Leaving on Jet Plane

Hello dear readers. I am back at the flat on Abbey Road, after having been away for almost two weeks. As you can read below, my father-in-law passed away on April 2nd and all of the family gathered in New Hampshire.

It was a difficult time of greiving but it was heartening to see the three generations of Hubster's family sharing the loss together.

I was able to deliver "Nana's sweater" in person to my mother-in-law. It is also known as Shiri Mor's raglan-shaped swing cardigan knitted with multi-colored short rows, pattern #19 from page 86 of the winter 2007/2008 issue of VOGUEknitting (US). I substituted a silk/wool/cotton blend for the wool in the pattern, and made it in shades of larkspur blue.

My trip also included a trip to see my sister "NeedhamSis", who is staying upbeat during her post-surgery radiation treatments. We had a wonderful visit in the springtime sun and I got to hear all about her son's acceptance at Villanova in the class of 2014.

I also visited my dear friend Melissa, who is receiving chemotherapy for Lymphoma. In her care-coordination blog, she wrote that she was developing a super-hero alter-ego to enable her to better deal with her journey. She calls her alternate-self the "Pred-a-nate-Her", due to the massive amounts of Prednisone she must take along with the other chemo drugs.

Never one to sit idly by when I could be creating something, I took her journal entry as a personal challenge. A length of hospital-green tencel cloth had been left by me in my in-laws' garage since last summer, and Nana was eager to move it on out. I brought it to Mary Ann at the Knittin' Kitten in Cambridge, MA, and we discussed possible ways of embellishing it and turning it into the Pred-a-Nate-Her's Cape. Two days later, we had a completed cape, which contained a green batik heart being supported by magenta people, and rows of circles containing cats, who of course are Reiki Masters in their own right. What else would they be doing when they sit all over us humans and purr? They are sharing their healing vibes...

Here is a photo of Melissa aka The Pred-a-Nate-Her. Please send healing wishes and prayers to her and to NeedhamSis. Thank you.