Sydney & Bear

 

This is Sydney and her new Bear.  

Josephine Morgan 1923-2024

    Yesterday Jeff and I attended the interment of my cousin's (JoJo Morgan) ashes at Calvery Cemetery in Herkimer. I met more cousins...the children of my cousin's children's that I had only known or seen photos of as children.

The service that they performed was touching and different. There were the usual prayers and memories, a report from my cousin from Beyond via a medium, and a favorite Christmas song (if you were in the area, yes, you heard the beautiful 'Tu Scendi Della Stella', a song that it's not Christmas at my house without!) A grandson had built a casket for her ashes and anything else anyone wanted to add, and it was almost too small after the teddy bear and Pooh bear were added. (The pre-dug grave for the box wasn't big enough and would have to be enlarged after the ceremony!)

The reception that followed was 'Italian' from the ziti and meatballs to the tray of cookies that didn't last long! The only thing missing was the bottle of homemade wine.

I was a bit sad as we drove home afterwards. I know that chances are I will never see most of those people again and I was sorry more of the family couldn't attend, especially those live within driving range. I guess I'm just getting old. Oh, well, that's life, huh?

old photos

 

JD and BJ...Toddlers!!(c.1952)

DATES TO REMEMBER

Philomena (Fanny) Terico: 4/28/1871-1/29/1957

Dad (Tony Terico):  7/4/1908-10/22/1993

Mary Braccini Molinaro: d 1/6/1995

John Osredkar:  4/28/1911-12/7/2009

Carol Fiala Paul:   1923-1999

Fran Fiore:  8/17/1921-6/11/1999

Pete Molinaro:  6/15/1918-4/7/2002

Frances Molinaro Osredkar:  11/26/1915-2/4/2009

Mom (Josie Molinaro Terico):  1/13/1914-10/17/2013

Thomas Paul:12/1953-3/15/2015

Phylis Mirgo:  7/7/1927-1/21/2016

Fran Davey:  5/2/1953-2/23/2019

Bill Mirgo:  7/19/1958-4/12/2023

JoJo Fiala Morgan:  1923-7/5/2024

The Bears are on Their Way to Cooperstown!

 

   The Bears are on their way to Cooperstown!  Finally!!           

   Josie was the first bear to 

be knit...last year...but it took all winter for her to be finally finished.  She spent a couple of months in the shop last year but didn't attach much

attention.  Today she was the last
one to be actually finished and dressed!  I was never able to get the hem of her dress to lay flat so I just decided to let it roll...that way you can see the pink bows on the edge of the lace on her bloomers! Her black slipper shoes have satin bows at the toes, too.  And she is wearing a headband with a pink rose.

       DeeDee was the second bear to get finished.  She ended up somewhat                  smaller that Josie...how I don't know...but the bloomers that 
were too big on Josie fit DeeDee perfectly!!  She is wearing a short summer dress with red MaryJane shoes and has a nosegay of flowers with a red butterfly sitting on her arm.

    

    TJ Bear is dressed for his favorite past-time:  Baseball!  He's wearing a Cubs uniform with

his favorite Hall of Famer's (Johnny Bench) number 

embroidered on the back of his shirt. He's even wearing red socks with is black BB

shoes and has white shoe laces!

  All three bears are hand-knit with 100% acrylic yarn and are filled with 100% poly-fill.  Their clothing is removable and is also hand-knit with 100% acrylic yarn and like the bears are machine wash and dryable.  The bears are double-joined (their arms and legs are button joined and then sewed to their bodies to make the joints extra secure) but they are not recommended for children under 3 years old because of the many pieces of embellishment used to decorate them.  Josie and TJ are15" tall while DeeDee is 14".  Because each bear is hand-knit and stuffed, no two will ever be exactly alike.  

   They are available at Cooper Country Crafts, 2 Doubleday Court, Cooperstown, NY (607-547-9247)

Home Invasions??

    I think yesterday would have qualified as a day of home invasions to the dogs.  First, our new groomer, Alexandria Fisher, pulled up in her big white truck.  Zoey was willing to go outside to greet her...a stranger...but Fanny after barking a few times from the doorway, retreated to her security spot under the kitchen table. (Hey, it is a 100yr old, solid oak, round pedestal table so I can understand that it does offer some security.)  After Zoey had her nails clipped, and it was Fanny's turn, Jeff had to drag her out from under the table! She was muzzled so her resistance was totally passive but she does weigh 80lbs so there is a lot of dog to drag even if it is only across the room!  Alexandria thought the dogs' nails were too long to be clipped as short as they should be...the quick was quite long and there was a chance of bleeding...so we made another appointment for her to come back in 2 weeks to finish the job.  Zoey was back to wiggling and friendly by the time Alexandria left but Fanny had retreated under the table as soon as she could, and she stayed there for the rest of the afternoon!  

