Prairie Lark

dress from a shirt!

2010-04-01T09:21:00.001-05:00

dress from a shirt!, originally uploaded by Gwedolgirl.

Dear Mom,

Last week, Katie, Evelyn and I co-designed and sewed Evelyn a dress from one of Carl's old shirts! The idea was Katie's, I did the sewing, and Evelyn art-directed and was a patient try-er on.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Love,
Gwen

Wristers

2010-03-02T16:06:00.002-06:00

pulse warmers, originally uploaded by Gwedolgirl.

Dear Mom,

In the comments, Renee asked to see some KNITTING! And Renee is my friend from Luther, which makes this project doubly for her. The pattern, Rose Wristers, is from _Norwegian Handknits_, which you gave me for Christmas (Do you remember that, from those feverish, flu-ridden days?). The patterns are based on knits from the Vesterheim Museum, in Decorah, Iowa, where Renee and I went to college together.

I was looking through it early one morning after Christmas, waiting for everyone else to get up, when I realized that several of the little historic blurbs and pictures were about people from Boone County, Illinois, our old home territory. I read an excerpt about one pioneer woman, Christie Sleen Tillotson, from the northern part of the county to Katie, who had joined me the kitchen table by this point. Turns out, Christie Sleen Tillotson is Katie's great great or 3 great's grandmother!

The first pattern that I knit from this auspicious book, the rose wristers, were quick and easy. Dave thinks its nice that I used Buffalo Bills colors.

Love,
Gwen

Unfinished/Finished

2010-02-26T11:24:00.002-06:00

Recently finished quilt, originally uploaded by Gwedolgirl.

Hi Mom!

This is some unfinished business, finally finished. I think you'll recognize the top - these were the only fabrics I allowed myself to buy the summer I worked at the quilt store (in 2005!). The pattern is "Gingham Rose" from Terri Christopherson's _Mad About Plaid_ booklet. In the right colors, the quilt pattern looks like gingham. The fabrics I chose for the top didn't really ever "read" quite the same way, so when it was time to choose a fabric for the border, I didn't feel it was necessary to use a check or a gingham.

I quilted the top in three or four days with the machine, using the walking foot and cotton machine quilting thread. The batting is 100% cotton, so it got nice and wrinkly after a trip through the washer and drier. It's warm! The project was pretty fast, all told, assuming a body didn't let the top sit around for four years between piecing and quilting. The quilt is about 65" x 75" - just large enough to cover the top of a full-sized bed.

I have another, older, larger top that I'm thinking about attacking the same way. What novelty, this "finishing".

Love,
Gwen

Good Leftovers

2008-11-10T21:47:00.002-06:00

Hi Mom,

I've been knitting many small projects lately, with leftover yarns in particular. I finished up a Useful Gift which will remain a secret for now, and I knit a Foliage:

This was a very easy, quick knit. I used leftovers from the Lamb's Pride Worsted you gave me for Christmas for the felted bag a couple (three!) Christmases ago. The hat is nice and warm, and just loose enough that it doesn't squish my hair.

I also used the other leftovers from that project for these little mittens for afghans for Afghans:

I started with the mitten on the right, knitting plain purple mittens, but when it was clear I wasn't going to have enough purple I started mixing in the green, then went back and added green to the plain purple mitten. I hope at least one Afghan child doesn't mind asymmetry in mittens.

Love,
Gwen

Yes, Wheek Can!

2008-11-05T09:20:00.003-06:00

Dear Mom,

It's been a big week. I caught Caroline doing a little last-minute campaigning yesterday - who knew she had developed political opinions? Must be all that NPR I have on around here.

And I finished some socks - I'm calling these my Blue State socks.

I knit them using the Garter Rib pattern from "Sensational Knitted Socks," and the yarn you gave me when we visited this summer. It's Stahlsche Wolle Socka Sport & Strumpf, and the finished Strümpfe feel very nice indeed.

Love,
Gwen

Reading

2008-11-02T15:17:00.003-06:00

Dear Mom,

I found some good books at a library sale on Thursday. I've especially been enjoying this version of "A Child's Christmas in Wales," illustrated by one of our favorites, Trina Schart Hyman. I only recently (maybe last year?) put two and two together about Dylan Thomas and the PBS Christmas special we loved to watch, and this book does not disappoint. It is charming.

Almost as charming as the circumstances through which I acquired this other kids' book this week. We were driving back from the garden last weekend, going a slightly different way to admire the changing leaves and old houses, when we saw two little girls run over to edge of the curb (stopping carefully before the street), and wave at us. They had 8 1/2x 11" pieces of paper taped to their shirts, upon which was written, in pencil, "Book Sale." I pulled the Buick over.

I asked them which of their books they thought my three year-old niece might like, and one of the girls picked out this one (and I think she did a good job). I handed them the money, which they directed me to put in the jar labeled "Jar for $," then I asked them why they were selling their books. "For the animal shelter!" they said. I said that was great, and that I had gotten my guinea pig from the shelter. They liked that. "I got my kitty there!" one said, and the other said she was going to get her puppy there.

But back to "A Child's Christmas in Wales" - I will bring this book to our Christmas, and we'll have a good time reading it. Here are the

"Useful Presents: engulfing mufflers of the old coach days, and mittens made for giant sloths; zebra scarfs of a substance like silky gum that could be tug-o'-warred down to the galoshes; blinding tam-o'-shanters like patchwork tea cozies and bunny-suited busbies and balaclavas for victims of head-shrinking tribes; from aunts who always wore wool next to the skin there were mustached and rasping vests that made you wonder why the aunts had any skin left at all. . ."

And, of course, Auntie Hannah, "who liked port," in the garden "singing like a big-bosomed thrush."

And the cats! There's a very satisfying number of cats represented in the illustrations. You'll just have to wait to see, and then you will also have "Good King Wenceslas" stuck in your head.

We also did a bit of autumnal festive cooking this week. This is the "Stuffed Pumpkin Stew" recipe from the Oct. 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living, and it was wonderful! But we needed a family of Welsh proportions to help us eat it because I'm still finishing the last of it. It wasn't a simple recipe, but also not difficult - just a lot of vegetable prep.

How are the 'collars' this year?

Love,
Gwen

White in the Garden

2008-10-18T16:58:00.006-05:00

Rose of Sharon

Lilly of the Valley

Petunia

Love, Mom

Delicious Yellow

2008-10-13T13:47:00.003-05:00

Dear Mom,

The cardigan is coming along, although I slowed down significantly after finishing the body up to the point where the sleeves will be attached. Because I'm tinkering with gauge a little bit, some experimenting has been necessary to ensure that the sleeve is a wearable circumference.

Fall continues in full swing here, deliciously. We are making weekly trips to the orchard to pick bags of apples, and the produce at the farmers' market is wonderful. Our garden fall crops have also been producing really well - we're eating arugula, cress, lettuce, mustard greens and radishes from the garden right now.

I made a pie on Saturday with some of the apples I picked the day before. The yellow delicious apples turned almost saffron-colored inside the pie. I took it to an impromptu gathering where it disappeared very quickly, so I think I need to make at least one more this fall.

Love,
Gwen

Cardigan

2008-10-02T18:52:00.004-05:00

Dear Mom,

The weather has turned here at last, catching up to the calendar.

I'd like to have this finished by Election Day. Do you think I can do it? I started it last Friday.

Love,
Gwen

Two (three) Quilts

2008-09-13T21:59:00.006-05:00

Dear Mom,

I think we're probably all still getting caught up from last weekend. These are two of the little quilts I made for some of the birthday celebrants. There's a third, too, but no picture - I was finishing up the quilting and binding in the car on the way up, naturally.

This one was for our artist. I wanted to make something that was art-like.

So I made a quilt of an apple in front of a river, in front of a hilly village. The round shapes of the applique'd apple and circles echo the swirling curves of the village print and the batik. We are located in front of the quilt, with the apple aloft, wondering if we have thrown the apple in the river or if we are merely in mid-toss, soon to catch the apple in our outstretched hand. The distinctive formal juxtapositions create a playful feeling that is contained and codified by the assymmetrical border and bias plaid binding; the optical suggestions of the spatial relationships suggest a participation in the critical dialogues of late. (It's an Art Critique Generator!)

This is E's quilt: I had a different goal - just to make something that would be a little weird, and interesting to look at if one were, say, sick in bed for a few days.

All of these fabrics are vintage, except for the black square, and the striped backing/binding. The radish, village, and blue flowered fabric were given to me by my friend Mary. I found the block pattern in a quilting magazine, and liked how simple it was. Good for weird fabrics, those simple blocks. The third quilt "quotes" some of the fabrics used in both of these.

Keeping things small and weird,
Gwen

Some Smalls

2008-09-03T09:17:00.002-05:00

Dear Mom,

These mittens were a bit of a disaster. Do you remember that reindeer hat I knit when I was first learning? The hat that had a circumference more suited to a sweater than a head? These mittens are a little like that.

They look deceptively ok, just lying there like that. What you might not be able to tell from this picture is that each of these mittens is twice as long as my hand. I thought I was knitting at a nice firm gauge (these were going to be for afghans for Afghans, and I wanted them to be as warm as possible), and I knit these mittens fast and happily, threw them in some water to wash, pulled them out -- and then the yarn relaxed and they grew and became mittens that perhaps might have been suitable for Paganini, or those long-fingered aliens. The pattern (Spiral Ribbed mittens) is from Homespun, Handknit, and is my favorite pattern for mittens. Because of the construction of the thumb, the mittens can be worn on either hand, but the rib pattern makes this kind of design more comfortable than it often is on other mittens.

I'll keep them and use them as an outer layer for snow-shoveling, I guess. I cast on again right away for a second pair, but screwed those up, too, so I ripped and moved on to something small and gauge-less until I feel ready to come back to mittens.

I realized, at some point, that I'd been having an informal Knitter's Almanac-y summer. In June, I made the Ganomy hat. In July, I knit a simple shawl while traveling, although it wasn't a Pi shawl.

So I made some Christmas Fiddle-Faddle (August's project) with some odds and ends. I don't know if I'll keep going with the Almanac in September, as delicious as warm wool leggings sound.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!
Love,
Gwen

Piscatorial pictorial presentation

2008-07-31T08:36:00.011-05:00

Good Morning Gwen,

We have had a bit of a theme running through the household the last few weeks.

One fish:

Two Fish:

Three Fish:School of Fish:

These fish were knit by the owner and employees of Millicent's Yarns and More. The fancy fish making a run on the worm is my work also. Joanna did the lovely eye 'make-up' and embellishments on many of the fish before they made their modelling debut. The pattern is published by FiberSpace. Each fish is a unique creation using 100% wool so they felt with a tight surface.

