Ocean of Stitches

A quick hello!

2012-01-11T17:03:00.000-06:00

Just a quick little hello!

I've been crazy busy writing and whipping up a lovely crochet shawl pattern that will debuting (in a collection that I also helped edit) this Friday at Vogue Live. As soon as it is live, I will be hooting up a storm about it, but I've been trying to not say anything about it. You don't know how difficult it has been! I can't shut up at the best of times.

Anyhow, I just got a little thrill today when a friend let me know that one of my patterns was mentioned in Alana Dakos' blog Never Not Knitting as one she used for making a gift for a friend. Check out the little knitted owl on her post here. The pattern (seen above) is Owls Two Ways, and both the crochet version and the knitted version are on the same pattern. Yay for little owls!

Crafty Little Day of the Dead Needle Case

2011-09-21T19:53:00.000-05:00


Crafty Little Needle Case - Knit Version

OPEN, SESAME!

Here is my latest little pattern - the Crafty Little Needle Case. It will hold a lot of yarn needles and pins. This one is knit, and I chose a Day of the Dead theme for embellishing. It lends itself to lots of embellishing, I'll warn you. Available here on Ravelry.com FOR FREE! Enjoy!

Plain little needle case


Getting an applied I-cord makeover

My Ships & Seaside - Finally done!

2011-08-30T19:01:00.006-05:00

Done, done, done! Well, I finished a few days ago, but this is the first time I've goten a chance to write about it since then.

As you see, the stripes go all the way around. It began with a provisional cast-on, and ended with a mega-session of Kitchener stitch. The pattern is Tiny Owl Knits - ships & seaside.

I love it. No, wait, I adore it, I worship it, I am thrilled to sit by it's little feet. The pattern, that is. I am similarly entranced by my version. Darker, moodier, stormier.

I made it for a summer KAL in the Tiny Owl Knits group on Ravelry. I also made a prize for the raffle for those finishing by September 1. (Next time, sweethearts, lots of pics.)

Video blog madness...

2011-07-07T16:01:00.005-05:00

I've been spending my time making longer and longer and more and more involved video blogs for one of the yarn stores where I teach. Here's the latest:

You can check more out at the oceanofstitches channel on YouTube: here.

Busy, busy me! I've been teaching my tushie off to make ends meet and I love it, but I get super tired! Mind you - it is a good tired.

Progress progresses

2011-06-03T15:50:00.004-05:00

I promised you updates on my ships & seaside cowl. Well, here's all I've gotten done so far - but I've been working on other things at the same time. And here are my lovely colors - in lovely Malabrigo. Clockwise from the top left we have Bobby Blue, Emerald, Azul Profundo, and Vaa. The latter has some of those lovely olive colors that I referenced from the Turner painting, Fishermen at Sea (below). And some of the deep inky blues. You can see the stripes from the bottom two are working out well. The light green is just the crochet thread that I used for the provisional cast-on. No one will ever know it was there (except you, if you are reading this.) I chose the lighter emerald green and the light green-blue to be the brief contrast to the dark colors, as Turner did with the foam and reflections on the waves.
I have altered the original colors of the pattern, as well as reversing the dark and light tones. Because I can't leave well enough alone.

Ships & Seaside

2011-06-01T08:52:00.004-05:00

I am starting on a lovely cowl as part of the Tiny Owl Knits group Summer 2011 KAL on Ravelry. The ship & seaside cowl. I chose colors based on this J.M.W. Turner painting - stormy, dark, and mysterious. I'll post photos as I work on it!

Baby Luchadora

2011-05-19T08:35:00.003-05:00

This is Rose, in a skull mask, looking like a miniature Mexican wrestler. I crocheted a skull from this pattern, crocheted around it, and my daughter put it on. An idea was born - baby luchadora. I put ties on it and she decided she must wear it to dinner, AND that we should go to dinner at Torchy's - a great taco place here in Austin, Texas. So, being a mother that encourages flights of fancy, we did.

Tying up loose ends...

2011-05-09T22:52:00.005-05:00

This is what I spent the last 7 weeks on. Actually, I spent the last 7 weeks making 2 of these. And there is no final picture - because I am a dork and forgot until after I had already delivered them.

The project was to reproduce 2 copies of an existing Christmas stocking that was more than 40 years old, from a pattern that is more than 50 years old. I was given a stocking, a photocopy of an old pattern, and asked if I could make 2 new close copies, with new names for new family members. They were knit flat for part (the leg and instep), in the round for part (the toe) intarsia for part (twin scary Santas,) stranded for part (names on both sides, and weird crossed candy canes,) stripes (the toe again,) and 3 jingle bells each. There was a back seam, seams on both of the heel gussets, a braid in 3 colors covering the back seam, and toes that had to conform to the original stocking, not the original pattern.

The part above is the section of intarsia where I was using 9 bobbins, butterflies, and balls of yarn for something less than 1 foot wide. It would have been 11, but I chose to add the 2 pairs of single stitch eyes in duplicate stitch.

The colors of the original were hard to match, but the person that commissioned them was quite pleased, thankfully. They are odd, but vintage. Interesting to make, but the finishing took about 10 hours - each.

I am trying this month to design 2 more crocheted bodice dresses, but I also am working on restoring an old crocheted afghan (I'm guessing from the early 1950s.) I WILL photograph the process, and I can tell it will be a very interesting challenge. Starting with loom-made daisies, I will be re-making parts of it, and I will then be repairing other parts. I was given lovely wool to match colors with, and I am so excited. Last month, I also worked on repairing another old crocheted afghan. I love repairs. It makes me want even more to go back to school to do textile conservation. We shall see...

In other news, I spent a couple of lovely evenings with a crowd of crochet folk. I was asked if I would be interested in starting up a local crochet guild, and I said yes. If you are in the Austin area, The Knitting Nest on South Congress will be hosting a gathering of people interested, and we will form a local chapter of the Crochet Guild of America. Save the date: Sunday, June 12, at 2pm. There will be food! Call Stacy at (512) 291-8866 to sign up, so we know how many to expect.

I had to cancel the Countdown to Harry Potter classes that I had designed - next to no response. I suspect Voldemort at work here.

I actually got on Twitter (@oceanofstitches) and I find that all of my postings are almost in Haiku form. My brain does not thrive perhaps on the 140 character limit. Or is it less?

I have asked my husband to keep an eye on my facebook and twitter accounts. I need to post more, and it seems easier to tell him what to post than sitting here assuming anyone is reading what I say. Right now, I am doing that but I might have him post soon. This space is mine, however. I may have him put up some photos for quick posts, but probably not.

I am trying to come up with classes to teach at both shops for the rest of the year. I am also trying to come up with whole series of knit and crochet courses. Occasionally, I sleep.

So there are my loose ends for the month. Let's hope I will be free enough to post more often!

In the meantime...

2011-04-08T23:08:00.004-05:00

While everything else has been going on, I have managed to design a little sundress with a crocheted top and a fabric bottom - children's sizes 2-8 (US). The pattern includes a full, photo-rich written tutorial on how to measure for and attach the fabric skirt to the crocheted top. This little mannequin is sitting in front of The Knitting Nest in Austin, Texas - looking all calm, cool and collected in the already hot weather here.

You can purchase the pattern from Ravelry for $5: .

I will be teaching a class on making this dress this Sunday, April 10th, also at The Knitting Nest. If you are interested, call Stacy at (512) 291-8866 to reserve your spot.

Just when I thought...

2011-04-01T23:08:00.003-05:00

Just when I thought my kids had been through enough, something else gets tossed our way. Today, I got news that my sweet baby, Rose, has scoliosis (not a big deal) caused by a rare congenital spinal defect (quite a big deal.) Butterfly vertebra - never heard of it? Me neither, until today. Sounds pretty, but it is not. Not a stranger to rare spinal defects (a different one runs in my family) this one has floored me all day. We get to see a battery of doctors next week to see what can be done and when. As she is only 2-and-a-half, she might be too little still to do much yet. I am so upset I don't know what to do.

All I have ever wished for my kids is that they have a safe and happy life, and never to have to experience the chronic pain issues and debilitating movement problems that spinal problems can cause. I don't get to give that to her, and it breaks my heart.

I have been super busy crafting away trying to provide for my family. I will be even busier, I have a feeling. I plan to keep blogging away - if only to vent a little bit.

Crocheted goodness

2011-03-01T08:14:00.004-06:00

I finished weaving all of the ends of this square yesterday, and it turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself. The pattern is Granny Nenufar (Waterflower Granny) by Bigu Osuna and I made it for the March Afghan Square as part of the 2011 Afghan Square Crochet-Along at The Knitting Nest here in Austin. I just loved it so much that I had to share it with you. I will be teaching a class on making this square on March 9th at The Knitting Nest and I can't wait!

Is it weird to get this worked up over a 3D flower square?

I delve into Tunisian Crochet

2011-02-25T08:43:00.004-06:00

I am undecided about Tunisian crochet (also called afghan crochet.) It is easy, satisfying in it's simplicity, and has a squishy, dense texture. It is also FAST. Sounds great, right? My reservation is in the fact that it is repetitive. Forward row, return row - again and again. But it's speed makes up for that. And it's density makes it ideal for bags - and in this case, an iPad case. Mind you, the fact that I used lovely alpaca/wool yarn in this project helps a BUNCH. In the pattern I have included instructions for creating an iPad case, a large Kindle case, and a small clutch purse.

Get your copy of the pattern for $2: (Ravelry PDF download)

Owls Two Ways (free pattern)

2011-02-17T12:44:00.006-06:00

I just popped in to post up a duet of free patterns - more owls. I created a pair of universal patterns for simple one-piece owls, one knitted and one crocheted. These 2 patterns are together in one PDF for FREE DOWNLOAD HERE! (Ravelry.com PDF download.)

Yay! More Owls!

New Post!

2011-02-15T09:22:00.005-06:00

Whew! It has been a whirlwind of a month! First of all - Happy Day After Valentine's Day! I made these little crochet hearts for my family yesterday as my gift. But we celebrate for a few days, as love is important every day. I hope you are having a break in the cold (or hot) weather wherever you are. It has been crazy here! I live in central Texas, and while it gets a little cold here in the winter, it doesn't normally get below freezing for days and days! I know the weather has been horrid so far this year, but I hope it has given you a chance to snuggle up and craft.

I have been BUSY sample making for both of the yarn shops where I teach. I just found out yesterday (by randomly checking the schedule) that I will be teaching an extra class at the end of the month. So I whipped up an amigurumi cupcake (and a pattern) just for that. I might even be tempted to post it up.

In other news, I have been writing a blog post for a locally-based garment company - Emilime. I hope to write more of those soon, as well as getting a chance to blog here more.

Also, I have jumped into writing knitting patterns with charts using a bit of computer software. I will post soon to review the software I got last week.

Back to sample making - the set I am doing now is for a 5 month series - Countdown to Harry Potter - 8 Harry Potter-themed projects that are a mixture of knitted projects and crocheted projects. (Including 3 designs from me!) Check back soon for a full list of patterns!

Happy crafting!

Granny's Valentine Bag Pattern

2011-01-09T09:02:00.008-06:00

I crocheted this bag to demonstrate 4 different granny styles of crochet. It is in 4 colors of Cascade Yarns Luna - lovely, soft cotton yarn that was a dream to crochet. It made me think of my own granny - these were her favorite colors, and she loved hearts (see heart side of the bag below.) The parts of the bag were inspired by Granny Mandala by Crochet with Raymond, the Granny Stripe Blanket by Lucy of Attic24, the Center Heart Square by Ginger Badger. The other side is a basic granny square, for which there are many patterns. I give detailed instructions on crocheting each piece and on the assembly of the bag in my FREE pattern.

Here is the lovely Granny Mandala bottom.

The traditional Granny Square side.

And last, the lovely Center Heart side.

I do give options for creating two regular granny square, or heart square sides. You can see the granny stripe strap in most of the photos.

Download it HERE on Ravelry.

Granny's Valentine Bag by Ana Clerc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at oceanofstitches.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://oceanofstitches.blogspot.com/2011/01/grannys-valentine-bag-pattern.html.

Bubo Owl Pattern

2011-01-08T08:50:00.006-06:00

I have just finished with ANOTHER crochet pattern (I know!) It is for a Snowy Owl, or any of the owls in the Bubo genus. It is just a nice owl-shaped owl, and I originally made it for my son, Badger. I took notes the whole time I was stitching, and it turned out so well that I want to make the pattern available.

Errata: I found 3 errors in the pattern and these have been corrected. Any new download will have the corrected version, and all those who have bought a copy have been sent a new version.

In the directions to the body of the owl: Line 29: stitch count should read (30). Line 30: count is (24). Line 31: Count is (18). Line 32: Count is (12). Added Line 33: sc2tog to the end of the round (6)

In the directions to the wings: Line 5: repeat bracketed instructions twice. Line 8: sc 6 instead of 7.
You can download it here for $5:

Snow Arches Pattern

2011-01-06T18:06:00.005-06:00

I just finished writing up the pattern for his afghan block that I designed for the January installment of the afghan block crochet-along at The Knitting Nest in Austin, TX. I have never done a design for an afghan block, other than a granny square - so I was surprised that it worked so well. Pretty, no?

