ONE WAY TO CELEBRATE AN 80TH BIRTHDAY

My mother turns 80 years old this September.  We're known in my family for going a little over-the-top on birthdays...and Christmas...and Easter...and Groundhog's Day...  This birthday, however, called for something beyond the norm, even by our standards.  My sister and I had talked about taking our mother on a trip, but she doesn't enjoy travel much these days and she nicely put the brakes on that idea.  She doesn't like big gatherings, so we're not attempting to corral long lost friends and relatives for a surprise party.  What then?

July 13 marked exactly 80 days until my mother's 80th birthday, so my sister and I have assembled a collection of gifts, one for each day and each representing a year of her life.  She's currently up to 1943, so I'm safe in saying that the first gifts have included a recipe booklet from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, a compilation disc of 1930s music, postcards from the 1939 New York World's Fair, 1943 secretarial magazines, and handmade items from vintage patterns crafted by my sister and me.  My mother is chronicling her months-long birthday celebration in weekly blog updates over at Lillian's Cupboard (found here).

Personally I'm thrilled to no longer have to keep my knitting projects from the last four months under wraps.  I was constantly hiding my works-in-progress when my mother stopped by and I couldn't take part in the weekly Yarn Along over at  the Small Things blog since mommy is my most dedicated reader.  Now that the gift-giving has started, I can at least reveal the four hand-knitted items she's received so far.

1.  FINGERLESS GLOVES

This 1933 pattern is from the U.K. and can be found for free here.  Once I figured out the modern equivalent of the British needles used, the pattern itself was a piece of cake.  They're done is wool sock yarn and I chose a charcoal gray color which just seemed to fit with the Depression-era pattern.  Full information can be found in my Ravelry notes here. 





2.  THE HOOVER BLANKET

This reversable baby blanket was made from a pattern provided by none other than former First Lady, Mrs. Herbert Hoover.  It was my first attempt at double-knitting and I found the process so slow and aggravating I'll probably never do it again.  The results, however, I think were rather pretty, especially the way you get the thin stripes of pink and green on both sides.  It's the perfect size for my mother's 13 year old dog, Rusty, to lounge on.  I did it in pink and pale green that is the same color as my mother's beloved Jadeite.  The pattern can be found free here.  Full information can be found in my Ravelry notes here.

3.  WORLD WAR II U.S. NAVY WATCH CAP

The pattern itself is very plain and suited more for a military man in freezing climates than a suburban woman, but I couldn't resist knitting up this Navy Watch Cap from 1941.  It'll be a nice hat for her to keep in the car in case of emergency...or to put to use if she decides to take up cat burglary in her 80s.  The free pattern can be found on the Red Cross Museum's web site here and you can download a PDF of the original type-written pattern, which is neat to look at all by itself.  Once I figured out the type of yarn and size of needle (a common problem with older patterns), it was a breeze to knit...if ungodly boring.  Full information can be found in my Ravelry notes here.




4.  THE MISS MARPLE SCARF

It's a little big on Foghorn, but looks
very nice on Grandma.

Last year I got my mother into reading Agatha Christie mysteries, so naturally when I stumbled on a pattern for a scarf inspired by Miss Marple, Christie's elderly spinster detective, I couldn't resist.  Christie's The Body in the Library was published in 1942, so I included a copy of the book with the scarf, knit in a color called Chipmunk Tweed.  Definitely looks like something an older lady would wear in an English village.  The free pattern can be found here.  Full information can be found in my Ravelry notes here.









More vintage knitty goodness is still to come, but I'm afraid that's all I can reveal at the moment.  I hope you all can stand the suspense until I can reveal the next pattern...  Come on, admit it.  This is more suspenseful than game seven of the World Series.

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YARN ALONG

Wednesdays over at the Small Things blog is Yarn Along day, where knitters and crocheters share what bit of needle goodness they're working on and what they're reading. Time for this week's installment.

