Parlez Moi Blog

More about Seaman's Scarves or Why I should never drink beer....

2009-11-21T19:28:00.004-05:00

Tuesday night was a DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) meeting at the Cape Ann Brewery. Let me say first that I am 100% in favor of boring meetings being held in taverns. Cape Ann Brewery is an absolutely wonderful choice even thought they only serve beer. It is light, bright, conveniently located, and adorable inside with long wooden tables with benches and a dozen or so rocking chairs. Pure genius.

So I went to the meeting, ordered one of their fabulous Pumpkin Stouts (left) and, you know, did the meeting thing. I am 100% behind the DMO and their efforts to lure (by any means, hehehe) people into Gloucester to do stuff that involves spending money. This includes plans for my Down-to-the-Sea Festival which I will return to blogging about any day now.

But while I was there I noticed that Kate, the bartender, was doing something interesting. In between serving beer she was KNITTING! Yes, siree bob, she was right there behind the counter knitting away. So, when the time was right, I commented on it and told her I was an avid knitter and had, in fact, written reasonably successful book about knitting. She then told me that the manager of the Brewery was talking about starting a night for knitters (and other needleworkers) to be held throughout the winter at their facility. What an excellent idea! What could be more pleasant on a cold winter night than to settle into one of their rocking chairs with a Pumpkin Stout, some knitting and some like-minded friends? But then the wheels in my head began to turn....

Ever since I wrote my blog about Seaman's Scarves I've received emails from knitters expressing interest in them. I learned about them from Myrna Stahman who wrote Stahman's Shawls and Scarves, the definitive book on seaman's scarves. So I emailed Ms. Stahman with my idea and she emailed back and one thing led to another. She pointed me to the web site for Christmas at Sea, a project The Seaman's Church Institute. Ever since 1898, during the Spanish American War, The Seaman's Church Institute has sent thousands of packages to mariners at Christmas time. Included in the packages are hand-knit items donated by knitters from around the country. These include watch caps, socks, vests, and, of course, scarves (photo above), in addition to lip balm, hand lotion and toothpaste and brushes. What a wonderful idea! So far this year over 7,000 knitted garments have been sent to the project but they need 10,000 more to meet their needs. (They also offer information on how citizens can help our mariners who are the victims of pirates at sea.) Their web site offers a list of free patterns in PDF format for both knit and crocheted patterns for the items they need.

So I got this idea (yeah, I need another project --- see what beer does to me). How about if I offer to teach knitters how to make Seaman's Scarves including the traditional Guernsey and Aran stitches that can be used in them at Cape Ann Brewery and, in exchange, ask for a donation to a local fund that benefits the families of men lost at sea? So, I offered this idea and Cape Ann Brewery said, “Fantastic, let's talk.”

Well, I don't know where this will go but I dug through my stash and pulled out some treasures to start knitting samples. I found a big bag of odds and ends of Lamb's Pride, one of my favorite wool yarns, which I am knitting in a striped patter (left) as one example. I also uncovered a huge spool of a beige, tweed wool-acrylic blend that I plan to use for more designs.

While I was rooting around I came across the yarn at left which is a Bernat Cotton with an evocative name. I have no idea where I got it. Wish I had more of it.

So, I'm going to stop into the brewery next week and we are going to discuss the plans but I think this could be a fun project. Stay tuned for more info but this is sounding better and better --- and excuse to drink beer --- and knit.

Thanks for reading.

Uh-oh! The Lobster Trap Tree War is ON!

2009-11-20T18:18:00.002-05:00

Our good buddy Joey Ciaramitaro over at Good Morning Gloucester is not the sort of fellow you want to mess with so when he picks a fight it's going to be worth showing up for. His Man vs. Food Competitions (videos on his blog) have been intense and drawn spectators from around the state. He recently challenged a local messge board to a bowling competition and the results were not pretty (well, truthfully, the whole outfit was not pretty before the first ball rolled). But this time it's gonna get really ugly! He's taking on the Lobster Trap Tree of Rockland, Maine.

This is their Crappy Unimaginative Maine Lobster Trap Tree:

And this is our Fantastic Majestic Gloucester Lobster Trap Tree

All I can say is "look out!" It's going to get very, very ugly, folks. Follow the action on Good Morning Gloucester and Casco Bay Boaters (the truly ugly competition.)

Don't you love a good lobster trap tree war for the holidays?

Thanks for reading.

Wearable Arts Show & Sale Raffle Items

2009-11-19T11:05:00.001-05:00

3rd Annual Wearable Arts Show & Sale

December 11th & 12th, 2009

Saunders House t the Sawyer Free Library

Raffle Items

All proceeds benefit the Sawyer Free Library

ITEM ~~~ Donated By

$50 Gift Certificate ~~~ Beth Williams

Five-Bead Needlefelted Necklace ~~~ Susan Kenna

Sterling Silver and Lampwork Glass Bracelet and CD ~~~ Becky Williams

Two hand silk screened tee-shirts (one adult and one kids) ~~~ Camilla MacFadyen

Hand-painted silk scarf ~~~ Nina Lapchyk

Pewter and Turquoise Necklace ~~~ Apple Bay Design

A necklace of large, vintage, faux pearls, with lavender crystal briolettes ~~~ Lee Cunningham

Scarf ~~~ Margaret Derby

Sea Glass Pin and 2010 Sea Glass Calendar ~~~ Jackie Ganim-DeFalco

Four $60 value guitar lesson gift certificates ~~~ Ken Bonfield

Scarf ~~~ Diana Svahn

Handcrafted sterling silver pendant with pearls, and garnets ~~~ Meredith Anderson