Download it for $3, HERE:

Happy Owlidays!

2010-12-25T09:59:00.005-06:00

I hope everyone is having or has had a lovely holiday! I am calling mine an owliday, as I saw one of these fly over the window and land on the roof of my mom's home as we were opening gifts yesterday. It was absolutely beautiful. My mother has been telling me that she has owls, and from her description of the call and from the one I saw yesterday, I can tell you definitely that it is a Great Horned Owl. My absolute favorite!

Which makes the animals that I made for my kids even more fortuitous!

Here is the Snowy Owl I made for Badger. It has barred feather marking on it's head and back. I will be publishing this pattern on Ravelry next week.

Here is the sweet little Horned Owl I made for Rose. The pattern is Owlets from the Roman Sock Blog. Mine came out a little shorter and fatter than I intended, but it is so sweet and soft.

So happy owlidays, everyone! Hoo!

A Gift for You!

2010-12-15T13:27:00.003-06:00

For all of you who have commented, and for all of you who have lurked, I have a gift!

From now until midnight on December 31st, get 15% off everything in my Etsy shop (see sidebar.) Enter the coupon code SWEETS4THESWEET when you checkout.

Thank you for reading my random musings!

Love,
Ana.

The end (of December) is nigh!

2010-12-08T22:53:00.003-06:00

Oh, holy cow, the clock, the clock is ticking...

That is the way it sounds in my brain anyway. With all of the craft show making and all of the sample knitting and crocheting, and all of the pattern writing I am WAY, WAY, WAY behind in the gift making. It would not feel so bad if had actually made more sales at the craft shows or if more than one person had signed up for the ornament classes (which were subsequently canceled.) I know that the economy is still crummy, but oh, this is not fun at all. I did schedule some last-minute knitting classes, and got a little bit of swatch knitting done for a knitwear company. These are both good, as it means that we can buy food.

However, of all the gifts that I had to make, I have gotten 3 done. And I can't count two, as my kids needed their fingerless mittens today, so I gave them to them early. I will be able to get a few done - but no sweaters for either. Luckily, I was going to knit them quite a bit larger than I needed to, so I can get them done during the summer, and they can wear them next winter. Still, I am bummed. I will get most of their other toys done, but my mom might have to wait 2 weeks for her cowl, and my brother will be waiting on his box at the end of January to the beginning of February. Luckily, it will still be cold in Minnesota. When did I ever expect to use that phrase?

So wish me luck, and forgive me not posting much in the last month. I have been working my fingers to the bone - and have little to show for it. I will not be posting much this month either, as I spend about 5 minutes a day checking my email and then get right back to the making. I miss looking in on everyone, and if I don't say it before the end of the month,

My Very Best Wishes on the Holiday that you Choose to Celebrate (I think that covers all my bases.)

Ana.

Make your own ornaments!

2010-11-17T19:39:00.004-06:00

Two knitted stars, an elf hat, a short-row pickle, a mini sock stocking, and a double-knit Norwegian Star snowflake.

An African Flower motif stocking, 2 crocheted stars, a curved crocheted pickle, a lace snowflake, a lace heart, and a little elf hat.

Starting November 26th and 27th, I will be teaching 10 different ornament classes. There will be 5 each of knitting and crochet (being fair to the various needle arts.) Above are the samples I created for each class. Call or visit The Knitting Nest in Austin Texas to sign up. Different ornaments will be offered on different days - knitted ones on Friday the 26th, and on Wednesdays thereafter; crocheted ones on Saturdays starting November 27th.

Escape the house, make your own ornaments (or gift toppers.)

Where am I?

2010-11-12T13:26:00.007-06:00

Where am I? In the middle of stitch marker land, apparently. These are sets of knitting stitch markers that I just finished for sale at the Ravelry event at The Knitting Nest tomorrow, November 13. They are all made from 22 gauge sterling silver (so heavy duty, won't bend easily), Swarovski crystal beads (so, sparkly) and clear glass beads (also sparkly) and are all handmade and carefully finished (so not to snag the knitting.) There are 18 sets of 5 markers - and will be for sale from 10-11:30 am and 1-6pm during the Ravelry event. Any leftovers will go up for sale on my Etsy shop on Sunday. I will also have more project needle cases and sock needle envelopes for sale. I have also donated a special set of all 3 of these (stitch markers, project needle case, sock needle envelope) to the silent auction to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. This auction will be taking place all day tomorrow during the Ravelry event. The stitch markers are very special - sterling silver, freshwater pearl, and deep red, silver-lined vintage glass beads. The sock needle envelope is finished with a vintage glass button as well - the only one I've made in the true red wool felt. I made these in remembrance of all of my family members who have had cancer. That would be ALL of them, by the way. Only my siblings and kids and I have gone cancer-free so far. Spooky - the odds aren't good.

Mmm, sparkly and pastel.

Getting brighter.

Brighter still.

Ah, brightest yet.

I am very thankful that I have quite a few years of jewelry making under my belt. It made the process neater and faster. I will admit that wrapping the wire was a little difficult. The headpins that I used are heavier in gauge than I usually use for jewelry - but I wanted them to stand up to a lot of hard use. My fingers are sore - but they turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

I'll Be Teaching Next Week!

2010-10-26T17:28:00.003-05:00

Starting next Tuesday, November 2, I will be teaching a Knitting 101 class! Tuesdays, November 2, 9, 16, and 30 from 7 - 8:30 pm at The Knitting Nest in Austin, TX. That is 6 hours of class time, in which students will learn how to cast on, knit, cast off, purl, knit in the round on circulars and double-pointed needles, increase, and decrease. A solid beginning course. The cost is $80 for six hours, plus materials. As I get the course fee, the store policy is that materials must be purchased at The Knitting Nest, so that classes may continue to be held there. Please come learn, if you are nearby; and support The Knitting Nest for giving me such a good venue at which to teach. Hope to see you there!

The next big thing...

2010-10-21T16:25:00.012-05:00

I coulda been a contender!

I just wanted to say thank you to the many people who sent me cheering messages in the last few weeks. It was a huge help - and probably the very thing I needed. I was tempted to throw my hands up and quit the teaching thing, but I would have been quitting one of the things that I love the best. I really love teaching knitting, crochet, and jewelry making. I love seeing the spark of understanding and the frisson of inspiration spread to those I teach. I love to share what I do, and make more of us out there. I love passing the gifts of the incredible teachers I have had to the next person. Thank you for encouraging me. I want to say a special thank you to Stacy, the owner of The Knitting Nest (Austin, TX) for supporting my efforts and encouraging me to teach. I will, in fact, be teaching holiday ornament classes there starting in November - both knitted ones and crocheted ones!

I have been busy the whole time I was preparing for classes. The above mitts are for my brother Martin's birthday (I can say that - only my brother Nick actually reads my blog.)

I just finished some for Badger - leftover Malabrigo from his hat last year. Buttons to match.

Rose has some, also made from leftover Malabrigo, to match her hat from last year - which I will admit is probably still a bit big. I am starting on more presents for the holidays. I also have to make Rose a gnome costume for Halloween this week. I am making her a red, dotted skirt, a blue, flowered shirt, and a little white pinafore. This will all be combined with her gnome hat to make her the sweetest gnome baby. I might even embroider flowers on her pinafore - let's see how the week goes.

I recently got a care package from my dear friend Laura. It was chock full of lovely, but here is one thing that she sent - recycled yarn from Washington State! Yay! I even like the name - Smart Monkey. They are on Etsy if you want some yourself. There is a local group that does the same thing, and I will be checking them out soon.

Here is something else I have been up to - more jewelry making. This is a 1.5 inch wide wool felt rose, with glass beads, a silk and wool leaf with pearl cotton embroidery. I made it as a gift for my Chiropractor. She is a very nice woman, but she has really been an immeasurable help to me. I actually leave my house because of her. My back had gotten so bad, that I mostly did not leave the house. Now look at me - going out and teaching.

I made a wool felt, scrap silk, vintage button, and embroidered bracelet.

Lined in a scrap piece of linen.

And a pair of chandelier earring to wear when I feel special. These were actually class samples I made for the classes that I was to be teaching. I bought the supplies, and made them to my tastes. They are definitely mine. They are Bali silver findings and sterling silver wire, beads, and Swarovski crystal beads.

The crystal beads are my favorite color name ever - padparadscha. These are a sort of an orangish, brownish, reddish pink.

Wikipedia states that "Padparadscha is a pink-orange corundum, with a low to medium saturation and light tone, originally being mined in Sri Lanka, but also found in deposits in Vietnam and Africa; Padparadscha sapphires are very rare and highly valued. The name derives from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom.^[8] Along with rubies, they are the only type of corundum to be given their own name instead of being called a particular colored sapphire. Padparadscha used to be a subvariety of ruby.^[9] "

So, I am on to the next big thing, which is good for me, and I hope for the good of all.

I wish I were joking.

2010-10-15T17:59:00.004-05:00

No photos today. Just venting a little bit of frustration and disappointment.

I was going to be starting a new job teaching knitting, crochet, and maybe a bit of jewelry at the local Y. Well, apparently not. It might happen in January, or it might not. I was told that it was a bit "aggressive" of me to try to get classes going in the 3 week of time since I met with the organizer. Um - not my timeline. However, I was fully prepared - materials lists, class schedules. lesson plans, handout materials, cost spreadsheets, etc. I went to the Y the day before yesterday to put up a big demo/display for 5 hours, and had lots of interest. I felt like I was on display, but I always do. Now I am getting, in my opinion, weird half-hearted responses, and almost feel blamed for doing so much work to get things ready in time. I spent almost 40 hours so far preparing for class. Now, nothing.

Where do I go from here? I have no idea. I am going to try to get some teaching work at some of the local yarn stores, but I am afraid that they will have filled their schedules already. I cleared out 10 weeks of time for this - changed my schedule and everything. It couldn't come at a worse time for us. My husband was laid off almost 2 years ago, from a field he had been in for almost 16 years. He is still looking, but nothing so far. My family has been helping, immeasurably, but can no longer afford to.

We are going ahead with our printing press - but are concerned that we are going to be able to afford paper to print on. As you see, I've already put some of our handmade things up for sale on Etsy. (See Etsy widget to your right.) I don't need your pity or charity, but I could use some loving thought right now. And if you believe in some higher power, or the beneficence of the universe, please pray for us.

(Update - they asked me to send them a time sheet for all the time I spent preparing for 8 classes, and balked that it was nearly 40. They also questioned my experience and professionalism, and then said that I would not serve their needs. So I will not be working for them, obviously. I had hoped that we could come to some sort of understanding, but apparently they do not understand the time and cost of materials needed for 8 craft classes.)

I have been BUSY!

2010-10-11T09:58:00.014-05:00

This little pile of fabric, felt and interfacing became...

I have been busy sewing my little fingers off. This weekend was that of the Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas. I was busy making project needle cases that hold a few sets of double pointed needles, and up 3 circular needles. Just enough for a project, hence the name. They can hold dpns up to 7.5 inches long, or 8 inches, if you don't cover the tops with the flap. Any length circulars will fit.

Lovely, delicious scissor fabric...

Dress pattern fabric (tee, hee.)

Here is the lovely tree, flower, and fruit fabrics. From the scrap felt, I made...

Sock needles are tiny. They are thin and short. Perfect for losing and snapping in half. I thought that giving them a little padding and protection was a noble idea. Besides, I have lots of buttons and like to make things out of extra material.

Fern green and a deep, strawberry smoothie-colored pink. They will hold needles up to 5.5 inches long.

This is the inside of my project needle case. You can see needles already looking comfy inside. The button on the circular needle pocket keeps the circular needle cable from shifting when it is closed. It provides just enough pressure to keep things tidy.

Aren't they cute!

Here are the insides of the other project needle cases - red, strawberry, and fern green. I have four more of the brown ones to finish. There are also pink and yellow felt pockets.

Sales were a bit slow, but as it was day 3 of the yarn crawl, people were tired. I have been invited back to The Knitting Nest (Austin, TX) in November for their Ravelry party. November 13, some of the ladies from Ravelry will be in town for a visit. I will be there, cases (and beaded stitch markers) in hand.

I am also going to be teaching classes this Fall at the Southwest Family Y, in Oak Hill (Austin, TX.) Two levels each of knitting and crochet, and some quick, fun jewelry classes. If you are local - come sign up. We are going to be learning a lot!

Things are busy, but it looks like the next few months will be full of fun.

Rose's Birthday #2.

2010-09-23T08:40:00.015-05:00

Cupcake gnome. Would you like some of my lovely cupcakes?

Rose turned 2 yesterday. My goodness, she seems so grown up. Well, as you may know, I planned a food theme for her birthday this year. As you may also know, my husband, son and I made gifts for her ourselves. Well, in addition to the whole market bag full of wool veggies, she got a few other things.

The cupcakes here are from my mom, and are HABA toys from Germany. My mom also found her a kid's apron with cupcakes from Williams-Sonoma. A half-hour of hemming and it was short enough for Rose. My dad got her a wood sandwich playset, also some other lovely wood toys. Her Grammie and Grandpa Bob are 1440 or so miles away and had us get some toys for her - wood trains, a LEGO, and some stuffed animals (characters from favorite story books.) Her great-grandparents sent a cute cat card and some birthday money - she picked out more LEGOs. She is a very happy kid to have so many people who love her.

