Reading nook

With the great spring weather, I've been spending most of my spare time outdoors. The garden and grounds have needed lots of work around here and we've been planting raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries like crazy. Fortunately, the spring also brought a new surge of energy for me. There was a corner of my house that has been filled with stacked boxes and picture frames since we moved in. It was a little-used area but also an eyesore where dust bunnies liked to hang out. Finally I transformed it into a peaceful and useful nook, with a little help in the babysitting department from my mother who is visiting.

This is the landing at the top of our stairs facing north northeast. I painted the wall in an accent color, and ended up custom mixing my paint to make it the right shade. Two coats later, it seemed just right. The farmhouse bench I built using plans from Knock-off Wood except mine is a smaller size to fit the landing or hallway. The curtain valance and pillow I created from a yard of this rich tapestry-like fabric that I had custom-ordered last year from Joann's for the downstairs bathroom. When I decided on a different fabric altogether for the downstairs bathroom, it left this lovely fabric folded and unloved in a plastic bag until now. Fortunately, it brings out the golds and reds in my oriental rug and gives the accent wall a golden rather than brown look. The fabric is so thick it didn't need to be lined and the valance is a simple rod pocket curtain without a ruffled header.

I finally got a pile of picture frames off the floor and on the wall. Some of them needed a pretty good dusting... A few are new frames all mixed and matched in white and gold awaiting pictures of future family events. The rug is a wool Chobi from Pakistan, meaning "like wood" in Farsi because of the dark earthen and woodsy colors typical of the style. Chobi rugs are among my favorite of the new oriental rug styles. They've only been imported into the US for about 15 years.

Here's the before picture, except beside those boxes jammed in the corner under the window, you have to also imagine a pile of framed pictures and artwork all stacked up and covered in dust. From cold chaos to warm calm. Ahhh. Next I tackle the office.

Summer dress

Lately my pirate-obsessed, karate loving, tree-climbing daughter has had a dress fetish. She decided to design a dress she liked based on this one hour sundress pattern. She helped select the fabric, the length of the dress, and where she wanted the ruffles.

I was surprised she wanted a dress so long but it's quite cute on her. She wore it today to play at the park with some capri leggings underneath and it held up without hindering her on the swings, slide or climbing wall. I will have to take in the shoulder straps though by about an inch on either side.

I guess the flowers on her dress aren't enough so she had to wear her flower lei as well. From an igloo also has this dress pattern that I hope to make for her sometime this year but without the buttons going down the back. I love the versatility of jumpers. I might make this jumper in corduroy so it can be a fall or winter dress with a turtle neck.

Hammock pillow

I recently purchased and installed a hammock. Really, what took me so long? This is a simple but important addition to our outdoor landscape and we'll enjoy many hours relaxing together in the hammock this spring and summer. I thought our hammock was missing something though, so I decided to make a pillow for it. The least expensive found online was about $40 but I could purchase a yard of all weather fabric for $13. When sewing for outdoor furniture, it's really important to choose one of the weather resistant fabrics. The fabric I chose is from Waverly's outdoor collection and many users before me had rated it very highly, saying that the fabric had withstood 1-2 years of being left outdoors without fading or mildewing. This was important to me because I'm not the type of person to run outdoors because it's about to rain to grab the hammock pillow...

The pillow is 16 x 32 and filled with polyester fiberfill, which I had lots of help stuffing into the pillow from the two rascals above! I made a small velcro strap for the back of the pillow to keep it on the hammock when there's wind.

My quality control department (see above) approved the pillow before it was put into use. With the small amount of leftover fabric, I made a lined bag that velcros onto the side of the hammock. We quickly discovered this can be useful to hold the contents of your pocket, sunglasses, a pacifier, or your empty popsicle stick...

Kai Sweater for William

My neighbor gave me a copy of Louisa Harding's book Natural Knits for Babies and Moms and I fell in love with this sweet cabled baby sweater. I didn't have time to make it during the winter for my little guy so I'm knitting him a spring/summer weight sweater instead in Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran yarn. I chose this color because it is an exact match to his sweet baby blue eyes.

The sweater turned out well, even if it did take me more than a month to seam the pieces together!
 But don't take my word for it, the little guy is in love with his new sweater too. The second I finished it he crawled over and snatched it up and wouldn't let go for pictures.

He wore his sweater this morning until the sun came out and made the day too warm for a sweater.

See how it perfectly matches his eyes? How sweet. I'm glad I knit it a little looser because the neck fits over his head very easily.

This will be my last knitted project for a while. It's time for me to get back to my sewing machine, which must be feeling left out at this point! Unless of course, I make Savannah a summer bolero to wear over her dresses and tank tops...

Red white and blue quilt

I finished my first Army Baby Quilt. I think it turned out well and I'm really looking forward to submitting it so it can find a good home.

