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yarn along

Yippee, new yarn! I finally decided on a new and easy project, went and purchased a lovely shade of green yarn, and haven't been able to put it down since. Andrew has wanted a moss colored scarf for {ashamedly} years. We found a great pattern on Ravelry, that he approved, and I think he might actually be able to wear it before the week is out. Just in time for the cold snap that seems to be intruding on our hopes for spring. Maybe everyone needs a new scarf to cheer us up till warmer weather!

 

Rounding out my Michael Pollen kick is his book The Botany of Desire. This is the hardest book for me to enjoy so far, in that it is a bit more difficult to ignore the fact that he weighs heavy on evolutional theories. Which in all other manners of interest I have been able to weed out from the meat of his thoughts. But this particular angle is a bit more challenging in that regard. However, as always, the topics of his study and research results in simply fascinating stuff.

 

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yarn along

My knitting needles have been a little quiet as of late but they are still making an appearance from outside the weaved basket beside my bed now and again. {Relocations are rough on an ample sense of creative time allotment.}

Just before Christmas I was given a hand written pattern from my grandmother. It was of the baby blanket she has made for every child, grandchild, great-grandchild, friend's baby, and probably friend of a friend's baby over the many years I've witnessed her needles in hand! My own children pull their blanket from the cedar chest every winter with great joy, using them not only to sleep with but also as an extra companion for reading, a tent for secret hideaways, or the perfect cape while defeating a super-villain.

As I watched my daughter one evening, getting newly enraptured with the concept of playing dolls, the thought occurred to me that a smaller version of our beloved blankets would be a splendid coverlet for the new baby crib soon to be sitting under the Christmas tree. It was extremely simple to modify the pattern and came out looking wonderful. So I cast on again for my niece's baby doll and have since devoted two more skeins for another.

I also enjoyed the company of Love in a Time of Homeschooling, by Laura Brodie. It was purchased as an antidote in a moment of home education realities {emphasis intended}. And I actually would recommend its cure to many. It is off the beaten path of my regular dose of inspiration in that it isn't idealistic in the least! But it made me exhale a bit and carry on with a redirected reasoning as to why we've made the choices in education that we have; while also providing a well needed perspective on unpleasant vs amazing moments, which will always be a part of directly tutoring an off-grid, strongly opinionated, excessively brilliant preteen. Isn't that a mouthful! And what a privilege it is too.

 

If you would like to see other project and fantastic book selections

join in at Yarn Along

yarn along

I've been following a blog for a bit that is simply an enjoyable journal to read. From her life I find a smorgasbord of inspiration from homeschooling to adoption and from knitting to cooking gluten-free. Can you see why I love her thoughts? Anyway, on Wednesdays she begin the Yarn Along to which you can post your current knitting project and book-reading selection. Sounds like fun to me! But the best part is satisfying that curious desire to see what everyone else is knitting up and reading out. 

I {heart} sharing.

 

I'm knitting my first garment that is suppose to be worn by an adult. Hopefully that adult will end up being myself, if all goes according to plan. Baby and toddler clothing seems to be far less risky when you have a few children as options for the resulted size. But I'm excited to make this leap into my handmade world. 

The book is Second Nature by Michael Pollan. I've been on a Pollan kick of late. Which you can see a plethora of his titles in my bookshop. Reading up on the element of gardening might seem a bit odd for such a city-bound girl such as I am, sometimes literally but not always so in my dreams. It has indulged the farm girl in me quite thoroughly and by his own words made my education of all things planted far more realistic to nature. 

Join Ginny at Small Things for more delicious exchanges!

new hands

It was finally time for me to pull out the knitting that I have neglected all summer due to a few other things going on. And what should I discover? A curious little one at my side mimicking my every move. Another soul awakening to this lovely art passed down from generational hands.

knit teddy bear #2

It all started with the idea that you can send a small care package if adopting a child over 2 years of age. These items are to include a disposable camera, photo book of the family, and a small stuffed animal. So I decide that I'll make her a teddy bear. Remember this one?

Well in the end the "small" teddy bear was really too big to send. Plus I had been reading that many children are not given their packages, especially the stuffed animal. So in the end I simply included pictures of the teddy bear in her photo book, which we will still be sending, and let her personally meet such a bit of knitted loveliness upon her arrival home. It will be waiting on her bed.

