Monthly Archives: April 2016

Chappy’s 3 Guest Posts …

Been thinking a lot about Chappy and of course how much he is missed and what a void he has left.  Along with the memories and the thousands of photographs of Chappy I also have a few guest posts from him on this blog… you see where I’m going with this right:)

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Here in Chappy’s own words, post #1 – MV WITH PETS

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Hi, this is me in the car going to Martha’s Vineyard.  I know I look all relaxed and eager to get there but in reality I’m a nervous mess.  I don’t like car rides, especially the 1000 hours it takes to get there from NJ.  OK, maybe not 1000, more like 6 but in dog hours it could be 1000.

Once we arrived I could stretch my legs, have a bite to eat and get settled in. See, this is me very, very settled in… in fact I’m so settled I’m almost asleep.

The Island Inn is a great place to stay with your people.  All the accommodations have kitchenettes in them… I love that, I think it’s very important to always have food nearby.   The people there have their own dogs who help us 4 legged guests check in.  Everyone is super friendly and nice.  We like it there a lot.

I have to say that at first I thought the dogs and kids were a little aloof and then my mom explained to me that this is something called a sculpture.  Wow, what a relief that was, I mean there wasn’t any scent I could pick up and it freaked me out.

I love walking around on the Vineyard, the scenery is so pretty… like here in Edgartown near the lighthouse.  Even though I can’t see all the colors I’m still amazed at the beauty of Martha’s Vineyard.

And the shopping… the Vineyard is so dog friendly that I’m allowed just about everywhere.  There are lots of good stores for dogs… I think my favorite one is Good Dog Goods in Oak Bluffs.   The owner Kerry Scott and all her people who work there are so nice.  They get right down on the floor and play with me,  and offer me treats… I like that in a person.  We always bring bags of treats home to NJ with us… I like that too.  And I like this sticker.

So let’s see… I’ve mentioned where we like to stay… and where I like to shop… and how dog friendly MV is… all that’s left is for you to experience MV yourself.

Chappy in the car

This is me on the way home… I am so totally and happily exhaustatated that I’m actually sleeping.

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Post #2 – GOING TO THE MV FIBER FESTIVAL

Chappy

Hi, I’m Chappy and I just popped over to gram’s blog  to tell you about another wonderful trip to MV. Actually, I posted here in January about pets on MV, it was so much fun that I’m back to guest post again.

   Bradys NESW inn in Oak Bluffs is where we stayed.

  This is Amie, she is Brady’s dog and the official greeter for us four-legged guests.  She showed us right to our room and clued me in on the good things to sniff and check out.  She’s really nice.

  Our room had a window seat, I wasn’t sure what that was although I’ve heard mom say time and time again that she’d love to have one.  Now I know why, they’re wonderful.. I mean really, a big window to look out of and the sun pouring in to bask in… what more (except food) could a guy ask for.  Once in awhile I actually shared it with mom… see how happy she looks… I do too.

The first morning we were there we went for a walk after breakfast.  The beach and the water look so pretty but it was too cold to dip my paws in the water.  I met another dog friend, she had only been with her adopted mom a few days and was getting used to her new home… she was nice.

Then we went to the MV Fiber Farm festival.  I had never seen sheep and goats before and I just didn’t know what to make of them.  They sure didn’t smell like any animals I ever met before.  I was perplexed and they seemed to be too.  “Hey, you lookin at me!”  Yup, they sure were, they kept a close eye on mom and me, wherever we moved to they followed us… it was like a game after awhile.

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I got to meet two more dogs… Fritz, a sheltie and
also a brown spaniel.It was fun getting to know them and we played each time we saw each other.

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This is mom and me relaxing a little bit.  She’s of course knitting and I’m fighting to keep my eyes open.  I lost..teehee.  It was a really, really full and fun day.   But the fun wasn’t over because the next day..
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… we went to see the baby goats that weren’t at the festival.Look at me !  I’m sniffing a goats behind !!  I can’t believe it either.

Look at me ! I’m sniffing a goats behind !! I can’t believe it either.

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They’re so cute and smaller then I am, but not for long. They were so friendly, they came right up to us and they let mom and gram pet them…… mom even KISSED one !

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This is mom and me sitting in the Campground while gram takes a few pictures.  We were all happily tired.

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We did manage to visit a few new people while we were on MV and of course we ate some good food too.  I love eating in mom’s car which we call Cafe Volvo. I always get some of what mom and gram are eating and that makes me very happy especially when they have chicken… or donuts… or hamburgers… or anything.

Thank you gram for letting me visit your blog… this is Chappy signing off.

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And lastly post #3 written on his 11th birthday, July 7, 2012 simply titled..IT’S CHAPPY

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Hi, it’s Chappy.  I haven’t visited gram’s blog in awhile and since today is my 11th birthday she invited me to write a post.   Here goes.

