Something Out of Nothing, Part 2

     Sometimes, with a little imagination, you can turn a bunch of scraps into something nice. That's what I did recently with a bunch of half used skeins of baby yarn.  One of the ladies from my creative writing class was bound for assisted living.  She gave away her stash of yarn, and I was the recipient of the baby yarn.  The Burlington County Crochet Guild always needs 30" X 30" blankets.  Here's the finished product:

The finished product was 30" X 31" - close enough.

I made the ends match, but the rest was a free for all.

     Since this yarn is Jaime, made by Lion Brand, it has been lying around for a while.  The Jaime yarns have been discontinued since at least 2008.  I'm going to wash it before it is presented to it's new owner.  No problems since Jaime is machine washable and dryable.
     This blanket is made using (what else?) the Jaime stitch.  Here are the directions from the inside of the wrapper (along with my adjustments):

You'll need about 12 ounces of baby yarn, maybe more.  It's hard to tell when you are working with leftovers.
I used two crochet hooks - I and G.
Gauge: 4 sc + 1"  4 rows + 1"

Blanket: Ch 100 with the I hook.  Chain loosely.  After making the foundation ch, switch to the G hook for the rest of the project.  I did this to be sure the bottom edge of the blanket would be stretchy enough.  Row 1: Starting in the 4th ch from the hook work (1 dc, ch 2, 1 sc) in same st *, skip 2 ch, (2 dc, ch 2, 1 sc) in next st *, repeat from * to * across, end (2 dc, ch 2, 1 sc) in last ch. Ch 2, turn.  Row 2: Work (1dc, ch 2, 1 sc) in first ch-sp, * work (2 dc, ch 2, 1 sc) in next ch-sp *, repeat from * to * across.  Ch 2, turn. Repeat row 2 for pattern until blanket reaches the desired size (I needed a 30" square, but you might want a rectangular blanket).  End off.

Edging: Returning to ch foundation row, join yarn and insert G hook into sp between first and 2nd sts of first row and work * (ch 2, 1 dc, ch 2, 1 sc) in that sp *, repeat from * to * in each ch-2 sp across the first row.  End off.

Finishing: Weave in all the loose strands.

                     (The original "Something Out of Nothing" was posted on January 13, 2013.) 

Pan Pals

     I just read an article about two ladies, pen pals for 55 years, who finally met each other in person.  What a thrill that must have been.  http://www.today.com/news/meant-be-after-55-years-pen-pals-bond-real-life-4B11203300
     Having pen pals is good for kids in so many ways.  Letter writing helps them organize their thoughts, work on composition skills, and hone spelling, punctuation, and grammar. They can also learn social skills and ettiquette from letter writing.  Using the post office instead of email teaches patience.  That's a very good thing.
     I had a bunch of pen pals.  I was probably about eleven when I started writing to other kids.   The practice carried over into high school, but didn't continue past junior year.  At first, I got the names of pen pals (and they got my name) from a magazine published by the Pioneer Girls organization.  http://www.vintagekidstuff.com/pioneergirl/pioneergirl.html
     Pioneer Girls was a churchy version of Girl Scouts.  They met at Easton Union Church on Friday nights.  Our meetings were a lot like a Sunday School class.  They included Bible study and working on badges.  Pioneer Girls taught me how to embroider, hem a skirt, make a camp fire, and perform Phillipine Tinikling dancing.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWqCBbJtMZk   Additionally, each girl was paired with an adult woman from the church.  This older mentor was a "pal" and  the young lady was a "gal."  My pal gave me a subscription to the organization's magazine.  I think it was called "Trails."  Readers who wanted to correspond with other girls listed their names in the magazine.
     My first pen pal was a girl from a distant land - Moorestown, New Jersey.  After the first letter, we talked on the phone after school.  Another girl named Pam lived in Niagara Falls, New York.  With her letter, she enclosed a picture of herself, her little sister, and her mother dressed up for church on Easter morning.  As I composed my response, I read it out loud to my parents.
     I wrote, "I like your picture.  You look cute."
     My father commented, "You can also tell her that her mother is cute."
     So I wrote, "My father says your mother is cute."
     That was the last time I heard from Pam.
     Another letter writing buddy lived in Minneapolis, Minnosota.  I can remember both her first and last names, so I Googled her.  She still has the same last name and she still lives in Minneapolis.  My sleuthing tells me she is a teacher.  I'm wondering if I should send her a note.
     I branched out to having a boy pen pal when I reached high school.  He was from India and was enrolled at the Indian version of West Point.  Besides letters, I also received bangle bracelets and a brightly colored tunic.

Here's the tunic repurposed as mini dress.  Damn, Kerry Kovacs, you look so hot.