Her brother Badger made her some lovely rice-filled bean bags and a bag to keep them in. I found some fruit fabric and some coordinating leafy fabric. Badger helped design the bag and bean bags, Mama sewed, Badger filled them. Badger also picked out the really bright ribbons and threaded them through for drawstrings.

One last minute gift was a green gnome hat. I figured that she might also like something special to wear for her birthday, seeing as her brother got a full suit of chain mail and some armor. I adapted the pattern from an adult size witch's hat pattern I found on sale for less than a dollar. Like the helmet, I sandwiched a layer of heavy interfacing between two layers of wool felt (only one layer, not two like the helmet.)

I thought she might like some flowers on it, but might want to change flowers or add other decorations; so I made the flowers removeable. I found the pattern for wool felt rose hair clips at the Purl Soho blog: purlbee. I made Rose one at the same time I made two rose buttons for her hat. The leaf is my pattern, though.

A nice simple button on the back - securely stitched on.

Buttonholes cut and stitched in matching pearl cotton embroidery thread. Now she can put on whatever she wants. Her comment was "It's so nice." Balm to my sleepy heart.

Her dad and I conferred on his gift. He was originally going to carve her a bowl and spoon out of wood. However, Rose as a tendency (being 2) of hurling her toys around the house with glee. For her brother's sake especially we decided to make her a bowl and spoon out of wool felt. Dad did some of the design work, Mama made the pattern and did the stitching. I think I will put this up as a tutorial in the next few days.

Here is my next project this morning. Rose currently really likes pink. She had her own piece of the pink fabric on the right and she likes it so much that she takes it to bed, and wears it folded around her wrist as a bracelet. I got some more yesterday to make her a skirt that she can twirl in. The fabric on the left will be gathered pockets. I will be sewing a lot in the next 2 weeks. I designed some knitting needle cases, and a local store will display them during a yarn crawl. I will show off the fabric next week (It is full of birds and trees.) I am also thinking of doing more with some lovely dressmaker themed fabric I saw the other day - hmm.

And because 11 veggies seemed like an odd number (literally and figuratively), I made Rose a chili pepper. Also, because it was funny. Again, I am easily amused.

Oh, I forgot:

2010-09-05T19:25:00.004-05:00

While I was busy making all of Badger's things, I made Rose a little shrug for the fall. It is the Whirligig Shrug by Stephanie Japel. I made it out of Knit One Crochet Two's 2nd Time Cotton - yay, recycled cotton. It is very splitty yarn, and the small acrylic content (25%) still kills my hands. But I had made Rose a halter top last year that still fits and this was the leftover yarn.

I made only two changes. Instead of lifted bar increases at the shoulders (it is knit top-down), I made yarn over increases. They were visible in this marled yarn, where the originals were not. Also it is really hot here most of the year and I thought eyelets looked cooler. The second change occurs in the front where the lapels meet the body. From what I could gather, you are supposed to just let them hang. I stitched the ends onto the top of the back ruffle - and it curves nicely around her body this way. I made the largest size in a size larger yarn, so she will be able to wear this for a while.

Look at that cute sleepy baby hair.

If Vikings had lived in Austin or Nashville

2010-09-04T18:56:00.028-05:00

If Vikings had lived in Austin or Nashville, maybe they'd have had armor made of wool felt (like cowboy hats) riveted with pearl snaps (like western-style shirts.)

Here are loads of pictures of all of the projects that I have been working on for my son Badger's 7th birthday. I think that I've been working for about 2 1/2 months total. mostly mornings before he woke up and in little fits and starts while riding in the car or sitting in waiting rooms.

The first thing that I worked on was a large dragon. It is 18 inches tall and about 24 inches long. The fabric is a VIBRANT orange batik that I had in my fabric stash.

It has really lovely wings.

And a lovely smile. The crown just seemed right somehow. I cut a crown out of some red wool felt from the felt stack here at home, and embroidered it with yellow pearl cotton and red metallic embroidery thread - which was a bear to work with. Badger picked the colors for the crown and the gold mylar thread for the centers of the button eyes. He thought that I was making this dragon for his Grandpa Bob, who also likes dragons. This bit iof subterfuge was necessary as it was really hard to hide a large orange dragon. He was very generously making all sorts of design choices so that is Grandpa Bob would really like it. I fooled him.

Badger picked a button from the stash to make a center jewel for the crown. My husband, Matt, helped to remove the metal shank on the back and I glued it on with craft glue.

Badger received the dragon as well as a suit of knit chain mail (hood and hauberk) first thing in the morning. As you can see, he is still waking up. I found both patterns on Ravelry.

The new look for baby fashion this fall is apparently chain mail. With cloth diapers. This is Rose, not Badger.

Badger is not so sure about the look.

The chain mail hood (called a helmet in the pattern) is shaped with short-rows like a sock heel.

I had to make the neck of the hauberk larger because Badger has an enormous head to house his enormous brain.

I made a buckler-type shield for him - also out of wool felt.

Blanket stitched on the edge in pearl cotton. It just made it look less plain.

We used a large, heavy button from Germany for the center boss.

And it has both an arm and a hand strap. To be useful.

Next I worked on a helmet. Finding a pattern for a helmet that was even remotely realistic was impossible. So I made my own. Actually, I made two. The first one was for a 15th century helmet called a sallet. Because I was insane. The one in the Wiki image with the lobster tails was the original idea.

I made a pattern and then made a paper 3D model. It was ok, but it had buckling on the top, as well as flaring at the bottom. This was an issue. I knew that the wool version would do the same thing. Wool felt does not lend itself to a fairly round smooth look without seams - not so smooth in that case. I could have blocked and steamed it, but I knew that I was going to have an inner layer with heavy interfacing which would not be as malleable as the wool.

I asked around for help with the geometry of the thing, and was put in touch with an armorer that knits. Can you beat that for cool? He was a big help, and his suggestions let me know that there would have to be many more seams than I wanted.

So I looked for something still a little complex, but easy enough for my simple head to figure out. I took a lot of measurements of Badger's head, and added a bit for ease and room to grow. Then I sat with pencil, large eraser and a load of drafting tools and came up with a second pattern. I found some images of the Gjermundbu Viking helmet and someone else's metal version of what it could have looked like. I chose for safety to omit the top spike. My brother sent a link to a Swedish museum pattern for a Viking 6-panel hat. I adapted it using Badger's measurements for a 4-panel helmet. I had two days total to do the helmet, including Badger's birthday itself.

The back had a chain mail piece, so I knitted more mail.

We used pearl snaps instead of rivets. The backs of these are all covered in interfacing and more felt - so no metal bits touch skin.

The outside layer of the helmet by itself.

The inside layer had 2 layers of very stiff and heavy interfacing. I didn't want his helmet to crease or dent.

It looked like a small tent when it was done.

Next came all the hand stitching. The bottom rim is attached to the inside and outside separately. Then the mask part was attached on the inside and outside with invisible ladder stitches. I had whip stitched it in pearl cotton beforehand. The top straps cover the seams and reinforce the helmet . Side pieces are attached with more pearl cotton, using a figure-8 stitch that looks like a herringbone pattern.

The top of the helmet. The pieces were also attached with simple whip stitching.

Happy boy received his helmet after dinner. I also cooked special Gluten-, Dairy-, and Soy-Free cupcakes and a layer cake with homemade chocolate icing. And brown rice and sorghum pancakes for his dinner - he requested pancakes, bacon and eggs for his birthday.

Yes, I am completely out of my mind.

Because it is Not Hot Enough Here ...

2010-08-26T21:44:00.017-05:00

This guy had the right idea. Lovely Grizzly Bear. Well, as 106 degrees F was apparently not hot enough for us in Austin, Texas, we traveled about 75 miles south to San Antonio. Where it was 107 degrees F. Yup. I have no idea what the heat index was. Just really hot. You would think that being from Texas, and not really going out much at home would prevent me from spending 4 hours in the heat somewhere else. Nope; that part of my brain was apparently off. That and Badger got carsick 3 times. Poor guy, he doesn't travel well in the morning. He didn't feel well until MUCH later.

We saw a lovely jaguar. He was mostly still until a keeper caught his eye. Or a little child, not sure which.

Badger compared his hands to the bear's paw. No - not that big yet.

Rose enjoyed being pulled in the wagon. She is wearing a harness because she would jump out and run. We do not generally leash our kids, but felt that the bear and jaguar could refrain this once from eating her.

We spent the longest time inside the Africa Live! building, watching crocodiles, hippos, and fish having a much cooler time than we were. Actually, this was the coolest exhibit - 70 degrees inside and very shady.
Eventually we became too hot, took a quick ride on the zoo train and finally found ourselves at a place I found searching Google on a whim. The Little Aussie Bakery & Cafe is 100% gluten free! Located just a few blocks from the zoo, I can't believe we lucked out finding this place. Mostly also dairy free, I could eat almost everything. Slow food, gluten & soy free and mine had no dairy! The breads and cookies were lovely, and the converted house was so comfy and welcoming. These people really know what they are doing and could not be more lovely.

I had pizza with chicken, tomatoes, and cilantro pesto. I ate most of it before I even thought to take a picture.

Rose's pizza - chicken, bacon, and tomato sauce. We finished it for her.

Badger had a butter and plum butter sandwich. The plum butter was delicious.

Matt scarfed down his sandwich and let me help with his salad. This was incredibly tasty and fresh. Badger and I also shared a slice of coconut cake. It was so good that I never even took a picture. Most of the time, when there is food at a restaurant that I can eat, there is no desert. I could eat all of the cakes except for the carrot cake - I am allergic to carrots! We also had beautiful limeades, the kiddos had lemon in theirs and I had a sour cherry one. So GOOD! Please visit their website; and if you are in San Antonio, Texas - GO! They also ship baked goods and their GF flour mix. I am going back for my birthday with my family.

Lest you believe that my blog has become fiber-free - behold! I present to you a lovely braid of hand-dyed roving: 8 ounces of 70% merino wool, 30% seacell (seaweed based Lyocell). And it was made locally! The last stop of the day was Yarnivore. Tammy, the owner, was lovely and let me fondle part of a whole giant trash bag FULL of qiviut that her dad hunted for her. FOR HER! The roving I got was made in New Braunfels, Texas (right between here and San Antonio.) I will be making a shawl from it, and will let you know more about it later.

Just a reminder that if you see Malabrigo in a nice color that your LYSs don't carry, just get it. I ended up calling the next day and Tammy was nice enough to mail me one. Malabrigo merino worsted in Sunset - 1 skein. I think I will start making Malabrigo my souvenir of choice. There was also a nifty watery green color named Water Green, also not carried by any of the local yarn shops, but one souvenir was enough, n'est pas?

Gluten Free French Bread and Vegan Pesto

2010-08-14T13:15:00.002-05:00

French Bread Mix

3 1/2 cups brown rice flour
14 oz. (one box) tapioca starch (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 TBSP. xanthan gum
2 packets gelatin
2 (heaping) TBSP Egg Replacer (I use Ener-G brand)
1/4 cup organic sugar or Sucanat (browns better than regular white sugar)

Makes 6 cups mix.

French Bread - makes 2 large loaves

DRY INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups mix
8 TBSP pea protein powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 scant TBSP yeast

WET INGREDIENTS
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
3 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 cups warm water

DIRECTIONS
Fold parchment in half the long way, and line french loaf (split for 2 loaves) pan.
In the bowl of the mixer, combine dry ingredients and gently mix them.
Add in wet ingredients and mix. The amount of water will vary, start with the smaller amount and add more a little at a time as needed.
Scrape bowl, and mix for 4 minutes. Batter should be the consistency of smooth spackling paste. Thick, but easy spreadable.
Put half of batter in each side of the pan. Form them with your spatula into 12-14" loaves that are fairly flat on top - don't smooth them too much.
Let rise 35 minutes. (After 25 minutes start pre-heating oven to 425 degrees.)
Cover bread loosely in parchment paper.
Bake for 15 minutes, then uncover bread and bake for another 10 minutes.

Take out of oven and let cool for 30 minutes.

Pecan Pesto

4 cups loosely packed basil leaves
3/4 cup raw pecans
2 cloves of raw garlic
juice of 1/2 large lemon
salt to taste - start with 1/2 tsp. (should be a little saltier than you'd like if you were to eat it straight.)
a large dash (6 grinds fresh) of black pepper
olive oil - enough to make a runny paste

DIRECTIONS
Whir garlic first in a food processor.
Put in basil, pecans, salt, black pepper, lemon juice in that order in the processor.
Put 1/4 cup of olive oil in processor.
Pulse the machine until all ingredients are chopped. At this point you may have to put in more olive oil.
Turn processor on and let it chop until everything becomes a fairly uniform paste. Do not chop too long - you are not making soup.

Happy 100th Birthday, Mrs. Zimmermann!

