Paper Pie

Three French Hens

For the past month or so I have been taking part in a make-a-long with other readers of Taproot. The idea is simple, but oh so fun, more fun than I even expected. Every time you work on or complete a project in the current issue you can post your photos with the hashtag #TaprootMakealong and for each post you get an entry into a drawing to be held May 1 for a menagerie of good prizes. Participating in this has been satisfying for so many reasons; it has pushed me to try projects I otherwise may have not (or knot - hee hee.) It has motivated me to keep going on projects that may have stalled, and perhaps the most fun is seeing the other posts from around the world. It is endlessly inspiring to see such different and personal versions of the same project, recipe or pattern. That idea fascinates me . . . the notion that no 2 people will create something exactly the same, even when using the same set of instructions. I love the see the colors that people choose and the different details that are added or omitted. 

One of my posts in the make-a-long is most definitely a pattern I probably would have been too intimidated to try otherwise, but I am so glad for the gentle nudge of this contest. I've never knit little animals like the Three French Hens above. I've never employed so much shaping, and detail and dpn action. But look! I did it! There the are, and to be honest with you, easier than they look. You may have noticed these little hens from our Easter morning table. My intention was to have all 3 completed by last Sunday - one for each of my chickens - Rylie, Otis and Ryan. But alas, poor Ryan had to wait until Friday morning to receive his belated Easter French Hen, he didn't seem to mind though.

Despite the ease of the pattern, I did have to employ a new stitch for me on the top of the hens' backs. After stuffing them full, these little ladies had two sides that needed to be grafted together a la the Kitchener stitch. I was pretty intimidated, I'm not going to lie. There is a lot of talk on the interwebs about the dreaded Kitchener Stitch, but I went for it with varying degrees of success. I found this tutorial the most helpful. My seams are not quite invisible, but I did notice my skill progress from hen 1 to hen 3, which reminds me, these hens really need names! I need to ask the kids about this pronto!

Oftentimes I scoff at the idea of making multiples of the same thing (socks, mittens, sleeves.) However, what I realized with this project is that doing the same thing, several times in a row really allows one to see how quickly a knitter can improve her skills and also how much faster one becomes on the second and subsequent attempts at the same task. I love to see results in action! This pattern is designed and written by Susan B. Anderson whom has all kinds of other animal, doll and toy patterns available. uh oh. I also see that she is now offering a kit for the Three French Hens so you can pick one up and make your very own, which I highly recommend. You'll see just how very addictive they are.

Little Shoreline Vest

Last week I put the finishing touches on the first piece I have knit for Otis since his tiny baby booties back in 2013. This was also my first ever vest, which is easier than a full on sweater because there are no pesky sleeves to contend with, just stitch up the shoulder seam and call it done. This is the Little Shoreline Vest knit with Peace Fleece in the Mourning Dove colorway. Oh, and it should be mentioned that I found a fantastic button source in town aptly named, The Button Store. And in the interest of full (closure) disclosure, I may or may not have spent more on the 3 buttons than the yarn . . . ahem. I'm noticing know there is not really a great detail shot of them, but alas, Otis is FAST!

When I found this pattern I immediately asked Otis if I could make it for him and he was very excited that I would be knitting for him this time. However, I've been around the under 5 set long enough to know that asking them to wear said garment is an entirely different story. Once I had finished and blocked the vest, I hung it in the closet for a few days to give myself some breathing room before I was all expectant. After a few days, I noticed an opportunity as we were off to a chilly afternoon playdate. To my delight, Otis was so happy to put it on. His only complaint was that the yarn was itching his neck when the top button was closed, so we unbuttoned it in a jiffy. The vest held up to hours of play, both the active and contemplative kind. Because it only buttons up top and the rest of it is open around his belly and waist, he had plenty of room to move around just as he pleased. He loved wearing it, and at the end of the day actually said, "Thank you for making my vest, mom." I mean seriously . . . he said that. My heart has been swelling ever since. 

Pine Forest

I've been knitting for a good long while now and have taken on all manner of projects: hats, scarves, socks, kid sweaters, bags, and have even knit a few dresses for Rylie (back when she would still allow me to dress her.)
But a sweater for just me. No, now that has never happened, until my dear sweet mother-in-law gifted me this beautiful pattern and some yummy yarn this past Christmas. It was such a sweet gesture, and just the gentle nudge I needed to venture outside of my comfort zone. I always felt like doing a sweater for a grown up would be such a major challenge. Mine is a much bigger torso to cover than that of my little ones, after all. And then the fit. How does that work? Just knit knit knit and hope for the best? And sleeves? You have to do 2?


