Wise Craft

planted...

We did some agressive tidying in the front yard over the weekend. We need to do so so much more, but time is short, so we take it in baby steps and try not to make ourselves crazy with the list of what remains undone. Lucky for us, there are many plants in our yard that are well established, like this epimedium, and really don't need much from us. I love their heart-shaped leaves.

Ferns are some of my favorite plants and they do really well here in the pacific northwest. Our yard is full of them, and I find ways to tuck more in everywhere I can. I think of painting that urn every time I look at it, but I also kind of like it the way it is. Its one of those things I've had my whole married life.

A few plants made it inside over the weekend. And I finally made a terrarium, which I've always wanted to do-

As if the front yard were thanking us for the attention, flowers are blooming like crazy since we weeded and thoroughly watered over the weekend.

* I recently did the sweetest Q & A with Nicole of Kirei Nest about memorable gifts for a wedding or new home. It was so fun to remember all those things Peter and I received when we were married 15 years ago, thank you Nicole.
* I also did a little write up on nonchalant mom about finger knitting with Emma and Ian, a fun thing to pull out from time to time.

Tomorrow we are having a Bastille Day Story Trading gathering. We've got the Carla Bruni queued up on the Ipod Dock. I refuse to make snails.

house news

*I was feeling all posty yesterday, and wrote up a nice one, which was promptly eaten up by typepad for an afternoon snack, and, as mad as I was, I had to move on. But today I thought I would try it again. I'm so glad you all liked the tomorrowland trees. I'm thinking a kid version at some point. Emma is at such a great age to craft with these days, her ability to stick with a project pleases me to no end. She will be 10 soon, and although I feel weird about that (my child's a decade!), I think that being 10 looks from here to be about the best thing in the whole world. She starts a small sewing class on Monday and is really excited about it. I'm so happy to see that the sewing and knitting and general crafting that goes on around her hasn't turned her off completely (it tends to skips a generation in my family).

*My mom's birthday was recently, and I gave her one of my eight by eight pieces framed up. Something a mother would love. Things in square frames vs. rectangular make me happiest, not sure why that is.  I always envisioned these pieces floating in frames. I'm going to hang a few of my favorites in our bedroom when I finally take on the task of repainting it (one day). To be honest, I don't know if we'll actually finish the year of eight by eight projects we planned for ourselves. But its been a great challenge, even if it were to end now.

*A few of us started a small knitting group on Tuesdays and its given me a reason to pick up some needles again, which I seem to have an urge to do this time every year. I've been wanting to make a pair of toast wrist warmers for myself, and I had this Rowan Cashcotton DK yarn on hand (Pool #602), so I grabbed it and some double pointed needles as I headed out the door Tuesday afternoon. These are quick to knit and so cozy to wear, and completely usable (and cute!). I've already started on a second pair, for Peter, in black, to wear when riding the bike this winter (toast for men, but minus the fashionably slouchy effect). And there are plans for a third, which will be a charcoal gray pair for me. They are just that great. Nothing complicated, just good rhythmic calming knit stitches.

*I changed up the blog sidebars a bit. I always feel like there is so much information crammed into those sidebars, sometimes I feel like just making it all white space again. But, its now up to date with what I'm reading, listening to, and loving out in the land of blogs.

*Last night we discovered Live From Abbey Road, a series on the Sundance Channel. One of the featured bands happened to be one of Peter's favorite bands, The Fratellis, a clip of it is here. Good TV is hard to find, especially now that the election is over. I myself have become a podcast junkie as of late. My newest favorite would have to be All Songs Considered. Just in time, I had reached the outer edge of my Ipod and wasn't sure where to go next.

*I will talk politics here only long enough to say I'm happy, proud, and hopeful. And to say Peter just sent this up from the lower office, go have a look.