Some other fish spent a vacation at my house too.

Fishie #1 (apologies to Katie for chopping off her head, though her toes appear later)

Fishie #2 (with Gramma-helper)as J works at Beach Sitting 101

I think I see gills on this one.

Love, Mom

2008-07-30T11:28:00.002-05:00

Dear Mom,

Last weekend was a sweet one - one dear college roommate married, other old college friends seen and visited with, riding the train south towards home through the familiar blufflands along the Mississippi.

This was my present to the bride and groom - two linen hand towels for their bathroom (pattern - Moss Grid Hand Towels from Mason-Dixon Knitting). These were a fairly quick knit, but even so, I spent most of the last day before I left furiously knitting to get the second one finished up and into the washing machine. The linen softened up so wonderfully after washing.

While knitting these, I kept thinking of Krtek and his little flaxen pants. My Czech family had a children's book version of this story, and it was a favorite with everyone. I've found it on Youtube auf Deutsch - of course, it really should be Czech.

mit zwo groschen Taschen,
Gwen

Summer Stripes

2008-07-20T14:44:00.004-05:00

Dear Mom,

I took these pictures this week and noticed a theme. Above is some basil from the garden plot, and the first of the "Jolly Jester" marigolds to bloom.

I found this little guy crawling along the very edge of a page of a book that was open on my kitchen table. I don't know what he is, do you? I believe he came in on a bouquet of flowers from the farmers' market last week - I even think I saw him at the beginning of the week, when he was just a little inchworm sized thing. A diet of flowers seems to have agreed with him. I put him outside, and watched his feet cling and uncling as he moved onto the very edge of a leaf.

I finished the shawl for afghans for Afghans I'd been working on at your house last month. I used mostly leftover Brown Sheep Naturespun sport wool, leftover from the Heartland Shawl I just completed (the orange was the rejected border color), and the socks that I made you for Christmas several years ago. I knew the shawl would drape well, since the Heartland Shawl does so well, which made it ideal for a shawl that will be used as a head-covering.

I improvised a really simple pattern (garter stitch borders on the long edges in a contrasting color, and tiny garter stitch borders on the short edges). I thought about adding a purple band to the short edges, too, but decided against it since I like the way the stripes trail off the edge of the shawl. I ended up blocking it twice to make sure it met the minimum width requirements - it shrunk in a little bit widthwise the first time, when I just laid it out without any pinning, and was a little under 20". Pinning it out the second time around opened up the garter stitch border and easily got it back up to size.

This made for ideal vacation knitting - no pattern to keep track of, simple enough to knit in any situation, didn't suffer when it got a little splashed on a boat ride. I'll be happy to get this mailed off first thing tomorrow!

Love, Gwen

Long Winter

2008-06-19T23:35:00.002-05:00

Dear Mom,

This winter, I thought my desire to knit was dwindling.

I knit on just one thing.

I knew it was a very big thing,

but I hadn't realized just how big it was until I finally finished it in June, and blocked it on my bed. I was so relieved! It was huge! Suddenly it was clear what I'd been doing all winter. I hadn't lost any desire to knit - I just couldn't see what I was making.

Here's the Heartland Shawl from Folk Shawls, modeled on some local restored prairie heartland. The body of the shawl is Brown Sheep Naturespun sport, color Catblue, and the border is Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure. I learned two things from the border: that blue is sometimes really hard to match with other colors, and that angora fuzzies get caught in my contacts and the back of my throat while I'm knitting it. But the pink is perfect, and the border is so soft - the contrast in textures works, and I will wear this shawl on cold mornings and evenings this fall and winter all the time.

But next winter I think I'll pencil in some small, quick projects for February, just to avoid the same mistake. Maybe some goofy hats.

Ganomy Hat, from EZ's Knitter's Almanac
Black Oak Wool 2 ply

Love,
Gwen

a Girl-Cozy

2007-12-11T20:42:00.000-06:00

Dear Mom,

The winter storm warnings started last Thursday, and the forecast for the next week or so is about the same - rain, ice, and combinations of those two. This weather has not been dramatic, just quietly oppressive. I feel like there are only two colors left, early morning gray which lasts all day, and then night, which begins about 4pm.

I did finish a project this week, though. Here's the North Sea Shawl pre-blocking -

and blocked. I ventured out into the icy park to take some pictures on the way to the coffee shop.

The pattern is in Folk Shawls, and I used 4 skeins of Knitpicks Palette, in Clematis Heather. I really enjoyed this pattern - the lace was really simple, but satisfying, to work. I'm really pleased with it. It's such a surprise, all over, how warm and cozy something with so many holes can be.

Love,
Gwen

These West Virginia 'Collars'

2007-11-05T08:41:00.000-06:00

Hi Gwen,

Because of the WV accent in this region many of the locals pronounce color as collar. This is subtle but to the unpracticed ear the difference is momentarily confusing. A poker face is a must for a northerner lest you look completely daft. And I think there must be a polite limit as to how many times you are allowed to ask "Would you please repeat that?" I will never forget the lady who spoke as if I was deaf and asked "WHERE - DID -YOU- COME- FROM?" Poker face time though I was laughing so hard I could hardly answer her.

Here are some of our local collars.

Dad and I took a leisurely car trip to the highest point in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. The road to the top was a gravel road with no barriers. We stopped all along the way to enjoy the views and to take pictures. Fortunately the day had low humidity so we could see into the distance for many miles. On the way down the backside of the mountain we wandered our way through the wilderness area back to a main highway. A few people were taking advantage of the beautiful weather to camp along the stream areas. Our fall colors are nearly finished now. We have the last of the oaks in their burnt orange and mustard yellows .

When Julie visited WV in late summer she and I went to Jinny Beyer's fabric studio in the suburban Washington DC area. After a hunt for its location we were rewarded with a store filled with lush jewel toned fabrics. These few yards came home with me. How could one resist such beautiful color?

This is an Angel Wing Begonia. It is now living on the hallway table above the entryway. As you look up from the ground level you can see all the red color under the leaves. This may be the first plant I have bought because it looks good from underneath.

love,
Mom

North Sea Shawl

2007-09-27T16:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

Two weeks ago, it was very chilly here - chilly enough to warrant a sweater, jacket, and scarf. The weather quickly turned warm (even hot) again, but that little chill got me thinking about winter knitting. I searched Folk Shawls for a likely pattern.

This is actually the second time I've started this pattern, the North Sea Shawl. I began Labor Day weekend happily knitting it out of some local Illinois yarn I picked up earlier this year, only to realize late Saturday that I only had about two-thirds the yarn I'd need. So I ripped it out and the frustration that ensued led me to make some very bad (and kind of hilarious) decisions, which I'll share with you next time.

This time, it's going well, though. For needles, I'm using the wooden strawberry-ended Peace Fleece needles I found in that little store in Zanesville with you. The strawberry theme around here lately has been wonderful, if seasonally disorienting.

Love,
Gwen

ready for snow

2007-09-24T19:20:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

This last week, as you know, is an auspicious one for our family - three birthdays in seven days! As you also know, I visited the third birthday celebrant and her family this weekend, with knit gifts aboard for the girl who asked for strawberry cake (it was strawberry pie instead, and it was delicious!):

It's fair to say she was a highly enthusiastic wearer, but somewhat reluctant model.

Love,
Gwen

Hello, baby

2007-09-13T07:29:00.000-05:00

Baby Genius Burpcloth, MasonDixon Knitting

Dear Mom,

I often ask my students to share things when I do attendance, in attempt to build any sort of an esprit de corps. Yesterday morning, the first chilly morning we've had, I asked them to tell us what their favorite item of cold weather clothing is, and why.

Herringbone bootees, 50 Baby Bootees to Knit, Brown Sheep Cotton Fine

The overwhelmingly popular response was "a hoodie." Only a few students said "a sweater," or "scarves," or "mittens."

Cable Socks, 50 Baby Bootees to Knit, Baby Ull

I hope that the baby who I knit these things for is better prepared with more interesting, less carefully anonymous answers to that question when she's 18.

Oh, and we'll teach her to love pie, too. :)

Love,
Gwen

Miracles

2007-09-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

Hi Gwen,

Today the sun came out and became the perfect day to catch up on pictures. I am trying to decide if I should proceed in a chronological or thematic manner. My sixth grade training in outlining is rearing its head. Roman numerals and capital A's and B's are floating around.

Let's begin with you....

Your rose socks are terrific. I like the subtle striping of your yarn very much. Thanks for helping me knit my first pair of socks. I especially like the time I called you in your car and you just happened to have the directions with you. After some very pointed questions from me you told me to just do it exactly like they pictured it and it would work. And it did! It was a knitting miracle.

Well, here is my second pair of socks in development...

This pair is knit from the top down. I think it is a minor miracle how the heel turns and off you go knitting the foot. Knitting the heel turn gave me pause a few times. One afternoon while Julie was here I spent a better portion of it charting out the increases and decreases to get the hell (this is a real typo, yikes, the mind too funny sometimes) heel to turn. Thank goodness for the internet research. Of course I had figured out how to do the math a different way using the same directions. Never underestimate the ability of a person (me) to invent another way to do the very thing so carefully described.

I am already thinking ahead to the next time I use this pattern. I wonder if it would be too heavy to continue the slipped stitch pattern on to the bottom of the heel and foot?

The ribbing pattern for the top of the sock will continue on to the instep. The knit-through the-back-of-the-loop on each edge of the rib repeat leaves that little raised pattern. I am enjoying the light striping of this yarn. This is the same Trekking yarn as our socks.

I finished the knitted pouch. This project was done in the denim yarn that is so much fun to knit. I worked on it during Grandpa's surgery and recovery days. No matter what life brings... Remember to Live ,Love, and Laugh. You just never know what miracles are on the way.

Love,

Mom

All ye, All ye, out's in free!

2007-07-19T15:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Gwen,

I heard the neighborhood children out playing evening games the other night. Most of their fun was centered in the yards at the top of the road so just drifts of noise made its way down to us. Our other summer night noises have begun with the cricket and katydid songs. We do not have the cicada songs as many of the Midwest neighborhoods do. One of my clearest summer memories must be from a cicada year. Because we were younger than my brothers Becky's and my bedtime was set earlier. At that time we had the front bedroom under the big catalpa. We must have had a late evening bedtime because I remember the light level being soft but still strong. And the buzzzzz of the cicadas droning on and on. Behind all that insect noise I could hear the neighborhood kids playing. As it got darker they would start to play hide and go seek. I must have fallen to sleep hearing "Olly Olly Oxen Free!"

