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one

Today we celebrate the little miss and her first birthday.  There is so much that we have learned together this past year.  So much wonder ahead.  I am truly blessed to have this bundle of fiery spirit in my life.  Happy birthday my love!

jumping

I feel like a kid bouncing almost-out-of-my-skin with excitement about the new trick I've learned.  I tackled buttonholes and interfacing all in one sewing project and I'm pleased with the results!  Sure, to folks that really sew these things are certainly not noteworthy; but to a gal who is teaching herself from a book, this is really big. 

The jumper that makes me jump is made up of linen from a skirt that has hung in my closet for at least five years.  It's one of those tops that either a dress or a smock depending on the season.  The photo doesn't really do much for the jumper, but it does show a sneak peek of an amazing package I received from a new friend.  I promise more on this bundle of goodness once I'm able to make photos that give the gift the justice it deserves... 

a year of color: lavender

This evening a teasing wind coaxed a fogbank of the lightest of lavenders back and forth across the lake.  At times the shore was completely enveloped in wet bone-chilling fog iced by the still frozen lake.  Minutes later the warm winds from the hillside would push the fog aside and allow the warm sun to tickle the shore.  At sunset the warm airs were winning the tug of war. 

Meanwhile, in the stroller the darkest of lavenders swaddled the little miss who decided to take that dreaded early evening nap.

the unraveling

I've been stricken with a bout of knitting paralysis.  I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I made a significant error in sizing the hourglass sweater.  It's going to be too small.  I've been frozen between the thought of undoing two skeins worth of stitches and the idea that it just might work if I forge ahead.  Since this discovery, the project has languished in the knitting bag that somehow gets pushed a bit further under the couch each day.  Countless times I've measured up the green knitted piece to a sweater with a really good fit hoping for a spark to help me decide how to proceed.

And then I read Liesl's post.  The very same sweater.  The very same problem.  But she finished it and had then resolved to take it apart and knit it again.  I knew that if she could pull out a year's worth of knitting, that I could easily undo a month's worth.  And so, thanks to a little deconstructive inspiration, the unraveling has begun.

inside and out

A sudden trip to the cities brought us to the new library for an afternoon this week.  Outside, stark yet organic landscaping.  Inside, whimsy at the information desk.

spring is...

Spring is 'Happy Birthday' to the leaves....
Spring is welcome to a robin...
Spring is good morning to the earthworms...
- from Mircea Vasiliu, The Year Goes Round
Outside my window spring is wet heavy snow lasting just a day.  Spring is carrot noses from fallen snowmen snatched up by curious dogs.  Spring is birds remembering their song.  Spring is just beginning to stir...

However the season is unfolding before you, happy equinox!

a year of color: burnt sienna

Window detail from the church outside my office window.   I love watching the shadow and light change on this south-facing building throughout the day.  And the brickwork.  Can you imagine how glorious the built environment would be if such care and attention to detail was the norm in current construction and design practices? 

I'm really enjoying the AYOC flickr group.  Each Sunday a new color is selected from a big box of Crayola's as the color to capture with camera.  People participate by posting their favorite shots with the week's color.  For the past few days I've been tuned in to the burnt sienna in my world as never before.  I love the discoveries that I'm making by paying attention in this simple and new way. 

quick fixation

A few times each day the little one finds something that she becomes completely enraptured by.  Whatever the object, she totes it around for some time as if it were the most precious and important thing in the whole of the world.  She doesn't yet walk so her crawling becomes fiddler-crab-like as she balances treasure in her claw.  She also gets quite serious about these finds, jabbering intensely to them/about them.  I keep anticipating that one of these bits will end up as a her long-term 'security blanket', but she remains fickle.  Typically something from the mailman becomes said prize for part of the afternoon -- a torn envelope, billing statement or colorful bit of bulk advertising.  Today, the contents of a package caught her fancy.  I had ordered some ribbons for a Soule Mama-inspired birthday crown, and the little miss quickly decided which of the ribbons would adorn her crown later this month. 

gocco love

I forgot how much I love the print gocco.  A friend, who plans to make her wedding invitations, came over this weekend to see the gocco in action.  In looking for a fun sample to make, I found a long-lost leaf rubbing that I knew immediately would be perfect for a gift I'm working on.  I hadn't ever gocco-ed an image with both intricate and fuzzy detail before.  I quite like the results.  Here's a sneak peak.  

And, I just learned that the Japanese word 'gocco' is a loose translation of make-believe play used to learn common rules and knowledge.  Perfect.

smock & roo

Another smock for the little miss.  But still no smocket -- that is, I've yet to add a pocket to one of these little criss cross tops.  We're suddenly all about 'inside' -- you know, putting blocks back inside the box, paper inside the dishwasher, dominoes inside the heating ducts...  I think I hear a call for pockets.

For now, though, a roo will have to do.  From Who, Said Sue, Said Whoo?, a fantastically fun book from a recent thrifting adventure, this roo hopped onto a onesie with a little help from a freezer paper stencil.  Be warned, there will certainly be more fabric printing in my future.