2010 World Wide Knit-in-Public Day - I love Challenges!

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It was just a few minutes before our event, and I pulled up in front of the restaurant we were using for WWKiP this year. I was running a bit late, but had it all planned in my mind for set-up of the registration table, the Sponsors' Table, and the table our speaker would be using, so I wasn't sweating it at all - until I saw this:

Since I'd spoken to both restaurant managers within the past two weeks, I was dumbfounded. But closed they were, and WWKiP participants were arriving as I stood there in disbelief.

It took seconds to sink in, and a few minutes to re-think and move to Plan B. Unknown numbers of people were expecting their WWKiP, and I had to think fast.

First, I drove over very quickly to a nearby restaurant a mile away to ask if we could move there. The restaurant wasn't open for another hour, but I could see movement back in the kitchen, and pounded on the door until a somewhat bewildered manager opened. After all, it isn't every Saturday morning that some crazy woman is pounding on your restaurant door an hour early.

But the crazy woman had a knitting emergency!!! As I explained the problem, he immediately welcomed our group, but mentioned that he was short on staff and that they wouldn't be there for another 45 minutes. Ahhh, I said, not a problem - we knitters come prepared with our own personal entertainment.

After giving him a giant hug for allowing our group inside his restaurant early, I zoomed back to the Stupid Restaurant and posted our "new meeting place" sign:

Notice the other small pink sticky-notes? Those are two other groups who were planning to use the Stupid Restaurant, and had also left memos about where they had moved on.

At the Great and Wonderful Erbelli's Restaurant (that's what I call them, but their sign doesn't include the superlatives) we quickly set up our WWKiP. I say "we" because several of the gals helped me drag stuff in, set up our tables and generally get the show up and rolling. Thank you to Jan and Karen - your help was much appreciated!!

Barb Marr, of Marr Haven Wool Farm in Allegan, gave a great presentation on being a small business owner of a Merino-Rambouillet sheep farm. She's funny, and quite entertaining, and we all enjoyed her discussion of the trials and tribulations of buying rams, owning sheep, and the differences in her wool. Great talk, Barb!

She also donated beautiful yarn for our WWKiP drawings.

Other wonderful Sponsors for the KazooYarnies' 2010 WWKiP included Ideal Images of Kalamazoo, Your Local Yarn Shop of Battle Creek, Studio June Yarn of Kalamazoo, Becky Chambers and Kay Alexander, both KazooYarnies. Here's their generous donations:


One of our KazooYarnies made special knitterly buttons with some fabulous mottoes, and they were only $2 each. I quickly snagged one of the "Charity Knitter" buttons.

The food at Erbelli's was great, and having a bar made it even better. I was surely tempted, and encouraged by very understanding K-i-P friends. However, the worst was over and the WWKiP was going well. Here's our group with their door prizes:



Note: Linda (front right) was having a glass of wine for me, which I made me feel a whole lot better.

Thanks to our best-of-best Sponsors for their generous yarnie prizes - many of our group went home smiling because of you.

We also did show-and-tell, and were inspired by beautiful projects - here's just a few:


Below is the ChickenLady, aka Kim Wood, who won a ten-pack of beautiful Cascade 220 wool yarn, donated by Your Local Yarn Shop. Kim sure is smiling - she won the "farthest from home" Grand Prize by driving 35 miles one way to our WWKiP!




I want to thank everyone who came to this year's World Wide Knit-in-Public. Sorry for the temporary disruption, but sure glad you were able to share a really fun afternoon! Special thanks to Barb Marr of Marr Haven Wood Farm - hope you can join us at one of our regular K-i-Ps to share more sheep stories!

Other People Must Love Yarn Storming Too

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Last week we yarned Bronson Park, and - because we're a curious group of gals - several of us checked the park over the next few days to see what was or wasn't there.


