“Lombardi” – Super Scarf #16

It’s time for another Super Scarf for the volunteers of the Indianapolis 2012 Super Bowl.  Today’s scarf is in honor of the Vince Lombardi Trophy,  which is awarded to the winning team of the Super Bowl football game.  The trophy is currently held by the New Orleans Saints.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy depicts a football in kicking position atop a base.  The regulation size football and its base are made from sterling silver.  The NFL shield is affixed to the base of the trophy.  The trophy is named after Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, to commemorate the Packers’ victories in the first two Super Bowls.  The trophy has been awarded since 1967, however was not named after Coach Lombardi until 1970.

To see an image of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, click the link.  It’s at the top of the page.  The view is from a slight angle, which shows the depth of the base and the kicking position of the football.  If you mentally rotate the image to a front view, it becomes a rather linear image and that’s what I was going for with my “Lombardi” Super Scarf.

It’s tough to show the canted football on a scarf that is largely two-dimensional, but it’s still supposed to be a scarf after all.

The scarf was knit from the wide end at the bottom of the base to the narrow end at the top of the base.  Since the slope of the trophy base had to be spread out over such a long length dimension and would have been less apparent using the width dimension parameters set by the Indianapolis Host Committee, I broke the rules!!!  Mea culpa.    I started with a width of one inch greater than their parameters and decreased to a width of one inch less than their parameters.  To redeem myself, perhaps they will consider that I had to pass through their dimensions to achieve the desired appearance of the scarf.

The narrow top of the trophy base is balanced by the football, which nearly matches the width of the scarf at the bottom of the base.  This provides an overall balanced look to the length and width of the scarf.  The fringe is extra, of course.

I knit a shield that closely resembles the NFL shield on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  I placed it close to the end opposite the football.  Placing it on the scarf where it would be on the actual trophy, would make the scarf bulky at the neck.  I left the shield blank and I knit it wide enough to accommodate the official 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl patch that is being sewn onto each Super Scarf.

 

I attached the shield with white thread and then embroidered the official blue yarn color around the perimeter to set off the shield from its white background and to balance the color of the football stitching at the opposite end of the scarf.  The embroidery does not show through to the back of the scarf. That fact, combined with the stitching I used, makes the scarf somewhat reversible, minus the color, which is visible from one side only.

The entire scarf is knit in the garter stitch because it afforded ease in the stitch decreases.  The shield is knit in the stockinette stitch to provide a flatter surface to which the official patch can be sewn.

To the victorious team goes the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  To one volunteer goes the Lombardi Super Scarf.  That’s fair, eh?

Happy knitting!

Two Cuties!

I’ve been hosting company for over a week  and as part of the entertainment, I’ve been having a Hitchcock film festival.

While viewing one of the films I fell in love swiftly and completely.  Let me introduce you to the cuties that stole my heart:

The still photo is precious enough.  I snapped it from my TV, but it came from The Farmer’s Wife, a silent Hitchcock film from 1928.  If you’d like to see these cuties in motion, click on the movie link, slide the time to 2:13 and let the film run until 2:48 or so.  It’s not even a full minute of viewing, but the way they ran across the yard, climbed the stairs and snuggled their heads together is an endearing film moment.  Don’t hit the stop button too quickly – you have to see them from the backside, too!

I don’t have any pets in my home, but I’ve shared a household with five dogs over the years.  Even Goodnight fell in love with these two sweeties.  She snapped the same photo I did and has it as her screen saver on her cell phone.

There is a scene later in the film with a TON of beagles.  If you’re curious, click on this link to Part 9/11, move the time to 2:57 and watch the beginning of the fox hunt – to about 3:21.  They are shown again from 4:13 – 4:19.  How many beagles do you think there are?

The dogs are not the plot of the film, but I have dibs on the first two as my new virtual pets!

Time Out

I’m in a time out.  I haven’t been naughty, but I sent myself to my room anyway.  The good news is that when you get to be a Gram and send yourself to your room, the room doesn’t necessarily have to be in your own home!!!!

Here’s the one I sent me to . . .

 

 

I didn’t think I could send myself to a room in a tropical location, but the billboard outside my room helps a lot!!!  Would it be stretching the truth too  far to say that the beach is just outside my window?

I am going to knit, swim, knit, read, knit, watch TV, knit and put my feet up while I stare at the billboard.  Honestly, the billboard is so close to my window that if I squint to eliminate the advertizing and stare at the hut  . . . . I can almost feel the warm sand . . . almost.

“What Magic Comes from Books!!!” – Super Scarf #15

Time for another Super Bowl 2012 Super Scarf. 

I wanted to do something a little different (different doesn’t mean difficult) in order to honor the 22 branches of the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library (IMPCL) which got on board early in the Super Scarf Project to serve as collection points for completed scarves and to provide knit kits for volunteers interested in knitting scarves.  I can only imagine how many scarves will come directly from the participation of the libraries!