 

my morning mitts

Two things are on my mind this morning as I'm writing this; how this head cold I've had all week has really knocked me down, aaaaannnnd how I love finally finishing a project that was started long long ago but shoved in the back of the pile to sit idle for a year. (Both seem to cancel each other out, which works.) I started these fingerless mitts last year when I got The Knitter's Book of Yarn. The perfect sort of project to do while keeping one eye on the kids at their after school classes or at the park, and they are something I will actually use and wear. In fact, I'll probably end up needing more than one pair of them (you know, like sunglasses). My years of complicated, total-immersion knitting may or may not be behind me for now, but projects like this always catch my eye all because of their portability. (I did some crazy, complicated knitting pre-blog, when Ian was a babe, I'll show you sometime.)

But the poor things sat half finished for the better part of a year in my drawer of dead soldiers. On an impulse I dug them out this week because it is most definitely knitting season in these parts again, and the yarn caught my eye all over again. (Noro Kureyon, color #147 on the Fall 2006 on this color card). They were easily finished in two short sessions (one episode of Project Runway, and one informational talk at our school about middle school, which just stressed me totally- and I knit faster when I'm stressed!).

I have to admit that I don't love all variegated yarn. I actually dislike most of it. A pretty solid shade with an interesting stitch will always win out for me. But I am quite smitten with Noro Kureyon when the right project comes along. And those types of projects have come along exactly twice for me. Emma's Christmas stocking (pre-blog, a rather striking pink/red/purple combination) and these mitts.

And timed perfectly to arrive when I finished washing and blocking them, my new winter coat arrived. Its a huge splurge for me, my coats almost always come from second hand stores these days. The surprise is that the inside of this coat is every bit as gorgeous as the outside.

I really blame this whole purchase on Melissa.

I'm thinking of a knitted, cabled headbandy project for Emma next. (Although she loses headbands a quite a clip, so we may need to have a little talk beforehand.)  I can keep it in the car, and channel my inner school pickup carpool line knitting urges like Erin. My next project (sewing, not knitted) is to copy my friend's gorgeous Anthropologie scarf. I've eyed, caressed it, followed her around like a puppy, and tried it on enough, now I think I've got it. Plus when she told me how much she paid for it, the sheer outrageousness of that total made me want to copy it. I will show you how to do it here when I'm sure, because if I'm right, its super easy.

colorful

The new set of charm bracelets I'm working on have me looking for texture and color all around me, and what I find is inspiring things like these wool and silver sets I just made. I can't seem to get enough of these two things together right now. I'm sure its the changing of the seasons. These beads were my first adventure in jewelry items like "head pins" and I must say its fun. I must plug my local bead store's website here, its just a wealth of comprehensive how-to instructions and great photographs to go along with them.

*Completely new charm bracelets will be in the shop in a couple of weeks. I am so excited about these! I will let you know more soon. I am also planning to include some more things, I have had some requests for whales by some very nice people, so I may resurrect them soon too.

*Some of my favorite bits of color over on Flickr here, and here, and here.

*Week 2 of school (the first full week) seems to be going much smoother than it was last year this time for Ian. I'm shocked, frankly (but relieved). What a difference a year makes! I feel that the beginning of the school year takes so much out of the little ones. Okay, now I'm worried I have spoken too soon...well, let's just stop talking about it, shall we?

*The results of "cover" (the word I sent the girls for wordplay), are surfacing here and here. I love that the results are such different representations, different mediums. Fantastic work ladies!

*The kids and I just finished season one of Project Runway on DVD* and I've been daydreaming about that scarf pictured above, from Jay McCarroll's winning collection, ever since.

I think I need to knit a scarf.

out now

 


The Holiday Crafts issue of Better Homes and Gardens is out on the newsstands now (yes, it really is not too early to be thinking about Christmas if you're making stuff.) I knitted up these little sweaters for them way back in the Spring, I just love the way they turned out. Seeing them in the magazine makes me want to start knitting more of them. I had some grand ideas about knitting some of these up for the shop, we'll see if that happens. In the meantime, all the directions to make your own are included in the issue, as well as some sweet projects from some other familiar talents I love. Betz has a picture of the cover here, so you'll know what to look for.