However, this sweater here, just might be the best first sweater to knit in the whole world. It knit up quick, it is seamless, and the three quarter sleeves kill some of the dreaded dpn pain. This is Sabine by Julie Weisenberger, knit with Filatura Di Crosa Gioiello (a very fancy sounding yarn from Italy). It is delicate, light as a feather and easy - the perfect Southern California sweater.

Coincidentally, the color way for this yarn is called pine forest, and I just happened to be visiting my friend in her pine forest when I finished my first ever sweater. Add to that these pine green shades that Ryan gifted me for my birthday and a very special photoshoot was in order. I'm quite pleased with it all: the trees, the sunglasses (the sun!) and a dainty little number to wear around my shoulders. Thank you, Ann. I love you.

Confessions Of A Bedknitter

I knit my very first sock, well, my very first adult-sized sock anyways. I was so excited to get this Turkish Bedsock off the needles and try it on that it honestly did not occur to me until later that I would need to cast on and start all over again in order to have a pair. Oh drat! Historically when I have knit pairs of things like baby booties and legwarmies, I have found that the first one takes me a very long time but I can fly through the second one with relative ease. The second tends to look a bit tidier too. 

I have been enjoying the new season of Downton Abbey quite a bit. The stories seem slightly more slow and subtle compared with Season 2. Don't get my wrong, I adore season 2 just as much as the rest of it, but there were some storylines in the second season that were pretty melodramatic even for melodrama. I've been going back and watching the first season from the beginning and it is really interesting to see how the characters have changed and developed. Is it just me or has the cast as a whole kind of softened a bit? In the first season Mrs. Patmore is downright cruel to Daisy. Thomas and O'Brien, though still foul, seem particularily odious. See what happens to my vocabulary when I watch episode after episode while knitting socks? I become a part of the early 1900s British aristocracy. Not complaing. I love the show so much - the high production value, the costumes, the sets, the color palette, the characters are irresistable and the plot (though sometimes pretty grandiose) never disappoints. We bought the first 2 seasons on iTunes which is great for going back to rewatch past episodes, they are all just right there and it is dangerously easy to push play, paly, play, one after the other. I haven't really watched tv shows on my computer before but I made the wonderful discovery of being able to bring my laptop to bed with me and watch Downton as I knit until my eyes close. If you wonder how I have time to knit, it is because I literally do it until my eyes close. And while watching tv of course, that is must. 

I'm linking up for Ginny's Yarn Along today. I've been rereading Little, Big when I am not knitting and devouring Downton. I read this several years ago now and remember not being able to put it down. This time around I am looking at it through an entirely different lens and it feels as though I am having a brand new experience with the story. Love that. 

January Ramblings

The weather has been downright blustery here the last few days. The wind is whiping through our little valley of a neighborhood and rushing past the leaves that are still clinging to trees. The weatherman says the highs will be in the 50s for as far as the forecast will predict and at night the temps have been dipping into the 30s. Despite the chilly air, the sun has been blazing clean, clear, bright light. It's as if the wind comes in and moves all of the dirt and smog out of the way and then the rain follows up by giving the whole city a good wash. When I dare to get out of the house and run errands, it's as if all of Los Angeles is brand new: "How long has that majestic snow-capped mountain been there?" Rylie and I were driving through the neighborhood the other day and the giant hill was so vibrant green and looming crystal clear that Rylie shouted, "Look at that mountain, right there!" Each evening, I run out into the frigid wind, slipper footed with my camera in hand to try and capture the way the sky feels. Rylie follows behind in shirts too thin for the cold and we scurry back inside after a few snaps. The shots above have not been doctored at all, the sky really has looked just like this the last few evenings. I can't wait until tonight. 

This really is my favorite time of year weatherwise in LA. Midwinter feels very much like early fall in the Midwest, maybe that's why. The leaves are swirling, all the people and doggies on the sidewalk are bundled, and the days are short allowing plenty of long nights for sitting on the couch watching Downton Abbey and knitting socks. Speaking of which, I made a winter morning drive over to my new favorite yarn shop today and picked up some sock yarn to try my hand at these Turkish Bedsocks. I bought shi bui staccato fingering weight in the jackie colorway because it matches my new bedroom set which is made with a brown grey wood matched with yellow striped sheets. In my book, it's pretty important that your bedsocks match your bed. While I was at said yarn shop, I ran into this MadelineTosh sock yarn in the turtle colorway and even though I have never knitted a pair of adult sized socks, I thought I'd buy enough yarn to knit 2 pair! There is no way I could pass it up though. I tell you what, MadelineTosh yarn is beautiful. The colors, my goodness! They've got my number for sure! But I don't think I will be using it for socks, I am pretty sure that the minute I finish my bedsocks I will be jumping straight to this jacket for Rylie. But we'll see, I've been known to change my mind.

