The Lost Boys of WW1 and Women Soldiers of the American Civil War

When I first heard about The Lost Boy Project, I thought it had something to do with the movie, The Lost Boys, starring Cory Feldman and Cory Haim. Ok don’t laugh

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the project focuses on the First World War, and explores the numerous young lives that were lost during that period. World War 1 was supposed to be the war to end all wars, wishful thinking…

I liked that The Lost Boys Project includes knitting to tell the history of those who fought in this particular war.

From the site…
Artists Michèle Karch-Ackerman and Barbara Pratt standing in front of Karch-Ackerman’s The Lost Boys, May 13, 2012. Photograph by Janine Frenken.

Michèle Karch-Ackerman’s Lost Boys is part of a nationally-touring installation ongoing since 2003. It explores the loss of young lives during the First World War and in particular, the Newfoundland regiment who fought in the battle of Beaumont Hamel. It weaves together the story of James Barrie’s Peter Pan with the stories of so many lives lost in the First World War, and expresses loss, remembrance and consolation.

 

Knit your own Lost Boys Project (WW1) Sweater

If you’re feeling crafting, you can knit your own Lost Boy Sweater. This Lost Boys Project is in Canada, but if it ever makes its way to our area, here in the USA, I’d attend. In Canada, over 68,000 people were killed during WW1.

I must say that this project has me thinking about the Civil War, especially about underage boys that fought during the war. As a child, I’d read accounts of young boys that lied about their age, so they would be able to fight. You also had women who lied about their gender to fight during the Civil War. They disguised themselves as men. I didn’t read about it in history books. I found that out on my own. Back in the 1970s (and 1980s) I had to do most of my research at the library.

 

In 1861, Sarah enlisted as a private in the Second Michigan Infantry. She used the name Franklin Thompson. Sarah deserted on April 19, 1863. She had malaria, and feared that hospitalization would reveal her gender.

 

 

Both the Union and Confederate armies forbade the enlistment of women. Women soldiers of the Civil War therefore assumed masculine names, disguised themselves as men, and hid the fact they were female. Because they passed as men, it is impossible to know with any certainty how many women soldiers served in the Civil War. Estimates place as many as 250 women in the ranks of the Confederate army.

I really love history, and have always been fascinated with the Civil War, and so I’m especially thankful for resources such as Mikes site, Daily Observations of the Civil War, that focuses on the Civil War.

 Resources

  1. National Archives: Women Soldiers of the Civil War

Photo Source

  1. American Civil War; Women Soldiers and Nurses of the American Civil War
  2. Fashionality

 

 

There are sheeple amongst us…

I saw this comic a few weeks ago…

I wish I knew where the OP received it, so I could link to the proper place…

Sheeple, they are amongst us! Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Flee, flee for your lives! Denethor makes that comment in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. What a punk, right? I must tell you, that comment never gets old — at least not for me.

I have so much to write about but recently my time spent online (outside of my client work) has been non-existent.

Let’s see, since it’s my daughter’s bedtime I’ll keep it short…

  • More canning has occurred.
  • I’ve wrapped up a few small knitting projects for instant craftification! ok… so that’s probably not a word, but it’s appropriate… isn’t it?
  • Taking a page from Curls & Q, I finally got my rear in gear and made a ‘project Binder’ for my fiber arts. I have the binder (and it looks plain and ugly) so I’ll be Opalifying it real soon! Yep another made up word — I’m on a roll!
  • One of my near instant craftification projects was a knitted dishcloth, my daughter has attempted to claim that as an ‘afghan’ for her Monster High dolls. But this dishcloth is part of a spa/kitchen set that I’m making for one of her school teachers. Homemade soap  (complete with organic dish liquid, shower gels, and body butters) will be made, for the teacher and others, within the next few weeks. I love this lacy dishcloth, and will post a photo of it soon.
  • My board meeting went fine, and my written report for that meeting was great!
  • Oh… my daughter has decided to go vegetarian for two weeks. I’ve been vegan since the early 1990s (still am) and she was vegan up until a few years ago… so it’s not a big transition to make her meals vegetarian or vegan.
  • Oh, I’ve taken tons of photos over the past week, I just need to find time to post them. 🙂

Edited to add…

Many thanks to Mike of Exit 78 for letting me know the origin of the above comic.

Photo Source: xkcd

 

Knitting: Lacy Fern Afghan Update; left side panel almost complete

We’ve all those days/weeks/months….