Bracelet ~~~ Candy Marshall

An autographed copy of “The Mermaid Shawl & other Beauties: Shawls,

Cocoons and Wraps” and a hand knit lace marketing bag ~~~

Kathleen Valentine

Gift certificate ~~~ Common Crow

4 “Flex” tickets to the Wheelock Family Theater in Boston (value $100)

Family Membership to the Puppet Showplace Theater ($100 value)

Classical Organ Music (5 different CDs)

One-Year Family Membership to the Cape Ann Museum ($50.00 value)

~~~~~~~~

Tickets are available at the library!

Emily's Wedding

2009-11-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that my beautiful niece Emily was getting married. These are the first photos I've received:

Emily & Brady

Claire, Drew, Emily & Brady

My sister Anne, Emily's mother, and Em dancing with Andy, her Dad.

Drew & Claire

What a setting!!!

Robin & Marion --- 33 Years Later

2009-11-16T17:15:00.001-05:00

I LOVED this movie... it's on now... I'll get back to you:

Okay, I lied --- I didn't get back to you. But I'll try to make up for that. Last night I discovered that the 1976 movie, Robin and Marion, was available on Netflix's Watch Instantly. I loved that movie when it first came out and, over the years, I've watched it several more times but last night was the first time that I really, really understood it --- I guess that's what happens when you get older.

The story, for anyone who does not know, is a take-off on the Robin Hood legends but in this version quite a few years have gone by and the wild impulsiveness of youth has been tempered by experience --- and it sort of sucks. Robin and John, played by Sean Connery and Nicol Williamson, one of my favorite actors, have been away at the crusades fighting with Richard Lionheart, flamboyantly portrayed by the late Richard Harris who is just plain wonderful. They are battle-weary and disgusted so when Richard takes an arrow in the neck and keels over while threatening to have them both executed (again), they decide to return to Sherwood Forest. But Sherwood Forest ain't what it used to be. Most of their men have scattered and the only ones left are Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet, played by the always wonderful Denholm Elliot. They also learn that when Robin marched off to war without so much as a good-bye, Marion joined the convent and is now the Mother Abbess. Audrey Hepburn as Marion is just absolutely exquisite --- well, she's exquisite in everything but especially in this film as the delicate but fiery counter-point to a crew of scruffy, crusty, smelly warriors, she is like a flower in a pile of rocks.

When Robin finds her she is about to be arrested by the Sheriff of Nottingham, devilishly played by Robert Shaw, another of my very favorite actors. He's still the Sheriff and has had enough of all these crazy fools trying to rouse the rabble to fight King John, also deliciously portrayed by Ian Holm. The rest of the movie is a brilliant adventure in craziness, the unfortunate interference of human frailty that comes with age, and heart-breaking sweetness.

Though I loved this movie thirty years ago, now, as I am dealing with my own confrontations with age and its insults, as well as having lost someone I love, the movie affected me in a whole new way. Naturally it was delicious seeing all those wonderful faces again --- Robin and Marion has nothing if not a spectacular cast. But there were moments in which I felt as if my heart was breaking along with the characters. When Little John tells Marion, who is trying to convince him to prevent Robin from getting into another battle, that “if you were mine, I'd never have gone (off to the Crusades)”, I was stunned that I had never paid attention to that scene before. And finally, when things have gone badly, Marion steps aside so it is Little John --- who has spent all those many years fighting beside Robin in the Holy Land --- who is closest to him at the end.

It's a beautiful, deeply moving movie. Marion's love for Robin is at the heart of it but Robin's love for Little John, for his men and the people he spent his life fighting for, and even for King Richard, is given equal weight and it touched me deeply and made me think about that. We live in a culture that idolizes romantic love and romantic love is a beautiful thing. But there is so much more love than just the love between a man and woman in the world. I guess I loved this movie for portraying that so well.

It's just all this getting older stuff. It comes with so many disappointments and limitations and confrontations with one's own short-comings. But it also provides an opportunity to look at our lives without the “glamor” (in the fairy-sense) of romance and realize that, despite what has passed from our lives, there is also this legacy of all this stuff we have had --- and will always have.

I'm glad I saw it again and this time with a wealth of experience that lends itself to appreciation. I'm not real crazy about this growing older business --- but it certainly has been well-earned and achieved through much that is good.

Thanks for reading.

Down to the Sea: 4. Mermaids

2009-11-12T17:10:00.004-05:00

Mermaids are a treasured part of maritime lore. Stories of mermaids exist in seafaring cultures going back a thousand years before Christ. Though most cultures allow that there may be mermen as well, few have much mythology around them --- probably because the maritime trade was practiced mostly by men. Men alone at sea for long weeks, months, years longed for women and it is not surprising that they fantasized about them being available at sea.

Psychologically the mermaid has long represented the wild, untamed sexuality of women --- women who are free and unbound by the constraints of society. Is it any wonder that men fantasize about them and women long to be them?

In art mermaids have long provided an inspiration. During the Pre-Raphaelite period they were particularly popular among artists including Frederick Lord Leighton whose lovely “The Siren and the Fisherman” (right) probably epitomizes the fantasies of the men who dreamed up mermids in the first place. One of my favorite mermaid paintings is by Rockport artist Christine Mosher (left). So, an exhibition of mermaid art is definitely called for.

Mermaids have, fairly accidentally, become a theme in my life. My first novel, The Old Mermaid's Tale, was named that because the waterfront tavern that inspired the book was called The Mermaid Tavern. As a kid in Erie, PA, I was fascinated by it and, as an adult, my imaginings resulted in a romantic story based in the maritime lore of the Great Lakes. Later I designed a shawl that I named The Mermaid Shawl. That turned into a book of knitting designs and on and on it went.

