Be*mused

Knitting nirvana

Despite the dark, dreary day (thunderstorms and eventual snow on the way) and my resulting inability to get a shot of this mitten that I'm happy with, and despite it still being thumbless, I couldn't wait to post about my progress so far on my dream project, my first, almost-complete Latvian mitten.  *sigh*  I'm in love.

For all of you who've drooled over the Upitis book but have been paralyzed by the thought attempting these mittens (me, for years,) I'd say, come on in, the water's fine!  They really are not difficult.  What was difficult for me...not difficult, but intimidating...was piecing together the directions.  The author presents several mitten pattern instructions, but none were exactly what I wanted.  Once I figured out the basics, taking a little from this pattern and a little from that, it all fell into place.  Now I have a basic pattern for my hand worked out (still needs a little tweaking...I'll know better once I get the thumb knitted and block the mitten) and I'll be able to play with patterns and colors within that basic pattern.

As an aside, I can't praise Terri Shea's Selbuvotter book enough as an introduction to patterned mitten knitting.  So much of my success with this Latvian mitten (Am I jinxing it?  It's not done yet...) was due to my experience with Terri's mitten patterns.  Her charts are large & clear and seeing them laid out the way she presents them in her book makes the structure of a charted mitten easy to visualize. 

When I finish the thumb and can get some decent photos, I'll share some of how I got from 'eyes glazing over at the mere thought of trying this' to 'ta-da! A mitten'  Did I mention I'm in love?

Too much thinking

I have a long list of things to do today and I'm getting a late, late start because I overslept, but I had to snap a quick shot of what kept me up till the wee hours this morning...yay, a Latvian mitten!  I finally stopped thinking about it, sat down and did a little *figuring*, chose some colors and a pattern and it was off to the races.  I can't wait to tick through my to-do list today so I can get back to it.  More next week.

Thanks everyone for all of your birthday wishes.  Although I spent it here by myself, the day was punctuated with calls, mail and email from childhood & college friends and family.  And one small, sour note.  While talking with my son, K, call-waiting interrupted and since the phone display read *out of area*, I ignored it, thinking it was a telemarketer.  Later in the evening, I got an email from Molly that she had arrived in Australia and tried to call.  My first ever call from Down Under and I missed it!  At least I had my chocolates to console me. 

Change in plans

 

I was supposed to be in Chicago today.  M has been home working locally this week, so I decided to join him when he drove up to Chicago this morning for a few days.  But a last minute meeting was scheduled for tomorrow and after today's work, he'll be driving further north for that.  Facing even colder temperatures than here (currently 10 degrees) and spending the evening alone in the apartment, I decided to pass on the trip and try again in a few weeks.

Six months ago, I thought I'd be in Tokyo today.  This is the week of the Tokyo International Quilt Festival, which I was lucky to attend for the first time in 2006.  Since I've accumulated enough frequent flyer miles for a free trip, I'd been thinking about returning for this year's extravaganza, but in the fall, Molly had an invitation to visit Australia this week and I couldn't see using my ticket for a trip to Japan when she wasn't going to be there.  Instead, this year I'll console myself (tongue in cheek) with photos from the show which have already started popping up on the internet.  Jennifer has put up a set of beauties and Alex will be attending this week.  She promises photos will be up any day now. 

So I guess I'll spend my birthday today here, at home.  It's a bright, sunny day, but frigid.  If it wasn't so cold out, I'd go test drive new sewing machines, my eventual birthday gift.  Instead, I think I'll spend the afternoon up in my sewing room, cozy and warm, with fingers crossed that my machine will continue to hum along for a while longer. Yesterday, when I wasn't fielding birthday calls from family who thought I'd be in Chicago today, I spent some time tidying up my workspace from holiday sewing.   My schoolhouse project, buried, was unearthed and I assembled a few more blocks.  It felt good to be up there again. 

I guess I should reassure you all that I have no regrets over my birthday plans.  The day stretches out before me like a blank canvas and, unlike so many, I love to see my birthday arrive!   The doorbell just rang.  It was Fed Ex, delivering an overnighted box of these, the ultimate indulgence in my book.  That M, what a guy.   

Someone clapped dusty erasers all over my blank slate week

*cough cough*

Our house came off the market on Monday.  The six month sales contract expired and after much consideration and consultation with people in the realty field, we decided to take it off the market for a few weeks and re-list in mid-February with a new MLS # and a few small tweaks to its presentation.  I was ecstatic at the prospect (M, still not convinced) and had big plans for my first week free from having to keep everything tidy, spotless and free of personal reference.  Running out the door on a whim!  No more 'keys hidden?...mail stashed away?...dishes washed and stored?...fresh towels in the bathrooms?... laundry room tidy, ironing board closeted?...floors swept?...projects 'contained?'  Normal life returns.

