Swap Project

Back in the fall, when I was not so far behind, I joined a handmade swap: "aqua, red, and a button." With the due date approaching I still wondered what to make. Then, I got this lovely embroidery piece in the mail from my sister, M. She had started it years ago to give to our Grandmother.

I dug out some aqua and red embroidery floss and found some great vintage red buttons. Once I started working I decided to use only the aqua floss and have the red be the buttons.

These will be little envelope pouches with a button on the flap.

Frost

I went out early this morning to attempt to get photos of the sun on the frost.

I discovered that it is not easy to get that "sparkle" in a photo.

We have an unusually clear blue sky for Michigan winter!

Thank goodness for digital cameras! Lots of photos for a few that are worth keeping. I am glad I didn't have to wait for developing, and pay for all those pictures that weren't any good!

Shall I Knit You a Hat?

One of P's "knitting aunties" gave her this book when she was born, "Shall I Knit You a Hat? a Christmas Yarn" by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.

This year it is a favorite. P requests it every day. It is a sweet story about a rabbit and his mother who design and make hats to give their animal friends for Christmas. The little rabbit thinks about each friend and they make a hat that is just right. I enjoy reading the story because it is about thinking of others, giving, knitting, handmade.... all of the things I like wrapped up into one story. I wondered what P liked about it. Last night I asked her what her favorite part of the story was." Carrot Cake!"

The rabbit and mother eat carrot cake while they design the hats. And, at the end of the story after they have delivered the hats they stay up late on Christmas Eve and have three pieces each!

Today we shall make carrot cake.

Texture

We saw this great drift tree on a trip to Florida before P was born. I was very interested in the soft looking wrinkles and folds in the tree that show after the bark is gone.

Very soft texture.

I made this soft little sweater set for P before she was born. I wish she could have worn it longer. She has tried the hat on today. It is a little beanie on the top of her head.

The pattern for this set is in an old issue of Interweave Knits. If anyone is interested I'll look and find which one.

Teen Designer

A few weeks ago M. announced that he would like a new hat. He has been using the same hat for about 5 years. It was made out of some of my first hand spun yarn. A bright orange that he chose. It is quite small on him now.

First he said he wanted a hat with ear flaps. I told him I could do that. He looked through a book of hat patterns and picked a shape that he liked. Then he said he just wanted it one color. We went down to the freezer, where I store my wool, and he chose Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Wonderfully soft stuff.

He chose a few colors that he liked and then said that instead of ear flaps he would like braids with tassels on the top like his cousin C. Sure. I can do that. He then added that he would like a little color work around the bottom. Yeah, I can do that too. He looked through my books and found a design on the cover of Latvian Mittens by Lizbeth Upitis.

He liked most of it but the repeat of the design didn't suit him so he charted out the design he wanted on graph paper and I have started the project.

Lucky for me he used that quarter inch graph paper!

I enjoyed the rhythm of knitting with a yarn in each hand and weaving the colors as I went. This hat design has a hem so that it will be double thick around the ears. I knit the hem and then a purl row for an even turn and then knit the color pattern. I joined hem to the front when they were the same length. I discovered that when I hemmed it you would no longer see the back of the color pattern. I like the way that you can see a pattern on the back side too.

Here is the front. It would make a nice ear muff as it is now but I will keep going with just the black and then put those braids on the top. Unless he changes his mind about that.

It has been fun to see him involved in the design of this project. Now I just hope it fits.

Needle book swap

Inspired by this little Sun Bonnet Sue needle book that my Grandmother gave me when I was little, I made some of my own for a flickr swap.

I used a 100% wool Pendleton suit that my mother bought me when I graduated college. It had a jacket and two skirts, one plaid and the other plain like the jacket. I could no longer fit into it so I cut it apart and threw it in the washer and dryer. I was left with a "felted" wool fabric that will not ravel.

I added lace and some odd bits of embroidery floss. Inside are two "pages" of wool to hold needles. I used the coordinating solid fabric for that.

The bonnet is a thimble holder!

It's the Process

Years of crafting and needlework projects have taught me things about myself. I enjoy the process of making something. For me the fun is in the making more than the finished product.

When I started making greeting cards to sell, I decided that I would put my shop web address on the back of each card. I could have ordered a stamp that would make the process very quick. Instead, I searched until I found this little gem.

I really enjoy using this old Royal typewriter at my Steelcase desk. I feel like a kid playing office when I type out my mailing labels and make greeting cards. I like the clickety clack sound and the feel of the glass keys under my fingertips. It is not about speed and production. It is about enjoying the process.

Hoping you enjoy the process of all that you do today.

Brown

As we were walking off our extra caloric intake last week, I noticed a lot of brown outdoors.