For our proposed festival I an imagining mermaids having a prominent place in art and crafts. Coney Island has long been the home of a notorious Mermaid Parade which has a reputation for being more than a little risqué. But I think a Sailors and Mermaids Ball might be quite in order.

And, because children love mermaids we should include a Mer-Party for the little ones, too. Actually, I'm hoping to have quite a lot of activities for children --- including a paper maché Sea-Serpent event but more about that in another blog.

I've heard from a number of people since I started posting about this and all the comments have been positive and encouraging. There are two big events planned for 2010 in Gloucester but the Down To The Sea Festival may emerge as a natural outgrowth of one of them. In 2010 Gloucester is planning to host a Whale Festival. Many of the local whale-watch businesses are working on this and it will, of course, include the Maritime Heritage Center.

The other event being planned is The 100^th Anniversary of poet Charles Olsen being planned for October.

Some great suggestions and ideas have come from people who are enthusiastic about a Down To The Sea Festival --- everything from a chowder cook-off to a lobsterboat drag race. Keep the ideas coming --- they are all good.

Thanks for reading.

Down to the Sea: 3. Fisherman's Sweaters and Seaman's Scarves

2009-11-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

Continuing with my fantasy of a Down-to-the-Sea Festival in Gloucester, let me add that my idea for the festival is a celebration of many diverse maritime related traditions, whether they were practiced locally or not. This festival celebrates the rich heritage of maritime culture. So let's talk about the famous fisherman's sweaters that originated in the island fishing communities of Ireland and Scotland.

In the photo below is a collection of historic photos of fishermen, sealers, and mariners (and one female knitter) all sporting their traditional fisherman sweaters. Some are in the Aran fashion and some in the Guensey. The traditional sweaters were knit in untreated lambs wool which is rich in lanolin so it adds to the warmth and the water-resistant features so important for men who earned their living working the sea. The patterns, particularly in the Aran sweaters, add to the thickness, and thus the warmth of the sweaters. There are hundreds of patterns in both fashions, Aran (which is thicker and features cables) and Guensey (which is flatter and patterned with stitches in combinations of knit and purl to form the design.)

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

There is a legend that the patterns are particular to families and/or villages and this may or may not be true. The knitters of a village may have created a particular design but it was likely copied in short order by other knitters. Often the name or the initials of the sweater's owner was knit in to the hem. There is also a story that drown mariners were identified by their sweaters. This idea was used by Irish writer John Millington Synge in his play, “Riders to the Sea” in which a woman identifies her drowned son by the design of his sweater.

These sweaters are wonderful for knitters to make. The patterns are so varied and many have religious or symbolic meanings. When I first moved to New England I placed an ad in Yankee Magazine and traded my hand-knit fishermen sweaters for weekends in guest houses up and down the coast. It was a great way to explore my new home.

So, for our festival, we can have fisherman sweaters for sale, exhibits of historic sweaters and workshops for knitters to learn how to knit them. Knitting is closely tied to maritime cultures probably because it is so close to net mending --- but more about that later.

Seaman's Scarves are a traditional short, thick scarf that is knit with ribbing in the middle section to make them less bulky while wrapping around the neck but with patterned ends that cross over the chest for added warmth. They are short so as not to get in the way of equipment. The lovely knitter Myrna Stahman is known throughout the knitting community for her beautiful Seaman's Scarves. One of the most beautiful (at left) was designed in memory of Matthew Shepard. The pattern is free and downloadable online.

Here, again, for our festival I envision scarves for sale, knitting classes, and historic displays. It could be expanded to include seaman's watch caps and fingerless gloves.

Years ago I even knit myself a fisherman (above right) using Guensey-style stitches. He sits on top of my desk and keeps an eye on me as I work. Maybe someday I'll knit him a mermaid. Which brings us to the subject of my next entry, mermaids.

Thanks for reading.

In Memory: The Edmund Fitzgerald

2009-11-11T10:49:00.003-05:00

I forgot to post this yesterday, thirty- four years ago, November 10, 1975.........

And, in honor of Veteran's Day, My 2005 Veteran's Day Blog.

Thanks for reading.

Come to the Wearable Arts Show & Sale, Dec. 11-12

2009-11-10T16:44:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to tell you that I will be part of this year's Wearable Arts Show & Sale which is part of the annual Middle Street Walk here in Gloucester. I'll be selling my book and giving demonstrations on knitting lace:

3^rd Annual seARTS Wearable Arts Show & Sale

Captivating, Colorful, & Collectible!

Building on two successful shows, the seARTS Wearable Arts group is preparing for its 3^rd annual show to coincide with Gloucester’s Middle Street Walk, December 12^th, with a Friday night, December 11th open house. The Wearable Arts Show provides a unique opportunity to showcase local jewelers and fiber artists and at the same time benefits the Sawyer Free Library and seARTS. The group continues to diversify and distinguish itself on the North Shore by expanding on the wearable arts theme and attracting new artists each year.

