All about…Kara

You guys know my sister right?

Well, for those that do and for those that don’t, here is a random, itemized list all about her:

• Kara is 4 years my junior and pretty much idealized me while growing up (let’s be frank, I doubt this has changed much.)
• We share A LOT of the same obsessions: travel, knitting, sewing, urban living, young adult literature, all things British.
• I don’t really remember when this happened but at least post-High School graduation Kara has always been “the funny/clever/witty one”.
• Kara has way better hair than I do (but my toes are better than hers so it all evens out.)
• I once had a group of co-workers who labeled Kara “bad sister” because of the difference in how I talked to her on the phone as opposed to baby sister Bri (who was labeled: “good sister”.)
• Kara is not (and has never been) a “bad sister”.
• Kara is like a mama bear to her cubs when the people she loves are hurt or wronged. Lesson: don’t mess with Kara’s people.
• Kara’s last passport got so full she needed to expand the pages.
• Kara LOVED animals when she was a kid, so much so that she once declared herself a vegetarian but couldn’t make it stick due to a slight addiction to Chicken McNuggets.
• Kara still loves herself some Chicken McNuggets.
• And finally…today is Kara’s birthday!

Happy birthday to my beautiful, brave, creative, strong, adventuresome sister.  I am grateful every day that God saw fit to give you to me.  Love you Kara.

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Welcome Maggie

So my new niece Maggie arrived yesterday and last night I got to meet her in all her glory.  She is perfect.  Her mom (my sister) was such a trooper and managed to give birth and maintain perfectly coiffed hair (a newly discovered talent.)  Maggie’s birth has been a much anticipated event which was only heightened by the fact that Bri’s doctor told us it could happen about 3 weeks ago. So we have been waiting.  And waiting.

In the end though it was worth it.  I mean, how can you not love this face?

Meeting Maggie makes me want to quit my job and move in with Adam and Bri full time.  I wonder how much they’d pay for a nanny…?

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MS Walk Winner!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get my act together and post the winner of the MS donation drawing I had.  First off though, I have to give a huge thank you to everyone that donated.  I know money is tight and there are so many good causes to support and I am just so grateful for your kindness and generosity.  I will do my best to pay it forward.

So onto the winner.  I wrote out all the names and drew one out of a hat and the winner is…

Jacey!

Jacey is a girl after my own heart who loves knitting, sewing, cooking…basically we are BFFs waiting to happen.  I don’t know Jacey in real life which makes her contribution that much more impressive.  Thank you Jacey.  (Jacey: I have an email in to you so please send me your address and I will send you your fun prize.)

As for the walk, Kara did a perfect job recapping the day and since she shared the same pictures I would have I’ll just send you here to check it out.

And for those who want an update on the “contest” between my sister and I…technically, Kara won by $20.  Although I would argue that by throwing the gauntlet down in the first place, I encouraged Kara to seek more donations and thus I feel I can take some credit for both our success.    Next year though…just you wait.

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I love my brother and want to beat my sister (oh yeah, and you could win a prize!)

You hear me talk a lot about my sisters on this blog and many are surprised when I mention I have an older brother.  Well I do.  And he is a great one.  Brett loves chocolate and Star Wars, cooking and laughing at Kara’s jokes.  He loves his family more than anything and has raised 3 of my favorite people on the planet.

Brett was diagnosed with MS about 4 years ago.  His body is dealing with the disease as best as it can.  It is rough because when you have MS you really don’t know how it will affect you.  Every day you deal with what you are given and how your body will function on that day.  I suspect one of the hardest parts to handle is your mind which is forced to think about the uncertainty of a future under the shadow of a potentially debilitating disease.  There is no cure for MS.  At least not yet.

My bro in the Cobblestone I knit for him.

My family and I are participating in the local MS Walk a week from Saturday and I am humbly asking for your support to a really great cause…and an opportunity to win a awesome prize in the process.  All money donated is used to find a cure and support families who live with the devastating effects of the disease. Obviously this is a no pressure situation.  We all have a lot of good causes to support and our own personal financial situations to deal with.  I will still love everyone who comes to my blog whether you donate or not–although I think we all know who I will love more.  kidding

$5, $20…any dollars helps.  So this is what I am going to do.  If you are kind enough to donate (and you can do so here)–any amount, no matter the size–please let me know either by email (girlwhoknits@gmail.com) or in the comments of this post by Thursday, April 22 at midnight (MST) and I will enter you into a drawing for a super fun prize package.  I will cater the prize to your interests so knitters, sewists, and non-crafty types are all covered and I promise you will love it.  This is not a bribe, merely something I want to do to thank those who are able to help a sister (and her brother) out.

Final plea: If the chance at winning a super awesome package or just simple altruistic giving doesn’t do it for you then maybe you will be motivated to help me earn bragging rights in my family?  I would LOVE to be the one that earned the most (and actually reached her fundraising goal.)  And let’s be honest, really I just want to beat Kara. 

