Bibliosophy Books

Moving

2009-06-18T11:46:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm experimenting with my blog in Typepad, so you can meet me over there at http://bibliosophybooks.typepad.com. I hope you can change the address in your bookmarks and come visit at the new home!

Bley

Strawberry Jam or Bust

2009-06-15T19:27:00.004-04:00

It was almost a bust. My very first canning experience, with strawberry jam and I was working against the clock and against Baby's naptime. In the canning directions, they constantly emphasize that you need to move *quickly* italicized, which raised my blood pressure because even the letters look like they're running! It was pretty fun, not as complicated and serious as the instructions made it seem, and I was feeling confident until my jars came out of the water bath. Those of you have canned before know that the true measure of success is the popping sound you hear once they come out of the water to let you know the jars have sealed properly. The first jar popped after about a minute, and I thought jars 2, 3, and 4 might be a loss, but no, after about 10 more minutes I heard a second pop, while I was nursing Baby and got so excited that he stopped eating to look at me with big eyes like I was losing it! (Sorry, run-on sentence...) Then he started laughing at silly Mommy. In the end, all four sealed properly, and we've already gone through almost a pint of strawberry jam, yum! What a fun experience, and I am looking forward to canning tomato sauce in the fall, and of teaching Baby about canning science in years to come. If anyone has some great recipes you use for canning, pass them on to me please!

Green Goodness

2009-06-08T13:10:00.006-04:00

I've become fond of various shades of green this year; in my garden and my fiber choices. This lovely peppermint green yarn, Koigu KPM from Loop Yarn in Philly, is destined to be Glee, designed by Zephyr Style. It's a top down knit, with a small gauge, and the yarn is luscious, and such a treat to knit with.

My basil, a little darker green, but still with a hint of spring about it, became a very simple pesto, for pairing with pastas and salads throughout the summer. I'm quite pleased with my harvest so far, and doing my best to keep all the shades of green in my garden from going brown!

Belated

2009-06-02T13:22:00.005-04:00

I'm catching up a little bit posting projects from the spring. This is an apron I made from a vintage tablecloth. Using the vintage linen was pretty tricky, because there were stains in a lot of areas, but they were light stains, so in the end I decided to just ignore them because the fabric was too beautiful not to use.

I have more of the tablecloth and plan to make another apron for my SIL; it was her grandmother's tablecloth.

squirmy

2009-06-01T20:10:00.008-04:00

Is "squirmy" a word? Not sure, but my little guy was thwarting all attempts at pictures this morning in his new Oliver and S playsuit. (You can see how interested he was in the camera, though.)

This cute striped fabric I got super-cheap, the piping was a remnant from an apron, and the buttons are vintage, from my collection. Perfect for an 87 degree day here in the humid Midwest. And it's only June 1st! We're having some portraits taken in July; I'm leaving frame-able pictures to the professionals, at least until he's a little older!

I wasn't an art history major for nothing

2009-05-26T09:00:00.005-04:00

DH and I are somewhat wary of all the baby toys out there; we neither want to clutter our house with a bunch of stuff, nor give our baby things that will overstimulate him. So, I've been making some simple toys, including these art cards. We've learned that Baby loves to look at pictures and "read" books, so I made him a set of laminated cards of great art. This is the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist set; perhaps there will be some Renaissance and ancient art in years to come! Baby seems to like them, although his greatest interest in them right now is to try to eat them:)

Garden Starts

2009-05-24T13:40:00.004-04:00

I'm trying again with some modest vegetable gardening this year. Everything always grows really well for me until about mid-July when it gets really hot, and I forget to water everyday:) I love the spring greens and purples in these mixed salad starts, and hope to enjoy the tender leaves throughout in our summer salads.

(Plus, I need to start being a more successful vegetable mama so I can teach my little boy about growing things.)

Origami Birds Quilt

2009-05-12T20:57:00.003-04:00

When it comes to quilting, I am an amateur. I don't really know how to quilt, so I don't realize that some things are too difficult for me, a beginner, to attempt. Instead, I jump right in, and then have to fix whatever mistakes come with unknown territory, and unacquired skills. This is the finished baby quilt for my soon-to-be neice, and I am happy with how it turned out. As I pieced the bird blocks, I sewed 1/8" seams. Once I got the top together, some of those small seams were starting to come apart. I took it into the local quilt shop for some help, and they sold me this great invisible thread. It is clear nylon, and worked like a charm for zigzagging over the offending seams for reinforcement. While I was there, they asked me if I had paper-pieced the birds. Paper pieced, what? I guess this is one more thing to add to my list of things to learn!

Oliver + S Playsuit

2009-04-27T16:43:00.004-04:00

There are not many cute boy patterns out there these days, but some of the cutest ones can be found at Oliver + S. I'm making a series of these little playsuits for summer to keep Baby cool and free his knees for crawling! The print on this playsuit is "Robotic" by Alexander Henry in honor of his science-minded dad.

More Summer Sewing

2009-04-23T10:59:00.006-04:00

This is another version of the Anna Tunic, this time in the minidress style, to wear with leggings. The buttons at the shoulders are fabric-covered and work perfectly for nursing.

One thing I've discovered about Amy Butler patterns is that there is not enough ease under the arms. For the size small in the Anna Tunic, I had to cut deeper armholes to make it comfortable. With this small adjustment, it fits great. Perhaps this will become my uniform for summer!

Sale at Indygo Junction

2009-04-21T20:11:00.001-04:00

The wonderfully creative people at Indygo Junction are having a pattern sale; yippee! Until April 23rd at midnight, if you buy two patterns you get one free. There are several I have my eye on, including the Day Shift Dress.

Vintage Linen Apron

2009-04-21T20:01:00.003-04:00

Val sent me this beautiful apron made from vintage linens. It is so clever what she did: she folded a beautiful linen table runner with lace trim on the bias, enclosing pink vintage blanket binding for the ties. The pocket is made of a piece of vintage embroidery, and the pink button is for attaching the sweet hand towel she sent me. This apron is so perfect for me; thanks Val! She is so kind, she also included all kinds of other treats for me and Baby.

My little boy has been under the weather and unhappy the last few days or I would have gotten this up sooner; my apologies Val.

Over the Top Tunic

2009-04-14T10:31:00.003-04:00

Here's my first version of the Over the Top Tunic from Indygo Junction. It's another piece for my summer wardrobe, and should be perfect for nursing with the deep V-neck. The fabric I used is from the Erin McMorris Park Slope collection, and has little birdies on a deep teal background. With some leggings and a cami, this should be about perfect for summer!

Baby's Easter Bonnet

2009-04-13T20:26:00.003-04:00

You know how in the movie Easter Parade, Judy Garland and Fred Astaire get new Easter hats for the parade? I like to think of this sweater with hood as Baby's Easter bonnet. Having a boy makes Easter outfits a little trickier, but I think I will knit him a new sweater for Easter each year. This little hoodie is from designer Anny Purls, who has two little boys of her own, and she designs some of the cutest things suitable for boys. The blue marled yarn is wool, next year I think it will have to be cotton, as Baby lasted about 20 minutes in it before fussing from heat. Just about long enough to get a couple of pictures!

Summer Sewing

2009-04-09T14:29:00.006-04:00

I've embarked on a mission to sew some new clothes for Baby and I for this summer. Mainly because I haven't seen much I like in the shops, but also because we have a lot of specific requirements: must be very cool so we don't get too hot, must be accessible for diaper changes, must be accessible for nursing, and must look good! Needless to say, patterns that meet all such requirements are hard to come by, so I'm trying my hand at adapting some to suit our purposes. This first project is the Amy Butler Anna Tunic Dress, with buttons on both shoulders instead of at the back, for nursing.

This dress is very baggy, so I had to make some adjustments so I don't look pregnant! Overall though, it's a good start, and should keep me pretty cool in a light seersucker. The pink buttons on the shoulders are vintage, and hopefully they will promote easy access for nursing. We'll see. What patterns are you liking for the summer?

