It’s in the mail

I bought buttons yesterday morning and sewed them on right away. I had originally thought of using snaps and attaching buttons as decoration, but decided that snaps and fairly bulky garter stitch weren’t going to equal what I was after — an outfit that stayed closed. I think the buttons will be okay. This gift was in the mail by the end of the day. I included a little book as a gift for the new mom; I read a little of it before I sent it off and put a marker at the “Motherhood” chapter.

A few years ago, our then-neighbors decided to build a garage. There was an existing garage that barely fit one car and the driveway was between our houses, but they wanted a two-car and, because of space, it had to be on the other side of their house. The neighbors on the other side sacrificed a large Catalpa tree so that this deed may be done. The elderly owner of that tree, Mrs. D., had been my brother’s kindergarten teacher. She was a tiny, sweet woman with freckles and long, reddish hair that she would put in two braids and wind around her head — she never wore her hair any other way. Once, as she was brushing her hair, she leaned out a second story window to talk with us — it was weird to see an 80-year-old woman with hair past her shoulders! Anyway, my neighbors knew that my dad and uncle turned wood bowls and they thought it would be nice to give Mrs. D. something made from the wood of that tree; they didn’t realize that the wood would need to dry and cure first. Here is a Catalpa bowl that my aunt gave me when she brought Grandma over the other day. Unfortunately, Mrs. D. has passed away, as has her son-in-law who also lived in the house. It was a gorgeous tree with sweet-smelling flowers. I don’t mind keeping it myself as a reminder of sweet things.

With the completion of the baby gift, I got back to the modified Galway hat I’d been working on before the bee flew into my bonnet! I knit about 15 rows on Saturday night and “tried it on.” I’d been expecting to have about 30 more rows to go, but I had to stop right there! It fits! Obviously (and no surprise), the Galway yarn has a different gauge that the Wool-Ease. So, here’s the hat brim pinned to my blocking board.

Wanna walk a mile on my cable?