It got me to thinking about books, libraries, knitting, and Super Scarves and I think I devised a way to combine all that magic.  Let me know what you think.

In the above photo, it looks like we have a book with a book mark hanging out.  The title of the book is XLVI, because in 2012, Indianapolis will host the 46th Super Bowl.  Super Bowls are numbered in Roman numerals.

What you see is not really a book mark, however . . . . .

I decided that a Super Scarf needed to be the main character of my book and what looks like a bookmark is actually one of the sections of knit fringe that I intentionally left sticking out!

The scarf is simply done in garter stitch, but rather than attach a stranded fringe, I decided to knit mini-scarves to represent the scarves that came/will come from the IMPCL and their efforts to get people knitting.  I knit each mini-scarf in garter stitch and when I had five completed, I combined them on a needle and worked the full scarf in garter stitch until I arrived at the opposite end of the scarf where I knit five more mini-scarves.

The book cover is knit separately using the seed stitch.  The closure strap is seed stitch as well.  I made the button.  It isn’t quite a Dorset button, but I started out using that method.  I used a very small ring and the thick yarn made for a rounded button.  I added the white in the center of the rounded button using a French knot.

I got into the IMPCL’s online catalog and hunted for some knit lit.  I don’t mean the pattern books, I mean literature.  There are TONS of stories that mention knitting, LOTS of stories that use a knitted garment in the plot, and SEVERAL stories that actually have knit scarves as a main (inanimate) character in a story.

Jeremy’s Muffler by Laura F. Nielson

The Long Red Scarf by Nette Hilton

The Scarves by Daniela Bunge

Grandpa Bear’s Fantastic Scarf by Gillian Heal

Milly, Molly and the Secret Scarves by  Gill Pittar

Time’s Up by Annie Bryant

Those are all children’s books, but they’re sweet stories nonetheless. 

There is magic in books, magic in reading, magic in knitting, and magic that came from the efforts of the Indianapolis Marion County Public Libraries.

Read a book.  Knit a Super Scarf.  Or do both!!!!

Happy knitting.

 

Church Signs

I must admit to a long-time fondness of reading church signs.  I love the messages that are brief, to the point, and easy to remember for longer than a moment or two.

Catholic churches don’t do this (not around here), so I’m sure that contributed to my interest.

The one I ran into most recently said, simply:

“Be a fountain . . . . .

 

 . . . . . not a drain.”

 

Great advice!  I want to remember that one.

“Gram? Wanna spend some quality time with your favorite granddaughter?”

If I could describe a perfect weekend, then it would be the one I just had.  I already described a little bit of it: Goodnight’s snow people that got plowed over and the tall snow person that survived.

I found myself being entertained by the swaying upper branches of some tall evergreen trees in the next yard.  They were packed with snow, but still able to undulate with the breeze.  A little too much wind and the snow on the upper branches would topple off and cause an avalanche effect on the way down to the ground.  Plop!  And then stillness until another breeze started the process all over again.

Then my eye would catch a glimpse of a squirrel making its way from one yard to the next, but not on the ground.  It was more like a high wire circus act, from tree branch to electrical wire to fence top and back up another tree.  Sometimes the squirrel would slip and fall into the snow and then scurry up the fence to try to retrace its steps.

I wasn’t bored at all.  I loved being the spectator to all the ‘hidden’ activity in my small little world.

I wasn’t ignoring Goodnight.  She had her tent set up in her bedroom and was watching her favorite shark movie for about the 13th time!  Deep Blue Sea in case you want to know.

Goodnight wasn’t really ignoring me either.  It’s just about space and some quiet time.  There seems to be a natural rhythm for that at our house.  I seldom have to ask her to give me a few moments to myself.

When her shark movie ended, she bounded down the stairs and plopped herself on the couch right next to me.  By that time, I was knitting and watching a football game.

Confident in herself, she said “Gram?  Wanna spend some quality time with your favorite granddaughter?”

I know that watching football and knitting might look like I wasn’t busy, but I actually had a HUGE pot of chili on the stove, too.

But, football and knitting can wait.  Quality time must be grabbed, enjoyed, and cherished.  The football game got turned off, the knitting got set aside, and the table top air hockey game whirred to life.  The chili continued to simmer while we played at the table not far from the stove.

 

Gram: Best out of three?

GN: Yup!  I’m gonna  beat you this time. 

I won the first game and then she took me for the next two in a row.  That was enough for her.  She donned her snow gear and went out to make another snow person.

When she got cold enough, she came in to ask me if I’d like to see the new one.

I stepped outside to have a look.

Gram: Honey, it sort of looks like the devil.

GN: Yup!  It does!  That’s what I thought, too.

Gram:  Did you want to leave it that way?

GN:  Yup!  I do!

At least her snow devil is smiling . . . . .  

I have no idea how she lifted the top two sections.  The snow was so wet and heavy!

Then we called Gr8, asked her for the directions to make the cookies that Goodnight likes to eat when we go to Smalltownville.  The recipe call turned into a long chat with Goodnight and I passing the phone back and forth to share comments with Gr8.