My Swap

2009-04-03T11:58:00.002-04:00

I received this lovely package from Mary who participated in my swap. She created a neat fabric basket for me to hold my knitting in, complete with some new yarns. And she gave me an amigurimi book for little animals, perfect toys for the little guy someday. And, to top it all off, a wonderful smelling pound of Starbucks coffee, with a great new mug to go with it! Thank you so much Mary!

Butler Bags

2009-04-01T13:11:00.007-04:00

Here are the two Amy Butler bags I made while Grandma was here. One of the many ways my mom enriches my life is by helping me stop and consider things I may usually pass over. So it was with these bags. I had seen these patterns numerous times, but always figured they would be too complicated to do myself. But, with a little encouragement, I started and successfully finished them up. They are really very easy, and perfect for gifts. We discovered that out of the required yardage for a Birdie Sling (below), you could make a Birdie Sling and a Frenchy Bag (above); perfect, huh? One to keep and one to give away!

As I was getting ready to take these pictures, I threw the Frenchy Bag over a chair while my camera batteries charged, then noticed how the guitar in the background mimics the pear-like shape of the bag. Sweet serendipity.

It is also coincedental that the fabric I chose for the Birdie Sling happens to be an owl pattern from Alexander Henry, with little birdie print lining on the inside.

Tomorrow I have pictures from my Cozy Domesticity Swap to share!

Intense

2009-03-31T09:05:00.005-04:00

Last week Grandma was here visiting Baby (and me!), so I got in some great sewing time. I started and finished two Amy Butler bags (pictures to follow soon). DH was out of town, and when he came home I was close to finishing the second project; he said I seemed very "intense." Well, yes, I was. It was the first time in a couple months that I had been able to start and finish a project in a day. And it was great! But I wouldn't want to do it everyday, I much prefer cuddling the little one, who has become very entertaining, "talking" and cooing, moving his arms and legs all around. He loves music, partcularly Raffi, who I grew up with. Do any of you remember Raffi? I have the old cassette tapes; fortunately you can still get him on CD. Baby Beluga is our favorite collection.

Part of my sewing frenzy included some fun purchases, like this "Sweet Box" from Moda. Talk about great marketing. Who could resist a cute little package like this, with enough fabric to make two fabric pouches, seen above. And talk about instant gratification, they make up in literally twenty minutes. A great way to satisfy your sweet tooth if you're foregoing other goodies this Lent!

Spring Sale!

2009-03-20T11:05:00.004-04:00

I'm having a spring sale in my shop to make room for new collections, including the vintage encyclopedia journals, coming soon! Check out the SALE section for 25% off selected items, including books like the ones above.

Baby Quilting

2009-03-18T15:48:00.004-04:00

My husband's brother and sister-in-law are pregnant, so you know what that means: I get to craft them something! Their nursery is going to have a birdie theme, so at first I was considering this mobile, but it needs to be ship-able, so I decided to make a quilt. The quilt is going to have 12 birds, in red, yellow, and green prints, with a blue print for the sashing to match their nursery.

I hope they like it; you always take a chance when you give a handcrafted gift, because some recipients don't value such things, but I always try and hope for the best. I like to give handcrafted gifts because those are the kind that mean the most to me.

What kinds of gifts have you handcrafted recently, and any suggestions for cute handmake-able baby items?

Artists Books

2009-03-13T14:05:00.009-04:00

I have always been interested in artists books, and over the years have created several on a number of different topics, which I plan to list in my new Etsy shop. This one, created a couple years ago, is on the theme of God's faithfulness. It is a concertina structure, with an acronym of Faithful, listing character qualities of God.

In the valley of each fold are cut-outs in the colors of the rainbow, another Biblical symbol of God's faithfulness. This modest little artist's book is the first I've listed in the shop, with more to come. Someday, I would like to start a collection of artist's books. Alisa Golden, who writes wonderful bookmaking books, makes hundreds of artist's books incorporating text and printmaking techniques, and I would love to own one of her pieces. Her work is something to aspire to!

Spring at Siebenthaler's Quilt

2009-03-10T12:01:00.006-04:00

This quilt was designed and made in my manic pre-labor frenzy in January. I was envisioning the bright colors and patterns of the local garden center in the spring, with all the flats of annuals arranged in rows on tables. For this quilt, I used 8 different floral prints, randomly sewn in blocks of 5 and arranged in 3 columns. The machine quilting was done by a local quilter, and my mom and I finished the binding last weekend.

I'm so happy with the results! I plan to write and diagram out the pattern and instructions for anyone who's interested.

Paper Patisserie

2009-03-03T15:11:00.004-05:00

I've opened a new Etsy shop, Paper Patisserie, to sell my vintage paper ephemera, decorative paper scraps, artists books, and prints and drawings. Go check it out. I will be listing more soon including some artists books and prints.

Illustration Friday: Breezy

2009-03-02T11:28:00.003-05:00

Limited Edition: Recycled Encyclopedia Journals

2009-03-01T12:01:00.006-05:00

I've been working on a new series of books for the shop: journals made from 1947 encyclopedias. This will be a limited edition of 10 journals, with similar covers and bindings, but each will have unique papers for the inside.

These covers are just gorgeous, you don't see nearly this quality in books these days. If you're interested in one of these journals, email me at bibliosophy@gmail.com, and I will reserve one for you! This first one is for a friend, but the other 9 should be finished in several weeks. Each will have 128 pages of cream-colored text-weight paper and measure 8 x 10 inches.

Sneak Peeks: A Finished Object

2009-02-25T10:14:00.006-05:00

This...

Plus this....

Makes a surprise for my Cozy Domesticity swap partner!

Illustration Friday: Instinct

2009-02-24T13:41:00.003-05:00

If you regularly read my blog, I bet you could have seen this coming if I told you the word "instinct." Of course I did a mother's instinct, because that is my life these days, and what a good one it is! I was thinking of a modern abstract sculpture my parents have of a mother and baby as I drew this. My dad gave it to my mom after the birth of my brother and I've always liked it.

Smoothies and Scones

2009-02-23T14:50:00.004-05:00

This was a baking weekend. There are few things I can actually do from start to finish these days in between baby feedings and cryings, but baking is one of them. On Friday I made the bread in the last post from the recipe in this book, and Saturday morning I made white whole wheat scones with oats and currants.

They turned out pretty well, but next time I plan to make some changes. In my favorite scone recipe, it calls for several tablespoons butter, a little milk, and one egg. In this recipe, there is no butter but it makes up for it with the richness of cream and two eggs. Unfortunately, the missing butter really seemed to make a difference, and they turned out pretty dense and dry. On the next go, I will use my recipe, and substitute the white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour to make mine a little healthier.

In spite of all this bread-y and dough-y goodness, I'm back to severely limiting my sugars and starches. For about 8 months last year, I went completely sugar free. This includes all the obvious sweets and desserts, but also bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, sugary vegetables (carrots, beets) and many fruits. I never felt so good in my life; once I got pregnant though, my willpower died and I succumbed to the sugar monster. Now I'm back to limiting my sugars and starches, and these smoothies serve as my treats. I have a smoothie with my lunch and it is so tasty! If you're used to sweet smoothies, it takes a little while to appreciate this one, because its only sweetness comes from the lactose in the milk.

Simple Strawberry Smoothie
Pour one cup of milk into the blender. Add a handful of frozen strawberries. Blend until smooth. Serve in a tall glass with a straw!

Kneaded

2009-02-21T10:24:00.004-05:00

Making bread yesterday, I contemplated how much I am needed these days. My little one needs me for everything (a very beautiful and rewarding experience, albeit a little tiring at times), and DH needs me, not for his basic survival, but for other things. And the dog needs me (and chooses the most inopportune times to be demanding, like when I'm nursing!).

It made me think about the purpose of kneading bread: to develop the gluten in the loaf, which is what holds it together. Kneading also helps to create a loaf of bread that is light and flavorful.

Perhaps this is my role in our family; to hold everyone together by caring for them, and to make our home and family "flavorful," with love, variety, and beauty. Although the bread gets a bit of a workout with all this kneading, and can get a little tired at times, the end result is delicious and worth it all! Such are my hopes for our family.