Before we'd even left the park on the first night, one of our knitters noticed that I'd dropped one of the parking meter cozies. I hadn't yet realized it, but since she did, she headed over to pick it up - except a fellow walking by it saw and snagged it, read the card attached, and stuffed it in his pocket.



Ever since, I've been wildly imagining what interesting event he's planning with his own personal parking meter cozy.




The next morning, Sheila checked the park and immediately noticed that the felted yarn ornaments she'd made were gone (above). We've been laughing about that; while she was hanging them, she told us that she was going to feel really bad if all the other stuff was taken, but not her ornaments. Obviously, she underestimated her beautiful ornaments and their public appeal. Loved and gone!

The bench scarf was gone too, as was the trash can cozy.

And for some reason, someone really wanted that picnic table scarf. That didn't last 24 hours. Not surprisingly, Terri's beautiful tam was gone too - and someone now has one gorgeous little hat.


Over the next couple of days, our yarn art was pretty much left alone. Only the parking meter cozies disappeared - five of them were gone, two remained.

But some time after the two-day Art Fair opened, things started leaving quickly. One of the benches no longer had it's bright sweater, and one of the evergreens had lost it's shawl - but the
new owner had left the tag so we wouldn't forget.

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While wandering the Art Fair on Saturday, I was tickled to see the reaction of the public. The photos below speak for themselves.

Children played on the statues, and this young girl enjoyed the art fair activities from her own special seat.




Women laughed at the adorable pink hat and scarf on the pointing little girl;

And a lady deep in conversation with her friend never even noticed the bench decoration she was resting her hand on.




But of all I saw, this is the one that gave me pause, then brought me the biggest grin. Originally Val had placed the yarn bracelet on this little girl's wrist, but someone thought it looked much better as a headband.

Interactive Yarn Art!!!!

How cool is that? Especially since that Artiste had to climb quite high on the statue, carefully balance themselves, and then stretch it tightly so it would fit around the little girl's head.



Less than an hour later, it was obvious that others really liked that headband too - it was gone, taken in the midst of more than 1,000 people enjoying the Art Fair.

That makes me smile too.

Yarn Storming at Bronson Park, Kalamazoo

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Our first yarnstorm, and right off the bat we meet the police.

Kalamazoo's Finest were on bike patrol in Bronson Park, and even though it's large park, somehow they just happened to sit at a picnic table right in the middle of where we were installing yarn.



The three of them watched us for a while, somewhat bemused at these ladies of the yarn, and then finally asked Sheila and Becky very politely, "Whatcha doin'?"



I suddenly realized that Becky was explaining our purpose to them, and quickly shot the above photo from quite a distance away. Sheila never batted an eye, and never stopped hanging yarn balls from the tree. Becky told them that we were installing Yarn Art for the upcoming weekend's Kalamazoo Institute of Art's annual Art Fair. One of the officers responded, "Art Fair?????" They just smiled, got on their bikes, and rode off to catch bad guys. Guess we just didn't fit the bill.

So we continued on, laughing and giggling our way through trees big and small, benches, trash cans, statues of children in the fountain, a picnic table, the Abraham Lincoln historical sign, parking meters, and the railings to the band shell.




Terri wrapped a huge sycamore with a giant tree cozy, and Val placed a little yarn bracelet on one of the children in the fountain. She and Terri also installed gorgeous hats and scarves on the children as people nearby watched us in curiosity.




We hung bright pink laminated tags on many of the works, in hopes that folks might recognize them as art and leave them alone. However, we all knew that most likely our yarn art wouldn't be there long, and it was okay with us if they were liberated.





We even brought a ladder, knowing that we'd probably have something to hang high. Except that I got the tree shawl stuck on a branch, and couldn't straighten it out of it's lop-sided drape. Terri tried too, with help from her yarnfriends, but it was very definitely stuck. We all finally agreed that it looked best lopsided.








When we finished, we snagged a passerby and asked that he take our photo in front of the beautiful children. Nice guy - snapped our shot, and didn't even ask why we wanted a photo of us in an empty fountain with yarned-up children statues. Call us crazy, but by the end of our adventure, we were beaming.



