My Bit of Earth

Dear Yarn Needles, Please Come Home

Does anyone else have this problem?

I buy big packages of yarn needles.  I stash them in my purse and with my knitting stuff and with my sewing stuff and in my jars of craft supplies.  But when it comes time to weave in ends, I never have a yarn needle.

I searched high and low for one last Saturday--to finish up these dish cloths, knitted in spare moments last week--but if there is a yarn needle in my house, it's hiding very well.  I ended up having to make do with a small crochet hook, which never makes for quite as neat of a finish.

Eh, they're dish cloths, so I suppose it doesn't matter.  Just the same, I find myself wishing for a Harry-Potter-type summoning spell--Accio Yarn Needles!

A Failure Story

My sewing machine and I have an abusive relationship.  When it's good...oh, is it good!  But when it's bad, she makes me cry.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Last week, I realized that it's getting to be time to consider the Kid's summer wardrobe.  When it comes to little boy's clothes, I tend to have Mini-Boden taste and a Target budget.  Every so often I splurge and fork over my thirty bucks for one t-shirt, but even as a treat it feels wrong because a) I have seen my child actively try to paint his clothes with macaroni and cheese, and b) we still have student loans.  

(Can't you see the conversation?  Picture me in a nursing home somewhere, begging the Kid to pay my rent so they don't kick me out.  The Kid, "Mom, why didn't you save some money for retirement?"  Me, "Well, we wanted to, but I thought it was more important that we send you to preschool in cute clothes.")

So, behaving responsibly, I dutifully set off to Target to find some t-shirts that weren't hideous.  I found one.  Seriously.

I'd be ok with corny pictures, but why-oh-why do they have to put stupid sayings on little boys' shirts?  The girls section has stripes and prints.  Why do the boys clothes have to be obnoxious?

"You know what?" I told Sweet Husband later, "I'm going to make him some t-shirts.  I'll cut up some of our old shirts for the fabric.  They'll be practically free, and they'll be cute."

He dutifully donated some of his old shirts to the cause, and even helped me cut out a few pieces of the pattern.  After we got enough parts cut for four shirts, he offered to put the Kid to bed so that I could sew.

The first shirt was a little wonky from the get-go, I'll admit.  But it was passable, until I sewed on the collar.  It had been kind of a long day anyway, and when I saw that collar--how it puckered and bunched in a way that I knew I'd never let the Kid wear out of the house--I felt tears start to prickle in the corners of my eyes.  If I had been able to tell where I made the mistake, that would have been one thing.  But I'd done what the pattern said, and I couldn't figure out where I'd gone wrong.

By then it was getting late.  I was too exasperated to continue piecing together wonky t-shirts, but I wanted to have something to show for my sewing in the morning.  So I decided to make a simple pair of shorts.  This is where the abusive sewing machine comes in.

I've made the Kid several pairs of pants, so I figured shorts would be an easy, feel-good win.  Until I ruined the first pair by sewing the inseam wrong and tearing the fabric as I went to rip out the seam.  And then the cuffs on the second pair came out so wonky that I broke into tears anew.

Which is how Sweet Husband found me.  To his credit, he did not laugh, but instead let me cry it out and ushered me to bed.  Attempting to console me, he said, "Hey, think about what a good story this will make--people love failure stories!"

(Really, it wasn't a complete failure, though.  The next night, my sewing machine decided to be sweet again, and I was able to fix one pair of the shorts and make another pair too.  But the t-shirts?  Well, perhaps Old Navy will have some that are less awful?)

Three Pretty Things in My Dining Room

One ::  Bottles covered with fabric scraps that I made with Sweet Sister last week.  Not only did they use up some impossibly tiny scraps, but they are incredibly cheery.  Also, in making them, we shared one hot glue gun for an entire evening.  It's not just anyone that you can do that with.

Two ::  A flat of the new, blue, "vintage" Ball jars.  Our hardware store only had this one box left, so I snapped it up.  Now, what to do with them?  They are currently sitting on my windowsill (opposite the fabric covered vases) just reflecting the light.  It feels like I need to use them for some extra special purpose.  I shall have to think up one.

Three  ::  A pair of fabric covered notebooks.  This pair is to be a gift, but I like them enough that I may make a few for myself in the near future.  Or maybe I'll cover my planner?  Or perhaps I'll re-cover a few beloved books that are falling apart?  Lots of possibilities for this one!