2010-08-09T23:26:00.005-05:00

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Elizabeth Zimmermann. I, for one, want to thank her immensely for her incredible contribution to knitting and to knitters. For those of you who want to to know more about her, check the Wiki. For her ongoing contributions, please check the website of the company she founded (and her daughter Meg Swansen still runs) Schoolhouse Press.

Thank you for giving us all confidence to make our own patterns, experiment at will, and laugh at ourselves. Thank you for your tremendous sense of humor. Thank you for showing the larger world what we, as knitters, already knew: knitting is a joy, knitting is a puzzle to turn about and wonder at, knitting has great utility, knitting can be a passion - and rightly so.

I wish we had lived in Shorewood, WI at the same time. I would hope we would have gotten along famously. I did live in Wisconsin during some of the time you were alive, and really regret not knowing about you then. But I am fortunate that you live on through your words, incredible patterns, and in the joy you still give to me and other knitters around the world. I promise that my children and grand-children will always be presented with at least one copy of your books.

Love,
Ana.

Why I will never rule the world.

2010-07-31T08:52:00.016-05:00

I will never rule the world because I put WAY too many things on my to-do list and then fret about getting them all done in the time frame that I have allotted myself. That, and because I think that wool food is funny. Not just amusing, but knees-collapsing falling on the floor funny. Why? I am clueless as to why, but I will note that perhaps I am just very easily amused. Here is the corn that escaped having it's picture taken.

Here is the bag that all of those lovely wool veg got to wear.

Here is the pile of pattern pieces and cut fabric and interfacing for my son's present. NINETEEN pattern pieces for this bad boy, some of which had to be cut out 8 times. All of which were cut at least twice. This is why it took 3 mornings to cut all of them out. Another whole morning was spent just ironing on the interfacing or fusible fleece. I'm unsure whether or not I like the fusible fleece; it gives a nice layer of batting to quilt but it also makes the texture of the fabric that it was fused to a bit rough.

Here's what I did yesterday. The body took a whole bag of poly-fill to stuff it. The wings are almost done, and not attached yet. There is an awful lot of hand-finishing that this pattern requires, but that is the part I enjoy.

The head of the dragon, missing needle sculpting, eyes, tongue, and horns.

Matt was helping my dad pick something up from a church yard sale and found an interesting pile of craft things. These are the two embroidery hoops he found. Yes, that is a 12" ruler on the smaller one.

Three little girl sewing patterns - in sizes to fit Rose.

A huge box of acrylic (mostly) yarn and a few crocheted items.

A 13 gallon trash bag full of plastic canvas yarn - very crunchy stuff.

Did you know that Amoco made yarn? Me neither. (Amoco is a gas/petrochem company here in the U.S. for those who didn't know.)

I've got two. Lucky me. I guess I will crochet funkiness from all of this stuff. Mind you, there was a nifty baby cardigan kit from 1971, complete with a finished back and one of the fronts. There were even British size 10 metal needles still in it. Crunchy blue acrylic yarn, but still a nifty find. Also some ultra funky Nottingham lace panels for applique. Had never seen these before either.

There you have it. I will never rule the world because I give myself lots more to do than I think, I am too easily amused, and I am clearly not omniscient - see Amoco yarn comment.

The Value of Our Handmade Stuff

2010-07-18T10:48:00.004-05:00

Here are most of the crocheted and knitted veggies for my daughter's 2nd birthday present. For some reason, the corn didn't make the shot. So we have (total) 11 veggies: corn, tomato, squash, lettuce, asparagus, garlic, beet, radish, carrot, and 2 mushrooms. I made 2 mushrooms because one just seemed lonely somehow.

As I have been making all of the veg for my daughter's present, I have been thinking of how we value handmade stuff. If you are reading this blog, you probably dig handmade already, but how much do you value it?

Do you buy local handmade in support of local artisans? Do you pale at the prices charged for it? I know we can all get a pair of nifty cabled gloves at discount stores for under $20, so paying $60 or better for what could be seen as the same thing seems exorbitant. Consider that the raw materials at retail prices can cost $20 by themselves. Consider that it can take 20 hours or so to knit a pair of gloves with a complex cable pattern. If we paid ourselves fairly for our time, those gloves would cost $220. Now that $60 doesn't seem so bad, does it? Besides which, the workmanship and materials used in the handmade pair mean that those gloves will last you longer than a month or so of fairly constant use. With care, you could pass them down to your kids. Over their lifetime, handmade goods cost far less than the mass-produced equivalent due to their better workmanship. You could pay $60 for one pair of gloves every 5 years (with hard wear) or $10 twice a year or more for store-bought - so $100 for 2 pairs of $10 gloves a year for 5 years.

Do we as makers value our goods as much as we should? Do we consider that when we do our best work, we should charge accordingly? We pay retail prices for our materials (most of us.) We spend HOURS making each individual item. Why do we then devalue our work when we gift it? We say "well, I made this, so if you don't like it, I understand" or some such nonsense (of which I am guilty as well.) Why are we hesitant to charge a fair price when we sell it? Are we really trying to compete with discount store pricing?

I spent HOURS on my daughter's present. I am spending HOURS on the market bag to hold her present. I will be spending HOURS on my son's birthday present - the fabric cutting alone is in it's third day. The materials mostly came from my stash, but I paid retail for all of them. Why do I feel a little guilty for giving them only handmade for their birthdays? No idea. Even though this was a planned thing, I feel like I need to do more. Do more than 50 hours of work for each one? Spend more than I already have, even if lots of stuff came from stash? Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Even as a dedicated handmade consumer and maker, I tend to devalue my own work. How silly. I put love into every stitch, love into every cut of fabric and moment at the sewing machine, love into choosing the materials and patterns.

If you make stuff, value your time, effort, care, and work. It is more than good enough.

On Handwork

2010-07-07T13:28:00.005-05:00

I saw this short video over on the Mason-Dixon blog site. The importance of it struck so deeply that I felt the absolute need to share it here as well.

Wool Veg Continued

2010-06-17T13:47:00.006-05:00

Well, I've been hard at the veggie-makin'. In addition to the lettuce, we have this large knit garlic from Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh. She has some really brilliant shaping techniques in this little item. She has some really brilliant techniques in general. Her patterns are less toy instructions than fiber sculpture instructions. I love this little garlic and may have to make every single thing in her book.
The pattern for this lovely beet was found on Ravelry. It comes out more like an heirloom variety - just perfect for what I am doing. The leaf structure was interesting to do.
The latest one that I have completed is a crocheted carrot from the book Tasty Crochet by Rose Langlitz. There are some interestingly placed decreases that make for a slightly irregular - and more realistic carrot. The carrot tops were also crocheted, but were an improvisation based on the knitted tops from the carrot in Amigurumi Knits. I only made 2, as Rose is going to be 2, and 2 demands slightly more simplified veg.

Next up, a Tomato.

Fuzzy Lettuce

2010-06-13T09:46:00.004-05:00

I have started early on Rose's birthday presents: 10 kinds of veggies in a market bag. The first one is a lettuce from crochetsal.com . It was originally intended to be a fridge magnet using crochet thread. I used worsted weight Lamb's Pride in limeade green. I am using wool, or alpaca/wool blends, for all of the veg - the bag will be cotton. I am improvising the bag so that it is scaled for a 2 year-old. When I'm done, I'll put up the pattern.

Good friends

2010-06-08T18:18:00.002-05:00

Now that my friend Laura has gotten her gifts, I can show you the necklace that I made for her: Ladybug May.

I have to say, that having friends who craft and who encourage and challenge you to always do your best are absolute treasure. (It also doesn't hurt that she always has good things to say about stuff I make for our exchanges.) A little encouragement is a balm for the soul. And a little challenge expands your horizons.

Laura is also the winner of the ladybug pincushion - as she was the first to comment on it. She has the original one, and her little boy wanted another one so very badly - so it goes to him.

Thanks, Laura!

No Comment?

2010-06-06T23:01:00.003-05:00

Well, as I received not a single comment about the pincushion giveaway, no one has won it. I can't decide whether to give it to my son, or give it to the first person who does leave a comment about it. Any ideas? It is a rather sweet little pincushion, albeit a simple one. Perhaps someone would like to give it a home?

The First of My Gluten-Free Recipes: Chocolate Nut Cake

2010-05-29T13:54:00.002-05:00

Most of my whole family is Gluten-Free as most of us also have Celiac Disease. Likewise, many of us are allergic to dairy and soy. I am lucky in that we also all cook. My mother and I decided that most of the bread choices out there were horrendous, as well as many of the recipes. so we have worked on our own for years. Much of what follows started out as another recipes and have been changed, refined, and fiddled with until they seemed tasty, had good texture, and baked up consistently. So in the interest of putting some good stuff out there, here you go:

Seven Ingredient Chocolate Nut Cake (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free)

2 1/2 cups Walnuts/Pecans, or 10 oz. any other tree nut (Use only one kind for best result)
4 Tbsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch Processed)
9 Tbsp egg whites/liquid egg substitute
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
optional: confectioner's sugar to dust the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease sides and bottom of an 8" round cake pan and line it with a circle of parchment paper.
Pulse nuts, cocoa, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Stop when mixture starts to climb the sides of the processor and threstens to become a paste.
Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachement, beat egg whites/egg sub. and vanilla for one minute and then slowly add the sugar. Beat on high speed until mixture triples in volumes and is at the ribbon stage. (Where you can see ribbons of mixture form on top as it is mixed.)
Fold nut mixture into egg mixture in 3 batches.
Pour batter into pan and smooth top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cake resists slight finger pressure, edges start to pull away from sides, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out only slightly sticky.
Take out and leave in pan for 10 minutes.
Finish cooling on a cooling rack.
After cake cools, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Bug Addiction - My First Giveaway

2010-05-28T22:36:00.005-05:00

Well, if you read my last post, you'll know that I made a ladybug pincushion for the heck of it. My previous post contained the link to the tutorial for it as well, but here it is again. I decided to make 4 more. They are that fun to make. So, one is for my daughter Rose, 2 are for a pincushion exchange with friends, and 1 may be for you:

This one. I am giving this ladybug pincushion to one of my readers, if you'll leave a comment below. I will close the giveaway next Friday, June 4th, 2010 at midnight CST. I will allow my son to pick a number randomly and announce the winner on Saturday, June 5th. I'm interested in hearing about everyone's first memory of a pincushion. Let me know!

Ladybug May

2010-05-25T20:44:00.005-05:00

Just a few sneak peeks of a project I've been making. Its a present, so I can't show you everything until my friend gets it.

Life in spring is full of ladybugs. At least, here in Texas.

And one more little ladybug - a pincushion. You can find the tutorial here. It's teeny and cute and it hangs off of your thumb to keep pins in easy reach. It took about 15 minutes total. I recommend everyone make one NOW.

Random Bits of Goodness

2010-05-23T10:08:00.007-05:00

Here is the beginning of one of my next obsessions. I will be making a circular knitting needle case, a double pointed knitting needle roll, a sewing needle book or two, and a few pincushions. Woodland and gnome themed, with lots of little mushrooms. I even have little mushroom buttons. I find this very funny as I am really allergic to mushrooms. I must be trying to enjoy them vicariously. I have a pattern for a rug that looks like grass, lots of mushroom knitting and crochet patterns, acorns, little woodland animals, leaves, stumps, and gnomes. I'm thinking that I must make a woodland themed living room. Wouldn't it be fun to lay on a wool rug that looked like deep grass (and not in the 1970's scary shag rug way) and be in a little forest themed room where you hang out and play? I would have given my dolls away for the chance.

Speaking of food - that is the theme of the other craft obsession: play food. Now, to tell the truth, play food and other non-food representations of food have been an obsession since before the age of 3. I used to draw pictures of food, pictures of dishes, and a large red-and-white checkerboard tablecloth. I would then cut everything out and make a little play picnic. Why? I have no idea other than it was the 1970's and all of the older people I knew had large bowls of glass grapes and marble apples and pears. I am entranced by fabric that has images of fruits and vegetables on it. I go gaga over wood food toys and little tins at the toy store. I collect knitting and crochet patterns of play food. And I am starting to collect wool felt play food patterns and tutorials. It is a good thing that I have children who enjoy play food - otherwise I'd be some crazy woman in a house full of play food with no other excuse.

Just a few other things being made here: this is Rose's latest dress made from the same pattern that I made for her to make a nightgown in the fall. A remnant piece I found just before she was born. Cool and comfy cotton batik.

Rose is enjoying one of her new halter tops and skirts. But mostly she is enjoying being in the box.

And for parity's sake - a photo of Badger. He's still wearing the shorts I made for him for Halloween for his wood sprite costume. I noticed that he tends to wear mama-made shorts and pants more than the few store-bought ones he has. Must be roomier, or just funkier. He's a funky guy. Here you see that he needs a haircut - but has decided to grow his hair long again. Going for the wild man look, I guess.

Partying like its 1885...

2010-05-16T19:53:00.013-05:00

Oh, I've been a busy Mama...

First, I decided that I needed to get rid of my old, ratty pin-tomato, so I took some scrap tattoo print fabric and a vintage button and made a dirt-simple pincushion.

