Little Oak Cardigan by Alana Dakos

Alana Dakos is a talented knitting designer that I have met at Stitches West a couple of times.

This year I got her Little Oak pattern in an effort to teach myself to knit a real cardigan.

Not much risk, given the version I am making is for a 4 year old person.  

Even if he never wears it, I'm looking forward to learning a lot and getting ready to maybe make a cardi in an adult size.  That would be a lot of yarn!

Alana has an incredible knitting podcast called Never Not Knitting.  The theme song itself will hook you.  Click here for the song.

Making Natalie Chanin Turn Her Head

Natalie Chanin runs an awesome clothing company Alabama Chanin.

Her clothes and household goods include a lot of hand applique.

I decided to try my luck with a project in her style so I broke out the air brush and my DH got me some protective masks for lungs, eyes, etc.

My first attempt was a bit wild, but I think will get better at it with practice.  I may try to to something fun with this.  Not sure if it will be a t-shirt, or what, but maybe just a practice swatch or a place-mat or something. 

I can say that doing this sort of painting would be more fun with less wind.

That said, I will need some more practice.  Stay tuned!

Oh, and she has new jersey available that has been dyed using natural plant-based dyes.  If that isn't the coolest ever, I don't know what is. 

From the Chanin site I watched a video on the photography of Leslie Williamson.  She wrote a book called Handcrafted Modern which looks quite amazing.

Every Flavor Socks

Similar to the famous Harry Potter "Every Flavor Bean" where you're not sure if you will get honey or toe nail flavor, I am still knitting what I call the 'Every Flavor Socks."

Have I gone too far?  Of course you may not want to wear these into the board room, but if you're a 4 year old boy, you might be able to pull it off.

How much color is 'too much' anyhow?  

There is much debate on this topic.  It really depends on what school of thought you are from.  The Kaffe Fassett school may think that even these socks are quite tame!

Yarn by British dyer Trailing Clouds in colorway Mind the Gap.  

The best part about knitting for feet this small is that it takes hardly any cycles to whip up a teenie pair of socks.

Of course you have probably seen this viral knitting hip hop video already, but it you haven't, it's pretty silly/cute.

Log Cabin: it's not just for quilts anymore

A little quilting humor here - introducing the "log cabin" PBJ ("peanut butter and jelly). 

In truth, it's a Sunbutter and Jelly, but close enough.

I'm not sure why the kids liked this more than the usual version, but it was sort of a hit.  I cut one in half square triangles too, but my DH had to eat it.  Kids wanted the tall version.  

Good clean fun.

I'm not the only one cutting these in funky shapes.

Mochimochi Land: Knitting a Piano

For a while I was wondering if I would ever actually finish making this knit toy.  

With a smile on my face, and a couple octaves of piano keys smiling as well, the piano is finally done.  

My 7 yr old loves it and was even willing to help me stuff it.  

Now the 4 yr old wants me to knit him a drum set.  Um...well...not sure Anna of Mochimochi Land has a pattern for that one yet.  

Perhaps that's good.

Oh, and my friend was kind enough to knit the keys for me.  I may have never finished it otherwise.  Thanks So Sue!

It Itches!

I finally finished the first of the Every Flavor Socks for my 4 yr old.

When he tried it on he immediately said, "It ITCHES!"

Sigh.

Do I make the next one just so he'll pose for a photo?  Or wash it and hope it gets softer maybe?

Oh dear.  The calamity.

Maybe I should restrict my knitting 'gifts' to the feet of my DH instead!  Not sure he could get away with these colors however...hm.

Or perhaps just time to get a copy of Franklin Habit's book for story book time.

Quilting with Sue Nickels: CreativeBug

CreativeBug is an online class service where you can subscribe or pay by the class, but it is a pretty awesome way to learn in your PJ's.

I recently watched all the classes they have with Sue Nickles and really enjoyed them.  They are well done and really informative.

In the corner of my eye, I spied some incredible wood pin cushions she was using.  After a brief email exchange and a very affordable purchase, Sue had a couple of these handmade creations on the way to me in the mail.