What's looking pretty in your house today?

An Easter Nest and Eggs

[Here's a little Easter craft I wrote up for our paper.  I've wanted to try basket weaving forever, but haven't found the time, so making the nest was so much fun!]

When I was a child, Easter was synonymous with spring. I know that we had to have had a few years that were cold or rainy, but I don't remember them. I remember warmth and green grass and lengthening spring days that seemed to go on forever. I remember hiding Easter eggs with my cousins—carefully dyed a few days before—for hours, until the eggs were so crumbly that the only thing to do was throw them at each other. That's right, our parents let us have Easter egg fights!

As a grown-up, Easter still feels like the real start of spring, but it seems like throwing eggs might be undignified. So instead, I set my hands to something a bit more adult—a lifelike nest and some naturally dyed eggs to use as an Easter centerpiece.

The nest was made mostly of materials collected in my backyard, with a bit of garden twine and an old bag of floral moss added-in. While I decided to make a more natural looking nest, you could easily weave in bright strips of cloth or yarn to make it more colorful.

The natural dyes for the eggs were a complete “mad-science” experiment, and—if you try it—I encourage you to treat it the same way. I used blueberries, beets, turmeric, and the green tops from a bunch of radishes. The radish greens were disappointing, but the first three ended up bright and beautiful. Other ideas for dye material? Red cabbage, onion skins, coffee, brightly colored spices like chili powder—dig around in your pantry and have fun.

 Here are the full instructions.

 Nest Materials (Makes about a 12 inch diameter nest)

•  Garden clippers or wire snippers
• Approximately 20 inches of chicken wire
• Large mixing bowl to use a mold
• Garden twine, string, spare bits of yarn or fabric
• Assorted thin sticks and twigs, cut to about 12 inches long and soaked in a sink of warm water for at least 15 minutes
• Large safety pin
• Moss (optional)

Nest Instructions

Press the chicken wire into the mixing bowl, folding over the wire as needed to mold the wire to the shape of the bowl. Using twine or string, tie the wire together where you've folded it to help it keep its shape. Trim around the top of the wire bowl, being careful to bend down any sharp wires that are left after trimming. Set the mixing bowl aside.

Begin weaving the sticks and twigs through the chicken wire. I found it helpful to spin the bowl a quarter-turn after each stick to keep it even. Press and shape the wire as needed to help keep it round. As needed, use extra twine to secure the sticks to the wire frame.

When it gets difficult to keep weaving sticks, thread twine, yarn, or fabric strips onto a large safety pin and begin weaving it through the gaps. You can also tuck in bits of moss to help fill in your nest. When you're satisfied that your nest is finished, wet the whole thing down to help it “glue” together. Once it's dry, your nest is ready for eggs.

Egg Materials

• Eggs
• Vinegar
• Dye material, about 2 cups for vegetation-type materials (blueberries, beets, red cabbage, onion peel), and 3-4 tablespoons for spices (turmeric, chili powder) or coffee grounds.

Egg Instructions

Using a separate pot for each color, add dye material, a few big glugs of white vinegar, and raw eggs. Add just enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Let the pot boil for about 15 minutes—long enough to hard boil the eggs—remove the eggs and allow to cool. To get deeper color, let the eggs continue to sit in the dye bath for up to a few hours.

Once the eggs are cool and dry, arrange them in your nest, and have a happy spring!

Home Improvement-y Tweaks

Is spring a time that people do home improvement?  It feels like fall would be more normal--preparing for winter inside and all of that--but I always get a bug in the spring.

As such, three little projects we've completed of late....

First, some lights in the kitchen.  As part of the negotiations when we bought our house, the seller got to take the two pendant lights hanging in the kitchen.  We were waiting until we figured out what to do with the kitchen to replace them, but--with the decision that we aren't going to overhaul the kitchen--it seemed like a good time to just fill those empty sockets.  

Second, the Kid's big kid bed!  This was all Sweet Husband, and it's all made of pipes.  (Inspiration here.)  This week, it's functioning as our guest bed, but--now that it's finished--I'm dying to get the Kid's quilt on it.  So far I only have two squares made, but I'll take the motivation where I can get it.

