A Quiet Tuesday

Kathleen is hard at work, as usual. She knitted halfway through a cute baby sweater since last Tuesday in addition to finishing a pair of bright red mittens and.....

This baby blanket. The color is a warm rust, contrary to what the image shows here.

I completed a fringed scarf for donation. To where, I don't know yet, but there is time to decide.
Back to our Chicks' interviews. This week our spotlight is on Karin. She used to own the yarn shop in Albany called "Periwinkle Sheep". Now she dyes her own yarns using the same name. You can find her beautiful yarns at our local yarn stores such as Trumpet Hill (http://www.trumpethill.com) and The Spinning Room (http://www.spinningroom.net).

Interviewer: At what age did you learn to knit?

Karin: I learned when I was 7 or 8 in second grade. I also learned how to embroider a sampler but knitting really stuck. We were taught how to knit, purl and crochet.

Interviewer: Who taught you to knit?

Karin: My hand work teacher at school taught me the basics and after that my mother and grandmother helped me.

Interviewer: What was the first item you completed and for whom did you make it?

Karin: I made an 8 X 8 inch, half garter stitch, half stockinette stitch, mint green potholder for my grandmother, of course! I learned the single crochet stitch to make the edge in red.

Interviewer: What was your favorite item to knit?

Karin: Probably my first pair of socks when I was a teenager. RED!

Interviewer: What was your most challenging project?

Karin: A Fair Isle cardigan with three colors of shetland wool that I "designed" myself when I was about 17, before I knew about shaping! It fit, but the crew neck was VERY low because I hadn't learned how to contour yet.

Interviewer: What took you the longest to knit?

Karin: Originally, I would have said that fair isle cardigan. It took a whole year. But recently I went through my hibernating pieces and found a vest that had been sitting there for 10 years! I finally found some cute buttons and finished it. I don't even know why it sat for so long.

Interviewer: What do you like to knit now?

Karin: Everything!!!

Interviewer: What is your favorite fiber to knit?

Karin: Merino wool or cashmerino, not that I can afford them.

Interviewer: Where is your favorite place to knit?

Karin: Either on my sofa or on my friend's sofa, Jody's :).

Interviewer: Where is the most unusual place you ever knitted:

Karin: In a plane high above the Atlantic on a trip to visit family in Germany.

Thank you Karin and we hope you are recovering quickly from your surgery. We miss you on Tuesdays and hope you'll be back knitting with us soon. ((((HUGS))))

A Long Visit With Moose and The Chicks

Moose and his parents are up from Pennsylvania for a visit this week. Mrs. Hiller invited him to meet her puppy, Brewster, an 11 month old, 150 pound St. Bernard. Moose thought he was pretty cool, to quote him. Brewster got quite a workout chasing Moose around the yard.
He and Moose needed to take a rest while Mrs. Hiller's son, Zach kept a watchful eye on things.
On Sunday Indian Ladder Orchards was having a baby animal day. Moose was so excited to get to meet all sorts of baby animals. He was pretty fond of the baby goat.

The baby duckling was so soft and about a second after this photo was taken the duckling ended up on the floor. He survived the fall.

The baby bunny was very soft and Moose enjoyed cuddling until he moved.

We had to stop at the Yellow Rock Cafe for some hot out of the cooker cider donuts.

Uncle Drew helped Moose call the chickens over so he could feed them some grasses.

Before we left the orchards Moose made sure he took a pony ride. He looked like a real natural.

On Tuesday Moose and his Dad read stories while the Chicks got together for some knitting. Elaine finished the shawl with some beautiful Decadent Fibers peach colored wool.

Liz returned from her winter stay in Florida. It was so good to see her again.

She has been working on a feather and fan stitch afghan.

My daughter joined the Chicks this week to work on a sweater for her baby who is due in July. The original sweater started out way too large so it had to be ripped out. Later on you'll see the progress she made by evening.

Maureen is progressing nicely on the maritime baby afghan.

And Joyce is coming along on her baby afghan as well.

Here is Amanda again with the sweater she started earlier.

Judy couldn't join us this week but she sent along a pair of booties she made with a 100% cotton yarn. So cute!

Today we took Moose to Five Rivers Environmental Center and he was in a curious mood this visit. Off he started until we could catch up to him.