This is where it all began… me with my brothers and one sister all smooshed up against our dog mom Tawny.

This is mom and dad… Tawny and Buddy.  I’ve been told I look more like my mom and have her sweet disposition…but I’ve got some of dad’s sense of fun in me too.

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This is mom and dad… Tawny and Buddy.  I’ve been told I look more like my mom and have her sweet disposition…but I’ve got some of dad’s sense of fun in me too.

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This is my mom, Deb.  Oops, I’m skipping ahead here, I wanted to tell you about our first day together.  Well , not all of it, some of it was traumatic but that’s for another post someday.

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After I said goodbye to Tawny and Buddy we began our long trek across Pennsylvania to New Jersey.  You can see I was already in the driver’s seat.

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I caused quite a ruckus when we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch.  I had no idea I was so cute and I certainly had no idea what wonderful smells and tastes were out in the world.  Talk about excitement, I actually stayed awake for awhile.

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Finally after days on the road, well it seemed like days to me, what did I know about cars and roads and big noisy trucks that kept waking me up.  Mom says it was more like 6 hours… in puppy time that IS days.   Good thing I was so rested ’cause when we got home look at all the toys waiting for me… I couldn’t believe it.  The six of us siblings had one toy and one tennis ball to play with, I was in toy heaven.

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Just look at me… sweet, adorable, just a hint of mischief in my eyes.  Yup, I picked the absolute  best mom and family in the world. But enough of the mushy stuff.

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The pictures below weren’t my idea…  gram snuck them on here when I wasn’t looking.  Really, I have no idea how they got here but go ahead and enjoy them… I like the ones of me with mom the best.  Okay, bye for now, Chappy signing off:)

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I hope you enjoyed Chappy’s posts, I wish he had stopped by more often, he really had a way with woofs and words.  Love you Chappy >3


Weekly Challenge: Abstract …

Weekly prompt:  Point your camera at something familiar and turn it into something else. Whether it’s a wall in your house, a friend’s arm, or a billboard seen from afar, we may or may not recognize what it actually is. But we’ll certainly discover something else about it in the process.

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My choice for abstract are views through my rainy windshield. The first one is of trees along the side of a street.  The second one is the view of a harbor.

altered from original

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/abstract/


Marquee …

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Oak Bluffs ~ Martha’s Vineyard


On a Holiday Roll

I feel like I'm an elf in Santa's workshop!  Over here at Adriprints Press, I've been working on many things in preparation for Surtex which is in just a few weeks.  One of the things I've been working on is my holiday-themed portfolio. It's nice to finally see it come together and be able to share it with you all!

Without further ado, here is my Adriprints Holiday Lookbook!



Just in case the embedded issuu viewer is not available through your viewing device, you can access the lookbook here via link too.

Pattern Release: Caridwen Scarf and Stole

G2413_together_2Meet Caridwen!

Caridwen is an Aran Lace wrap, written in two sizes — a scarf featuring the main cable and side cables, and a stole featuring additional secondary cables.

The entire stitch pattern is both charted and written out line by line for each version (scarf or stole).

You can purchase a kit for Caridwen from Craftsy — your choice for the scarf or the stole.  I’ll add a link when I find out that option is available!

 

Sizes
Scarf (Stole)

Finished Measurements
Width: 7 (13) in / (18) 33 cm
Length: 66 (72) in / 167.5 (183) cm

Yarn
Cloudborn Fibers Wool Worsted Twist (100% Fine Highland Wool; 222 yds / 203 m per 100g skein); 2 (4) skeins.
As worked, samples used 418 (823) yds / 382 (753) m.
Shown in Violet Heather (Turquoise Heather).

Needles
US6 / 4mm needles, or size to obtain gauge

Gauge
24 sts and 25.5 rows in 4 in / 10 cm average over cabled pattern, blocked
The cable pattern is quite stretchy.
Precise gauge is not necessary, but alterations in gauge will affect yarn requirements and finished size.

Notions
yarn needle, cable needle

Skills
Cabling, increases, decreases. Both charts and line by line instructions are included.

Spring Has Finally Sprung!

I know I have been AWOL.  But work has been happening.  I drew on my last plate today.  Now all must dry quickly so I can fire this weekend in preparation for Powhatan Festival of Fiber on Saturday April 30!


And while the pots are drying I will be weaving and hemming!


Chappy …

Chappy❤

July 7, 2001  ~  April 14, 2016

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CLICK HERE PLEASE


WIP: Mrs Crosby Reticule Shawl

swatch picThe Mrs Crosby Reticule Shawl (which will get a real name!) is the other shawl I’d like to get knit up prior to the June summer TNNA show. The picture, left, is of my initial swatch.