Before we left, we noticed folks walking up to our yarn art and reading the tags. That really made us smile. Even if he was carrying a beer bottle.

But best of all was this hand-written note that Sheila left on one of her felted tree ornaments.

Yes, it was a good day for friends and laughter, and most of all - we are now officially GUERILLA KNITTERS!

Kalamazoo Antiques Show

It's been quite a while since I've attended an antiques show, and even longer since I exhibited at one. Although I doubt I'm going back to actually doing shows as an exhibitor, it sure was fun to wander and catch up with old friends at this show.

There was a full house of dealers, 65 total to be exact. And Promoter Linda Cross had a waiting list. Here in Michigan, the antiques business is slowly coming back from it's stagnant state of the past few years, and more and more dealers are willing to do shows.

This two day show showed a strong attendance in the first few hours, and people were buying. Small antiques is what they were interested in. They weren't spending big money, but they didn't need to - there were many antiques and collectibles available at this show for super-reasonable prices.

Like the ones below:

This is a 1940s Roseville Snowberry vase, only $50. The dealer selling it didn't even know what the pattern was.

Antique furniture doesn't show up at Michigan shows as much as it used to, mostly because it hasn't been selling. But there were a few dealers at this show who bravely brought furniture. The quarter-sawn oak sideboard above was beautifully refinished, and a steal at $495. Something comparable in contemporary furniture at the same quality level would be three times the price.

For those who love the 1950s, this five piece bold yellow dining set was a fabulous buy at only $275. Let's see - that would be less than $60 per piece. Try to find THAT at a local furniture store. It got a lot of attention, yet it was still on the floor and available when I left the show.

There were many more good buys, like the Royal Doulton set of four dinner plates in the classic Indian Tree pattern for only $10 each. And there was lots and lots of really fun costume jewelry for under $20 - perfect for gift giving. I was able to buy a few items for my Red Moon Antiques shop, and will be posting them next week. But overall, this was a great place to shop, whether you are looking for Christmas gifts or buying for resale. I had a blast, and it was good to see old friends again.

If you are shopping for something different for Christmas gifts, don't pass up your local antiques show - you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you'll find, both for yourself and for loved ones. Remember - buying an antique means you are recycling!

The Prayer Shawl

A few months ago, I finally managed to get to one of my knit group's get-togethers. My attendance this past summer had been sporadic, mostly because I wasn't willing to leave Tom alone for more than a couple hours.

But he was having a good day, and he encouraged me to go. The group was having a going away party for Mary Adrian, who had just taken a great job in another state.

When I arrived, I was quite surprised when all the gals gathered around me and handed me a gift bag. Inside was a beautiful blue prayer shawl. It's tradition in this group to group-knit a prayer shawl for any member having a rough spot in their life, and the ladies each took turns lovingly knitting on my shawl and saying a prayer for me at the same time. I was overcome by their generosity and compassion. Lots and lots of tears. It meant so much.

The photo below shows the members of the group at the going-away party. Several who actually knitted on my shawl weren't able to attend that day. I am thankful for such wonderful, caring friends. That's the party girl Mary Adrian front-left, and me in my beautiful shawl on the right.

I took the shawl home and showed it to Tom. I was in tears again; the emotions that shawl released were overwhelming. He understood - and gave me a huge hug. I wrapped that shawl around both of us, and we just sat there holding on to each other for a long, long time.

These past months I wore the shawl when I was feeling down. Our journey became increasingly rough, and I would wear it even when it was way too hot to wear a shawl. It was very calming to me, mostly because I knew how much love was being shared when it was being made.

When we went to Ann Arbor in early September, I didn't take it with me. After all, we were just going for a quick consultation with a pain specialist - I had no idea that Tom would be admitted to the hospital, and that we wouldn't be returning home that day.

