Quilted One Patch Triangles Illusion Place Mat

One day, a few years ago, I decided I was sick of my everyday dishes.  The moment realized it, I was resolved not to use them another day.  I cleaned out the cupboard, wrapped them up in a layer of protective newspaper and donated them.  Had Officer Friendly observed this, he might have been concerned that he’d be wrapped up in protective newspaper and carted off without warning, too. (I wouldn’t have considered it, but my abruptness could have given him pause, I suppose.)

I came home with a different set of dinnerware . . . rather basic, but white was so much better to see food on than the color I had.  (No . . . I won’t tell you what color that was in case it’s your favorite color.)  We’ve been using them ever since – happily.

I recently posted a pattern for a one-patch triangles quilted-looking face cloth which was really my practice piece for the place mats I wanted to knit for my ‘not too new anymore’ dinnerware.

Here’s what I came up with.

And here’s the ninety degree view of the illusion pattern.

I’ve made two this week, one for Goodnight and one for me.  If you’re interested in trying the pattern, click the link for the PDF and change up the colorway to match your dishes: Quilted One Patch Triangles Illusion Place Mat.

Happy knitting!

Field Trip to Elf Tree – Part 1

Goodnight is growing up on me.  She’ll be in seventh grade – I knew that, but because she’s at a school with K-8, they call it middle school.  Were it another school, it could be called junior high.  Yikes!  Where did the time go?

Part of our field trip last Friday was to celebrate her youth before we both forget what it’s like to enjoy it.  I’ll get to the Elf tree part of the story in just a moment.

As I mentioned last week, I planned to take her to the Mexican Mercado.  We did that.  It’s not too far from home and Goodnight enjoyed it.  Neither of us speak enough Spanish to be fluent, but I can get by at the Mercado.  I’m fluent in pointing and holding up fingers!  Actually, I’m teasing.  The folks there speak Spanish and English. 

Goodnight and I split up as we walked around the market.  It’s indoors and not too big for me to worry about us losing each other.  I told her to check out the produce and pick some fruit that she would enjoy.

I told her to meet me at the bakery counter.  I love standing there and gawking at the artwork in the display case.  The rolls, the breads, the empanadas, the cookies are just beautifully done.  We’ve been limiting our portions of sweets to Dinner by Alphabet nights when Goodnight is in charge of desserts (usually), so we didn’t buy any cookies to bring home, but we each bought an empanada.  Mine had sweet potato filling and Goodnight’s had pumpkin.  We saved them for later in our field trip.

We stayed in the area for lunch.  Actually, near the entrance to the Mercado, someone cooks on an outdoor  grill and people can get chicken or beef tacos there.  That’s what Goodnight and I decided to do.

The Mercado visit and lunch didn’t take too long, so I wanted to take Goodnight to see The Elf Tree.  I took her a long time ago, when Officer Friendly was still alive.  I wasn’t sure how much she’d enjoy the visit now.  These tween years can be unpredictable, but hey – I keep trying.

I told her about the Elf Tree as we drove.  Sixteen years ago, a little ‘elf’ moved into a tree on the south side of a lake on the other side of town.  There is a tiny door with an even tinier door handle in the shape of a lion’s head.

In the summer time, children write notes to the elf and leave them inside the door to ‘Mr. Little Guy’s’ home.  MLG always answers every note.

I had secretly tucked a  pen and notebook in my purse before we left for the Mercado, in case Goodnight decided she wanted to write a note.

She was a very good sport about visiting the Elf Tree.  She didn’t remember it from our previous visit – it was too long ago and too close to her mother’s death to register in her memory, perhaps.  So I’m glad I took her again.

The answers are left in a little bag to protect them from the elements and children can return to dig through the bag to find their personal replies.

She decided that she would write a note.  I sat on a separate bench and enjoyed watching the grown-ups walk by and check out the Elf Tree and take photos.  I asked a couple of guys if they wanted to borrow some of my paper so they could write their notes.    In the photo below, you can see a glimpse of the lake.  MLG has a great view!