It wasn't until I was older that I realized how great a spot we had for this game. As you know my parents' house is right next to the cemetery. The combination of the gravestones, the big trees and bushes, and yards provided wonderful hiding places. There were rules about playing in the cemetery. We had to be careful not to damage any grave sites or break any plants. No one wanted to be 'it', especially for the older kid version of Kick the Can. There were just too many places to hide. Later in the evening it was great fun to change hiding places under the cover of darkness. I remember hiding far from the street light and then slowly making my way up closer to the can. It was always a great surprise to dive behind a gravestone to find someone else already there. And this scene usually ended in a whispered argument as to who was now obligated to move first.

I caught this trying to hide in my garden.Come out, come out wherever you are!

Love,

Mom

summertime

2007-07-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

Before - fresh from the farmers' market

after

Happy First Day of Spring

2007-03-20T18:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Gwen,

The thaw has begun.

We heard the Spring Peepers today.

love,

Mom

Do you say cozy or cosy?

2007-03-09T18:26:00.000-06:00

Dear Gwen,

We are having a real winter in West Virginia. Our driveway is at least as long as the Capron drive and it is uphill. Or down hill if you start at the lot line and work your way back to the house, which is the direction I settled on to push snow during the second snowfall. Our latest snow fall was a soft, breathless drift of snow that accumulated to about 10 inches. Weightless as it was, the snow made nice big piles on everything. Willie had a blast rummaging around in the snow. I think he smelled little furry things. He would put his nose under the snow and snowplow forward. I wonder if dogs can get an ice cream headache in the nose.

I must admit we miss the fireplace on icy cold days. Everyone in the household is looking for warmer places to rest on for a while. As you could see from the last post an activated electric blanket and the promise of multiple body heat is all the invitation that is needed for close company. I think we need a new use for the word cozy. It could be useful as a verb, as in, to cozy.

To cozy is to make soup, or to cover in an afghan, or to curl a cat around you.

Or to make tea

This tea cozy is made from a felted jacket. When I finished the felting process the pattern had softened to a fuzzy imitation of its former self. This turned into a very heavy wool piece quite capable of keeping a tea warm for a long time. It reminded me of a winter hat so I topped it with a pompom. The second cozy was made from felted wool yardage I found at the scary fabric store. I fell in love with its robin egg blue color. The inset of flowers is a type of reverse applique. I did not turn under the edges because the wool will not ravel at this point. This wool piece did not felt as compactly as the pink wool. As a result this cozy easily snugs around the tea pot. The extra stitching is free motion embroidery in regular sewing weight thread. the blanket stitch around the upper edges is for decoration only. This cozy is being shipped off as a thank you for the teapot given to me as a gift.

Or to put on socks

Don't your
socks look terrific? They fit Dad very well. He said to call them his cozy toesies.

(Dozy dog) Nice sock

Or to fill a hot water bottle

One cold night I really wanted someone to come in and run the pan of hot coals through the sheets to banish the chill. Not having that someone nor the hot coals I decided to make a cover for my hot water bottle. This is also a felted thrift store sweater. I loved the color and the cabling. It felted into a very heavy fabric, perfectly suited to holding the heat from the water bottle. The bottom of the bed was only warmer when Chloe used to sleep there.

When Dad and I lived in New York state we went winter camping as site directors at a Girl Scout camp. That night it got so cold the water froze in the room where we slept. When Dad woke up in the morning he turned over to see if I had survived the night. He laughed because he saw two noses sticking out of my sleeping bag. I had pulled the dog into my sleeping bag during the night and we were cozy.

love, Mom

The Peaceful Kingdom

2007-02-27T13:55:00.000-06:00

Honest! See! I was just..........tasting him.

Yesterday

2007-02-25T09:33:00.000-06:00

Old and New

2007-02-13T20:26:00.000-06:00

Dear Gwen,

Thanks for the fun posting. You and Dad seem to share an ability to turn a phrase. My favorites are the limericks in which you two trade lines. Who would have guessed at some of the words that now rhyme in Rudy style.

I found these handkerchiefs at a secondhand shop in Cumberland. They are machine embroidered on an incredibly fine cotton weave. I am trying to decide how the fabric was stabilized to allow this much stitching in one area. I have no clue as to where these were made. They will remain a pretty mystery.

Do you remember the smock that Grandma R. made for you when you were a little girl. It was off white with maroon flowers and trim. You wore it whenever your clothes needed protection. This is the newest version for the 21st century girl.There is plenty of room to grow into it. One of the first things she did was to test the pocket capacity by loading it up with toys. At that point walking was more challenging. We used yours many times as a cover-up at the kitchen counter as you helped with the baking . Your smock shows the remnants of past projects, displaying paint and marker spots. Your crafting days started at a young age.

Love, Mom

We can produce our Poetic Liscenses upon request.

2007-02-02T14:37:00.000-06:00

Hi Mom,

I don't think you'll mind if we (Prairie Lark) participate in the silent poetry fest that is forming today, do you? It's been a poetry-filled day already for me (I brought Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Pied Beauty" in to my class today), but I'd like to highlight some of our homegrown poetry here, since we are a poetry-writing family.

I've dug out a few textile-related poems from the family archive. The first is a very good example of found writing transformed. Let me set the stage:

The original post-it note, penned by you, read:

Sweater in Sink
Downstairs

Cryptic and short. I'm unsure what you meant. Were you washing a sweater in the utility sink downstairs? Did you need to put a sweater in the sink? At some point Dad added to your brief domestic missive with swift, sure strokes of the pen, changing it into this:

One day, while reaching for a drink,
There fell a Sweater in Sink -
downstairs ran I to rescue it,
only to find it fell in RIT.
The moral is that oft from DRINK,
a careless person can DYE in the sink!

This playful intertextuality can also be seen in this more recent poem, as well. Here Dad takes as his departure point the lines from an Emily Dickinson poem that I had up as an away message - Some little Artic Flower upon the polar hem.

Some little Artic flower, upon the polar hem
Tiny Inuit children went out to gather them.
With mukluks on and parkas snug
they ventured on the ice
For tiny frosty poseys
to make their igloos nice.

I will also share a poem of my own. Although the tone is a little different (partly because I was writing it for a class), it demonstrates the same basic modus operandi - take, and make something new and slightly different. One of the things that I liked best about the creative writing classes that I took is the way that they changed the way that I saw and experienced every day things - I felt like a more reflective person, like I was always looking for a way to understand or repackage what I was seeing. I think that that would be a neat goal for the things that we make, too - how is our handiwork the product of taking from here or there and remaking?

Swedish mitten

Traveling myself, the immigrant chest
in the corner seems so epic
compared to the small bag I carry.
On the wall of the guest bedroom,
One mitten hangs from the frame of a
Wedding picture. The bride smiles,
Alone and confident,
enveloped in a cloud of bright white lace,
a necklace of large pearls round her neck
and lace gloves on her folded hands.
The mitten too is white, the creamy white
of wool newly shorn, embroidered
with stylized flowers, leaves.
Mitten, where is your other half?
Was it lost before the trip began,
or was it caught, yarn pulling, stitches ripping
on the rough hewn bottom of that painted chest?

Happy reading, and happy Friday.

Love, Gwen

What I did with My Winter Vacation

2007-01-28T08:14:00.000-06:00

Dear Mom,
After the holidays, I settled down with the sewing machine and began some serious production. First I made this skirt (in an afternoon, then wore it that night, I believe).

This was also the work of only an hour or so. I wanted to make a jean skirt from an old holey pair of jeans, but I did not want to do it the usual way, with the long pointy triangle inserts. There's no perfectly neat way to deal with the fly in front with that method, and the triangles look tired to me, too predictable. So I fiddled around and came up with this.

I began by cutting the leg pieces in half along the seam line, then using the old side seam as the bottom, I wrapped two leg halves around the skirt. The bottom hems of the pants are that poochy bit on the right side in the photograph above. I left them open for a bit of a slit (I also saved one of the old patched holes on the dangling part in the back). This skirt looks better on me than it does on the hanger - I pulled and eased the pants legs to really get it to fit well.

Then, after the two skirts, I thought I better sew something to wear on top.

This is New Look 6976. I had both the fabric and the pattern here, waiting to be used. This is the second time that I've made this pattern, and I think it might be my last. I thought the gathered (tiny) cap sleeves (they're really more like cap epaulettes) might compensate for the general boxiness of this pattern. I may add some applique or a bit of ribbon to the side seams to tie in back. This will still be a useful shirt to wear under sweaters and jackets now, and by itself in the warmer months - I do like the print quite a bit.

Then I took a time-out from the garment sewing and whipped this out before going over to campus one morning. It's a sleeve for my laptop.

I bet you recognize the fabric? I used two layers of batting for extra cush. The green ribbon was in the bag of odds and ends from Julie.

And finally, I sewed a dress. Another quick and easy garment, this is Simplicity 3875. I cut it out and started sewing late last Saturday night, then did the rest of the construction Tuesday night because I really wanted to wear it on Wednesday.
It is flannel. My goal was to make a dress for winter; I've been wearing my summer dresses quite a bit, with extra layers underneath and sweaters, which has been a good solution, but also means I wear the same things all year round. This dress is pretty toasty, even though the (kimono) sleeves are really only elbow length. It is also extremely comfortable - nightgown-comfy, really. I wore it with my tall black boots, and my grey stole, and it was a good outfit for a long day. (I only matched the stripes on one place - the front center bands!) I will sew another dress from this pattern again, because I think it produced a good, basic-but-not-too-basic everyday dress (the sizing seems overly generous, though - I made a size 10 without any altering at all and I think it may still be a little big).

This sewing has been no fine hand-rolled hem. This spurt of sewing has been strictly about the product, and using things that I've had set aside. But still - satisfying.

Love, Gwen
(ps - glad you like the new look of the blog)

January's Spring Fever

2007-01-19T08:02:00.000-06:00

This can not be good!
I found these verdant tips coming up under the deck. My gardening memory is a bit hazy as to what I planted in that spot last year. I hope they go back to sleep until May. Their exuberance is commendable but possibly fatal. After photographing these upstarts I buried them under a pile of leaves until Spring.
Our mild winter has taken most of us on a lark, having gotten us comfortable in mid-temperature weather. Yesterday it actually turned to winter wind and cold with a touch of snow in the air. Out of habit I reached for my light windbreaker coat. Possibly I was thinking its black color had something to do with warmth. I had been wearing it with wool scarves as a nod to the season. Thank goodness for electrically heated car seats or your Mother would have froze.