There are other ways to spend a weekend with my granddaughter that would have been equally enjoyable, but I like it when Mother Nature is the Activity Director and makes the decisions for me.

Falling snow, dead mini snow people, the devil in my front yard, squirrels, the rhythmic clicking of Goodnight’s wet winter outerwear tumbling in the dryer for the sixth time, air hockey, a fine pot of chili, Gr8′s cookies and laughter.  I couldn’t have written such a pleasant script.

“Flag on the Play” Super Scarf #14

It’s time for another Super Scarf.  Check the link for more details.  And if you have time to knit a scarf for the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl, I’m sure the Host Committee would appreciate it very much.  They are looking for upwards of 8000 scarves and they are just closing in on 1,600.  I’m sure they would appreciate them sooner than later so they can know where they are at with totals for the volunteers.

Today’s Super Scarf is another shout out to the NFL Referees.  Check their website to see which crews will be officiating which games.

I decided that the’ long arm of the NFL law’ would make a great Super Scarf , especially when a ref has to throw a flag on a play.   I know that the refs’ flags are yellow, but I’m working within the parameters of the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee’s Super Scarf Project color requirements.

 

The flag is actually square, but I didn’t think it would look realistic to have a flat square piece attached to the hand, so I used 2×2 ribbing with a corner-to-corner type wash cloth shaping.  The ribbing draws the fabric in so it looks more gathered as it does when the refs throw their flags.

 

I like this one.  It’s another one that makes me giggle.  If it isn’t fun . . . . I don’t wanna do it.  The classy scarves are fun to knit, too, but giggling is good sometimes, eh?

Happy knitting!

There’s reason they call it “Tween.”

I know I was pining for the playground a while back, but the truth is, I just want to enjoy each of Goodnight’s stages.  Tough as the ‘tween’ times can be, we just go with the flow.

Goodnight’s been wanting her ears pierced for a while, but not having enough time to have that conversation with her mother, I decided Goodnight had to wait until she turned thirteen.  We’re close enough to that landmark and Goodnight had a five-day weekend to allow the redness to subside before going to school, so I decided to take her for the big event.  Frankly, much sooner wouldn’t have worked because Goodnight has always been squeamish.  But she was ready.

She almost immediately started to carry herself in a more grown-up posture.

No worries . . . . . it didn’t last long.  In the same five-day weekend, after the ear-piercing event, she was outside playing in the first snowfall of the season.  She bedecked the front yard with a tall snow person.  She made the red polar fleece scarf herself.  It was a scrap from the blankets that Officer Friendly made to donate to people in wheelchairs. 

And then she lined the end of the driveway with little snow people. (The orange flags are to show the plow where the driveway ends, but even after the first snow fall, they are invisible for most of the winter.)

When she finished her work, she came into the house for some hot chocolate.  Not even five minutes later, we heard a noise.  I know it was the snowplow, but it might as well have been the collective screams of the little snow people. 

From ear-piercing to playing in the snow – I think I’ll keep her for a while longer.  It snowed all day yesterday and the “Tween” and I played table top air hockey, set up her tent for watching movies with her stuffed  buddies,  talked about aerobic and anerobic germs for her scinece fair project, and baked a pizza together.  I wouldn’t change a thing!  (Well, I’d like it if her mother could have joined us, but . . . . you know what I mean.)  Goodnight is a peach!

Veteran’s Day 2010

Today I’ll be the daughter

          of my favorite Legionnaire .

                    I’ll stand beside his marker

                              to place a flag and poppy there.

 

I’ll scarce have time to whisper

          my thanks, my love, a prayer

                    ’ere my heart begins its pleading

                              to step away from there.        

 

For down the rows, around the bend

          a widow’s duty falls to me.

                    Another flag, another tear

                                        I miss him too, you see.

 

What time o’clock my visit

          to thank two soldiers gone to Heaven?

                    Prescribed long ago, before my youth . . . . 

                              Eleven, eleven/eleven. 

 

        

         

Flag-raising . . .

This morning, I attended an early morning flag-raising ceremony at the college where I work.  The formal flag-raising was in honor of Veteran’s Day –  tomorrow.  The college will be closed for business tomorrow so the colors were posted with formality today.

The photo below doesn’t show the crowd, but lots of folks turned out: administration, faculty, staff, students, passers-by.  It  was well and good to stop for that moment.   The wind caught that Star-Spangled Banner as it began the trip the top of the staff.  Percect timing!

The soldier saluting the flag as it was raised is one of our faculty members, who served as a medic in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom.  He was injured on his last tour of duty and is therefore also a Disabled American Veteran.

I think of him as one of my co-workers most of the time.  But today,  I think of him as a soldier who deserves my respect and thanks for his participation  in protecting our freedom and for his sacrifice for these United States of America. 

My deepest thanks to him and all Veterans.

p.s.  Hey Trav!  It was a cake event!