I didn’t ask Goodnight what she wrote.  I knew she would tell me if she wanted me to know, so I just sat back and enjoyed my granddaughter.

When she was finished with her note, she folded it up, opened the door to MLG’s house and left it for him.

When we left the lake area and MLG’s Elf Tree, we visited a beautiful rose garden . . . . a beautiful, BIG rose garden.  What you see in the photo below is only one small corner.  There were yellow roses and red roses in another direction.  We could smell them as soon as we stepped out of the car!

It was a great Field Trip Friday!  It came with a promise to return to the Elf Tree so Goodnight could hunt for her reply from MLG.  We found a spot to eat our empanadas from the Mercado and then we headed home.

Part 2 of the field trip will be this week.  Her reply will be there.  No one takes what isn’t theirs.  And there is a bird sanctuary in the vicinity that we’ll visit this week, as well.

Dinner by Alphabet – V

If you’ve been afraid that the end of the alphabet seems to provide slim pickings for dinner – no worries (so far).  ‘V‘ night was fun!

Goodnight made a bee line to the aisle where she knew she’d find her dessert.  I didn’t need to pick up much either.  I had nearly everything I needed at home to prepare what we had in mind.

Goodnight’s prep took her only about 30 seconds to complete.  She practiced her piano lesson while I worked out my portion of dinner – which really only took a few minutes in the kitchen.

Dinner by Alphabet – V

 

Main Course

Vermicelli Verdure -  The version I’m familiar with is simply pasta boiled with your favorite greens, Verde means green, afterall, then tossed with some sautéed garlic and olive oil.  I happened to have spinach at home so we use that.  Goodnight and I like chard, too, but mine isn’t ready to pick yet.

Vienna sausages. – Yup!  I caved in for a potted meat.  I really wanted veal with the verdure, but Goodnight thought veal makes her sick.  Don’t know where she got that idea into her head, but I left the veal for another time.  So, I sliced those little tubes of meat and sautéed with the garlic before tossing everything together.

Dessert Course

Vanilla pudding – instant takes 30 seconds of shaking in a tightly covered container.

Beverage

V-8 – though Goodnight asked me if I liked vodka

Vivid colors, versatile pasta dish, a very hearty viaticum – which means provisions for a journey.  (Yes, I know how the catholics use the word, too.  No disrespect intended.)

Pastor’s Winter Cap and Scarf

We’ve had the same pastor at the church Goodnight and I attend for eight years.  He was recently asked to accept a post at a different parish.  He accepted the transfer and this past Sunday was his last day at our church.

I decided to knit him a going away gift. 

When I was growing up, most pastors wore a biretta if they wore something on their heads.  I can’t remember the last time I saw a clergyman wearing a biretta, but I always thought it distinguished them from other gentlemen who were wearing hats.

Image source:  http://bethanytwins.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/biretta-1.jpg

It’s easy enough to spot your pastor when he’s out and about if he’s wearing his collar, but in the winter it’s more difficult to do without the biretta.  So . . . . I knit the pastor a winter hat and scarf.  It will keep him warm, but allow the members of his new parish to recognize him when it snows!

Goodnight and I gave him his gift on Sunday.  He wrapped the scarf around his neck and let out a great laugh!  He loved it!

If you want to knit one click the link for the PDF pattern: Pastors Winter Cap and Scarf

Happy knitting!

Sometimes I Learn the Hard Way . . .

This is a note to myself . . . . but read along, if you wish . . .  

Dear Gram,

The next time thou thinkest it fun to dance amid the falling seed pods as they spin like helicoptors from thy neighbor’s tree in the spring time;

 . . . try to remember that they didn’t all fall to the ground.  Check the rain gutters on the roof BEFORE you might have to check them during a flash flood.

Image source: http://raingutterreviews.com/images (You don’t think I would take a photo in a flash flood, do you?)

