well-crafted

Project finished…Project started

Remember that glorious bamboo yarn I bought in Bend last Easter? The project I was furiously trying to finish? Well, furiously became leisurely when I realized it wasn’t going to fit its original intended recipient; my old friend, Laurie, who moved away after 15 years in Portland. Once I started to work on it at a snail’s pace I pondered my options for who should have it (would be to small for me). I happily decided to gift it to my friend, Kieren (not the model here) who was with me when I bought the yarn. She was with me as I struggled with the lace pattern at the bottom and always admired the piece while we worked on projects together. And it fits her. (Dear Laurie, you will still be getting something special when I can figure out what went wrong with my gage!)

The pattern is from Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. The yarn is Be Sweet’s hand-dyed bamboo yarn. It is luscious! It feels so good against the skin—I will most definitely make something with it for myself next summer. Or maybe something fancy for a winter party.

And a new project is underway as of last night. I cast on for the February Lady Sweater, which I am so excited about. I picked up the most gorgeous kettle-dyed merino wool from Malabrigo. I will post photos when I finish it.

Gotta wrap this up. We’re headed out for our last camping trip of the season, this time at the beach. I’m looking forward to it, but am having a hard time motivating myself to do the packing. So much work.

Just perfect

Two weekends ago we attended an open house for a renovated Rummer in Oak Hills. It was so beautiful. I’ve seen remodeled Rummer homes before that have not been done well—shaker style, cherry cabinetry in the kitchen—which is such a wasted opportunity (and a waste of money). In my opinion this one has been done perfectly. It’s not a restored home done with “period” details but the choice of materials and design so accurately reflect the spirit of the original design—but with a contemporary sensibility. I was so impressed. Sigh…if only it was on the East side…if only it didn’t have efficiency issues…if only my kids wouldn’t trash it…if only I were more tidy…

I don’t really want to move. I love our house—work in progress that it is—and our neighborhood. And frankly I just don’t have another move in me. But I did indeed appreciate this home. I’ll just hold onto the inspiration for sometime in the future.

 

Books I’d love to add to my collection

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A promise to keep

A few weeks ago I made good on the early-summer promise I’d made to W & L  that we’d tie-dye some T-shirts. I myself was feeling in the mood to play around with some saturated colors and soft jersey cotton. In July I had canceled my registration for the fabric dyeing class at A Common Thread in favor of camping and although I didn’t regret the camping trip, I was sorry I missed the chance to learn proper fabric-dyeing techniques. (I’m eagerly awaiting their fall/winter schedule).

We all forgot to protect our hands with the plastic gloves included in the kit, so our hands were stained for days afterwards but we didn’t care. The shirts turned out great and my two munchkins were really proud

I just can’t stop

Making this pattern, that is. And I won’t. It’s so cute, so easy and—as Amanda noted—once you get those Japanese patterns traced, you want to get some good mileage out of them. A long-sleeved variation will soon be in the works for Fall.

Unseasonably warm

What almost-six-year-old boy wouldn’t want a new, hand-knit, wool vest… in the middle of summer? My boy did. The knitting of this vest was finished several months ago but had been left to languish in one of many “unfinished projects” bags peppered throughout our house. The reason for this was the zipper. It scared me a little. I couldn’t decide if I should insert it by hand or machine and so I ignored it for a while until Will found it and asked when it was going to be finished. “I want to wear it today, Mom”. Music to my ears, as they say. So motivated was I after hearing these words, I slapped that zipper in (using the machine) and had it on him within 15 minutes, even though it was 80 degrees out.

The pattern is Knitting Pure and  Simple #271. It’s a good simple pattern, easy to follow and nice looking but sized a little small. I made an 8 and it fits well. I used (probably for the last time) Lamb’s Pride chunky in Charcoal Heather for the body and Red Baron for the edging. Has anyone used the Superwash?

Although it came off of him within 5 minutes that day, he has happily reached for his vest many times since, on (only slightly) cooler days. Bless you, my boy.

Dolls + Camera

One of the highlights of our time at Holiday World in Indiana was the Betsy Ross Doll House. A tiny little doll museum that was wonderful. The lighting was fantastic and I went a little crazy with the camera. The facial expressions and the surreal environments were mesmerizing. I love dolls. Don’t know why—just love ‘em. See all the photos here.

Good to be back

Whew! What a month July was. We spent the middle two weeks visiting K’s family in Illinois and Missouri. The week before was spent preparing, the week after catching up and the last days of the month were spent hosting my parents here. Our trip to the Midwest was jam-packed with two family reunions, one high school reunion, two days of amusements parks and water parks, lots of driving and one birthday dinner. Mine.

I’ve got lots to share in the coming weeks but will ease back in with some of my favorite photos from our trip.