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Archive for the ‘Friendship’ Category

Memories of the Season – Day 5

Posted in Christmas, Family, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , , , on December 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

My 2nd Christmas

Carolyn’s 2nd Christmas

 

Memories: While I don’t remember my 2nd Christmas I do remember this photo which was in the family photo albums…and is now in my photo collection. I have to smile….my mom loved to decorate the tree but often it was a unique look!

More from 2013:

The gift – a handcrafted bracelet
Phyllis knit hats
Phyllis – Cowl
Kimberly got sick and knit booties!
No…it wasn’t cold…this photo was taken last year!
Kimberly – presents for Gigi
Phyllis Cowl
The details of the bracelet
Rachell showing her works!
Beautiful infused glass
Sharing some of her gifts.
The gang gathered!
Karen – her pink sweater jacket
Katie
Cut….
Shari
Ellen

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Memories of the Season – Day 4

Posted in Christmas, Family, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , , , on December 7, 2013| 3 Comments »

Dad - Navy 1941

Dad – Navy 1941
(1923-2002)

 

A memory about Dad: This is one of the times I wish I had asked Dad (who turned 18 in September of 1941) how he spent his 1st Christmas away from home and in war-torn Honolulu. I do remember that he told us he arrived in Honolulu one week after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was part of the Navy team that helped to rebuild. When we, the family of four, returned from Australia in 1957, we had a layover in Honolulu. Dad showed us a hotel  where he helped to rebuild the front plaza area. I think this photo was taken when Dad graduated from Boot Camp in San Diego.

More glimpses into 2013:

Betsy – Gauntlet
Iron chain sheep in Sonara
Debbie – MaggiKnits
Carolyn – Steeking
Nina
Marsha
Kimberly
“Silly” Kimberly!
Debbie prolific afghan knitter
Niece Jade wearing cowl knit by Carolyn
Rosa learned to knit!
Debbie – O’Doyle Wrap
Margot – It’s done!!
Rosa – my office mate
Maurie and PJ
Prayer Shawl Edging

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Memories of the Season – Day 3

Posted in Christmas, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , on December 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Santa and Carolyn

Santa and Carolyn

 

 

A Santa Memory: My sister Betty and I have fond memories of visiting Santa in the Capwell’s Window on Telepgraph and 20th Avenues in Oakland.  I think Betty was too small for this photo and I kind of remember that she didn’t want to sit on his lap this particular year.

Betty and I  like tradition –  we took her girls there  in their early years (1970’s). Capwell’s closed in 1996.

Today’s 2013 memories:

Cameron
Button Detail on Debbie H’s O’Doyle cape
Ellen
Terry
Susanne
Detail of Susanne’s tank top
Sheri
Scarf by Phyllis
Jan – a sweater for her grandniece
Knit by PJ
Katie’s lovely scarf
Maurie’s hat
Claire “jeweled” her jacket
Bonnie
Detail of Bonnie’s Sweater
Susanne modeling sweater that Margot knit
Diane – a cowl scarf present
Detail of Marsha’s poncho/shawl
Marsha
Diane – a baby blanket

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Memories of the Season – Day 2

Posted in Christmas, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , on December 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

My Toni Doll

My Toni Doll

The memory: it’s Christmas 1954. Grandma and Grandpa are on their way from their Oakland home to spend Christmas Eve night with their daughter Marty and her family in Walnut Creek, CA. Betty and I are eagerly awaiting our adored grandparents. Of course, because it’s Christmas,they come with special gifts. We awake on Christmas morning to our presents which include Pick-up Sticks (we loved those), Toni dolls, Grandma’s fudge….oh and waking Grandma and Grandpa up….they slept on the sofa bed close to the Christmas tree.

Today –  2013 : Another glimpse into the creativity of the knitters who surround me !

Marsha
Sheri celebrating her recent nuptials.
Nina – a Cheryl Oberle design
Maurie – Prayer Shawl with brilliant Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
Bonnie
Kimberly – a blanket for Gigi
Susanne hiding behind one of her knit afghans!
Kimberly’s handknit cowl is enhanced with Jan’s gift of glass earrings
Kimberly’s glass hair clasp
Sheri
Kimberly’s Lace Shawl is FO!
Another design from prolific knitter Terry
Janie and another Twirly Skirt!
Karen’s latest MaggiKnits project
Sarah’s shawl…oh what is the name?
Carolyn – Poncho/Shawl
The detail of Carolyn’s latest poncho/shawl
Diane and Susanne
Kimberly and Bonnie Let’s knit and play!
Another beauty from Debbie H.