Browns can be cool or warm.

I am inspired by it all.

Redwork Turkeys

Redwork has always appealed to me. I have looked at old redwork quilts in museums and books. They often depict political figures, and social events of the time they were made. Many also picture domesticated animals.

Years ago I wanted to make a redwork quilt but I wanted it to mean something to me, to be a unique family keepsake. I thought redwork would be good for a Thanksgiving quilt. Each person in the family traced their hand on a  piece of paper and designed their own turkey that could be stitched. I told them I would sew it just as it was drawn. We each went to a different room so we wouldn't influence each other. You can see the result. Someone evidently got out the bird identification book to help with his design. I had to simplify it a bit for stitching.

I love getting this fun quilt out every year! I didn't put a label on this so I don't know what year I made it, but I still remember the day that everyone worked on their drawings. I just love the way it turned out.

Yes, It has been pointed out to me that we will have to add a secondary quilt. I think I will wait a little longer until P. can design her own turkey. Stay tuned...

Celebration

My daughter is teaching me a lot of things. The other night we had candles on the table for dinner. She was so excited and thought it was a party. She tried to blow them out. She then got out the ice cream scoop and said she wanted ice cream on cake!

Why can't every day have some excitement? We need to find a way to celebrate a little something each day whether it is a birthday or not. We will use the good china and have candles at dinner more.

Dream Basket - variations on a theme

Several years ago I had a dream about a knit basket. Really. The next day I had to try it out. The basic basket is a very simple design. I made several of them out of different yarns. That one on the left is some of my first hand spun yarn. The possibilities from even a simple pattern are endless. You can try different types of edges.How about fur around the top and a handle?

This one is knit loosely with ribbon yarn and has eyelet holes for a drawstring.

Here is one knit with wool and then felted. Felting is also a great way to disguise hand spun yarn that really didn't turn out well. This would be my very first ever hand spun yarn.

This basket is an experiment with a two color all over cable design. It is not the greatest yarn combination but they were the two yarns that were handy when I had the idea.

I like the unexpected results on the bottom.

A simple project like this is a great way to try new ideas or techniques. Take a base pattern that you are familiar with and change it a little. There are still a lot of variations yet to be made of this simple Dream Basket pattern.

Childhood's End

Several years ago we had four members of our family who were moved into nursing homes. I knew we would be traveling and visiting a lot so I wanted to have a portable project.

This applique design was taken from a small image in a library book on design history. I had originally planned to use is as the quilting design in the center of an Amish style quilt but decided to make an applique project because I knew that once I had the fabrics basted together I would only have to do the sewing. The center is a single piece of fabric hand appliqued to the black background.

The quilting design for the border is an original design in the style of the applique. The quilt is hand quilted and measures 42.5 x 41.5 inches. 

It is called Childhood's End because the making of it encompassed the movement of four relatives to nursing homes and also their deaths. If we think of life on earth as our childhood and the afterlife as the adult stage then this would be their "childhood's end." In another sense, as I have lost so many older relatives and become one of the older generation of my family it is also my childhood's end.

In loving memory of the three who died this week in 2000.

Ken Harris
Daisy Graf
Ruth Carson

Artistic Challenges

Artistic challenges are fun. My local quilting group sometimes has challenges where we each make a quilt based on a given idea or technique. I enjoy seeing what different things come out of the base idea. I have found that given a challenge like this I often try new ideas. It could be a new technique, color, material combination or something else. The challenge idea gives me a different place to start and I think about the project in a different way than I usually would. It really helps me grow as a fiber artist.

Last year I found the Tie One On challenge hosted by Amy Karol. She has a lot of information on apron history and apron styles on her blog. She cleverly challenges sewers to make an apron based on one of her theme ideas such as "Valentines day," "Rick Rack," or "the pocket." Her latest challenge was "Local Pride." After reading her presentation of the theme I thought about my home town, and state. I thought about what makes it special. Several ideas came to mind, but I settled in on something that my family loves to do every July. We pick blueberries. We go to the local blueberry farm in the early morning and pick berries  before it is too hot. We have our buckets strapped around our waists and pick the berries with both hands. We bring them home and eat them by the hands full. We  bake blueberry pies, scones, and muffins. We eat them on cereal. We make blueberry  shakes.  We freeze pounds and pounds of them to eat through the winter.

This child's apron is my entry in the "Local Pride" apron challenge:

Very recently I found another challenge site, The Purse Project.  Anything you ever wanted to know about bags or purses can be found here! Barb Lawrence challenges her readers to make different kinds of purses, bags, or totes. The most recent challenge here was the amulet bag. This is the bag I submitted.

