SouleMama

for the show

A small set complete for the show tomorrow night. (I'll show you everything else after the show - we've got to keep it full of surprises for those coming in person, right?) Since first envisioning the show last year, I had hoped to include some little pieces like this. The sketches in my notebooks, the hoops and linen, have all been in a pile waiting for me for months. I had hoped - but wasn't sure - that there would be enough time. So thank goodness for my recent LOST addiction - putting the finishing touches on these embroidery pieces has been the perfect companion to watching. (I'm nearly through Season Two, and totally and completely hooked, having left Steve in the dust more than 8 episodes ago because I just. cant. stop. watching. I'm a bad wife.)

{Oh! And for those struggling with international ordering of the book, I would recommend ordering from the publisher directly - www.shambhala.com.}

a good day for embroidery

Ezra recently switched from using burlap and a tapestry needle for his embroidery (I talk about how we do this in the book) to wanting to do it 'just like mama' with a regular embroidery needle and linen. I've been a little reluctant about this change - because truthfully, I don't always have the patience required for rethreading the needle (again and again), and untying the inevitable knots (again and again).

This weekend he asked to start a new embroidery project - a woodpecker he wanted to trace from a nature guide. There was so much detail in the lines that I internally groaned at the future mess of knots I'd be untying, and instead, I tried to steer him towards a different project entirely. But he asked again, and with a gulp, I got it ready for him. When it was ready, he cozied up with it by the window watching the snow fall, took a deep breath as he began and said to me,  "Mama. It's a good day for embroidery, don't you think?"

I'm grateful for my weekend lesson from my little teacher. While the reality is that my day today is filled with errands, details and a 'to do' list that also makes me internally groan, I'm happy to take a little reminder from Ezra - to sit with my morning coffee and do a little embroidery with him before starting the day. It is, indeed, always a good day for that. 

inspiration :: sweet and savory

Oh my.The internet is a very good and dangerous place. Full of inspiration of all different kinds. This weekend, in just one quick Flickr browse of my contacts, I stumbled upon this photograph, which in one click led me to this recipe, which promptly got me up off my chair and into the kitchen - stopping only on the way to gather my loves....for a little donut making. It was the perfect antidote to the blizzard that was storming outside.

That recipe? SO easy and SO good. For some reason I was comforted so much by the baked-not-fried aspect that I totally skipped reading the sugar quantities. Oh my. And really, oh well....because they're donuts, right? We don't eat them everyday. Still, if you make them, be sure you have all 8 of your children, or a few neighbors around to share them with. Otherwise, you'll eat them all up and have crazy sick too-much-sugar head. That's no good. The donuts, however, are good. And they are best eaten warm and immediately. Of course. (My babes like the middles.) Thanks for the inspiration, Liz!

And in other kinds of inspiration, I'm honored to be on Inspiration Boards today. You can find that interview here. Thank you Lori, for the interview and all the work you do to keep us inspired on Inspiration Boards!

my "urchin beret"

I'm pretty much in love with my new hat. And yes - I know I just said that about another hat. It's not that I'm a fickle hat lover - it's that I actually - and sadly -have misplaced that hat (I'm not calling it 'lost' yet). A bummer to be sure. But - it also gave me the perfect excuse to knit myself another new hat. A silver lining!

The pattern is the "urchin beret" from Twinkle's Weekend Knits: 30 Fast Designs for Fun Getaways. It's a beautiful book, and the designs really are unique - but wearable. Wearable is important. I've been itching to make a sweater, and I think it might just come from this book - I'm deciding between the Nimbus or the Cloudburst. Such fun names, aren't they? And it just occurred to me (sometimes I'm slow to catch on to these things) where the name "urchin beret' comes from for this hat. It totally does look like a  sea urchin from the top! And how much do I love the thought of walking around with a little bit of the ocean on me in the middle of the winter, even if only in theory? So much.

(all of these photos are by my very talented and sweet Steve by the way.)

I do realize (now) that I've knit myself more than a few green hats over the years. But - leave me wandering in a yarn shop with no pre-determined plan and there's a likely chance I'll walk out of there with some green yarn. (This is Cascade Magnum, from KnitWit - a favorite local yarn spot.)

Oh, and, this book is aptly titled - particularly on the 'fast' part. This hat - knit on gigantic size 17 needles - was finished before the end of a movie. (Jules et Jim - oh my gosh, I love that movie - I could listen to this over and over.) Anyway, that's a fast knit. I don't really think of knitting as something that needs to or even should be done fast, but sometimes it's kind of fun when it is. Especially when there's snow in the forecast (and in Maine this winter, when isn't snow in the forecast?), and I want to wear my new favorite hat. Like, today, for example.

(Hang in there, local peeps & similarly snowed-over friends! Spring will come. And for now, we have some beautiful snow. This is my February mantra.)

knitting for the tree

LuluBeans yarn has recently made it's way to Edith & Edna, and after seeing it in person and touching it I had to have some pretty much immediately. It's really fabulously yummy. I had no idea what it was going to become, but it's arrival coincided with the arrival of our tree last week. Hanging the skein on the tree to take a photo (of course!), I knew just exactly what it needed to be. But I had to hurry.

And so I started knitting. And that knitting went everywhere with me for days.

Really. Everywhere.

Somewhere along the way, I ran out of yarn. Got some more. Kept knitting.

