I-Beams

I found some free time this past weekend to sew up another quilt top! This is I-Beams by Purple Pineapple Studio. I found this pattern at my local fabric shop and loved that it used only 1 fat quarter/beam. The background was quite a bit of yardage, but I certainly got a lot out of each of the six fat quarters!

This was also the first time that I selected the colors/patterns myself. In hindsight, I think that I could have gone with at least one more bold (darker gray? tan?) color between the coral and multi-color far left beam. I am learning!

I hope to drop this top and the batik top off with my quilter later this spring - I'm excited to be building up a nice stack of homemade quilts for our family. When these last two are complete, it will bring the grand total up to 6! I figure I will need at least 3-4 more so I won't miss them so much when the girls take one with them as they grow older.

FO: Petrea (CF closed-cardigan pattern)

I was so inspired by the first CF sweater that I immediately started on a second, Petrea.  This one did not come with a recipe (there is one now, I believe) so I swatched my yarn and purchased a closed-front, short-sleeve, cardigan pattern from CF.  I did the match for placement of the lace panels myself.

This sweater came out near to perfect.  The only issue I am still debating is whether to stitch close the little 'v' at the top of the button band.  A fellow ravelry member suggested a hook-and-eye so I can still unbutton the sweater, however I don't plan to wear it open.

This is another local yarn - Sun Valley Fibers DK Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) Superwash, colorway: Frosty Pine.

I am not sure what is up next - my daughters are staring to request things again: socks for #1, a short-sleeve tee for #2, a hoodie for #3.  Thankfully #4 is happy with the hand-me-downs that are still around, but I'm sure she'll want something special when fall rolls around.

And those socks I posted about a couple months ago?  The ones for my husband?  We'll they shrank in the wash (ugh - caution: front-loading washers can do a number on superwash yarns!) and now are for me.  And I've started on another pair for him...

WIP's: cowl, shawl and socks

There are three projects on the needles as of today...

First is a pair of socks for DH.  I made him a pair a year ago this past September.  He wears that pair quite a bit, but they are loose fitting socks owing to the seed stitch ribbing.  This current pair has a more traditional k1, p1 ribbing with some decorative cables.  Yes, the socks are still brown (his favorite color), but it means I know he will wear them.  And the cables make me happy to knit them.  The colors in photos aren't quite right - they are a lovely shade of light fawn brown.

The next is a cowl that was started in a fit of boredom, the yarn has fantastic colors, but I am not sure that I am going to love the final product.  I think this will be a gift for the girls' piano tutor who is learning to knit herself.  I know she'll appreciate it and the colors will suit her quite well.














And last are the lingering honeycomb socks.  I have one done and one to go but I can't seem to get motivated to start that second sock.  Not sure why.  They look pretty cool, no?

Wag the Dog (or Happy Halloween)

This years Halloween costumes were sewn in a two-day event. One day to buy the fabric and cut the pieces, and one day for assembly. I relied on the help of this pattern, but adapted it to my own kids' tastes. The suits are made of polar fleece, which was perfect for our 40 degree weather.

They asked to be dogs for Halloween. Specifically, they wanted to be their favorite stuffed dogs. One is all black, and the other brown and white.

I've made costumes for the twins every year since they were born. My youngest daughter uses their old costumes, or thrifted ones that are part of the general dress-up collection in our casa.

I enjoy sewing (bags, quilts, pillows, etc.) but I don't entirely enjoy garment making. For me, kids costumes fall somewhere in the middle. So, having a interest in sewing puts me well on the road of making our own costumes. However, I also feel an overwhelming desire to make their costumes. I want my kids to remember the creative energy - as zany as it is - that surrounds dressing up for the land of make believe. But, there is more to it than that for me. For my kids they are just costumes, right?

Yet, I'm not sure what this 'more' is. Is it because my Mom sewed costumes for me and my brother when we were young? Is there tradition buried in the piles of thread and fabric scraps? Or is it something more global? Or more personal? Something that ties in to values I hold about art and craft and society? Values I hold about mother/parenthood?

In a way, I feel that making costumes is a personal statement about our culture and our choices. By making costumes - and knowing that they will be worn over and over and over again, and not just on Halloween - I choose to reject the idea that we live in a disposable society. The amount of waste produced by our family alone (a family that tries its best to recycle, reuse and repurpose as much as possible) is staggering. Often times I need to get rid of half of what I bring home from a store just to use an item: the packaging and the bag(s) it came in. So I find small ways to push back against this reality. I make or thrift cloth napkins. We make school lunches with re-usable containers. We buy in bulk. We use our own shopping sacks.

I was forced to think this issue through when a friend of a friend said, "I bet you're the kind of mom that makes your kids Halloween costumes, right?" It was a kind remark. It was intended to celebrate and support my creativity and motherhood. However, I was discomforted by the remark and I didn't figure out why until later. Making my kids costumes is less a sign of love for my kids than it is a statement about how we consume/use in our society - especially around holidays. Lots and lots of parents purchase costumes (handmade and otherwise) for their kids on Halloween and they don't love their kids any less than I do mine.