Third, a chalk board wall.  Again, this was a decision made by the decision that the kitchen is largely staying "as-is".  I've wanted a chalk board wall for a few years, but have been debating putting one in the kitchen (where our fridge is now) or in our upstairs hallway.  Since the fridge is staying put, I had Sweet Husband pick up some chalkboard paint--while he was at the hardware store buying pipes--and I put up coats of paint in between girl's nights last weekend.  Today was the first day anyone was allowed to doodle on it, and I'm already tickled at the little drawings and messages that are appearing.

Printed

A few weeks ago, in the comments here, a high school friend asked something like, "How do you pick which pictures to put into albums?"  I was forced to admit that--other than the photo albums of my childhood made by my grandmother--we have no offline photo albums.

It's not for lack of trying.  The problem is that this blog is our family record.  And a blog is a really good medium for keeping such a record.  You can do a little each day.  It's easy to add pictures, and even the occasional video.  I can make it look just like I want it to.  It's superior to paper in every way, except one--permanence.  

It's something Sweet Husband and I have talked about in the way that some couples talk about remarriage, "If I died an early, tragic death, how long would you keep paying my hosting fees?"

As such, I've been looking for good "blog to book" services for years now.  Lots of people love Blurb, but every time I've tried it, it feels like it's not really meant for people who post five days a week.  It was going to be a mind-numbing amount of work to transform my book from "here are all my blog posts printed out and slapped together" into an album I would treasure.  Every time I got started, I quickly gave up.

Enter Artifact Uprising.  I followed a random pin back to their site, and loved how beautiful their books were.  Inspired by my friend's comment and the number of snow days we've had recently, I started playing.

First, let me say, this wasn't a perfect solution.  If you decide you want a softcover book when you're 50 pages into designing a hardcover one you have to start completely over.  If you decide that the picture you put on page 2 really needs to be on page 45...start over.  Somewhere on their site it says that they understand that this is a real problem and they're trying to fix it.  I really hope they can, because--had I not been stuck in my house anyway--it would have been a deal breaker.  

Also, the print quality is not perfect.  It's good--and, in full disclosure, Sweet Husband even thinks I'm being too picky--but when you're used to viewing photos rendered in light (like on a computer screen or a slide) instead of in ink (like a print), I think the print always comes a little short.  

Lastly, they don't have a way to set the font for the entire book.  There are four or five font choices, and I wanted one consistently throughout the book.  I had to manually remember to set it for each page, and, of course, I forgot on one page.  Again, perhaps it's nit-picky, but it's something that could be easily improved.

With that all gotten out, though, I'm really very happy with my finished book.  

I decided to do a softcover book, which can be anywhere from 40 to 100 pages.  Starting at the beginning of 2012, I manually imported my blog posts, which let me pick out the ones I really wanted to save.  For some I just imported words, for some pictures, and for some both.  Once I figured out that I needed to plan a little before I started--to avoid starting over--it went quite smoothly.  I enjoyed the preset picture layouts and the simplicity of the pages--no funky colors or goofy frames, just a pretty book.

I still have several years to catch up on--I'd like to get books of some sort made back to 2004, which is the year Sweet Husband and I got married--but it's nice to at least feel like I have a system in place going forward.  I like the idea of making it an annual January project to sit down and chronicle the year before.  I like the idea of having my memories tucked up on my shelf where they can't be erased by an errant mouse click.  I like having my words printed.

[P.S. Thanks to everyone who answered my breakfast question yesterday!  I enjoyed reading all the different perspectives and mulling them over.]

Modifying Toddler Clothes

While I hated the cooking show of similar name, frequent readers will know that I love "semi-homemade clothes"--i.e. storebought clothes with a handmade touch or embellishment, particularly one that fixes a flaw or extends the life of the clothing.  I recently put together an article for HelloBee collecting all the little techniques I've used on the Kid's clothes in the past few years.  If you're in need of inspiration in the attire-for-wee-ones department, go read over Modifying Toddler Clothes.

Body Butter (Or, How You, Too, Can Smell Like Delicious)

Sometime last week-ish, Kim mentioned off-hand that she was making body butter.  Curiosity peaked, I asked for her recipe, which she sweetly provided.  (It's a pared-down version of the recipe in The Rhythm of Family.)  I was happy to see that we had almost every ingredient for it in the house, so--after procuring a fresh cake of beeswax at the store--Sweet Husband and I mixed it together once the baby was in bed.  (We're wild like that, I tell you!)

