Me? A Knitter?

When I mentioned I knitted a hat as a gift last month, some of you were surprised to know that I knit. Well, I do, but I don't really knit. My knitting career is not prolific, nor are my projects always successful. No, I imagine my life as a knitter started much the same as every one else's—too many scarfs to admit, a bunch of hats, a few pairs of mittens, the famous Clapotis—but that's as far as my knitting went. I was too intimidated to attempt an actual piece of clothing.

That's where amigurumi came in, which I have done lots of in crochet. Little did I know that it would be a crash course in every increase and decrease a knitter would ever need to know. For this reason, I would recommend knitted amigurumi to anybody who wants to learn a variety of knitting techniques in one project.

I started with this little lizard last year.

I recently made this eggplant, from Amigurumi Knits. (The smaller girl begged for this, though she wouldn't put a real eggplant near her mouth if I bribed her with a puppy.)

Then my older girl came to me requesting a Lochness Monster (note to self: hide the amigurumi book when not in use) and it sent chills up my spine. I had nothing to fear, though. With YouTube at my side, I soon learned I could conquer most any pattern.

Lochness Monster pattern from Amigurumi Knits 

Well, with all this knitting "success," I got a little cocky. After falling in love with this sweater, I decided it was time for me to go for it. I was going to knit my first piece of real clothing, and dammit, it was going to be for me. (I know what you're thinking. You're probably right. Read on.)

And isn't it lovely? It really was a pleasure to knit. Not scary at all. I knew every stitch I needed to know, and she came along quickly.

But, you see, when you don't pay any respect to the gods of gauge, the sweater you are knitting for yourself ends up fitting your 7-year-old-daughter just perfectly.

Me? A knitter? The jury is still out.

Gifted

Are you sick of reading about the holidays yet? I wouldn't blame you if you were, so I should probably give you fair warning that this post is, in fact, about the holidays.

I almost skipped writing about the highlights of our gifts, seeing as 1. it's nearly mid-January, and 2. does anybody really want to read a recap of presents? But as I read through other people's blog posts (like Nicola's), I found myself quite interested in their gifting. What better way to get good ideas for future giving, than from clever, creative friends? With that spirit in mind, here is a peek behind the scenes of our holiday.

The girls have an on-going spy game with their neighbors, and we thought they needed a few more tools for their spy kits. We added magnifying glasses (purchased at Imagine Childhood) for inspecting evidence, as well as a couple of custom stamps that read "top secret" and "suspect." I had the stamps made here, and I cannot say enough about the customer service this shop provided. My custom request went something like this: "can you make me a stamp that says 'suspect' but make it look like old-timey stencil/stamp please?" She knew exactly what I was talking about and, as you can see, the finished product is perfect.

When "A" gets on Craigslist it is never a good thing, and when he comes across a sweet find, well there's no stopping him. This time, there was no reason for me to stop him, as he had his eye on a pair of antique machinist's tool chests. For a couple of toolies like us ("toolies." you know, like foodies?), there was no hesitation. We said "Merry Christmas" to each other and he set out on his mission. He returned with these beautiful boxes filled with tools. I snagged the toolbox pictured above (though I have not "moved" into it yet), and "A" got the one pictured below.

So much time spent in our basement workshops requires a lot of warm winter gear. I knit this hat to keep him warm, and love it so much (it's super simple) there will be three more knitted up soon. (Pattern is from More Last-Minute Kitted Gifts.)

I have a confession to make. I purchased a handful of things for myself this year under the guise of "gifts for the kids." I am not proud, but boy am I happy I got them they got them. This book of iron-ons was one such gift, full of the coolest illustrations, ready to be applied to whatever we want. Let the embellishing begin!

And last but not at all least, these doodle prints from Artsyville. Each one bearing a cheeky little ramble about being yourself, being determined, and being creative. These were also "for the children" (wink wink). 


The gifting has not stopped for us, as a certain little someone turned seven last week, and someone else as a birthday at the end of the month. Onward we march, into 2011, friends. 

Progress and Growth

Just like that, nearly a week has gone by since I have last posted. It seems like the days slip through my hands, weeks are cranked out steadily, and my girls grow faster each year.