Not exactly.  The week quickly devolved into several house-related dramas, continuous calls from new realtors trolling for a listing and me, sick, spending most of my days wrapped in a blanket, reading and tending an earache.  No testdriving of new sewing machines, no tearing up my sewing room with wild abandon.  Just the small consolation of knowing that I could scuff around in flannel pjs without having to hustle out for a showing on short notice.

I had hoped to do a Latvian mitten post this week but it's on hold until I have a bit more to share.  I couldn't stick with knitting chartwork this week, so every once in a while I'd pick up my hexagons.  Mindless stitching, no concentration required.  I hesitate to feature it yet again, agreeing with Jane Ann about posting progress on this type of project...how it looks like the same post, again and again.  (Her GFG is lovely...go take a peek.)  But from recent comments, I was surprised at how many of you have one of these quilts in progress and might not have thought ahead to sewing the solid color pathways around your blossoms. 

Did you realize that you only need to attach five hexagons to each single flower?  More will be needed to square up the design but at least for the central portion of the eventual quilt top, these 'blocks' will fit together to complete the overall pattern.  If you're making the larger, double-ringed hexagon flowers you'll need to add more, not sure how many, but the same principle will apply.

So that's all I've got today, I really just wanted to check in.  I'm feeling better, finally, and expect to be back to more regular posting next week.  No more talk about blank slate weeks, though.

Playing with scissors

Last fall, I was thumbing through some of my old art books when a bunch of papercuttings fluttered out from one.  Back when I was an art teacher, I had fooled around with the craft in preparation for a unit on papercutting, intending to take it further *someday*.   

After those cuttings reappeared, I couldn't stop thinking about it.  All of a sudden, papercutting was popping up everywhere...Rob Ryan's fabulous folky work, a new book, Papercutting, by Claudia Hopf, whose little pamphlet on scherenschnitte has been in my bookcase since the seventies and then, even on the blogs.  Amy K's been doing some charming work recently.  I promised myself that once we got through the holidays, I was going to have some fun with it myself. 

This afternoon I pulled out a few sheets of computer paper to try out my new Iris scissors (which ironically arrived last week while I was frantically trying to stop the bleeding from my x-acto knife incident.  Message from the universe?  You decide.)  45 minutes later, I had cut this little piece (4") that I sketched from a German valentine.  Instant gratification!  The wheels are turning now.  More to come.

I have gotten so much done this week that I almost can't believe it.  Nothing that needs revisiting here, just lots of check-offs on lists that have been nagging at me for weeks.  Such a relief!  If I can just catch up on my email, next week should be a blank slate.  It's been a long time since one of those appeared on the horizon.  Happy weekend!

Posy post

My flower garden blocks are starting to add up.  Forty five have been completed now.  Even after setting them out, arranging them on the floor or design wall, I don't have a good idea of how many more I'll need.  I know this won't be a bed quilt, but because of the nature of the uneven edges of this hexagonal design, it's hard to get a feel for finished dimensions.  I'm fine with that now.   

When I've put the project aside for a while, I'm always spurred on to pick it up again when a new line of Kaffe Fassett's inimitable prints arrive on the scene.  (Keep them coming, Kaffe!)  These blocks are my newest, sewn over the last few evenings.  A lot of you have left comments that you're happy to see this project again and I am, too.  But I have to admit, it is a bit of a slog.

Click for closeup

There's no aspect of making these flower blocks that is difficult, just, for me, incredibly tedious.  Unlike most handsewn patchwork where you can clip along with a running stitch, paper piecing requires basting fabric around templates before block assembly.  Then, instead of a running stitch, you use an overcast stitch, catching a few threads from each adjoining side.  Easy, but more time consuming.  The fabrics are definitely the motivating factor here for me.  Frankly, I find it hard to believe how many traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts there are floating around out there from the 40s!

If you like these blocks but wouldn't think of tackling a quilt, I've found a more manageable project for you over at De Ponto Em No.  Last summer, the author posted wonderful tutorial for Flower Garden block coasters.  Aren't they charming?  And how about this photo set on Flickr, documenting the use of some inherited GFG blocks?  Nice updated adaptation of traditional blocks...lots of ideas spring to mind looking at these.

Although I've run hot and cold on this project, I've decided to stick with it now and chip away a little on it each week.  And instead of continuing to add to the bouquet, at this point, I'm going to start adding the outlining hexagons.  After much back and forth, I've decided on a color.  Finally.

Craving routine

 

Well, I wouldn't call this the most artful finished project shot, but considering I took it in the wee hours of the morning in those few minutes between springing it from its blocking pins and wrapping it to deliver to the post office, it's not bad.  This is That Little Scarf that I was knitting on right before Christmas, a wonderful, lightweight  little piece that I plan to knit up one of these days for myself.  Looking at it here, it seems like I knitted it months ago, yet it's only been a few weeks.  It's always amazing to me how much we look forward to the holidays, yet when they are over, we are DONE with them.  At least, I am.  After I took down the tree last week, I removed the overtly Christmasy items but left a bit of seasonal decor here and there.  Today?  Gone. Enough. Moving on.

