It’s time for May’s My Mother’s Attic over on New Dress A Day. I just can’t get enough of paisley prints and dress pockets.
Full post here. Featuring my killer new bag from the ever-talented Maja of Pinellapi (and my Swedish adventures).
Here’s a snapshot of a knitting project I’ve had in the works for a couple months. I created this one for Baby Brie’s 1st birthday, and just need to put the embellishments on Sunny’s (which Miss Kaki will one day inherit). The hope is to finish theirs before Addison’s birthday on Saturday. But I couldn’t resist sharing a peek at Brie’s version (modeled by Courtland).
I’ll talk more about the process once Sunny’s is finished. It was inspired by a sweater I saw in a local yarn shop. I adapted a cardigan pattern to create the sky/grass/soil effect, and then all the little bits and bobbles are an experiment. A taste of Cartwheel Farm in a sweater.
I must say, I have never been so proud of a knitting project. While it’s a bit arty and experimental, I just love it so. I can’t wait to see how Sunny’s takes shape. I’ll share more soon!
I made Sunny this sweater dress for Christmas. Given her love of blue and pink and, most of all, pockets, I thought she’d be thrilled.
Not. So. Much.
It was received with grimaces and no amount of guilt, and then bribery, could change her feelings. This seems to be a recurring theme. I spend an appalling number of hours creating something handmade for my daughter, and she turns up her nose in disgust. YAY MOTHER/DAUGHTER RELATIONS!
For whatever reason, the passing of time has dulled those feelings of dislike, and Addison opted to wear the sweater on our excursion to Hancock Shaker Village this past weekend. And it was a smart move given that it was a beautifully sunny, albeit bone-chillingly cold day. Here’s hoping we see more of this interest in mama’s handmade knits. Primarily so I may continue to justify my outrageous yarn budget.
There is no pattern for this project. I made it up as I went along. If there’s interest, I can try to recreate it on Ravelry. Details live here.
Meet Nugget and Chick Norris. Francis Turkey’s new friends. They’ll find their way into the girls’ Easter baskets tomorrow morning. We’ve decided to forgo baby chicks this season and will wait until next spring, so these plushes are filling the void.
Arguably, they are not nearly as adorable as the real deal, but the knotted knees are pretty dang endearing.
Happy Passover, Easter, spring to all! The pattern for these lovies can be found here.
My March project for My Mother’s Attic is up over at New Dress A Day. I turned a vintage Pierre Deux dress of my mom’s (that was stained and didn’t fit me on the neck or cuffs) and turned it into a mother/daughter ensemble. Full details here.
We’re off to the Cape to spend the weekend with my parents and Kimmy. We’ll celebrate (early) birthdays for me and my mom on Saturday night, and then spend the morning on Sunday hunting for treasures from the Easter bunny. I don’t know who’s more excited, Momar or the kids. Enthusiasm is at an all time high. Happy weekend, all!
Last week, I powered through all three seasons of Downton Abbey and knit up this inspirational letter banner. Why, you ask, is that how I thought my time was best put to use? Well, in all honesty, I love a good excuse to curl up on the couch and knit myself into a zen stupor, and bonus if some decent viewing material can serve as a backdrop to the activity.
This particular knitting frenzy was inspired by Project Postal, the brain child of Joy from Frock Files and Theresa of inspirationCOOPERATIVE. I’ve written about my love affair with stationary and snail mail before, so it should come as no surprise that any excuse to send and receive some tangible words was right up my alley.
I received this brilliantly appropriate letter from Joy. Inspiring words, particularly for a longtime sailor.
For my own package, I wanted to mix things up and experiment with words and texture and process. For Christmas this year, I knit a poster for our Tine that read “SOME THINGS TAKE TIME.” I loved that the process of knitting those words, the very act of creating them, referenced the essence of the saying itself. And I loved the textured, tactile nature of the final product. (I realized that I never shared pictures of this project, and will have to remedy that soon).
Since then I’ve been cataloguing phrases and words and ideas that I want to knit whether as a poster, or in this case, a banner. Clearly the arrival of this piece of art in our home had an impact. Thanks, Jimmy Marble, for inspiring!
I figured I’d start with a simple, short phrase, as I didn’t want the banner to be too long or overwhelming and didn’t know how the individual knit letters were going to look once hung.