The next morning, when I opened a cooled jar full of it for a test, I had to grab the Kid's hand to keep him from reaching in and eating a bite.  Based on the delicious smell that came out of the jar, I could hardly blame him.  I think he thought I was plum crazy when I started rubbing it on my elbows instead of running to the kitchen for a spoon.  It took me several minutes to convince him that I wasn't pulling his leg when I said to rub it on his hands.

Seriously, I think beeswax is the most heavenly scent on earth, but toss a little coconut oil in and it becomes downright divine.  Forget moisturizing my skin--which it also does admirably--I want it as a perfume!

Are you tired of me gushing yet?

OK, I'll get on to the recipe.  

The original recipe calls for 2 1/2 ounces of beeswax, but the cake we got from the store was 3 ounces.  Horrible baker that I am, I just tossed the entire thing in.  It worked fine--maybe a little thicker than the original, but it makes the ultimate recipe easier to scale, so that's what's reflected below.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces beeswax (so, 1 part)
• 6 ounces coconut oil (2 parts)
• 12 ounces olive oil (4 parts--isn't that nifty?!)
• 1 cup water
• about 40 drops essential oil (I used lavender, but can hardly smell it over the other goodies.  I think next time I might not even bother.)

Directions

Add beeswax and oils to the top of a double boiler and heat until melted.  Allow the mixture to cool, and beat on high for 3-5 minutes, slowly adding the water as you mix.  (We heated the mix in the bowl of our stand mixer over a pot of simmering water, let it cool for enough time to have a glass of wine, then mixed it with the stand mixer.  Less dishes, less work=win!)  If you want to add essential oil, add it at the end of that mixing time, then mix for another minute to incorporate it.

By now you should be understanding what I mean about the yummy smell!  Spoon the mixture into storage containers--glass jars are awesome and cheap--and use within 6 months.

[And the winner of the Infinite Twist giveaway is Erin Maxwell!]

Arranging Flowers for the Spring Rhythm of the Home

I am crashing out with the Kid tonight.  I have just a touch of a head cold--not enough to be really sick, but I can't seem to get enough sleep and fluids to completely kick it.

To entertain you while my stuffy head hits the pillow, please check out this season's edition of Rhythm of the Home.  As always, there's so much good stuff over there!  

My contribution this time around is some Mama and Child Flower Arranging.

Fruit Box Facts File

The other night, we were Facetime chatting with Cutie Niece.  She's always memorizing some set of facts--either for school or just for her own entertainment--and that evening was no exception.  Through the marvels of the internet, we spent a happy ten or fifteen minutes quizzing her (and being quizzed in return) on the capitals of the world.

That very same bright, not-so-little-anymore, girl has a birthday soon.  Taking a little inspiration from the file folders in Annie's latest edition of Alphabet Glue, and a little inspiration from this calendar project, I decided to make Cutie Niece a pair of pretty boxes to stash away her flashcards in.

I started with a pair of saved paper fruit cartons, and added a stack of regular, 3x5 index cards, cut in half.  Then I raided my stash of pretty paper to make dividers just a little bigger than the index cards.  Last, I added a piece of washi tape to the top of each divider as a space to write the subject matter of the cards filed behind it.

It ended up being such a quick, cute project that it almost made me miss my school days when I would have had a use for it....almost!

Yarn-Love-Bomb

I had a jar of hearts, and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them.  Except that I've always had a secret desire to yarn bomb something.  So, Wednesday night, I crept off to yoga with the hearts and a yarn needle surreptitiously stashed in my bag.

After class, I headed downtown to a tree in front of the store Sweet Husband works at.  I immediately realized that I had forgotten two essential tools--scissors and a step stool.  

Knitting ninja warrior that I am, I made do quite well without the scissors.  But after festooning the lower branches of the tree, I was really missing that couple extra feet of height that a step stool would have brought.

No matter, I just started tossing the hearts up into the tree--up from between my legs, granny style--until they eventually got stuck in the upper branches.  I was half certain I was going to be arrested.  (Littering?  Battering random pedestrians with yarn hearts?  Acting deranged on a city street?)  Fortunately, I was able to evade the notice of law enforcement for long enough to complete my task.

