Patience

 

I have it and I don't have it. 


I don't know how I can sit for 10 hours doing one thing and be mad when somene  is 10 minutes late. I'm usually fine waiting in lines, but I can't stand chatting with the clerk. I can have patience teaching someone for the first time... but not if I've showed them already. 

 

I've decided blankets are a good tool to practice patience.

 

This blanket got me through a long, cold, dark and lonely winter of living alone. I loved it and I love it. 
I used soooooooooo much scrap yarns for this so who knows how many skeins total. I started last winter watching all of the available Downton Abbey episodes, which ran out waaay before my knitting did!
Projects like these are so great for passing time. I looked forward to banging out a few squares each night and paring up fresh colors each time. No two are the same... but I'm sure someday a child will prove me wrong.
I took the time to sew as I went, trying to get rid of all the ends and make strips so the final "sewing up" wouldn't be so daunting. It was still pretty daunting, but it just took a dreary winter day (the following year) to get re-inspired to finish. (Or more likely, bored with all my other endeavors.)
When I started, I had NO bleeeeeping clue I'd have my own yarn store in which to find the perfect border yarn: Manos del Uruguay's Maxima in the color acid. Yeah. It's the best. I also made a sweater out of it. It's probably not the last thing either,  I love the color so hard.
I don't know who will be the recipient of this blanket... a future child maybe? That's what I was thinking when I started. Hopefully it'll be my child, should I be so lucky, but who knows? It's kind of a strange size, bigger than a crib but not quite a twin or lap blanket. Well... it fits my extra long lap perfectly as long as no one wants to share... which is fine, because there's another long, cold, dark and lonely winter of living alone ahead and I need something to cover me for a bit until this winters blanket gets a little bigger.
I'll show you that one next year.

 

 

 

My new home!

In January I moved into a new house. A tiny little house that's basically just two rooms, stacked on top of each other. It's small, but amazingly, fits all the stuff I need. Plus, it's a short walk from the cafe, the dance studio, the food co-op, the hair salon, the dentist, the book store, the library, the grange hall (where the farmers market and community musical rehearsals are), the hardware store, the art supply store and the community garden. Phew. Main street could still use a few more stores, but for now it serves me well. I'm super close to the lake too! It's nice to get local eggs around the corner. And a latte. As far as small town Maine goes, I'm pretty lucky!

I sit in this chair to knit, rug hook and quilt. I often have to wrestle it away from my fur ball, Louis. Often, we can compromise and just share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The kitchen features a tiny gas stove (rare in Maine) and a moveable table. I love this. I can use it to help cook, eat or cut fabric. After getting to work in a huge studio for a while, the smaller space takes a bit of getting used to. I actually have to pick up when I'm done or else I'll have a side of thread with breakfast! I can't really work or store on anything too gigantic,  but I can move the table at least, to make a quilt sandwich.

Upstairs is my bedroom, a tiny office alcove(behind the orange partition) and my bathroom, which has the best shower ever! It also has open shelving, so I decided to get some tins at the flea market to hide away my 'less pretty' toiletries.

 

Where I sew...

plus a washer & dryer!!

 

Some experimental things I've been making for a show in May

Recent YarnPlay Projects for Lion Brand

Ok, so I'm WAY behind in posting these... but here they are nonetheless! Thanks again to Emily for such great photos!

Woven Place Mats:Click photo for how to instructions.

I love this yellow/pink pattern. I made a *mistake* but it turned out to be a pretty pattern, so I went with it.

 

Gift Wrapping Ideas:

Click photo for how to instructions

Click photo for how-to instructions

 

Yarnplay Newsletter

It's been a long time since I last posted. Guess I've been busy dancing, enjoying spring and turning 30! Woah baby. It's a whole new decade and I don't mind it one bit!

I've been working on designing new projects, mostly  simple and fresh ideas for a newsletter called Yarnplay, put out by Lion Brand.

You can sign up for the yarnplay newsletter here and be sure to get the new projects hot off the press!

View all the yarnplay patterns here. They're FREE!!

This month I designed knit & crochet jewelry frames, shown here, that would be a perfect Mother's Day gift. (Or gift to yourself!) Last month I did a cool blanket that folds into a pillow and a funky steering wheel cover...aka, projects for the car!

Very cute and springy ideas are coming up in the next issues, so stay tuned!!

Mom's Handmade Holiday

My mom got all handmade gifts from me this year...

 

The Oragami Organizer from One Skein Wonders

 

The "Not-Ugly Car Trash Bag" also from One Skein Wonders

 

A chair cover of my own design

The chair before:

 

And finally, the Praying Mantis from Amigurumi Knits

Look closely...

Can you spy the awesome, Mod podge Magnum PI container I made mom for her birthday in 1987? Not bad for a seven year old!! Of course, my Aunt Wilma did help. On the back I wrote a very inspirational birthday message: "Have a Happy Time!"  surrounded by rainbows. I love that Magnum still has a special spot in mom's room, now joined by a much creepier gift!

 

 



New Project: Quilt Restoration

Thank goodness for friends of your mom who cast off treasures like this:

A finished quilt top in need of a little love... Oh bliss! I love quilts that are mostly white with all these cute little pattern pieces. Now I can get right to my favorite part which is hand quilting the layers together.

First I'm going to iron the top piece so that all the petals are flat and take out the old ties. Then I'll get some cotton batting to make the 'sandwich' with the backing fabric. I haven't quite decided about the backing fabric yet. Should I go simple and get a nice quality, whole cloth back that's just white? Should I get a cute little patterned fabric, like flowers or polka dots? Or should I piece together a back using the old fabrics I have downstairs at my moms house? Part of me thinks that piecing the back together would be the most resourceful, 'quilterly' and congruent with the style already set forth. There aren't too many non-cotton fabrics, so I don't think the maker was cutting up old shirts and dresses or anything! I'm not sure if these are feed-sack fabrics, but they certainly point that way. Perhaps she got a bag of scraps from the fabric store?

