Return to Nashville

A few days ago we mentioned that some of our musician friends -- specifically Danny Coots, Jerry Krahn, and Ike Harris, all Titan Hot Seven band members -- live in the Nashville, TN area. The band was performing at the Chilliwack, BC jazz festival when the flooding began. When they returned home, they found that Danny's and Jerry's homes had escaped damage; however, Ike's home was destroyed.

Jazz friends Liz and Kent Burrell sent the following e-mail:

Hello Jazz Friends,

We've all seen the news broadcasts and the horrific scenes of cars, buildings and people being washed away in Tennessee and surrounding areas. Several lives have been lost and thousands of people have lost homes and property. Nashville is home to many musicians including our friends Danny Coots, Jerry Krahn and Ike Harris from Titan Hot Seven. Thankfully, they and their families are safe but Ike's home didn't fare as well. This is a picture of the scene at 6:00 a.m. last Sunday. By 3:00 p.m. when Ike returned from the festival in Chilliwack B.C. Canada, the house was totally under water and everything was lost. His 1923 Steinway grand was flipped over with such force that the lid came off, went through the living room wall and knocked over the refrigerator in the kitchen.

There are many people who will need help in the days and weeks to come and there are centralized organizations to handle this assistance. However, Ike and his wife Mina and their son Brad obviously have immediate needs. (We've heard that they are staying with Danny and Kimberly Coots for the time being.) If you would like to help, a check in any amount would be greatly appreciated. Please make your check payable to Ike Harris and mail it to:

Jerry and Pam Krahn
321 Southwinds Drive
Hermitage TN 37076

Don Jones from The American Rag has graciously agreed to print an article in the next issue (to be sent out in early June). And there will undoubtedly be announcements and "pass the hat" fundraisers at up-coming festivals and other events. In the meantime, if you have other friends who might be inclined to help Ike and his family, please feel free to forward this email to them.

Thanks for your care and concern.

 We will be telling the story in the June issue. I didn't want to wait that long. If you are able to help Ike and his financially, we know he will appreciate it. If you are not able to help financially, please keep the family in your thoughts as they rebuild their lives.

On The Home Front

Yesterday I discovered that I have an addiction. That's right. My name is Cathie, and I'm an Orange addict. Not the fruit, the color.

My e-friend Andrea (Plays Well With Colors) recently posted a skein of yarn for sale that ranged from light yellow to orange/red -- with a range of oranges in between that made my heart beat like a bass drum! I pounced on that yarn faster than you can say "PayPal," and it arrived in the mail yesterday.

While petting this gorgeous yarn I realized that this has always been my favorite color. I don't think I've ever said so out loud; my normal answer to the favorite color question would be blue, or red, or whatever came to mind at the moment.

So why, when I was a teenager, did I want (and get) an orange carpet for my bedroom? And when the first Mustang came out, and a friend of Dad's parked his in our driveway one day, why did I stare at it with tears in my eyes? I've always assumed it was the car that I loved, but now I don't think so -- it was orange!! My favorite flower is the California Poppy -- you can see all of its colors in that skein of yarn. And my bird? Orange.

I believe I've proved my point. I will never again say anything other than orange is my favorite color. Yesterday, while petting a skein of yarn, I had an epiphany, and my life is forever changed.

Tom Lord's Jazz Discography

Don let me know that Tom Lord has a link to The American Rag Online on his site and requested that we reciprocate, which I will do next time I update our web site. In the meantime, I took a look to see what Tom has done. Here's the lead-in on his site:

"Everything you need to know about virtually any jazz record ever released.

The Jazz Discography gives you accurate, detailed information on over 100 years of recorded jazz in all genres."

".. a treasure trove full of surprises that will fascinate any student of American music eager to know the most recorded songs, the most recorded musicians, and the nature of jazz itself" - The Wall Street Journal

Take a look for yourself -- Tom Lord - The Jazz Discography.

On The Home Front

It was pretty quiet around here today. I finished the binding on the new lavender bag and listed it in my Etsy store.  I also posted a note, with a photo, on Plurk, and was told by a friend that she had made a bag just like it -- from instructions on the Better Homes and Gardens web site.  Well, it was fun while it lasted!