Returning jewelry artists include Meredith Anderson, Lee Cunningham, Jo-Ann Demetra, Jacqueline-Ganim-DeFalco, Candy Marshall, Beth Williams, Jan Weinshanker & Judy Wright. Jan and Judy, good friends for many years, combine their 30 year backgrounds in the arts to create jewelry using semi precious stones and old trade beads from places all around the world. Beth Williams will re-locate her downtown studio just for Friday night in order to share her “kaleidoscopic collection of unique earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other items made from handmade glass beads” while Lee Cunningham will share her growing “bold” collection of necklaces that showcase “the strength, color and design of the materials she uses.” Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco has continued to build on colorful combinations of historic pottery and shards of sea glass to her collection of hair accessories and jewelry. Jacqueline, one of the organizers comments, “We should all be inspired by the daring icon of style, Iris Apfel,” whose collection is currently on exhibit at the PEM, “I hope that our show gives everyone of us a chance to become an architect of fashion and wear accessories in new and exciting ways!”

New additions include Susan Kenna who creates with felt and Becky Williams, a talented jeweler and vocalist. Margaret Derby will return with her scent-filled sachets and velvet scarves while Camilla MacFadyen will blanket the room with her marvelous seaweed block prints designed into scarves and T-shirts. New fiber artists include Diana Savin of Essex and Nina Lapchyk of Winchester. Diana creates shawls, vests, and jackets from fabrics she has treated with various techniques including shibori, silk screening, and snow dying. Nina comments that “fabric and thread speak directly to and about domestic, and also about the history of women.” Kathleen Valentine will engage visitors with her lace knitting demonstration throughout the show! The common theme for all of the artists is that no two pieces are alike.

The event will begin on Friday evening, kicking off at 5PM with an opening night reception and a chance to mingle and munch until 8PM. The show will re-open on Saturday at 9AM and close at 5PM. Throughout the day, the Library will give tours of the murals in the Saunders House where the show is located.

seARTS members, show participants, and other organizations have donated gift certificates or a piece of their work to be used in a corollary Library fundraiser. Tickets $2 or 3 for $5 will be sold by each artist or at the Library desk from November 16^th through December 12^th. The Wearable Arts show is organized and supported by the artist members of seARTS. seARTS is a coalition of artists, art lovers, cultural institutions, businesses, and municipal organizations, all working together to improve the economic base for the arts and the larger Cape Ann community. seARTS is partially funded through grants from the Mass Cultural Council and Bruce J. Anderson Foundation.

Details are as follows:

Time: Friday, December 11^th 5-8PM and Saturday, December 12^th, 9-5PM

Location: Saunders House @ the Sawyer Free Library,Middle Street & Dale Avenue

More Information: www.searts.org – Events Calendar

Free and open to the public. 15% of sales to seARTS

Cash & checks preferred. Credit cards only if offered by the individual artist

Down to the Sea: 2. Household Items Carved At Sea

2009-11-09T12:18:00.001-05:00

As mentioned in the previous blog, I have this notion that we could construct a pretty interesting festival based in maritime arts and traditions here in Gloucester so, for the time being anyway, I'm going to blog such a festival and see how many more ideas I can come up with. In the last blog I talked about Sailor's Valentines. Because mariners were often at sea for weeks, months, even years, they spent a lot of time thinking about home. Those who worked on whaling ships often had an ample supply of whale bone to carve with and they spent their time carving useful items to present to their beloveds on their return.

One of the most popular items was a pastry crimper used to trim the edge of pie crusts from the pie. The story goes that if a young man presented a young lady with such a crimper she was obliged to make a pie for him. These are a few 19th century pastry crimpers carved from bone:

Other household items included utensils like this fork:

Letter openers:

And busks which are used in the construction of mi'lady's corset:

Some of the most frequently created items were for a lady's sewing/knitting basket. These items are so beautiful and, though we no longer can carve from whale bone, there are synthetic substances available that re used by contemporary artisans to simulate the look. Below is a gorgeous and elaborate swift for winding balls of yarn:

A pair of knitting needles and clothes pins:

A bodkin --- there hundreds of variations on these and most seamstresses today still use them:

And a spool rack:

So those are just a few of the carved objects in my virtual arts of the sea festival. Those who currently practice these arts can, of course, come and show their work, sell their wares, teach classes --- when I get this festival all worked out.

And, since this post contained examples of tools for knitters, in my next Down-to-the Sea blog I'll talk about fishermen's sweaters and seamen's scarves.

Thanks for reading.

Down to the Sea: 1. Sailor's Valentines

2009-11-08T19:03:00.002-05:00

or some time now I have had this bright idea that I would like to see my beloved hometown-of- choice, Gloucester, begin hosting an annual festival which I want to call the "Down to the Sea" Festival. Lots of tourist towns seek to extend their season by sponsoring a festival either early in the season or late. Newburyport's Literary Arts Festival is already a great success and it is only in its fourth year

So, since the sea has such a rich, rich collection of arts and lore, I think it would be a natural for Gloucester. I even designed logo for it, see:

The festival would combine arts, crafts, skills, competitions, challenges, etc. It could encompass everything from sea-chantie sing-offs to story telling (ghost stories especially --- wouldn't that be great? a competition to see who could tell the best sea-ghost story???) There could be forums for writers who write about the sea (maybe Mark Kurlanski can host!) and exhibitions of maritime art by our many, many diverse artists (Paul Frontiero, where arrrrre you?) And, of course, there will be exhibits and sales of the crafts associated with the sea. I'm going to talk about those in up-coming blogs and today I'll start with Sailor's Valentines.

The story goes that when men were aboard ship for months at a time they would collect shells and other sea treasures along their travels. Then, with the help of ship's carpenter, they would fashion a box (the tradition is in the shape of an octagon) and they would spend the long hours aboard-ship fashioning designs inside the box to present to their sweethearts or wives. The piece would be finished with a piece of glass fitted on the top and it would be presented to their beloved upon their return.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum has a lovely collection of Sailor's Valentines. My favorite is this one constructed of all white shells.