Peaks of green from the indoor garden.
These photos are only closeups because all the plants are straining toward the meager winter light and all are now oddly shaped. This tuft of lavender has managed to stay upright, holding its own against a sea of bias.
And I have butterflies.
This scarf is a work in progress. I decided after all these years of handsewing I would try the elusive hand-rolled hem. I now know why they invented the rolled hem foot for the sewing machine. This hem IS labor intensive. But the end result is much more elegant than the machine produced variety. When the thread is gently pulled through the stitches the hem tucks in neatly to produce a tiny little roll along the edge. Very Fine! Despite the time input I would certainly choose to do this again. It is a very pretty finish on a delicate woven fabric.
I have also been thrift shopping for fabric and discovered a printed panel for placemat sets. I used two of them as the sides of a large tote bag. The fabric was thin so I interfaced it to add stability. The structural fabric is an upholstery fabric I could not resist buying on another outing. I made the lining taller than the bag top so it would fold over to the outside to create a framing effect for the panels.

Spring fever indeed!

love, Mom

Geometry

2006-12-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

Rectangles

Squares and Pentagons: The technique to insert the circle can be found at

www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_quilting_instructions/article/0,1789,HGTV_3302_4302936,00.html

Circles: Dog treats and Hamburger buns The results of a multipurpose baking day.

Heart: Grandpa's handwork for Ev.

Triangles

Polyhedron: This was excellently crafted by Molly Crino with the assistance of Katie Crino.They gave this to me during their family's visit here. For the longest time we thought this was a dodecahedron. But we could not get the sides to work out correctly. It is actually this:

www.arttowermito.or.jp/johokuchu/johokuchu3.html

Trapezoid: (for Julie "Can you say trapezoid?")

love ,

Mom

Babka.

2006-12-18T07:46:00.000-06:00

Dear Mom,

I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the semester.

We had a little Secret Santa/Hanuka party last night, and this was the present that I brought for my target. He's an MST3K fan (that's Mystery Science Theater 3000, where the little silhouettes make fun of bad movies). I intarsia'd up this pillow last week, using this chart. I used some black and white polka-dotted fabric for the back.

The party was a lot of fun. Jenni made latkes and had some babka mailed out from NYC. Yum!

Love, Gwen

Mom?

2006-12-13T10:35:00.000-06:00

Hello? Fellow blogger?

I throw down the dimly lit, photo-taken-by-self-at-arm's-length-in-the-bathroom gauntlet/beret of craft-blogging!

This picture is crying out to be topped! I took it a couple weeks ago after finishing up the Tweed Beret from the Winter 2006 Interweave Knits (the yarn is some Noro something that I had here in the stash). It is perhaps not so evident in this picture, but a poofy beret is, as I suspected, the poofy-haired girl's friend. I finished this hat just in time for the cold snap we experienced, and for the first winter in a while, I actually reached for a hat out of desire to wear it - not just desire to not get cold. I tinkered with the gauge a little, knitting the larger of the sizes, with one size smaller needles for my slightly thinner yarn. If I were to knit this again, I'd want it to be even bigger and even poofier.

I took this picture in my bathroom, as you probably recognize. The bathroom was the scene of an intense little skirmish last night. Imagine my surprise, when, going in bleary-eyed to do my bathroom stuff before bed, I discover a rather focused herd of ants wandering around on the ancient gold-speckled linoleum. Yes, ANTS. In the bathroom, which has no exterior walls, in winter. I have no idea what they were after, but ants' ways are not my ways.

I determined, after a little freaking out, that they seemed to be coming from a crack in the linoleum, so I did what any girl would do. I cleaned up the ants, wiped down the floor, got out some tools and screwed the lineoleum back down to the floorboards on either side of the crack, then engaged in a little midnight caulking. So far, this morning, so good.

Your daughter, the beret wearing, ant-nuking, lone blogging-
Gwen

Prepared.

2006-11-30T12:47:00.000-06:00

Dear Mom,

I ran errands this morning, before the rain turns to sleet and then turns to snow. I'm pleased to report we have plenty of yummy things to eat,

some excellent options for drinks,

and, thanks to my handiwork earlier this week, a suitably festive and cozy atmosphere.

I think I'm ready.

Love, Gwen

In which there are also no otters

2006-11-10T12:58:00.000-06:00

Dear Mom,

It's been a quiet week at Chez Gwen. Sunday night I finished up my Socktoberfest socks. I had high hopes of knocking out more pairs through this month-long celebration of socks, but one it was:

These , of course, are the Embossed Leaves Socks, designed by Mona Schmidt, from the winter 2005 Interweave Knits. The yarn is some Elann's Sock it to Me that I had socked away around here (harhar!). I knit these through the World Series, going up to the wedding with you and Dad, and a spate of MST3K episodes. They are pictured here midway through Monday - I didn't want to wait to wear them! They have since been washed and dried, and I may attempt another photo shoot to show you how very well they fit. I give this pattern a big thumbs-up.

(Guinea pigs don't wear socks, although they were interested in what I was doing and if it involved lettuce. It didn't.)

And, here's a project I made earlier this month - I knit these for one of our relatives, using this pattern from Knitty. The embroidery here is substantially winged, since I decided I didn't really feel like executing the duplicate stitch, and I only made three instead of a full week's worth.

I find myself a little in-between projects at the moment, since I finished up the socks. Time to dive into the closet and yarn basket and see what I've forgotten about back in there.

Love, Gwen

West Virginia Fall

2006-11-06T11:25:00.000-06:00

Dear Gwen,
The Fall colors have been spectacular. The leaf color intensity changes according to the mountain side direction and elevation. Dad and I took a bike ride near Ohio Pyle State Park in Pennsylvania. It was a brilliantly clear and crisp day. The trail was busy with many families and groups enjoying the day. At one stop we overheard a family with young children excitedly talking about going to see the otters. Deciding we wanted to see the otters too, we followed them along the bike trail at a respectful distance. At the naturalist sign post we learned it is very rare to see the otters out and about during the day. I hope the kids were not too disappointed. As they scampered around on the rocks by the river we snacked and caught our breath, and then headed back to the car... disappointed not to have seen the otters.

Thank you for the beautiful scarf!

Love,

Mom

2006-10-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

The blog has been quiet - I know I've been keeping a few things on the down-low. I can show you these though:

Tissue holders and a little bag for the birthday of one of my friends here. The handle of the bag is designed to easily button around the handle of one of her larger tote bags. I whipped these out Wednesday night. The photographer at this end has really not been meeting the high bar set by your stylist and photographer.

I've been working on my Socktoberfest socks, but they've been slow-going. I'm hoping to be done with the first one after watching the first game tonight (of the World Series). I have really enjoyed following along on the Flickr group, and seeing everyone's colorful socks.

The babies are keeping an eye on everything too.

Love, Gwen

It must be Fall...the oven is on.

2006-10-06T12:15:00.000-05:00

Dear Gwen,
I love when the air temperature cools to the point where you can't wait to turn on the oven and start baking again. Though the real reason is to warm the house up in the morning without turning on the furnace. After a long break from baking I have to reaquaint myself with the baking supplies. I always forget what flours and extra baking ingredients I have squirreled away. I intended to make cherry biscotti but finished with apricot almond biscotti instead. Dad took some to work to share with his coffee. I never asked him if this was a defensive maneuver. The biscotti are baked twice which makes them twice as crunchy.
I also made one of my favorite cookies.

These mice are fun to make:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Cream the sugar and fats. Add vanilla and egg. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients. Shape into 1 inch balls. Pinch one end to form the nose. The ears are two flattened pieces of dough. Add mini chocolate chips for eyes. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 to 13 minutes. Add the licorice tails after baking while cookies are still warm.

We shared these cookies with friends and received this picture the other day. Cat confusion!

I understand their dilemma. If you bite the tail you are left with a mouse head on your plate. Eat the head first and the tail remains. This is a problem not often encountered in food. I say just pop the whole thing in your mouth.

The baking didn't end with the mice. I had leftover boiled potato so I made potato bread. Five days later we are just finishing the second loaf. And it was not just any potato bread but it was Sister Jennie's Potato Bread from Bernard Clayton's bread book. This Shaker recipe describes the 8 hour rising time in front of the kitchen fires. Lacking a kitchen fire (boo hoo) I let it rise in the proofing drawer in the bottom of the oven. Despite the new-fangled environment it took the bread almost 8 hours from start to finish. Some recipes are not meant to be improved upon.

Now for a confection of a different kind. Do you remember this pretty yarn?

Due to some technical difficulties with the needle operator's brain and inattention to detail I have achieved the '4x start' project. I chose an easy knit 1, YO, knit two together pattern. Nowhere in the instructions did it warn you that it is fraught with potential potholes. I hit each one. Including messing up one turn so that the front became the back. This became Very Visible two-thirds back the length. I am now looking for this every inch or so. I still love the yarn, I am loving how it looks in the pattern, I will love it more at the bind-off.

Have you seen this 6 minute video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

love,
Mom

All photo credits (except the cats) belong to Dad.

Waiting

2006-09-14T09:22:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

While you and Dad were Caping and Codding about last week, watching whales and viewing skeletons of whales, I've been concentrating on a mammal of slightly smaller proportions. Poor Walter! Walter, of course, is my girl guinea pig, who came preloaded with little guinea pigs, little baby guinea pigs who I can hear clicking their teeth in there at night. So strange!

My new apartment-mate and I get along swimmingly. In the last week she's learned what it sounds like when I'm walking in the kitchen, and she starts to wheek. Even though her belly is so big, and her poor skin is so stretched, she still likes laptime a lot. I put her on my chest, grab my book, and we hold the sofa down like nobody's business. She's very polite about her bathroom functions too - the one time we had a bit of an accident (I'd had her out of her cage for at least eight pages of Hobbes), she hopped down onto the sofa and looked at me apologetically as the inevitable happened.

Anyways, as the weather's been getting cooler and the babies closer to arriving, Walter's needed some cuddly accessories. Don't worry, I haven't been knitting guinea pig baby booties - argh! could you imagine?! (4 babies @ 4 paws apiece! Although four little hats would be cute . . . )

Nope, I've been whipping out little beds, - "cuddle cups" as they are known within the cavy savvy community. They've been a hit with their target audience. This one is flannel with an extra piece of prequilted fabric in the bottom.