It’s one thing to sneak outside in your nightgown and spy in fireflies after dark with your granddaughter, but it’s an entirely different story to have to DASH out to the garage in your nightgown during a flash flood, grab the ladder, climb up and dig out sodden seed pods that are clogging the downspout.  AND THEN, to go knocking on your neighbor’s door and volunteer to climb the ladder and dig out her sodden seed pods, too.  They’re not so whimsical when you’re dodging lightning, soaked to the bone in your nightgown, are they?

End of note to self . . . .

p.s. I declare!  Ten years in the house and the gutters have never been clogged in spring or summer.  But then, I never bought a roof rake until this past winter, either.  But next year I’ll plan ahead and make the climb up the ladder when it’s dry and when I’m wearing . . . . um . . . proper attire.

But . . . . . I might consider it worth the effort for the ‘medicinal’ bit of sherry I took afterward – you know – to ward off a cold. 

Field Trip to the Art Park

Fridays are field trip days for Goodnight and me.  I don’t set a particular time limit as each week that could vary.  Besides, I don’t want to be that regimented.  I can just see myself setting a time limit and then saying, “Hurry up and look at this.  Isn’t this fun?  Come on we gotta go . . . “.  Nah!  I don’t want to do that.  Each field trip will take what it takes – longer, shorter, overnight . . . .   

Last week I took Goodnight to an art park.  There was an article about it in the Sunday paper a few weeks back and I cut the article to save for summer.  I’m glad I did!

The art park is the work of one man over many decades.  It covers 60 acres and is divided roughly in half by a busy highway.  No worries!  Park attendees go under the highway through the bridge and can test their echo as they go.  Goodnight loved it right off the bat.

At first glance, the fence in the photo below might look uninteresting, but it was made from materials reclaimed from a bridge that was torn down.  The artist got the material and used it to border part of the park.

The art park is really taking a stroll through the woods, enjoying what’s on the way, with the added interest of some art pieces here and there.  It’s not over done.

While strolling, sometimes there is a brick walkway, sometimes gravel or grass.  It varies.  The transitions are natural and interesting.

One of the art pieces that follows a brick path is a piece called Pompeii.  It it the artist’s rendering of excavation after the eruption of Vesuvius.  There are stone carvings of skeletons, body parts, and other things that could have been unearthed in the excavation. 

One of the sculptures that seems to be the favorite of children is the snake.  As you walk past the snake, you can see various things that it has . . . . swallowed.

I’m not sure how they got the whole thing in one photo for the newspaper, but I don’t have the right camera for that.  There is a building right next to the head, so I couldn’t make the angle any broader to include the whole thing.

The park isn’t very flat.  It’s not a difficult walk, but the hills make it interesting.  In the photo below, the brick path goes around the studio/workshop.  The is a huge pulley and hook on the back side.  It’s used for lifting the heavy stones.

Whew!  We made it to the top of the hill!  The yellow paper in Goodnight’s hand is the scavenger hunt slip that visitors can pick up at the beginning.  It helps keep one’s eyes open for certain things in the park.

Like I said, it’s a beautiful walk in the woods.

And a tree swing for a little break . . . .

While looking for stone sculptures, the visitor is encouraged to enjoy the art of nature, too.  Look at how far the tree roots are exposed.

There are berries to spot when the season is right . . . .

. . . .and flowers, too.

The art park is divided roughly in half, with much of the art on one side of the highway and the amphitheater on the other. 

The retaining wall in the photo below is on the way to the amphitheater.  I like what the artist did – adding the faces when the grade changed.

The photo below shows the amphitheater.  The stage is large and it’s set at the bottom of a big hill where TONS of people could sit if it gets that crowded.  (I don’t know.  We’ll have to go back for a Tuesday program.)

All the world’s a stage and every good stage needs it’s actor(s).  Goodnight danced for me.  I was the only one in the audience.  I love her innocence in sharing herself with me this way.

What you’ve seen in this post is not all the art in the park.  I didn’t upload everything.  Just a taste of it.  Goodnight really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow our field trip is to the Mexican Mercado in a different part of the town.  The city is culturally diverse and I want Goodnight to appreciate people for who they are and how their culture influences them.  She’ll love the Mercado.  After we shop, we’ll stay in the neighborhood a while.  We’ll have lunch and a real Mexican restaurant, and then visit the church in the neighborhood.  She’s been studying Spanish at school and I want her to see that it’s used in her own back yard.