And for something entirely different-

I finally scanned a picture of the Olympic Gold Medal project I did for the August issue of Parents Magazine. I don't know if your kids have loved watching the Olympics as much as we have, but regardless, these are very fun to make. We used Sculpey baking clay in gold for our medals, and kept the thickness around 1/4" or a little thicker. We pressed in the sequins, poked a hole with a skewer, baked according to the recommendations, and threaded a ribbon through. Voila! (The link to the online instructions for this project are on my left blog sidebar, just click on 'Parents Magazine'.) I can't say enough about Parents Magazine, its carried me through the birth and growth of my kids and many of my friends. (Because, contrary to what I thought, I don't know everything about parenting.)

And I once again want to thank those superfabulous Mixtape ladies for the opportunity to do the cover for issue #5. Inspired by our collaborative blog eight by eight, they sent a box of materials to Daria and me (which you can read more about here). We independently came up with the 2 cover projects (one is shown on each side of the issue). Buy this zine, its good. There's info on lino cut printing (my new obsession), vintage embroidery, ideas for scanned artwork, eco-ideas for kid's birthday parties, and more. You can order your copy here.

Thanks to everyone I worked with on these projects!

 

landing

What do you think of my new pet butterfly?  Flew in all the way from Buenos Aires!  Its part of Jenny's Natural Historie collection and I just love it.  Its sitting on a scarf I knitted for myself about three years ago (have I actually said out loud or written before now that I feel naked without a scarf when there is a chill in the air?  I do).  I knitted this one with a blue mohair yarn combined with a natural coarse wool, stranded/knitted together throughout.  It is the perfect shade of blue, and this scarf is one of the few things I've knitted and actually kept for my very own.  Most things I gave away as gifts.  Although I'm working on that, as I've said. 

I was recently sent The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes (the founder of Knitter's Review) and it was clear from opening it up that there are a number of things I would really love to sit down and knit out of this one.  Its kind of like your basic, show you a little of everything kind of cookbook you want to have in your kitchen as a newly wed, but for yarn.  (I know I only ate drank black coffee and ate cereal for dinner before I married, so just owning something like that was helpful).  There are sections on the basics of plied yarn, the difference in fibers, etc, and its full of good information. The photos are really beautifully done too, and to be honest, that often makes or breaks it for me.  There are 40 projects mixed throughout, ranging from easy and quick to more complicated (there are some great textured sock patterns in there, if I can ever actually knit two socks of the same pair!)

Anyway, what first caught my eye were the Maine Morning Mitts (I see they are actually offering this pattern free online, from the book, you can download here).  One reason is because they are knit out of Noro Kureyon and I have to say that when the project is right, I love that stuff.  Several years ago, when I declared it "the year I hand knit everyone's Christmas stockings", I knitted Emma a stocking out of a wonderful pink/lilac/red Kureyon combo that was then felted into this wonderful melange of colors that made you want to sit and study every inch.  I love to get that stocking out every year.  (Everyone else is still waiting for theirs, sorry guys.)  These are a simple knit 2 purl 1 rib and require no huge, focused amounts of attention, which is an absolute necessity for me these days (I don't know if I'll ever be able to commit to fair isles again).  Guess I'll be headed to the yarn shop after school drop off tomorrow.  And if I run into problems on these, I will be in touch with you Erin!

The last of the shop orders shipped out on Tuesday (11/6).  Thanks so much for your orders, I just can't say that enough.  And do you know what the nicest part of the order is?  The notes and messages you leave when you make your purchase (in the space that says "message for seller").  That you take the time to do that means a lot.  You make it fun to do what I do.

Lastly, if you're in Seattle this weekend, don't miss the Queen Anne trunk show, put together by Daria.  Its a great chance to get some great handmade gifts for the holidays, or yourself.  I will not be selling there, but I will be the one staring at Daria's pillows for waaay tooo long.  I want to bring some home and the hardest part will be choosing.  I also get to have my two buddies from Portland over to my house to hang out all day on Saturday, I can't believe its been a whole year since I saw them in person!  So excited!

yarn season

it really is, you know...  I loved Amanda's recent post on knitting again, and have conversed with Erin about how lovely cold weather TV knitting can be.