So please donate.  If you can.  Thanks.

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Meet Twinkles the Bear

So this past weekend Kara and I hosted our 6-year-old niece Ellie for a sleepover at my house.  Here is Ellie being officially welcomed via the vinyl chalkboard on my kitchen wall:

We picked up Ellie on Friday night, dined at Applebee’s, painted toe and finger nails, played the Fancy Nancy card game, made homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream shakes, watched the new Tinkerbell movie, and then all settled down for bed.  Come early Saturday morning, Ellie and I were watching cartoons and the thought came to me that perhaps it wasn’t the most exciting use of our time together.  I suggested a couple options for her to choose from (continue to watch TV, drawing pictures, perhaps a small sewing project) and she immediately jumped on the chance to sew.  We pulled out several sewing pattern books and started looking for the perfect pattern.  At first she was thinking she wanted a purse but then she saw a stuffed animal pattern and our search quickly narrowed.  Kara had joined us at this point and all three of us decided on this pattern:

The pattern is Peg Bear from One Yard Wonders.  Cute right?  Next step was picking fabric.  At first Ellie REALLY wanted the same fabric as the red polka dot Bear pictured in the pattern.  I actually happen to have that exact fabric in my stash but it is being saved for a particular project so I was hesitant to use it.  Luckily we found some other fabric in my stash that we all determined was even better.  Ellie was able to quickly see the vision of how cute the different fabric would be.  She is creative like that.

After a quick trip to JoAnn’s for some materials, we got started sewing in earnest.  Ellie helped with the pinning:

And the stuffing:

She had moments of pure happiness:

And even got a little stressed out:

In then end, it was all worth it for our work resulted in Ellie’s newest best friend, Twinkles:

I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun on a Saturday.  Ellie is a girl after her Aunts’ hearts as she kept exclaiming, “This is so fun” and “I LOVE this!”  Looks like the creating gene has bled to another generation.  We simply had a blast.  (The only damper on our day was knowing how much fun Ellie’s older sister Emma would have had if she too was with us.  Next time it is Emma’s turn.)

Ellie loves Twinkles for her perfectly hugable size, her adorable belly button and sparkly button eyes, and I hope partially because we created her together. We love you Twinkles.

Fun Fact: When Kara was little she used to have a pet bunny named Twinkles.  Ellie remembered the name and out of the blue decided to name her bear Twinkles in honor of her Aunt’s deceased pet.  She is a cute one that Ellie.

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These pies are too good for those spies*

*This title won’t make sense unless you are familiar with a certain commercial run in Hawaii in the late 80′s/early 90′s.  Points to anyone that can place it (no points to Kara though – I already know you know.)

So I made my first pie today. Actually, I made two.  (I am pretty much a pro now.)  I was most intimidated by the crust.  Not really sure what was so scary about it, but I was convinced it was going to be the hardest part.  I guess you could say I was right, but only because the rest of the pies were so easy to make.  So it was a little scary and I wasn’t sure I did it right but I am really quite pleased with how it turned out.  Want to see?

I am kind of in love with it.  So I made two pies, a pumpkin and an apple.  The end result didn’t look perfect by any means but they sure tasted yummy.

The other fun thing I got to do on Thanksgiving was wear this super cool turkey headband:

Jealous?

So my thanksgiving was great.  Lots of family and good food.  If nothing else however, my day of pie making opened up a whole new world of cooking that I hadn’t yet explored.  For that I thank you Thanksgiving.

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To the original crafter

When I was growing up, if you had told my Mom I would someday immerse myself in knitting, sewing and other crafty pursuits, I am pretty sure she would have laughed in your face.  I didn’t just not do crafts, I actively disdained them.  I groaned every time I had to wait around at the fabric and craft supply stores.  When she would proudly show off a doll she just made I would shrug apathetically and hope she wasn’t giving it to me.  I just didn’t get it.  (Sorry Mom.)

But now, things are different.  I finally get it.  Now I long to go fabric shopping with my Mom.  (And she is going to start knitting just as soon as we can have her first lesson.)  I still don’t really want one of those dolls she used to make (remember family, the ones with the really long wood legs and HUGE curly hair) but I now totally respect the talent it takes to flawlessly create one.  I am so happy the gene that makes me want to make stuff finally kicked in and I am grateful to my Mom for passing it along.

So to my original crafter, mother of 4, powerful teacher, talented creator, expert bargain shopper, loyal friend, and heart of our family…thank you for my life, for your example, for your awesome genes, and for your unconditional love.  Happy Mother’s Day.

I love you lots and lots and lots.

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Ohana Means Family

I have a hard time summing up my feelings about my visit home for Grandpa’s funeral.  The funeral itself was very profound, the time with my family was much needed–just being in Hawaii is a somewhat spiritual experience for me.  It was…wonderful.  Organized in sections, here is my attempt to document some of the highlights of the week.