Since this blog has become somewhat of a journal, tracking our progress and growth, I though I'd catalog a few of our most recent examples:

Progress: on a little surprise for soon-to-be-born babe

Growth: remember "Woolly Bear?" He emerged as this beautiful moth

Progress: on a bench, needed for the dining room table

Growth: chicks losing the fluff, getting feathers on their heads

Progress: the last-day-of-school countdown

Growth: last year's sandals

Where have you been making progress? How have you been measuring growth?

Springtime Fun

This weekend...

...somebody left a trail of tiny flowers to follow

...and a dozen wooly eggs

...and a "Mount Everest" of jellybeans and other sweets

This weekend, somebody else finished up this little piece that screams spring. A milky yellow moss opal, slightly egg-shaped, with what looks like little plants sprouting in it. (See more of it in my shop)

I'll bet a little springtime fun was happening in your home, too!

Connections

The blogging world has opened up many windows of opportunity for me, and not only for my jewelry. I have found a world of connections with fellow artists and bloggers—all whom share parts of their lives quite generously. In the past few weeks, the depth of those connections have revealed themselves in interesting ways.

I have been reading voraciously lately, steadily working through the stack of books on my nightstand. A few weeks ago, I was reading Day After Night, by Anita Diamant. As I read the line, "Now get me a syringe, won't you dear? she said, taking a small orange out of her string bag," I immediately felt a sense of deep-rooted history and cross-cultural kinship. What a beautiful coincidence that I have been participating in string-a-long 2010, making string bags along with women from all over. My reading of that book also corresponded with Susie's trip to Israel, which she blogged about while there. Her photos and stories from her visit are amazing, and helped me to create vivid pictures in my mind as I read the story of the detainee camp, Atlit.

Last night, while reading Beloved, by Toni Morrison, I stopped short when I read this line, "It's when you bump into a rememory that belongs to somebody else." Rememory! Comes delightfully close to my daughter's word remembery (of Remembery Capsule fame). I love knowing that people have melded words together to make a perfect definition for generations.

So much is intertwined. Time and distance dissolve. The lines between my life, family, and friends is blurred by connections with folks from other areas and even countries via the world wide web. Suddenly it is clear— the planet is quite small and time has not changed the fundamentals of humanity much at all.

This Week

School vacations are perfectly timed. Just as the daily process starts to get weary, a chance to change up the routine saves the day. And, though we did we did not escape to the mountains, or go anywhere for longer than a day, we took the opportunity to flip the days on end. There were a couple of days the girls never got out of their pjs, there was a trip to the Museum of Science, and a ride to Cape Cod. We had junk food for breakfast one morning, and a breakfast with the works the next. The girls have been staying up late, watching the Olympics with us, and cheering on team USA (we are serious Olympics geeks).

The calendar for this week was blank—not a single note or appointment scribbled down. It's only natural that a week like this would spawn a few creative undertakings. Take a peek into our house this week:

A set of custom pins, nearing completion (more on this soon)

Thumb print art, with Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book.

A stash-busting work in progress

And a bedroom makeover, apparently

But we're not done yet. We will be squeezing as much as we can into the final few days before we return to the grind. What have you been up to?

Red Cabbage Wonders

Irresistible. Each and every time I cut into a red cabbage, I am amazed at the graphic beauty of it. I cannot get over that bright plum (cabbage?) purple, swirled into mazes that fold over each other in beautiful randomness.

And every time I cut into one I think to myself, "Someday, I'm going to give this cabbage the props it deserves." I dream of painting, drawing, knitting or interpreting in silver this boldly contrasting composition. I'm working up to that, but this weekend we did do a little experimenting with the color.

I boiled the cabbage for about a half hour, allowing all the pigment to leach out and boil down to a slightly thicker liquid. The result was this inky, deep purple dye.

We soaked some cotton string and fabric scraps in the dye and they dried this gorgeous amethyst color. The girls have big plans for me to knit stuffed animal hats with this string, and make clothes for their soft friends with the fabric. We shall see...

Of course, we ate the remainder of that cabbage. There is an excellent recipe for Red Cabbage with Lemon and Black Pepper, in A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg (Of Orangette fame). If you haven't picked this book up yet, I highly recommend it. Our favorites from that book also include Tomato Soup with Two Fennels, and Custard-Filled Corn Bread. yum-y!

Here are a couple of snapshots from the past few days. There are projects in the pipeline and things currently in the works. There is also plenty being put off, while a sick second grader takes some time off of school to get better.