Last week I had just started on my first (person) sweater, the well known February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann.  I was doing fine until I got to the sleeves and then her pithy directions stopped me cold.  I had feared I wasn't quite up to making a sweater from a pattern that took up less than a page of text.  Turns out I'm not the only one who got confused at this point in the pattern and a Google search turned up life-saving tips at Ruthless Knitting.   Her "if I had it to do over again, this is what I'd do" tips made it very easy and once I understood how the whole wooly puzzle went together, it all made sense.  I was actually feeling quite proud of my little pink sweater...until I ran out of yarn.  Turns out three ounces of what Zimmermann called baby yarn is not the same as my three ounces of baby yarn.  I quickly cast on with some basic Caron yarn I had in my basket and the result was a cute little off-white sweater.  I wish I  had a real baby somewhere to try it on to see how it actually fits...

This week I continue with my super secret Easter project (shhhhhh!).  In addition, I'm continuing to work on an afghan I started for Project Linus about nine months ago.  At the time I was a new knitter and this basic afghan from the Project Linus website was just my style.  (It's a row of knit, a row of purl, and a row of pattern.  You can find the free pattern here.)  Unfortunately my knitting skills improved before I finished the afghan and now I find it utterly boring.  I pull it out now and then when I want a little mindless knitting.  I hope to finish it before the one year anniversary...

For reading I have The Private Life of the Cat Who...:  Tales of Koko and Yum Yum by Lilian Jackson Braun.  I'm a big fan of all The Cat Who... mysteries and this little volume is written as if it's from the journals of James Qwilleran, the main character and pseudo-detective in her series.  I've read all of the mysteries and, in fact, now always have one of her audio books from the library on my iPod for dog-walking and long solitary car rides.  As with Agatha Christie reading, I've found that once you get a dozen or so under your belt the stories start to run together and often you can reread without exactly remembering whodunit.

Anyone else reading something good this week?


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THE TOP FIVE BEST AGATHA CHRISTIE MYSTERIES EVER!

It was on this day in 1890 that Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, to which you might say "big fat deal".  Well, Ms. Miller married Archibald Christie in 1914 and with her new name went on to be the best-selling novelist of all time.  Not too shabby.

Having been an avid reader of Ms. Christie's works since the 7th grade, I thought it only fitting to give you what I consider to be her five best mysteries.  With over 80 books to her credit, narrowing my list down to Christie's best five is, for me, like trying to choose my favorite Beatles song.  Just when I say one is my favorite, a different song pops into my head.  For someone new to Dame Agatha, however, this list will give you a good taste of her varying styles, detectives, and settings.  Enjoy!

1. Murder on the Orient Express - A classic story with the classic detective, Hercule Poirot.  With the whole story taking place within the confines of a train, Christie manages to weave a complex tale that leaves one guessing until the end (unless you've unfortunately already watched one of the numerous t.v. and film versions).
2. And Then There Were None - While it has none of the well-known detectives of Christie's other works, this is a gripping story with a jaw-dropping conclusion.
3. The Murder at the Vicarage - Christie's other classic detective, Miss Marple, in her very first appearance.  While the mystery itself is good, what is particularly appealing is the look inside the world of this spinster sleuth and her small English village.
4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Another Hercule Poirot mystery and seemingly just another village murder.  Seemingly...
5. The ABC Murders - When a murderer appears to be systematically working his way through the alphabet, Poirot has his work cut out for him. 

As soon as I compiled this list I thought, "What about A Murder is Announced?"  I started to make a change to my list when I thought of Curtain, Poirot's last mystery and one that's not to be missed.  (Actually, I would suggest tackling a handful of his other mysteries first; it's a better read when you have a feel for the man.)  Then The 4:50 from Paddington entered my head.  And what about The Seven Dials Mystery, such a departure from her later works?  And we can't forget Cards on the Table, which inspired me to learn to play bridge...



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{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -- Inspired by SouleMama