And this one is fleece and mermaid flannel. Both are lined with batting.

I think I'll make a couple more, so I can switch them in and out of the cage as they get damp or dirty. They're good for laptime, too. This is quick and dirty sewing, nothing precise or difficult here, but very satisfying.

Hope you're adjusting back to the land-locked life smoothly!

Love, Gwen

Fling, Flung,Flinging

2006-08-30T15:56:00.000-05:00

Dear Gwen,

"It was an evening in early October,--one of those first frosty nights when a bright wood fire is so agreeable to contemplate and so more than agreeable to sit in front of. Susan Clegg sat in front of hers, and doubtless thoroughly appreciated its cheerful warmth, but it cannot be said that she took any time to contemplate it, for her gaze was altogether riveted upon the stocking which she was knitting, and which appeared--for the time being--to absorb completely that persevering energy which was the dominant note of her character.
But still the beauty and brilliancy of the leaping flames were not altogether lost upon an unseeing world, for there was another present beside Susan, and that other was full to overflowing with the power of silent admiration. Her little black beady eyes stared at the dancing lights that leapt from each burning log in a species of rapt absorption, and it was only semi-occasionally that she turned them back upon the work which lay upon her lap. Mrs. Lathrop (for of course it was Mrs. Lathrop) was matching scraps for a "crazy" sofa pillow, and there was something as touchingly characteristic in the calmness and deliberation of her matching as there was in the wild whirl which Susan's stocking received whenever that lady felt the moment had come to alter her needles. For Susan, when she knit, knit fast and furiously, whereas Mrs. Lathrop's main joy in relation to labor lay in the sensation that she was preparing to undertake it.
The former altered her needles with a fierce fling, and began: "I must go on 'n' tell you what's on my mind. ... " "
(from "Susan Clegg and Her Friend, Mrs. Lathrop" by Anne Warner)

During the rather long break in our blog much has been happening at the end of the needles. I know you saw a few projects when you came to visit. I have been enjoying the stitching on the quilt top. And I have been seeking to master my new knitting. The quilt is proceeding more predictably than the knitting!
I have been needle flinging here. I agree that it could be an Olympic sport as was undertaken by knitters all over the world during the Winter Olympics this past year. I also had to claim a 'do-over' during this project, which is not allowed under the official rules. This summer tank was started in the early Spring in anticipation of hot Summer weather. As the knitting progressed I really thought I would miss both seasons. Well, I think I just squeaked in under the Summer wire.

This is version one. It is the FiberTrends Basic Tank. The directions knit up very easily. I think it looks like their picture. When I tried it on I was not happy with the fit on me. As you can see the design is a boxy style with minimal design extras. The first step was to reclaim the yarn so I frogged the whole thing. And I started to tinker with the original pattern. I liked how the pattern was simple and straight forward. I built off of the original, adding shaping at the side seams, short rows in the bust area for curves, and a weightier hem finish to help the hang of the garment.

Version two: (Already looks better because of the change in photographers--Dad gets the credit here.) I measured a well fitting tank to determine how much shaping was needed. All of the resulting changes were based on the mathematics of this yarn's gauge. The hem line is the Garter stitch T Twist from Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein. This book and its companion book have enough ideas for a lifetime of knitting... I am wondering if I should date the book like I do my cookbooks, recording when I try a new edge and if I changed its ingredients.

The wrap-up will be the review of my notes and chicken scratches, ordering them into a pattern I can duplicate in another project.

I am so pleased to finally be able to show you this project. But with Tropical storm Ernesto headed up the coast maybe I should be thinking of rain gear. Knitted rain coats...now there is a silly idea.

love, Mom

Clean Sweet

2006-07-13T17:54:00.000-05:00

Hi Mom,

Sorry about the longtime, no posting. The amoeba-like quality of this year's Fourth of July put a fullstop to whatever sort of momentum I had going, which wasn't very much to begin with. I have been making some things, and even selling some things. I've had some success, as you know. An item that I made was picked up, and sold almost right away. I've been trying to figure out how to make more of them - the sticking point is that I found the original slip at a thrift store.

I've been catsitting for Mary, which means I've been watching TV over there a little bit while I play with them. I've been watching a bunch of those cleaning/redecorating shows. So far they've inspired me to:

1. Clean my closet. Well, partially anyways. I weeded out my closet and brought three bags over to the thrift store today. I also made a short stack of things that could be ok if I remade them somehow.

2. So I did - I completed one anyways, and have ideas and a list of changes for the others. I made cuter, shorter, tighter pants out of these old long ones. Ankle-length plaid bright pink pants had proven just too much - who'd have thought? Shorter, however, is better.

3. While at the thrift store, I decided to have a quick look around, to see if I could replace some of the summer things that I've worn out. Other people must also have been cleaning their closets out, because I found two great things! The skirt is silk.
Do you think I can wear these items together? You have to imagine it with my big poofy hair and significant earrings. . . these are the times that I wish for a roommate (and yes, the top's sash and straps are Gwen Green).

Talk to you soon!

Gwen

It is Raining, It is Pouring, All the Cats are Snoring

2006-06-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

Hi Gwendolina,
I am sitting here in semi-darkness listening to it rain, and rain, and rain. The cats are beginning to ignore me when I open the door. My plants are taking on too much water despite my emptying their swimming pool/pots. On the positive side, I have had plenty of time to do inside projects.

First, the update on the sewing room. Dad finished the last piece for the room. Now that the desk and filing area is done I can move the paperwork off the dining room table. You may recognize the recycled legs on the desk. Over the years a once lovely sewing cabinet has met a series of unfortunate accidents. Most of which required a modification in one piece of it or another. I have never had such bad luck with any other piece of furniture. First the top was badly damaged by water. A fall into the corner of the top accounts for one of the scars on Carl's forehead. Then the iron treadle mechanism served for many years as a base under the round table top. That table was our first kitchen table and ended as the homeschooling table. All the time the treadle wheel was under that top I imagined little fingers pinched in the working fly wheel. I think the ability to make that wheel spin was irresistible to little kids. The iron base was broken during our move last year. So Dad thought he would use the legs in the desk design. I like how the legs make the desk look more delicate. The treadle wheel is now disabled in the garage. I think the wheel and basket could have a new life too. Any suggestions?

I am impressed by your new successes in gardening. Your tomatoes are going to be good in a few weeks. I have two potted tomatoes on the deck that are outpacing Dad's tomato in the garden. I think I may win the early tomato derby. You also seem to be well able to grow microbiotically! Is your sponge to the healthy stage yet. I love how the sourdoughs fill the kitchen with prebread smell. Just after I read your entry I heard a story on the TV about the wild yeasts used in the making of tequila. I thought of you. I think your breeding ( or does one just multiply) of yeast is more expedient. They said it takes around ten years just to grow the Blue Agave that tequila is made from. Though I did like the suggestion made by this grower http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=12017. Are you thinking of improving your stock?

Because it is raining and Dad is traveling I have time to watch old movies while I stitch quilt squares and frog that summer tank. I saw a movie I highly recommend. It is the Chinese movie "The Road Home". This movie is the gentlest story of the love a young woman has for a man in her village. The photography is breathtaking. It is also a superb depiction of the rural life of that time, a living history acted out. I need to see it again just to catch all the textile references and demonstrations shown during the story. I had watched about a half hour of the movie before realizing I needed to be more observant. The people of the region knew how to keep warm in their heavily quilted clothing. I almost missed the heavy felted boots for winter wear. They also showed the repair of pottery in a way I had seen demonstrated on Martha's show a couple of years ago. I hope you can find a copy locally.

love,
Mom

Stalking the Wild Yeast

2006-06-22T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hi Mom,

Here's my horticultural riposte to your (gorgeous) lily of the valley trapunto:

The first little green tomatoes are growing on the grape tomato plant! The hot humid weather has kickstarted all my container plants. It's becoming quite the jungle on the porch, thanks to the plants from Julie this weekend, and me moving all the houseplants out there.

One of my colleagues gave me a huge plastic pot into which I can transplant the other tomato plant, in exchange for a little kickback of fruit once it is producing. Are you as surprised as I am that I'm suddenly into gardening? I want to weed, I want to water, I'm not killing things right and left. It's as if you planted little sleeping gardening cicadas in me 13 or 17 years ago, and this is the year they wake up.

Besides the cultivating, my theme for the summer so far has been things that are free. Until I find a summer job (I'm looking! I'm inquiring! I'm making phone calls!) I have a lot of free time. I'm also trying to cut expenses by doing things that are free.

Free knitting, for example, otherwise known as stash knitting. This little project is knitting with stuff that isn't even yarn. It's the ball of nylon potholder loops from my last post, (idea thanks to [of course] this book), the primary-colored, loopy-fringed Goofus to your elegant, prim trapunto Gallant.
I also recently ran out of yeast. Is there a free solution to this? I wondered aloud yesterday. The weather has been too warm and humid to not be making bread - my kitchen IS a proofing box. I thought about experimenting with leavening with salt briefly, but decided, as quaintly old-timey as salt-rising sounds, to try making my own sourdough starter. It seems a bit more reliable once it's going. Behold:

The theory of making one's own sourdough starter is simple: mix flour and water, hope you trap some interesting yeast and lacto-baccillus from the air in it. The pickier online sources advise using wholewheat flour, and bottled, non-chlorinated water, all carefully temperature-regulated. I haphazardly used the whitest of white flour, cold tap water, and initially stirred with a metal spoon (another no-no). Nevertheless, by noon today the starter was already pretty bubbly and sour-smelling, and had a thin layer of hooch on top.

Apparently it can take days for the first bubbles to appear - my starter seems to be precocious, probably thanks to the afore-mentioned incredible humidity and general aliveness of the air right now. It smells nice and sour already. These symptoms put it pretty squarely in the "barely living" category. This may sound rather dismal, but in the world of sourdough starter, barely living is slightly alive, which is what I want.

Fecundly,
Gwen

PS - did you or Dad ever make the Cabbage Kuchen from Laurel's Kitchen? I'm thinking of making it tomorrow.

