Getting crafty

I used to make things all the time - gifts for friends and family, decor, cards, ornaments. But as life gets busier I've found that, aside from my knitting (which I can take with me just about anywhere and which has become a social activity thanks to my K&S gals), I don't make very much. Which is why I totally knocked my own socks off this weekend with our Christmas tree, our 2008 ornament, and a much needed tree-topper in the form of a Moravian paper star. The star amazed me the most because I went from cardboard and a compass to this great symmetrical 3-d pointy thing in about 2 hours.

Our 2008 Ornament

Paper star


I'll just say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that I haven't lost my multimedia craft skills. Having my new craft room to work in didn't hurt!

(pics to come just as soon as I find that darn camera cord)

baby sizes

I think I underestimate the size of babies. This little sweater turned out a bit on the small side, but I still love it. I think I need to abandon the "newborn" size in any and all patterns, given my propensity for knitting on the tight side.

I'm sure a little teddy bear will be very happy in it!

House update

We've officially been in residence for three weeks as of last night, but we were still moving stuff for a week after that, and have only had the internet setup here since Tuesday. SO... I'm finally settled enough and connected enough to post about our new house!

The house is in great shape thanks to the sellers having done many, many updates [thank you!], but we had three major projects to do right away: refinish the hardwood floors on the first floor, convert a third floor bedroom into a media room / theater, and fix up my second floor office.

The finish on the floors had clouded, and the walnut and oak had faded and darkened to almost the same color--such that you could hardly see the detailed borders. So, we were really excited when the first pass of the sander revealed gorgeous contrast. The floors turned out really well, and I have no second thoughts about hiring a professional rather than trying to do it ourselves.

Border: Before & After


Detail of a worn corner, and the same corner from across the room after refinishing


Two weekends ago we primed and painted a third floor room, turning a turquoise bedroom into a cozy espresso and mocha colored media room. The look should be complete come Friday when the futon will be delivered... pics to follow!

My office is on deck with wallpaper arriving this week (bad plaster) and a ceiling that we'll hopefully paint tomorrow!

It's a hard life

So, I haven't posted much in the last month because I was out of the country on a whirlwind art historical tour of English country houses and their collections of paintings and objets d'art.

In sum: Forty-eight museum professionals from around the world, thirty houses (plus lectures and garden tours) all in eighteen days. And it all ended with an extremely nerdy "dress as your favorite work of art / architecture" costume bash!

Needless to say it was an amazing experience, and I'm still going through withdrawal. I am never allowed to complain about anything again, because I get to do things like this as part of my job (albeit with substantial effort put into the grant applications to make it possible).

I took about 2500 pictures, so I'm going to just try to highlight here.

Broughton Castle 14th-16th Century - Medieval and Elizabethan. Parts of of Shakespeare in Love were filmed here.

Hardwick Hall 16th Century. Elizabethan. Built by Bess of Hardwick in the 1590s after the death of her fourth husband.

Petworth 17th Century. Baroque. The most grand and bland facade in England (It used to have more decoration).

Chatsworth 17th-18th Century. Baroque. Home of the Dukes of Devonshire, this house masquerades as Mr. Darcy's Pemberly in the latest Pride & Prejudice movie.

Kedleston Hall 18th Century. Neoclassical. One of Robert Adam's earliest grand masterpieces.

Tyntesfield 19th Century. Gothic Revival. A mansion built by William "Guano Gibbs" who made a fortune in importing guano fertilizer from South America.

Wightwick 19th Century. Arts & Crafts. A cozy house built by a paint and varnish tycoon who married an American amusingly named Flora Paint.

I'll save the interiors, objects, and gardens for a future post!

