Wrapped up in a hug

As I mentioned in recent posts about monthly resolutions, in March I finished knitting a wrap for my Aunt Eula. Wrap, shawl, stole - whatever word you want to use, it is a rectangle shaped piece of knitted lace designed to casually wrap around the body. Aunt Eula is my mother's only sister and lives in an assisted living facility in Ohio. She is a tiny woman and always cold, so I thought a wrap would not only help keep her warm but might also be a bit comforting.

Most of you know that I am a yarn snob; I like alpaca, merino wool, silk, those sorts of luxury fibers. And while I would have loved to have made Aunt Eula a decadently luscious wrap, I had to be practical - luxury fibers require delicate care, particularly when washing. I did not want anyone to go to great lengths to care for the wrap and I wanted it to be durable, so I chose a washable wool blend. Lion Brand Wool-Ease is 80% acrylic and 20% wool, machine washable and, much to my surprise, quite soft. I chose a heather pink colorway because Aunt Eula likes the color pink and because I thought it would work well as a year-round color.

The pattern was not at all difficult but since I seem to have knitting ADD (oh, look - new yarn!), it was a bit of a challenge to knit something for more than a week or two. The pattern suggested a length of 72 inches but six feet of knitted wrap would overwhelm Aunt Eula's tiny frame, so I made it about 60 inches long. Once it was done, I tested the machine washable attribute by tossing it into the washer on the hand wash setting and it washed beautifully.

I sent the wrap to my cousin Pam so that she could sew on a label with Aunt Eula's name. Pam then took the wrap to her along with a family photo album so she could point out my picture and tell Aunt Eula that I had made it for her. Whether or not she remembers who made it for her does not matter; I’m sure she feels a hug whenever she wears it and will know that someone who loves her made it:

For many years, Aunt Eula and Uncle Al lived next door to my Grandmother Bourne. When we would go to visit my grandmother, I would immediately run next door to say hello to Aunt Eula and to get a big hug. It irritated my mother to no end that I would go and see Aunt Eula FIRST rather than my grandmother, but Aunt Eula was always glad to see me whereas my grandmother hardly noticed me. If you are related to me, don't get annoyed at me for saying that Grandmother Bourne was not a warm and comforting person because you know that I'm telling the truth. She just wasn't. Any joy I felt from visiting the house in Vandalia, Ohio came from the welcome and attention I received from Aunt Eula, not from my grandmother. I knit this wrap as a small token of appreciation for the woman who always made me feel loved, made me feel welcome, and made me feel important.

Flamingos

I have long adored pink flamingos. There is something about them that is, well, tacky - but tacky in a good way, if there is such a thing. I maintain that if I display a pink flamingo in my yard knowing that it is tacky, then it is more kitschy than tacky. When a pink flamingo is intended to be art, then it is tacky. We purchased our current flamingo several years ago at the Cotton Pickin' Fair in Gay, Georgia. Truman is constructed out of recycled propane tank parts:

My fondness for pink flamingos is fairly widely known among our friends and family. Last week in honor of our 15th wedding anniversary, we were flamingoed by our friends Mike and Kelly:

How can you help but smile when you have a flock of pink flamingos on your lawn? And I think Truman rather enjoyed the company:

The flock of flamingos had to continue their migration, but another flamingo joined us this week. James' parents came to visit for a few days and brought with them an early birthday present for me:

And he's not just a flamingo, but a PIRATE flamingo, complete with a hook and an eye patch:

He is so freakin' tacky that he is awesome. He needs a name, so if anyone can think of a good name for a pirate flamingo, let me know.