After a very long break from knitting, due to complete burn out, I admit to lusting after knitting again.  I found myself in my favorite local yarn shop last week, running my hands and eyes over every imaginable shade of beautiful color and texture.  Its probably been well over a year since I was in the market for yarn.

The kids are in back to back after school classes one day a week, where I sit and watch (and they watch that I am watching, so watching is oh so very important).  My idle hands make me crazy.  The crafter in me calculates the time I have each week to make something, just sitting there, and it really just makes me grouchy when I have nothing with me.  I thought about taking some embroidery, but it seems whenever I do, I always forget something I need.

Several weeks ago, The Yarn Girl's Guide to Knits for All Seasons came in the mail.  The patterns look great, lots of good basic ones with room to improvise, and they all seemed doable.  I think these are just the kind of projects I'm into right now.  I should qualify "doable" here.  In my knitting world, even though I have the ability to do the complicated stuff, I don't want to do it.  I want TV knitting, conversational knitting, and I need to feel that its right in my hands. 

But I must keep things interesting, so I opted for a striped merino wool vest for myself.  I always like vests and have never made myself one.  And I love the idea of not having to knit sleeves.  I think the charcoal gray, light gray, cream, and pale yellowish- wheat colors were definitely influenced by Martha's wonderful use of this type of palette.  Its all feeling very "white T-shirty, jeans, and Blundstones to me (pretty much all I wear this time of year).

Another requirement for a knitting project is that it all fit in the bag that Peter brought back from Japan a few years ago.  (I googled and can't find anything about the maker, but the inside tag says "Keiko Horiuchi, rub a dub dub" if that helps).  **Updated to add that super sleuther Alicia found our more info on the product line this bag comes from here.  Given to me specifically to hold my knitting, because at that time I distinctly remember leaving knitting projects all over the house. 

sitting in a comfy chair, knitting a 'lost' sock

I learned to knit while I was pregnant with Ian, so...six years ago.  It was something I'd wanted to learn my whole life.  My grandmother tried to teach me simple garter stitches when I was 4 or 5, but it didn't stick.  When I finally coordinated my hands and brain all those years later, I just couldn't stop myself.  You would often find me surrounded by a very cluttered house, resting my forearms on a belly out to there, knitting and counting, simultaneously entertaining my then 2-year old Emma, and quietly scheming on how to avoid making dinner.  I went at the craft of knitting as I often do with creative pursuits, with a complete and insatiable obsession.  Within the span of a year, I knitted 3 sweaters for Emma, a doll, a cat, various other knitted animals, a crib blanket for Ian, and a sweater for myself (and I'm not including the abandoned projects I lost count of).  I had a bag of knitting with me at all times, wherever I went.  If I had more than 5 minutes to myself at a time, I pulled it out.  Once I saw a dropped stitched on a project sitting in the passenger seat of the car and...I worked on it...at a stoplight.

But, then, I stopped.  I was tired.  I was frustrated.  It took me a long time to complete something I'd envisioned (the projects I chose always seemed a bit gradiose and large scale).  The sweaters I knitted didn't get all the wear I'd hoped for.  I had to take a much needed mental and physical break from knitting.  I had complete knitter's burnout.

I have recently been inspired to knit again, brought on by a couple of things.  The first being  that Peter and I are now sitting down in front of Lost every night, I needed something to do with my hands.  I felt weird...just...sitting.  But the lighting in the room at night is not bright enough to do any kind of embroidery work, so knitting seemed logical.

The second reason, and the inspiration for the style of this post, is Jane and her way with yarn.  If anyone has a way of illustrating the sheer enjoyment of knitting those stitches, combining lovely yarn into a palette of beautiful color, through her words and pictures, its Jane.  If anything could inspire me to pick up needles and knit something, its reading one of Jane's posts.  I imagine Jane, sitting in a chair, perhaps with one of her gorgeous quilts to ward off the chill, knitting (faster than I ever could), popping an occasional jellybean in her mouth, and saying a quick word to her children as they scurry through the room, eating freshly baked rock buns, wearing cozy handknitted socks (made by Jane, of course).  Now Jane, I'm sure you will tell me that the portrait I've painted is far from reality, but that makes no difference to me.  My mental picture remains.