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Memories of the Season…Day 1

Posted in Christmas, Crafting, Family, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , on December 3, 2013| 2 Comments »

Yesterday I awoke thinking of the 12 days of Christmas (even humming and that is a stretch for me). I thought momentarily that I would use it as the theme for sharing all the creativity and memories that have been twirling around in my brain since before Thanksgiving…..but that lovely theme is used by many including my dear friend of Kimberly’s Daily Craftini.  So my theme for this season is Memories of the Season along with the creativity and joy that I see so often in our circle of knitting and friendships.

Betty and Carolyn

Betty and Carolyn

A childhood memory: My sister Betty and I are young. She’s enough younger than me that her memory is vague about this, but she does recall singing How Much is that Little Doggie in the Window (she was asked to sing many times when she was young because she had pitch perfect voice).  Mom was driving with her two girls down Mt Diablo Blvd in Lafayette, CA. We see the store windows aglow with Christmas lights; we are full of glee as we are singing (this is before I knew I shouldn’t blast out my voice which didn’t carry a tune ). I remember singing The First Noel, Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and How Much is that Little Doggie in the Window as Mom was driving a “new” Pontiac with a 2-yr old in the front seat and a “bossy” 5-yr old in the back seat. 


Today’s memories: The knitters/crafters, as always, have been prolific. Here comes a random collection! p.s. if you aren’t in these photos you will be sometime in Memories of the Season!

Susanne – Summer Flies
Susanne – Summer Flies Shawl
Bonnie
Betsy Celebration
Diane, Betsy, Susanne
Kimberly – A cowl!
Maurie knit Susanne’s hat!
Bonnie
Bonnie

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Fridays Celebrations

Posted in Friendship, knitting, tagged , on August 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I am working backwards on catching up with posts…this morning’s post was about today’s celebration. Now let’s talk about Friday’s celebration.

My latest braceletFirst….it was Debra’s birthday! Champagne was poured as Debra gave us gifts…remember I just said it was her birthday…..she gifted us with bracelets that she brought home from trip to Peru…Debra did I get the country right? It was great to see Debra and toast her birthday. I love my bracelet! We all quickly dived into the bracelets to pick the colors that we love.

A second toast (more champagne) was to Sheri….she is embarking upon a new business. Plans are underway and as soon the name is “nailed down” we will do a shout out here.

Other things to celebrate….Patricia returned from her trip to Africa. We were so animated on so many topics this morning that we didn’t all share in her travel experience. She will be back from Colorado in a week or two and she will be first on to tell us more about the trip. She sent out the most wonderful photos. Looking forward to the rest of the story!

We also rejoiced that Bonnie was back with us…..much going on with home construction and family life and she had to be gone for a bit…she’s back and we are all happy.

We did manage to get some knitting done during our two hours together. We are often asked, “What is so interesting about your knitting sessions?” Well, we knit, share our techniques and then we “travel” over the world. The week before Kimberly told us about her trip to Seneca Falls….more specifically about the Freethought Trail. I do believe we could have our own “teaching/learning” circuit. We all walk away from our knitting with more than our love of knitting!

Stay tuned for more back tracking for the summer and a look into some of our knitting projects.

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Two days of celebrations

Posted in Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , on August 31, 2013| 1 Comment »

It’s the last day of August….ending with two celebrations…Friday was all about Debra and Sheri…and Patricia….and more! Will chatter about that later today.

Saturday morning photos are “hot off the press”. We celebrated retirements and farewells with a potluck brunch….out came my Grandma’s party glass plates to eat some of our favorite foods. Susanne has retired from Chevron and is moving  with her husband to Chico…..we may get to see her once a month. She proudly announced that she has finished the queen size Mason Dixon adult version of Moderne Blanket…in fact it is now on her son and wife’s bed. This was a 2-year project of many roads of garter stitch. Remember the “99 rows to go”? They’re gone!!

Diane, Betsy and Susanne
We’ve begun to gather
Eating has begun
Betsy Celebration
The group

They will be greatly missed…..so glad they have been part of our circle for years. Betsy, who worked at Skein Lane retail once upon a time, had been gone and returned and is now off to Kentucky. Susanne came into Skein Lane retail store 10 years ago. It’s been a wonderful 10-yr journey together. Now a new chapter begins!

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Friday….a day of celebrations!

Posted in Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , , on July 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This past Friday was a day of two celebrations within our knitting community.  We started the day with a surprise birthday celebration for Jean….and it truly was a surprise for her. Several of us were waiting with baited breath asking “is the day that she is returning?”. I called to check  and her husband says “yes, she’s on her way!” Shortly after that she stepped though the front door and was greeted with “surprise” and a bottle of bubbly.

