"... give me liberty, or give me death! -- Patrick Henry"

Credit: www.thefederalistpapers.org

"Knitting -- The MasterPlan" -- "Purl Stitch"

Credit:  acraftynerd.blogspot.com

by Miriam E. Waters

Did I mention my grand scheme to teach myself how to knit?  “The Master Plan” …. 1.) Learn the basic “knit” stitch; practice until able to perform smoothly and stitches are even.  2.) Progress to the “purl” stitch; practice until able to perform smoothly and stitches are even.   3.) Progress to the “knit 1, purl 1” pattern; practice until able to perform smoothly and stitches are even. 4.) Make mittens following a very ooooold pattern found at a garage sale.  

The reality … 1.) Able to perform “knit” stitch” so no stitches are dropped, rows and stitches are even, and there are no split strands or halos on the work.  2.) Discovered that there are two types of purl – “Continental” and “English.”  Could not determine which of the two styles was more desirable.  Unable to decipher the instructions and diagrams in “Kniting for Dummies.”  Major snag in “The Master Plan” at this point.  I think what I managed to do was knit left-handed instead of purl … or it could be something else.  Sooooo, it’s on to “Plan B” – watch “YouTube” videos on “How to Purl.”  If that fails, it’s on to “Plan C” – ask someone who actually knows how to knit and purl to give me a lesson!  All I can say at this point is … “AAArgh!”  I guess I’m off to watch “YouTube” …

… SUCCESS!  It took all of five minutes to learn the basic “purl” stitch!  I found a wonderfully basic basic demonstration of the stitch.  I’m awkward with the stitch, but my alternating rows of knit and purl are producing an acceptable “stockinette stitch.”  Whoo-hoo!  I’ll know to START with “YouTube” in the future.  Now it’s time to practice, practice, practice the stitch until I no longer need to think about what I’m doing.  The test will be whether I remember how to do this in the morning.

"Saturday; May 14, 2016"

Image Credit:  "NASA Skylab Space Mission Patch" -- thespacerace.com

"Wednesday; March 30, 2016"

Image Credits:

weheartit.com & liveluvcreate.com

"Women's History Month"

Image Credit:

"Women's Sufferage in the United States" -- annajcook.blogspot.com

"Saturday; January 23, 2016"

Image Credits:

"Candy Buttons" -- 1950satomicranchhouse.blogspot.com

"Atomic Fire Balls" -- pinterest.com

"Penny Candy Store" -- Not Known

"Mary Janes" -- candycrate.com

"Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum" -- Not Known

"Tootsie Roll Pops" -- llscotty.blogspot.com

"A Wandering of Tinkers"

Credits:
Highland Scottish Tinkers

cjewords.blogspot.com & celticanamcara.blogspot.ca

An interesting phrase, “A Wandering of Tinkers,”

is described in “An Exaltation of Larks”:

“The term is double-edged.  Itinerant tinkers mended household metalware, and in Scotland and Northern Ireland, gypsies -- who practiced, or pretended to practice, the trade -- were called tinkers, as were various ‘beggars, vagabonds, and performers,’ according to the OED.”

Another itinerant visitor was the "Rag-and-Bone Man"  I remember him collecting old clothing and scraps of fabric in my neighborhood as a child.  He drove an ancient truck filled with what-have-you -- a pioneering recycler of sorts?

Do you recall the "Rag-and-Bone Man?"

Forward!

by Miriam E. Waters

The U.S. Army corporal prepared to mount his horse.  He performed a quick check of the animal before taking the saddle.  The blanket, worn thin from months of riding, sat squarely on the mare’s back.  The saddle was in place and cinched so that it was snug on the horse.

He noted with dismay the jutting ribs of the mare.  Half rations for both man and beast had reduced them to mere bags of bones.  It was a wonder that she was able to continue to carry him.  He was thankful, however, that he was not compelled to walk as were the Cherokees on this forced relocation to Indian Territory.

As an Army conductor, it was his duty to shepherd those marching along the trail that led to their new home.   He was familiar with the privation all suffered. Lack of adequate food, clothing, and shelter took a heavy toll on the tribes he ferried.

They were approaching an especially difficult part of the trail.  The Cherokees called it Nu na da ul tsun yi, “the Place Where they Cried.”  It was here that many white settlers witnessed the silent, stoical faces of the people as they passed through their ancestral lands along the “Trail of Tears.” The tears were found not on those being forcibly relocated, but on the cheeks of some witnesses to the death march.

The conductor swung up into his saddle.  He took his position at the rear of the column of unfortunates and began to prod them onward.

One very old woman was near to the end of the group.  The conductor could see that she was struggling to keep up with the others.  A younger woman had wound a leather thong around her waist and tied it to the older woman.  The women were bound together, step matching step as they crossed the rough terrain.

The conductor watched as the younger woman sought to encourage her elder first with soft words and then a more strident tone.  The old woman continued to slow and finally collapsed into the mud.

The corporal rode alongside the women.  “Agayáli unitsi igáyiditlá anigisdi,” “Old mother, forward,” the conductor begged in his rudimentary Cherokee.  He received no response from the old woman.

Putting steel into his voice that he did not feel, the conductor commanded the younger woman “igáyiditlá anigisdi,” “forward.” She stared into his eyes as she untied the thong from around her waist and let it drop into the mud.  Turning his horse’s head he motioned her on as they left the old woman to die where she fell.

Click HERE to View Wikipedia's Entry on the "Trail of Tears"

January 25, 2015.  All Rights Reserved.