The center blocks are a traditional log cabin style. I had cut the fabric strips last year to make these into a square log cabin table topper for my sister-in-law's 40th birthday, but my husband insisted she wouldn't like or use it. I was glad to finally get the blocks together and add borders and sashing until I met the 40" by 40" requested size for the Army Baby Quilts project.

I was undecided about the binding and after cutting a different binding on the bias and sewing the long strip together, I changed my mind and opted for the red and polka dots. Mmmm... I love polka dot bindings!

I wasn't sure how to sign it. That's one of the things I waiver on with charity quilts, but I still think signing my work is important. I want the baby to know it was made for them with love. Sometimes the kindness of a stranger can carry you a long way. At least, in my life I've found that to be true.

Of course, no quilt goes untested in this house! I put the finished work down so the kids could see it and William crawled right on and started touching the textured quilting and stars. Savannah joined with a love for her brother and the book she couldn't put down. Then again, who could put Charlotte's Web down?

Army Baby Quilts

Just in case you're looking for a quick quilting project and a way to give back to some of America's families who are most in need of support, Roberta Cerniglia from NY state is collecting quilts to distribute to moms who have babies while their husbands are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Quilts should be about 40" by 40" and in red, white and blue colors. More information can be found at Army Baby Quilts. 

I'm looking forward to contributing to this project. I like that the quilts are small for the babies, hence easy to make, and I love the idea of showing support for moms of our troops who have to go through one of the most important moments of their lives without their partner. I think this project is a great way to use quilting talents to support families who are most affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you have the time this year, please join me.

Toggle button scarf

We live in the part of the country that has been snowbound for a week now. During the Winter Olympics, I joined Raveolympics 2010 to try to complete the Kai Sweater for William from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits book.

The book was a gift from a neighbor while I was pregnant and I'm excited to finally have the chance to knit something from it. I decided to make the Kai sweater in a summer weight, but with all the snow, I've put William's lightweight sweater aside for the moment to complete a quick scarf he can wear today when I take him for a sled ride.

This was a stash-busting scarf, using up some more Caron Bliss yarn and some Moda Dea washable wool in chocolate brown. The combination of the two together is really nice - luxurious softness and warmth and strength.

Here it is as modeled by bear while William naps. Can't wait to see it on the little guy!

I held the two yarns together and cast on 12 stitches. Then I knit it all in garter stitch. To place the button hole, I bound off two stitches in the middle of the scarf. On the next row I knit one in front and in back of the two stitches in the middle of the scarf to bring the stitches count back up to 12 (from 10 for the button hole). Very simple! I wish I'd made myself one.

Flamingo scarf

My daughter really needed a new scarf and after returning from the white sands of Florida to the white snows of upstate New York, it seemed especially important. Inspired by a small group of flamingos I saw flying off the coast of St. Pete's Beach in various shades of pink, this is her flamingo scarf.

It is knit with two strands held together, both from leftover skeins that needed to be used up. One yarn is 100% cotton from Lily Yarns, the Sugar 'n Cream in strawberry. This is a variegated yarn that reminds me of the color variations in flamingos. The other yarn is Caron's Bliss in Cotton Candy, a supersoft blend that's hard to stop rubbing on your cheek (it's that soft!). I knit the scarf loosely in simple garter stitch, and with the two yarns held together, it made a great texture that I hadn't expected to like so much. When I asked Savannah if she liked it, she asked me if I would make her a blanket with the same yarn combination. And then she asked to sleep with it, which she did.

Unfortunately, this scarf was a stash-buster so I don't have any more yarn left! Although I'm not sure what I'd think of a bright pink blankie lying around the house. I'm already looking forward to the next project where I knit two yarns together and end up with a completely new outcome. The surprise is what makes it fun and unique.

First quilt

How old do you think you have to be to learn how to quilt? My five-year-old daughter recently took a two morning class offered by a local quilter and learned to make her first quilt from a drawing she brought to class. What do you imagine a sweet girl of five would want to quilt - a flower, a heart, a pony, something for her dolls perhaps? Not my daughter.

She only wanted to quilt the Jolly Roger, a pirate's pride and joy to hoist the colors right before attacking another ship ripe for plunder...argh! She cut out the fabric pieces herself and had some help sewing them in place although she was seated in front of the sewing machine for that part. She didn't handle the iron thank goodness but everything she did herself or had some help doing herself. I'm impressed! I'm not sure if my first quilt at 20 something came out that well.

At least for all her pirate plundering ambitions she can still say "Thank you" sweetly by helping me make the quilted card she designed. This card is to thank the patient lady who taught her how to make her first quilt.  There is always room for another quilter in the house.

New and blue redux

Once was not enough. After ALL of my laundry was clean, I found two more white dishtowels that seemed naked after embellishing their sisters. So I used up some of my last blue scraps of china blue fabric getting these fit for my kitchen.

Up close this one is my favorite spots because by chance the scrap square matched the fabric below it exactly - the circle is complete. From far away, I still prefer the plain single fabric towel best.

Next perhaps I'll patch together a pair of oven mitts.