by the Mischief and Mayhem Crew - Sweetie, Etude, Gentle Mouse, Rondo

Today we are sharing a little of Grammy's story and her volunteer knitting.

Grammy D is our dear old Grammy at Mischief and Mayhem Central.  She took up knitting again after the turn of the millennium... but had been a knitter and crocheter in her early years.  Other occupations kept her busy during those early years too... calligraphy, stained glass and flower arranging being just a few of them but working with yarn was her passion.

This love of using the hands all started when she was a toddler watching her own Grammy (aka. Nana).  Nana was never idle.  She started her morning with a cup of tea, buttered toast, a set of knitting needles and yarn.  She knit socks for Grammy's dad, and mittens for all the grandkids in between helping care for those same children.  Grammy D's own mama knitted for her own babies as they came along but then life got too busy with such a hectic household... 3 then 4 generations all under one roof ... there wasn't enough time in the day for such 'idle' occupations.

Well, Grammy D from now on we'll just call her D, a young adult, took a course in knitting and crocheting, picked it up quickly and began teaching it a year later at a community high school.  At the time she preferred to crochet focusing on handmade blankets, baby outfits until finally a bill-paying career took off and all else was set aside.

It wasn't until illness side-lined D and her idle fingers were itching to be active that she began to crochet again.  Crocheting soon became difficult with an arthritic thumb so she switched to the gentler activity - knitting.  The rest is history.

To start us off we have a slideshow of projects Grammy D has knitted as a volunteer for a local hospital.  All made for the Adult Cancer ward and the hospital's NICU.    Only a small sampling of the items is shown here.  In addition, I, Sweetie, added in my doggy friends that Grammy knitted for.

Each hat for the cancer ward has been made unique by using different coloured yarn combinations and stitch patterns.  An attempt has been made to make the gowns unique.  Different stitch patterns were created for the neck, sleeve cap and/or skirt of the gowns and the  ribbon colours vary.    Click here to watch the video slide show.

We'll share Grammy's knitting for clients and friends another time. 

Enjoy!

By Sweetie at Mischief and Mayhem Central

Hi, friends. 
One of our feline friends recently passed on.  Murphy (or the Murph as Grammy would call him) was a respectable 20 years old.   May 22, 2001 - June 10, 2021   He is survived by his sister Bella and Mom and Dad who miss him so very much.


We have few memories of him.  Grammy and Malcolm spent time caring for him, Bella and Granddad while Mom and Pop were on vacation a couple of times.  

But then, back a few years ago - about 5, we think - we all went to visit Aunty L and stayed for about a month.   Grammy was having some work done on her condo and so we were trundled off to visit and enjoy our 'summer vacation', so to speak.   Well, it was an adventure. 

We girls took it all in stride but Rondo and Etude were freaked out when they were housed in a separated room from us girls. You ask why we were separated?  Well, we had different diets and Grammy thought it would be easier for Aunty L.  It might have been, if not for our brothers, the fraidy cats. 

There was a stranger cat outside their glass door.  Who was this bold fellow staring at them through the window pane?  Yes, it was Murphy... the mancat of the house... and we were intruding on HIS domain.   And yes, our big brave brothers who outweighed the Murph by a good 7 or 8 pounds each... were intimidated.  SO, it ended up all five of us hunkered down in one small room and were all fed the girls' food.  Not so convenient for us girls but hey, we managed.

The big memory of that vacation was Mousie's adventure.  She managed to sneak past Aunty L and got into the nether reaches of the basement.  Poor Aunty L was so upset and worried that she feared Mousie had gotten outside.  Fortunately not.  The little mischief was roaming around the furnace, plenum and pipes.  Grammy went over to help look for her, thought she could hear footsteps on the pipes and decided to spend the night on the bed with us instead of upstairs in a comfy bed. Sure enough, in the wee small hours she heard scratching at the entrance to the furnace room. AND our wee adventure-cat Mousie had resurfaced.  She was hungry, thirsty and tired and headed straight for the food dish and water bowl before curling up for a long nap. 

Well, this morning's blog is really about Murphy so why don't you settle back and check out our video here.  

Just one more thing... the Murph will always be in our hearts. 

Created and written with love, Sweetie. 

Comments are welcomed.