A Beginning

2006-06-20T18:39:00.000-05:00

Dear Gwen,
You and Katie have asked what is my first project. Last year when Carl and Katie were married I promised Katie a quilt. I had already chosen the pattern and some of the fabric. And as a preview I showed her the cover of this book . Her quilt will be the one shown on the cover. It is called "Spring Irish Chain Quilt". The pillow shown is actually the Lily of the Valley center for 12 squares in the quilt, surrounded by the Irish Chain. Each of the L. of the V. squares is created in trapunto. This is the first project in which I have tried this technique. The square is actually composed of 2 layers of fabric. The top is the quilt fabric you will see in the finished top. The second layer is a Swiss batiste I purchased from a company in Louisiana. The motif is traced on to the batiste and then hand stitched through both layers along the design lines.
This first picture shows the front of the block. Photo credits belong to Dad. (He has a much better understanding with the new camera.) The color is very true in this picture. The second picture shows the trapunto a bit more clearly. To make the raised area yarn is slipped between the two layers. Each area is padded just enough to raise it without distorting the fabric. The instructions suggested using polyester thread to outline the motif. I thought about this for a total of 2 seconds, deciding that trapunto is a much older technique than the invention of polyester thread. So the traditionalist in me picked up the 100% cotton thread and began to stitch. In all fairness the suggestion of polyester thread was made to address a problem with the trapunto technique. As you manipulate the yarn into the areas the cloth does get stretched, resulting in the chance an outline stitch may snap. I have not had any problem with the cotton thread. Some instructions suggest a polyfill for the trapunto areas. I chose wool yarn. The first choice was the fluffy, delicate one on the left of the picture. It worked quite well except that it showed through the top fabric darker than I liked . So choice number two was the better yarn. The wool yarn will felt together over time and not migrate out of the channels and areas.

The next series of pictures shows the filling stitch in the trapunto areas. Working on the back side (batiste side) the threaded needle is slipped carefully between the two layers of fabric. The next stitch starts in the exit hole of the first stitch so that the yarn is drawn through the two layers. I continued working this area in a straight line until I reached the other side. Then I pulled out the needle and clipped the yarn close to the fabric. I worked in the ends of the yarn and closed any holes left in the batiste. Each area of the trapunto requires a few lines of wool to fill it completely.
This block seems to show a little distortion on the bottom edge so I will go back and remove a small amount of yarn from the fill in the center leaf. This should relieve the tension in that area and allow the fabric to flatten.

I am so excited to start this quilt. It incorporates an element from your quilt ( the similar piecing technique of your double nine patch) and motif quilting as in Carl's quilt. Dad suggested I make a quilt for us for my next one. It would be a nice way to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 3 years. Isn't that just the way it is....you get started on one and you have the next one simmering on the back burner.
love, Mom

Trekking on. . .

2006-06-15T16:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,
While you and Dad have been finishing and moving and organizing and entertaining, I've been wrapping up the monthlong party that has been this year's family graduation party season. You guys missed a good party. I missed a bit of the party because of forgetting the time change. Whoops! At least I was not alone - some of our other relatives made the same mistake.

Back home, I've been startling the yard bunnies.
Isn't it cute? There's a nest of them (or would it be a warren?) living somewhere nearby. I see them in herds, ranging across the yard or parking area, fearless and a little scrawny-looking.

I've also been making stuff, mostly inspired by these two bloggers' book:

Actually, I've been making balls of stuff to then use to make stuff. On the right, a Rag Ball. Surprisingly dense and heavy, it would be excellent for throwing. On the left, nylon-potholder- loop yarn. I had a bag leftover from the compulsive potholder making days of yore (yore was orchestra tour, spring 2004). I whipped out one final cotton one, then used the nylon loops that came with the loom to make this very satisfying chain. I'm not sure how far it will go for knitting, but it is very pleasing to look at and set in different places about the apartment as is. Sort of knotty, bright installation art. Would also be fun to chuck at someone.

And I finished the second sock. This was the best picture I could take by myself, and I just realized it I dorked it all up by folding the cuffs down.
The yarn is Trekking XXL, the pattern is pretty much the sock recipe from this book, with a few idiosyncratic twists like continuing the ribbing through the toe, instead of switching to plain stockinette. In retrospect, this makes for an unusual looking toe. But since it doesn't really feel weird, and there are no gaping holes, I'm leaving them as is.

So, what are you going to make first in your new sewing room?

Love, Gwen

2006-06-11T18:28:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your patient waiting for the room update. Your Dad has been working on the components virtually nonstop. He had a little rest waiting for the polyurethane to cure. Didn't he do a splendid job?
I am slowly sorting through 25 years of sewing and craft supplies in a attempt to reduce the accumulation. How many buttons does one person really need? And the Operating question at the moment is if I will use it in the next 6 months. I know that this is usually stated as "Did I use it in the last 6 months." Though that question does not seem relevant to someone who thinks quilts made out of vintage fabrics are fabulous. I must admit I have held onto a piece
of fabric bought in the 1970's. Through the years this fabric was to be a backpack, a pillow top, a seat cover, a notebook cover, a pillow top again, and most recently a purse. I think I will hold on to it a while longer and see what it wants to be next.

In this picture you can see empty cubes above the work surface. These spaces are reserved for the fabric with potential. The scraps are an easy save because they become quilts. But the larger yardage exists as a promise to the future.
Ruthlessness will be called for. I think I will wait until tomorrow....

Socked in

2006-05-29T17:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

I'm back after seeing you yesterday at the first of the graduation parties! I've spent Memorial Day remembering (and washing) the laundry that I'd forgotten about in the back of my closet, and reading on the porch. I finished reading this book this morning - I know I read an excerpt from it somewhere before, maybe in one of your magazines? I would recommend it, but I know you and Dad are reacquainting yourselves with the old books now that they are unpacked.

Mimi the visiting cat's window-watching habit payed off on Saturday:

The squirrel stuck and frantic, made Mimi's week! The squirrel was much less amused by the encounter.

Here's a porch picture in exchange for yours:

Still-life with sock and marigolds. I started this sock after the semester's end, so all the vibes knit into it were relaxed and non-twitchy, admirable qualities in a sock, I believe. I think they'll be lovely to wear when it's not 94 degrees.

Sweatily,
Gwen

A Look To the Future

2006-05-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

I have enjoyed hearing about your porch garden. This is our deck garden. We have had such cool weather that the plants are somewhat dormant. I am getting new blooms but no growth. Do you see the rhododendron? I feel very southern being able to choose this plant now that I am in a new temperature zone. I may even investigate azaleas . A house up the street has spectacularly vibrant colors of azaleas. Last year we moved to this house after the blooming season of most plants. I have now enjoyed seeing white(and pink) dogwoods, rhododendrons, the magenta of the eastern redbud lining the highways, magnolias taller than roof lines, and the lush drooping flowers of the black locust trees. I am constantly reminded that this ecosystem is very different than the prairies of the Midwest.
I have to give you a sewing/reading/projects/cats sleeping in sunshine room update. We emptied the room out on Saturday. By Sunday night we had painted the walls and laid the parquet floor. I am thrilled to not have to hunt straight pins in a carpet. After Dad was done installing the floor I noticed that it resembled a lovely faded rail fence quilt. Very appropriate don't you think? I now want to go in search of warm creamy yellow and tan fabrics.

The cutting table will be made out of the solid maple door we recycled from the old house. It will be fastened to an open storage frame on casters for easy manueverability. The other furniture is designed as a series of cubes and cubbies for storage and support of work surfaces.
I love your portrait of the Kenmore machine. That machine is such a workhorse. It has successfully sewn doll cloths, yards of curtains, underwear, street clothing, ripped jeans, upholstery material for a couch and chair, quilts, an heirloom bridal dress, church bazaar projects, and 4-H fair entries. And I love how it hums along when it is running. May its projects and years be many and long. Yours too, my dear.
love,
Mom

On my honor

2006-05-17T14:14:00.000-05:00

Hi Mom,

I've done something very girl-scouty - it involved square pieces of fabric, knots, and reusing materials I had on hand. I picked up the new Blueprint magazine, which is from Martha Stewart's company but aimed at a just-starting-out crowd. The magazine ("design your life!") was a fun read - lots of nice pictures, good recipes, some good ideas, although I'm bemused at the breeziness of its internal contradictions. For every cheery, inexpensive idea or project there's a $400 dress or $1000 rug; let's just say that I (or any other of my just-starting-out friends) won't be needing the bonus sofa buying guide anytime soon. Part of me likes the magazine a lot for the simple, easy-to-use ideas - the other part thinks it's really inculcating aspirational consumerism under the guise of personal style and design.

But, anyway. I used one of their ideas to make these:

This was the first one - the blue fabric is the sheet I liberated from the dumpster behind the campus theater a few summers ago, and I found the handkerchief in a thrift store here for a time. Rip, tie, and wham! A super easy bag. I applied the handkerchief after tying the handles in to make sure it was in an attractive place.

This is the second one I made. My friend Grace and I made cookies Sunday night together, and broke out my fabric boxes and started "improving" the idea. This one uses bangle bracelets for handles, and I lined the vintage garage-sale coneflower fabric with the same blue fabric I used for the other bag. This one's cute and little - good for my wallet and phone and grocery list. Grace made a larger one in purple and white.

I was thinking about my time as an undergrad on Mother's Day, too, especially when Grace and I were doing the minimal sewing that these bags required. You wrote about the trips back and forth - I was thinking about the semester that I wasn't doing well. I was unhappy, and you knew it, and you and Dad were worried about me. You sent me back from a break with this:

Your sewing machine. I'm tearing up now thinking about all the love that this sewing machine represents.

I love you,
Gwen

2006-05-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

I think it is appropriate that my post to you should be on Mother's Day. I agree that some of my favorite time is spent in the sewing room surrounded by projects in various stages of completion. The only problem is ...I have torn up my sewing room for remodeling. So can we image a room in the future that will be an organized room of creativity? I am sure this will be a good idea in the long run. But as of now it looks like a disaster. Every needle, every skein of yarn, every yard of fabric is living in the dining room for a while.
As a result I have been motivated to look at other projects. So I decided to frame a drawing I did a few years ago. When you were in college your Dad and I would make the 4 hour run back home after dark. On one winter night's trip I was very tired and Dad did all of the driving. We had the radio on a world music broadcast. I sat quietly listening to the music and looking out the window. As we drove along I realized that I was only able to see quick glimpses of barnyards lit by yardlights. They flashed by, revealing dim soft-edged images of these rural lives. Each barnyard was unique. In the darkness each would register on my mind like an old flickering black and white movie. This is my favorite memory of the car trips to see you.

Sartor Restartus

2006-05-06T20:14:00.000-05:00

Hi Mom!

I'm so excited you've agreed to co-blog (or cob-log) with me. After talking to you on the phone last night, I started thinking about how this will be a new beginning for the blog. I am suddenly brimming over with ideas to write about and share with you; one of the great things about writing back and forth is the easy sense of an audience (although I know you and Dad were reading before!).

