A Very Special Man

During the Christmas season I try to find time to reflect on where I am at in my life and think about those people who are special to me, and have made a difference in my life.  Although both my in-laws fit this bill, today I want to focus on my father-in-law.  Almost 80 years old, he lives every day with passion and energy.  A long retired architect, my father-in-law is a family man and supportive member of our family.  He takes an avid interest in each of his seven grandchildren and texts with them, and shows up to their soccer games. He reads his newspaper on an iPad and has his computer figured out.  He even plays a mean game of golf.  He is a passionate traveller and has visited many areas of the world.  

I could keep going on but today I wanted to focus on his artistic skill.  Over the years he has gifted many of his stained glass creations to not only his family members and friends, but also has completed stained glass windows for his church (and those windows were completed in the last few years).  He just doesn't stop.  I thought I would share some of the pictures I have taken over the years of his work.  Sometimes we give him a picture of a stained glass we have seen on the internet as inspiration and sometimes he uses his own ideas. These are just a few stained glass pieces he has done over the years.

He tried to teach me how to do stained glass years ago but I did not have the patience for it.  It is a very labour intensive craft and I am always amazed with what he accomplishes.

My father-in-law Jim and my son

This year I knit him a scarf, the No-Purl Ribbed Scarf, a free pattern by Purl Soho for Christmas using Madelinetosh Pashmina Worsted in the colourway Fog. This yarn is a merino, cashmere and silk blend, making it very soft on the skin. I always forget how long it takes to knit a scarf it but it was totally worth it for my father-in-law. I could not believe how much this scarf grew with blocking.  I had knit it to a length of 68 inches and after blocking it grew in length to 81 inches, a length that was way too long for my father-in-law.  I ripped some of it out and I will have to see if it needs a further adjustment.  It is my tiny way of saying thank you to an incredible man.