As I've mentioned a bit here and there we are in the midst of a pretty major redecorating and reorganizing project. We have a garage sale scheduled next weekend so we've been purging from all corners of our house and focusing on getting our spaces to fit our needs more efficiently. It's amazing how fast stuff accrues when you have a little one. It feels wonderful to lighten up like this even if it usually involves a lot of swearing, shaking of heads, and fantasies of becoming tidy neat freaks. Yeah right, who are we kidding?

Snowy Getaway

We were lucky enough to turn over the new year in the mountains with our dear friends Mandy, Griff and Fauna. We spent New Year's together last year in the same, most magical, of places. I am hopeful that this could become a very special tradition for our families. Oh, I hope so, I really really do. We also snuck in a trip for St. patrick's Day last year, too. We love it so, and it is relatively close to the city. It was warm when we left LA, but as we approached the mountains, the clouds kept piling up on top of each other and the lazy hazy fog appeared that could only mean one thing: SNOW!! Our hopes and wishes of the past few days were gloriously granted.


It wasn't long before we saw kids and adults alike taking advantage of all of that snowy goodness. This particular hill was so steep and icy, I was very happy to whizz by as an onlooker from my toasty warm heated seat.

Pine Mountain Club is a private community nestled in the Los Padres National Forest in a deep valley on the San Andreas fault. It is a sleepy place of beauty, filled with vacation homes for rent and surrounded by mountains. Unlike other mountain communities in Southern California, PMC is not a mecca for winter holidayers from the city. That is why we like it, it is quiet, like really quiet (like the town's two restaurants are closed on New Year's Eve, quiet.)


We arrived at our very well-appointed rental just in time for lunch. 

After lunch there were puzzles to do, birds to watch, books to read . . .

and I sat and knit knit knitted my head off as I had a hat to finish.

After all of that fresh snow had fallen we had to get out and play regardless of what time the clock said.

In the morning when the static electricity has wreaked havoc on your already infamous bedhead . . .

. . . it's really nice if you can have your best friend there to tame it for you.

If it still doesn't calm after all that fuss, you can alwyas pull on your new hat!

After more snow play, our New Year's Eve was filled with cake-baking, spoon-licking, castle-building, book-reading, fire-making, teddy bear-carrying, and game-playing. We said goodbye to 2012 doing all of our favorite things with our favorite people. Perfection.

On New Year's Day, we went up up up to the very top of the big mountain wrapped in all of our warmest woollens and sleds in tow. It was cold up there, but filled with people young and old playing together. So many sweet sights as we climbed the mountain: tiny dogs in even tinier Scandinavian ski sweaters, tailgaters cooking food on barbecues that they hauled all the way to the top, cozy clad children sipping warm mugs of soup, fresh families hugging fresh snowmen. So many people taking advantage of the holiday and starting the year off with such fun.

I honestly could not have imagined a more picturesque, storybook setting to play, sled, and explore. We made our way through the snow on the top of the mountain and took in breathtaking views that surrounded us on all sides - ancient Ponderosa Pines, and lichen covered rocks. 

If you are wondering the perfect way to end an enchanting little respite in the mountains with your most wonderful of friends, the answer is with a moustache party (of course!)

 

***************************** HAPPY NEW YEAR *******************************

I Finished It!