For the blog, it is a new start, or at least, a new set of clothes. I started thinking about Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus. The title means 'the tailor retailored,' and refers in part, to this very philosophical, very odd book's "Clothes Philosophy": the appearance of things (clothing) is different from their reality (the body underneath). I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this, but I'd like to hope that our "clothes philosophy" can be two-fold. I know we both like to make our daily surroundings more pleasant by thinking about the appearance of things, and that we both find great joy in unleashing an inner creative reality. I hope that writing about what we're doing and thinking about on this blog will encourage us both into new creative outfits. It will be a virtual version of the old sewing room!

So, here's to you Mom! I checked the blog settings, and I think we're good to go except for one thing - which of our time zones should we choose?

Love,
Gwen

This is your Mother

2006-05-06T18:03:00.000-05:00

Thank you for inviting me to participate as your cob-logger. I have enjoyed reading your entries. I know those little feet in your cute baby sock post! I think that I need to learn how to make socks next in my knitting repetoire.

Baby Socks

2006-02-27T12:13:00.000-06:00

Two pairs of baby socks made for two young friends. Pair #1 were sent off in January, pair #2, which are red, cream, and green striped, were made on location this weekend. Both pairs are Dalegarn Baby Ull, and the baby sock pattern is from 50 Baby Bootees (50 patterns in the book, and I've made the same one twice - but they're so cute!).

Switch, swatch

2006-02-23T21:44:00.000-06:00

Today I swatch, yesterday I swatched, tomorrow I will (probably) swatch again.

The light blue is thrifted yarn from my latest find. I unraveled one sleeve and knit a swatch to test it before investing the energy frogging the whole thing. It knit well, I got gauge (well, I got very close to gauge). This one's a go.

The dark blue (so dark it's almost black) is my new project, for which I now have all the yarn. I think I need to reswatch this one, but we'll see what the wet-blocking accomplishes. I think it has grown a little already. I knit back and forth, so I think I'll try doing a circular swatch before changing needles sizes.

Pouring

2006-02-21T22:38:00.000-06:00

A quick post before bed - three things, unrelated (except the obvious) :

found a sweater yesterday at the thrift store that I think I can frog and use to knit the Lace Leaf Pullover. It's a wool/acrylic blend, but I'll try not to hold that against it. This particular thrift store I tend to not frequent, as it makes me sad. There usually aren't many good things there, anyways, because everything gets so picked over (one of the things that makes me sad - so many people shop there because they clearly need to). I also have a tendency to make up stories about the people who owned the clothes and things before, and why they ended up in the thrift store. This time around I linked the crooked half-complete granny square blanket with the seventies acrylic yarn, three of the crinkly old lady raincoats, and massive orangey-brown cookie jar shaped like a giant russian teapot.
have been talking to the LYS ladies about a particular sweater and the particular yarn for that sweater - it came in today! but only some of it - the main color wasn't included in the shipment for some reason, so will have to wait a little longer.
started mini-project today (which will also remain nameless), while reading what I discovered tonight was the novel for a class next month, not this week. I'm eight hours ahead in reading, and eight hours behind.

Bag-ette

2006-02-20T12:03:00.000-06:00

I'll stage a more interesting action shot once it has dried, but here's part of what I did this weekend. Mom and Dad gave me Knit One, Felt Too and the yarn to make this pattern from it for Christmas! I really like it. I finished the knitting in the early days of January, but waited until now to do the felting.

I started the job by hand in the sink, which worked well up to a point, then I switched to boiling on the stove with occasional cold water rinses, then kneaded and worked it by hand for a while. All of this was pretty successful (although tiring), but it seemed like the wool just reached a point where I couldn't get it to seize up anymore. I tested it out for size, and it was still 2 inches larger than the pattern called for, and although I happened to like the size a lot, I was afraid it would stretch too much with use since the felted fabric wasn't very dense. So I let it sit overnight, and then went to the laundromat the next day. I was a little concerned it wouldn't felt much in the machine because there was no selecting the load size. But the suds and mechanical agitation did the trick, and it felted down (felted up?) the two more inches.

loose and floppy before- - - - - - trim and shipshape after!

I decided to leave the rolled brim unrolled - I enjoy being able to see more of the lime color. I'll have to keep my eyes open for some neat beads for the points of the green triangles (or not - I do like it the way it is), and also pick up a little magnetic closure or something, to keep things inside.

New! Now with 5 fewer fingers per serving!

2006-02-18T14:22:00.000-06:00

Wrists are important, and I've always got half an eye on mine. I whipped these up at a birthday party (after the real party part, when we were just watching a dvd - Herzog's documentary on Timothy Treadwell the bear enthusiast, in which Herzog comes out sounding almost equally eccentric, although ultimately, in what proves to be a crucial difference, not eaten by a bear) and an hour or two later that week. I don't know if keeping one's wrists warm really helps the odd twinge, but I think I've noticed a difference.

They're really cozy and yet make me feel sort of tough - like I'm about to get all sweaty dancing around a punching bag. Ha! So far they've spent more time curled around a mug of tea then doing anything truly fierce. They've been called "cool" by the coffeeshop crowd, who collectively have a pretty strong grasp on what is and isn't cool.

The pattern is the 'fingerless mitts' from Weekend Knitting, and the yarn I used is one skein of Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes (88yds) plus a moeity of leftover Lopi when I ran out. It's not visible in the picture, but this colorway also includes blue, fuschia, and purple - in a felictious turn, the end of the skein where I ran out was purple, the same exact color as the Lopi. It's impossible to tell I switched yarns.

Pterodactyls would like this, I think

2006-02-03T13:18:00.000-06:00

I have the last of the three scarfs to show you today, but first, a few words:

It picked up a few words that were, well, boring, so I made free and replaced them with words that fit alphabetically. This means that in the interest of true and accurate representation, I feel compelled to use the words "beauty," "bootees," and "pterodactyl." Bootees will pose no problem - I've been making some recently and will post some pictures soon. Mellor's "50 Baby Bootees" is a real beauty of a book. Conceivably one could even convince a pterodactyl to wear some of these bootees of beauty. (I decided to let "objectionable" stand, even though I think it's a blogger word - so maybe I should use that too. I see nothing objectionable in the gratuitous use of words I like. There.)

(Also? I'm really tickled that "atwitter" is first, and "momma" and "shizzle" made it. Also trying to imagine what in the world a lord marker might look like, let alone a large lord marker.)

A(nother) scarf, this one quite long, quite warm, and wooly. Pattern, if you will, here. The yarns, Manos and Peace Fleece, came from my mom's LYS, which we visited together at Thanksgiving. It's nice and long, long enough that I had to block it on the back of the sofa, and quite cushy. The Manos color is "prairie," I believe - the darkest brown looks loamy, like it should smell moist and dark.

2006-01-31T23:57:00.000-06:00

scarf bit

Another Scarf

2006-01-31T12:35:00.000-06:00

Here is another scarf. This was the first warm wooly knit of the fall. It is the Brioche Scarf, again from Weekend Knitting, and the yarn is Cascade Pastaza. I used one skein of each color, which made for a rather abbreviated scarf - but the brioche fabric is so thick and cushy that more than one wrap around a neck would be immobilizing. I think that this is a muffler if ever there was one.

My favorite part of this scarf is the stripy I-Cord edge, the corners, and the way the other color peeks through from the other side. It was my first attempt at brioche. It was a pleasant surprise how quick it was, for a stitch pattern that more or less requires knitting each row twice. I started and restarted several times, until I figured out how to decode and fix mistakes in pattern.

Scarving for Attention

2006-01-30T12:59:00.000-06:00

I like scarves - I wear one everyday in winter to fill in the neckline of my winter coat, and will often keep it wrapped around my neck in class, or around the house. I've knit four scarves this winter; one I gave a friend, and the other three I've kept.

Here is the most recent, the Lopi Lace Scarf from Weekend Knitting. I used the Lite-Lopi yarn that the pattern called for and a little bit of contrasting dark pink Lamb's Pride for the ends. The simple lace pattern suits the Lite Lopi beautifully - the relative stiffness of the yarn holds the lace holes open just enough, and the flexibility of the lace makes for a very fluid scarf. The color looks pretty much like this in real life - sort of a vibrant blueberry. Yum!

Back! With a vengeance! (sort of)

2006-01-29T22:52:00.000-06:00

Hmm, easing back into the blogwaters with a Christmas FO - Museum Sweater from Little Badger Knitwear, smallest size, Elann Denim yarn. Nice stuff - I was blue when it was finished (and so were my needles).

Mugshots

2005-07-28T10:32:00.000-05:00

Things that I like:

Tea. Flowers. This teacup, which is special to me. The saucer is, too - Mom and I found a whole box of old diner china at a garage sale last summer, when I was preparing to set up house. Once I moved in, we used them for our first breakfasts here, and then I used them for getting acquainted teaparties with my new friends.

The Space Program and spaceshuttles. My name. Family vacations. Coffee. The word "shuttle."
This teapot, which was my Great-grandmother's. Double Bergamot Earl Grey. Fiber.

Whistling in the dark

2005-07-27T19:10:00.000-05:00

Green!

Two little projects that have happily arrived at their new home - a fuzzy Ipod cozy for Carl, and a baby hat for the wee one-to-be. I started the hat on the train in Maryland, and had it finished and bound off by the time I got off in Chicago.

I must have really liked it!

2005-07-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

I've been eating a lot of eggs in the last few days. Scrambling them with vidalia onions, cherry tomatos, bacon, and cheese, frying them up gently and eating them with lots of salt and pepper. Lunch today is egg salad, by itself because I don't have anything flat and breadlike to put it on, and I'm ok with that. I am eating the eggs like there's no tomorrow. Yesterday, I even bought a little egg cup so that I could eat eggs in yet another way (and also knit them a bunch of little minisweater cozies).

Yes, I am loving the eggs, which is strange. I don't, usually. There was a day when I would run gagging from the room if someone began to crack one into a bowl. But now, I'm eating them. With relish. A lot.

Is it because it's hot, and they are a nutritious, self-contained little package of food that's easy and fast to prepare? Is it because they're cheap? Why am I suddenly fixated on all things ovoi-

oh.

no.

Oh dear.

My subconscious is weird.

And, my momma's good-looking.

2005-07-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

Things I secretly like about late summer:

sweating until you're dripping.
The word "sultry."
ditch flowers.
not needing to use lotion 3x a day.
the hum of fans at night.
festivals in parks.
washing sandal-dirty feet before bed.
potato salad and berries.
pop-up thunderstorms.
this dense, hazy, visibly thick humidity (see "sweat", "lotion", and "sultry" above).