Sometimes the natural color of shells were used to create the pattern.

In Nantucket Whaling Museum has this treasure, a double Valentine:

Sailor's Valentine

Probable Date:
19th Century

Artist or Maker:
Tracy, Captain Jared Wentworth

Materials:
Shell, wood, glass

Distinguishing Marks:
One side of octagon is very loose.

Height:
1.5"

Length:
18" open

Depth:
8.75"

Description:
Two hexagonal wood boxes joined with a single hinge. Each box contains an arrangement of shells and is glazed with glass. The left box has an anchor and flowers made out of shells. The right box has a basket and flowers made out of shells. This sailor's valentine was a gift from Capt. Jared Wentworth Tracy (1797-1864) to his wife, Mary Hussey Tracy (1809-1891). The anchor symbolized Capt. Tracy's intention to return home and "anchor" at his wife's side.

I think our festival could have an exhibit of contemporary Sailor's Valentines as well as workshops for making them, vendors selling supplies and a competition to see who could create the most beautiful one.

So the Sailor's Valentine is my first choice for my mythical Down-To-The-Sea Festival. Next time I'll talk bout pastry crimpers.

Thanks for reading.

Jon Stewart's Best Ever!!!

2009-11-06T10:06:00.004-05:00

Unbelievable! Stewart is a genius!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The 11/3 Project

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

OK, I admit this is vain and petty....

2009-11-04T12:07:00.001-05:00

..... but look who is the #3 lace book on Amazon (for the moment) and look which books it is ahead of!!! Will I ever be normal again? (Was I ever?) Since A Gathering of Lace and Victorian Lace Today are two of my very most favorite lace books I am thrilled.

Thanks for indulging me....

My Learn-To-Lace Beach Bag

2009-11-04T09:53:00.001-05:00

The thermometer out back reads 43 degrees so, naturally, I am thinking about the beach. Well, okay, maybe that's not really true but if it was I would have the perfect bag to take with me. This is my new beach bag which I knit with a double strand of rayon from Yarntopia Treasures.

What is great about this bag is that it stretches and stretches and stretches. I can put a beach towel, a book, lotion, wallet, and assorted other necessities in it and still have room. It is pretty and extremely sturdy and, perhaps best of all, really lightweight.

The design is based on the same design I have been using for my marketing bags and, when I get them all written up, I'll make the pattern available. A lot of people tell me that they want to learn to knit lace but are intimidated by it so I got this bright idea. Since the important quality of marketing bags is that they be very stretchy and very sturdy. If you knit them up in a lace pattern that provides the stretch, and if you use a good sturdy yarn, like rayon, linen, cotton, or nylon, they will support a full load of groceries without breaking.

So I designed a basic marketing bag with a fairly wide, comfortable shoulder strap and then knit it up in five different lace patterns. My thinking is this --- each bag teaches the knitter a new, basic lace pattern. It's just a marketing bag so if you make some mistakes your groceries won't care. And by the time you have knit all five bags you will have learned five lace patterns and then you'll be hooked and confident and ready to move on to those woolen shawls and cashmere scarves you've been drooling over.

When I finished my marketing bags I had several balls of leftover yarn so I decided to make the beach bag. Because I used a double-strand it is larger and heavier than the marketing bags --- if you filled this bag with groceries you might not be able to lift it. And I worked it in Old Shale because it is one of my favorite lace patterns, is endlessly versatile, and I never get tired of it. Once you learn Old Shale you will automatically know Feather and Fan and Ostrich Plume just by varying the pattern slightly.

So this is my Learn-To-Lace Beach Bag. I'm working on the instructions now. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading.

The Feast of All Saints

2009-11-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

Today, November 1^st, is the Feast of All Saints, a Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church. For some reason this day has always been special to me. Today, All Saints Day, and tomorrow, All Souls Day, have always held a special attraction --- I guess because they honor all those souls who have passed through this world without being distinguished for any particular reason and yet they are lives that are worthy of remembrance.

Interestingly I stumbled on a movie this morning and wound up spending an hour and a half watching it while knitting lace and drinking coffee. It is a little known indie film called Into Temptation with no actors whose names I recognized and yet some absolutely gorgeous performances - especially by Jeremy Sisto and Kristin Chenowith.

Sisto plays a priest who is the pastor and only priest assigned to an urban church, The Church of Mary Magdalene (interesting name as the story unfolds). He is overworked, underpaid, tired and bored. He spends his days tending his flock: managing a shelter for alcoholic men, counseling parishioners dealing with unemployment, doubts about their Faith, realizing they are gay, etc. He sits in the confessional listening to middle-aged women go on and on about their husbands' inadequacies. He gives boring sermons to small congregations that aren't interested. He's having a tough time.

Then one day a woman comes into his confessional who tells him that she is a prostitute, is tired of the life, was molested by her step-father, and is going to commit suicide on her upcoming birthday. The rest of the movie is about Father Buerlein's attempt to find the woman before it is too late.

I found the movie disturbing in that this priest wound up going into a very steamy, depraved, ugly world --- the world of sex-for-sale --- in search of this woman. Along the way we meet some interesting characters including an old girlfriend and a hilarious, spoiled but still faithful, priest to a wealthy parish who is an old friend from their seminary days.