I think that I am continuing a really strong obsession with pincushions that began when I was little. I found a list of really lovely tutorials for all sorts. I am going to start making the little bottlecap ones. I love the idea of recycling bottle caps. We have a few, but don't drink soda, so I may go through my husband's stash of them. I may have to initiate a pincushion exchange. I wonder if I can make tiny Altoids tin sewing kits as well. Hmmm.....

Then, I started up on the summer clothing for Rose - looked into my fabric and picked out a pile.

This morning was spent cutting out summer clothes for Rose - 3 chemises, 2 dresses, a knit skirt from one of my old T-shirts all added to a dress I cut out for her last night.

All of the lace, perle cotton, thread, buttons, and elastic for said items. (Also fat quarters for a small purse. This is my newest small work basket. Yay, resale!

This is a skirt and halter top made from scrap fabric - every inch of a scrap that I've had for 5 years. I made this last Sunday.

This is a skirt and halter made yesterday from 4 quilting fat-quarters that I found on sale. Including the thread, I spent less than $6.

Another fat quarter and scrap skirt - 2 fat quarters found on sale, the rest is sewing scraps. Made last week. Rose loves red, as do I.

Here is the last skirt I made yesterday. Two fat quarters - not as full as the others, but light and airy fabric.

And, lastly, my husband and mother bought an antique printing press in order to start a card and stationery business. An 1885 Golding #3, we believe. It needs a few parts and a tiny bit of work, and some type and plates. But we should be up and running soon. We are all very excited.

Now to draft a pattern for a circular knitting needle case, and double pointed knitting needle case. With mushroom, gnome, woodland creature fabrics, and beautiful red wool felt, all with vintage buttons. Mmmmm.....

Cheap Stuff Cheapens Us.

2010-04-15T17:26:00.002-05:00

I tend to be a crunchy-granola handmade-everything kind of person. I make much of my own clothing, and that of my children - the rest mostly is resale. My husband and I make toys for our kids, and other things in general. We also try to buy handmade whenever we do buy. Even so, having kids, we have also found that we have plastic things - a lot of plastic things. Many of the plastic things came from other people - well meaning family members and friends. But to be honest, most of these things are ones that we have bought: toy cars, action figures, squeaky bath toys, play phones, pirate play sets, baby toys, Playmobil, Lego (3 different sizes); all of these were acquired bit by bit without much thought. Some are new, some have been used by both our kids, some were my brothers'. Some are sturdy, well-made, well-designed, and played with often: the Playmobil, a tea set made from heavy-duty recycled milk jug plastic, the Lego.

Truthfully, most of the plastic stuff we have doesn't really get played with at all; it just sits and takes up space. What I find most often is that my children play with stuffed toys, wood trains, wood cooking toys, crocheted balls, wood pull-toys, knitted worms, and those few good plastic things. But I have noticed that when the other plastic toys get pulled out, that's all that happens - they get pulled out. They might be pulled out and played with for a few minutes, but mostly they get looked at and then put down.

Now, don't get me wrong; I am not advocating a Luddite banishment of all things plastic. Heck, even the wheel of my spinning wheel is a heavy duty plastic. But as I watch my kids and other children play, I begin to think about cheap things and their impact in our lives. It is cheap and easy these days to get all sorts of things besides toys. We have cheap furniture, cheap clothing, cheap food. For those of us who cook, we have cheap cooking supplies and utensils. For those of us who craft, we have cheap fabrics and yarns, cheap craft tools, cheap notions. For those of us who have a low income, or are experiencing unemployment in the current economy, these things seem to mean the difference between having and not having at all.

I use the word "seem" for a reason. There are ethical reasons for not to buy cheap things: many are sweatshop made or made in factories with few safety standards. There are environmental reasons not to buy cheap things: they are transported from across the globe and are re-transported in our own country so they don't exactly have a small carbon footprint.Mind you, the same can be said of better-quality, higher priced items. There are health reasons for not buying cheap things: the materials with which they are made often don't meet health and safety standards. Who needs estrogen-mimicers in plastic toys or toxic dioxin gassing out of bath toys?

We can have our fill of cheap fast food and prepackaged foods. But we don't relish what we eat or the experience of making it. Honestly, it is faster to make some homemade food than to wait for take-out or delivery. For the rest, why not value the time spent in the making as well as in the eating? And there is the hidden economy in prepackaged or take-out food: eventually our health suffers. There is no possible way to see diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure as being cheap.

This past winter, my husband and I made all of the gifts for everyone we had on our holiday list. Mind you, with my husband unemployed since the previous January, and housequeen not being a paid position, we had very little money to spend. Having children, and quite a few family members, we decided to spend a little on materials, use some materials we had, and make stuff that people would actually use/wear/play with. So far, everything is still in use and seems to have turned out well. This year we will be doing the same thing but with a longer lead time. Starting everything at the beginning of November meant that we were making things right up to the day that they were given. Some things were a day or two late (come to think of it, Matt still hasn't given me the strand keeper or Wraps-per-inch tool for my spinning wheel, which were supposed to be my birthday and solstice gifts, respectively. Hmmm...) Nobody got tons of stuff, but they really enjoyed and appreciated what they did get.

Having more and cheaper stuff cheapens our experiences as human beings. We surround ourselves with cheap, often disposable belongings and rob ourselves of quality of life. We see our belongings, our surroundings, our meals, our time, and ultimately ourselves as transient and disposable. The question is whether we really need all this stuff in the first place. Two generations ago, we cared for, about and kept what we had far more than today. We had to. Planned obsolescence was non-existent. Even though my generation was one of the first to have mass market toys very readily available, we weren't spoon-fed the idea that just because something was a year old (or indeed 2 months old, these days) it no longer was of any value. People cared about and for their belongings and repaired whatever they could. Things had an intrinsic usefulness, beauty or purpose - an intrinsic value separate from their material value. Growing up, I didn't have much, but I loved, cared for, and repaired what I had, so much that my kids can care for and play with many of those things now.

Initially, you could see the problem as a question of access; some are only able to afford cheap, big box store items. But that is really not true. It is not more economical to buy 20 shirts every year because they fall apart in the wash after being worn 4 or 5 times. Nor is it more economical to buy a $20 plastic fashion doll, only to have it break after a week of play. This is more than an economy of use: spend $10 more and have something that could last 10-20 years. Double the initial cost and you might have something that could be passed down to another generation after years of love and play. Spend a few more dollars on a good set of stainless steel pans that last a lifetime and not have to replace teflon-coated aluminum once or twice a year.

Just to make myself understood: I am not advocating that we all dump our stuff and go out and buy a bunch of the most expensive stuff we can find. Just because something is expensive and has a designer label slapped on it does not mean that it is of good quality. Many high-end label items are made in the same factories, using the same workmanship, same equipment, maybe slightly better materials. What I mean that we should try to do is this: use the things we already have until they reach the end of their utility. Re-purpose what we can and save to buy better replacements - the best we can so that we can use and enjoy them for longer. Why not find out who makes stuff in your area and where to get it? Why not find out who is making unique handmade on the internet? Better yet, spend that amount on materials you need to make toys, clothes, and food yourself. Spend a few more dollars on good fabric, yarn, and craft materials to make stuff that will be enjoyed far more. You will enrich your life in the making as well as in the use. You may not have as much, but you will use, enjoy, and appreciate what you do have much more.

Here's what we are doing: sorting all our belongings into a few groups - stuff that's to keep and enjoy, stuff that we will re-purpose ourselves, stuff to re-sell, and stuff to give away. This year's big project!

But first, to get the summer clothes for the children made.

Playing with ketchup - or just catching up to myself.

2010-04-10T19:44:00.007-05:00

Oh, baby! It has been a really busy month and a few days. The above are what I have been working on. Well, some of what I've been working on. The rest has been reorganizing of one thing and another. Reorg of the yarn, reorg of the yarn inventory complete with photos of all of the yarn (on Ravelry); reorg of the spinning fibers; reorg of the knitting, crochet, spinning, sewing, fiber art books and magazines; reorg of the knitting projects; reorg of the sewing projects; reorg of the both kids' books and toys. Then there was the making of two sets of four handmade bookmarks, with handspun tassels as presents. And the 3 skeins of handspun yarn for a friend.

All in one month- I was busier than I thought. The top photo is a sundress meant to last 2 years - a knit top and a sewn bottom. The next a tomato hat for Badger. The next a series of crocheted frogs. Then a baby alpaca/merino hat for my dad's friend - Rose begged to model it. The next is a detailed photo of the swirl on top of that hat. The last is a baby hat for a friend - a cabled owl.

Next week is the beginning of a big sewing week: new shorts for Badger and new dresses, tops, and skirts for Rose. Maybe a skirt for me.

All of the projects are like playing with ketchup: sounds like a good idea at first, gets messy quite quickly, goes faster than you think, surprising when it is done.

Kniting Champions!

2010-03-02T18:59:00.003-06:00

Well, this is what I get for completing the Knitting Olympics. I'll have to figure out where to put it on my blog - and how. I think I know. But I have gotten into big trouble starting activities with that statement, so check back soon to see how badly I foul it up. I should also be able to send in my name for a certificate and a chance at winning a non-virtual prize.

To those of you who think that all that effort was completely wasted just to get a paltry little blog button, you couldn't be more mistaken. One, my daughter got a sweater and I got a groovy neck gaiter/cowl. Two, I got to try a REALLY HARD cable for fun. Three, I was knitting synchronously with more than 4,000 other knitters around the world. (I believe 4,055 signed up.) Four, knitting blogger and cartoonist Franklin Habit designed the lovely medal, for which I am truly thankful. And fifth, and very importantly, I got to challenge myself, as did every other participant.

It is enlightening to find out what you can do if you push yourself hard in a limited amount of time. I've done that once before with a month-long challenge from a local knitting group. We had to see what we could get done in 30 days - I designed and knit a tunic-length lace top to cover tank tops. Granted, this time I only FINISHED a sweater, but it was a challenging sweater. Tiny yarn, tiny needles, tiny attention span. I also only made a cowl, but I also designed it, and I'd never designed anything with major cables before. It was refreshing to participate in a knitting challenge where participants got to set their own goals. I will admit to trying to be somewhat realistic in what I could achieve with two young children, one teething, and one incidentally getting the flu, I think. But that's a really healthy step for me - and a challenge itself. Good on me. And good on all of the other knitters who participated and finished their projects.

Knitting Olymics - final event - Success!

2010-02-28T14:40:00.008-06:00

Yup - I AM DONE! YAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!

Here is various photos of the final challenge of my Knitting Olympics endeavors. The first, as you may recall, was to finish the Little Bubbles Baby Sweater. The second was to design a cowl/neck gaiter from scratch and then to knit it, finish it and sew on buttons. I finished it today just before noon CST. It covers my nose, should I want it to; it can be unbuttoned on the side if I get too warm. I can let it rest just below my chin; and it covers the back of my neck and head to the level of my ears. What is more is that it flares gently at the bottom to curve around the base of the neck and over the shoulders to tuck smoothly into the neck of a coat. It also flares very slightly at the top front and back centers to accommodate the nose or chin, and the back of the head.

I used an 85% merino, 10% silk, 5% cashmere blend Aran weight tweed yarn. There are 5 mismatched metal button with a vague botanical theme on the side. And LOTS of a huge cable - front and back- from one of Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Pattern stitch dictionaries. This one is Nautical Twisted-Rope Cable, and its a biggie. It is 28 rows tall and 49 stitches wide and for this pattern it is repeated twice on the front and twice on the back. I also added classic moss stitch panels on the sides.

The pattern for this will be up for sale on Ravelry in the next two weeks or so. I knit this bottom-up, but realized that it would be easier knit top-down. As the pattern has symmetry top-to-bottom as well as side-to-side it shouldn't be a problem.

Knitting Olympics Event One - Success!

2010-02-17T15:36:00.005-06:00

Here you can see I have FINISHED the Little Bubble Baby Sweater. Event one of my Knitting Olympics pursuit is complete. This sweater is so pretty - but I am so glad that it is finally finished.

I have been knitting it for just over a month and I made relatively few modifications to the pattern - sleeves are only tapered part of the way down and I put a garter stitch edge on the cuff instead of the recommended 2x2 ribbing. It irked my aesthetics that the collar and hem were garter and the cuffs rib. The tapered sleeves are obviously 3/4 length per the pattern. But I thought that the sleeves would be a little too snug if I tapered them all of the way down. It has 6 buttons, only 3 of which are buttoned on Rose. And they are rose buttons, what else?

I may have to come back and add a few more rows of garter stitch to the bottom to keep it from rolling. It was made just as the pattern said, and the pictures on the pattern all show a rolled hem. I am not sure why they went to all of the trouble to make one-row stripes on the bottom just for it to curl - but there you go. I even wet-blocked it - still rolls. We shall see.

On to event two: designing and knitting a heavily-cabled cowl, part in the round and part flat, with button bands, buttonholes, and of course 5 or 6 mismatched buttons. Ah, cabling in dark yarn! We shall see (or not as the case may be) if my eyesight fails.

Higher, faster, etc.

Home-made Love

2010-02-14T10:36:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

Taking time out of my Knitting Olympics event to spread the love.

The Knitting Olympics - OOOOOOOOH, YEAH!