By this evening, all but the highest hearts in the tree had been scattered to the winds or claimed by desperate, last minute valentine seekers.  Bright bits of love flying out into the world--I think it was just the sort of silly, late-winter fun that I needed.

Simple Valentines and a Bottle'o'Wine

Between experimenting with valentines for the article I wrote and a little knitting project (come back tomorrow to see), I've actually had a lot fun making several different valentines this year.  But, for reasons unrelated to the finished product, these painted hearts that will go to school with the Kid tomorrow might be my favorite.  

His teacher requested that we parents keep things very simple.  I will not lie; I was a bit bummed.  But I could understand where she was coming from.  (Toddlers + skittles + projectiles = AHHHH!)  So, in the spirit of "simple cards", one warm day I set the Kid loose in the backyard with some big sheets of paper, a rubber spatula, and a few tubes of finger-paint.  While he had fun, I sat back in the sunshine and had a glass of wine.  It was most relaxing.

After he went to bed that night, I cut the Kid's masterpiece into hearts and added just a little typing, mostly as an excuse to play with my typewriter.  I feel a bit lush-y admitting it outright, but I may have even enjoyed another glass of wine or two as I worked.  Snipping, sipping, sipping, snipping....again, very peaceful.

During all this sipping and snipping, I had a bit of a revelation.  While I know that I will constantly battle the urge to make a big fuss over the Kid's little school holidays...and, indeed, I truly believe that sometimes making a fuss can be a lot of fun...there's something oh-so catchy about the phrase, "Simple Valentines and a Bottle'o'Wine".  I think maybe there's a little tradition to be had there, yes?

The Second and Third Non-Random Handmades :: Pretty Infinity Scarves

The next two people on my non-random list are both moms.  Even more than that, they're both moms of toddlers.  Taking it one step further, both of their little ones have been inordinately sick in the past few months.

Luckily, the sickness has not been strong in our house this winter (*knock on wood*), but the other two things, I know something about.  So, when I was thinking of something to make for the two of them, I didn't have to be super creative.  I just went through the list of things that I would like....

1. Someone to clean the grubby spot behind the toilet and on top of the fridge with no judgment about the condition those spaces can regularly be found in.
2. An entire day in which I don't have to remind my child to ask calmly when he needs something, rather than screeching, "I neeeed heeeeeellllp!" as loudly and desperately as possible.
3. Something pretty to pop around my head as a destraction on the days I don't want to fix my hair or worry much about my clothes.

You'll just have to take my word for it, I have no idea how to solve those first two problems.  But that last one I could do something about.  Hence, these pretty infinity scarves.

They're super easy to make--just two, big, long pieces of fabric sewn together, with one end tucked and sewn inside the other.  While you could very easily cut the lengths of fabric yourself, I loved the fabric in these pre-cut kits, so I decided to order a pair of 'em.  Sewing the voile to the velveteen was a bit slippy, but these scarves are drape-y enough that I don't think it mattered much in the end.

My only mistake was in not ordering a kit to make one for myself!

Me in a Cardigan

Something that's weird--when you look at Ravelry and knitting blogs, most people crop off their own heads when photographing finished sweaters.  I'd always thought it was just a quirky convention, and hadn't paid a lot of attention to it.

I had Sweet Husband take these shots of me in my finished Abalone this past weekend.  Using a brick wall downtown as a backdrop, I tried to pose.

"This feels weird,"  I complained.

"Welcome to my world," he joked with a wry, cocked-up eyebrow.

Although he always has veto power over what gets posted here, he's right that he ends up getting photographed much more than I do.  Looking in the mirror these days, I'm more or less pleased with what I see, but the face that looks back at me from pictures is always unsettlingly unfamiliar.  Hence, few pictures of myself.

When I sat down to edit these particular pictures, I realized that the head-chopping-off isn't just an odd photography style.  Had I not wanted to make a point, I would have most certainly posted the bottom photo, not the top one.  Because I want you all to ohh and ahh over the sweater and not be distracted by my gappy teeth and long nose and hair that needs a touch-up at the roots.

But it's sort of ridiculous, isn't it?  I mean, it's a nice sweater, but without someone in it, it's just prettily looped yarn.  And I wonder what our great-great grandchildren are going to think someday, going through the headless pictures of hand-knits?  I can picture a decendant looking through a stack of photos, saying, "My goodness, I wonder what was so awful about her face that she always hacked it out?  Did she have some disfiguring disease?"  

