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!

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!

Easter Sewing

Although I grew up with a mom who sewed me and my sister lovely dresses and dolls all the time, I didn't learn to sew until my early thirties. I remember spending a lot of time at the fabric store with my mom when I was younger, but the desire to sew didn't come although I really liked looking at fabric. When I started to sew, my mom gave me her Bernina 1080 sewing machine. I jumped into quilting and I had no desire to sew clothes. Clothing patterns are still a mystery to me. However, I've seen what Elizabeth has learned to do in the last year and I thought that maybe, just maybe,  I could learn to sew something other than a quilt too. So, I went over to the Oliver + S website and printed off the pattern to the Lazy Days Skirt.  Elizabeth whipped out three of these skirts for her girls and they're darling. Click and go see her skirts!

Okay, it's not really a pattern. It's more of a tutorial. It turns out that I lack the most basic of sewing skills needed to make clothes. I struggled a little on this skirt, but ultimately made four of these skirts in a week. I'm much more confident from sewing that simple skirt that I could even tackle perhaps a sundress next? I  just love the ribbon hem on this simple skirt.

I just got a new-to-me Janome 10000 Memory Craft sewing machine and I about to dive into learning machine embroidery too and well, there will be big learning curve there too, but think of boundless creativity I will certainly have.

As I get older, I am convinced that having creative hobbies sustains me in ways that is vital to my overall happiness.

Sewing Space

On Saturday night, my husband and I got some rare time out together without the kids. We were almost giddy with the thought of some time together. We had some dinner, went to IKEA , and a movie. Paul really wanted to go to IKEA although I could have skipped it, but I'm glad I didn't. We found this desk and I thought it would be a perfect sewing table. I wasn't really in the mood to part with the money for it, but then we found a display model in the "as-is" sale section for over half off. Well, we loaded it up in Paul's Outback and brought it home. The cabinets on the sides are big enough to house my sewing machine when I'm not sewing. It looks so much better than the old computer desk I had been using for sewing.

I dug out the dress that I started last April and I vowed to finish it before Easter even though I know Tess has grown too big for it. Isn't that sad? I'm struggling with sewing clothes. I'm a quilter and I have almost zero experience sewing anything other than a quilt.

Recently, I found myself at quilt shop in Golden and I bought some pre-cut half- yards to make these tote bags that Jenn inspired me to sew.  I thought that these totes would make great library book bags and possibly great handmade gifts for children's birthday parties.

I just love little stacks of beautiful fabric. I've been buying more fabric than yarn lately. I'm over-inspired as usual.

Between the Lines

I make very simple quilts. Sometimes, a simple pattern highlights the beauty of the fabric better. I enjoy arranging fabric and playing with color. Well, I've had this Jelly Roll in my fabric stash for a long time and I wanted to find a pattern that would make good use of a Jelly Roll. I found  the Between the Lines pattern at the Fat Quarter Shop which happens to be my favorite online source for fabric. As you can see from the pattern image below, I'm not quite done with the topper yet, but precut fabric definitely speeds up the process of assembling a topper. I cut all the strips last week and sewed the long strips together in a day. Although, clearly, I'm far from the final stages of this quilt. Sewing can be so satisfying even if the quilt is simple. It still requires work and creativity.

The Snowman

Sammy had to make a snow creature for school. He wanted a traditional snowman. So, Luke, Sam, and I spent a few hours one night creating this snowman. I got all excited and my creative juices started flowing. I envisioned  a tartan kilt for "our" snowman and ice skates, but Sammy restrained me a bit. We had so much fun with all our felt, pipe cleaners, and glitter glue! This whole experience made me want to do more crafts like this with the kids. I want my kids to learn that deep joy can come with unleashing our creativity. I could feel my brain churning with ideas and I knew that something good was happening.  I guess I should go and make my own snowman!

Yarn Along- knitting, sewing and lots of color inspiration

A wonderful friend brought this bright happy fun dress from Hawaii for Little T.  It's a lovely orange which I think is a
great color on my little girl.  Of course, I thought that I should knit up a little shrug to match. So,  I went digging in my yarn stash and pulled out three hanks of Spud&Chloe in Sweater weight.  I'm thinking about another  Chloe because this pattern is already written for Spud&Chloe yarn. 



Should I knit it in stripes or solid yellow?  If I decide on a solid, I will have to buy more.  I'm definitely on a de-stash mission right now.  The minimalist in me won't let me have too much yarn around.  That hank of yellow above is Firefly.  Isn't that a perfectly delightful name?  The dark red is Firecracker and the light orange is Pollen. 

Here's the little sundress up close.  Doesn't it look lovely with that hank of Firefly?  Maybe I should just knit another shrug in one color! 



Here's another project that's kind of related to knitting.  With the help of my best friend's Auntie Arlene, I learned to sew this little dress over the past week.  So, I've devoted more time to my sewing machine than my knitting needles in the past few days.  I've always wanted to sew a dress, but sewing clothes just seemed daunting and challenging.  I have to laugh at the notion that this is a difficult sewing project though.  It's probably one of the easiest dress patterns out there! As a quilter, I'm no stranger to my sewing machine, but this is a very different type of sewing.  So, how is this dress project related to knitting you might ask?  Well, of course, Little T will need a lightweight sweater to wear with this, right? 



Aren't those apples sweet? 

I started this hat this week.  It's an easy pattern to memorize, but beware of getting off by even one stitch.  I've already had to pull it out once after knitting three inches or so.  It's a free pattern on Ravelry. 

As for reading, I'm perusing my latest library haul.  I'm still working on The Forgotten Garden for book club as well.  Please join Ginny for more knitting and reading adventures!