An Evening Out to a Fabulous Show

I don’t go out to evening events very often.  Being a morning girl has been a huge factor.  But sometimes there’s just something so wonderful happening that it’s worth getting out and staying up late.

That’s what happened last evening – and I took Goodnight with me.

I actually wore a gown.  I can’t remember the last time I went out in a gown!  And Goodnight had a gown appropriate for her age as well.

It was spectacular!  What a show.  It was a free event, too.  We didn’t have to travel very far, so that was another factor that influenced my decision.

I’m sorry not to be able to share photos.  It was too dark to take any.

Goodnight and I were watching fireflies!!!!  Our gowns?  Night gowns, of course!! 

Goodnight had already been in bed a while and I was closing up the house, ready for bed myself.  A little flash of light caught my eye and it looked like someone smoking a cigarette walking across the lawn in the dark.

I waited to see who it was, but when the light moved away from the darkest shadows in the yard, there was no one walking at all.  I realized it was a firefly.  the last time I saw one had to be nearly twenty years ago. 

I darted to a different window in the house, and sure enough, there it was.

I knew Goodnight had never seen on, so I woke her up.  By the time she got to the window where I last saw it, it had disappeared. So . . . . we headed outside for a peek – nightgowns and all.

Goodnight told me she felt like a robber sneaking around in our yard.  I didn’t.  I knew if we saw them, she would love the show.  In less than thirty seconds after we stepped outdoors, we saw one again.

Goodnight watched in amazement.  It was circling the front lawn at a distance.  Soon, it flew toward her, zigzagging a bit, and darted over her head, up over the roof and around toward the other side of the house.  We slowly crept around the corner of the garden to see if we could spot any more.

We did!  There were only a few, but enough for us to stay and watch the show for a longish while.  Officer Friendly and I bought the house ten years ago and I’ve never seen fireflies here before – so I enjoyed the show as much as Goodnight did.

I know that fireflies are beetles, and they like rotting wood and other things on the edge of ponds or wetlands.  I can only hope that the rotting wood that attracted them doesn’t have anything to do with my house!

I suppose there could be a science lesson involved here, with a detailed description of bioluminescence and the chemical reaction involved when the fireflies emit their light, and the flashing patterns typical of different species, and how mating signals differ from danger signals,but that can wait for another time.

There’s a time and place for everything and for now . . . . it’s summer.  Time to enjoy relaxed evenings without a homework schedule.  Time to enjoy the flexibility of stepping outside to watch a very intriguing backyard show.  Time to be still and enjoy Goodnight’s amazement as she watches fireflies dart across the lawn, flirt with her and scoot away.

I know that children share stories about what they did over summer vacation and many will have travel stories to tell.  But I hope, included somewhere amid Goodnight’s fond memories, she’ll tell of the night she stepped out with her Gram to attend a magical light show.

THE PILGRIM’S DREAM or THE STAR AND THE GLOW-WORM

by William Wordsworth  (1818)

A PILGRIM, when the summer day
Had closed upon his weary way,
A lodging begged beneath a castle’s roof;
But him the haughty Warder spurned;
And from the gate the Pilgrim turned,
To seek such covert as the field
Or heath-besprinkled copse might yield,
Or lofty wood, shower-proof.

He paced along; and, pensively,
Halting beneath a shady tree,
Whose moss-grown root might serve for couch or seat,
Fixed on a Star his upward eye;
Then, from the tenant of the sky
He turned, and watched with kindred look,
A Glow-worm, in a dusky nook,
Apparent at his feet.

The murmur of a neighbouring stream
Induced a soft and slumbrous dream,
A pregnant dream, within whose shadowy bounds
He recognised the earth-born Star,
And ‘That’ which glittered from afar;
And (strange to witness!) from the frame
Of the ethereal Orb, there came
Intelligible sounds.

