Ruby Rose

AWOL.  Absent without leave.

It's been two months since I've been here so I have a lot of catching up to do.  The good news is that my absence has been all for good reasons.  I've been busy engaging my life, loves, family and friends...and the chair in front of my computer has been so empty it had dust on it.

Jim, Jack and I traveled to Kyoto and Tokyo for ten days in July and I've been busy traveling, embroidering, exploring and enjoying life.  I'll do my best to get caught up on posts since there's a lot of experiences I'd love to share.

Rather than go chronologically, let's just join the movie already in progress.  This week, Jack was center stage as he had requested that I make him a very specific hat and sweatshirt.

I did what any sewing mother would do whose son hadn't asked her to make anything for him in over...umm, let's just say...five years or more.  I dropped everything in order to meet his request.

It turns out, Jack is a big fan of a Rooster Teeth animé-style internet show called RWBY (pronounced "ruby") which has four main characters loosely inspired by the classic fairy tale characters and the colors Red,White, Black and Yellow.  Jack's favorite is the red character Ruby Rose who dresses in black with a red-hooded cape...



And whose logo is this trademark fiery rose...



This weekend Jack is going to the Rooster Teeth (RTX) convention in Austin TX with a friend from school.  Lots of attendees dress up as their favorite characters called cosplay.  Jack didn't want to wear a full costume; just wanted to show his support for his favorite character so he requested a hat and hoodie combination.

Jack has taken to wearing a beanie pretty much every day.  It helps to tame his thick hair so I set about to knit him a beanie in a linen/cotton blend for summer wearing...




I used this free pattern from Jared Flood on Ravelry based on a recommendation from Wae at my local knitting store, Cloverhill Yarns.



Since Jack wears his beanie tilted back from the crown of his head, I didn't want too tight of a ribbed band so I used the same needle for the entire hat instead of dropping down three needle sizes as recommended in the pattern.  This was a mistake so I'm going to re-make him one where I only drop down two sizes.

That being said, the hat turned out great and it was the first time I had ever tried the Tubular Cast On.  It makes a wonderful cast on edge for a ribbed band and I'll be using that idea over again.  Highly recommend.



Next up was trying to figure out the best way of transferring the logo to the hat.  I decided against designing a hat with the rose knitted into the pattern (not my forté) and embroidering directly onto the knitted stitches using duplicate stitch wouldn't give me enough detail.

Eventually I decided to embroider the logo onto 100% wool felt.  Since wool felt is expensive, I basted just the amount I needed for my design onto inexpensive muslin and cut away the muslin from the felt...

This is often used when embroidering onto little bits of very expensive materials such as silk gauze where you don't want to waste the fabric by needing to stretch it into a hoop.

Next up, I used my old favorite of tissue paper design transfer.


 I fall back on this method time and time again.
 

It's not the quickest but it allows me more control over the detail of the design transfer.  It also gives me a nice outline for the outside edge of stitches...



I used one strand of Au Ver a Soie silk floss in random long and short stitch with all the stitches directed to the center of the rose...



After I finished the embroidery, I cut it out and appliqued it onto the top of the knitted beanie...



It worked out better than I expected so I would likely use this technique again.

Summer Flashback: Expression of the Day

Sour...

Brought to you by Katie, Linz and Jack's favorite candy...Warheads.

August 2012 -- Jack Pre-Beard

Eighteen and Falling

About six months before the day and feeling very proud of myself for thinking ahead, I asked Jack what he wanted to do for his 18th birthday. 

"Go skydiving."

Now he had been saying that since he was fourteen but up until now it hadn't been an issue because you have to be 18 years old to go skydiving.  But this year, well...he was going to be 18.

It was still a long way off until his birthday in August so I put it out of my mind thinking he's likely to forget.

Come Summer, we realize our whole family is going to be at the beach for his birthday.  

So I re-ask the question, making some suggestions of activities that all the kids could do...I mean, he and my oldest niece are the only two old enough to skydive... 

"Hey Jack, what do you want to do for your birthday?  Do you want to parasail, rent jet skies, what?  Want to do something with all your cousins?"

"I want to skydive."  Oh boy.  He hadn't given that up.

So I did some research.  

I found a place for tandem jumps that flies out of the Ocean City Municipal airport and NO accidents to date.  

That's good but there's always a first time right?  

So I watched a ton of their videos and read the online reviews.  I liked how much they shared online and that transparency made me feel more confident.  

I made the reservation.

For both of us.  

Hey, I was there when he was born so if he was going to leave this earth on his 18th birthday, I was going with him.  

Poor Jim.  

He was not about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane but he had the harder job of watching the two people he loves most in the world hurtle toward the earth.