When I ran into my sewing room for something on Sunday, I couldn't resist just flipping the switch on my machine onto test the connection.  It was fine.  I know however that this is going to be an ongoing problem so I've decided to start researching new ones.  I've been wanting something with a longer bed and am focusing on three models at this point, the Janome 6500, the Janome 6600 and the Pfaff Grand Quilter.  Do any of you have experience, good or bad, with any of these machines?  (Edited to add: Or are there others you'd highly recommend?)  I have been wanting to develop my machine quilting skills and finish up some of the tops I've made that aren't destined for handquilting.  A new machine might get me moving on those.  Though not necessarily.  Would I need to read through an instruction manual?

Look at what was under the tree for me on Christmas.  After K described my Thanksgiving photos as *lackluster* (!!!?) and Molly mocked me for traveling around Japan with a small roll of duct tape in my camera bag (to secure the cracked latch on my camera if a battery change was necessary,) the kids put their money where their mouths were and surprised me with a new camera.  Then M shocked me with the iPod nano after I made a passing comment about its popularity, most definitely not a hint, but I did say something about me probably being the last person not to have an iPod.  So, granted, I have a thoughtful, generous family except for one thing.  No one's around to show me how to use them!  Waaa!  *Lazy ingrate*?  No, just slightly allergic to instruction manuals.  They make my eyes glaze over.  (Aside to Carolyn: maybe we need to have lunch again soon. Ha.) 

It's Molly's birthday today.  I wish she was here so I could give her a big birthday hug.  Better yet, I wish I was there!  I could get all sentimental and start with the *where does time go*...but I'll refrain.  Happy Birthday, Molly!

What a difference a day makes

Night and day.  Day and day?  Whatever.  Today was a vast improvement over yesterday.  I got a late start due to a long phone chat with my sister who had been away for several weeks over the holidays but finally got out of my pajamas by late morning and headed out to do some necessary errands, including replenishing our pathetic first aid supplies and mailing the postcards.  Phew, that felt good.  I talk with my sister pretty frequently and wanted to have some no-think knitting to pick up during our chats so decided early in the week to cast on some socks to leave by the phone.  And I was dying to try the new Kureyon sock yarn that I got just before Christmas. 

Have you seen it?  Like regular Kureyon, it comes in an array of mouthwatering color combos but is specifically sock weight, a combination of 70% wool and 30% nylon. Perfect antidote to the periodic thinning of yarn that is a hallmark of Kureyon.  The recommended needle size on its label is 2.7 - 3.3mm...bingo!  I like to knit my cuffs on size 2 dpns (2.75mm) and then switch to size 1 for the foot, so I didn't anticipate any problems.

See that?  No?

How about now?  I'm not a loose knitter, but look at how *airy* this ribbing is on the suggested needles! Honestly, sometimes this yarn thins down to spiderweb weight.  I'm so disappointed.  The coloration is beautiful...there's a deep maroon tucked into the recesses of that skein...but I can't see making socks out of this.  Anyone have different experience with this Kureyon sock yarn?  I want to like it, I really do.  But I think from now on I'll stick with comfy Sophie's Toes.  Thank goodness I have an emergency skein in the stash.

It was M's birthday yesterday...bet he was happy not to have been home with Calamity Jane!...but he'll be back from Chicago tonight so I made his annual *Betty Crocker's from-scratch Best Chocolate Cake with butter frosting*.  Right as I popped it into the oven, the mailtruck pulled up.  Quite the haul today (which always makes me happy) including Molly's New Year card, a portion of which I included at the top of this post.  (Tanya just wrote a great post about this Japanese tradition.) 

And then there was the package from Glorious Color.  *sigh* 

You knew there was a new line of Kaffe Fassett fabric out, didn't you?  Heh.  I didn't either, actually.  I stumbled on them in a post-Christmas-trip stupor one morning as I clicked around after checking my Bloglines.  Dangerous habit.  There are lots of smaller prints in this line which look to work well with his previous designs.  And lots of new color combos of the dots.  I love the one I ordered...school bus orange on gray...might need more of that eventually.  I haven't ventured upstairs today to check the status of my sewing machine (why ruin a great day?) but even if it's bad news, these prints will look great in this project, which I plan to resurrect this weekend.

I'd better get moving.  M will be home in an hour and I need to frost his cake and set the table.  That's one good thing about the kids being grown...birthday cake can be supper!  Mmmm...from-scratch chocolate cake and a jug of cold milk.  I hope he's sharing.