I used Frankie Brown’s free Alphabet patterns on Ravelry to create each letter. In order for the letters to hang properly without warping, I secured each letter with fabric stiffener once they were complete. I laid out some old plastic bags, saturated each letter in fabric stiffener and smoothed each letter flat to dry. Once dry, I used miniature clothespins to hang the letters on some simple cord to give the effect of a clothesline.
I packaged everything up carefully and shipped a few extra clothespins in case any of them broke in transit. Overall, I was pleased with the result, and given that Mere, the recipient of this project, is both a knitter and lover of the color green, I thought she’d appreciate the attempt regardless.
Head on over and check out Mere’s blog, Not Merely Living, to catch a glimpse of her pretty slice of The Interwebs.
Have I mentioned that I’m obsessed with this baby? Yes? Well, I’m obsessed with this baby.
There. Emphasis.
She is so stinking crazy. And so stinking cute. And oh sweet lord I adore her so very much. If you need further proof, see my Instagram feed.
This week I’ve been working away on a knitting project and plowing through all three seasons of Downton Abbey. Can I be the Dowager Duchess when I grow up? Wonderful! Thanks. I’ll have the final result of the knitting endeavor up on the blog next week.
I have an Easter DIY up my sleeves, a sewing project for March, plus another knitting project in the queue. This weekend I’ll be hosting this screening at our local independent cinema (if you’re in the area, please come!), attending a one year old birthday party, and maple sugaring. Here’s to a snowy, albeit busy, first weekend of spring. Sunny was quite frustrated on the first day of spring, after a morning spent discussing the day in school.
Mommy, how can it be spring when there is snow on the ground? It’s still winter if there is snow.
Welcome to New England, LA baby! Best get used to it as there will likely be snow on her birthday. In May.
Happy weekend, all.
Kaki’s outfit: Dress by Tea, Tights by Mini Boden (similar here), Hand knit sweater
February’s remake is up on New Dress a Day today. It’s a sweatshirt mumu turned cozy, Valentine’s ensemble. I rocked this on Vday and received many a compliment, particularly on those heart elbow patches. I love that addition, too!
Now I’m off to Boston to prep Kate’s studio for tomorrow’s class! We are beyond excited to teach to a sold out room of students. Full debrief next week before we do round 2 in the Berks. (There’s still room in the Berkshires class – please join us! Plus many more classes this summer and fall).
I’m scooping up Kimmy from the airport tonight and she’s serving as our “assistant slash intern” for the day. She and my dad spent the week kiteboarding in the Dominican Republic. Of course they did! Kimmy’s college roomie is from the DR, so they stayed in her family’s water front home and got to fly over the surf and consume half the Atlantic ocean all week. Doda is one rad 60 year old man, eh? Another badass. It’ll be nice to grab a drink with the fam to relax before tomorrow’s adventure. Wish us luck!
And check out the full post on New Dress a Day.
I told you that I was hooked on this sewing thing. I decided to make these heart-themed, double layered Simple Skirts for the girls for Valentine’s Day. Simple is right. Full tutorial here.
The girls shoes are See Kai Run (similar to Sunny’s; similar to Kaki’s). The tops are from Gap Kids. And Sunny’s heart clip is Ban.do.
This was the post/project I created for the final round of interviews for a DIY column on an incredible modern design blog. It came down to me and one other person, and alas, I did not make the cut. While I spent yesterday bummin’, I had a ready stockpile of chocolate candies on hand thanks to the holiday and my cheery, sweet girls to help keep things in perspective. As much as I am disappointed, I’m learning to process and manage rejection far better than I ever did just three or four years ago. Something about age, experience, becoming a parent, blah blah blah onslaught of time blah blah, has helped me keep a more level-head when I hear the word, NO. While it still sucks, royally, I’m not nearly as devastated and debilitated by denial. (And I still love me some good alliteration. Apparently.)
As my father always reminds us, all it takes is one YES. So I’ll keep trying for those Yeses, and learning from those Nos. And since I spent all weekend creating, styling, photographing and composing this project, I had to share it here. No matter what, it was a learning experience and I made some great connections in the process. And when that reasoning fails me, I’ve got a bag of Hershey’s Kisses at the ready.
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