Put a "maño" in your life

My brother-in-law modelling for MQP.

This is going to cost me (as we say here in Spain) blood, sweat and tears as the translation of this post is extremely difficult for me and it could happen:

a) That you find it as amusing as I do because you understand Spanish humour or you can make any sense of it.

b) That after reading a few lines you ask yourself: what the hell is she talking about, for Clone’s sake?

Anyway, here we go!

This is one of my favorite patterns. 

I made an arrow hat for my father’s birthday two years ago and I’m planning to make more as I love the results, schedule permitting.

The yarn that I used is a tweed blend of wool, silk and viscose and, as you can see, it makes the stitches pop out

so that you can really appreciate them.

The pattern is from This crafting life. Click here if you’re interested.

Now, my father… He is from Zaragoza, the capital of a Spanish autonomous region called Aragón. People from Zaragoza (mainly) are called “maños” (pronounce it with a French “gn” as in cognac, “magnos”).

Well you know what happens, people from here and there are like this and that… and the maños are said to be stubborn and frank people.

As they say of themselves:

• The “maños” are not as they are but as they think they should be.
• The “maños” are not obstinate, it’s the wall’s fault not to get out of the way.
• They are not boisterous but cheerful people.
• The “maños” do not grumble, they think out loud.
• The “maños” are no short-foreheaded, they just happen to wear oversized berets.

And so on…

Years ago a family friend re-named my father as “Mañodriguez”:  Maño + Rodriguez (our surname). That's saying something, don't you think?

But I don’t think that being stubborn or frank is a bad or negative feature.

Being stubborn has allow him to give us (my sisters and me) a good start in life as there have been loads of difficult times in which he’s fought for his family as a lion.

By being frank you always know that he means what he says and that he says what he means. Thus there are no second interpretations. In addition, this has allow him to validate business contracts by shaking hands. “My word, my honour” he would say.

If you ask him the impossible he would put the world upside down until he finds it, whatever it is. The conversation we had yesterday after lunch is a good example of it: I was talking about the idea of dyeing and spinning yarn myself and we began talking about different types of raw materials that I could start with and where I could buy it.

Suddenly his face brightened as he had the perfect solution: he could have a word with a Peruvian friend and ask him to find and send to me alpaca handcarded batts. Can you imagine? Alpaca batts directly from Peru? Wow, that would be a dream come true but I think I’m just going to do some research about local wool sellers for a start.

If I let him do it he would bring the alpacas down to Spain, to my small patio, hahaha!

That’s Dad’s way!