(Am I pushing this analogy too far?)

Inaugural Illustration Friday

2009-02-19T15:40:00.002-05:00

I always forget how much I love to draw. In an effort to keep producing some artwork during this busy time, I'm committing to Illustration Friday, so at least I'll be doing a drawing per week. Colored pencil will be my chosen medium; it is colorful, clean, and requires no set-up! This week's word was "Celebrate," and I started pretty simple.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

Flag Book Tutorial

2009-02-17T08:01:00.007-05:00

Over the course of this year I hope to create more bookbinding and craft tutorials to share with you. Here's the first; a flag book! This book was made out of the pile above, using the greeting cards we received on the birth of Baby. You don't need any special materials for this project, just a ruler, utility knife, scissors, some glue, and your paper. If you enjoyed my tutorial, please let me know at bibliosophy@gmail.com. Have fun!

Bookbinding - Flag Book Tutorial

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-To Guides & DIY art crafts

Valentine's Day, How I Love You

2009-02-14T20:38:00.006-05:00

Ever since I was a child, my family has celebrated Valentine's Day together. My dad would cook dinner (veal saltimbocca), and we would exchange cards and gifts. One Valentine's morning as a little girl I awoke to my Samantha doll dressed in a new nightgown, fresh off the sewing machine of my mother. Another year, as a hopeful teenage artist, my dad gave me two Windsor and Newton watercolor brushes. I know this sounds like I'm all about the presents, but I look back on our family celebrations with great joy, and those memories have made all my Valentine's days happy, even ones when I was single.

So this year, with our new family, I wanted to start our tradition off right. With the newborn, my time is a little limited, but I did manage to cook one of DH's favorite meals, homemade pizza (I use the term "homemade" loosely: the pizza consisted of Trader Joe's dough and sauce:). And....

I cut the ham into heart shapes, because I want to be one of those cool moms that makes food look like something. We finished off with a lemon yogurt cake (which I tinted pink; I couldn't help myself). For his part, DH surprised me with beautiful deep red roses; he is the best.

All in all, it was a success. Next year, Baby and I will be doing some art projects for Daddy, but for this year, I needed to keep it simple.

How do you celebrate Valentine's with your loved ones?

Embroidered Art

2009-02-12T16:13:00.003-05:00

This colorful craziness is a piece I did right before I graduated from college and got married. I used an intaglio print bird I had done, printed on fabric, and arranged in a three by three grid. It's quilt-like, but intended to be hung on the wall. Every other bird is either painted or embroidered, and then sewn onto additional squares of mixed print fabric, and bordered in a wonderful umbrella print from Kaffe Fassatt. The result is kind of weird, very non-traditional, brightly colorful; and I've never been quite sure what to make of it!

Pincushiony

2009-02-11T13:11:00.003-05:00

This pincushion marks one of my first forays into embroidery. I was able to finish this project pre-Baby for the handmade pincushion swap on Ravelry, one of the best swaps ever! I hope my partner likes it. The side and bottom fabric is from a scrap I purchased, and looks so retro-flowery to me.

Miraculous

2009-02-07T20:50:00.003-05:00

Unraveling

2009-02-05T10:38:00.004-05:00

I am unraveling...not from lack of sleep or the demands of a new baby, but because what I thought was an inspired project is not turning out how I imagined it! After seeing Tess of the D'Urbervilles on PBS, and reading the Ravelry forum posts about her awesome knit wrap-around shawl, I wanted to design my own happy version. The one Tess wears in the movie is decidedly un-happy, made of a dark grey and companion to her in her many troubles. My version was going to be bright, striped, and cheerful. After slow starts and unsatisfactory progress though, I'm giving up, and unraveling the yarn to use in more promising projects.

I really loved how the teal/hot pink combination was working out though; the one redeeming part of the doomed shawl. If you have a wrap-around and tie shawl pattern that you love, will you pass it on to me?

Black Thumb

2009-02-03T11:45:00.004-05:00

In case some of you are wondering, DH and I have decided not to post pictures of the Baby on the blog, for privacy's sake. He is doing great though, getting bigger everyday. I love to nurse and hold him, which leaves little time for much else!

In the few quiet moments, I've been reading Dorothy Whipple, an English novelist in the 1930's-50's. I finished The Priory after we got home from the hospital, and have started on The Great Mr. Knight. Jane Brocket in her book The Gentle Art of Domesticity suggests that these are domestic novels. I have to disagree with that interpretation in the case of The Priory,which chronicles a highly dysfunctional family, who are in economic hardships precisely because they have no turn for the domestic. I have yet to form an opinion about Mr. Knight. Some recent chapter was speaking of a housewife's plans for her garden, and that got me thinking about mine. "My garden" is just a very modest little plot outside in our backyard that I try my darndest to keep flowering through the spring and summer. My track record with plants is not good; we had pots of ivy on the tables at our wedding, and they were given to people as they left, and we took one for ourselves. Well, I have now killed our wedding ivy, plus 5 cuttings that have been given to us in the intervening 3 1/2 years. The only remaining ivy's that are flourishing reside with my mom, DH's mom, and family friends. So I guess they're all keeping our marriage alive!

Anybody with tips for growing houseplants, send them my direction, please.

Partners Assigned

2009-01-30T10:38:00.003-05:00

All swap partners have been assigned, so get creating! If you want to share a sneak peek of your project, just send me an email with a pic and I'll post it to the blog. Just make sure it's a very sneaky pic! The send-out date has been moved to March 22 to give everyone lots of time.

Baby is doing great; he is like a limp rag sleeping on my lap right now!

Baby Boy!

2009-01-24T08:10:00.002-05:00

To all who have signed up for my swap: I will be in touch eventually, we have had a little family crisis recently. Promptly after posting my swap, I went into labor, and we now have a beautiful baby boy! He's been in the NICU for the last several days, so needless to say, everything else has been on hold. We hope to bring him home today, so I will be in touch sometime soon regarding the swap.

Cozy Domesticity Swap

2009-01-17T06:38:00.003-05:00

I've decided to host my first swap! For this swap, put together a package for your partner that they can use for some cozy domestic moments this winter. Build your package around one handmade item: perhaps a lavender-filled eye mask, with some bubble bath, a great novel, and dark chocolate. Or perhaps a knitted tea cozy, with a pretty tea cup, some tea, and a fun magazine.

Whatever you choose to do, the focus should be on the handmade item. Other ideas include hand-knit socks, mittens or gloves, aprons, potholders, embroidered tea towels, etc.; be creative and have fun! Focus on your handmade item and include a couple other things to provide your partner with some cozy domesticity this winter. You can purchase materials and items or use things from your stash and re-gift items, as long as they’re in top-notch condition. Vintage is always welcome too!

You must be an active blogger or I must know you personally to participate! To sign up, send an email to bibliosophy@gmail.com with the following information. Then, grab the button from my blog and link back to it from yours.

Name:
Address:
Blog address:
Willing to ship internationally?
Hobbies:
Favorite winter activities:
Favorite kind/genre of book:
Hot beverage preference:
Favorite magazines:
Favorite colors:
Any crafts you don’t do but wish you could?
Collect anything small?
Favorite craft supplies:
Decorating style:

The last day to sign up will be January 22, and I will tentatively assign partners by the 24th. The ship out date will be March 1. Come join me and create some handmade winter cozies!

Of collars and cuffs

2009-01-15T08:28:00.006-05:00

I've been trying to keep busy with lots of projects while waiting for Baby (now overdue). These cuffs were made for a winter white swap on Ravelry, and I love how they turned out, I almost couldn't part with them. The white lace is from the French Alencon lace that my wedding dress was made of, sewn onto linen and embroidered for a little pop of color.

These were mailed separately and are intended to be worn as a bracelet, but apparently in the '50's, women would have sets of removable cuffs and collars to wear with their sweaters. They could remove and wash them when dirty, or just change them up to match different outfits. Great idea, huh? Especially for hard-to-wash wool and silk sweaters. I suppose they probaby attached the collars and cuffs to buttons on the sleeves of their sweaters. Hmmm...this may be the start of a new project.