When I got them I was over the moon.  I do love a good pin cushion, but one with a cute little cover?  How awesomely portable!  Perfect for quilters on the run.  Super slick looking. 

Sue Nickels is perfectionist and the kind of quilter who knows how to get the blue ribbon.  I highly recommend her classes. 

Brain Teaser: What are these cool tools?

OK, just a quick post for you today.

Can you guess what these awesome and beautiful tools are for?  It's a brain teaser after all, so it's not supposed to be an easy answer.  

Got any guesses out there brainiacs? 

If you get it right, my hat is off to you...it's a toughie!

Amish Quilts and Weekend Wanderings

They say that a certain road is paved with good intentions.

When it comes to keeping my desk tidy, I am usually traveling along on that road.

This weekend I was actually trying to do something about the desk again, and I ran across a mock up quilt that I made several years ago in a class. 

It was a study of Amish Quilts and the colors used in different regions.  Roberta Horton doesn't teach the class anymore, but I'm glad that I took it when she was still offering it.

Hard to say goodbye to items on my desk, but since my 3,000 square foot quilt studio complex is likely not in the immediate horizon, I probably need to take some photos and bid a couple of items adieu.  

We had a great time cutting out tiny pieces of fabric and using glue to stick them on paper,  It was a fun memory to come across.

In other weekend wanderings, things that came to mind:


Modern Architectural Love:  Simpsons episode The Day the Earth Stood Cool 
I hear this is a pretty cool episode that includes modern architecture.  I think I'll end up buying the episode as a download so I can see the whole thing.

Lemongrass herbal tea:  by Teatulia - mmmmmmmm treat!

Twisted Limone: Like Totally Tubular Dude

The 80's are back, right?  

Do you see neon colors here and there around town?  Have you bumped into girls who might make Cyndi Lauper proud?

If you loved the 80's (like I did, sorry...but I did!!) or if you hated them....they are back in a small way in my house this week.

I just finished knitting a pair of socks out of yarn by Twisted Limone.  It has thick stripes that create themselves from a single ball which is quite handy.  Or footy in this particular case. 

The last time I made my older kid a pair of socks from this yarn, he ended up wearing them basically every night to bed.  They have held up really well, but in the last year his feet have grown a bunch.  The are almost as big as mine now.  Scary!

So here's to a tiny taste of the 80's on the toes, and a pair of socks that may blind you with their neon beauty.

In quilty wanderings - have you seen all the photos from QuiltCon in Austin?  I did not attend, but it looks like it was pretty fun.

I am also enjoying photos of a 9 patch quilt over at s.o.t.a.k. handmade - very pretty!

Merchant & Mills Scissors

When I was at the Verb booth at Stitches West, I picked up a pair of Wide Bow Scissors by British company, Merchant & Mills.

You know I'm a bit of a sucker for a good pair of scissors, so I had to give them a go.

For $22 USD, it was the kind of cheap thrill that floats my boat.

Their points are extremely sharp and pointy.  Excellent for applique.  I found the cutting action to be slightly stiff, so I put a single drop of oil on the inside of them.  This helped them out and they are easier to open and close now.  

The holes for your fingers are really giant.  Easy and fast to pick up.  The black color makes them feel like something out of an antique shop, but they are brand new, and cut like a dream.

I think the blade is too short to really cut a lot of fabrics that you intend to hand piece.  They are great for cutting out applique shapes though, and trimming away fabric during the applique process.

Merchant & Mills makes a variety of different types of scissors.  I have not found them to be super easy to find here in the states, but at times you can find them at Purl Soho.

Nothing Rhymes with Oranges

When runny noses and sniffles roll around, we stock up our fruit bowl with our own favorite ammunition: tangerines!

I don't have a tree, but maybe we should get one.  I could afford an orchard after all the fruit we go through on a weekly basis.  It's a sweet treat that you can feel less guilt over, since of course, it's keeping you healthy (or this is what I'm telling myself at least).

I've taken photos of the oranges for you before, but this batch was really sweet.