While I was taking this photo of my girls I was reminded of the saying - popularized by the movie of the same name - Wag the Dog.

To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue. The expression
comes from the saying that 'a dog is smarter than its tail', but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would 'wag the dog'. [From useenglish.com]

So, I'm starting to wonder if this is it. Maybe I am wagging the dog with this costume issue. I want to draw attention to the sustainable handmade/homemade movement and away from the costume. For me the 'more' seems to be my desire for a society that values the art of independent creating, and not cheap plastic.

America's Knitting

I'm so excited to share that I was asked to participate in Wisconsin month on America's Knitting. You can check out my mittens here, as well as other gorgeous knitted projects from my fellow Wisconsinites.

The website itself is chock full of great information on knitting all across the United States and the site is dedicated in support of local yarn shops. Mary puts it quite simply, "Yarn shops are important." This is so true.

Speaking for myself, as a mostly self-taught knitter-learner, the yarn shop is the place I go for just about everything. Supplies/notions and yarn, sure. But for me they are also like a museum, research lab, library, resource center, socio-emotional center and teaching institution all rolled into one.

Mary's site is an invaluable tool for travelling knitters - she has current listings for many, many, many stores across the country all sorted by city and state, and she even gives you a map! I know that I'll be visiting to learn about the nearest LYS the next time I'm planning to attend a conference away from home. She also does in-depth coverage of specific stores on the spotlight page.

Mary wrote such kind words about my work and creative effort - it's more than enough to get me back to my needles, double-time.

Change

Change - what a buzz word this season, huh? Truth is that I am feeling change; shifts in the way that I work, parent and love. I don't mean to be too deep - just trying to convey the fact that things around here felt similar day-to-day for awhile towards the end of summer, but now they feel very different every day. My husband is attributing it to the changing seasons (and impending election), and I do think that he is right in some ways. To honor the change in seasons I am embarking on a changing seasons quilt. Lots of yummy fall-tinged colors and natural batik prints. This will be a twin size - my first quilt this big. Not sure when this one will really get underway, but the pieces have been cut and are staring down my machine ready to be assembled. I am following the yellow brick road pattern from before, I like the different shapes and way that the colors flow easily into one another.



A second big change around here is coming up this winter. We are losing our long-time (2+ years) nanny to California for a nursing job. She's graduating with her degree and I am very proud of her. She has strong family roots in these parts, so I know she'll be back, but she won't every really be back here, you know what I mean? While she's only been with us for 2 days/week she has been with us through many changes: a new house, a new baby, new classes, new routines, daycare, playgroups, and potty training. I mean, really, who wouldn't be sad about losing someone who cheerfully changed dirty underpants?! And for twins, nonetheless? So I've decided to make her a quilt. She's been eyeing the other BTRS quilts I have been making and I think this will be a great going away gift. The fabrics here are floral, solids and an awesome wave print for the backing - the perfect CA fabric if you ask me (I stopped myself as I drifted towards the palm tree prints...). I'd really like to perosnalize this one on the back for her. I'm thinking handprints of each of the girls? Maybe applique? I plan to loosely follow the BTRS lap quilt directions for this one, but I will modify for a twin size.

Books, books and more books

With school and writing in the air I went on a used book binge! Here is what I've come up with:

I now own:
Denyse Schmidt Quilts (Schmidt)
Make Your Own Conteporary Quilts (multiple contributors)
Bend-the-Rules Sewing (Karol, angrychicken.typepad.com)
The Modern Quilt Workshop (Ringle & Kerr)
The Creative Family (Soule, soulemama.typepad.com)
Scrap Quilt Sensation (Guerrier)

I borrowed from the library:
Sew What! Skirts (Denhartog & Camp)
Kaleidoscope of Quilts (Fassett)
Passionate Patchwork (Fassett & Lucy)
Glorious Patchwork (Fassett & Lucy)
Quilts in the Sun (Fassett)
The Family at Home (Kaushal)

I have reserved these at the library, but won't see them for awhile - I'm last on the list for each one:
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (Hertzberg & Francois)
Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together (Brown & Brown)
Last-minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts (Hoverson)
Last-minuted Knitted Gifts (Hoverson)

I take a peek at the books I've received each night before bed - I love them all so far! (Plus, Dan is happier that I'm looking at books while being with him, rather than plastered to my computer screen until 2am looking at blogs!)

Slump

Sorry not to post lately, but in truth there has been no knitting to post about. I could blame it on the school-related travel, the flu, the kids, the law class (the homework), the home maintenance, the daily grind or lack of sleep. But in truth, I have knit through all of these obstacles before. Not sure what is different this time. I am just having a hard time getting motivated. Maybe a break from this lace will do me some good.

I am cooking up some sewing plans for an abstract fishing game for the twins...I'll post pictures when it's ready. Maybe then it will be time to actually get into that craft room and do some organizing - and purchase a nice lamp and comfy chair. Making some "me" space might do wonders for me.