I did it! I did it! I finished the Christmas dress that I set out to make for Rylie on December 5th. It was a breath-holding, heart-pumping, sweaty race to the finish as I was attaching the buttons minutes before we stepped out to attend our Christmas Eve concert downtown. And to let you in on a little secret, I did not finish the neck the way that the pattern was written, in fact I kept the scrap yarn cast on and just went with it (it was red too.) I'm learning that I kind of like these funky details (mistakes, accidents) that are happening in my knitting lately. I like to think it adds charm and an indication of my skill level at this moment in time. But besides the messy bits, I love this dress! I mean, I really really love it. When I began I didn't quite expect to finish, but I thought: What the heck, I should give it a go! I think that is a nice thought for the New Year, too; the notion of starting things that seem too challenging or projects that cause a little friction in my brain. I think that giddy nervousness experienced when your not sure if you can do it or not is a good thing. This dress was born because I was curious to see if I could do it, if I had it in me, because I could not stop thinking WHAT IF. I have a note on my computer desktop that says: Surprise Yourself, and for the first time in a very long time I can tell you that I have done just that. Thank you for indulging this verbose pat on my own back, but I kind of just want to really take it in right now. As someone who historically is a bit hard on myself, a bit too self-critical, I want to kind of enjoy this moment of pleasant surprise in my skill and ability to meet an ambitious deadline. That's not to say that I was not up every night in December until the wee hours, nor that there were not mistakes. Oh, there were plenty, like when I knit half the sleeve on the wrong side, or when I did not order enough yarn -three different times! No kidding, but that is all part of the story, that is the narrative of this particular luscious jeweled pomegranate of a dress. I think this is quite a nice tradition - to knit dear Rylie's Christmas dress each year. It's only December 27th, I have an entire year to get the next one done. I also want to mention that my incredible man of a husband showed me unparalleled supprt in this endeavor. He ran to the yarn salon to get me more yarn when the aforementioned paltry supply ran out. Had he not done this I would not have made it to the finish line and he also wrapped a lot of presents and took one little toddler on many a Christmas errand so mama could focus on the really tricky parts. Oh, and not only is he super supportive and consistently garners very high marks on the awesomeness scale - the man also knows his yarn! I mean he really really does. He bought me a couple of skeins of Madelinetosh Vintage, hand-dyed, worsted weight, 100% merino wool in the most gorgeous of all colors - a glow of gold called Candlewick. It was exactly what I needed to start on this little gnome hat for Rylie. I am trying to get it done in time for our trip to the mountains in a few days - because, as I  am finding out, a hard deadline is just what I need to get my motor running.

Holiday Making (and Baking)

Well, it has been quite the flurry of hoilday goodness around here. I pulled Rylie's Advent activities together on December 1, because there is nothing like waiting until the last minute. During the entire month of November, I was contemplating if I wanted to attempt it or not, it wasn't until December 1 that I got a clear idea of what I wanted to do. Largely inspired by this post, I thought that fun activities both big and small would be a great way to fill our days leading up to Christmas. That way we are not filling our already brimming space with more stuff, and we get the fun of working on projects together. Here is what we've done so far and what we are planning to do in the next few weeks. I play parent perogative if I need to do a last minute switcheroo based on the rhythm of the particular day. I figure I have a few years yet until Rylie fully catches on to the concept :

December 1 - Make hot chocolate with all the fixins
December 2 - Get Christmas tree and decorate
December 3 - Make cookies
December 4 - Make salt dough ornaments
December 5 - Make snowflakes
December 6 - Downtown Christmas tree lighting
December 7 - Go out for sushi
December 8 - Hanukkah begins! Latkes and applesauce for dinner
December 9 - Use puppets for a bedtime story
December 10 - Indoor picnic
Decemebr 11 - Make gifts for Grandma & Grandpa
December 12 - String popcorn
December 13 - Holiday boogie with friends
December 14 - Wrap a toy and donate to charity
December 15 - Fancy dress for dinner
December 16 - Handmade gift tags
December 17 - Ice skating after dark
December 18 - Make gingerbread houses
December 19 - Make ice cream snowmen
December 20 - Christmas movie with popcorn
December 21 - Go out for a Christmas treat
December 22 - Go see Christmas lights
December 23 - Take a bubble bath
December 24 - Christmas Eve concert with friends

In other making news, I saw this and just could not help myself. As someone who hoards fabric, yarn and anything else useful for making stuff, it was extremely satisfying to put some of my scraps to good use. I went back to the thrift store last week and walked away with a much more respectable haul of yarn, after they had brought out more of their stock from the back. I got this chunky, variegated ropey wool that worked perfectly.

And in a fit of inspiration I began knitting a Christmas dress for Rylie last week after my initial visit to the yarn stockpile. I promptly went home, downloaded this pattern and began knitting with the one skein of Blue Sky Alpaca sport weight I had on hand and ordered more straight away. For some reason I didn't read the pattern though because I didn't order enough and I will definitely need to get more as this dress is EXTREMELY full! Like 332 stitches per row!! I have been burning the midnight oil on this one, knitting stitch by stitch into the wee hours in hopes that I can finish it by Christmas Eve at the very latest. The largest size on the pattern is 9 -12 months and Rylie is 29 months, but no bother. She is petite and last week I had her in a dress that was 3-6 months! I figure that she may be able to wear at as a sweater instead of a dress if it is too short, and it is so full, it really ought to fit. Fingers crossed . . . 