I have made a number of bags in this style but thought this challenge called for something different. After reading her ideas, and history I decided that my bag needed to be "earthy." I chose earth brown beads with subtle variations as there are on earth and lovely brown perle cotton. The bag is knit with the beads slipped between the stitches as you go. The strap beads include some tubular bone beads.

visualize

Everything starts with the imagination. We usually imagine something before we actually accomplish it. Even Olympic athletes will visualize a winning race or perfect gymnastics sequence before competing.

Those of us who create or craft use our imagination quite a bit. We can look at a hank of fine merino wool yarn and  imagine a  soft,  warm, pair of socks with a  cable running up the side of the leg. We might look at another  hank of yarn and see a gossamer web lace shawl. Some of us may see a pile of fabric scraps and see a lovely apple core charm quilt or a double wedding ring.

That is how we can start with an idea and pull together some fabrics like this:

and end up with a project like this.

doll clothes

I remember the excitement at our house when my mother won this doll and extravagant handmade wardrobe. The evening dress has individually sewn rhinestones and came with a white fur stole.  She also has a red crinoline under that dress.

Her wardrobe included day outfits and coats and even matching hats and purses.

She has some sporty summer wear and even a swimsuit that somehow did not make it into the photo. Look at that hand embroidery on the blue shift.

She has some casual mix and match separates.

No wardrobe would be complete without undergarments, a nightgown, and bathrobe.

The clothes all have hand finishing and tiny little snaps and buttons. I wonder about the person who made all of these and never saw the children who spent so much time playing with them. I am curious what her group was raising money for and wonder how much they made by raffling the doll and clothes.

I may make detailed doll clothes for one of Ps dolls one day (this one is fragile and is for display) but now I am making simple dresses like this:

and this:

Grandmother

My grandmother taught me a lot of needlework crafts. It is because of her that I know how to tat.

She encouraged my sisters and me in all things that we did and made. My grandmother was also a master of simple fun. She could entertain my sisters and me all day with a piece of string, a button, and a handkerchief! She knew a lot of tricks. We learned to make a doll from a handkerchief and also the love knot!

She taught us the magic trick of how to cut off our fingers or head with a piece of string. She even taught my son that trick which he performed for his second grade magic show years ago.

My grandmother always appreciated the things that we made for her. Even when we were very young and our attempts were not of top quality she always complimented us and said whatever it was that we had made was "the most beautiful she had ever seen." I always loved hearing that. My sisters and I sometimes joked about wanting to be the last to give her a gift because then our gift would be "the most beautiful." I know now that the beauty she saw in all the gifts was not just in the item and how it was made but in the love, thought, and time that went into its creation.

When I was young she made these pin cushions for me. I don't think I appreciated them when she gave them to me but now I think they are truly the most beautiful I have ever seen and they are the ones that I use all the time when I am sewing.

imagination

P. is good at catching frogs. She has watched her brothers do it. See, there it is in her hands.

She also has a good imagination.

I think most of us have the ability to imagine things well when we are young. As we get older some of us lose some of this ability. Things get in the way of our imagination. Some toy makers are good at doing this. This is why we try to keep things simple here.  We always try to have a large cardboard box around. They can be used for anything, a boat,  plane,  mountain,  bus,  house, cave, spaceship, oven, elevator.....  In addition to saving money, and having less clutter in the house we feel we are encouraging creativity.

It all goes along with one of our favorite sayings."

Less is more."

Aqua and Red

I got this stack of 1950s children's books at a garage sale this spring.

As I looked at them I noticed that they were almost all colored in aqua and red.

They looked great together. I really like the deep saturated red with the bright aqua-- so very 1950s.I am also a member of this doll quilt challenge group. Each  month there is a different challenge idea. I like these sorts of challenges because sometimes they encourage me to try something new.

I got out my bin of scraps and pulled out reds and aquas. I made this:

and then this:

for the doll challenge group.  Several years ago a friend who does hand dying gave me some perle cotton thread in these same saturated colors. I used that thread to hand quilt these little quilts.

Most recently I made this quilt from the same bundle of fabric scraps.

Doll quilts are great for trying out ideas.

I am finding that my inspiration for projects comes from a variety of sources. It usually comes from something unexpected.

Hearts

Years ago my son found this rock by the barn and gave it to me.

And, we found this in our potato harvest this fall.

heart- the center of the total personality, esp. with reference to intuition, feeling, or emotion.

I have been inspired to make this little bib.

Adventure

Everything is an adventure when you are two.

Walking in the woods

to see fall leaves.

sewing with a needle and thread for the first time.

Doing embroidery

like mom.

Two year old adventures are very exciting.