If you have any vintage collars or cuffs of this sort, will you share your knowledge, please?

The Classics

2009-01-12T21:03:00.005-05:00

After the domestic disasters of Saturday, I needed to redeem myself. I went for a couple of classics to help me out: chocolate and luxury fiber (as in alpaca, not oat bran or flax). The little scarflet is for our across the street neighbor who is graciously looking after doggy when we go in hospital; a similar one is on the needles for her daughter. You can't get neighbors better than this family.

And the chocolate cake? For my uber-hormonal body. The hope is the baby will come before we finish it:)

Domestic Disasters

2009-01-11T16:33:00.004-05:00

Thursday night DH indulged me and bought me a copy of The Gentle Art of Domesticity. It is a delightful book, full of inspiration for using the home as a canvas for the gentle arts of needlework, baking, and nature. Jane Brocket, her tone a little self-consciously high-brow at times, writes of finding ideas in the everyday, and seeing colors, textures and patterns in domestic life. I've been reading it while knitting and feel super-charged to make wonderful things.

So, while reading this book full of artistic domestic successes, two of my most exciting projects fell sadly flat. The quilted farmyard is not turning out how I had envisioned it. It will need some serious embroidering and embellishment to make it really acceptable. I cannot even bring myself to post a picture of it right now, it is hidden away in a drawer to be examined in a more rational state of mind.

And, my cute baby bunting, after washing and drying, is now full of semi-holes and loops where the eco-friendly dryer balls pulled the threads. Ahhhhhhhhh!

Quilted Playmat

2009-01-09T08:09:00.005-05:00

In the recent issue of Living Crafts magazine, they have patterns for five new knitted farmyards. Knitted farmyards, I thought? A knitted farmyard, I discovered, is a playmat that is made by creating and piecing squares of a variety of styles to create one whole "farm." Each square is a different part of the farm, like a sheep pasture, or vegetable garden, wheat field, or pond. Back in Living Crafts inagural issue of Winter 2008, they had this article about collaborating with a group to create knitted farmyard playmats.

Because I have no green yarn in my stash, which would be necessary for fields, I decided instead to make a quilted farmyard. Using different prints for the various fields, I'm sewing the patches together to make a Cotswold sheep farm. The fields are bordered by golden stone fences, typical of Cotswold limestone. My plan is to embroider the fields with flowers, crops, and vegetables, and somehow embroider the stone walls to look like stones. Then, when I put in the batting and backing, I'm going to quilt crop rows and waves of water onto the fields and ponds, respectively. Some knitted or wooden animals and simple wooden farm equipment which I hope to purchase should complete Baby's first Christmas present in a little under a year from now!

Vintage Valentine

2009-01-07T21:09:00.004-05:00

I was brainstorming with some other ladies on a forum about how to organize/display vintage valentines, when I remembered I had already created a book with that theme. This flag book was made using vintage postcards, most around 100 years old, that I had collected. I designed this book so that the backsides of the postcards with the writing, stamp, and postmark would be visible, because I think this is the most interesting part. The writing is legible, and it's fun to read the notes and imagine what people's lives were like back then. I get the impression that they used postcards 100 years ago like we use the telephone or email; a lot of the letters are just one or two sentences to arrange a vist or an appointment.

If you're interested in making your own flag book with ephemera or other scraps of paper, check out this great PDF tutorial.

Knit Flat Fingerless Gloves

2009-01-05T19:16:00.006-05:00

I designed these for those of you who, like me, dislike using double-pointed needles. These fingerless gloves can be knit with straight needles and close on the sides with decorative buttons. This pair is destined for a friend; I need to make some for myself soon!

Size: one size
Finished measurements: 8.75” long x 4.5” wide

Materials:

- Approximately 121 yards of bulky weight yarn; Patons Shetland Chunky was used for this design.
- Size 7 needles or size needed to obtain gauge.
- 12 - ¾” buttons for finishing
- Tapestry needle to weave in ends.
- Sewing needle and thread for buttons.

Gauge: 18 sts and 25 rows to 4” over stockinette stitch on size 7 needles.

Right glove:
CO 42 stitches. Work seed stitch (Row 1: K1, P1, repeat to end; Row 2: P1, K1, repeat to end) for two rows. Next row (RS): make buttonhole [K1, YO, K2tog], seed stitch to end. Work seed stitch for rows 4-6. Row 7: K1, P1, K1, knit to last three stitches, P1, K1, P1. Keeping first and last three stitches in seed stitch, and making a buttonhole every 10th row, work stockinette stitch until piece measures 3 1/4 inches.

Shape thumb gusset: Work 20 stitches, place marker, work 2 stitches, place marker, work to end. Work 1 row. (RS) Inc row: Work to marker, slip marker, kfb (knit into the front and back of the stitch) of 1st stitch, work to last stitch before marker, kfb, slip marker, work to end. Continue in this manner increasing between the markers every 4th row, until there are 12 sts between markers. (Remember also to keep working buttonholes along the side band.) Work 1 row.

RS: Work to marker, slip sts between markers onto a holder, CO 2 sts, work to end. Work 10 rows. Work 3 rows seed stitch; bind off in seed stitch.

Place stitches from thumb gusset on needle. Join new yarn and kfb of first and last stitches on first row. Work one row. Work seed stitch for 2 rows; bind off in seed stitch.

Weave in ends. Sew sides of thumb gusset to glove. Mark places for 6 buttons on side band of glove; sew on buttons and close gloves.

Left glove:
Work as for right glove, placing buttonholes on the opposite seed stitch band.

Heirloom Cradle

2009-01-05T16:50:00.003-05:00

Made for the six grandchildren to use with all the great-grandchildren; and I get to have the first!

While I wait

2009-01-02T14:08:00.002-05:00

My mom introduced me to the idea of prayer shawls over Christmas, and I'm contemplating how I might use this idea in our church. With the prayer shawl booklet from Lion Brand, I'm using this waiting time to knit up a sample, perhaps as a way to enlist people who might be interested at our church. The prayer shawl is a great idea; I particularly like it because it's a tangible and physically comforting way to remind the recipient that people are praying for them. Over the years I've used a similar idea and made blankets for friends who were going through difficult times in their lives.

I'm using the Lion Brand Homespun, because that's what all the patterns call for and they do have some lovely colors. It looks good knit up, but I am not loving knitting with it. It pulls and splits as you stick the needles in and out, and overall just does not feel that great in the hands. Have any of you found some reasonably priced, machine washable alternatives to Homespun?

Waiting

2009-01-01T08:09:00.004-05:00

Two weeks and counting...I hope Baby gets here sooner! We are (I think) ready with everything at home. Since this baby is coming in January in the Midwest, I was trying to figure out how to dress it when we go places. This knit bunting is my solution. It's made with thick chenille, from the Jil Eaton Minnowknits, Too book. The picture is kind of dark, but the yarn is a blue, deep purple, and magenta variegated, with a turquoise zipper. I figure I will take a bunch of baby clothes and the bunting to the hospital and the nurses can help me dress it appropriately.

How do you bundle up your little ones for winter?

Wooly Wonderfuls

2008-12-22T18:59:00.005-05:00

For free entertainment Saturday nights, we sometimes go to the bookstore and get a big pile of books to page through or read (yes, we're those people, who read and do not, usually, buy). DH and I split up, collect some books we want to look at, and meet at the cafe. I have to say, I don't expect much from the craft selection, as I've pretty much exhausted it at most stores. But Saturday, I found this little jewel of a book, Wooly Embroidery; it is worth all of $14.95. There are great instructions for all kinds of embroidery, including crewel, using wool thread, and some sweet little projects. These buttons are from the book, done on scrap linen, and the larger embroidery is destined to be a needle case. I'm proud of myself, I've actually used a craft book that I bought, instead of just look and drool!

Baking Day

2008-12-18T15:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I joined my baker-extraordinaire aunt, grandma and cousin for some Christmas cookie baking. A good time was had by all, with much sampling and taste-testing. You know how it is so very hard to cleanly frost sugar cookies? Well, my aunt taught me a great technique which completely avoids messiness; it's called Flooding.

