Wyoming Breezes

Snoozing toddler at Fall Festival parade in Misawa, Japan Autumn 1979 Children are precious in every culture. These little guys in their holiday attire captured my heart. The mother's demeanor clearly radiates the love she has for the sleeping toddler.

Pumpkin Patch I   is a West Coast/Central Oddball blanket. I used the Andalusian Stitch  and Caron Simply Soft (Forest Green). The orange section was knit by Janet (Washington); the white, by Carol (Hawaii). Update: February 7, 2010

Enjoying the nightlife in Singapore December 1979 Nothing beats riding in a rickshaw on busy streets, absorbing the activity, and feeling the warmth of the night air. Starting at Raffles Hotel , we visited local markets, ate dinner, and saw a show. The evening was topped off with a Singapore Sling , which was invented at Raffles. It was a magical time. My first Christmas away from home was spent traveling - Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong. Singapore was definitely one of the cleanest cities I have ever seen.

"Hers" was finished on Monday evening and immediately prepared for blocking.  Hers is a bit more lacy than His .  Thus, the set is complete. For some reason the stocking on the right looks larger, but they are the same size. The pattern was in Knit 'N Style , December 2007.

Sweet Pea,  a new West Coast Oddball blanket, was knit with Simply Soft (Pistachio) on size 10 needles. This first section was knit using  Garter Stitch Steps . Update February 2, 2011 : Sweet Pea is ready for its border. Update: February 7, 2011

In a comment, Judy D asked, "How many Oddball blankets have you worked on?" I didn't have a clue, so I checked. To date, I have worked on 70+ Oddball blankets. Here is how it breaks down. Based only on my blog posts since 2008, I've knit on 54 blankets (listed below) in conjunction with the Oddball Knitting Groups. In 2008, I knit a 4-inch section on 25 blankets; in 2009, 15 blankets; in 2010, 14 blankets. Click on the "Oddball Knitting" tab in the right column under "Posted Topics" if you want to see photos of these blankets. I probably knit on blankets prior to my blog, but the forum posts on KnittingHelp.com for 2007 have been deleted, so this cannot be confirmed. In addition to the Oddball group blankets, the group inspired me to complete 16 blankets on my own, which were then donated to the group. They include: Bubblegum   (2008) Lime Sherbet   (2008) Crayon Box   (2009) Creamsicle  and with a border   (2009) Arctic Ice   (2009) C

Visiting After School Misawa, Japan 1979 Japanese school children of all ages wore uniforms to school, and if I remember correctly, they attended school six days a week. Older boys wore basic navy or black suits with long pants; younger boys, shorts. The girls in the photo have sailor tops on with red scarves. While it was common to see bicycles on the street of this small town, many school children walked to school. One of the biggest adjustments that I had to make while living in Japan was learning to drive on the left side of the road and adapting to a car with the gear shift on the left. Every time I got into the car I had to remind myself that I was supposed to be seated near the center stripe on the road. 

Beach Ball, a   West Coast Oddball blanket,  is ready for a border I haven't worked on an Oddball since June, so it was a real treat to knit the last section and cast off. I will start a new Oddball on the empty needles. Now, Beach Ball will be mailed to someone who will add the border.

Character on a Fall Festival parade float  Misawa, Japan  Autumn 1979 I didn't learn a lot about these festival parades, but I loved all the color and the pageantry of the events. The floats were huge - some on motorized flat beds and others hefted on the shoulders of men and boys.  This particular parade was one of my first exposures to the Japanese culture after I moved to Japan to teach on an Air Force base. Base housing was tight, so I had to find a house off base. Much more on that experience in future posts. 

Every once in a while I go through the bulging notebooks on the bookshelf and dream. These books are where I file my "someday" projects, projects that I collect but rarely knit. I have similar files on my computer in copious folders, categorized and labeled. Someday, they may be used, someday. Recently, one of the projects actually made it out of the notebook - an Aran knit stocking "An Aran Christmas for Him and Her,"   Knit 'N Style (December 2007) The yarn is 100% wool which I reclaimed from a thrift shop sweater several years ago. Even though I rarely knit cables, I enjoyed knitting this project. In fact, after finishing "His" stocking, I cast on the "Hers." The cuff is more lacy on Hers and the inside of the cables is also lacy.  The finished stocking is large - an 8 inch long foot, and 20 inch long leg.

As a retired teacher (33 years in all sizes of classrooms in three different schools), I am not impressed with the new series: Teach - Tony Danza . In fact, as a professional educator, I am insulted by this "reality" series. The show gives the impression that anyone can teach, and that is simply not true. Danza says that he considered being a teacher several years ago when he attended college, but he "went down a different path." In my opinion, he should have stayed on that path. His background in education was not addressed in the pilot, but if it was Language Arts/English, the subject he is teaching in this reality series, he has forgotten a lot of the information.   Perhaps, I am more critical of his efforts in the classroom because I was an English teacher. I cringed when Danza had to read the definition of "omniscient" from the textbook rather than actually explain it to the students and when he presented the lesson on story elements. Another time,

Six pillowcases for Alycia's Quilt of Valor project. She places the quilts she receives in a case for presentation. Marilyn gave me several yards of the flag fabric in May. I saved six yards for a future quilt backing, but used the rest for Operation Santa stockings and five pillowcases. Thanks, Marilyn.

Spearheading the Unity Project for the International Day of Peace (September 21) was a local fiber artist - Kathi M, and she did a fabulous job of inspiring, coordinating, and planning the week-long display. What resulted was fascinating and moving. The participants could bring their own sweater/shirt for the fence, but they had to hang it in such a way that it connected with the other items. I'll let some of the displays and the written explanations speak for themselves. To read the explanations, you may have to click on the image to enlarge. Who knew that a shirt/sweater could convey peace in such a quiet yet overt way. It's time to reach out to others in peace.  Several years ago, Kathi challenged the entire community to recycle old clothing in numerous ways. She collected clothing the local thrift shop could not use, rented a storage facility, and distributed the discarded items to anyone who wanted them. I picked up some j

Nature Trail near Towada, Japan - Autumn 1979 Beginning today, a photo taken during the two years that I lived overseas will be featured on Fridays. I loved the area around Lake Towada, but I didn't get there often. This photo was taken on a Saturday in late Autumn 1979. A friend and I parked and walked the trail toward Lake Towada without thinking of how we would get back to the car. Fortunately, we arrived at the visitors center just before it closed and managed to wrangle a ride back to the car some five miles away.

June Baby Surprise Jacket *  (2 for Father's House, using 12.8 ounces of Rena's yarn) Knit Hat * (8 hats for WR elementary, using 12 ounces of Rena's yarn) Oddball Baby Blanket * ( Hokey Pokey , using 1.5 ounces of yarn from stash) July Oddball Baby Blanket * (using 8 ounces of yarn from stash) August Garter-stitch Bib * (9 bibs for Abba's House, using 14.4 ounces of cotton yarn from stash) Scrappy Baby Cocoon * (1 cocoon for a local charity, using 5.2 ounces of scrap yarn) September Wool Socks * (1 pair for afghans for Afghans, using 2.6 ounces of scrap yarn) Scrappy Baby Cocoon * (1 cocoon for a local charity, using 5.2 ounces of scrap yarn) Hanging Kitchen Towel and Scrubby (2 towels and 1 scrubby, using 5 ounces of cotton yarn) Dish Scrubby (12 scrubbies, using 1 large roll of tulle, 12 scrubbies, using 5.6 ounces of cotton yarn) Quilt of Valor * ( Sand Boxes , made from scraps and 8 yards of fabric from stash) Quilt of Valor * ( In the