state, there were others so close to completion I figured it was almost faster just to finish them. Here's the first one. This is a project from Cross Stitch & Country Crafts magazine May-June 1991 , pages 4-5 & 10-11. It is titled "Iris with Blackwork." The completed piece is about 8¼ inches square, mak...

Today is six month's since my mother died. Grief is a complicated emotion. You don't want to move through it too quickly or too slowly. I burned off a lot of my anguish and anger in January through March. In the end, everything was worse than I thought. There were many, many monkeys to wrangle from multiple circuses, not of them mine. There will doubtless be future moments of grief that crop up and smack me. But at this point, I've made it through my birthday, Easter, and Mothers' Day. I've watched barren winter transform into verdant summer. Gratitude abounds. Sometimes the ending of a path is necessary for another path to open.  I am grateful for: Helping my sister. Being present in Pennsylvania. Being there for her. Helping my brother in the nursing home. I got him set up with streaming television. He likes Star Wars . Now he can enjoy Disney+. Now he can watch airplane videos on YouTube. Encour...

I've been in a bit of a knitting funk for awhile now. On the flip side, I've been doing a lot of other creative things. I have lost track of the number of items I've repaired from my mother's house. The first was a saucer-sized decorative plate with a very clean break. It just needed to be glued together with a drop crazy glue. There was already glue in a drawer in the kitchen. It took less than 10 minutes. I lost track of how many times I went back to that opened tube of crazy glue to repair other things. There were multiple items that needed wood glue, including a chair. Did my mother not know what wood glue was? Had everything become overwhelming; but she didn't want to ask for help? Or was it like my household, where you walk by something and think, "I'll get to that another day?" My most recent trip was the bring stuff home trip. I had moved several of the lighter or smaller items between locations. However, this was the d...

Well, 2023 is definitely turning out to be not a year I envisioned ahead of time. It isn't all bad. It just isn't what I would have chosen from a menu. In January, I slept not at home 15 days. In February, 18 days. In March, 16 days. In April, 10 days so far, and another 6 coming up. The first 120 days of the year (which takes us up through the last day of April), I will have slept somewhere else 65 days and at home 55 days. I am spending about as much time at my mother's house in Pennsylvania as I am at home in Georgia with my Cuddly Hubby. Thank goodness Cuddly Hubby is home to take care of the house, the plants and the Siamese feline pharaohs. As I write this from home, I'm at the end of a quick fortnight in Georgia in between two three-week trips to Pennsylvania. I have not put a single stitch in the big orange blanket in over a month. It will likely be at least another month before I do. I hope I remember what I was doing! On th...

Below is the text of the eulogy I delivered for my mother on this day, just one month ago. The close up is flowers sent by our cousins, the Crums. They were perfect! I walked into the church, saw this spray of bright colors, and knew Mom was here. Everybody have plenty of food? This is going to be long, but I wanted to tell the tale once instead of over and over or trying to remember what was said to whom. I hope being candid about the grieving process will help connect to where each of you might be. Experience Two weeks ago at Winter solstice I was preparing for Christmas. I was shining with so much joy you almost needed sunglasses to glance my way. I’d run errands in the morning, including to the French bakery and the chocolatier. I was gaming with my friend Andy, whom I’ve known since kindergarten. Yes, we both know where all the bodies are buried. Mom called to talk about her class that day about what to expect with chemotherapy. I had it on speaker ph...

Today is one month since my mother died. Below is the obituary I wrote. My mother was organized. She left a file with notes so someday someone could get the details correct. Thank you, Mom! Carol Jane Elder, 80, of York Township, passed away Monday, December 26, 2022, in her residence of fifty-four years. Born August 2, 1942, in Washington, D.C., to William Samuel Matter and Lydia Maye Matter (née Mullin), both 40 years old. She grew up in Manada Gap, Pennsylvania, including attending Pine Hall one room schoolhouse for grades 1 through 5. In spite of her humble background, she excelled in school. She was valedictorian of the 1960 class at Hershey High School. She earned a full scholarship to Franklin School of Science and Arts in Philadelphia. In 1961 she graduated summa cum laude and again valedictorian. While working weekends and nights at Polyclinic Hospital in Harrisburg to fund her bachelor’s degree, she met and married ...

As many of you already know, my mother died unexpectedly four weeks ago today on the morning of Monday 26 December 2022. Mom just a few days before her death. My mother started elective chemotherapy three days before Christmas. In September, she had part of a lung removed because a tiny spot that had last been imaged 9 years ago had grown to become something malignant. Her surgeon felt comfortable with the margins, but told her she could see an oncologist if she wanted further consultation. Her blood work was fantastic! She was in great health, even at age 80. However, my mother had been on steroids for many years to combat a rheumatology issue. She was prescribed a normal course of chemotherapy, which she received on the 22nd, three days before Christmas. This included intravenous steroids as well as oral steroids to be taken in the following days. She felt fine on both Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Christmas Day, she felt nauseated, and sent my sister and me a text m...