Hence, I'm setting my silly hang-ups aside, and you get both pictures this time.

Putting the soapbox away though, once I got through the hiccups with the front edge and cast-off, this sweater came together just as it should.  I wish I had made it just a titch longer, but I think it will be nice to toss on over long and short sleeved tops for the rest of winter and spring.  

If you're inspired to make one, be sure and read these notes--they were really helpful!  (Although I wasn't going to touch that i-cord cast-off a second time, so I did mine the normal way.  And, for the record, I can hardly tell the difference.)

An Inspiration Web

It's weird to talk about work here, but this isn't really about work, it's about my office, so.  

Earlier this year, I moved to a new office.  Since I hope to be in this office for a good, long time, I've been doing a bit of extra to make it my own.  I painted and bought a little furniture.  I'm hunting down a bit of art for the walls--I know I want this Nikki McClure, and I'm trying to narrow down my favorite Charley Harper.  And, across from my desk on the wall I basically stare at all day, I put up this little "inspiration web".

I don't know if you can see the scale of it well in these pictures, but it's pretty big.  Maybe six or seven feet wide?  I measured to get a general idea of where the edges needed to be, and then I just started randomly hammering nails.  Just as randomly, I strung bright red embroidery floss between the nails to make a web--it took about three of the big balls of floss.  Lastly, using paperclips, I hung up all my little inspirational bits and bobs.

I've been quite pleased with it.  If you have to spend the day in an office, may as well make it beautiful, yes?

Some Valentines for Small Ones to Make and Give

[Another one from/for the Lawrence Journal World.  I particularly suggest the bird seeds--they were a lot of fun to make and to watch our squirrels destroy!]

Last year we were on a beach vacation over Valentine's Day, so I got a pass on what would have been my first round of valentines for my toddler's school classmates. This year, I'm not so lucky, in many respects, so I've been thinking about what we can make to take to school for my little man's beloved friends.

While I do like Valentine's Day, one of the things that bothers me about it is that it can be a bit wasteful. Little plastic pink and red do-dads that end up being thrown away in two days, more candy than one person can eat in a year—the heaps of trash at the end of the day make it less fun for me.

To that end, in seeking out ideas for this year's valentines, my first goal was to avoid anything that would end up in a landfill. Secondly, while I'm certainly not opposed to a little candy now and then, we still have Halloween candy in the back of our freezer. I assume that other parents in my son's class have similar gluts, so candy was out as well. Third, I wanted something that the kids might actually like. Because otherwise, what's the point?

With those goals in mind, here are three easy valentines. They can all be made inexpensively in bulk, and all three can be varied so that you can complete them yourself or let your child lend a hand. Have fun, and happy Valentine's Day.

Bird Seed “Cake” Hearts

One of my son's favorite things to pretend is that he is making a cake. So, as you can imagine, he was ecstatic when I told him we were going to make some real cakes for the birds. To make these, you'll need a heart shapped cookie cutter, some oil or cooking spray (to grease the cookie cutter), and the following ingredients:

•  3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2.5 teaspoons)
• 3 tbsp corn syrup
• 4 cups birdseed

To make the cakes, mix everything but the birdseed in a large bowl. Then add the bird seed, and stir really well. Working on a rimmed cookie sheet to contain the mess, press the birdseed mixture firmly into the cookie cutter. If you're doing this with a younger child, I recommend letting them scoop the seed mixture in, as you use your hands to pack it down. It's sticky, but it's all good fun!

Once the cookie cutter is packed full, use a chopstick to make a hole in the center of the heart. Then carefully slide the mold away from the bird seed, and move onto the next cake. You'll need to re-grease the cookie cutter about every other time so that the bird seed will slide out smoothly.

Once you've made as many as you need—this recipe made about 16—set them all aside to dry overnight. When they're dry, string a piece of bright red or pink string through the center, so that the recipients can hang the heart out for the birds.

The only word of caution I have about this project is that you can't make the hearts too far in advance, as the seed can start to mold. A few days ahead is fine though, so do it the weekend before Valentine's Day.

Friendship Bracelets

Making these made me so nostalgic for my childhood. I can remember sorting through my grandmother's embroidery thread for wacky colors, and carefully braiding and knotting enough bracelets to cover a good chunk of my forearm.

