Santa Claus Memories, Thank you Mom

This is an old bookcase, been in the family forever. The shelves are adjustable (to a point), and the case has been painted many colors throughout the years. I remember it mostly being black in my younger years. A very fond memory of Mom comes to mind especially this time of year especially. She transformed this old bookcase into the fireplace that Santa Clause came down...year after year.

She'd remove all the books, and many of the shelves and using crape paper that looked like bricks...bingo, right before you very eyes a fireplace would appear. We watched her do this multiple times...and with her use of magic snow, hanging our socks on the mantle; we believed the Jolly Old Man truly did come down that very chimney.
After all, the proof was there every Christmas morning. The colored pictures don't withstand the test of time as well as the old black and whites (1952 and 1953). But clearly you can see, Santa did come to visit and bring great excitement and joy to us kids. My older brother Chuck and I playing cowboys and Indians and even before people knew about the word multi-tasking...clearly we were...we were also having a tea party. Younger brother Mike in the jump seat.

Thank you Mom for the wonderful memories.

I'ld like to add, this magical bookcase has been painted once again, creamy white this time round and is in DD's house.

Merry Christmas Mom.

What are the Right Tools?

This is the start to The January Cloth for Cotton Cloth Calendar Challenge for my DD. Sigh.........The photo shows 2 cables and the pattern is called mirror image. The beginning you see is after 3 tries! Argh..........it's been frogged multiple times. First it was going to be blue and white......white for snow and blue for cold. Cold and snow pretty much sums up Ohio in January. However, after frogging twice I decided to stick with one solid color, one less issue to deal with. This is my first attempt at cables. Learning to knit cables is one of 2 items on the goal area of My Year of Projects List.

I thought (probably not wisely so), that doing a cotton washcloth would be a good way to try my hand at this stitch, because it's a small project and doing something new on a small project is probably a better idea.....right? Hum, well in retrospeak, I think using cotton for a cable is probably NOT a good idea? Cotton has next to know give, no flexibility which seems to make doing the stitch really hard on my hands......tight. I do a few rows, then take a break.
I read the directions several times, and watched a couple of video's to see how to do the stitch. Above you see 2 types of cable stitch holders. The one that looks like a knitting needle with a curve is the one I started with. My thought was, it's about the same size (gauge) as the knitting needles I'm using for the project..........figured that would keep the stitches the right gauge?
Some directions suggest knitting right from the stitch holder..........yeah, tried that and couldn't keep the count very well. Though it did seem knitting from the holder when the holder was in back of the work (C6B) was easier then C6F. Another video suggested moving the stitches back to the regular knitting needle. That method seemed to work better for me.........except I found again moving them hard to keep the right number, things just seemed toooooooooooo tight, particular with C6F.

Then I remembered the cable holders I purchased previously that looked like big safety pins and thought I'd give those a try. I much prefer these. Using these and putting the stitches back on the needle seems to be easier....not easy, but easier. One of the video's showed a v shape stitch holder that I've not seen in the stores. Need to keep my eyes open, as it seemed like it might be the ticket.

Does the equipment/tools one uses make a difference? As a newbie, I think so...but what say you all? Is using a cotton a foolish way to learn? Is a good wool easier?

YOP link and badge in sidebar. Working on the actual list, plan to have an additional page/tab here vs reposting it each Sunday.

It's Friday....here's Royalty

Blue, Gold, Purple crocheted granny squares joined by a very dark Forest Green. This afghan is a team work project. Cheryl donated the squares over on Bridge and Beyond. I edged the squares, and assembled the afghan. It measures a little over 50 x 64. The dark green yarn was also donated by Laurie over on Bridge and Beyond. I enjoy designing afghans to help the homeless from donated goodies from big hearted knitters and crocheters. Homeless Families Foundation helps homeless families with temporary housing for up to 3 months while they aid the family in seeking help they need to keep their family together, to help with the job search, to help care for the kids and get them to and from school, help with homework etc. It's a wonderful program. When they make the move from temporary housing to permanent housing they receive a "Welcome Home" pack to help them get started. One of the items they receive is the gift of a handmade afghan........a wonderful way to say, "Welcome Home."

This is my finished object Friday post, link/badge in the sidebar. Join in, it's fun. Hope you're all chipping away and finishing up items you need for Christmas Gifts, time's getting close.

**Throwing a challenge out there to all who read this post:
Are you from one of the following states:
Conn, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Miss., Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, or Utah?
No one from those states has donated over on Bridge and Beyond. You could represent your state....surely someone in those states knits/crochets and has a big heart.....nudge nudge**