Enchanted Knitting

It looks like February outside my window today. We're on day 3 of snow and Fall just started! Anyway, it's the perfect day for tea and scones and flipping through my new knitting book which arrived yesterday from Amazon. It's always a good day when books arrive from Amazon even if there's six inches of snow outside!

To Crochet or not to Crochet

See this cute little chevron throw? I want to make this, but I'm not done knitting my first pair of socks yet. I can't start another project yet, right? Well, I'm a little intimidated by crochet, but I want to try anyway (after I finish the socks of course).

In Progress...

I've started laying out these blocks in Kaffe Fassett garden prints...makes me long for Spring!

Here are some of these vibrant prints up close.

These are the remaining blocks that need to be cut to the smaller size. I still need to cut the border and choose fabric for the backing. I like breaking quilting down into manageable little chunks. Right now, I'm focused on just getting the topper done. Then, I can buy fabric for the backing (after Lent of course).

Here's my first sock...so far. I have to admit that I'm beginning to like double points.

I love the creative life!

The New Year

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I do like to begin the new year with a clear slate. I like to purge and clear out unnecessary stuff that I think clutters both my physical space and my mind. Then, I like to set out to challenge myself in some way in the new year. Maybe that is a resolution, but usually I think of resolutions as endeavors of self-torture that are quickly abandoned even before the end of January.

On New Year's day, I took down the the Christmas tree. Normally, we would keep the tree until the feast of the Epiphany, but this year, I needed the decorations packed away a little sooner. I kept the Nativity set up so that the boys could move the Wise Men closer each day until the Twelfth day of Christmas (today). Since we had a chaotic December our Advent was anything but routine. I just wanted to get back on track and that meant leaving the Christmas celebration a little earlier this year. Tess is a just a little over a month old now and we're beginning to settle back into our new "normal" life now. December passed so quickly yet it already seems so long ago that I was pregnant. Isn't that strange? The other night I rubbed my belly and I got a little sad missing my pregnant belly, but then I remembered that I can sleep on my tummy again! Anyway, I've been looking ahead and making plans for 2009. I've been reading Living Simply by Joanne Heim. Now, I've read scores of books on simple living, but I like her gentle approach to living a simple life including celebrating the Sabbath. I think this is an area that I want to explore more in the new year. How do I want to live the Sabbath? I want to create a day of restoration for my family, but it remains to be seen how this will actually play out during the year.

I've been reading many of your blogs out there and I really like this challenge I read about over at Sweetness and Light. It's the 4x10 Challenge where one reads four books in ten different subject areas. My first thought was 40 books? No problem! Then I realized that this might be more challenging considering there are ten different subject areas. I realize that I tend to read a lot about homeschooling, education, contemporary societal issues, simplicity, cooking and the occasional work of fiction, but there are several neglected subject areas. So, I'm looking forward to compiling a list of books. I got a few books for Christmas that I'm excited to read. I received a couple of novels by Elizabeth Goudge that I know I will add to the list. Of course I love to make lists so this will prove to be a fun beginning to a year of reading!
I would also like to continue to challenge myself with knitting. I'm getting closer to completing the Wallaby sweater I started in October. I received a fancy set of circular needles for Christmas and they cannot stay in the box. What to knit next?? I don't know yet, but there are so many delightful things to create! There is so much beauty to create.

"The World is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings." -Robert Louis Stevenson

Okay, I just had to borrow that quote from Alice's blog.

Anyway, I look forward to a new year with exciting new projects, books, drawing with Luke and of course watching my new baby girl grow (but not too fast)! I love the pleasant thoughts of new beginnings! Happy New Year!!

What I've noticed

Despite the fact that my boys tell me that they really like their toys, I actually notice that they seem more content playing with sticks, Tinker Toys (okay, these are real toys), flashlights, pencils and other things found around the house. Just yesterday I observed Sammy pushing around a tape measure as if it were a car or truck. It held his interest a lot longer than if the tape measure had been a toy car. Despite the fact that Luke owns three different plastic light sabers (two bought new with his allowance and one found at a garage sale), he actually seems more content playing with a stick found in the front yard than playing with the actual light sabers. I don't think he would admit this, but I've noticed that stick around more than the light sabers. I did warn him to be very careful how he spent his allowance. Did he really need two different new light sabers just because they were different colors?? Maybe I just don't understand that each Jedi has his own color light saber. That's actually true. I have no idea what color Luke Skywalker's lightsaber is. Would he actually play with them as much as he thought he would? These are the questions I ask him before he purchases anything. As much as I knew that he would ultimately find some disappointment with his purchase, I knew I had to let him make the decision himself. I asked myself why he would want to spend his money this way when he never seemed disappointed by his own light sabers/swords fashioned from Tinker Toys.

As I have mentioned before, I am very much a less-is-more kind of person. I read somewhere that children become very overwhelmed with too many toys and then they end up not playing with a room full of abundance. Nothing holds their attention. In a room full of too many toys, there's no room for an imagination to flourish. So, when I see my boys' creativity with ordinary household items, it makes me happy. I have to admit that too many brightly colored plastic things just assault my senses. I think I'm overwhelmed just as easily as a child can be with too much stuff!

So, the other night, my husband and I were talking over our much diminished Christmas budget for this year. We jokingly said that we would just wrap up some twigs from our yard. Maybe we could give them each an orange. (It seems that many of the Christmas books we've read involve a child's delight over receiving a single orange, but that's another story.) Of course, the boys would be disappointed. They already have so many sticks around my house! There's no need for more of them. But what could we buy or make that would be memorable, special and something inspiring for them? I'm just plain out of ideas this year. I know that I have strict criteria, but I don't relish the idea of spending money on something that won't be treasured. I'd rather not give a gift. I have a very small budget, but that doesn't depress me. Actually, it challenges me. Any ideas??