Much did it taunt the humble Light
That now, when day was fled, and night
Hushed the dark earth, fast closing weary eyes,
A very reptile could presume
To show her taper in the gloom,
As if in rivalship with One
Who sate a ruler on his throne
Erected in the skies.

“Exalted Star!” the Worm replied,
“Abate this unbecoming pride,
Or with a less uneasy lustre shine;
Thou shrink’st as momently thy rays
Are mastered by the breathing haze;
While neither mist, nor thickest cloud
That shapes in heaven its murky shroud,
Hath power to injure mine.

But not for this do I aspire
To match the spark of local fire,
That at my will burns on the dewy lawn,
With thy acknowledged glories;–No!
Yet, thus upbraided, I may show
What favours do attend me here,
Till, like thyself, I disappear
Before the purple dawn.”

When this in modest guise was said,
Across the welkin seemed to spread
A boding sound–for aught but sleep unfit!
Hills quaked, the rivers backward ran;
That Star, so proud of late, looked wan;
And reeled with visionary stir
In the blue depth, like Lucifer
Cast headlong to the pit!

Fire raged: and, when the spangled floor
Of ancient ether was no more,
New heavens succeeded, by the dream brought forth:
And all the happy Souls that rode
Transfigured through that fresh abode,
Had heretofore, in humble trust,
Shone meekly ‘mid their native dust,
The Glow-worms of the earth!

This knowledge, from an Angel’s voice
Proceeding, made the heart rejoice
Of Him who slept upon the open lea:
Waking at morn he murmured not;
And, till life’s journey closed, the spot
Was to the Pilgrim’s soul endeared,
Where by that dream he had been cheered
Beneath the shady tree.

Dinner by Alphabet – U

We arrived at what I thought to be the most challenging meal in our Dinner by Alphabet adventure.  I mulled over our options and was resigned to have the ghost of Marley visit us last night by serving the “underdone potatoes” that Scrooge blamed for his unsettling ‘hallucination’ in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. 

I took a look back at our Dinners by Alphabet so far and decided not to give up so easily.  I took a fist full of my cook books off the shelf and started browsing.

My daughter was a chef and the staple text-book for her culinary program was/is Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen.  I have her copy and checked the index. 

As I feared – we were having Utensils for dinner!  Sounded like a swell party, and I have plenty, but I wasn’t sure if I was to boil them, roast them, or . . . . . . . maybe check my other cook books. 

The indices of one cook book after another went from ‘T’ straight to ‘V’.  Maybe the message was that we were to go ‘ungry. 

Nah!  We didn’t – thanks to the Italians, the Japanese and Betty Crocker.  And the only things we had to shop for were the things Goodnight needed to bake dessert, and some tomatoes for my part of the dinner.  The rest of the ingredients were at home. 

Goodnight has blossomed in the kitchen over these last 21 weeks.  She started with baking mixes under a lot of supervision then moved to following recipes with a lot of supervision.  Last night, she got to combine both a mix and a recipe for dessert.  Her only confusion was right at the start – before she read the directions. (of course) 

GN: So, Gram, I follow the recipe but I use the mix instead? 

Gram: Read the recipe first, honey.  What does it say? 

GN: Um . . . . oh! 

After that, I was left to my translucent onions, and fresh basil snipped from my herb pot. 

 

Dinner by Alphabet – U 

 

Main Course

Uova al piatto con pomodori (ends up being a very easy dish, with eggs baked on top of a tomato-basil-onion sauce.

Udon noodles  (I served the Uova al piatto con pomodori over the noodles.)

 

Dessert Course

Upside-down Brownies 

 

Beverage

Unsweetened Tea 

 

Unique, yet utterly basic, unhurried, and unbelievably delicious!!!!

When I walked into the grocery store, one of the managers was up front.  He had lost track of what letter we were on and wanted to catch up.

He asked me what I planned to do when we finished with our Dinner by Alphabet project.  I answered with as straight a face as a gram could muster.  “I hate to take my business elsewhere, but I might start a similar project and shop . . . . next door.”

