cloth.paper.string

motivated by stripes

Yesterday at Goodwill I happened upon the perfect stripes in the form of a very strange lace up shirt.  The stripes are the exact colors of a cardigan that I've been working on for the little miss - a simple neck-down raglan out of a pink-red-brown Cascade 220.  With a little help from Kath's kid's pants tutorial, I whipped out some stretchy stripey pants and now can't wait to finish off the edge of the cardigan.  Yes I just said that -- I never ever am excited about the finishing involved in a knitting project.  The completion, yes; but never the finishing.  Funny how a lace-up shirt can change one's perspective...

needlebook

I stumbled into the world of crafty blogs last spring when it seemed that everyone was following Craftapalooza's lead in transforming their uninspired tape measures into soft colorful orbs.  I was busy figuring out how to be a mama to a very little babe and couldn't jump on the bandwagon, so I tucked the idea into a milk-stained pocket.  And with it Claire's darling needlebooks. 
Last week a dear friend and knitter celebrated a birthday.  The time had come to bring those ideas to fruition.  Let's just say the tape measure was a miserable mess, but not a complete failure, as it got many laughs -- I'm certain that there will be many more...
But the needlebook was a hit.  A piece of a thrifted moth-eaten cashmere sweater makes up the inside -- perfect for holding those chubby tapestry needles.

doodled vest

This simple vest for the little miss was my 'doodle' during a recent work seminar.  A purplish green cotton wool blend, which is holding up well with seemingly daily washing.  I can't recall exactly why the purple shell buttons landed in by button jar, but I think they're perfect here.  The pattern is a hybrid of a v-neck vest and crew-neck dress from this book.

seaglass

Shards of glass tumbled smooth by the waves, the rocks, the sand and time.  As a child I would comb the beaches for these jewels, collecting the treasures in jars on windowsills.  The year I moved to the mountains my mother presented me with a large jar of sea glass as a gift.  To remember the sea. 

Now I make my home on the shore of Lake Superior.  An inland sea.  It is a treat to be able to collect smooth pieces of glass on walks along the beach.  To find pieces with clues about the past still intact.  The ridge of a twist top.  A lip of a bottle.  The surprising yellow of what may have been the cover of a vehicle turn signal.  The locals call these pieces of glass angel's tears, but I prefer to think of them as sea glass, to think of how the vast body of water before me connects to the ocean in more ways than the one traveled by passing ships.

giddy up!

A small and simple baby quilt for the littlest babe in the family.  Brady was born in December, and is a cousin-of-sorts -- that is he's the grandson of my second cousin.  Not sure exactly what that makes him, but the little miss will surely know him as a cousin. 

The soft flannels were bound using Heather Bailey's fantastic continuous quilt binding tutorial.  I am slowly teaching myself to sew, and must say I felt that there was a bit of magic happening as a little strip became the neat edge. 

I wasn't expecting that I'd have to hand sew one side, but appreciate the quiet time I was forced to spend contemplating the layers of cloth and the babe it would swaddle.  I also quickly realized  that I desperately need a thimble!

pink

Finally winter is upon us.  A certain sign is beet risotto.  I spend what seems to be the better part of the afternoon standing, stirring in front of the stove as grains take on a rich creaminess.  Perfect for a gray day is this shock of pink, comforting to the eye as well as the belly.  The recipe comes from this book.

datebook

This fall I moved to a smaller town, a simpler life.  The week I left the city my PDA froze.  I took it as a sign.  Since it's nearly impossible to get an interesting datebook in September I converted pages a Moleskine journal into a weekly planner for the remainder of the year.  Simple, but somewhat stark.  For 2007 I have covered a calendar text block from Paper Source with marbled paper left over from a bookbinding project.  A daily reminder of the satisfaction of creating an object of both beauty and function, as well as the simpler life I seek.