2010-02-11T18:25:00.005-06:00

I am only sometimes described as a glutton for punishment. You may officially call me that now as I have signed up to compete in this year's Knitting Olympics. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular self-imposed challenge, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee of Yarn Harlot fame started the Knitting Olympics several years ago. This is an exercise that takes a self-imposed epic challenge and gives it a time limit. Participants have from when the torch is lit during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and must finish before the torch goes out. All participants who finish get a gold-medal button for their blog.

I have chosen to finish the Little Bubbles Baby Sweater and to design and knit the heavily-cabled cowl that I am calling "Wine Dark Sea." You might not think of this as epic, but as I have a toddler who is teething wildly and wants to be held 20 hours a day, to me it is - and that is all that matters. Its nice to create your own challenges.

The first photo shows the progress I have made so far on the baby sweater. The second is the swatches, stitch pattern, and yarn for the cowl. The third is the slipper booties that I am working on for Rose until then. I modified a pattern for Dorm Boots to have a funky, elfin cuff instead of a turned cuff - for my elf.

Wish me luck!

Raccoon revisited

2010-02-08T14:51:00.003-06:00

Friendlier baby raccoon hat. A sticky-outy tongue is always good.

Intarsia. Not for the faint of heart.

2010-02-07T10:57:00.004-06:00

Well. the baby raccoon hat is done, scary eyes and all. This was my first intarsia project - made my own chart and everything - see previous post. Mostly, intarsia is not hard - unless you have 7 bobbins of different sections of color on the same row all at one time. Knowing me, you might not be surprised that I did a complicated pattern for my first time out. I did cheat a little, however. The center nose stripe and the nose are done in duplicate stitch.

I might change the eyes to buttons, but the scary embroidered circles are growing on me. It is sized for a 9-12 month old. The ears are gathered and tied, and are possibly the sweetest part. And the whole thing is only 5.5" tall. That is a lot of detail on a teeny hat.

Lesson learned: though the technique of intarsia is fairly simple, your first project using it should be uncomplicated and larger for goodness sake. Seven bobbins on something only 37 stitches wide is ridiculous.

Cute, though, isn't it?

Taking a long time - or time well spent.

2010-02-02T10:34:00.007-06:00

My, my, I have had a busy few weeks. As you can see, progress progresses on the Little Bubbles Sweater - only sleeves and button bands left. It has been a lengthy project, one that I have not always enjoyed. I am, however, beginning to appreciate the concept of time well spent. The sweater is taking a long time to make - true. But Rose will be able to wear it this spring and next fall and possibly spring. I am being a careful crafter, so if it well cared-for and kept, another girl a generation later will as well. But I will say - there are a lot of stitches, a maddening lot. I, oddly enough, got a request to purchase the sweater after Rose outgrows it. Obviously I said "no," but I did offer to sell two grown-up sweaters to the two people who liked it. Time will tell. I'm glad that my handwork is appreciated for what it is.

At the top, you will see my sweet Badger knitting away on a garter stitch square. Part of his homeschooling is learning various craft skills. Knitting helps with mathematical thinking and hand-eye coordination, so I believe it is a good start. Good going Badger! He's picked up the knit stitch very fast, but I knit alternate rows for him so that he doesn't get discouraged by the time that knitting takes.

And the last photo is the chart the I just finished for a custom baby hat. A baby Racoon. In intarsia. Knit flat. In 3 colors. Due on Feb. 26. Ok, back to the knitting.

Keeping busy.

2010-01-15T12:04:00.002-06:00

Well, its been a month. Lots of making for the holidays, lots of making for the cold weather. The next sweater begun. Computer crashed, photos lost, some found.

It was a busy, frantically busy holiday season. We had decided to make everything for everyone on our list. Good idea - but we could have used more time to execute it. Got everything made, finally. Two things were late, but only by a few days. I thankfully have an understanding family.

I had to jump right from that to making all kinds of cold weather clothing for my kiddos. It got down to 10 degrees here - in Austin, Texas! I lived in the Midwest for 14 years, and never got used to the cold. I moved back down here, and it's cold. They are now fully outfitted in polarfleece and wool.

Our computer crashed. It has taken a few weeks to get up and running, and I am thankful that I had put so many photos on this blog - it was the only copies that I had left of some. I have had so little time to write, but so much desire. Thanks for your patience.

The next sweater has now been started. Above, you see the progress on the yoke of the sweater (it is knit from the top down) Technically, little bubbles stitches (or blister stitch depending on your reference book) is not terribly difficult - just laborious. But, as Rose likes to wear necklaces , she will have a sweater that looks like it is covered in necklaces. I'm using a really soft Pima cotton blend yarn, 2.75 mm needles (one of the two size 2's, and losing my eyesight. It's some tiny knitting.. You'd think that knitting lace would be harder -but no. Knitting tiny yarn is harder when knitting plain, or just not as interesting - I'm not sure. We'll see how it turns out.

Fuzzy Pickles (or - I am easily amused.)

2009-12-12T10:52:00.006-06:00

As you see, I am easily amused. I knit not one, but two of these pickles out of two different batches of handspun. Same colors, blended slightly differently, the first made out of a singles, the second 2-ply. The first was done on size 1 needles, the second size 4. One is a gherkin, the other a big dill pickle. Both have short rows and random purl stitches. Now, why should you have a pickle ornament? Well, its supposedly traditional in Germany - however people from Germany never seem to have heard of it (read here for myth debate); but mostly its just funny. A fuzzy pickle just seemed extraordinarily funny to me. Here's how you make one:

Short-row Pickle:

Materials:

25-50 yards of green yarn in your chosen weight (one whole skein will give you lots.)
I used handspun wool that I blended and spun myself.

For large: light worsted/ dk-weight yarn (thick and thin yarns make for bumpier pickles)
For small: fingering weight yarn

Set of 4 or 5 dpns (you will only use 4 total)

For large: I used Size 4 (US) 3.5 mm
For small: I used Size 1 (US) 2.25 mm

Stitch marker
Yarn needle
stuffing (fiberfill, wool, cotton balls, etc - something light.)

Gauge (largely unimportant - you'll just want it tight enough so that the stuffing doesn't show):
For large: 5.5 sts/in.
For small: 8 sts/in.

Notes: Adding random purl sts makes a really nice bumpy pickle. If you use a thick-and-thin yarn or slubby handspun, purling into a thick stitch makes for a very satisfying bump. Also, this pattern uses short rows to make the pickle curve - a good practice piece for short rows if you've never tried them, especially short rows in the round. For a tutorial click here. Just remember to pick up and knit your wraps or you will have holes that the stuffing will show through. Adding dill seeds to your stuffing material will make it pickle-scented.

Directions:
Cast on 3 sts.
Work 2 rows of I-cord.
Row 3: Knit into the front and back (Kf&b)of all sts. (6 sts.)
Spread sts over 3 dpns.
Row 4: Knit all sts. (6 sts.)
Row 5: Kf&b all sts. (12 sts.)
Row 6: Knit all sts. (12 sts.)
Row 7 Kf&b all sts. (24 sts.)
Row 8: Knit all sts. (24)
Row 9: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.
Row 10 : K all sts.
Row 11: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.
Row 12: K all sts.
Row 13: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.
Rows 14-16: K all sts.
Row 17: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.
Rows 18-29: Repeat Rows 14-17 3 times.
Row 30: K all sts.
Row 31: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.
Row 32: K all sts.
Row 33: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.
Row 34: K all sts.
Row 35: K 18, wrap&turn (w&t), purl 12, w&t, k to end of round.

Stuff pickle lightly, but firmly enough to maintain shape

Row 36: K2tog all sts. (12 sts.)
Row 37: K all sts.
Row 38: K2tog all sts. (6 sts.)
Row 39: K all sts.
Row 40: K2tog all sts. (3 sts.)

Finishing:
Break yarn , leaving a 12" tail, thread tail through remaining sts. and secure. Used remaining tail to create a loop for the pickle to hang from. Laugh self silly. Place in a washed pickle jar to confound family.

Braving Black Friday for Malabrigo! (Or yarn drugs.)

2009-11-27T11:35:00.008-06:00

Well, last week was my birthday and my family all took pity on me and gave me yarn money. I think they all realized that I needed a fix. I have it bad - a skein here and there, some for a sweater for my daughter, some just knit into fingerless mitts (a modified version of Fetching - made longer for my long hands.) I will eagerly admit it - I am thoroughly addicted to Malabrigo Yarn. I used that lovely bit of birthday money and used it for NINE skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in the Velvet Grapes colorway (see top photo.) The bottom photo shows the Fetching Mitt in Pagoda.

Now, as long as I have been knitting, I have never knit a sweater just for myself. My daughter has 4, my son 1, I have a shrug or two, everyone has lots of accessories, and I have 2 shawls - but a sweater seemed downright decadent. I debated for a week whether to go ahead and get something special for my birthday, or split what I had and buy some less expensive yarn for myself and some for each of the two kiddos. I really agonized over it, thinking that the act of knitting things for my kids would be gift enough. I stayed awake nights wondering if I'd be a selfish person for wanting a really nice sweater for myself. I know - there are more important things to worry about in my life as well as the world around me. I have a thing - I feel really selfish for not sharing with others, even my own birthday presents.

But this is Malabrigo! It calls to me, and I am weak! For the first time ever in my whole life I went shopping on Black Friday. To buy Malabrigo. First thing in the morning. For a spanking new shipment. Granted, central Texas doesn't provide many occasions for toasty knitwear, but I often wear sweaters instead of a coat. I'm justifying my behavior by saying that the best gift for my kids will be a warm, happy and contented Mama. And I am not knitting the sweater(Mr. Greenjeans, but made longer) until January.

The rest of November and December is knitting, sewing, and crocheting fest. We are making everything for family this year. It is a decision which was based both on the desire to put ourselves to really work for the ones we love as well as a financial decision - my husband having been laid off for the last 10 months. We haven't got the budget or the desire to go out and buy cartloads of mass-market toys. But we have time and I've got yarn and fabric stashes to plunder.

(Oh, and you meet the nicest people from Minnesota when you drop in the yarn store early. Hello! it was so nice to meet you. Yay!) (I also heard about a possible volunteer opportunity teaching knitting at a local middle school - double yay!)

November Surprise Project: Rimrock Cape

2009-11-14T11:09:00.003-06:00

Well, here's the project I was working on for November. The Rimrock Cape from Cat Bordhi's Book A Treasury of Magical Knitting . The original calls for wool and mohair yarns, but I used all synthetics from my stash because my mother-in-law has a hard time wearing wool. Also, it needed to be easily washable. The collar is a moebius strip, and the back is worked in short-rows until the depth of the collar is reached. The rest is knit in the round. This is the only project that I worked on really for 6 weeks, except for some small sewing projects. It was a very interesting pattern to work with - there were times that I swore that what I was doing was not what was pictured in the book. There were times that I just swore. I swore mostly at the yarn - synthetics really eat my hands. Happy Birthday Michelle! I'm glad you like it.

Make and make do: chugging along.

2009-11-05T20:43:00.006-06:00

Well, here are some of the most recent things for the make and make-do project. Except the third picture; that's the only hint for the November surprise project. The top photo is the pixie hat I made for Rose's pond fairy Halloween costume. It's a Knitty pattern - "Pixie Hat" modified to be slightly big on a toddler. The second photo shows Rose in her skirt made from sewing scraps and an upcycled shirt of her brother's appliqued with another sewing scrap. This week I've also made Badger a pair of Fall Pixie shorts (for Halloween), a squid shirt - part of the great cephalopod project (more pictures next post) and an upcycled hoodie of Badger's for Rose. Whee! All this and I've been knitting a birthday project for my brother. Whoo-hoo, I'm a mad woman.

Goth Cupcake Amigurumi

2009-10-28T14:21:00.004-05:00

Materials:

· Black worsted weight yarn (I used Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Onyx)

· Dark grey worsted weight yarn (I used Lion Cashmere Blend in Charcoal)

· Fiberfill or stuffing of your choice

· Small burgundy ribbon rose (available at craft/fabric stores – or make your own)

· Black felt (6mm/ 1/4 “ circles for eyes)

· Light grey felt (12mm/ 1/2 " circles for cheeks)

· Black thread

· Light grey thread

· Burgundy embroidery thread

· Size E (3.50 mm) or F (3.75 mm) hook, depending on how tightly you stitch

(I used an E hook.)

· Yarn needle, embroidery needle and sewing needle for finishing.

· Stitch marker to mark beginning of rounds.

· Blocking pins to block chain loops.

Abbreviations used (American):

ch – chain

dec – decrease (single crochet decrease)

R – round

sc – single crochet

sk – skip

sl st – slip stitch

st(s) – stitch(es)

* - repeat directions between pairs of asterisks the number of times indicated

Directions:

Cupcake Bottom – use dark grey yarn

Rounds are spirals, you’ll have to mark 1^st stitch of each round.

R1 – Make magic loop and make 6 sc in loop; 6 sts.

R2 – Join and tighten loop; 2 sc in each st; 12 sts.

R3 - * 1 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 18 sts.

R4 - * 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 24 sts.

R5 - * 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 30 sts.

