Hidden Super Scarf Message – Read Between the Lines

I have twenty inches to go, but . . .

2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Super Scarf Project

 

Greetings to everyone stopping by for a visit. 

It won’t be long now!  The 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl is approaching and I want to write another post about the Super Scarf Project.  I’m glad to know that I was not the only person to send in a couple scarves after the deadline of November 30, 2011.  I just checked the website today and the tally shows 13, 006 Super Scarves collected and that number is up from the tally of 12, 494 I saw just last week.  Phenomenal work!

My Indiana brother told me about the Super Project in August of 2010.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, so I decided to get on board and kept knitting until (after) the deadline passed.

Early into my participation, Indybro sent me an email with an idea for a design: “How about all the Roman Numerals of all the Super Bowls?”  Below is a photo of Indbybro’s idea after if came off my knitting needles.

I had a lot of fun participating in this project.  Indybro and I giggled a lot behind the scenes as we emailed or sent text messages back and forth about scarf ideas.  I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with ideas and designs while adhering to the two-color (blue and white) limit stated in the Super Scarf Project guidelines.

Below are a few of the ideas I came up with, but if you’re interested in a closer look at any or all of the scarves I contributed, go to the Super Scarf XLVI Scarves category on my sidebar.  I wrote posts for 45 of the 46 scarves I completed and a few of the patterns are available. 

                 

#6 ‘The Big Kick’ - a liner closeup of the kickoff itself, when foot meets football 

                      

         #40 ‘Please Rise for the Singing’ – includes the entire first verse of the Star-Spangled Banner            

                                       

                                   #42 ‘Charlie’ – my tribute to Minnesota native, Charles M. Schulz and the loveable Charlie Brown

Then of course, there was a horse named Blue . . . . .

I haven’t written a post about my 46th Super Scarf.  That will have to wait until after the game.  But I can give you a little peek at the knitting.

Like I said, it’s a little peek.    Truthfully, a full peek has to wait until after the game, too. 

I want to thank Indybro for telling me about the Super Scarf Project and for all the fun we’ve had across the miles over this last year and a half.  I loved that he talked about knitting with me and got involved enough to come up with ideas that would make some wonderful Super Scarves.  It became a family event, so to speak.  My mother, Gr8, and my granddaughter, Goodnight, also got involved with knitting scarves and sometimes, when we got together, the three of us would sit and knit while having a good chat.

I want to thank anyone who contributed a Super Scarf because you may have found the information on this blog.  I know many of you have contacted me offline to tell me that you were going to participate.  I also would like to wish Indianapolis, the Host Committee, hospitality industry personnel, the volunteers, the teams, officiating crew members, media,and visitors to the Super Bowl Village activities or the game all the best as the clock winds down to XLVI.

Entomology, Osteology, Botany and A Flashlight: A Date with Officer Friendly

It’s been six years since Officer Friendly passed away.  Though he had retired from the Police Department long before we met, he maintained a regular schedule of visiting the station.  I think it was mostly to throw in his share of cash for the group’s lottery tickets, but I know they always shared their stories, too.  He had to keep up with the department news, the citizens he served, and his career.

He loved being a cop.  It showed.  He maintained his affiliation with his professional organizations, too.  I remember when he got a brochure for an annual conference for detectives.

OF: Dear? Would you like to go to a conference with me?

Gram: Sure, Hon.  What kind of conference?

OF: Well . . . it’s for detectives, but I usually go.

Gram: That’s fine, Hon.  Is there a theme for your conference?

OF: Bugs, Bones and Botany.

Gram:  Ah!  Entomology, Osteology, and . . . plants.  Are you interested in those topics, Hon?

OF smiled his big grin at me.  He was, but he was probably more interested in seeing his buddies.

We went to the conference.  He told me I could go shopping if I wanted to, but since the detectives’ wives could sit in on the workshops, I attended all three sessions with him: the bugs, the bones, and the plants.

I took notes.

It’s not that I had any desire to change my career.  I’m just nerdy and OF knew I would find the conference interesting.  I fell from the science oak tree in the family forest.

As interesting as it was, what I enjoyed most was just watching OF as he greeted his former colleagues.  I enjoyed listening to their stories and laughter at the conference banquet.  It’s good medicine for all of us, I think: to get together with people who share our stories, nod in unison at implicit dangers or hazards without speaking them, and toast our good fortune at surviving our careers.  I loved sitting next to OF at the banquet table and watching eyes grow brighter with each tall tale.

Surviving a career and retiring from it doesn’t mean leaving it all behind.  I learned that lesson the first night in the hotel where the conference was held.  OF and I had gone to bed and were both sound asleep when a loud noise from the hall woke us both.

As a civilian, my first instinct would have been to turn on a light and wait to hear something that would help me determine what the noise was.  Not Officer Friendly, though.  Before I could reach for the pull-chain on the bedside lamp, he had hopped out of bed, grabbed his flashlight and dashed to the door to look through the peephole. 