The gang gathered!
Kimberly is gifting Jean
The gift – a handcrafted bracelet
Kimberly describing technique
Sharing some of her gifts.
The sun is setting!

The sun is setting!

That evening some of us headed to Tiburon to board the ferry for the  Sunset Cruise  where we celebrated Ellen – she recently passed the nursing license exam. It was such a fun evening that we are dreaming about doing it again very soon. Be sure to check out the Facebook photo album.

What a grand day!!

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Steeking, Cardigans, Jackets, Gauntlets

Posted in Friendship, knitting, knitting techniques, MaggiKnits, tagged , , on June 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

What do these all in have common? Last Saturday morning was abuzz with projects and techniques.

Betsy just finished one her gauntlets…..a bright spring green that matches her zest for taking on life’s challenges. She has decided to move back to Kentucky….she will be greatly missed. The good news is that we have the pleasure of her company through the summer. Love that gauntlet Betsy!

Recently Katie finished a beautiful scarf….the ever popular multi-directional pattern. I believe her yarn choices came from Art Fibers. This past Saturday found her making major progress on her first sweater….Noro yarn and Noro pattern. It will be lovely.

The cardi/cape/poncho knit with Cascade’s Pastaza (now discontinued) that Nina has draping from her needles is another beautiful piece….that beauty came with some pain. She began this project at a time when her time was stretched thin with work and home care responsibilities….and she knit! She was nearing the end last month when when she discovered she had one panel too many on one of the fronts…….the solutions available were to rip it all out – an option that was not okay….so we opted for the practical solution – to isolate the stitches so there would be no more knitting on that end piece/section. Then what? Steek….that means sew and cut. Nina sewed along the section…I then crocheted next to the stitching…and I cut! It was a miracle solution…Nina will be modeling the finished garment soon. By the way, I actually love to cut as a solution for knitting problems. Hmmmm…..think I’ll tell the story soon (for those who have not heard to talk about it) about cutting an elephant out of a sweater.

The Pattern
Cut….
Cut in process
Cut, cut
Nina – it’s almost done

One more story tell from this past Saturday…..Marsha arrived wearing her stunning purple MaggiKnits Linen Sweater. Marsha was inspired by a sweater in her closet….that became the pattern. I helped her design from that model. Now Marsha has knit this sweater almost twice…she got off in the setting up in her false seams…and uhoh the fronts were off. There was not steeking option here! She and Susanne ripped it out about 6 weeks ago….and I would Marsha had that cardigan reknit in a month. We call her the marathon knitter. Notice Marsha’s matching shoes….she has the best and most interesting color coordination. Her next project is another cardigan knit with Shaefer’s Cotton Laurel (love this yarn now Shaefer is closed/retired)….the yarn is wound and is already on her needles.

Check out the buttons!
Notice the matching shoes!
The neckline rolled back!
Her next project – ready to begin!

It’s been a fun knitting month!

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…..99 bottles of beer on the wall!

Posted in Friendship, knitting, Mason-Dixon Knitting on April 11, 2013| 4 Comments »

Susanne and her gift of love - Moderne Blanket for her son and wife!

Susanne and her gift of love – Moderne Blanket for her son and wife!

As some of us approach the end of our projects we find ourselves singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. This all started with Susanne’s Moderne Adult Afghan.  This has been an ongoing project for a little more than a year….she has knit many other things and then comes back to afghan when she needs a “garter stitch fix. ” She is on the last stretch of 99 rows ….I think last report was that she had 49 more rows to go.

IMG_2807

The O’Dolan Wrap design by MaggiKnits

Now I am nearing the end of a recently started project and find myself humming the refrain of 99 bottles….. My project is another MaggiKnit’s caplet/stole (the kit can be ordered through Skein Lane Studio). It is made up of 8 pieces that are sewn together and then “topped” with a collar. I am one quarter the way through the 8th piece…..I am thinking it will be on the assembly table soon for the joy of seaming. Debbie has also embarked on this project….and she is on her 4th piece. News flash….Debbie just told me has more done and will share tonight when we join to click our needles and tell tales!

I am having way too much fun with my iPad….what a great tool. I now store my working pattern in iBook…and can easily access my pattern at any time. What I love the best is that I can “blow the pattern up” and get right to the detail.

As with most patterns that I knit….I make change and make it more uniquely “mine”. In this case….lovely as though the  tartan might be it’s just a bit too busy for me….so mine will striped….might add some embroidery. The finally unveiling for our (Susanne, Debbie, and mine) projects will be posted soon.

The layout of this work in process…and my trusty iPad
The pattern schematic
Debbie’s 1st 3 pieces.

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