If you didn't make friendship bracelets as a child, a basic braided one is an easy place to start. Pick three colors of embroidery thread and cut about a 16 inch length of each one. Knot the three strands together at the top, leaving a little tail. Tape the tail to a hard surface, like a table, and start to braid. Be careful not to let the loose ends get tangled as you work.

Braid down to about 1 inch longer than you want the bracelet to be. That way you can tie the end knot in the actual braided section, and you won't have an unbraided hole at the end of your bracelet. Trim up the ends, but I recommend letting the wearer tie them together for the best fit.

Obviously, my toddler is not coordinated enough to make braids, but if you wanted to get your little kids involved with this project, why not let them pick what colors to use?

Painted Rocks

I think that just about every mother with small children will agree with this statement: Kids love rocks and sticks. It's magnetic. If there is a rock or stick within 5 feet, my son will make it into a toy. While taking sticks to school as valentines seems like a good way to make my son's wonderful teacher hate me, rocks are much less of a safety hazard.

But, of course, to make them Valentine's Day appropriate, I had to dress them up. As it happened, my son crashed out for a nap and I ended up painting my rocks myself. I used paint pens to make simple shapes like hearts and flowers.

For a child that's awake, however, this and a bottle of fingerpaint would be a great project for a cold Saturday afternoon. In fact, we may have to do it again sometime when my little guy is awake to make some pretty rocks for our spring garden.

The great thing about it, as with all of these projects, is that when the reciever is done with it, it can be tossed right back outside with no fuss and no trash.

Stretch

"Just two inches...maybe an inch and a half."  With my hands splayed flat on the mat in front of me and my head dangling between my arms (otherwise known as downward dog) I will my heels to touch the floor.  But no matter how much I breathe, the muscles in the back of my legs refuse to stretch enough to allow my feet to fully be in contact with the ground.

Eh, with practice I'll get there.  It's frustrating, but it's the kind of frustration that's good for you.  It takes just the kind of quiet patience and perseverance that I most need to learn.

***

I was almost done with the bulk of this sweater before I even realized it.  Just a quick border to put on, and she'd be ready.  It was the perfect pattern for my speed-demon, get-it-done knitting style.

I picked up stitches around the edge, knit a few rows, and started the recommended i-cord cast-off.  At a make-six stitches-for-every-one-you-cast-off pace, it took over two hours.  Much worse, it ended up being so tight that my nice flat cardigan turned into an odd, ugly bubble-shrug.  I didn't rip the entire thing apart that very night only because I was too exhausted to.

But even rest didn't make me feel better about it.  I had followed the pattern.  But somewhere between the finished body and adding the trim, something had gone majorly wrong.  I spent the better part of a day stewing.  Should I cut my losses and start something new?  Or spend the time to try again, knowing that I might waste several hours of precious knitting time, only to get the same result?

Generally, I would cut my losses in a heart beat.  I hate fiddling with patterns that don't work.  I hate ripping things out to start again.  I hate starting again, period.  I'm just not that sort of knitter, or person, if I'm being honest.

But some Ravelry research revealed that the cast-off was probably the larger part of the problem, and the number of stitches I picked up had also likely contributed.  It wasn't that the pattern was wrong, it was just not specific enough.  And while it meant that a few hours of work would have to be re-done, a little voice in my head was telling me that maybe I needed to do this.  Not for the sweater, per se, but perhaps to stretch myself a bit.

So I ripped it back to the state you see it in above, sat down with a movie, and started again.  When I cast-off a few minutes ago--the normal way, not with the i-cord this time--it laid flat just as it was supposed to.  It still needs sleeves, and the ends woven in, but on the whole, I think it's going to be a cute cardigan.

Frustrating, but, again, probably just in the right way.

(And don't worry, I'll post proper pictures when it's properly finished!)

The First Non-Random Handmade :: A Yoga Bag

A few weeks ago, there was a "handmade meme" going around Facebook.  If you have friends who are crafty at all, you've probably seen it.  The premise was that the person posting the status agreed to make one handmade thing for the first five people to comment, but those five people, in turn, had to post the same status and make things for the first five people to comment.  