And finally...last night...my dear sweet family's wait was over, as my really super long i-cord was finished. Long enough to wrap around the tree as our knitted 'garland', so that we could finally - finally - move onto the decorating of the tree.

They're really a very patient lot when it comes to Mama's silly little ideas. I thank them for that. 

There's a pattern in Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick for a knitted garland that includes several i-cords together with pompoms. This was my original plan, but really, it's just not nice to string these little ones along (literally) longer than I already did. So I'll put that started cord away and enjoy the first of our winter storms today (it's still coming down! We're hoping for a foot), and cozy up with the finished tree too. Maybe next year the garland shall grow.

the morning after...

In the wee hours of the morn', the Red Sox had themselves a little sweep. This little corner of Red Sox Nation is very, very happy (and very very sleepy) this morning.

Also this morning, Papa was sent off to work with his new "knit during the World Series" hat. ("Kim's Hats" in Last Minute Knitted Gifts)

And now you must excuse me while I ingest about three more of these.

Yay, Sox!

World Series Knitting

The Red Sox are in the World Series, which means two things at this house: one - the TV is out of the closet and we've got ourselves a brand new set of fancy-pants bunny ears; and two - there is about to be some serious knitting completed.  Steve says I'm a playoff fan, and I can't deny that. I'm only interested when it gets close to the end. I moan and groan about the 500 thousand games (really, there are that many - I swear) that get them to this point, and then I jump on in when things get exciting. So, now I'm in...and excited. But man, those games can go on. And the commercials. Ugh. My hands need some busy work, and hats are perfect. With a worsted weight yarn, I can just about complete a hat in the course of two games, depending on how exciting the game is...and how much energy I put into my ice cream.

This would be the Playoffs hat for Calvin (he chose the colors from my stash). Doubling up on the yarn, it made for a really thick hat (this was the desired effect, thankfully). It's based on the pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. He asked for the ear flaps -"but no pompoms, Mom". Ack. When did he get too big for pompoms?

 
(Thankfully, he's not too big for playing camera with me - this one was his idea.)
Last night was Game One (and a very good start, at that), and therefore, yarn winding, guage swatching, and casting on for the next hat. Everyone in this house needs a new winter hat, and I'm relying on the Red Sox (and the bunny ears) to get me there.
So hey - Go Sox!

new cool-weather favorites

I received a copy of The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons: Sweaters and Accessories for Men and Women a few weeks back. The style is what I would expect based on their past books - lots of accessible, modern, and mostly fast-knitting patterns. This latest book is full of knits for all year round - from sweaters to tanks and a few smaller things too - for both men and women. I was very excited to get knitting something in here.

Because I was in an instant-gratification kind of knitting mood, I went with a hat. From the book, it's the "Out of Retirement" hat, knit with Misti Alpaca Chunky from my stash. It knit up quickly, and seamlessly (well, actually there is a seam, but you know what I mean). Really - any wearable knitting pattern that knits up fast and calls for the use of a big ole' button? A winner, for sure.

Can I tell you how much I love this hat? No, really. I looove this hat. So much that I've been wearing it everyday nearly all day - even yesterday when it was (a very crazy) 75 degrees. Yup. I love this hat. It even warranted it's very own pair of fingerless mitts (knit from the pattern in Melanie' Falick's Weekend Knits). We're not going to talk about how many pairs of these I already have, or how ridiculous that might be, because the reality is that they just make me happy. And fingerless mitts and this new hat together? Makes me very happy. Bring on the real fall.

Fall Knitting

Nothing goes with fall foliage better than some handknits, don't you think?  I cast on for this sweater less than a month ago, and finished it just this weekend. Clearly, the fall knitting mojo has hit. It was done just in time for my babe to wear it on what felt like the first real fall weekend.

The pattern is the Children's Neckdown Cardigan from Knitting Pure & Simple. I wanted the most classic of cardigans, and this pattern fit the bill.  It's a pattern I could make over and over - smooth, easy, and rather a quick knit. I used Cascade Pastaza, so it's warm and soft (50% llama, 50% wool) and affordable. A bonus. The buttons I purchased just for this sweater on Etsy. And let me tell you - if you haven't discovered it yourself - that searching for such vintage bits and bobs on Etsy is a dangerous endeavor. (But oh-so-fun.)

My original - and rather ambitious - plan was to start with Adelaide and then make one for each of the boys to give as Solstice gifts. But since I'm absolutely terrible at keeping surprise gifts for longer than a day, she got it this weekend. No worries - now she'll be able to wear it all fall while I start the others. (More info on the hat here - knit just over a year ago, but fitting perfectly right about now).

I think she likes it. Or at least she totally knows how to work me when she looks up at me with her sparkly baby blue eyes and asks, "Make it, Mama?", knowing very well what the answer is. It's comparable to the boys' proud declaration of "Mama made this!" to anyone who might happen to ask (or not). They're a bunch of heart-melters, you know. And they sooo have my number.

hello, autumn

A happy Equinox to you - in whichever hemisphere you call home!

Hello to - slippers :: favorite fairs:: foliage :: cardigans :: tights :: knitting weather :: wool socks :: cool weather hikes :: acorns :: baking :: apples :: pumpkins :: crunchy leaves :: a quieter city :: emptier beaches :: and so very much more.

After a summer hiatus, I'll be opening the Etsy shop tomorrow, at 10am EST. I'll post here when it's all up and ready!