Knit and Crochet Therapy

Part of my healing has been to start a new knitting project, a new knitting project and a new crochet project.

When in Michael's in Tarzana a couple of months ago I found very large skeins of Sugar and Cream Confectionary yarn. By large I mean 710 yards! The colors were so appealing, muted and different than the usual Sugar and Cream that I was compelled to bring home 5 of them. They then ripened in the trunk of my car for a month or so while I tried to figure out where in the apartment they would be stored. When my oldest daughter came to L.A. last month to support me and spend a few days helping me, she saw the yarn in my trunk. I had decided to make a bathroom rug for her and she liked the idea. So I started it. 5 colors starting in the upper left hand corner and going down 3, I simply followed the same color sequence 3 times. A single crochet border of 1 row white and 2 rows blue finish it off.

Shiloh said she doesn't need washcloths but instead would like hand towels. Eventually I will make 5, 1 of each color. The border is a simple moss stitch and plain stockinette in the center.

I have been looking for a handbag for the Spring and Summer months. I either haven't liked them or they are too expensive. (spending over $200 for a straw bag just seems wrong to me) My friend Melinda has a commercial handbag (actually, she has a LOT of handbags!) crocheted in shell stitch that I covet. While wandering the aisles of Michael's, I came across J.P.Coats Royale crochet thread, size #3. The colors tan and natural work well together so this is my version of Melinda's bag. The Sunburst pattern comes from pages 93 & 94 in the book Crocheting School. The colors remind me of fine lingerie with ecru lace. Ellen says it has a vintage look to it. I gotta admit, she has something there! The plan is to crochet 9 sunburst rows of each color, then add handles and line it. I also want to crochet an opening on the outside to allow a small zippered pocket for whatevers. If there is enough thread leftover, I may make an eyeglass case, coin purse and small make-up bag. How utterly matchy-poo. I love crap that goes together.

Saying Goodbye To A Friend

I don't usually blog about my private life but sometimes you need to tell the world about someone who touched your life in a significant way.

Sometime during the night on May 28, 2008 my dear friend Ray passed away in his sleep. Ray had been through a full course of chemotherapy and radiation for cancer and was over 3 weeks past the end of the treatment. He was starting to feel better and was making plans to go back to work at Edwards on Shuttle Support. His passing has been a tremendous shock and I still expect him to walk through the door with a smile on his face saying, "Wassuuuup???".

I first met Ray at a party in Seattle at the home of some friends. We all belonged to an absinthe appreciation group and he had driven up from Lancaster for a New Years Eve event. When I decided to move to L.A., I contacted Ray and we e-mailed a bit and talked a bit on the phone.

Last July at another absinthe party in Burbank, Ray and I met up again. We talked and laughed a lot and I enjoyed his company. We started going to concerts, movies, the beach, etc. Sometimes just hanging out and watching DVDs or the Sci-Fi channel. In November we went to Vegas for his birthday weekend.

Ray was diagnosed with cancer right before Thanksgiving. He started his treatment in Lancaster in early January and it did not go well. I brought him down to Sherman Oaks where he spent a week in the hospital. While in the hospital, he was visited by an oncologist in Van Nuys. He decided to switch is treatment to her practice. After he was released from the hospital, we moved him in with me so he could continue his treatment in L.A.

Ray could be loving and generous and critical and silly and obtuse...all in the time span of a minute and a half. He loved science fiction and the Space Shuttle and absinthe and on-line gaming and driving his P.T. Cruiser and shrimp and clothes (my gawd the man had clothes!) and big dreams and life.

My life has been enriched for knowing him and being his companion during the last year of his life. I will never forget Ray. He will live in my heart forever.