You’re so busy that it can be hard making time for yourself. The past few weeks have been like that for me, but somehow I still managed to squeeze a few minutes to work on some craft. That usually occurred a few minutes before my bedtime. And even though I haven’t had too much time for crafting during those few moments I’m able to get the creative juices flowing, and set aside time for myself.

 

Here’s the left side panel of my Lacy Fern Afghan.

 

Recently my creative time has been focused on knitting this Lacy Fern Afghan. I’m almost completed the left side panel. I still have the center panel, and the right side panel to complete. Because of my schedule, some days I only manage to do one repeat, or even a few small rows… but I cannot complain, I’m able to do many things I enjoy — even if (sometimes) it’s only in small doses. The left side panel of this afghan works like this; one repeat = 12 rows;  each row has 36 stitches. That adds up to a lot of stitches.There are 17 repeats that make up the left side panel.  I’m just starting repeat 14.

 

This is another shot of the left side panel. I really love the simple lacy design of the Lacy Fern Afghan. Although it’s a large project, it knits up quickly.

 

This afghan measures  45″ (114.3 cm)  so I’m almost completed the left side panel of my  Lacy Fern Afghan. If I’m not thrilled with the length at 17 repeats, I’ll go up to 20 repeats.

Since my skin is sensitive to most animal fibers I’m making this afghan with cotton yarn. The yarn is incredibly soft, and I’m looking forward to snuggling in this afghan during the cooler months.

The Lacy Fern Afghan can be downloaded for free. Depending on where you look, you might see it called another name; Hawaiian Lacy Fern Throw. The only error seems to be with the center panel, so be sure to check out the errata page for the Lacy Fern Afghan aka Hawaiian Lacy Fern Throw.

 

Soccer — keep moving

Yesterday was my daughter’s first soccer game.

She was a bit nervous, as were many on her team. Her team didn’t win, but they didn’t give up either. I told her that’s all that matters. I went on to say that after a while of playing together, her team will improve, and they won’t be as nervous.

The team they played against plays throughout the year, and it showed with how they played. Our girls are only together for the soccer season but as they practice together they’ll improve. I see this happen every soccer season, first games they’re getting into the groove. Last year they did extremely well, and went all the way to the championship matches.

Yesterday, I was planning on bringing some knitting to the game, but decided to wait. However, I’ll have my knitting with me next Saturday, after all I don’t need to look at simple knitting patterns to knit.

I love sports. I don’t like sitting on the sidelines, so you won’t see me watching it on television or attending a sports event — unless it’s my daughter playing. I played sports throughout school. I would say I was an aggressive player, and extremely competitive. I was also a team player. My daughter is a lot more laid back than myself, and I’m fine with that. I let her go at her own speed. She’s asked me to help her… and I will. A few years ago, we enclosed an area in fence, and it’s her ‘soccer field‘. I’m looking forward to attending her soccer games, cheering and knitting, and occasionally nudging her along, when I think she needs inspiration.

 

Knit your own QR code

Ok… how cool is this?

Make your own QR code

 

I made the above PR code…

Of course I saw this on Ravelry, the original poster posted about it, and also displayed a knitted QR code!

When you print it out it’s like a chart. Make each block a four stitches (2 high 2 wide) and you are set. I was amazed when it actually worked. Had to share it with my Raverly community.

Thanks for the knitted QR tip Lisa! Naturally I find this appealing, and am thinking of ways to add it to a few of my knitting (and other crafts too). Oh by the way, you can make your own free QR code at Kaywa QR Code. It’ll be cool to see what some crafty folks make, so I’m off to check out the Ravelry thread.

In other news…

Soccer season has started for my daughter. They’ve had several practices, and her team has their first game tomorrow. It’s about to get busier around these parts…

It’s all mine; knitted amigrumi snake

I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw Bentley with his knitted amigurumi snake. It seems they’re getting along famously right?

Would you look at that face? I can almost hear him saying… Mine!

It looks like I had nothing to worry about, his old snake has been replaced.

 

Don’t even think about taking my snake!

This amigurumi snake pattern can be found in the book, Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keene. This is my first knitted amigurumi project. I’ve made several crochet amigurumi. All the knitted amigurumi projects within the book are knitted flat, and then seamed. I worked this amigurumi snake on my circular needles. If I use this pattern again, I’ll convert it to a circular pattern using my DPNs. Yes, yes, I know I can use magic loop, yes I know how to do them, but I much prefer doing small circular work with my DPNs. For larger circular projects, I’m all about using my Knit Picks circular needles.

 

 

Sites I’m linking too…

  1. Tami’s Ami’s
  2. Wisdom Begins in Wonder