After two weeks in the hospital, I managed to get back home for a few hours of bill-paying, paperwork catch-up and cat checking. I saw the shawl as I was walking out the door to return to Ann Arbor, and threw it over my shoulder. I can't explain why I did that. Somehow it just seemed like it was necessary. At that moment, I had no idea that Tom wouldn't be coming home.

Two weeks later, I was holding Tom's hand when I realized that he needed my prayer shawl. I tucked him in it as he was sleeping. I knew it was going to be his last weekend on this earth, and felt much better sharing my comforting, prayer-loaded shawl with the most important person in my life. He slept, with me holding his hand, surrounded by that beautiful shawl.


That weekend, his sons came up from Florida. He slept some of the time, resting some of the time with his eyes closed, but was awake frequently. He was fully aware that they were there with him, and although he wasn't able to talk much, he was able to communicate with them with hugs and hand motions.

One of his sons brought a new photo of our youngest granddaughter, Shaylen, with her newly-discovered Mona Lisa smile. That last morning, I tucked the photo next to his hand, above the prayer shawl. Even though he was sleeping, he knew what I'd done. He squeezed my hand, showing me that he realized I was sharing with him things which are important to us - friendship, love and family.

I miss him. He's in my heart, every moment. But it's sure not the same as having him sit with me on the sofa. I'm okay with his leaving, but I wish with all my heart that he was still here. That he was able to squeeze my hand so strongly just moments before he died was a special, one-of-a-kind gift - it meant he knew where he was going, and he was saying goodbye.

I love you, Thomas.

Scream Therapy??

Well, I gave it my best shot. I tried scream therapy, thinking that some extreme-loudness while in the shower would make me feel better.

The first scream was less than impressive - since I haven't done much screaming in my life, I'm just not very good at it. It was sort of squeaky, and my volume wasn't anything to be proud of. I still had lots of hot water left, so I gave it another go. Absolutely pathetic. Maybe I'm not doing it right (there's a "right" way to scream???), but I sounded like one of my cats when I accidentally step on her tail. More tries, sounding worse than better, and I suddenly thought about what Tom must be thinking: "The woman's gone completely nuts. Who screams in the shower??" Tom used to sing, badly, in the shower.

That thought brought a big smile. He couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. But it was a good memory. Maybe scream therapy isn't going to work in the traditional sense, but since it brought me a small giggle and smile, I guess it's working backwards. That seems to be my story right now - so much of my life seems backwards since Tom died - so it must be okay to scream and then end up smiling at how stupid I must sound.

I've been staying busy with "stuff." Mostly it's things I have-to-do - paperwork, phone calls, re-arranging our accounts, etc. My brother has been here for several days, and is helping me with chores around the house, plus errands that must be done. I'm still mostly operating on auto-pilot, but I'm sure looking forward to that time when I can do some want-to-do-things instead. Soon. Maybe. Right now, auto-pilot is keeping me going. That's okay.

After reading Tom's obituary, several of you wrote me asking how you can donate in Tom's memory towards his Masonic Lodge, or how you can help with funeral expenses. Thank you for your kind offers. I'll leave the "Helping Tom" PayPal donate button up for another week for those who wish to help. If you could specify which is your preference - Tom's Masonic Lodge or funeral expenses - I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for all your wonderful support. It's been a rough 18 months. After my stroke, Tom and I decided that God must have a plan. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. Little did I know that God's plan was to have me take care of Tom while he battled cancer. This past year allowed me to find courage in the face of true adversity, and to love Tom even more than I thought possible. Sometimes, when you think you are dealing with the worse possible situation, you actually find out that good things can come out of bad. It definitely happened for us.

And now, off to bed for me. There's an emergency candy bar waiting on my nightstand. Chocolate has become my new best friend.

A Good Day

We said goodbye to Tom today.

So many good friends showed up at the Masonic hall. Tom's former co-workers, our old friends from law enforcement days, my knitting friends, our antiques dealer friends, Tom's fellow massage therapists, our neighbors, and so many of his Lodge brothers all came to honor him. Even our attorney was there.