This shawl is a companion piece to Isn’t It Romantic?, but worked in laceweight yarn and a totally different shape. It starts with a few cast on stitches, then grows into a wedge/curled shape shawl. The main body of the shawl has a simple stockinette and lace panel design that flows into the lovely flowers of the edging.

Normally I try to finish one design sample before starting another, but I chose to work up this design right before going out of town 2 weeks ago, so I would have travel knitting.  The Cumbria Fingering shawl has four balls of yarn attached, and was fairly large by that point — not quite as easy to knit on the road!

 

Beloved Chappy …

Chappy

July 7, 2001 – April 14, 2016

Boykin Spaniel

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How do I even begin to write this post about our beloved granddog Chappy.  What can you say about a dog that has been part of your life for nearly 15 years and gave you nothing but love, enjoyment and devotion.  He was wonderful, pure and simple just a dear sweet soul of a dog.

I was with my daughter Deb, the day she picked him up.   He was a little ball of fuzz, not sleek and curly like some of his liter mates but he was charming and cute and determined to come home with us.  Here he is with his liter mates… and saying goodbye to his parents Buddy & Tawny…

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…and start his life with his mom Deb and a family who adored him.

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There’s so much I want to say about Chappy and so many, many hundreds of pictures of him I’d like to share but I could never fit it all into one post, or even ten for that matter.

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Please take a moment to CLICK HERE and read my daughter Deb’s tribute to her beautiful Chappy.  Thank you.


Chappysmom

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You might not remember, but before I started blogging about writing, I had a knitting blog called Chappysmom.

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Like any other knitting blog, I talked about lots of things–my knitting (of course), but also family, friends, vacations, books … and, my dog. The Chappy for whom the blog was named.

I have an entire online presence built around the fact that I am Chappy’s Mom. My knitting blog, my Ravelry name … even as a fanfiction writer. It’s the way I think of myself. In the absence of two-legged versions, Chappy is my kid, and has been since he walked into my heart on 25 August 2001.

He was just three months old on 9/11, and I remember that the only way I was able to tear myself away from the horrors on the television screen was to allow myself to be distracted by the adorable puppyness chewing at my shoelaces. He made me smile on that most horrible of days.

In fact, he made me smile every day.

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Right up until this past Thursday, when, despite all his best efforts, he left me.

On the last Monday of March, he was diagnosed with cancer and internal bleeding, so that the vet didn’t think he’d make it more than another 48 hours. He was so weak that Wednesday night, I didn’t think he would, either, but he rallied, and Thursday morning he was smiling and wagging his tail, and we had a reprieve through the weekend. The next week, though, was a blend of good and bad days–enough good ones to be able to be grateful he was here, but enough bad to know that time was limited.

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He gave me two more good weekends than the vet thought he would, but last week, it just got too much for him. The pain meds helped, but he was getting weaker. He tried so hard to be brave and strong and happy to put a smile on my face–because I think his goal in life was to make me smile–but it just got too hard. So, Thursday morning, I petted him and spoiled him and fed him homemade ginger snap cookies, and then took him to the vet so he wouldn’t have to struggle anymore.

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If you have pets, I don’t need to tell you how hard that was. Especially when you remember that I’ve always considered him to be my four-legged kid.

He gave me fourteen years, nine months, and one week of almost nothing but happiness. Because, yes, there was some worrying in there, too, but seeing Chappy was always a guaranteed smile.

There’s absolutely nothing good about the fact that he’s no longer here to wag his tail at me. I was his favorite person. As much as he loved my parents and the rest of our friends and family, I was the one he watched for. I’m the one he rallied for those last two weekends–because there’s no mystery as to why he was happier on the days I was home with him rather than at work. We adored each other equally, and anyone who knows me knows I was equally devoted to him.

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He’s gone now, though. I like to think he’s up in heaven with my twin sister Susan. (I told him he would recognize her right away, since she looks just like me.) He’s hopefully romping with his best friend Horatio who when on ahead four years ago. (And yes, I always loved that Chappy not only had friends, he had a best friend.) He’s finally getting to meet his big sister Katy, who I lost to a car when she was 20-months old.

Hopefully, he’s happy. For sure, he’s no longer suffering.

But he’s not here.

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Chappaquiddick Kittanning Boyken, Boykin Spaniel
7 July 2001 – 14 April 2016

It’s not enough time, little boy, but thank you for sharing all of it with me. Thank you for working so hard to convince me that YOU were the right puppy for me. (In retrospect, there’s no question whatsoever.) Thank you for being the very sweetest dog I’ve ever met. All our dogs have been wonderful and lovable and good and sweet and cute and so on, but you are by far the sweetest ever.

I miss you, Chappy. Love you. Sleep well.

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