Socks: making and mastering them will be my winter project


The (very) rough start of a soon-to-be gift


more amigurumi (I think it is safe to say that these days, there is always a little crocheted friend in the works)


...and I have a feeling many of you have some variation of this scene in your home now, too.

Happy Halloween week!

Hats, Mittens, and a Place to Keep Them

Things are moving fast around here. We had our first frost just the other day and yesterday, only fours days later, we saw our first snow.

Over the past few weeks, I have been knitting a new hat for each member of the family and it looks like I finished them just in time.

The blue, white, and green ones are Soulemama's Favorite Hat , and the black one was knit without a pattern—a simple knit 2, purl 2 rib. (A new and fantastic use for pumpkins: hat models!)

With the hasty arrival of cold weather, I pulled out all our winter gear and was reminded that we are in desperate need of new place to store our hats and mittens. The dig-through-the-giant-bin method we have used in the past was just not going to work anymore. In previous winters, finding that one missing glove was like finding a needle in a haystack. I set out to find a shelf or small dresser, but my trip to the used furniture store turned up this cute little night stand:
It's perfect for the tiny space by the front door. Hats in the top drawer, mittens in the bottom drawer. It's easy, organized, and uncluttered. Best of all, means not sifting through that old bottomless pit of head and hand wear.

Today it'll be proper autumn weather again, so winter cold has not yet settled in for the duration. I may even have time to learn how to knit mittens before snow and ice become the norm. If I do, I know I have a great place to keep them.

Introducing...

Introducing the newest member of our family...Pepper! This sweet little kitty came home with us a week ago and filled our house with doting oohhs and aahhs. He divides his time evenly between sleeping, snuggling, and completely spazing out. Yes, it has been quite entertaining, watching him attack anything that catches his eye—especially his tail. It was clear: kitty needed some of his very own toys.

I knit this little fishie for him and it quickly became his favorite. The simple pattern, from Teach Me To Knit, came together in no time at all.

Instructions called for tying the fish to a thread and dangling it from a stick but, as you can see, Pepper prefers it no strings attached. More fish are in the works, as this one is already thoroughly abused.

He's so fun, but no matter how wild he gets (clawing up the back of the chair, stalking unsuspecting toes), it's never long before he's fast asleep again.


Welcome home, Pepper!

Not a Dull Moment

The Peruvian wool I splurged on a few weeks back is starting to take shape. As you can see, I am running out of room on the pattern to make note of my sets and rows. What am I knitting? I'll bet most anyone who is a fan of knitty.com could guess. I do believe it is, by far, their most downloaded pattern...

Our pick-your-own blueberry excursion today yielded 5 pounds (five POUNDS!) of berries, for exactly $10. I call that a bargain, if there ever was one. But wait, speaking of bargains...

I scored all this booty at a local church yard sale this evening. Fabric, ribbon, rick rack, bias tape, string, a bread pan, and a pair of knitting needles of every size from 1 to 7 (!!!), and more (read: various random animal statues the girls chose, beads, a mug, leather gloves, felt squares...) for, once again, exactly $10.

So here I am—with an interesting knitting pattern to concentrate on, more blueberries than I know what to do with, and crafting supplies to last me far into the future. I don't imagine a dull moment any time soon.

Making Plans

My family goes with the flow—we just like to let the day unfold and see where it takes us. But lately, especially this summer vacation, we have had to be a little more disciplined with our time. Seems there is so much we have and want to do, and the days are ticking by so fast.

Here's a sneak peek of some things that will be helping to fill our time over the next few months:

A new piece of furniture designed by The Husband...

A gorgeous stack of fabric....

Our Family Summer Center that organizes all our goals and accomplishments for the vacation...

...And some yummy Peruvian wool.

What will be made of the wool and fabric? What will our new custom piece of furniture feel like? What will be added to our list of goals and things the kids wish to do? Time will tell...

Freedom and Time

Clematis blooming in clusters on the trellis...

The girls passing time finger knitting (learn how here)...

Blankets for Craft Hope project #3 getting boxed up and ready to go...

And toy birds in a tree...

I came upon these birds in our dogwood tree yesterday quite by surprise. Funny, what the kids will come up with when given freedom and time a-plenty. They learned how to finger knit—and have made scarves for many, many stuffed friends. We have had time to craft for the sake of those who do not have. We have been living in our yard, in its summer-blooming glory.

*Sigh*, Summer!