Oh, and those washi egg ornaments! Aren't they so pretty? My neighbor's mom, an expert washi egg maker, offered to teach me how to make one and I replied, "Yes, please!" They are delicate hollowed out eggs that you glue thin rice paper to and add a string and varnish. I felt a bit like a cartoon version of myself with massive and mostly uncoordinatd hands, but Nancy was full of grace and gentle guidance. She even sent me home with more hollowed out eggs and paper all ready to make more. And you know I will.

Rylie's Baby Blanket

I knit a blanket! A blanket! A whole (baby) blanket! This was a straight easy knit, just row after row, but that does not make it any less satisfying to have it completed, even if Rylie is well into her third year. I wrote a bit about what brought me to knit Rylie a blanket a while ago. I love the way it came out. I dug into my stash and knit and knit, not even paying attention to details like waiting until the end of the row to change yarn colors - who can be bothered with such fuss? No, not me. Instead, I switched yarns right in the middle of the row and I think it is rather charming that way. I didn't plan for this per se, it was more my dogged determination to use every last bit of my yarn. I can imagine when Rylie grows up and pulls this blanket from a box, those little quirks will make her smile or laugh out loud, either way, I'm pretty proud right about now. It is fun to breakthrough my knitting comfort zone like I did when I knit her a sweater.

I went to the thrift shop that I mentioned on Monday and there were boxes and boxes of picked over novelty yarn stuff. When I asked the manager if she had more in the back she said yes but that she was only putting out a small amount at a time lest it all get snarled into a big yarny mess. I told her that I would really love to see the rest of it and she held tight to her rationing strategy. I did get a few skeins though. One of which is the perfect shade of dark cranberry red. I bought this pattern and I am going to attempt to have it done in time for Christmas for Rylie. I need to stop typing and cast on for crying out loud. I am thinking as I write this that it may be wise to have a second dress on back up just in case. Not sure, Sometimes the absence of a safety net is an awfully effective motivator (and anxiety producer.)

And what does Rylie think? Well, she is in the unique position to have the opportunity to verbally express her opinion of her own baby blanket. She says, "Mom made that," and then promptly pulls it off her bed and gets to jumping!  


I'm linking up for Ginny's Yarn Along and sharing what is on my nightstand. I feel that Rylie's blanket project has come full circle since I originally bought the yarn with the intention of crocheting a baby blanket when I was pregnant, but as you may recall that was sort of a dismal experience. But I've held on to that desire to learn to crochet and picked up this book because I think it will be a good foundation. So far it seems the only thing that knitting and crochet have in common is yarn and needles! Oh brother, wish me luck!

And Finally, A Baby Blanket

Can I still knit a baby blanket for Rylie even though she is no longer a baby and has just jumped out of the bathtub, running to me all on her own as I write this? Hmmm... well, since baby blankets serve primarily as heirlooms and their functional aspects are rather void here in Southern California, I think I will go ahead with it and reminisce about when my girl was a tiny one. Way back when I was pregnant, I bought a bunch of yarn to crochet a baby blanket. Nevermind that I do not know how to crochet, that was just a pesky detail. Lo and beold my first attempts at crochet looked something like this. I put that yarn away so fast, there was no way I had the clarity of mind to learn to crochet at 9 months pregnant. Now and again, Ihave busted into the stash for other baby projects, here, here and here. But I have never gotten the gumption to jump into an entire blanket. I mentally filed this post away and thought it would be an easy blanket to knit, though it would take a while. This past weekend I did just that and began knitting away. The knitting is easy, the kind you can do while waiting for oatmeal to cook or at really long stoplights (no joke.) Here are the other colors I am going to mix in. Just one big thick chunky stripe after another, I quite like that the blanket is at once bold, simple and feminine. Linking up for Ginny's Yarn Along from last week. I have breezed through The Four Agreements after picking it up at the library on Friday. It's been around a little while, I think it was written in the late 90s, but I have never read it until now. I'm not sure why it has never come to my attention before. It is clear, concise and powerful. Sometimes I feel like I really just need things spelled out for me in regards to positive habits, and that is exactly how this book is written. A super fast and profound read.