Knitting: Week 2

I'm casting on! I did a knit! I did a purl! Wahoo! I feel like a cheerleader for my own knitting team. A core group of us at work held a second knitting lunch at work and this is my progress. I did change my needles to size 13 and got chunky yarn to match. It helps to be able to see what I'm doing. I'm mindful as I learn to knit that, at my age, it's so rare to learn something completely new. It gives such insight into the hurdles (and sense of satisfaction) that my toddler son encounters everyday as he learns new things. How frustrating it is to not be able to do something and then how glorious it feels to figure it out all by yourself. Except, nearly everything he encounters requires a new skill. No wonder toddlers need so much immediate attention and vascillate between "Do it for me!" and "I can do it myself!". I found my own self vying for the attention of my knitting coworker as I was trying to learn but as soon as I figured something out I just wanted to sink into my own world as I did it again and again. Until I hit a snag...then I wanted her to immediately help me. Hmmm, it was all just a little too familiar.

Beginning Knitting

My coworker let it slip that she is a knitter and I quickly organized a "Knitting Lunch" with other women interested in learning. So, today I pulled out dusty, well-intentioned needles and yarn from my packed up crafty station and actually put them to a bit of work. Below is the instructor with one of her students. (Can you tell who is who? Ha!) She even knit the sweater she is wearing.Truth be told, quite a few of us found it really hard. My original goal was to learn how to knit and purl. By the end of our lunch hour I would have been extremely happy just to get the guys on the left side to move to the right side...damn those guys. Below is a crocheter who found it less difficult.

And, here is my official progress. Harumph! I did learn, however, that I definitely need bigger needles and chunkier yarn to start with. I just went with a pretty yarn and the size needle it told me to get. Silly amateur. You knitters really make it look far too easy.

Better Late Than Never

This is a gift idea that I actually made for Christmas last year, as in 2007. I thought others might enjoy the concept. It's my own adaptation of an AARP book that I thought was a good idea but kind of cheesy in its execution. The basic idea is a book that gets filled in by grandparents, parents, great grandparents, etc. that offer a way to catalouge their stories and memories. That is, each person gets their own book. I started by creating a word document with questions in different areas: "Tell me about..YOU" with questions about what things were like for them; their games, songs, fashions, etc.; "Tell me about...my Parent/Grandparent, etc." depending on the recipient; "Tell me about...ME" with questions about finding out impending birth and first sighting, etc.; "Tell me about..MY HERITAGE" with a family tree to be filled in and questions about ancestors and family traditions including a page for a family recipe; "Tell me about...YOUR VALUES" that included questions about the things they think are important, things to always remember, etc.; and Tell me...in the FUTURE with a pocket to leave a letter to be read in the future and blank pages at the end for photographs. (I also included photo corners to make it easy to put in photos.) I had the word document printed (on thick card stock) and bound at a local copy shop, which means I have a template to share if anyone is interested.

Each book has to be tweaked a little bit so that the questions are appropriate but so far we have had both of the books returned from Cal's great-grandparents with wonderful results. Filled in family trees, funny jokes, photos of great-great-grandparents and a whole lot of memories. Not everything gets answered but enough to make them really special. I'm late in sharing this for the most recent holiday but thought it might be nice to pass it on anyway. Of course, it can't hold the entirety of one's heritage or story but it provides something.

A little unleashing

With all of my sewing stuff packed up, my husbands asks, "What will you do with all your creative energy?" Turns out I'm unleashing it on my coworkers. I'm lucky enough to work with people from a gazillion different backgrounds...pakistan, egypt, germany, israel, it goes on and on. And, we all love celebratory potlucks. So, my supervisor and I decided to have a New Year's heritage potluck where everyone brought a food item from their heritage or family tradition.

It was so great, great, great! We had everything from empanadas and mulled cider, to a german stolen bread (below). I wimped out and brought monkey bread (recipe is too easy to even admit to in the baking haven of blogland) instead of the Minnesota-traditional Caramel Rolls. I had to weigh the fact that I currently have a total of 12 inches of countertop with which to roll out dough.

My Head is all House

The work we are doing on our house (new kitchen!!) has got me distracted by house stuff. (Oh, how fickle I am at heart...the fabric isn't even cold.) I've been so excited by these two sites, making it lovely, which covers all things home DIY and beautiful and schoolhouse electric co. a Portland, OR company that makes amazing old-home lights including the one in the photo. Not that we can afford handmade lighting fixtures (more on this later) but it's sooo fun to look and become inspired.

Transitions...

As soon as we found out we were having a second child, we knew our house was too small for a family of four. We played with the idea of buying another house but decided it wasn't the right time. And, so it is that we are embarking on a major house addition just as I enter my third trimester.
But, aside from that, I've had to pack up my sewing table and pack it all into a small corner...out of reach. So, for now, it's unrealistic to really take on a big project. So, in true tinkering spirit I'm determined to learn how to knit. Maybe something for the baby...

I fell hard for bags this year...

This was another bag made for my sister for Christmas. From the pattern I'm obsessed with, it's a simple tote with just a bit of a gentle slope that makes it more all-purpose than a boxy grocery tote. The fabric is from Ikea, surprisingly.

edited to add: I accidentally posted this to an old date, so if it looks familiar that is why. he. he.

Holiday Look Back

The handmade holidays rocked the house this year, at least for me. It really is more enjoyable to give a gift that you put time into rather than money. My sister, however, seriously takes the cake. She not only made me amazing bath salts and a stencilled maternity top but also pulled off making her own perfume with spices including cardomom. It's incredible...I wasn't even aware that one could homemake that! On top of that she gave beer she had brewed herself...not to me, of course. But, really does it get more hardcore than that!?

One thing I didn't share before the holidays was a gift for my sister that I didn't want her to know about. It is actually an idea that I stole from her (she is pretty good at this stuff, no?). I pulled together my favorite recipes, typed them up and printed them on nice paper that I put into a small-sized three ring binder. I covered the binder with a fabric cover and used iron-on letter for the text. I actually intended the title to be sweet, like "oh, little nibbles that constitute love bites" but realized too late it sounds more like death metal music. Thankfully, she forgives my shortcomings. I ended up stealing this idea from her because the cookbook she gave me (which is called 'oven light'...so clever) is actually on my list of things I would grab if the house were on fire. That is how great it is. I use it more than most of the cookbooks I have.

the farmers market bags

Ok, time for some of the top secret holiday gifts to see the light of day. My sister is almost always my favorite person to make gifts for. She is a great giver of handmade gifts as well and so I know that she will enjoy (and maybe even cherish) the 'character' in many of the handmade things I make for her. This year I aimed for making things as sustainable as possible. So, using the top of a yard sale cotton shower curtain and the stamps I had carved myself, I made these farmer's market bags.
They came out a little wonky because I used the grommets on the shower curtain as the loops for ribbon handles.

I should confess to really digging these bags myself, I might have to find another yard sale shower curtain so I can be styling at the farmer's market, too.

Sometimes All it Takes is a Song

Spottiswoode and his Enemies. Don't know much about these guys but I came across this band and this song at the same time as the coffee was hot and creamy and quiet took over the house and everything just seemed just right. Welcome 2009.