However, in spite of the teddy bear not making the journey, it was very fun to make. It's the first thing I have knitted for my daughter while knowing her beautiful face. George helped me stuff it one evening. He affectionately called it Teddy Roosevelt. And if anyone is wondering, George's teddy is knit as well! I just haven't patched and stuffed him yet. But there are no hard feelings between George and Annika's bear, thank goodness.

My mom lovingly got her embroidery machine out of hiding in order to put her Chinese name on a piece of felt. I chose not to embroider her given name so she would be able to recognize it as belonging to her in the orphanage. And even so, I am now glad that it reflects the beginnings who she is.

The boys were all too pleased to pose with the new teddy bear. Hopefully as much as Annika will.

farmer's market bag

Soaking in a little sunshine and getting ready for the market to open. The farmer's market that is. I wanted to find something to knit that wasn't confined to the winter months. This lovely kit was awaiting me at the Yarn Shop. It's a farmer's market bag. Perfect for slinging over the shoulder and depositing various plastic bags full of fresh vegetable goodies. Also gives me a free hand to hold a weekly bouquet of fragrant and vivid flowers. Oh, I can smell them already. Along with the scent of spring as it blows through open windows of my home today into every living space laid dormant from a long winter.

even boys can learn to knit

So my oldest son gave me a bit of unexpected joy a few days ago. He wanted to learn how to knit! Nicholas enjoys a challenge and he also enjoys figuring out how things work. But I honestly never saw this one coming. 

The boys are always fascinated with what I am knitting. Currently they each have their requests in for my next project. I took them to Ravelry one day, a kind of facebook for knitters, and we all browsed the endless patterns available just waiting for yarn and personal inspiration. The result is that I think I'll be crafting up some crazy looking stuffed animals soon!

Nicholas choose to knit a scarf and he had a pretty good sense of how to accomplish a smooth row. I don't know how long the interest will last but it sure is fun to share something you love with someone you love. 

However, even knitting in this house has a very distinctive "all boy" flare!

scarves

This year for Christmas I really wanted to be able to make something for someone. I wanted to participate in that beautiful exchange that happens when you invest in a gift for another. Of course the right bought present can say a lot as well but I didn't want all of my expressions of love to be in terms of shopping. 

Knitting is the great outlet of my life these days. Through different seasons of life there should always be found something that brings rest, delight, and a sense of accomplishment to your days. Knitting right now is mine. My grandma is the grand patriarch of knitters in my family. I remember as a kid asking her to show me how every time we visited but of course by the time we saw her again I had forgotten. It wasn't until college that I really started pursuing the love of knitting in the capacity to actually enjoy the process. I lived with my grandma during this time and the two of us would enjoy knitting together while watching the latest pbs concert special, this old house, or a jeopardy/wheel of fortune combo. (I always choose to retreat to my second story living quarters before grandma's favorite show made an appearance, the black abyss of Charlie Rose). 

These scarves were my pursuit of the handmade. I made them for my nieces. All sisters ranging in age from 16 to 4. I tried to think of what colors and patterns would best reflect each girl. And in the end I was happy with the result. Not only did I get to think about them as I put my hands to the knitting needles but I also made the great exchange complete as each girl thanked me and then went on and on about how they love anything handmade!

Yes, I know there are six scarves. I also made one for my mother-in-law.

the pink teddy bear

Why would a little knit pink teddy bear make it into our very full home of all boys? Well, you might think that it was for our future daughter. But not this time. You see, I have a niece and as many of you know it was her first birthday this September. Not only is she absolutely adorable we also share the same birthday month. In my family she's the first even close to my birthday. So we're September babies. Kinda fun.

I had a whim to knit her this cuddly teddy bear in pink because I remember my sister's first pink bear and O, how she loved it! (Hannah was kinda a teddy bear fanatic there for awhile) What I never expected was how attached my boys got to this cute and cuddly knit friend - pink and all! They all kept saying how much they liked that I was knitting again?! And then they had the keenest curiosity as to how much I had gotten finished on any particular day.

Truly it was so very fun to finally be knitting something that was for someone right now. Amazingly more fulfilling. But of course I can't resist the beautiful sweaters for little girls. So no sooner was the teddy bear sent off to it's new owner, when I found myself starting on a new pale green bolero for a little girl 18-24 months old. (Yes, this time for our daughter - she has quite the small drawer full of knit items) However, the sweater might have to take sabbatical for George will simply not stop asking when he gets HIS teddy bear!