Lord of the Wrings

2005-07-24T09:56:00.000-05:00

I've refined the formula. Size 8s and working to 44 stitches before beginning to decrease means I get two dishcloths from one Lily Sugarn'Cream skein with very little remaining. At this point, after 7 or 8 months of this I have finished sets of matching dishcloths stashed all over the apartment, ready for foisting on unsuspecting visitors. Here you can see three lifestages of the standard dishcloth: larva-like, the dishcloth gathers strength by consuming yarn as its stitches paradoxically dwindle in number. Then, it is cut loose from its skein, and revels in its plump, cushy, thick-stranded potential, until it finally meets soapy water for the first time and begins its career as a Dishcare Professional. It is a good life, filled with lots of exciting meetings (Hullo, dirty plate! Hello, glass!), similar-minded coworkers like the Sponge and Scrubbie, periods of relaxation spent draped over the faucet, and regular laundering.

Yesterday for dinner I made 2 little yellow cakes with black raspberry whipped cream. Yum.

Tanks for the memories

2005-07-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

Blue!

One half of one blue tanktop. I'm sort of improvising this one as I go along, but I started out using the Mudflap tank for SnB Nation for it's schematics, but took the arm binding off and neckline from a different pattern. I'm expecting this to shrink in on itself and tighten up a bit when I wetblock it, but I'm waiting until I get the second half done so I can make sure they are more or less the same.

The yarn is Patagonia Nature Cotton, from Araucania Yarns (not to be confused with these araucanas). I like this yarn a lot. It's a thick-and-thin bulky, so it's knitting up quickly. I bought three skeins of it, which should be just enough for the tank itself. The plan is to apply some sort of edging along the, er, edges, to neaten things up, and provide a little bit more stability. I don't think I'll have enough of this left over, so will have to go get a little bit of something cottony to finish this off.

The Living is Easy

2005-07-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Prettiness on the Porch

Still-Life in Flowered Blue, with Dishcloths.

Dishcloths of Disquietude

2005-07-15T22:12:00.000-05:00

Nothing too exciting happening around here, so here's a picture from my last Time Away. The Alleghenies are as picturesque as their name is difficult to spell.

In other news, I have completed a couple little knitting projects, but they're on their way out as gifts right now so pictures will have to wait (Hi Carl, Hi Katie! Watch your mailbox!). I'm in the doldrums between larger projects right now, which means knitting energy has been focused soley on the Dishcloths of Disquietude that I have been knitting compulsively for 7 or 8 months now. This time around, I considered briefly using a different pattern than the old K2, yo, k - but I couldn't do it. Apparently, the sameness, the rhythm, the nonthinking of simple old pattern combined with chewed up old size 8s and smooth pleasantly variegated cotton is enough.

Here's more of the Trip East. Cue the patriotic music, please.

This was George's cabin when he was a young man. Itsy bitsy flags for the itsy bitsy cottage! Er, headquarters.

Speaking of headquarters, here are the kitties in their Cat-estoga for the move out. The kitties were ok in their little temporary mobile home, although it took them a little while to get used to it. You should have seen them kissing the solid ground with their little kitty lips when we let them out.

Howards End

2005-07-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

I knew it was familiar:

Like many others who had lived long in a great capital, she had strong feelings about the various railway termini. They are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them; alas! we return. In Paddington all Cornwall is latent and the remoter west; down the inclines of Liverpool Street lie fenlands and the illimitable Broads; Scotland is through the pylons of Euston; Wessex behind the poised chaos of Waterloo. . .
To Margaret - I hope that it will not set the reader against her - the station of King's Cross had always suggested infinity. Its very situation - withdrawn a little behind the facile splendors of St Pancras - implied a comment on the materialism of life. Thos two great arches, colourless, indifferent, shouldering between them an unlovely clock, were fit portals for some eternal adventure, whose issue might be prosperous, but would certainly not be expressed in the ordinary language of prosperity. If you think this is ridiculous, remember that it is not Margaret who is telling you about it; and let me hasten to add that they were in plenty of time for the train. . .
E.M. Forster, Howards End

The not-so-Iron Chef

2005-07-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

A recipe and a discovery, from Chez Gwen:

First of all, my new favorite way of making dinner! Take a pot. Put 1 cup of water in it and start heating it. Open the freezer, pull out a bag or two of veggies and that bag of frozen cooked turkey bits. Put some of each in the pot with the water, add salt and pepper. Look around the kitchen/fridge for other yummies to toss in. (Tonight I added a little pesto, also courtesy of the freezer). When it's boiling, add 1 cup of instant rice and remove from the burner (at least, that's what my instant rice says it wants - I don't know if they're all the same or not). Let it sit the requisite five minutes, then fluff. Add cheese at this point, if you want, to make a gooey risotto-type thing - by this point, the thing has enough thermal mass to melt shredded cheese within a few seconds without turning a burner back on. Eat half, and save the other half for tomorrow. Or, eat half, try to save the other half for tomorrow, then decide you're still hungry and eat the rest of it which wouldn't really be enough for tomorrow anyways.

At least three good things are happening here, as I count them. First, I get to eat the water that the veggies are cooked in, thus scoring bonus kitchen points. Second, it takes about 7 minutes from start to finish. Third are the endless possibilities of combinations of veggies, tidbits of cooked meats, and other things. So far I've had turkey/peas/cheddar, and turkey/broccoli/pesto/mozzerella.

Also, I make my french toast in the George Foreman. It's a little weird, but it works very well, and I like the tidy little efficient feeling of having both sides cook simultaenously.

FO Happy Together!

2005-06-26T10:09:00.000-05:00

I spent most of yesterday on the porch, because the weather was too nice to stay inside. I drank ice tea, knit with a book on my lap, smiled at passersby, sat out a little pop-up thunderstorm, and generally just had a Really Nice Afternoon. I finished binding off the last stitches of the shawl at 8pm. I opted to block it right away even though the only blocking space I have is my bed, figuring I could always sleep on the couch if the shawl wasn't quite dry by the time I wanted to go to sleep. I pinned it out, then danced around with glee. I love this shawl.

By the time I was ready to go to bed, it was dry and it was glorious. I danced around some more, and flounced around, and thought about waking up friends to come see it Right Now (but I didn't). Here are some pictures taken first light this morning, after a little more skipping about on the porch with it and startling the neighbor.

Hello, Parsley!

Hello, Geranium!

Then, this afternoon, we ventured farther afield.

I'm dancing on the inside.

Flower Basket Shawl, made using Schaefer Yarns' Anne from my secret pal.

2005-06-21T18:51:00.000-05:00

The shawl looks out the window wistfully, dreaming of the first day when it will be Finished and Worn Outside.

2005-06-21T18:47:00.000-05:00

FBS

2005-06-09T18:11:00.000-05:00

Iowa had something we haven't for a while - rain.

2005-06-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

Blue tank mid-frog.

Plague of Frogs

2005-06-09T17:36:00.000-05:00

I've been stuck in a knit-n'-frog loop for the last couple weeks. I finished the Branching Out scarf I made Mom (belatedly) for Mother's Day. I have also been knitting on 3 projects simultaneousy: a sock, which, Harlot-style, I took on the little trip west I made last week, knit past turning the heel before deciding that smaller needles would have been better and that maybe I want to use this yarn for something else after all; the flower basket shawl, the back half of which keeps loosing stitches mysteriously despite careful counting and even the presence of lifelines; and a tanktop of blue cotton, which I knit half way up the back before realizing I was making holes with the increases and which I ripped back last night. I've also been sewing more, trying to finish things I started and abandoned a while ago. While home last week, I found a little mini-ironing board in my closet, which has made it a lot more convenient to iron things since I don't have to haul out the full-sized ironing board from the closet each time a pressing need arises. A wee little ironing board for my wee little apartment, and my wee little life. . . Off to a sleepover tonight, and a visit away this weekend!

2005-05-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

Pretty colors!

Happiness

2005-05-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

The Rubaiyat of Gwendolina Ann
(with apologies to Omar)

A book of blank underneath the geranium,
some Treats for feet, some bath salts -- and Thou,
sock yarn, calling to me with your colorfulness --
And stitch markers! Such Paradise enow!

Oh my goodness, my secret pal has sent some marvelous things! You can't smell it, but the bathing salts smell tremendous - something like fruit salad mixed with a blossoming tree floating on a May spring breeze! The little bag contains some very timely pampering supplies for my isn't-it-still-winter? feet (mmm, vanilla mint!) . A set of wordy stitch markers so cute, so concisely and positively directive. Love! Live! Trust! Laugh! I will enjoy these little upbeat thoughts every time I use them. In fact, I think I may start marking stitches that don't strictly require marking, just so I can break out these little puppies. Believe! Imagine!

And you will have to just Imagine how soft the yarn is, and Believe that it is the most beautiful skein of yarn I have ever met. I am swooning over the clear cool colors, and holding it on my lap right now, softly petting it as if it were a pet. And, this thing of beauty's name is Anne, which is my middle name - clearly this relationship is meant to be. Last but not least, a little blank book, perfect for jotting down all sorts of things, with the characters for "happiness" on the cover. Happiness, indeed! Thank you, my pal! I'm off to rustle through my sock patterns, and pamper my feet!

2005-05-17T16:35:00.000-05:00

My Secret Pal Strikes!

2005-05-17T16:32:00.000-05:00

Stitch markers! With words!

2005-05-10T21:37:00.000-05:00

Hey, sailor.

FO Shizzle

2005-05-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

Pattern: A Good Bias, Interweave Knits Spring 2005.

Shrug! It's done.

Actually, I am more excited about this than a simple shoulder wiggle can convey. Initially when I seamed it up, I was concerned about the back laying flat on my back - it wanted to fold under. With some firm blocking, and a little talkin' to, however, the fold became a lovely curve! It fits pretty well, although I might lengthen the underarm seams just a wee bit on each side, so it hugs my shoulders just a little more.

I hope that we have a few unseasonably cool nights left this spring, so I can wear it before wool season rolls around again. Now I kind of wish I had made it out of cotton or a blend. Oh well! *Shrug.*

Learning Curve

2005-04-21T22:21:00.000-05:00

I'm still figuring this out. I have some specific format-type goals for this page that I'd like to figure out. Progress was made today, however, when the Muse handed me a great rhyme for my tagline. Naming anything takes time; coming up with a knitting pun that hasn't been already used takes an eternity.

First post

2005-04-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

one lonely little first post.