Here's what you do: make your white royal icing-like frosting, and decide which colors you want. Divide the frosting and mix your colors; then, for each color, divide it in half. Now, add a little water to one half of the mix to make it a little thinner, so that it's easily pourable. Put it into a squirt bottle. Put the thicker frosting into a pastry tube for piping. You're ready to frost: pipe around the edges of the cookie with the thicker colored frosting, then, using the thinner mix, pour some into the center of the cookie. In other words, "flood" the middle of the cookie, and, using a toothpick, spread it out to your piped barrier. It is really so cool.

If you want to add more piped decorations on top, wait for the frosting to dry. You can tell it's dry when the surface turns from shiny to matte-looking. Have fun!

Fini!

2008-12-16T09:51:00.003-05:00

I decided to add some flowers to the ends of the green tendrils, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Overall, a very enjoyable first crewel experience; I was anxious to do more.

So I did. Just a little sweet bud on some fingerless gloves destined to be a Christmas present.

Now, I must make other things worthy of embellishment.

Beginnings...

2008-12-11T14:19:00.005-05:00

The Not-so-Plain Jane sweater; now I'm pondering how to proceed from here. Maybe some geometric flowers extending from the vines?

Thinking and planning

2008-12-10T19:48:00.006-05:00

My beautiful crewel wool came today from Renaissance Dyeing in France, so I've begun planning my design. In some respects, I want to get the design drawn perfectly on my paper first, but in another way, I kind of want to just start the design and work spontaneously. You can see my doodles so far. I'll probably make a compromise between the two and just start with my design in mind and see where it goes. The "starting" always seems to be the hardest part of a project for me, at least in my art work. In my knitting, I have a tendency to start rashly, and never finish. What helps motivate you to finish pieces you've started?

My new go-to dessert

2008-12-08T15:25:00.002-05:00

This pumpkin pound cake was made for the calligraphy guild I am a part of; and boy, was it good! I've made it before, but never got to eat any, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. It has become my standard dessert for taking to parties, it is SO good. You can eat it plain (it is very nice for breakfast:), or with the delicious praline-esque sauce. Definitely not a healthful dessert, but, c'mon, what is?

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Walnut Sauce

2 3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 t. vanilla
6 eggs (!)
3 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 c. canned pumpkin

Sauce:

1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. dark corn syrup
1/2 c. whipping cream
2 T. butter
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit. Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter. Ad the vanilla and eggs, beating well until blended. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well. Pour into prepared pan, and bakc for 60-70 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert onto plate.

For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, cream, 2 T. butter, and a dash of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla and walnuts and stir to combine. Serve walnut sauce with the cake.

Yum!

Aprony Goodness

2008-12-06T11:15:00.006-05:00

Look what I got from Shannon in the Sassy Apron Swap! This very perfect, pink and green apron. I requested something that was kind of Christmasy, but that I could wear all year too, and this is just fantastic! The bib apron is a great vintage shape, and the fabrics are kind of retro, with the green polka dots and rickrack trim. What are some of your favorite vintage-like apron patterns?

The apron was not all though: she sent the cutest handmade snowman bag, a "B" ornament for our tree, cookie cutters, recipes, a cookie cookbook, and popcorn! What a treat, this package has brightened my Christmas, thanks Shannon!

Plain Jane...8 years later

2008-12-05T09:23:00.004-05:00

This sweater has been 8 years in the making. In high school I worked at a patisserie and had a wonderful Russian lady as a co-worker. She introduced me to top-down sweater construction. I went to her house a couple of afternoons, and she taught me how to do the math to design a top-down raglan sweater, with any yarn and any gauge. Unfortunately, the math and percentages have been long forgotten, and my notes are nowhere to be found. Cleaning out my stash the other day, I found the sweater, body finished, languishing at the botton of the box. I finished it, and now am awaiting my order from Renaissance Dyeing so I can start the embellishments, because, as is, this is a plain jane sweater.

I'm going to try crewel work, and I aspire to a finished product something like this or this. Pretty ambtious, huh? Here is my practice work, with regular worsted yarn.

The crewel wool I ordered comes in all kinds of luscious shades and is dyed using all-natural dyes in the Pyrenees mountains. Wish me luck!

And the winner is....

2008-12-04T09:34:00.002-05:00

Sunnymommie! If you could please email your address to bibliosophy@gmail.com, I will get the book in the mail to you!

Thank you to all who entered, it was so encouraging reading all your kind remarks. And thanks for checking out the blog, I hope many of you will come back and visit often. Now I get to have fun checking out all of your great blogs!

Giveaway Day!

2008-12-03T07:27:00.000-05:00

Today I'm participating in a many-blog wide event called Giveaway Day, sponsored by sewmamasew. So my offering for the event is this handcrafted journal from my Etsy shop, with ceramic covers, and an embossed star design. The book is coptic bound with teal Irish linen thread, and measures about 3 3/4 inches x 4 inches. To enter to win, just leave me a comment, and I will randomly draw a winner tomorrow! For all those outside the United States, I'm sorry, but I can't swing international shipping right now.

A Finished Object

2008-12-01T11:02:00.004-05:00

I'd been starting to feel some anxiety lately. I needed to finish something. I needed to finish a substantial craft project that would be satisfying. And here she is: the completed Juliet sweater! I like it, although some of my enjoyment was diminished as I tried modeling it and taking pictues of myself in summer clothes, as it was snowing outside. But now I can look forward to wearing my new top in the spring, in my post-baby body. Although, with my body temperature at tropical levels right now, heck, I might just wear it for Christmas!

Consequences

2008-11-29T11:05:00.004-05:00

After making it through 7 months of pregnancy relatively pain and discomfort free, I've been hit with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome, which, as DH says, sounds much more serious than it really is:) But, for those of us who do handwork of any kind, sewing, knitting, bookbinding, not to mention cooking, cleaning, and typing, it can be pretty serious indeed. Mine has only manifested itself by putting my arms and hands to sleep at night, which is more disconcerting than painful. In an effort to prevent it from getting any worse, I wear this lovely brace while I sew, knit, read, and do other quiet activities, as well as at night.

My new project is this table runner, as a gift for a wedding we will be attending soon. I had great fun picking out colors and patterns for the fabric, especially as their taste is different from mine. Although this does require a lot of handsewing (appliqueing 28 squares of fabric), it is soothing work, and helps my mind and body slow down and relax. Now I just need a rocking chair for the bliss to be complete!

The Baby....For Now

2008-11-24T14:47:00.001-05:00

We got soaked

2008-11-19T19:44:00.007-05:00

...in generosity at our baby shower! Wow! My MIL and SIL gave us a lovely shower this past weekend, and now we have everything we could possibly need for Baby. My mom came from Minnesota, and my grandma and aunt were there, as well as DH's relatives and friends. Because we didn't find out if Baby is a boy or a girl, people couldn't buy either pink or blue, but they found some super cute clothes in neutral colors. There were lots of soft, cuddly blankets, which I must make myself save for Baby! There was also an infant car seat in a bright aqua blue, and all kinds of baby care items.

And then there were beautiful handmade goodies. The quilt above, made by my mom, of Beatrix Potter fabric to match a sentimental framed print of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle from my childhood. She even quilted little hearts in the four corners:)

This beautiful crocheted blanket from my SIL, in perfect baby colors; and it turned out to match the quilt.

And these cute vintage prints, which were painted by my grandma from a paint-by-number set for my mother's nursery. I love them, and my mom had saved them all these years.

We were also given a handmade diaper bag in French country-ish blue and yellow fabrics, and the sweetest little variety of knit hats, made by my aunt. What a lucky mommy and baby, huh? We are very grateful; it is kind of overwhelming to be the subject of so much love and generosity.

Booklet Ornaments

2008-11-17T10:22:00.003-05:00

We had a fantastic weekend with family and friends and were given a baby shower with lots of handmade lovelies and everything we might need (more later)! Last week, before we left town, I finished this little trio of Christmas ornaments. They are slightly larger than the brooches, at 2 1/2 x 3 inches. They have mulit-colored and printed paper on the inside for you to add your own Christmas memories by writing, collage, drawing, etc. These are for an ornament swap, but contact me through my shop if you'd like some for your own home!