A day in the life

When I wrote my New Year's post, I wasn't entirely upfront.  I do have plans for 2008...so many ideas and dreams to actualize...and many will unfold here over the next months.  Before getting started however, I decided that I'd use what's left of this week to clear the deck of some loose ends.  (How's that for a mixed metaphor?)  First up, the postcards.  The way overdue postcards.  The November 30 deadline postcards.

I've briefly mentioned these before.  A group of us, five fiberarts friends, have exchanged bi-monthly postcards for a number of years, resulting in an accumulation of wonderful mail art that has chronicled our handcrafted lives through moves, family situations and personal change.  While we started with the concept of 6"x4" postcards, they often morph into fabulous booklets and foldouts which need to be tucked into envelopes to ensure intact arrival.  I've dropped the ball on my commitment recently.  Mea culpa.  It's been too long since I made fun, creative pieces and I plan to change that this year.  But today wasn't about creativity.  It was all about catching up.  My plan: Assemble cards and place in mailbox by noon.  Prospects for success: eminently doable. 

Step one:  Compose text on Word and choose a few photos to accompany text.  Done.  I click *print*.  About half way through, things grind to a halt when the black ink runs out.  You're thinking that I didn't have a replacement cartridge...wrong!  It was at this point that I mistakenly started to feel quite optimistic over how things are going.  *Ahem*  I replace the ink cartridge and hit *resume*.  Up pops an error message on the computer screen.  Despite repeated efforts to remedy the situation, everything locks up and a warning light on the printer continues to flash, flash, flash even after I shut the machine down.  I decide to pull the plug on it.  The printer that is, not the project, though that was my definite inclination.  Throw the towel in, leave it till later...my 2007 attitude.  But this is 2008!  Carry on!

I plug it in again.  It works...back in business!  On to step two: assembly.  My paper arts workspace was somewhat compromised when we staged the house to sell and as a result, my supplies are now stashed here, there & everywhere.  I scurry to gather everything together, set up a workspace on the kitchen table and start trimming my printouts.  I freeze when I hear the mail truck outside, more than three hours earlier than its usual pickup time.  No problem, I WILL DRIVE TO THE POST OFFICE.  These postcards WILL go out today.  I'm cooking now! 

Oops

Yes, that is a slice of my finger sitting there between the blood spot and the sharpsharpsharp newly replaced exacto blade.  I run to find a bandage. And duct tape.  (Note to self: just because we no longer have kids in the house doesn't mean we don't need first aid supplies.)  I return with an almost manic determination to finish the project today.  Must finish the postcards!

Lucky that the next paper color was red.

As I hum along, I anticipate the next step, actual assembly, and decide that with my compromised hand, the easiest method would be to machine stitch the card ends together at one end.  Trimming...check!  Making individual pages...check!  Adding a bit of handwriting...check!  Head upstairs to sewing room.  Change thread color.  Switch on sewing machine.  *nothing*  Plugged in?...check!  Wiggle connections.  Now we're cooking again.  Start stitching.  *stop*  Whaaa?  Wiggle, wiggle.  Start stitching again while hearing a soft but distinct crackly, electrical, zappy sound emanating from the machine.  Finish.  Unplug.  Stare, dumbfounded, at machine.  Mutter silent prayer.  Head downstairs to insert cards in envelopes.  Too late for trip to post office, but COMPLETED.

I've changed the bandages several times now and the bleeding seems to have almost stopped.  *sigh*  I had a big knitting night planned.  A political junkie, I was looking forward to plopping myself down for the Iowa caucus coverage and working on my Latvian mittens again.  Perfect programming for chartwork...entertaining content with no need to look away from one's knitting! 

I don't think my finger can take stranded knitting tonight.  I'm a two-finger typist though, and I managed to write this post.  Twice.  It hasn't happened in a long, long time but, unbelievably, my first effort disappeared right before I hit *save*.  What a day.

But tomorrow's a new day.  And this is 2008.  Carry on!

Looking forward

2008.  Sheesh.  How did that happen?

Like most everyone else, between Christmas and New Year's I usually find myself reflecting on the past twelve months and making plans for the next.  I'm not one much for regrets, but my overwhelming feeling at the end of 2007 is how much time I wasted last year, mostly worrying about things that were totally out of my control.  So instead of reviewing goals and accomplishments or lack thereof, I'm bidding last year a hasty *adieu* and moving on to embrace all the possibilities the new year holds. 

My heart always races a little when Molly's Christmas box arrives from Japan in mid-December and I find a gift of a certain size, marked for me and weighing almost nothing.  Today I packed the Christmas decorations away and although technically I know that the Year of the Rat doesn't start until Chinese New Year (February 7, this year), I couldn't wait to display the paper mache figures that she sent with her gifts this year.  2008, come on down!    

Just a few more hours left to the holiday break.  Tonight we'll finish up the last of the leftovers.  Watch a little football.  Look forward to the return of some routine...and possibilities.  Happy New Year!