After promising myself that I wouldn't buy any new yarn for a month or two, I read Sheri's Loopy Ewe blog last night and joined the 6-week challenge to knit a tank/short sleeve sweater before July 1. Earlier I had admired a "Featherweight Cardigan" that someone had just finished, and decided to make it for the challenge. It looks just like it's name -- featherweight --  is knit with Malabrigo lace yarn, and is waist length with 3/4 length sleeves. Looks like it would be perfect for nights in Mammoth. And how could I resist a 20% discount on anything Malabrigo?

Here's a picture of the Featherweight Cardigan from Hannah Fettig's pattern.

Not Ready for Prime Time

It's all about The Home Front today because I've been so busy working on project bags, I have no idea what's happening in the jazz world today. Sorry.

Here's the not ready for prime time portion of the blog -- the newest bag. As you can see, it isn't ready to be listed on Etsy just yet. I need to hand-stitch the binding, and then it will be listed with the others. Tomorrow cutting will commence for at least three more in different fabrics.

That's it for today. Don is working in his office, Elmo and the dogs are asleep, and I'm heading to Mom's house to check out her new computer monitor.

Tennessee Flooding

Our friends in Tennessee have had a rough few days with thunderstorms, flooding, and tornadoes. The American Rag staff are holding our friends in that area in our hearts and hoping they'll be able to ride out the storms with little or no trouble.

On the Home Front

I finished another Mary Engelbreit fabric 7-pocket bag this morning and listed it in my Etsy store. There are now five bags available there: three Mary Engelbreits and two in different styles. More of the 7-pocket bags will be available soon -- I have one in purples ready to put together tomorrow. I'm also thinking about putting 6 pockets inside a few to make them even handier for use as project bags, totes, or purses. We'll see how that goes. There's also some really cute cat fabric calling my name at the local quilt shop.

In other news, I took a serious look at the completed nine rows of the Evenstar shawl. I had put in a lifeline at that point, so, theoretically anyway, it should have been correct. Well ..... there were the correct number of stitches on the needle, and there were stitch markers in what I thought were the right places, but somehow, when I started to work a row, there were not the right number of stitches between markers. I have no idea why I'm not able to do a row correctly on this gorgeous shawl pattern, but it just doesn't seem possible. So, I've frogged the nine rows and put the yarn away for another day, and possibly another pattern. Sigh ....

Now, since the TV in the family room isn't working -- we have sound but no picture -- I'm going to partake of my other favorite pasttime, and do some reading. I'm almost finished with John Grisham's "The Partner," and all the pieces are coming together.

Time Flies

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I blogged. We've finished the May issue of The American Rag (52 pages this month) and if you haven't received it yet, you will soon. The copy we mail to ourselves to judge delivery time arrived yesterday. There's a ton of color in this issue, and I think it looks great!

On the Home Front

Quilting is still really slow. I've had maybe four quilt jobs in the last month. The Gammill is still listed for sale in a couple of places and I'm seriously thinking about listing it on eBay. I change my mind every time a job comes in and I get to play with designs again. It's a lot more fun since the Creative Stitch program came out.

I haven't been making quilts myself, but have kept the Baby Lock busy making project bags. In fact, I've opened an Etsy store for them. Two are listed there, with three more ready to sew. Three sold to friends before I had a chance to list them there. I think I'll be changing the design a little to put more pockets inside. Average size is 12" wide x 11" high x 3" deep.

On the knitting side, I've finished another pair of socks. Nothing fancy, just stockinette stitch with Austermann Step yarn -- the one infused with aloe and jojoba oil. I started the Brandywine shawl for the third time (!) and finally caught on to the pattern. There's one visible mistake, but it's below the first lifeline, so I'll live with it. And I've started the WendyKnits pattern socks from The Loopy Ewe Sock Club. It's a nice, easy pattern with super soft yarn, but going very slowly due to time-consuming bag production.

Spring has sprung in the desert and the yard is looking great. The roses are blooming now, and the trumpet vine will be blooming in another week or so. Don and I are both fat and sassy and feeling fine. We're looking forward to vacationing before and during the Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee in July.