One must always stop to smell the roses....or whatever the weed is!

Three generations looking for critters.

It was a very hot day so DeeDee and Poppop talked Moose into taking a rest for a few minutes. But he was soon off again looking for turtles.

See Poppop! I see the turtle there!

Moose saw fish and frogs and dragonflies everywhere.

It was very hot so off we went to get some ice cream.

The cold ice cream hit the spot. Moose's Mom and Dad enjoyed watching him as much as eating their own treats.

This must be good.

You can see it on Moose's face!

Moose will be going home tomorrow and the next time we see him he might be showing off his new baby sister.

A Very Special Recognition for a Very Special Person

On Tuesday, May 11, 2010 the State of Connecticut honored Danbury Veterans from World War II through all the wars since with a Wartime Service Medal Ceremony. My Dad, William E. Grandison was among those honored for his service.

The ceremony started with a snare drum fanfare played by Jack Riley of the Danbury High School Marching Band.

The Danbury AJROTC presented the Colors.



There were distinguished speakers amidst a dramatic backdrop.

Senator Michael McLachlan gave the introduction and....
Representative Janice Giegler gave the welcoming remarks. It was she who was at the forefront of arranging for this event and the awards.

Commissioner Linda Schwartz, an Air Force Nurse who served in the Viet Nam War, spoke eloquently of the importance that our veterans tell the stories of their experiences so they can be recorded and handed down to the generations.

My Dad, on the right, finally told me a story last year of one of his experiences during the Battle of the Bulge.

He left for France, Belgium, and Germany when he was only 19 years old. He spent from October 1944 to June 1945, serving in the campaigns through Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe. He landed on October 23 1944 in Omaha Beach Head. His main responsibility was to operate an anti-aircraft artillery half track. He served with the 563D AAA, 9th US Army, 1st US Army, 49th AAA Brigade, XVIII Corps (AB), III Corp, VII Corps, 11th AAA Group, 16th AAA Group, and 103rd AAA Group. During the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's forces were trying to blow up all the bridges crossing the Rhine before the American forces could cross them to secure territory. The final remaining bridge over that river was the Bridge at Remagen and the Americans needed reinforcements to maintain that bridge in their control. My Dad's commanding officer asked for two men to volunteer to drive the relief troops to the bridge location to help to secure the territory. It was his act of volunteerism and valor that helped to turn the tide of the Battle of the Bulge.

When my Daddy told me that story I gave him the biggest hug I had ever given him and told him that I always knew he was my hero but that I didn't know he was everyone else's too. His response was one of complete humility as though it was nothing special.

Daddy I am so proud of you as are my sister, Jamie, and our mom, Bruna.
We love you Dad!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmothers, aunts, friends, moms-to-be, and anyone else who supports and loves a child (that goes for you single dads too). God bless you!

First Day of Knitting Outside

It was the first day of the season to sit on the deck and knit this week. It is still a little too early here in the Northeast to put all my plants out and bring out the fountains, but Tuesday's temperatures reached the 70's. And the sunshine felt great until around 2:45PM when the skies opened up, the winds howled through, and a huge storm broke up the knitting.

Until then Barbara was able to swatch for a baby blanket using yarn that Karin donated after her lovely yarn yard sale last Saturday (http://www.periwinklesheep.blogspot.com/).

Sheila was working on her checkerboard scarf....
And I tried to add some more rows to the sweater I am making for myself in between donation knitting.
Maureen was the only one to make it for evening knitting this week. She is making a darling baby blanket that alternates panels of sailboats with panels of cable that looks like roping.
This is going to be so cute!

I finished a sweater and hat set for Moose's sister, Eliana, who should be arriving into our family at the end of July.

I used Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK and buttons from WEBS (http://www.yarn.com)
My daughter, Amanda, Moose's mommy, designed the following cute little baby shrug pattern which I test knitted for her. It's a great beginner's project, top-down sweater that took me less than six hours to make. The pattern will be for sale as soon as the details are hammered out. You will be able to purchase it from Amanda's etsy shop or Ravelry soon.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/fashiondeeva

It looks like it will fit a newborn to three month old baby.

I enjoyed knitting it so much that I've started another one already. What are you knitting?