R6 - * 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 36 sts.

R7 – Through back loops only - * 4 sc, dec 1* - 6 times; 30 sts.

R8 - *4 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 36 sts.

R9 & 10– Sc 36; 36 sts.

R11 - *5 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 42 sts.

R12-14 – Sc 42; 42 sts.

Bind off, secure loose ends.

Cupcake Top –use black yarn

Rounds are again spirals.

R1 – Make magic loop and make 6 sc in loop; 6 sts.

R2 – Join and tighten loop; 2 sc in each st; 12 sts.

R3 - * 1 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 18 sts.

R4 - * 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 24 sts.

R5 - * 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 30 sts.

R6 - * 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 36 sts.

R7 - *5 sc, 2 sc in next sc* - 6 times; 42 sts.

R8-11 – Sc 42; 42 sts.

Continue to make chained edge:

R12 – *Sl st 1, Chain 7, skip 5, sl st 1* - 6 times; 54 sts.

R13 - *Sl st 1, Chain 10, skip chained 7, sl st 1; 84 sts.

Bind off, leave 18” tail to sew cupcake halves together.

Finishing:

· Attach ribbon rose to cupcake top as pictured.

· Attach felt eyes with black thread as pictured.

· Using light grey thread, make 2 or 3 stitches on black felt eyes, slightly to the right and down from the center of the eye.

· Attach light grey felt cheeks.

· With burgundy embroidery thread, stitch 2 straight lines as pictured for mouth.

· With tail of black yarn and yarn needle, sew top and bottom pieces together, catching top chain of each grey stitch from cupcake bottom and the back of each black stitch from the final sc round from the cupcake top. Stitch until only 2” (5 cm) of the piece is still open.

· Fill with stuffing, being careful not to overstuff.

· Finish stitching piece together.

· Mist top chains with water until fairly wet, and pin chains into place with blocking pins until dry.

· When piece is dry, remove pins and scare your neighbors with your gothic goody.

A Long Time Making

2009-10-15T21:07:00.006-05:00

Here I am at almost 2 years old. Just hanging out by the kitchen, playing with blocks. Making a Roman Colosseum or a temple of some sort. Who knows? But I loved to make things, even then. (My mom made the nightgown I'm wearing here.) Mind you, almost everyone I knew made things. Both my grandfathers were engineers, and were constantly tinkering in their garages and workshops building all sorts of things - hydroponic tanks for growing tomatoes, a large smoker for barbecue, electronic gadgets, fatal-looking farm implements. My great-grandmother, as I've said, sewed, crocheted, embroidered, and cooked. My grandmother cooks, my mom cooks, my dad cooks. ( I cook, too. That's a different post entirely.) My mom knitted, crocheted, embroidered, and sews. An aunt embroiders and sews. My uncles both build things all the time. My brother, Nick, cooks and does handcrafts. This, I think, is unusual.

Among those of my generation, handcrafts used to be seen as kitschy and grandmotherly. Among my mother's generation, handcrafts were briefly seen as groovy - before they pursued career and family. Among my grandmother's generation, handcrafts were seen as something that was uncomfortably reminiscent of their childhood years during the Depression - or something only those who were poor pursued. The last 10 years have seen a revival of handcrafting in all three of our generations as well as among those of the next generation. But will it last?

I grew up during a backlash against handcraft during the late 1970s and 1980s. Home-Ec was seriously uncool (I still took it for 3 years.) Shop classes were for dummies (I took them for 2 years.) If you were a serious student, you took art classes if you wanted to make stuff (I took 6 years.) This period was chock-full of crass consumerism, conspicuous consumption, and yuppies who posited that only expensive name-brand goods were worthy of notice. Handmade was definitely OUT.

My mother's generation made stuff in their teens and early twenties in a manic hippie handmade love-fest. Soon after, many abandoned craft in a feminist backlash against all things reminiscent of housewifely duties. Craft was seen as a betrayal of the feminist movement, unless it could transcend the name of craft and be considered ART. The irony inherent in women denigrating women's work instead of valuing it in its own right would later be a central theme in the post-feminist discussions of art vs. craft of my generation.

My grandmother's generation felt the thrill of mass-manufactured goods for the first time in the U.S. Why make when you can buy? Her childhood was spent in the heart of the Depression and her teen years in the middle of World War II. I'm sure many were glad never to have to make or make-do ever again. Handmade objects earned a reputation as things produced by the poor, or something to be made for children, if at all.

The current generation has had the benefit of a world where craft projects and supplies are widely available and where craft is seen as cool. The past few years have even seen an increase in interest in Eco-Friendly materials and monikers. Craft in the last ten years has seen a huge upswing in popularity, even celebrity. But will there be a backlash again? Will the saccharine sweetness of Big Chain Craft Store projects and supplies overrun artisan-produced fabrics, yarns, and other materials as well as the independent shops that stock them? Let's hope not.

I support locally-owned shops for my supplies as much as I possibly can. I also buy fair-trade or locally made materials from these shops. Crafters support a whole chain of people; from the local yarn store owner to the local shepherd to the local fabric shop. These support others in turn. And we make stuff. Glorious stuff, silly stuff, strange stuff, and sublime stuff. We fill our homes and clothe our children. We beautify our environment and amuse our neighbors. Let's hope this lasts.

Not re-inventing the wheel, just assembling it.

2009-10-02T21:02:00.009-05:00

I finally got a spinning wheel of my own. A Schacht Ladybug that spins beautifully. It took 8 weeks to get here, and my local yarn store lent me the use of another Ladybug for 4 weeks. Thanks very much to Suzanne at Hill Country Weavers in Austin, Texas for that particular kindness. It took me about 1 hour to assemble - with child help. It might have been faster without it, but not as much fun.

Now, I started to spin thinking that it would give me more control over my knitting. I thought that now I could pick exactly the fiber I wanted, in exactly the color, exactly the shade, exactly the weight of yarn, exactly.... What I have learned in the last two years is that the fiber is going to do what it wants to for the most part. I can pick the color and shade, yes. I can pick the fiber, yes. If it is not meant to be fine lace-weight, it will not even begin to cooperate. What I have learned is that I have to make good decisions to begin with, but I will have to let the yarn be what it is going to be. What I have learned is that the fiber has more control of me. Sounds like having children.

The insistant hat.

2009-09-27T22:46:00.004-05:00

I didn't mean to. It was looking at me. It kept calling me, "knit me, knit me, knit me." I kept turning away; it kept waving its bead-like fibers at me. I would hear it in my sleep, "you know you want to." I dreamed of little purses, little mitts. I hid it in the bottom of my project basket. It peeked out of the basket's handle. I told myself that I was only going to wash it, to set the twist. I washed it. It leaked lots of purple-tinged dye. I hung it to dry and set. It waved at me as I passed it in the hall. I took it down, put it back in the basket. It whispered "hat" and I was done for. I immediately saw my daughter in an aurora-striped woolly hat for the winter. I started it Friday night and finished it Saturday at noon. I tweaked the pattern so that I could have enough for a stem on top. The hat wanted it.

This is the handspun that I made recently. Half merino wool and half soysilk, it spun up "sticky." The color progression was interesting, but the fiber did not want to slide past itself. I have to say that I have mixed feelings about how it knit up as well. It is noticeably heavier than wool alone, and has a less-soft hand. It has a slight sheen from the soysilk, but has less elasticity as well. The hat came out well, but I don't think I'll spin more of this voluntarily. Besides - I have a soy allergy and I think this stuff gave me a slight rash. Thankfully, Rose has no problems.

Rose is 1!

2009-09-23T11:10:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Rose turned 1. I can't believe its already been a year. She went from a smallish nursing baby into a big talking, nearly walking person. You forget how quickly this happens as you go through the daily stuff of their first year. It seems like everyday takes 4 times as long and then you look back and time has flown past you. An example of time and relativity?

I woke up early to make her a special necklace to wear for her birthday. Nothing too fancy; just a crochet chain and some small flowers. I put it on her and she hardly took it off all day. We didn't get too many pictures yesterday, which I am kicking myself over; we were just having too much fun playing together that I lost track of time and it was suddenly bedtime. I'll take more today, but before the visit for checkups at the doctor, as grumpiness will ensue.

I'm just tickled that the first thing she played with was the necklace. It was nice to start her day with something that I made for her. I will never again make anything as great and grand as my kids, but I can try to make things for them to show them how much I'm grateful that they're here.

Basic Roll-Brim Beanie Pattern

2009-09-21T20:22:00.015-05:00

This is the pattern for the hat that I make the most. I took the best of about 7 patterns that I liked and tested it for every size listed. I have made it in stripes, ridges, plain, etc. I've even tie-dyed one. Fits newborn-large adult. If you make one, let me know! Featured in an earlier post as Badger's Beanie. (Pardon the really basic pattern, but I wrote it originally for a very beginning knitter.)

Pattern for Roll-brim Beanie (knit in the round)

Notes:

Gauge: 4 sts./in. (Row gauge is not such a big deal in this small project.)
Suggested needle size 7, or as needed to maintain gauge
Sizes: 13", 15", 17", 20", 22.5", 25" (newborn, older infant, toddler, lg.child/sm adult, med. adult, lg. adult.
Hats will stretch quite a few inches, and rolled brims allow for some growth.
I cast on using the long-tail method, which I recommend as it gives a neat and elastic edge.

Materials:

Worsted weight yarn - approx. 90-150 yarns depending on size. 100-120 yards will do all but the largest size.
Needles: 1 16" circular and one set of 5 dpns (double-pointed needles) except for the 2 smallest sizes which will have to be knitted on dpns only, one 12" circular and dpns, or likes socks on one long circular using the magic loop method, or on 2 circulars.
Stitch marker
Yarn needle

Instructions:

Cast on 50 (60, 70, 80, 90, 100) sts., place marker, and join making sure the stitches are not twisted. You will slip the marker at the end of each row.
Knit in plain stockinette for 18 (20, 24, 28, 30, 32) rows.
First decrease row: K8, k2tog until end of row.
Knit 2 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3) rows.
Second decrease row: K7, k2tog until end of row.
Knit 2 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3) rows.
Third decrease row: K6, k2tog until end of row.
Knit 2 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3) rows.
Fourth decrease row: K5, k2tog until end of row. (Switch to dpns on this row, placing joins between dpns after a k2tog st. Knit with 5 dpns or on 2 circulars to reduce the tension on the joins between the needles. This will help prevent laddering between needles. You will have to slip your stitch marker to after the first st, or place a point protector on the back end of the dpn after the last st. of the row to keep your place.
Knit one row.
Fifth decrease row: K4, k2tog until end of row.
Knit one row.
Sixth decrease row: K3, k2tog until end of row.
Knit one row.
Seventh decrease row: K2, k2tog until end of row.
Knit one row.
Eighth decrease row: K2tog across row.
Cut yarn, leaving an 8" tail and, using a yarn needle, pull tail through the remaining stitches twice. Pull tail through center to the inside of the hat.

Finishing:
Weave in ends, trim, and roll brim to desired length.

Appliques cut. Big surprise project started. And stuff about my Granny.

2009-09-18T14:11:00.008-05:00

Well, I spent all of yesterday morning cutting appliques for Rose's cold weather shirts. I've got 4 of Badger's shirts from when he was 1, and 3 that he outgrew more recently. Two shirts are going to be simply modified, all the others are going to have applique. Holding them up to her, it seems that Badger was enormous in comparison, so I might have to break down and buy her two from the resale place. The larger three will be wearable as dresses for a while.

I have also started the big November surprise project. It took a lot a swatching because I'm not using the yarns called for in the original pattern. I will say, however, that it begins with a mobius.

I want to tell you about one of the women who began my love of craft. My granny was my mother's maternal grandmother. She was my great-grandmother as well as my godmother. She was tiny. She was 5' in 2" heels. She always wore heels; even her house shoes had 2" heels. And she made everything. I don't know if she made the dress in the photo, but I wouldn't be surprised. She crocheted and embroidered and loved to cook for all of our family. She also made the best pickles in the world.

My mother says that she had her own business when her children were small custom making clothes for wives of some of the oil men here in Texas back in the 1930's and 1940's. All I ever knew was that she had the best clothing and shoe collection that I had ever seen. And costume jewelry, lots and lots of costume jewelry. I remember that she would let me look through her closets and let me try on all her shoes. I would find the matching purses and parade around her house. She made much of it and it was all exquisite to my child eyes. I remember her embroidering and crocheting, me sitting fascinated in the seat next to her. She would tell me what she was doing and what of it her grandmother had taught her. I guessed that she must have sat nearby watching like I was then.

She had a tiny tea and dish set made of pressed cobalt blue glass that she let us eat and drink out of and have tea parties with on her back porch. That's where she kept the pickles. She never stopped canning and pickling and she had rows of shelves filled with pickles, jellies, and canned fruit. When we were over for dinners, she'd send us to the back porch to pick out which pickles we wanted. My brother Nick invariably picked beets. Packed in pint jars, these beets were sweet and sour and spicy and deeply red. Nicholas could eat a jar by himself in one sitting and ask for more. He'd have to be told to stop. I usually went for the Three Bean Salad or the bread & butter pickles, but the beets were pure heaven.