Hope your weekend was relaxing.  I ended up doing some hand quilting with a few friends...and also:

 - Enjoyed TV mini-series called Lost In Austen - very cute for those addicted to Austen, it should go on the short list.

- Fell in love with some quilting friendly art: framed decorative scissors

- Discovered the music of Kishi Bashi - who knew I'd be getting into violin music?

I did not yet take over the giant dining room table with my sewing machine, but one never knows what will happen this week.  Thanks to all of you for the encouragement!

Candlelight and Stitching

Relaxing a bit and thinking of setting up a simple knitting project for on the go, maybe some mitts.

Also thinking of making a bold move and taking over the dining room table with my sewing machine.  It would involve kicking all the Lego builds off and praying that nobody stops over to visit my house.

Should it do it?  It would be so much fun.

In other wanderings: 

Can I have this swing set in my back yard?

Can I learn to screen print my own eco-friendly project bags?  I'm sure another hobby like screen printing would not take up much space, right?  Ok, maybe I'd better wait on that one.

Loving this busy little star quilt over at Blue Elephant Stitches.  It makes me want to dive deeper into working with prints.


Keeping a daily 1-liner journal - it's been fun so far.  Just a few words every day, over 5 years.  Call me in in 2018 and I'll let you know how many days I forgot to write in.  I like it so much that I'm worried I'll need another one in 5 years!


Not sure I'll need more than another dozen more of them.  I'm an optimist though with some longevity genes on my side.

Block City: mini-architecture

One of our favorite things to do on the weekends is to pull out all the wood blocks and build a small city.

Most are from vintage playskool village sets that I've collected, but there are a fair number from other sets that have come my way.

Our little one has a lot of energy and often cannot sit still for more than two minutes.

This time it was different.  

He carefully created the most elaborate layout that I think I've ever seen.

I didn't do a lot of quilting while this was going on since I was helping, but it was quality time spent together and it was really a lot of fun.

Amazing how even the most energetic of kids can relish some serious detailed work.  I wonder where he gets the urge to organize tiny things?  

Ahem.


In other news:

I am listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast.  It's awesome, it will make you cool.  Listen to it, listen to it now.  Download it on your phone using the Downcast app, and you'll thank me.

We are feasting on Chicken Paprikash - a Czech delight that my DH's parents created for us.  Not sure I have heard people talk about this dish before.  It's really quite simple and amazing.

Facts and Rumors from Stitches West 2013

 

 

Tonight I attended the opening of Stitches West in the San Jose Convention Center. 

It is the biggest knitting event in the western U.S. and many sheep have 'donated' fibers from many a haircut in order to make it all happen.

 

There is more amazing color here than I think I've run into in a single place.

 

This was just the shopping preview, and I couldn't stay long, but I did bump into a few very interesting things along the way.

 

In the A Verb For Keeping Warm Booth I found the Verb girls in their beautiful booth (complete with succulent plants!) surrounded by an amazing amount of color and yarns to die for.

 

At the register they had small packs of Liberty of London fabric, as well as scissors by Merchant and Mills.  It was a quilter's British dream come true.  These scissors deserve their own blog post really -  more on them later.

Kristine (Verb owner) has also been working with indigo dyes and fabric.  I am starting the rumor that she will be teaching classes on it soon in her shop, mostly because I personally want to enroll.

Romi Hill, who makes the most amazing shawl pins, was also in the Verb booth and had an impressive collection of pins that were not to be missed.

 

I also stopped by the Becoming Art booth as well with the motivation to ask knitting designer/podcaster/goddess Alana Dakos to create more knit patterns for little boys.  I'm not sure she's about to write an entire book devoted to boy knitwear, but call the idea seed 'planted'. 

I did buy her pattern for the Little Oak sweater which I have good intentions of knitting.  We'll see how that goes.  I also picked up her book called Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf which we read for storybook time with the kids tonight.  It was a huge hit!

I'm taking a knitting class on Saturday morning.  It's on using more than 1 color of yarn at a time.  Maybe I'll pack some hand quilting in my purse in case the going gets tough.