It's hard to explain how moving this movie was. In large part this was due to the very fine performances by Sisto as the sometimes-bumbling, often frustrated, yet still committed priest, and by Chenowith as the sad, mysterious, broken call-girl. The ending, most especially, is touching because we see, heart-breakingly, how one single act of kindness done decades before, became the one light in a dark and shattered life.

I don't know why I was so captivated by this story. Probably because the two main characters were like all the unrecognized souls that we encounter every day. Both of them chose a way of life and both of them have dealt with their choice as best they can and yet both can't stop wondering what the hell they are doing. And, in the end.... well, I won't tell you the end. But I will say that the very last scene will stay with me for a very long time.

Blessed All Saint's Day and thanks for reading.

Gram Werner's Ghost Stories

2009-10-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

My Grandmother Werner (right, at seventeen) was a first generation American. Her parents came from Bavaria with three children and went on to create five more once they were settled in Pennsylvania. Gram loved to tell stories about the Old Country and I'm glad she did. So, since today is Halloween, this is for her.

Gram told me that her parents lived on the edge of the die Schwarzwald, the Black Forest, and her father was a blacksmith and tinker who worked on a great estate. In his free time, he made pots and pans that he took on a cart into the nearest village on market day. To do that he had to push his cart through the Schwarzwald where, he told Gram, it was so dark that the spooks and “haunts” lurked and caused trouble for lone travelers. He fashioned a chain lined with bells and clattering bits of metal that he hung over his cart so the noise would scare away the ghosts as he made his way to market.

Gram believed in witchcraft. The name “hexes” was commonly used instead of witch and Gram swore this story was true. When she was a little girl it was her job to take their cow every day up the street to the cemetery to graze. This was a common practice in St. Marys (the Pennsylvania town her family moved to) and she loved their cow. She said she was never afraid anything bad would happen when she was with the cow. There was an old woman who lived near the cemetery who people were deeply suspicious of. The rumor was she was a “Hex”. Gram's mother often warned her not to let this Hex-Woman come near her but one day when Gram (who was only 9 at the time) was walking home with the cow, the Hex-Woman stopped her. She said what a handsome cow and she petted it. This scared Gram because, of course, her mother had warned her against such things so she didn't tell her mother.

The next day the cow gave no milk. This was a terrible thing for a family of ten who relied on their cow for milk, cream, and butter. Days went by but the cow was dry and could give no milk. Gram's mother, Great-Gram whose name was Marie, was desperate so she consulted her neighbors about what to do. And they told her this: Go to the cow and squeeze out what few drops of milk you can. Put it in a silver cup and bet it with a silver spoon. While you are beating it someone will come to the door and ask for something. This will be the person who hexed the cow and you must ask her what she wants to take away the hex. So, Great-Gram Marie did this and, as she was beating the milk with a silver spoon, the Hex-Woman knocked on the kitchen door and asked to borrow a cup of sugar. Great-Gram Marie asked what she wanted to remove the hex and the Hex-Woman asked for a sack of potatoes and a loaf of bread which Great-Gram Marie gave her.

Gram swore that the next day the cow gave milk again and continued to do so for many years.

But my favorite of Gram's ghost stories was this one: When she was a young married woman her husband, my Grandfather was a musician who played trumpet with a band. Usually she went with him when he played but after their first daughter was born, my Aunt Jane, she couldn't do that. One night for some reason (I was never clear on this) she and Baby Jane went to spend the night with a friend named Catherine while Grandfather was out playing music. Catherine lived in a very old house that was quite foreboding. That night Gram and the baby were lying in bed and the bedroom door was open. Gram swore she saw something white and translucent flitting in and out of rooms up and down the hall. She was scared but then convinced herself she was imagining things and closed her eyes and went to sleep.

She was awakened by her bed shaking. She sat up and there at the foot of the bed stood a woman all in white with a veil over her face. Gram said she had her hands flt on the bed and was shaking it. “What do you want?” Gram asked. The lady said nothing. So Gram asked again --- still no answer. Gram was shaking but she had her rosary with her and she said, “Would you like me to pray for you?” She said she felt like the woman wanted that so she began to pray the rosary. About halfway through the apparition faded away.

The next morning Gram asked her friend Catherine about it and Catherine said, “Oh, yes, she comes and goes but if you pray for her, she goes away.”

Gram told me that sometimes when souls get stuck in Purgatory they need people to pray for them so they can move on to Heaven and, if no one remembers to pray for them, they sometimes come back to earth to get prayers. She swore this was true and, for the rest of her life, she always said extra prayers for the forgotten souls in Purgatory. And she never stayed at Catherine's house again.

Happy Halloween and thanks for reading.

Rock On...

2009-10-29T09:42:00.001-05:00

This picture, taken in Oak Grove Cemetery on Washington Street, is strangely beautiful to me. I guess it is the juxtaposition of the intricate spire framed by the two halves of the big boulder split in half. There are a lot of these huge boulders in that cemetery and I am sure their placement was planned. The cemetery was founded in 1854 and its most famous resident is probably the American impressionist painter John Henry Twachtman.

As you can see in the picture above the boulder is split in half and rests in such a way that it seems perfectly natural but I doubt that it is. I'm just curious as heck to know how they split this rock in two.

I love this cemetery --- I don't know why, maybe it is the proximity to Halloween, but I've been enthralled with lately and have spent a lot of time there. It's a peaceful place filled with beauty --- a welcome respite in a crazy world.

Thanks for reading.

Pretty in Pink?

2009-10-27T20:07:00.000-05:00