Knitting drought

I guess I've gone through a little knitting drought (or at least a posting about knitting drought). I finished this Mission Falls 1824 cotton sunhat about a month ago, but it was on hold for a nice green I-cord tie. Instead, I decided to sew one, and I'm very happy with the result. If we're lucky, we might get a picture of the recipient modeling this on another blog *hint, hint*
Click Here

I spent the weekend making a whirlwind 24 hour trip home to see some family. My beloved 90 year old grandma has been battling an illness, and it's making me very sentimental. I snapped this photo of her downstairs bathroom cupboard. Inside are cardboard boxes containing toothbrushes for some of her 17 grand kids, still neatly stacked and labeled in Sharpie--as they've been for pretty much my entire life.

I love the familiar clutter of everyday things that we know will "always" be there. I had to capture this one before that "always" is no longer. I also love the smiley face on the mirror, which has been there since my hippie mother and her sister put it there decades ago.

And finally... a house!

After house hunting for nearly 2 years, we're finally buying a house! I'm not ready to post pics... but I'll say it has great historic charm and is right in our neighborhood. We're really excited. I can't wait to spread out into my new craft room!


(Okay... I'm still going to wait on a whole onslaught of interior pics until we actually close, but here's a lovely little view of the house from the street.)

New Life for an Old Dress

Since childhood I've been fascinated with the array of handmade dresses in my mother's closet--mostly from her hippie days in the late 60s (made out of paisley printed tablecloths and curtains) and from various weddings in the 1970s. Although she and I love them all dearly, most will never see the light of day again except at costume parties (hint-hint, someone host a party!). This dress, however, had vintage potential. I finally bit the bullet and removed the 70s flutter sleeves and wore the altered version to a museum opening last night.


My mother at her sister's wedding in 1976.


Me, in the dress about 3 weeks ago, before alterations.


Me, in the dress yesterday before heading to Oakland.

Love in the Desert

I spent last weekend in Arizona meeting a childhood friend's 14 week old. Here we are holding hands while he sleeps. He had a tight little grip on my pinky. His tummy would rise and fall so quickly with his breath. I guess little lungs have to work overtime.



We also went to Las Estrellas Park to visit a special cactus planted in memory of his big brother. I am always struck by the harsh beauty of the desert. At the end of the day, I crave my irises and the verdant green of spring, but I love that life finds a way to survive out here.

A touch of Spring

One good thing about having friends having babies is that a knitter is never short of projects. This is a little lightweight hat for an Easter baby. Who knows, maybe it will still fit when the fall winds begin to blow.

Sock Monkey tri-fold wallet

I designed this sock monkey wallet around a line of fabric from Purl called Funky Monkey. It's a simple design: 4 each of 3 sizes of rectangles plus some interfacing. I'll try to post the pattern when I get a chance. I fell in love with the sock-monkey-texture print and decided I had to use it as the lining. The lucky recipient was my 24-years-young-brother.

Old school clipping

I found this old cartoon when I was cleaning my desk. I think I've had it since about 1990. I had it taped on my childhood bedroom door along with a Ziggy cartoon and a photo of brain coral from a scuba magazine that said, "Who says you can't have brains AND beauty."
I decided to finally throw it away after digitally archiving it here. I know it's dumb, but it always made me laugh.

Flannel Baby Blanket

After a several week long delay due to a lack of matching thread for the machine embroidery (it wasn't the right brown!), I finally finished my flannel blanket for my friend's son Theo. The blanket is based on a pattern in Last Minute Patchwork Gifts. It's a single layer of flannel with a hand sewn binding (which took forever).


Wrapped up and Ready to Mail

Signature Block

A little sewing project

After eyeing these little frogs on the Purl Patchwork website for some time, I finally broke down and bought half a yard while I was in New York. I also bought a coordinating stripe. I'm planning on making a tote bag with the two, as well as a reversible bib for a friend's son.

Leaf lace in Merino wool

My mom loves nature, and she loves blue. So, I designed this leaf lace hat and matching scarf for her using Malabrigo's kettle dyed merino wool. I had a little trouble with the decreases on the hat (tried to chart them, but ug!). But, she loves it so much she'll never notice. :)