How my life has changed...Or...Pondering the intricacies of cloth diapers

2008-11-13T08:26:00.000-05:00

Well, last week I was overcome with a desire to make wool diaper covers. Browsing Ravelry I found lots of great knitted covers, but decided that I didn't have the attention span to knit 5 or 6 diaper covers. Reading articles on the Internet about frugal diapering (frugal is my new mindset these days), I learned that you could make diaper covers out of felted wool sweaters; makes sense right?

Just happening to have half of an L.L. Bean wool blanket on hand, I figured that would work just as well too. So, using one of my two purchased diaper covers, I make a pattern and started sewing. Overall it was pretty easy, and now I have 4 additional, almost free, diaper covers.

Pretty cute huh? Two have this brown binding and two will have a bright green with ladybugs binding. Now I just hope they work! Couple more months before they'll be put to the test! Because I was too lazy and frustrated to make my own tutorial, check out the great one here.

Dusty Vintage

2008-11-06T08:29:00.004-05:00

This could refer to my house at the moment, but instead it's the name I chose for the latest handbag. My SIL's birthday is coming up and I wanted to craft her something special. Since I'm trying to use mostly materials that I have in my stash, I came up with this repurposed felted purse. My first knitted sweater ever, when I was about 14, was a really pretty teal blue/green color; the color was great, the design and my execution were not. So I felted the sweater, made up a pattern, and cut my pieces out of the thick resulting wool.

The embellishments are made from bits of scrap yarn and buttons, and I just happened to have a leather purse handle and magnetic closure left over from another project. The only new material I used was the fabric lining. I hope she likes it!

On another handcrafted gifting kind of note, I found this interesting website, Buynothingchristmas, put together by Canadian Mennonites to refocus the meaning of Christmas. Kind of interesting, and it has lots of good ideas on saving money with handcrafted gifts.

My First Foray Into Design

2008-11-04T08:42:00.005-05:00

The summer of 2007, DH and I took a 3 week walking trip of England; we walked about 80 miles in the Cotswolds, and about 70 miles in the Lake District. Each night we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in a little village, and my favorite part of the day was waking up and enjoying the full English breakfast, plus numerous cups of French press coffee. We got spoiled!

From the start of the trip, I was determined to buy a knitting project, so I would have some crafty memory of our adventure. But...most of the villages were too small to house a knitting shop, so it wasn't until we reached Keswick in the Lake District (almost at the end of our trip), that I was able to get my treat. I bought a 10 skein bag of Jaeger ice blue mohair, and it's been languishing in my basement ever since.

Until last week. When I saw a gorgeous knitted dress on Ravelry; "Mohair Magic." It inspired me to start my own top-down knit version. So far, I'm almost finished with the bodice, working in the round, and increasing every other row for the raglan sleeve shaping. It is so pretty, and I hope to finish it soon so I can wear it for Christmas. More updates as work progresses.

Aprony Goodness

2008-11-03T09:25:00.003-05:00

My Friday was filled with aprons of all different shapes and colors. I sewed up a cute black and white print apron (no pic, unfortunately) for a wedding shower; finished up a Christmas apron for the Sassy Apron Swap (picture coming soon); and then received in the mail my very own apron from the Hot Drinks Swap! I love it so much; Harley did a beautiful job, with extra long ties to accommodate the baby belly. The embroidery is very well crafted, and I can't wait to wear it over the holidays this year.

Repurposed

2008-10-31T16:14:00.005-04:00

In my crafting these days I'm considering how I can use the materials I already own in new ways. For wrappings, I make little fabric bags to gift things in. For some free diaper covers, I'm using a felted wool blanket cast off from another project (details for another day). And this bag was made using yarn I got from ripping out an old knitted sweater that I didn't fancy anymore. And yes, this is one yarn, can you imagine it as a sweater? Not a very pretty sight.

How are you using materials in new ways to fuel your craft addiction?

Small is Beautiful

2008-10-29T19:36:00.005-04:00

I received this beautiful pincushion (plus lots of other goodies) from PoMoGoLightly in the Ravelry pincushion swap. It is such a fun group, all the members so talented and kind; I get very inspired! The pincushions are fun because they are a miniature canvas on which to try new techniques. My first attempts at pincushions for this swap have a long way to go regarding craftsmanship, but I look forward to trying new things in the future. Check out the group on Flickr and be amazed.

Another One...

2008-10-22T14:25:00.002-04:00

This is the second BSJ, because the first was pink. So I think this one will work for either a boy or girl. If it's a girl, then I'm going to make a cute little red dress to wear underneath, and if it's a boy, he's going to get some red pants. Hard to tell from the picture, but the stripes are teal and light blue (not white).

Mini Book Ornaments

2008-10-20T17:15:00.005-04:00

These (not the best picture) are some miniature book ornaments all packaged up for a swap I'm in. As you can see from my Etsy shop, books are my thing, so I thought it only appropriate to make some minis and turn them into ornaments. They are kind of like my Booklet Brooches, but larger, with blank inside pages. I am hoping that people will get creative and write Christmas memories, draw pictures, add small photographs, or collage in the pages to make them personal tp their family. At least that's what I would have wanted to do with such an ornament as a child! Maybe, if I really get motivated there will be some for sale in the shop soon.

Handmade Christmas

2008-10-16T13:33:00.005-04:00

Almost every year for Christmas my brother receives a well-intentioned, but unfinished, knitted present from me. Two years ago it was a half-knit scarf; last year, I gave him a store-bought sleek Banana Republic scarf to make up for it. So this year, good intentions aside, I HAD to finish a project that I started for him; and not just finish, but in time for Christmas. To make up for previous years, it had to be something big and substantial, and since he would probably rather die than wear a hand-knit sweater, I decided on an afghan. My first ever. With cables. And eyelets. And lots of pattern repeats.

This does have a happy ending though, because I finished the afghan on Saturday with two yards of yarn left! I am so happy. And hopefully he will be too with a real finished present on Christmas Day.

And since he doesn't even know about my blog, I can disclose what gives me so much satisfaction about this project: it only cost $15! I consider that a triumph! The pattern was a free leaflet at Joann's, and each of the five balls of yarn cost only $3. It's value has been very much increased though with the love and prayers I've knit into it for him.

This reminds me of a wonderful blog I came across last night: Taste the Goode Life. Evidently this lady had a cooking show on the BBC for many years which was very popular. Now she writes this blog everyday, and has so many good ideas for frugal cooking and a frugal Christmas. I'm excited to be more financially mindful this Christmas, because I know it will (it already has; witness the $15 afghan) increase my enjoyment of the season as I savor what it really important. Check out her blog for yourself. She is quite an entertaining writer.

February Baby Set

2008-10-13T15:08:00.003-04:00

This little set is for a baby girl coming in February. It is my for my partner in the Ravelry Oh My Baby! swap, who just found out she's having a girl. And...if I end up having a girl, there will be more where this came from. These two patterns are from my best-loved baby pattern book, Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, by Erika Knight. Her patterns are simple and practical, and can easily be dressed up with a few embellishments, or not, as desired. Hers are the only baby booties I knit; I don't think they can be beat!

And, on another note, I finally figured out how to insert hyperlinks into my text (I know, I know, pretty basic!)!

I was spoiled...

2008-10-11T08:36:00.006-04:00

These are the beautiful gifts I received from The Great Knitted Purse Swap, my first swap, on Ravelry. Look at the gorgeous color and design of this purse knit by carolannb! And she so sweetly packaged everything and filled my bag with all kinds of goodies, including something for January Baby. You spoiled me, carolannb!

Hot Drinks for Hot Mamas Apron Swap

2008-10-10T08:42:00.003-04:00

This is the apron I sent to my swap partner Tammy for the favorite hot drinks swap. She loves coffee, and I found this neat coffee bean print fabric and geared my complementary fabrics to a mocha/cappicino-like color. I also sent her some coffee cup cozies, and one of my handbound books with a vintage food print on the covers.