Recently I purchased a HUGE lot of pretty, sparkly pink cotton yarn on eBay for next to nothing. With shipping it was around $15. The yarn is reclaimed from two sweaters and is unbelievably soft and light. So I have been trying to decide what to do with it.

I came across this very pretty lace pattern and knit up a swatch in preparation for the alpaca scarf I mentioned on an earlier post. It's a fun pattern to knit and it is growing fast even though I am knitting on #4 needles. My hands are somewhat better and as long as I stick to the Bryspun needles and light, soft yarn I seem to be pretty good.

So, the big question is, since I have it this far what should I make with it? It is lightweight and has a beautiful drape and that little bit of sparkle. I was looking through Vicki Square’s Knit Kimono book and found a couple good possibilities. I think I might try the Fan Kimono only in the lace pattern I have started rather than the one she uses.

Also, since I have so much of it, I decided to try knitting a very strange pattern I came across on the internet. Look at the swatch below:

Do you believe that is knit and not crocheted? It is a modular knit that grows, scallop by scallop into this:

It is the Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl and the instructions are free here.

I found it easy to learn but I also found it didn't hold my interest for long. Still it is a beautiful design and was fun to learn.

So that is where the knitting is at these days. I'll keep you posted on the pink cotton kimono and we'll see what happens!

I finished my Learn-to-Lace Marketing Bags and Beach Bag and got them photographed this weekend, too. Now I just have to write up the pattern and get them ready to post. It's a pretty cool idea, I think. Each bag is designed in a simple, easy-to-learn lace pattern and since they are small they are quick to knit up. If you are interested in learning lace knitting but hesitnt about tackling something big, this could be a good place to start. By the time you've made all five bags you'll be an expert at five lace ptterns and ready to move on to anything! I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading.

I think that I shall never see....

2009-10-26T08:57:00.002-05:00

...a poem as lovely as a tree.

That's what Joyce Kilmer wrote and he had never seen the trees in Oak Grove Cemetery. Some of those trees are absolutely amazing:

"...

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

What A Day!!!

2009-10-25T14:43:00.002-05:00

A warm, brilliant, beautiful day....

Waves on the back shore.

The Japanese Dogwood in our yard

The surfers were out at Good Harbor Beach

Golden leaves in the cemetery up the street.

Angel

Another Angel

Spire in the cemetery

Hydrangeas drying out.

Thanks for reading.

Rainy Day Musings

2009-10-24T13:03:00.001-05:00

Another rainy weekend day and I'm home puttering around doing the things I never seem to have enough time for during the week. I have so many projects in the works I don't know where to start sometimes. This morning I cleaned out my two knitting bags while catching up on the news programs I don't get to watch during the week. I don't know what I find more obnoxious --- the seemingly endless crud that always collects in the bottom of my knitting stash bags or Liz Cheney.

Sometime ago I purchased a large lot of bubble gum pink cotton yarn on eBay and I have been playing with it trying to design this new lace pattern that I want to then knit in both the cotton and also in some very, very fine lace-weight alpaca from Long Ridge Farms in New Hampshire. I find that working out a lace pattern in a medium-weight yarn with high stitch definition first is a good practice. Once I get used to the rhythm of the pattern it is easier to translate it to finer-weight yarns. This is a beautiful variation on the flame pattern. I've finally started working it in the alpaca and the pattern is becoming apparent --- very pretty.

Alpaca is a challenging fiber to work with, especially in the very fine weights. This yarn is cobweb weight and, because alpaca has a natural tendency to curl and crumple as it is knit up, and because superfine weight lacks the body to resist the crumpling, you have to keep putting the knitted piece down on something like a towel with a bit of tooth to it and spread it out with your fingers to see the design. Once the piece is finished and blocked it will be fine --- and gorgeous. But if you are new to lace-knitting and knitting with cobweb weight, don't be discouraged if that beautiful lace design you are working in alpaca drives you a bit batty at first. It will be beautiful in the end.

My other projects these days seem to all be in my sewing room. Here, too, I am working with some of my favorite fibers. I love French terry cloth. It is 100% cotton and has a finer loop than traditional terry cloth making it seem almost velvety. I made 2 long-sleeved tees, one in a soft rose and the other in apple green. I like them so much that I cut out two more in black and am heading off to work on them as soon as I finish this.

I've written before about my tendency to use the same patterns over and over and over. Even though I probably own over a hundred of them, I use the same four or five all the time. Recently I came cross a very clever thing. I purchased a book titled ”Make Your Own Clothes: 20 Custom Fit Patterns To Sew” by Marie Clayton. What makes this book unique is it comes with a software CD. You decide which design you want to try first, plug the CD into your computer, pick the pattern, plug in your measurements and the software creates a pattern customized for you. Is that cool or what? It would probably be best if you have an 11 x 17” printer or you can have the files transmitted to a service bureau with large format printers if you are making a larger garment. Here in Gloucester Seaside Graphics is perfect for this. Luckily they are just up the street.

I discovered years ago that if you find a pattern you truly love and that fits the way you want it to, it is a good idea to buy a few yards of muslin, trace the pattern onto the muslin and cut it out marking ll the pieces with magic marker. Serge or zigzag around the edges then store the pieces, along with the pattern envelope and directions in a zipper storage bags. Zipper storage bags are the best things that ever happened to seamstresses and knitters.