FOOD

We ate all kinds of food that reminded us of grandpa.  Food like KFC, Chinese take out, Chantilly Cake, Kalbi Ribs, Kua’aina Burgers, and Hot Fudge Sundaes.

Yes, this is a lot of KFC. I believe we got a discount, although I think that was mainly because KFC found out grandpa had died–he was a good customer.

If you’ve never had Kalbi ribs before–specifically grilled by my Uncle Jim, then I am deeply sorry for you.

Chris really did eat the 8 pieces of Chantilly Cake on this plate.  And then he went back for seconds.

Side note: If you ever visit Hawaii, please make an effort to visit Liliha Bakery.  Just in case you are wondering what to order, it should be a Chantilly cake and/or–if you don’t have the space to store a whole cake–a Coco Puff (great blog about the tasty treats here.)  The topper of this divine pastry is a nice portion of their famous Chantilly icing (yum, yum, yum.) Liliha bakery also  has a small eating counter with diner like food on the menu. I hear it is good although I have always felt a wee bit too haole to sit at the counter.  My mom has though.  She’s local like that.

COUSINS

I feel pretty lucky to have so many memories and experiences with cousins who I genuinely like.  I am also pretty grateful that the ones who are married have given me some cousins-in-law that I am proud to call family.  All the cousins except the pregnant one (We missed you Jill!) were in Hawaii which served as a wonderful impromptu family reunion.

FAMILY TIME

We had a work party.

Picnic party.

Went for walks.

We took self portraits.

Some successful.

Some not so much.

GRANDPA

Of course, the whole reason we were there, and the meaning behind all the activities we shared, was to pay honor to the life of our Grandpa.  I was reminded of the good life he led and was inspired to look at my own life, reset my focus, and make some important changes.  I also committed to stay connected to some of my favorite people on earth.

My family.

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Grandpa H. 1918-2009

For those who don’t know, I grew up on Oahu in the State of Hawaii.  During my college years I remember visiting home one summer with a friend.  We went to go visit my grandpa one day.  He was out in his yard hard at work–wearing his coveralls of course.  He greeted my friend warmly and asked her if she had ever been to Hawaii before.  She said no, it was her first time.  He then lifted his arms and motioned to the beautiful green mountains so prevalent in the Manoa valley and enthusiastically said, “isn’t this paradise?”

Grandpa LOVED Hawaii.  Almost as much as he loved ice cream.  (You thought I was going to say my Grandma didn’t you?)  He loved faking us out and pretending he didn’t have the tickets to whatever show we were going to.  He loved his watch Mei Ling (yes, that is the name he gave the watch) which faithfully spoke the time to him for many, many years.  He loved dinners out–especially those that had salad and dessert included in the price–Grandpa loved a good deal.  Grandpa loved his faith and lived it with conviction–leading his life the way he professed to believe.  He loved his name, my name, and hoped all who bore it would always honor it.  He loved his children and grandchildren of which I am very proud to be one.  And of course, Grandpa loved, loved his classy wife, my Grandma.

Last night Grandpa passed away.  I knew it was coming, it was his time and I am happy for him, just feeling a little sad for me.  I wanted him to meet my future husband, to have my children know the man who was so influential in my life.  As I get older, the more I understand what he and my Grandma gave me and I am forever grateful for them both.

Dad, Me, and Grandpa in Hawaii last summer

I miss you already Grandpa.  Give my love to Grandma and Aunt Patty.  Paradise just won’t be the same without you.

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My Christmas Thorpe

Christmas day I decided to cast on for a quick project.  I had brought with me some yarn that I had been wanting to use for a while and my Knit Picks options needles–so really I had a lot of options.  After a little ravelry browsing, I decided upon the much knit Thorpe earflap hat.  My yarn was thinner than the suggested size so I had to knit with two strands and increase to more stitches but in the end I am pleased with the result.

I LOVE this yarn!

This project was super quick and easy.  I finished in two days.  It has cute long braids that make me feel like Heidi.  Very satisfying.  The day after I finished the hat I went out for a day of shopping, lunch, and movie with my family.  While waiting for some shopping to be completed by their parents, my nieces and I decided to play with my camera.  Our game was, the person taking the picture had to say an emotion and then the “models” had to show that emotion on camera.  I happened to be wearing Thorpe that day so in concert with this post I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Very mad:

So, so sad:

Surprise!:

Whatever:

Super fun activity to pass the time.  Okay, back to Thorpe…here are the stats:

Pattern: Thorpe

Source: Kirsten Kapur (free ravelry download)

Yarn: Plain and Fancy Sheep and Wool Co., Sport weight

Needles: US 7

Mods: Used sport weight yarn, knit with 2 strands, and increased until it seemed to be the right size (real scientific I know.) I also decreased a bit towards the end so the brim snugly fit my head.

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