More with Less...

2008-10-08T18:21:00.005-04:00

This is the title of a new cookbook I've been gifted, and my new focus for meal planning these days. I received it from my mom who is trying to help along my endeavor to save money on groceries and still cook wholesome meals. The book came out in the 1970's when there was a lot of attention given to fears of over-population and future scarcity of food resources. Put together my Mennonites, it tries to encourage the mindful use of food in our cooking, which sounds good to me! We have recently cut back on our meat consumption, and I can now stretch one package (what used to be one meals worth), to several meals.

This picture is of the first recipe I made from the book, Wheat Germ Balls, which turned out O.K., but they really need to be slathered with peanut butter to make them really delicious! Which is totally acceptable if you want a sweet, high-protein snack. DH is just very suspicious of anything with "wheat germ" in the name, so I had to make chocolate chip cookies the next day:)

I think you can buy this book on Amazon, it has lots of good nutritional information, and I look forward to trying some more casseroles to stock the freezer for Baby's arrival. I'll let you know how it goes.

Destash: Scrap Fabric Wreath

2008-10-04T10:04:00.011-04:00

In an effort to continue cleaning out my stash of craft supplies, I made this festive wreath for the basement door. I pulled all my red, pink, and green colored fabrics, and used them up to make a new decoration!

First, I cut the fabric into strips that are about 1 1/2" x 6"; any size really will work, just make sure you can tie the strips in a knot.

Then, with your purchased wire wreath frame, start tying the strips onto the frame, packing them pretty tightly to cover all the space.

Continue in this way until you've covered the frame and the wreath is pleasing to you. I finished it by tying a pretty ribbon on one side to use as a hanger.

Easy! And now you have an (almost) free new holiday, or anyday, decoration!

Peach Gobbler

2008-10-04T10:04:00.004-04:00

This is the peach cobbler (or gobbler!) I made with those beautiful fruit farm peaches a couple of weeks ago. I used the Cook's Illustrated New Best Recipe formula, and it was worth the extra effort. My beef with Cook's recipes are that they use so. many. dishes. So my goal, whenever using their recipes, is to reduce the amount of dishes, preferably to one bowl or pan. Maybe it's the artist in me, but I don't mind missing ingredients and usually just try to substitute something similar:) I'm not sure that would make the Cook's people proud!

To Market

2008-10-02T09:07:00.003-04:00

I've started utilizing re-usable grocery bags when doing my shopping, and I love eliminating the clutter of plastic bags, as well as helping the environment. I still haven't found a solution to the plastic produce bags, but this little market bag above is a first attempt at creating something re-usable, practical, and pretty (of course!) for holding fruits and vegetables. I modified a wonderful pattern from Knittique.com, making shorter handles, and held two strands of linen yarn together to make it really strong. Now, I think it's just about perfect for carrying those heavy fruits and vegetables. This one in the picture is destined for a new friend, so I have to get busy making more for myself!

And the winner is....

2008-10-01T08:49:00.003-04:00

Kelli...who's favorite Audrey movie is Breakfast at Tffany's! Kelli, if you would send me your snail mail address to bibliosophy@gmail.com, I will pop your present in the mail.

Thanks to all who entered, it was fun hearing all the different movie favorites, and I appreciate your participation. And stay tuned for another giveaway soon!

Last Call for the Giveaway

2008-09-30T10:56:00.001-04:00

Today's the last day to sign up for the pincushion giveaway! You can check out the picture of it and enter a few posts below.

Christmas Progress

2008-09-29T09:32:00.003-04:00

Saturday I finished these, the last three of my four remaining Christmas present projects. They are leather bound picture albums, with decorative paper accenting the covers and endpapers.

Every year we go back and forth on how to handle Christmas presents in the family: there are no grandchildren yet (the first, ours, is due in January), so we haven't been able to use the no presents for adults rule yet. For ourselves, we are trying to keep gifts to a miminum and be very intentional and thoughtful about what we give. This year, I'm hand-making all the gifts except one, and to me, that makes a gift very special. I hope our family recipients agree!

How do you handle gifts between the adults in your family?

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway a couple posts below!

1980's Re-Vamp

2008-09-27T15:29:00.006-04:00

I remember making these fun necklaces with my mom for presents as a kid in the '80's. Essentially, they're a tube of fabric, stuffed with large round beads, with pony beads on the outside between each large bead. I was reminded of them the other day with a photo of a many-hundred dollared necklace from a big name designer in In Style Magazine. So I thought I'd try making my own again. This time around, about 20 years later, I used some bright Kaffe Fassett fabric, with wooden beads replacing the pony beads for a more sophisticated, grown-up look.

And I like the results! I used 3/4" wooden balls from the craft store, and made my fabric tube about 2" in diameter. It's tough to get the first wooden bead over the fabric sleeve, but once you've gotten one, the rest are easy. And, I would start from the middle of the necklace and work out on each side, just to make sure you've spaced everything properly in the fabric sleeve.

A modified version of these has also appeared in Amy Butler books. It's a great way to use up fabric scraps!

A Giveaway - "Tiffany's Box" Pincusion

2008-09-24T08:46:00.003-04:00

I've decided to host my first blog giveaway! This lovely Tiffany's box reproduction pincusion (made by me) is up for grabs. So...just leave me a comment with your favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, or if you don't have a favorite Audrey movie (gasp!), then a movie where the Tiffany's store is featured (like Sweet Home Alabama). Next Wednesday (October 1) I'll draw a name and get your little gift in the mail!

I forgot to add my favorite Audrey movie: Sabrina, hands down (unless there's some other one I'm forgetting:).

Honeymoon Scarf

2008-09-21T19:02:00.005-04:00

On our honeymoon in London three + years ago, I indulged in a little Liberty fabric shopping. I purchased this 100% wool paisley fabric with the intention of making a scarf, because that's what my mom always did with beautiful Liberty fabric. This summer, I finally got around to making one, so this scarf is, somewhat improperly, named the Honeymoon Scarf. As my first venture into sewing with this kind of fabric, I used one piece of fabric, cut to size, then made a seam around the whole piece, about 5/8" from the edge. Then, using it's natural fraying properties, I pulled the loose threads off the edges to make a fringe.

It worked better in some places than in others.

Thankfully, I still have another whole piece this size, and I'm going to hem the edges this time.

It made it safely

2008-09-18T12:34:00.003-04:00

My bag, that is, made it safely all the way to Australia, where it now lives with k10 from Ravelry. So now I finally get to post pics of the finished bag, and I really like how it turned out! This was for a knitted, felted or crocheted purse swap on Ravelry, the Great Knitted Purse Swap.

Fruit Farming

2008-09-17T14:28:00.002-04:00

Our goodies from the fruit farm Saturday. Fresh farm peaches are soooo much better than store-bought; I had no idea!

Green Bookmaking

2008-09-16T20:51:00.007-04:00

This book was created for a challenge: to use only, or mostly, recycled materials in a book. All of the materials in this one are recycled except for the pretty green cover paper.

The inner pages are made from Trader Joe's grocery bags, as are the endpapers. It has a buttonhole binding with leftover scraps of Irish linen thread in natural, green, and red to match the book. It's up in the shop now!

Surprise Baby

2008-09-12T18:00:00.003-04:00

My finished Baby Surprise Jacket! So much fun to knit, especially with my very own handpainted yarn (plus it was a stash buster!); and I even figured out how it went together before completely finishing. The vintage buttons are from my great-grandma's collection.

This sweater will only work if it's a girl of course, so I'll be soon starting a companion little boy version!

Playing with Clay

2008-09-10T17:41:00.003-04:00

Finally, I'm making some more clay book covers! These clay covers were what first got me into bookbinding, but I haven't made a new batch for quite some time. It was fun to try some new patterns and decorations on the covers, and I have high hopes for this group. The firing process is so unpredictable: sometimes the covers warp in the bisque fire, and sometimes they warp in the glaze fire. And sometimes the glaze doesn't turn out right, and sometimes the covers just crack! So there are a multitude of things that can go wrong, but overall, I usually get at least 10 sets that are usable.