      I had noticed a decrease in the resident population of mice in our house lately, but I was just attributing it to seasonal hunters outside like hawks and other predators.  That notion changed when something streaked across the kitchen followed closely by Zoey barking like crazy!  Fanny stood up in her safe spot under the table and barked loudly, too! I screamed and Jeff started to yell just to add to the general confusion.  Since he hadn't seen the critter, I had to describe it and he gave me a couple of suggestions of what it could be.  I looked them up online and found a picture to match our invader...a weasel!  I yelled at Jeff to do something, but I can't repeat what he said! (*!* ) I said I'd stay at my PC and scream when I saw it but changed my mind when Jeff said it was hunting mice!!  I decided it could visit.

     I've lived in this house since 1962 and we've been 'visited' by critters over the years that usually resulted in my mom and me screaming and running one way and the critter just running around!  I've learned how to catch bats (just wait for them to tire out and land somewhere and drop a bowl or box over them and use a magazine as a cover to hold them in, carry the container to the door and dump it outside) and snakes (my mom's 'reach and grab' tool worked the best!  I didn't have to get closer than the length of the tool and the grabber could hold the coiled snake until I carried it outside).  Jeff's been in charge of mouse traps that he'd set periodically but the mice always seemed to be ahead!  We had a bird fall down our fireplace chimney a couple of times.   Someone else picked it up and took it out that time but I think I threw a towel over it the next time it happened and did it.  But this weasel was the politest home invader we've had.  When the dogs started barking (and I started screaming) it ran to the cellar door and squeezed under it...and we didn't see it for the rest of the day!!  And besides, it's a lot cuter than a mouse!

Mug Rugs

     Some of the knitting chat groups I belong to organize some great swaps that I usually sign up for and the April/Spring's Swap was no exception.  When a Mug Rug Swap was announced, I thought that it would be a piece of cake!  Even though April was the traditional re-opening month for the shop with a lot of last-minute embellishments and button sewing to do, I thought I could manage to produce a mug rug...or even a set of 4 if I tried hard enough.  I mean, a mug rug is only a 4" square!  So, I signed up and received a swap partner and started looking for a mug rug pattern.

    Just to let you know, I aways thought mug rugs were just squares with a design in the middle, nothing too fancy or difficult, simple and easy to do.  Well, I was wrong.  Mug rugs do come in 'simple, easy to do' and then they move on to the more intricate and elaborate designs.  Ever try to do a linen stitch? I quickly learned that I was going to need more than a few spare minutes between sewing on buttons to master that stitch!

   And what yarn to use?  Any and all types!  Of course, the types I have the most of in my stash are worsted weight acrylic and washable wool sock yarn. I tried using some sock yarn on a US2 with a pattern I found on Ravelry until my hands started objecting and began cramping.  OK, so it was a NO to sock yarn on a US2.  Then I began to seriously look at patterns that called for acrylic worsted weight yarn and a needle size I could handle (like a US7) without major cramping problems. I ended up revamping a chart of a sheep I use for a lot of children's sweaters and hats and started knitting...completely forgetting what a 4" square of acrylic yarn knit in stockinette stitch on a US7 would look like when finished...even if single stitch 

crocheted around the edge!  To get this square to lay flat I was going to need some interfacing and backing...possibly felt or flannel. A trip to Walmart and a piece of felt solved that problem and the mug rug because a usable square. 

My hands objected strongly to putting the knit square, the interfacing and piece of felt together with blanket stitches and I used a light touch of a warm iron made sure the interfacing stuck to the knitting. I managed to assemble 1 rug a day!   But I really liked the way they were coming out, so I made 4!   And

now, that I'm ready to mail them on Monday I think I should add something extra to this package.  Years ago, my mom worked with a woman from England who always had a piece of chocolate with her 'cuppa'...she said it made her tea taste better.  Maybe I'll get some Hersey Miniatures to put in the bag.  What do you think?

  Here's the finished set of 4 Sheep Mug Rugs!

I had toyed with the idea of doing sets of these for the shop, (with different animals) but I think it will be better...for my hands, at least...just to do these for Christmas or housewarming gifts.  I have 3 sets on my To Do list already!  No, make that 4 sets!  I want a set, too!