One of the things I love most about eBay is the access to larger lots of professional quality notions that I use all the time. Recently I bought several lots that are proving a real joy in the sewing room. They included self-covering buttons, seam stabilizer in white and black, and non-fusible interfacing which I prefer to the fusible kind. I also purchased two huge rolls of black lace elastic --- one 1/2” width and 1 3/4” width. What am I going to do with all that? Well, I recently came across several yards of very soft, stretchy black lace fabric I purchased some years back for a project. I am thinking about spending a day whipping up some black lace undies. I figure I have enough materials for at least a dozen pair. A dozen pair of black lace undies? Well, why not? What else can you make on a rainy Saturday?

Thanks for reading.

The shoemaker's children...

2009-10-22T05:26:00.000-05:00

There's that old saying about the shoemaker's children having no shoes --- let me tell you, it has been shoeless here for most of the year. Business has been decent but do I have time to update my professional web site? What do you think? Despite the fact that I'd love everyone to think that I am able to live off my writing --- the blog, the books, etc. --- that income is only a fraction of what it takes to maintain a lifestyle even as modest as mine. So, over the weekend I set myself the task of getting some updates on my Valentine-Design.com web site.

The first thing to update was the Web Gallery. I've had fewer new web sites but far more complex ones than in years past --- shopping carts, slide shows, Flash galleries, XHTML galleries. So you can see some of the new web sites here: Valentine-Design Web Gallery

I've also been doing a fair amount promotional videos to be used in trade show kiosks, posted on blogs, or uploaded to YouTube and other video hosting sites. You cn see a couple samples on Valentine-Design Promotional Video. These are fun and relatively inexpensive.

I've been designing book covers, DVD jewel case covers and labels for awhile now but this year I got a chance to make a DVD portfolio for a photographer who wanted to send DVDs to potential customers instead of the expensive-to-mail promotionalmaterial he was sending. Take a look at Valentine-Design Design.

So that's a sampling. I have more to organize but I have work to do at the moment (and don't think I'm not grateful for that!)

Thanks for reading.

Oh, brother. Nice try, Mr. Harris...

2009-10-19T17:57:00.002-05:00

This morning David Harris, the President of the National Jewish Democratic Council, made an appearance on Morning Joe to denounce the hateful Nazi-rhetoric that way too many people are indulging in these days. It was an admirable, noble, and much needed effort to try to bring some civility and maturity into some of the carryings-on by media voices who ought to know better. Nice try, anyway. Harris opened his statement by mentioning two spiels that he was disturbed by, one by Rush Limbaugh and one by Glenn Beck, and was on his way to talking about the issue when he was interrupted by nitwit Mika Brzezinski who immediately jumped in to bring up the issue of partisanship. Now, I realize that Ms. Brzezinski is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. She's semi-cute, has a famous father (former National Security Advisor), and is excellent at saying “yup,yup, yup, what he said” to Joe Scarborough. Beyond that she's sort of just there but this morning she rudely interrupted her guest who only wanted to talk about his disgust at the hateful rhetoric polluting the airways these days, so she could drag the discourse down to “us-them”-ing.

I really wished someone would have given her a good swat upside the head.

Anyway, I felt sorry for Mr. Harris. He came obviously prepared to plead for civility and perspective in an issue central to his position and was repeatedly dragged off his topic by Mika's immature insistence on turning the discussion into a partisan debate. “So,” she butted in again to say, “are you focused only on the right only when this exists on the left as well?” Harris said no, he wasn't. “We want to say, NOBODY should be saying these things,” he tried again, “nobody should be talking this way. We're happy to call out people on either side.” So Mika chirps, “Okay, let's do that, let's call out the people on the left.” I mean it was just pathetic. She was just bound and determined to turn this man's mature, earnest appeal for civility and decency, into a verbal food-fight. I was embarrassed for her.

I don't know what has happened to us, I really don't. People have become so polarized and so attached to their “side” that they've lost sight of what the purpose of political debate and discussion is about. When I was on the forensics team in high school we were encouraged to study both sides of issues as we developed our presentations because, if we didn't honestly look at and consider both sides of any issue, how could we mount a credible, intelligent, and factual debate? These days it seems people just want to make their side, whichever it is, be the one that gets in the last shot --- usually the cheapest shot, at that. Sometimes when I watch these pathetic exchanges all I can think of is Monty Python's Batley Townswomen's Guilds re-enactments. Just put all the players in a muddy field and let them whack each other over the heads with their purses and it would make as much sense.

But I felt bad for Mr. Harris. He had an excellent point and a heartfelt plea, using the atrocities of the Nazi regime is not only utterly ignorant but it cheapens and belittles genuine atrocity. No matter how much Mika wants to point fingers, comparing the President or the Speaker of the House to Hitler is a slap in the face to the millions of Jews who lost their parents, grandparents, friends, and loved ones in Hitler's Death Camps. Those who employ those tactics should be ashamed of themselves --- should be if they had a shred of moral integrity. I was very annoyed when Alan Grayson, a man I could easily love, used such rhetoric and very proud of him for having the integrity to apologize for it.

Well, my grandmother always said you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Ms. Brzezinski certainly proved that this morning. She wanted to point fingers rather than take a chance at contributing some sanity and civility to media discourse so she did. But David Harris persevered and did his best to present his case in a rational manner. I congratulate him for trying.

Thanks for reading.

This is hilarious!!!

2009-10-18T10:20:00.002-05:00

On a cold, rainy Sunday wht could be better than a good laugh?

It's snowing in Pennsylvania!

2009-10-17T18:29:00.000-05:00

My good friend-since-forever, Lois, who lives in Russell City, PA sent these photos of her backyard this morning. Glad I'm not there!!!