So, as I run with my newfound inspiration to knit, my project list grows, yet again.  But this time, its focused only on socks.  For me.  Only me.  Selfishly, I need more handknitted socks in my life.  The first set matches one of my favorite fair isle sweaters from last winter (knitted by J. Crew, not me).  So, rest easy knowing there will be no handknitted king sized blankets showing up on this blog.  But you can be fairly certain that its author will soon be wearing some very colorful woolen socks.   My only worry is about that second sock...will I ever get to it?  Could it truly be...the ...Lost...sock?  Maybe we should all start a new trend of wearing mismatched handknitted socks.

Quiet and Nice

Just the kind of day I need.  Noticeable around the house-

Some sunshine finally, and the hellebores are coming up in the front yard, (these are my favorite, although I love all green flowers best)

Newest thrift finds, a wool blanket and wool plaid skirt- $7 total

On my knitting needles, shamelessly inspired by these, although I never could find the exact yarn-

Remnants of yesterday's playdate up in Emma's room-

I will be working on some new things this weekend, for some very fun swaps in the pipeline (you know who you are). Emma is very anxious to get started on our mini-swap, now that we know who are swap partners are.  We found this book when we went to the library, and its full of great ideas. We are big fans of DK books around here, we keep almost all we have out in the family room.  Neutral territory in our house, so no one argues over who actually owns which ones.

Thanks for all the nice comments about Finny.  The love Ian feels for that whale are way beyond the expectations I initially had, surprised all of us really (Ian has always preferred lovable objects of the hard plastic, metal or wooden variety- he sleeps with Thomas the Tank Engine trains.).  Honestly, my heart is full, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

I got hit with an enormous amount of spam yesterday on the blog (honestly, like 40-50 individual pieces of spam).  Did anyone else have this happen yesterday, are spammers trying to meet some 1st of the month quota or what??  For now I've changed my settings to approve all comments before they are posted.  Geez, the internet has such a dark side, doesn't it??

Cozy Little Sweaters

 

What does someone who is obsessed with sweaters and wants to make something for the holiday season do over the weekend?  Knit Christmas sweaters, of course!  I got this idea to make garland out of little sweaters.  Inspired by a combination of the egg cozies from here, and too expensive for me yet unbelievably cute little ornaments from here, I became an obsessed/possessed little mini-production line of one over the weekend.  I grabbed every appropriate shade and color from my full-to-spilling-over stash of yarn and got to work.  I am pleased as punch, and don't really know if I can stop myself from making more.  Think of the possibilities!  A tree filled with these!  Miles of sweater garland draped around the house, on chairs, over tables, on gifts, someone please stop me!  (You can see more detail here.)

I wish I could show you the rest of them, as well as how great they look all strung together, but 'tis not to be.  I'm having some technical problems either with my computer, or my camera (no one is sure).  I spent most of Sunday on perma-hold with various people trying to figure out what was wrong, but to no avail.  So, I am going to resist getting on the computer on Monday, to give me a mental break from it, or I may go nutty.  So leave me lots of comments to look forward to :)

Over the weekend we began other Christmas decorating and planning as well.  There were lights to hang, trees to decorate, and Christmas songs to hum.  Our gift giving list has greatly simplified itself this year, much to my relief.  Emma and usually set aside a day to make handmade gifts for her to give to family and teachers.  It's a day that she and I look forward to each year and this year we have some friends joining us.  These are usually very simple kid-generated handmades with adult help.  In past years, we've made soap spelling out letters of the person's name, beeswax candles, magnets, and Emma has painted pictures on small pre-stretched artist's canvases.  I love to watch her beam with pride as she gives them out on Christmas day.

May the computer gods show mercy on me and cut me a little slack here soon.  Keep your fingers crossed.