She was the sweetest person that I ever knew, the kindest and funniest older person in my life. She always had the best family gossip, which she'd tell me as I washed the dishes and she drank coffee at the kitchen table. She was also an ardent feminist, served on her local board of education, fought for voter's rights, fought like crazy with my great-grandfather and told me that I could be whoever I wanted to be. She would have been 100 this year.

Busy with small projects

2009-09-17T21:12:00.009-05:00

Sorry its been 8 days since I last posted, but I've been making lots of small projects this week. The first 3 photos are an amigurumi blueberry muffin that my friend Rasmey asked me to make for her little girls. I improvised the pattern except for the way that the bottom edge of the muffin was turned. I was inspired by the cupcake pattern from Ana Paula Rimoli's blog. I have to admit that it was more fun thinking that the blueberries kind of looked like buboes - plague muffin. Badger liked it so much that he asked for a strawberry one. The next photo is Rose eating the crocheted strawberry. I modified the strawberry pattern from the book Tasty Crochet, making it smaller to fit on a muffin. Rose decided it was hers and proceeded to scoot around the room making yummy noises. Needless to say, I'm making another one for Badger as he is not interested in a soggy one. The last is a steering wheel cover that I knit to replace the one that I crocheted and put on 2 weeks ago. The synthetic didn't withstand Texas heat so well and stretched and shredded quickly. This one is made out of Lamb's Pride Bulky Yarn in the Forest Shadows colorway. It is 85% wool and 15% mohair. It was a little slick at first, but is better now that we've used it for almost a week. Don't look too close, as it looks like I need to dust the dashboard.

I will post tomorrow about sewing projects, knitting projects, and one of the women that inspired me to craft.

Giant pile of fabric!

2009-09-09T19:16:00.006-05:00

I have finally finished overcasting the edges of all of the fabric that I need for the make and make-do project. This does not include all the polarfleece. Four different types of polarfleece. Two days of nothing but overcasting, so that all of the fabric can be washed. It's a lot of fabric. Now, I get to do 4 loads of laundry to wash all the sizing out and pre-shrink it all. Woo-hoo!

Badger's Roll Brim Beanie

2009-09-07T20:44:00.012-05:00

Man! 3 days and done! Badger's roll brim beanie is finished. Check out the decreases on the top. Mmmm, swirly. I made this out of Swish worsted superwash merino yarn from Knit Picks. The colorway is called Lava and is so pretty. I was concerned when Badger picked out the yarn that it was going to be a plainish gray heather. Its a beautiful almost brownish purple with sparks of burgundy, gold, blue, and green. The images on the website and in the catalog don't do it justice. So now it's onto another make and make-do project (this one secret until after mid-November - its a present!) I did, however, get to overcast a large pile of fabric for all of the sewing. Yay!

Yarn made. Next!

2009-09-07T20:37:00.005-05:00

Here's the finished skein of Karaoke fiber. It's actually yarn now. 105 yards of worsted weight barber pole merino and soysilk. Andean plyed (2 ply). Enough for a hat. (yay!) Its really soft, slightly thick-and-thin and looks like beads in a row.

Hat Junkie

2009-09-03T18:52:00.012-05:00

It's an illness. I'll be the first to admit it. I am a hat junkie. Instead of doodling, instead of making swatches of new yarns, I make hats. I just can't stop. This is just a small sampling of the many hats I've subjected my children to. Mind you, Badger's come up with at least half of the ideas for his hats himself. There are many that are also mine, but many, many more of my children's that I haven't even posted yet. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Badger's Watch Cap

2009-09-02T09:50:00.005-05:00

Yay! It's done and I'm already on to his next hat. Man! He looks like a snaggly little longshoreman. (You can see a small part of my stash in the background.) Badger is a hat kind of guy. I started making him a pile of hats when he was 3 and now that he'll be 6 tomorrow - a new hat! You can check me out on ravelry for pics of others that he has (name: badgersmama) including a squid, pineapple, turtle, bee, and many more.

What I did this summer

2009-09-02T09:31:00.003-05:00

Besides making various stuff this summer, I spent 8 weeks volunteering as a knitting instructor for our local library in Austin. Katie, pictured above, also started taking crochet lessons from me and is continuing through the school year. I had a blast doing this! There were anywhere from 10 to 16 students - both kids and moms - every week and we went from beginnings right through projects that they chose themselves. Katie, her mom Kathy and I met before class to learn crochet and amigurumi construction. She is a fast and natural fiberista.

I have to admit that I was unsure of what to expect of my teaching. I am fine working in small groups of 2 to 3 people, but I really am uneasy with big groups. After some trepidation, I got there and was happily surprised by everyone's enthusiasm. Yay! I would definitely do this again in a heartbeat, and would encourage other fiber artists to volunteer every now and then. I know that the work that we do is time-consuming and we are often protective of our skills that we have spent so long nurturing. However, I gained so much from helping others to develop their passion for knitting and crochet that I feel a spark of renewed energy for my projects and my craft.

I want to thank all of my students, but most of all I'd like to thank Stephanie at the Twin Oaks Branch of the Austin Public Library for giving me the opportunity to have so much fun! Thanks to you all and I hope to see you all again soon.

Making yarn myself...

2009-08-27T22:50:00.005-05:00

As a sideline to make and make-do: homemade yarn. I haven't spun in a year, but with a borrowed wheel, 3 ounces of Karaoke (50% soysilk 50% merino wool) and 2 mornings before my daughter woke up - YARN! I'm relieved that I remembered what the hell I was doing. It was different spinning without being pregnant - surprisingly different. But I got the hang of it again. I only have the one bobbin, so I'm going to have to wind it off to ply it. I can't decide whether to Navajo ply or Andean ply as it already has really long color repeats. If I Navajo ply - really long repeats, 3 ply.. If I Andean ply - barber pole, 2 ply. Keeping in mind that it is just 3 ounces, i think it better be Andean - hmmmm.....

Make and make-do: going slowly....

2009-08-25T19:23:00.007-05:00

Well, I've finished the ribbing on Badger's hat. Man, I do not like 2x2 ribbing. Three inches of it, ugh. However, it's just 88 stitches around, so at least it's not a sweater. I think the pokyness of the project is more due to the fact that it is black yarn more than that it has a bunch of ribbing.
That being said, I feel a bit discouraged that a project that should take 2 days at the most is taking a week or so. Granted, Rose has been keeping me up until or past 4 in the morning. But looking at the list that I am trying to get accomplished this year, I am wondering if I was being over-ambitious. Me? Over-ambitious? When has that ever happened?

I really wonder how other crafty mamas get stuff done. It seems that I can only get anything done after every single person in the house is asleep - which means that I get very little sleep. Morning comes and there's breakfast, playing with children who do not like to play independently, lunch, errands, chores, dinner, showers, bed. Craft time? It makes me feel a little guilty trying to carve out craft-time by myself. DH Matt does so much of the housework, for which I am GRATEFUL. However, I spend my day and evening being crawled over, shat upon, covered in toys,nursing every 2 hours, being read LEGO facts to, and having bananas spat upon me by children who I love with all my heart. Full-time Mama-dom is tiring, frustrating and heart-rendingly lovely at the same time. It can also be stultifyingly lacking in the time to create for one's self. Would I change it? I might change the 4 a.m. bedtime.

Progress?

2009-08-20T22:01:00.004-05:00

Well, I am working on a hat for Badger. He wanted a black watch cap so that he could match his Lego guys. Ribbing, lots of ribbing. But it will be easy-peasy after that.

I also finished a new steering wheel cover that I crocheted from some suede-type chenille that was in my stash. So, stash used up and $20 or so saved for making the cover instead of buying it. And the yarn was gift yarn besides (rubbing little hands together.)

Broke my Camera!

2009-08-20T15:56:00.002-05:00

Dang it! I broke my digital camera. Rats.

The totals are in: Make or Make-do project list

2009-08-13T22:25:00.003-05:00

One might wonder why, besides the obvious economic climate, a person might choose to embark on a massive family clothing project. Well, I am the mother of two young children and haven't worked outside of the home since 2002. My lovely husband got laid off in January after 15 years in the industry because of the downturn in the economy. We have been living frugally since then, even before then. However, after 8 months of job-searching, things are still not looking up. I have started to teach knitting and crochet classes to a few private students - but much of the teaching has been volunteer work at the local library. My husband has been trying to get a small business together as well.

Thankfully, I come from a long tradition of DIYers. My mother and her grandmother sewed and cooked and knitted or crocheted. I am grateful that they taught me. I have always cooked and sewed for myself and my family to supplement what we bought. For the past 10 years or so I have been knitting and for the last year I have been crocheting. Now, the need is greater - so I'm stepping up with my skills. Besides - no sweat labor (besides my own) and no items left for the landfill.

I have decided to be a part of the make or make-do list myself and get some projects that I had planned or had supplies for made as well. After looking at my knitting and crochet list as well as the sewing list here are the totals for the year's worth of clothing:

Knitting/Crochet

2 baby sweaters
1 shawl
14 hats (for 6 people - Rose, Badger, DH Matt, one of my brothers, his wife, and myself.)
2 pairs of fingerless mitts
1 pair of baby mittens
3 pairs of socks (2 baby, 1 adult)
2 purses (1 crocheted)
1 top half of sundress

Sewing

2 pairs of shorts
2 pairs of polarfleece pants
3 coats (1 polarfleece, 1 brocade, 1 faux suede)
9 1/2 dresses (bottom half of sundress included)
7 skirts (3 baby, 4 adult)
2 longsleeve shirts
2-3 hats (1-2 sunhats, 1 polarfleece cap)
1 pair of wrap pants
1 gauze top

Upcycled or Reused items

6 baby shirts
2 of my tshirts
1 tshirt for my brother
6 baby pants

Make-do project continues

2009-08-10T17:10:00.004-05:00

Here's the beginning of the great make-do project. This sweater is for Rose and uses a 50% wool, 50% acrylic yarn that was in my stash and is from a pattern that I had on hand. On Saturday, we found 2 pairs of boys' jeans for $5 each and a heavy parka for Badger for $7 from the local resale store. The parka needed a little repair - most of it being split seams on the sleeves - but it only took an hour to fix. We found Rose 3 pairs of leggings and one pair of sweatpants for $2 each resale. The only new things we are buying new are underpants, 2 pairs of sweatpants, and socks for Badger and 3 tshirts, 3 camisoles, and some socks for Rose. I found 5 fat quarters of fabric to embellish Badger's old shirts to repurpose those for Rose. She'll have 5 pairs of his pants that I had sewn for him as well. On to the next sweater.

The other big making project.

2009-08-08T10:42:00.005-05:00

I have decided that, for economy's sake, I will be making all of my daughter's clothes for the fall, winter, and spring. I'll also be making a good bit of clothing for my son as well. Jeans, however, are easier and less expensive to buy resale than make. Besides - lessen the landfill burden, right? I already have some sweaters started or planned to knit for Rose, as well as hats, legwarmers, socks, and a blankie. I'll be sewing her dresses, some long-sleeve shirts, leggings, and a coat. Badger will be getting a pair of red polarfleece pants at the very least. He's also outgrown many of his knit hats, so he gets at least three more. I need a few patterns, but the goal is to recycle some of my tshirts as well as using fabric that I already have. Rose and Badger will both need regular socks, and Badger will need a new or resale coat and possibly some more jeans, but other than that everything else will be made. So the goal for the day is to take advantage of the 5 for $5 pattern sale at the local fabric store and possibly get some more elastic - but that should be all I need. I'll post as I finish things, but I'm going to have to make a list of all that I have to make because my knitting queue alone is long. Thankfully, I don't expect that it will get really cool until December, so I have a few months lead time.

Upcycled Cephalopod Shirt #1

2009-08-08T10:13:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm progressing on my brother's upcycled shirt project. I found a tshirt with a nice, but moody, beach scene - perfect for his Cthulu Is Sleeping shirt. My mom and I went to the cloth store and found a lovely swirly green fat quarter of fabric for his head and body as well as a smale scale hawaiian print for his shirt. I will also have to put on some linen-weave fabric for sand. The tshirt has a large logo for the Vietnamese-American Aerospace Professional Assoc. on it and I'm covering that with a large oval of the green with Cthulu's face stitched over it. We also found a tropical drink themed Hawaiian shirt that I will be using for a margarita for the guy. Updates soon.

Let the cephalopod project begin!

2009-08-03T14:05:00.005-05:00

This is the squid hat that I made for my son's 4th birthday. It has inspired the great cephalopod project. I will be taking recycled vacation tshirts and art tshirts and changing the context of the pictures with the addition of appliqued octopus and squid. I already have two orders from my brother for Cthulu images.

Howdy from the ocean!

2009-08-02T22:07:00.000-05:00

I have finally buckled to family and friend's pressure to start a blog - so here it is. I will be writing about and posting pictures (and patterns) of all the needlework that I do, much to my husband's relief. He will no longer have to hear me hash out plans for a floating man-of-war hat (the Cnidarian, not the ship.)

I will also write about fiber research and technology, because I can. There will be discussions of my family history of textiles.

So, check back for posts about all these and knitting, crochet, and sewing.