I think I'll investigate the fabrics downstairs first, to see if any would match, then go from there. I also want to add borders on all sides of the quilt top, since the motifs are currently quite close to the edges. I don't want anything too distracting though, no patterns. I would go with white, but trying to match the current color would be impossible and would probably look terrible. So I'm thinking a subtle, muted solid color like a light green, gold or coral. Something unusual to satisfy the artist in me. This is so exciting!

I plan to quilt around the outside of each motif and at the same time, tack down any loose tips. This is probably not the 'right' way of doing it, but I thought it would conserve time and thread. If I'm going to be going around anyway... why spend hours tacking down loose tips before hand? Not to mention tying all those knots?

Any suggestions for what I should do in the center of the flowers?

What I made today

Ok, so to be honest,it's what I made today and yesterday. Mostly yesterday, I just ran out of light to photograph.

I was inspired by this post by Wren Handmade, guest blogging on Design*Sponge, to make fabric yo-yos. I actually made a bunch for a recent sweater design which I can't show yet, but here are some that I grouped together for a necklace. The pink fabric is from a vintage slip and the striped is a yummy silk taffeta. I like adding tiny buttons, especially in groups of three, to spice things up. I pulled out all the stops here, using buttons and fabric I've been hanging onto for a long time, but I'm glad, because it makes the new pieces feel like little treasure chests.

This post by Love Forever, along with the latest Anthropologie catalog showing(see necklaces below) inspired me to make my own version of a collar necklace.

Bit's of lace, many buttons, knit coral, chain, a locket, beads, yo-yo, embroidery... so again, a treasure trove of things I had lying around just waiting for a home.... all atop a piece of wool felt tied with vintage, silk seam binding.

 

 

 

Check out the awesome sloppy seems on the curtain I made! SO obvious with the sun behind them. I'm just not a perfectionist when it comes to sewing. I get started and blaze on through like a tornado. It's a little silly, but usually if you see me sewing, I'm procrastinating. Any "tiny sewing project" quickly turns into a major undertaking, so I just want to "Get er done!"

 

Also, here's a little buddy who'll be joining me at the flea market tomorrow. I found his unfinished form when moving into my studio, so I decided to finish him... or her? Her legs are quite long. Perfect for hopping!

 

 

Life...

In my new studio...

 

Clipboard inspiration boards. I think I'll hang three more, since you just have the clip on the top, it limits how much you can hang on each without covering up what you want to see. I kind of like that though, because I tend to veer from the minimalist pursuasion and it's nice here to have less.

Figs, goat cheese and honey for lunch 

It's nice to have time for frothed milk in my iced coffee...

 

 

New Office, New Job

Well sort of. It's more like the same "job" I''ve had all along, just more of it!

This month I've decided to take myself a bit more seriously. That is, what I make, sell, design, build, think... etc. The great thing is that I now have a beautiful room to do it in! Finally!! The biggest challenge is to do the administrative, computery things that actually make the dollars. Like, I need to make a new business card, I need to find new stores to carry my work, I need to post more on ETSY, but I also need to think of new things to make!

As a maker or more speciffically, a seller of handmade things, I often get stuck in a rut. It's important to clarify because I find there's no shortage of creativity for home/personal projects, perhaps because they are a wonderful source of procrastination, but it's different thinking about things to sell. I want everything to be special and one of a kind because I feel it's important, yet, I also don't want to slave away on each item so I can sell it for a reasonable price. (Note to buyers of handmade things: please don't haggle! We crafters already WAY undersell and while we'll probably agree, that two or three dollars you save directly translates to one can of beans we then can't afford to buy. It's not like we have 401k or anything here!) While I want each item to be unique, I also want them to be similar enough to fit into my overall aesthetic or brand. And then there are the things that just always sell well not matter what... but I get tired of making them!

I didn't go to business school. I don't know the "rules" for making major dollars (obviously) but I do know this: my best selling days occur when I am actually inspired. When I've had a great week of making and bring to the table, literally, new and never before seen products that excite me. Sometimes I halfheartedly make and think, "Oh, there's totally a girl who would buy this." And maybe she does. But the best is when I finish something and love it so much that I almost don't want to sell it. Then I get the customer who paces by the table three times, has obvious exclamation points at the end of their sentences and look SO giddy tucking their new thing into their bag. The whole day of selling can be just about that.

I have to remind myself, constantly, about this. To stick to my guns and invest in myself. To sit and really think about what I would like and then make it, because that is what people buy. Not that I have some amazing product that the world couldn't live without. Not that I'm some authority on fashion or anything and I think people should listen to me. I just think our minds have certain tendencies for a reason. Crafting and making comes so naturally to me that I forget other people are not as inclined or capable. I don't want to sound proud or braggy, I just think there's a time in your life where you have to claim your expertise and roll with it. I'm tired of being caught in my own personal inner limbo between wanting a much easier, "real" job and what I know to be true of myself... that I can do this.

Bureau before

Bureau After

Wall before

Getting organized is a little messy!

Elfa Shelves!!

A whole box just for sticky stuff!

Louis helps

Rainy Day Obsession: Headboards

So it's a rainy day and I should really be resting because I've got a cold and need to get better fast but all I can think about is where I'd rather be resting and searching for headboards of my dreams... I mean... le *sigh

Grahm and Green

 

 

Little Purl of the Orient

Apartment Therapy

Part of me thinks I could totally rock this...

Ebay!!

 

As seen on decor8