Yarn Along

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? ~

I finished knitting this dress last week, but I had a few ends to weave in . I really wanted to get this picture up for this week's Yarn Along. So, I took a few minutes to weave in those pesky ends because I couldn't wait to take a picture of Tess wearing this year's hand knit summer dress. I used my phone camera to take this photo and as you can see, I am playing around with the features on Instagram! This dress is featured in the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of Knit Simple and really this dress is so simple!  As for reading, I'm in the perusing mode this week. I haven't really committed to any book, but here's this week's library stack:

I'm not sure I like this Instagram effect. This picture looks so washed out! Anyway, this week's reading is all about color knitting, quilting, and gardening!

Please do click on over to Ginny's for more knitting adventures!

Needle and thREAD

I pieced my Bargello quilt. I now need to cut the vertical strips and reassemble the
strips. This quilt is supposed to show the deep sea moving up to the surface
and sky. I ordered new sail boat fabric because my original fabric didn't work well.  I'll use
 the original sailboat fabric for the backing instead. It's an intensely blue quilt and the abstract
water is both soothing and dramatic. I'm really hoping that the image I have in my head will match the reality.
Tess is holding Charlotte Au Chocolat which happens to be this week's reading.
Yesterday, I went to the garden store and bought some strawberry plants. It's been my dream to grow abundant

strawberries so that I can make my own jam with my own strawberries. I noticed that I have a few strawberry plants that have volunteered from last year. I saw a strawberry blossom today! This inspired me to download to my Kindle: Grow The Best Strawberries.

I started this dress last year in April. I had great plans to knit a matching sweater. It didn't happen. I'm sure
 I got distracted and moved on to some other project. Anyway, it's  now way too small for Tess. Since I've made several Lazy Days Skirts recently, I decided to drop the
regular hem for this dress and substitute the ribbon hem. After all that practice edge-stitching
the ribbon,  I thought this ribbon hem would be a snap.  It should have been easy, but I botched it pretty badly. I can't un-do it. I shall just be glad that this dress is finally finished and move on. So, here is my first dress ever! Those darling little apples are so sweet and I know a new baby girl who will get this dress and hopefully overlook the amateur sewing job.

More reading and sewing here!

The Twirly Skirt

I didn't make this skirt. My friend Elizabeth did. She made these fun quilt-like skirts for her girls and I asked if she could make one for Little T and somewhere in her busy life, she found the time to sew up this darling skirt. I love
how this skirt captures patchwork quilting so well.

It's difficult to get Tess to sit still for photos. I really wanted to showcase the fabric.
This is Cape Ann by Moda and it's made using charms. You can find the pattern for this
skirt in Stitch by Stitch.

Thank You Elizabeth for sewing such a beautiful skirt. It's going to be the outfit of the summer!


Doesn't she look less like a toddler and more like a young girl here? My only girl
looks so grown up!

Peach Dress

Yarn Along

The other night I was at Barnes & Noble. I was sitting in the Starbucks section . I took the time to organize my knitting bag. After a while, I went to peruse the magazine section and of course, I glanced through the knitting magazines. Normally, I don't really care for Knit Simple Magazine. It's usually full of things I'd never knit , but this issue (Spring/Summer 2012) had a handful of cute little girls' dresses. So, I picked it up and cast on for the Textured Dress immediately. It's top-down knit in one piece and that pleases me immensely. I'm  just getting started on the skirt, but even though it's seems like endless stockinette, it will go quickly.
As for reading, I just started Charlotte Au Chocolat, a memoir about the author's adventures growing up in her mother's restaurant. It sounds slightly enchanting. I'm looking forward to reading this, but I haven't had the stamina to stay up late and read lately.
That's it for today. Don't forget to check out more yarn and book adventures at Ginny's!

Needle and ThREAD



The topper's done! I cut, pieced and sewed all week and finished it on Sunday. I ordered backing and it just seemed too dark so I'm going to return it and I already ordered new backing that's much happier in my opinion! Now, this quilt waits until I can go meet with my quilter!

Another Lazy Days Skirt. I feel like I need to keep sewing this skirt until I feel more confident that I can move on to something more difficult. I love this orange batik fabric that I found at Jo-Ann. I think orange might be Tess's Summer color! I'm enchanted with this orange. It reminds me of orange Creamsicles, peaches, and the warm sun. Tess wants one more Lazy Days Skirt in some mermaid fabric that she saw in my stash. So, there may be another one of these skirts next week!

As for reading, I guess I've spent more time sewing than reading. I'm still reading French Kids Eat Everything.

Please head on over to Elizabeth's for more sewing and books!

Star Wars Day

First of all, May the 4th be with you. It's Star Wars Day! Luke, my oldest son, loves everything Star Wars and now he's learning to make stop motion movies with his Star Wars Legos. I thought I'd share one of his short movies on this holiday. Enjoy!

Needle & thREAD

When life gets crazy and mine is crazy right now, I cut fabric and assemble a quilt. I thought about it and wondered why amidst all the chaos here, I get out the fabric and embark on quilting adventures. It's probably because I can think I can at least control fabric. Luke helped me hold the ruler firmly so the fabric wouldn't slip while I cut it. I love this fabric. It's Salt Air and it reminds me of an Atlantic summer. It's breezy and slightly nautical. This is the Just 'Tween Us Girls pattern that I bought a couple of years ago from the Fat Quarter Shop. I cut sixteen fat quarters into strips of varying sizes and then arranged all the strips on my bedroom floor. My husband is getting used to stepping over fabric, but I wanted to sew the squares together so that I could clear the floor. Now, I have finished sixteen 16" squares. This is a very easy quilt. I really like quilts that let the fabrics shine and this one accomplishes that very well. I'm still waiting for the fabric for the backing to arrive.
As for reading, I'm reading  French Kids Eat Everything.  I already wrote about this book in my yarn post. As a person who will try anything, it makes me crazy that the twins have developed very limited palates. Little T refuses nearly everything and I don't know how we got here, but something obviously has to be done about it. Recently, I read Bringing up Bebe which is a similar book about French child-rearing. Do I think the French have all the answers to parenting? No way. I do, however, find that they seem more relaxed in their approach to children than Americans.That's something to ponder, but for now I want my kids to eat like French children. This alone would make me feel more relaxed as a mother.

This is the cute illlustration on the cover of the book. Doesn't she look like a happy mother?

This is one of the delightful illustrations from French Kids Eat Everything. Guess which girl isn't French?

Head on over to Elizabeth's for needle, thread, fabric, and books!

Yarn Along

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.

It's been a while since I posted a project for the Yarn Along, but it isn't because I haven't been knitting. I've been knitting and un-knitting. Currently, I'm working on this shawl in Rozetti Polaris yarn. It's very nice with sparkly little sequins embedded in the yarn. I love the way the sequins catch the light.  I have a few more rows before I can bind off and block. I'm also knitting the Irish Hiking hat which I have knit many times before. It's difficult to see, but this had has a simple little cable pattern. I hope to finish these projects by the end of the week. I'm SO ready to move on from this shawl. It's seems like forever since I finished a knitting project!

As for reading, I'm reading French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon. I've got some seriously picky twins and my daughter refuses almost everything I put in front of her. Needless to say, I'm seriously frustrated. I'm hoping for some inspiration to turn things around here.

That's it for today! Stop by Ginny's  for more books and yarn!