I didn’t know he had packed his flashlight . . .

Officer Friendly’s flashlight was two feet long, metal, and heavy.  It served two purposes, I suppose: providing light when needed and protection if he used it as a billy club.

There I was, sitting up in bed in the dark, while OF stood at the hotel room peephole with his HUGE flashlight in hand, ready to protect and defend.  I loved him for that.

The noise ended up being nothing worthy of note.  When he was satisfied that he no longer needed to stand his post at the door, he came back to bed.  I had to ask . . .

Gram:  Dear?  Where did you pull that from?

OF: Under my pillow.

I decided I didn’t need to know any more.  I never saw him pack the thing and I never saw him put it under his pillow. 

Officer Friendly eventually went back to sleep.  I remained seated in the dark trying to understand the decision-making process he had while packing for our trip.  Did he actually ask himself if he would need it, or was it a matter of habit to bring the one remaining weapon he had from his career.  He could carry his flashlight without wearing a badge.

I never laughed aloud, but my soul still quakes with delight at the image of him standing in the dark with his flashlight.  It’s not a mocking laughter.  It’s a laughter of pure delight in someone with whom I had barely started a shared life when the incident occurred.

I loved our date to his forensic conference.  Though it was a surprise to me the first time it happened, thereafter, I knew his bag would always be a ‘little heavy’ when we traveled.

I still have OF’s flashlight.  I don’t keep it under my pillow.  I’ve retired it and it rests next to his official police department pins and the tri-cornered flag I was given when he was laid to rest.  I think I’m going to take the flashlight off the shelf and check the batteries today.  If I need to, I’ll replace them and let Officer Friendly’s light shine once more.

We’re a two-knitter household!

Goodnight has not been fond of knitting.  She’s young and that’s okay.  She should be interested in lots of things, but I wanted to teach her something that I know how to do.  She can always come back to it later in life and say, “My Gram taught me how to knit.”

Late last year, on a trip to Smalltownville, we passed through another town that had a yarn shop I had never seen before.  We went in and I started looking around.  Pretty soon GN skipped over to me and asked me if she could make a scarf for herself.  I told her she could if she was interested, but my rule is that she has to finish it if she starts it.

SHE FINISHED HER SCARF!!!!!

She’s been working on it as she had time between homework, basketball, Drama Club, and Student Council meetings.  She finished it last night and I asked her to pose for a photo.  She agreed and promptly wrapped herself up in her work.

I know . . . I didn’t show the entire scarf, but that’s because I was looking at the smile on her face.  Way to go, Honey! 

Knee-hab Continues

Since my fall to the concrete last summer, I have been trying to make as good a come-back as possible.  Until I returned to work being off for winter break, I had not been going up and down the stairs at the college because there are elevators and I wanted to save the painful movement for the stairs I have at home.

I have finally arrived at the point in my knee-habilitation where I feel comfortable trying the stairs at work.  I have a plan: one flight of stairs at a time per day until that goes well, then increase by one flight at a time until . . . . . well I may never get back to dashing up and down like I did when I began my career, but a steady pace up and down the stairs (with a terrified grip on the railing) is a reasonable goal for me.

I’m hoping to get over that ‘tin-woman’ feeling that  makes me feel like every twist and turn must be carefully thought out.  Or . . . . is that an age thing?   :-(

Flower Exchange

Unbeknownst to both of us, Goodnight and I each worked on separate flower projects as gifts to surprise the other.

She made me a paper flower.

I made her a wool knit flower.*

Both flowers brightened our day – in the making and then in the giving.

GN’s paper flower gift to me is hanging on the wall in the living room where I have reserved a frame for her art.  My wool knit flower gift to GN got attached to an ear warmer I made to match a scarf I made for her a few weeks ago.

   

Cheery flower gifts at a time when winter is rearing is frosty head!

*I found the knit flower pattern here, though I used five petals instead of six.  Thank you to Miss Crafty Fingers for posting the pattern.

Toasty Feet

For me, knitting can be a very practical skill sometimes.

I decided I wanted to add some warmth to the soles of my feet, so I knitted up some bulky wool (one skein each in three different colors) washed it, shrunk it, and made cheery inserts for my boots.  Since I only cut what I needed, I have a lot of felt left for when I need replacements.

 The felt is fairly thick, so there’s a nice warm layer between my feet and the pavement when I have to walk down the street to our annex this afternoon.

“. . . but what does that MEAN?”

Goodnight is a good kid.  Among the many things I appreciate about her is her ability to take an honest assessment of herself and to apologize sincerely when she thinks she needs to.

For a while now, when she’s apologized to me, she’s been saying, “I’m very sorry, Gram, but I’m trying.  Really, I am!”

My response has always been, “Very.”

She has consistently let it go, perhaps secretly blaming my senility or hearing loss.

Yesterday, she had an another occasion to apologize.  ”Sorry, Gram, but I’m really trying“ and I replied with my usual, ‘very’.   She threw her hands up in exasperation and said, “Oh, by the way, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?????”