A Two Pie Day

2008-09-07T17:32:00.004-04:00

Today we had the faintest hint of the brisk air of fall, so I had to make an apple pie. Hopefully we will pick our own apples in the next few weeks, my favorite fall activity, but for now, store-bought apples in homemade apple pie will suffice. Last year we missed apple picking because a hard frost around Easter blighted the apple crop. I have high hopes for this year though.

This is my favorite pie recipe of all time, Swedish Apple Pie; it is so delicious, and so easy.

Take 5-6 large apples, slice them, and arrange in a pie plate. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon each of cinnamon and sugar. Then, mix 3/4 cup melted butter, with 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, a dash of salt, and a spritz of vanilla. Mix well, and spoon over the apples. Bake at 35o degrees Farenheit for about 45 minutes, until golden brown. And serve with vanilla ice cream.

The second pie of the day is my favorite quiche, also easy, and so good. Buy a pre-made pie crust, layer 2 cups of shredded mozzarella in the botton of the crust, along with any other goodies, like chopped pre-cooked ham, tomatoes, or other veggies. Then, mix 5 large eggs with a little bit of milk, until its a nice pastel yellow color, and pour over the crust. Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 40 minutes at 350, until the eggs are set. This is yummy served with a green salad and fruit for a light dinner, or a lovely brunch.

Finished February Lady!

2008-08-29T18:17:00.003-04:00

I could not love this sweater more; I even took the time to block it and counted down the hours until it dried! (No, I don't usually block my handknits - I know, I know, I really should!) Then with some of my great-grandma's vintage buttons, I finished it off and had to wait till DH came home to model it for the camera. Now, I just have to wait for the weather to get cold enough to actually wear it.

And I had another thought: wouldn't it be sweet to have our baby announcement picture with Baby wearing it's handmade sweater, and me wearing mine? I'm not sure what DH would wear (the sweater I knit for him when we were engaged could fit a giant; he's tall, but not that tall!).

Ideas Please

2008-08-25T10:43:00.003-04:00

I have this gorgeous pile of patterned silks on my sewing table waiting for inspiration to strike. There is about a yard of each pattern, but I'm reluctant to make anything with them because they are so special. These fabrics came hand-picked from China by a dear friend as a wedding present; what a great wedding present, huh?! I could not have asked for anything more perfect! (As a matter of fact, I did ask for her to bring me some Chinese fabrics:)

So, I am wrestling with what to make with them: it needs to be useful, or beautiful, and something that I can always remember my friend by. Any thoughts?

Handpainting Yarn

2008-08-22T11:59:00.006-04:00

These are some handpainted yarns that I made last year in my kitchen using just food coloring, water, vinegar, and heat. It is so fun and easy, and you can use the dyes to make multiple skeins for a large project. Click on the post title to link to the article that taught me how to do it. (I used the cold pour method she teaches in the article.)

Knitting Kindnesses

2008-08-22T11:37:00.003-04:00

Well, this has slowly morphed into a knitting blog; just while I'm taking a little break from bookbinding...

My sweater problem is solved: yesterday, I was given a great kindness by a new friend in Minneapolis who is kindly allowing me to use her stash like my LYS. I now have enough yarn to finish my Lady Sweater! I am pumped, this may just be the best sweater I have ever made. I tried on what I had so far last night and it fits; amazing!

Progress...and concern

2008-08-20T13:21:00.003-04:00

I am now this far on my February Lady Sweater and loving it. But...my yarn is getting used up much quicker than I thought it would. I have 7 skeins of Classic Elite Lush, with 124 yards per skein, so total about 868 yards. Which technically should be enough for the sweater. In this picture I'm about 1/4 of the way through my fourth skein.

So, any ideas for what to do if the yarn runs out? My plan is to continue working the body for as long as I want the sweater/as long as the yarn holds out. If I have any left, I'll add it to the sleeves. They may end up as cap sleeves. Or, what do you think about adding a new yarn to finish the sleeves? Good idea or bad idea?

February in July

2008-08-19T10:28:00.006-04:00

As a means to using up my yarn stash, I've started on a February Lady Sweater, with some rose colored Classic Elite Lush. I think this picture communicates just how soft and fuzzy this yarn is. It is lovely to work with, beautifully soft, but it sheds something fierce! I have to remember not to work on it when I'm wearing black, or white. Today will be perfect as I'm wearing hot pink (a nice hot pinky color, not a fluroescent one!).

And I've been working on my partner's purse for The Great Knitted Purse Swap on Ravelry and having so. much. fun. This is a sneak peek of part of the purse (and a little blurry at that), but I don't want to give it all away, even though my partner doesn't know who I am.

The Great Knitted Purse Swap

2008-08-14T09:11:00.003-04:00

I'm participating in my first knitting swap on Ravlery with a knitted purse swap. This is my completed questionaire so everyone knows my knitting likes and dislikes!

Do you knit, crochet, or do both? For how long?
Knit, for about 13 years

What are your 5 favorite purses in your queue that you would like to recieve? or would you like your swapee to surprise you and get creative?
Surprise me! If you want a hint, I really like Noni felted purses; but don’t feel obliged, I really like surprises too!

What other crafts do you do, if any?
I am a bookbinder and have a small business selling my work. I also sew a little:)

What are your favorite colors? Colors you loathe?
I love jewel tone colors, and pinks, greens, blues. I don’t like browns or neutral colors, or fluroescent/neon colors.

What type of purse would you like to recieve? (knitted, crochet, felted)
I would love a felted purse; otherwise knitted.

Are you allergic to anything?
Nope.

Favorite yarn brands? Fiber types? Yarn you can’t stand?
I love lots of yarn brands; my favorites are Rowan or Manos del Uraguay. I love natural fibers, mainly wool!

What is your favorite type of item to knit/crochet?
I really like to make sweaters, but I’m also knitting baby things now. And I’m getting into washcloths/dishcloths.

What kind of needles do you like? (i.e. circular, straight, metal, bamboo, etc.)
I love my Addi Turbos, otherwise, any kind of circular. But I would love a pair of beautiful wood needles.

Any knitting tools you lack but crave?
I can’t really think of any. I don’t have any cute stitch markers, or a good gauge.

Patterns you’ve been dying to get but haven’t yet?
Can’t think of any. I am knitting more baby things, so something baby-related would be nice.

Do you drink coffee, tea, cocoa or add to water beverages? Flavors you love/hate?
I drink decaf coffee right now, and I love decaf fruit teas.

Favorite sweets & snacks?
Anything chocolate!

What kinds of books do you like to read? Favorite authors or genres?
I read classics, or classic mysteries, think Agatha Christie. I’ve pretty much gone through all of hers though. Hmmm…Now I’ve started on Margery Allingham, she also writes classic mysteries.

What type of lip product do you use?
Clinique Sweet Honey lipstick; but I always like a subtle lip gloss, of any brand!

Do you collect anything? (besides yarn! LOL!)
Just old books, I guess. I also love vintage textiles and buttons.

What, if any, are your non-craft related hobbies?
Cooking, reading

Scents you adore? Scents that make you gag?
Hmm…I get smell headaches pretty easily, so I’m not much for scented things.

It Really is the Best

2008-08-13T16:24:00.004-04:00

The best granola that is. I was pretty skeptical at first, but after eating it for breakfast, mid-morning snack, mid-afternoon snack, and before-bedtime snack, I'm convinced. The recipe is Andy's Fairfield Granola, from the "Feast" cookbook by Nigella Lawson. DH loves it too, and diminishes my supply rapidly by large handfuls. Today's batch is really for him, because he's been working so hard; we may go through the whole supply in front of the tube watching the Olympics!
The granola, as one of my new favorites, is destined for Christmas presents this year. Now, I just need to start collecting some pretty little containers to wrap it in.

Really, do try it, it will become a habit.

I'm taking a little break from bookbinding while I finish up this quarter's Masters classes, so I'm enjoying some extra cooking and knitting in my breaks. What I should really be enjoying is some extra cleaning...oh well!