I don't normally do that stuff, but the person who initially posted it is a wonderfully creative friend.  Selfishly, I thought it would be great fun to have her make something for me.  Less selfishly, I wondered who would be the first five to sign up when I posted the status in turn.

It ended up being a really eclectic group.  New friends, old friends, work friends, and Sweet Husband, who snuck in as number five.  As soon as they were all signed up, I made the decision to really have fun with this project.  Because it would be pretty easy to assembly-line something random for all five of them, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun for me as thoughtfully considering and making things that might delight them.  This yoga bag was the first project for the "non-random handmade" meme, as I've dubbed it in my head.  

After the holidays, a few friends and I started attending a yoga class as a girls' night out, and I noticed that the very first friend who signed up for the meme was using an ordinary tote to carry her mat.  I thought she might like a more specific yoga bag, and--from her reaction when she opened it--I think I was right!

The pattern was a freebie from Amy Butler, and the fabric is Echino Peacock.  I chose the pattern because I wanted a pocket, but at times it felt like a challenge as to how many layers my poor little sewing machine could get through.  By the time I was sewing the strap to the top, I think I counted over twelve, which led to some puckers and words I'm not allowed to say when the Kid is awake.  Nonetheless, I was happy with how the bag turned out, and--as aforementioned--I think my friend loved it too.

On to non-random project #2!

[P.S.  Speaking of sewing--forgot to mention last week that I was on the Sew Mama Sew blog.  It's the compendium of Frankenquilting!  If you're so inclined, please do go check out Quick Fixes for Old Quilts.]

A Start on Valentine's Day

I'm always prone to jump the gun on holidays, so I have to ask--can we talk about Valentine's Day yet?  I realize that it's a controversial day--and, truthfully, it doesn't always work out for me--but I like it as a holiday.  

I understand that real love is about doing the laundry and changing the baby's diaper when both of you are too sick to stand up and telling you that you're a rockstar when you're afraid and full of doubt.  I get that; I really do.  

But, just the same, I like the cheesy, superficial, trappings of love too.  Flowers and hearts and candy and getting a babysitter so that you can have a meal out--I like the fuss of it all, I suppose.  I like the optimism.

Optimistic...like buying a box of watercolors, even though the last time you touched a brush was 7th grade art and you weren't very good at it then.  Optimistic...like allowing said watercolors to take up space on your bookshelf for two years, knowing that you'd get to them someday.  Optimistic...like sitting down to paint with them for the first time with a toddler sitting next to you, pounding on his play-dough.

But it was optimism well spent, because--although my 7th grade art teacher mightn't call them "A" work--I had quite a bit of fun blobbing paint on the paper and watching it turn into doodled flowers.  A few hunt-and-pecks with the typewriter later, and I had little cards to send to the few special people on my Valentine list.

He Knits

[Sweet Husband's cowl.  When I said he should name the project, he said to call it "Frank".]

I can take credit for teaching a handful of people to knit, but I'm happiest about this latest one.  

Yes, it's true, Sweet Husband has officially, openly joined the worldwide family of knitters.

Beyond the "it's nice to know another knitter" aspect, I hadn't thought what a convenient thing that could actually be, until about a week ago.

Me:  "Four!  Four babies this next year, and it hasn't even really started yet.  And I want to make a sweater for you, and one for the Kid....I'm afraid I'm never going to get around to my own."

Sweet Husband:  "Well, what if I do something for one or two of the babies?"

*Cue the angel chorus!*

We're, like, a knitting power couple!

Also fun?  I think he's beginning to understand about yarn stashes.  He wanted a new project last weekend, and was asking for suggestions.

Me:  "Well, do you want to buy new yarn?  Or knit from what I have already?"

Sweet Husband:  "Surely, I can find something to do with the yarn in your baskets." 

But within minutes he realized just why it is that I keep buying yarn, even though I already have a ton some.  Not quite enough for this project, wrong weight for that one, too much for a third pattern idea, wrong color for the time of year for a fourth--suddenly my "crazy" stash seemed sensible...or, at least, understandable.

The only downside is that I'm afraid he's going to loose my needles.  I'm a bit compulsive about putting things back where they go--in this case, in the jars in our upstairs hallway--and he's...well, um...not.  But if having to search for needles gets me hand-knitted socks--something he suggested that he might be up to try--it's a small price to pay!

For those of you who are Ravelers, you can follow Sweet Husband here.