My oldest niece decided to jump as well.  We spent at least a half hour watching videos and reading disclaimers of the many different ways that people and equipment could fail leading to death, dismemberment and/or paralysis.

Jack signed without hesitation.    My niece and I read every word and decided to go anyway despite the fact that we were surely going to die.

Unfortunately for my niece, she had to go first with some dude she didn't know.  She was very brave...

 

and she lived!! She was up and back before we had even left the ground.

She loved it!  And said that the scariest part of the whole thing was being told all the different ways that she could die. 

One down, two to go.

Now it was our turn.

We kissed goodbye to our precious family...

And headed across the tarmac to board the plane.

The two men that were jumping with us were awesome.  

Jack had Top Gun (his name is Josh)...

And I had Ponytail Dude (Daniel).  

I couldn't be happier since I felt like I knew both of these guys from watching all their videos. They always looked like they were having so much fun (you'll see what I mean in the videos) and Daniel's ponytail was always flying straight upward hence my nickname for him...

I was a little worried about Jack because he was so tall and a bit bigger than Top Gun...he had to duck his head...

And fold himself into the airplane...

Only so he could unfold himself when we got to 10,000 feet and it was time to jump.  

One minute he was there...

And the next minute he was gone...

I haven't seen him smile that big in years. Check it out.  He smiles the whole way.

Once his parachute opened, Top Gun pointed to a black dot in the sky...

"See that dot there, Jack?" 

"That's your Mom."

Meanwhile, I had expected to have any number of scenarios...feeling like I was going to throw up, body quaking from fear, etc.

What I didn't expect was the pure rush of adrenaline and unbridled joy.  

It was indescribable really.  I was awe-struck, experiencing intense wonder and amazement at rapid-fire speed. 

If I had died in that moment, it would have been beautiful. 

I've never experienced anything like it.  

I had expected to be scared witless, counting every second until the chute opened.  

Nothing was further from the truth.  

When the chute finally did open, I was a bit disappointed because the intense exhilaration ended and the experience shifted.  

The parachute-assisted ride to earth was like a lazy, afternoon stroll in comparison to the free-fall, belly-diving "trip" before.  

After landing safely, it was a lot to take in.

And my strong, silent Jack was back...

Right beside his non-silent Mom.

What a birthday.  

Almost as good as the one eighteen years ago.  

Almost...

Leaving Home and Coming Back

At last. 

I have come home again to my blog.  Time to clear out the cobwebs, dust off the keyboard and re-engage with my online life.

As with any break from routine, there is lots to catch up on so I won't waste any more time.

The biggest event for this Mom of One was sending my only off to college.

On Labor Day weekend, Jim and I drove the 6.5 hours to Boston to drop Jack off at Northeastern University where he has begun studies in their College of Computers and Information Sciences...

The drop off itself took minutes really.

The school provides these big moving carts designed to hold all your life's necessities...

It was a busy weekend in Boston with many apartment turnovers occurring on September 1 but there was little traffic getting to the University and getting parked.  Honestly, it took about 20 minutes total.

His dorm room is long and narrow.  It's a good thing that their beds are lofted because they wouldn't fit otherwise.  

He is lucky to be on a corner so he has three windows and a nice view of the street below...

There are two metro stops on his campus which makes getting around Boston a piece of cake.  And the Museum of Fine Arts is directly across from his college and two blocks away from his dorm.

We've already taken advantage of that blessing quite a bit.

After running to Target for a few extras, Jim snapped a quick pic to mark the moment...

And then he was gone...

Jim and I left Boston to travel the two hours to spend the rest of the weekend in Brattleboro, Vermont.  A wonderful trip full of fabric and good food!

There's a very special person I like to visit when I go to Brattleboro.

Along the way,  we found ourselves on Route 111 for a stretch and I took that as a good sign.  One-Eleven has been a very special number for me and my family since my Mom passed away in 2008.

As for Jim and I...

It's back to long walks, dinner for two, movie nights and anything else that strikes our fancy.  We recognize this place and we like it.  A little older, a little out of practice, but beautiful just the same.

We haven't heard much from Jack.  He wasn't a big talker while he was living here and now that he's not...well...

It's quiet.  

I'm thinking we might find out how his first year of college was in about 10 years.  

Hey, anything we hear before then is a bonus!

As for me, I have lots to get caught up on...

I'm finishing up my Japanese Embroidery piece, Eternal Grace...

And Mrs. Rose wants to tell you her story in the next few weeks...she's been far too patient!

Scotland makes its vote for Independence on Thursday which makes me want to finish processing my pictures and book from last year...

And I have many photos and stories to share from our Summer while I was taking a break from technology.  

Looking forward to catching up with all of you and our needle community.  It's good to be back.