He paused a second to mull it over, and then broke out in the best grin!  His response, “That might be more fun . . .  for you.”  He knows that next door to the grocery store is a liquor store!!!! 

This morning, during my daily phone visit with Gr8, I ran my new plan by her and she laughed.  Her only response was, “How will you use up the left-overs in time for the next week?”

Cheers, all!  Here’s to ‘U‘ and whatever you do with your . . . . Alphabet!!!!

BFF Button Bracelets – Knitting Pattern

EDIT: This post contains a FREE pdf pattern for the bracelets.  Someone recently posted my free pattern on listia.  Not cool!  Thanks to Karen who reported it to me and listia.  3/30/2012

Goodnight is such a thoughtful girl.  Last week she told me that she remembered it was ‘Birdie’s’ birthday.  Birdie is one of her friends from the elementary school she attended.  Birdie is a special needs child and last year, when her mother threw her a birthday party, Goodnight is the only one who showed up.  It was her golden birthday, too.

Goodnight remembered all of that.  So we talked about doing something nice for Birdie, even though she doesn’t go to the same middle school as Goodnight.

Girl’s like bracelets and Goodnight wanted Birdie to remember that they are still friends, so I knit up with a set of bracelets that Goodnight liked enough to use as a gift.

It’s not rocket science knitting, but the colors on the buttons were so fun that I wanted to work with that.  Goodnight picked the buttons.  The green one below says: “Friends Forever”.  Sorry for the fuzzy pic.  But I think the rest are clear. 

The buttons are La Mode and they had other buttons with words as well.  The bracelets don’t take much time to knit.  I chose seed stitch because I love to knit seed stitch!!

Your bracelets don’t have to have words on them.  Goodnight found some frog buttons for a bracelet for herself.  Or how about a cameo for an elegant summer finish?  There are TONS of buttons and lots of yarns to choose.

I knit buttonholes into the ends of the bracelets and used clear buttons for closure.  That way they are barely noticeable.

It’s summer – time for bright colors and funky “Read My Wrist” frivolous ornamentation!!

Goodnight paired up the bracelets with a glittery little purse notebook and a ‘Twilight’ birthday card for her friend.  When she got them wrapped up, we drove to Birdie’s house to drop them off.  Goodnight couldn’t find Birdie’s phone number, so we just showed up.  I hate when that happens to me, so I was willing to accept it if no one answered the door.

Birdie answered the door and the girls got to giggle for a while.

If you want to knit up a few, click the link for the PDF:  BFF Button Bracelet

Quilted One Patch Triangle Illusion Face Cloth© – or Carol’s Cloth©

I think I’ve been hanging around on some quilting blogs too much.  Is that possible?  Nah!  The colors, combinations and designs that quilters come up with is worth the trek to any site – if only for the photos.  I love the color!

Besides, I have a quilter friend who just retired from her long career.  She’s going to have so much more time for quilting and I must admit to being a teeny bit jealous.

So I got to wondering if I could knit something that resembled a quilt design, but do it in the Illusion/Shadow style of knitting.  Hah!  I did it, though it took a fair amount of head-scratching.  All the better for me because thinking will keep me going until I get to retire like Carol.

 

One Patch Triangle Illusion Face Cloth© or Carol’s Cloth©

I knit three face cloths for the photo.  The center cloth in the photo below shows what happens when Color A is Darker than Color B.  The more obvious triangles are the ones that point downward.  In the top and bottom cloths, Color A is lighter than Color B, so the more obvious triangles point upward.  Decide which way you want to do it.  Then pick a favorite sports team’s colors, or knit a holiday colorway . . . .

You can see that the one patch triangles disappear as the camera angle goes to ninety degrees.  The top face cloth is purple and gold for a Vikings fan I know.

If you want to try knitting the Quilted One Patch Illusion Face Cloth, click the link for the PDF file: Quilted One Patch Triangles Illusion Face Cloth.

Happy knitting!