I smiled, took a deep breath and said, “You have a full set of encyclopedias and an unabridged dictionary in the living room.  Why don’t you go on a scavenger hunt and come back when you can tell me what it means.”

I know frustration can bring us all to our knees, so I held my breath for a split second as I waited for her reaction.  She turned toward the living room.  As she walked away I reminded her to look up ‘trying’ and not ‘try.’

I had been working in the kitchen and went back to my chores.  It was quiet in the living room, but I always like to wait things out.  It’s a lesson in patience for me and it gives her some space.

Soon I heard some laughter.  At least, I thought it was laughter, but there’s a point in laughter that can also sound like crying.  “This could go either way,” I thought to myself.  She could either think the definition – and my intention - was either humorous or, very disheartening.

She was laughing.  It started out quietly, but turned into a full-bellied guffaw when she understood what I meant.

She walked into the kitchen, dictionary in hand, sporting a huge grin on her face.

Gram: Did you find the definition of ‘trying,’ Honey? 

GN: Yes, Gram.

Gram: What do I mean when I say ’very’?

GN: (with wide eyes) Upsetting? 

Gram: Not really.

GN: (grinning ear to ear) Annoying?

Gram: No, Honey.

GN: (with renewed laughter) Challenging?!!

Gram:  That’s the one!  When you say, “I’m sorry, Gram.  I’m trying.”  and I respond with ”Very”, I mean you are challenging.  I grew up with parents who said the same thing to me.  It’s not a response that’s meant to belittle you.  It’s a response that’s meant to teach you the meanings of words in a subtle way.  Are you going to tell me that you are ‘trying’ any more?

GN: Nope.

Gram: What will you say?

GN: Just, ‘I’m sorry’.

Gram:  But will you keep trying?

GN:  I get it!  Trying, verb.  Trying, adjective!

Gram:  Well done.

It’s the academic form of discipline (or consequences) by distraction.  My paternal grandmother sent me to the dictionary.  My folks sent me to the dictionary.  I sent Angel to the dictionary.  Goodnight goes to the dictionary, too.  It seems less like preaching that way.  And laughter is a wonderful outcome!

 

 

Baby All-in-One – finished on time, but it was close!

As I promised yesterday, I completed the baby knitting I was working on so I could donate it at church today.  It was a close finish, though.  I sewed the last button on at 7:30 this morning and the service Goodnight and I attended began at 8:30.  Luckily, we live close to the church, otherwise I may have had to ask GN to drive while I sewed on buttons.

NOT  YET!!!  She is only fourteen.

I hadn’t intended for the baby all-in-one to resemble something that I knit last fall for someone in Indianapolis.  I just wanted to use up the last remnants of my Super Scarf yarn.  But my knitting needles ‘told’ me what to do and once I began knitting, I caught myself laughing out loud as I recognized a familiar . . . um . . . friend.  The one I donated to church this morning was a LOT smaller and didn’t require nearly  quarter million stitches.  The photo on the right is of Blue, the mascot of the Indianapolis Colts.

    

With the above baby all-in-one, I have used up all the blue and white yarn I purchased for the Super Scarf Project!!!  

The fun thing is that I have a tree day weekend and that means two more days off – to knit!  What shall it be??

Happy Sunday!  Happy knitting!

A Knitting Weekend

It’s snowing here.  Football will be on television later today.  I’m busy knitting.  Life is good . . . cold, but good.

The Red Bull Crashed Ice event has been going on since Thursday.  The finals are tonight.  I snapped another photo of the downhill course, lit in blue in the pre-dawn hours of yesterday morning.

The 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Super Scarf Project deadline has come and gone.  I received confirmation that scarf #45 and #46 have arrived in Indy.  Yea!  I checked the Super Scarf website just now and the total has gone up since the last time I looked.  They show a total of 12, 94 scarves!  Wow!  Not only that, but there is a very inspirational video of a woman who crocheted 250 scarves!  I’ve watched it three times already.  Check the link for yourself and have a look.

Only 22 days left before the Super Bowl!!!!!! 

So, what’s left to do?

As I completed each scarf, I saved whatever yarn was left, be it more or less.  I wound the remainders of my purchased skeins into balls and stowed them away to use as I needed.  I used some of the leftovers for fringes and some for the applique work that I did.  It all seemed to work out rather economically, actually.

After knitting 46 Super Scarves, I took all the little balls of yarn, put them in a glass bowl and used it as a holiday decoration.  It got topped with a little Indianapolis Colts’ mascot ornament that Indybro gave me.

It may be a bit difficult to see, but the glass bowl is full and there is yarn behind the little ornament.

But Christmas is over and I decided to devise a knitting project to use up the remaining blue and white yarn.  I am getting to the end . . . of the yarn and the project.

I decided to knit a baby item to donate to a church collection happening this weekend at the church GN and I attend.  I will post a photo of the project when it’s completed and it may remind some of you of . . . a friend I made last September.