        Pen pals aren't just for kids.  Writing or sending care packages to a soldier serving overseas would be a nice thing to do.  I saw a website set up to promote writing to prison inmates.  I'm all for spreading around the milk of human kindness and being a model of Christian charity, but Happy in Hainesport says, "Don't do that."   
     
   

Blobfish, Kilroy, and Jabba the Hutt

     Many things are so ugly they are cute - pugs, for example.  My childhood bulldog Igor fell into the ugly/cute category.  Troll dolls, the rage in the late 1960's, and Cabbage Patch Kids from the 1980's were heartwarmingly unattractive.  It seems that close set eyes (either big or beady) and bulbous noses almost always bring out the ooohs and ahhhs.
     The other day the Ugly Animal Preservation Society elected the blobfish as their global mascot.  It seems that cuddly looking endangered critters like Pandas get all the attention.  The UAPS makes it their mission to bring attention to the ugliest species on the planet's endangered list.

Mr. Blobby - yes, it's a real fish.

     Wait a minute.  I think I first saw this guy in elementary school.  Some kids in my third grade class were drawing a character named Kilroy, a doodle they picked up from their WWII veteran fathers.

     I think I saw a blobfish in Star Wars.  The character was named Jabba the Hutt.  Film critic Roger Ebert called Jabba a cross between a toad and a Cheshire Cat.  Maybe, but I'm thinking there's also some blobfish in Mr. Hutt's DNA.

Jabba the Hutt

     Like I said, close set eyes and a bulbous nose, such a cutie -

The Last Barbecue of the Season

     Autumn is my favorite season, still I hate to see summer go.  For the past three years we've been hosting "the last barbecue of the season."  Tomorrow is the end of the line for back yard get-togethers.  We'll have to get some appropriate tunes on the iPod.




     We'll have plenty of libations - enough to inspire some tub thumping.




     Two years ago someone (we won't mention any names) let Mardi escape out the back gate.




     If you are in the neighborhood, come on over.


 

Bison - Yummy!

     Mike and I saw a TV spot about the benefits of  bison over beef.  We wanted to eat us some bison.  Mike found a restaurant in Warrington, Pennsylvania where bison is the featured food, Ted's Montana Grill.    http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com/about_history.html
   

Mike on his way to eating a bison burger.

They start you off with "half sours" - partially pickled pickles.  They taste like salty, crunchy cucumbers.

Home made potato chips and onion dip.

Bison burger with a side of fries.

We saw this guy on the way out.  He was hanging out in the bar. 

Labeling Your Cousins - Easy as 1,2,3

      I have a little article I clipped from the paper that explains how to correctly label your cousins. It can get confusing trying to figure out who is a first, second, or third cousin, and how many times removed they might be.  Here's the trick to getting it right:

First cousins - Your parent's siblings are the parents of your first cousins.  The children of your first cousins are your first cousins once removed.  The children of your first cousins once removed are your first cousins twice removed.  The children of your first cousins twice removed are your first cousins three times removed.

Second cousins - Your second cousin is the grandchild of your grandparent's brothers or sisters.  A second cousin's child is your second cousin once removed.  The child of a second cousin once removed is your second cousin twice removed, and so on.

Third cousins - Third cousins go back another generation.  They are the great-grandchildren of your great grandparent's siblings.  The "removal process" is the same as for first and second cousins.

     The relationship between me and my burlesque dancing cousin from yesterday's blog was first cousins once removed.

   

Burlesque

     We all have those occasional nights when we can't fall asleep.  When I found myself in that situation a few weeks ago, I switched on the TV and watched a documentary called "Behind the Burley Q."  This film about the golden age of burlesque was made by Leslie Zemeckis.  Ms. Zemeckis also wrote a book with the same name.  Here's a Wikipedia synopsis of the film:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behind_the_Burly_Q

     Here's an in depth interview with Zemeckis in which she discusses "Behind the Burley Q" and another of her documentaries titled "Bound by Flesh," the story of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton.  It's long - 49 minutes - but it's interesting.

    




     They say Australians love to brag about the criminals in their family trees.  When I got my tattoo, one of the ladies working in my doctor's office revealed her grandfather was the tattooed man in a circus.  Well, by gosh, now I get to brag that I have a stripper in my pedigree, my cousin. Her stage name was Kena Barry, and she danced at the Trocadero in Philadelphia.  She was skilled in gymnastics and incorporated some of those moves into her act.  I think I met her once.  I have a hazy memory of a very outgoing, bleached blonde, overly made up lady.  She was married three times, and number three was the charm.  According to my parents, she couldn't say enough good things about numero tres.  He nursed her through two hip replacements and stuck until death parted them.
     I have a postcard published by the Burlesque Historical Company, a photography studio in 1950's Philadelphia.  Here's Kena:

      

     Lo and behold, I also found another of Kena's pictures online.

     She had nice handwriting, don't you think?