A large photo of Tom, centered in a huge wreath of woodland theme, was center stage. I'd love to show you a photo of that wreath - it was very "Tom". It was lovingly designed by one of his former windows clients, a floral shop he'd done business with for more than ten years. They knew him well and captured his woodsy character. I loved it. Masons aren't comfortable with cameras within their Lodge room, so no photo. But that really wasn't important - what was important was the beautiful celebration service the Masons presented their fellow brother. The thoughtful eulogy showed a strong emphasis on Tom's willingness to help others in need, as well as his dedication to the Masons. Through the tears, I couldn't help but smile - Tom did love to help others, and it was so comforting to me that he was recognized for that great trait.

I hold close to my heart the special appearance by a long-time friend who never attends funerals. He just doesn't do funerals. Never. I've know this about him for 30 years, and never ever did I expect to see him walk in the door. That he would honor Tom and me with his presence was like a warm blanket around my soul - it meant so much.

The spaghetti dinner made by the Masons, complete with dessert, was excellent. The portions were huge, leaving hardly any room for dessert. I wasn't very hungry, so I did it backwards - a lovely large piece of chocolate cake for an appetizer, then salad as my main course. Never got to the spaghetti - I just didn't have room. Well, that's what I told everyone. But really, my appetite just hasn't quite yet returned. It will soon. In the meantime, my scale is appreciative - I've lost eight pounds in the past three weeks. Positive things happen in strange ways.

Surrounded by all that Tom-love from our friends was overwhelmingly wonderful. Lots of good tears, and plenty of smiles and laughter too. Only 90 minutes in all, from the beginning of the service until the end of lunch, but it's helping me heal. Sure, it's going to take time to find my place in this world again. But I carry Thomas everywhere with me, and that's my balance point.

One more thing.

Tom is still helping others. His corneas have been donated to two people who desperately need that special gift. Somewhere out there, there's pieces of Tom that will be giving sight for years to come.

It was a good day.

Thomas Duane Pulsipher 1952-2009

Thomas Duane Pulsipher
August 29, 1952 - October 6, 2009

Tom passed away softly, without pain, from esophageal cancer at U of M Hospital on Tuesday, October 6, with his wife Beth holding his hand. He was born August 29, 1952 and raised by parents Ada and Duane Pulsipher in Muskegon, Michigan. He lived a full, happy life – over the years he was a Corrections Officer for the State of Michigan, a Motor Carrier Officer for the Michigan State Police, in grounds maintenance for the Kalamazoo Country Club, and also self-employed as a fulltime partner in his wife Beth's antiques business, as well as his own businesses in commercial window washing and as a Certified Massage Therapist. He was a hard-working man who was always willing to help others. Tom loved to travel, and made friends everywhere he went. His laughter was contagious, and he enjoyed friendships with people from all walks of life. His hard-fought battle with cancer lasted 12 months, and he proudly participated in successful trial studies that will help others in their own cancer fight. Besides his wife Beth, he leaves behind his sons of whom he was so proud - Shawn (Shannon) and Shane (Janette) of Florida, grandchildren James, Skyla and Shaylen, mother Ada and sister Debbie (Bob) of Muskegon, and brother-in-law Andy Chernecki of Detroit. He was preceded in death by his father, Duane.

Cremation has taken place. Services will be Friday, October 9, at 11 am at Kalamazoo County Masonic Center, 4371 West U Avenue, Schoolcraft (1/8 mile west of US 131). Please join us in celebrating Tom's life, and for a light lunch after the service. Arrangements provided by Avink Funeral Home Cremation Society (www.avinkcremation.com), Schoolcraft, and the Kalamazoo Anchor Lodge #22.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Kalamazoo Anchor Lodge #22 at KCMC. He loved his Masonic brothers and all their good works; his family requests that you honor his memory by helping them help others.