 

Either way, enjoy a couple more photos and stop by Stitches West this weekend for some serious color inspiration if you have the time.



 

 

 

 

 Above:  Kristine and Aday from in the A Verb For Keeping Warm booth

 

 

Above: Hard to believe that the above yarns were ALL dyed with naturally based dyes, no acid dye.  It's true, and it's a sight to see in person.

Mochimochi Plinky the Piano

I decided to knit a toy.

It's in the shape of a piano.

For a person who is pretty good at quilting and still learning what to do with yarn, the pattern was a bit of a tall order.

Thankfully my quilting friend Susan knit the tough part for me.  I felt a twinge of guilt, sort of a Mark Twain / paint my fence kind of a thing.

The feeling quickly passed, however.  Eyeballs have been ordered and a finished stuffed toy plinky the piano will likely be on the horizon.

Playing to Win

Not that we're competitive in our family or anything, but a good game of chess always gets the brain cells going.

Academic chess tournaments present an interesting opportunity for mom's to sit around for 3 hours making progress on hand work.  Games were not always won, but the chessmaster talked about 'winners and learners' instead of 'winners and losers.'

I've been looking more closely at quilts that look like a chess board lately.

Specifically, this scrappy trip around the world quilt by Monkey See is for some reason super attractive to me.  

I wonder if I can muster the energy to start making one of these quilts.  Lots of little squares involved here.

I'm also loving the look of the zig zag version of a similar quilt I saw over at A Quilt Is Nice. 

You probably wouldn't need a lot of the same fabric to pull off something like this, just a good sense of color value. 

Ok, and about one thousand and eighty tiny squares cut, there's that.

Creativebug: I've been bitten - Make Your Own Stamps

There are several online learning / crafting sites out there.

I decided to sign up for 3 months of access at Creativebug mostly because they had classes by Natalie Chanin, but also because the rest of their video classes looked pretty good.

I have been very pleasantly surprised at how cool their videos are.  Some of the classes that they have relate to sewing and I think they are planning to have some quilting classes soon.

For now, I took some classes on ceramics and knitting, but my favorite one was on making your own stamps by Christine Schmidt of Yellow Owl Workshop.

It isn't hard or expensive to make your own stamps.  You can get started for about $20, and have a really great time with it.

I asked our kids to write their names out in their own handwriting.  I then transferred this to a signature stamp for them and glued the stamp itself to a vintage wood block in the shape of a house.

Kids love that they have their very own signature stamp.  Capturing their little kid handwriting is fun, and having a stamp is super cool.  It's like a snapshot in time of their writing.

Tokyo Great Quilt Festival 2013 - More!

Photos are still being posted of the Tokyo Dome Quilt show.  

All of them are a little different, and in their own way amazing:

Julie of My Quilt Diary has several posts. They are all 'do not miss them'! Part 3 has the most blue and white quilts - some of my favorites:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Cynthia at A Quilter By Night has photos of different quilts, equally amazing.
My favorite quilt of the show may be this one - called "To Those Who Have Become The Winds" - so Japanese, so beautiful.

I do also love the octopus quilt though.

Part 1
Part 2 
Part 3

Thank you to those lovely photographers who let us feel like we were there too.

I'm doing a little spinning of some merino and silk fiber from A Verb For Keeping Warm.  We'll see if I can make something interesting out of it. 

Verb has started to dye indigo fabric.  I'm looking forward to running into it in person sometime.  Would make for some awesome quilting.

Put A Bird On It

I'm not saying that the TV show Portlandia is 'G' rated, or even that all their material is funny, but sometimes they really crack me up.

One of my favorite skits is Put A Bird On It, where they take regular objects like T-shirts, and coffee cups, and make them 'cool' by putting pictures of birds on them.

It was so super funny. 

Before I saw that skit, I had the quilt label for my niece already created and of course it is made out of a couple of birds.  Does that make me 'on target' with pop culture, or should I consider moving to Portland in order to fit in?

Either way, a quilt label on the quilt means it's 100% complete.  I'm a happy camper.  I hope that the baby girl likes it.