February 2nd, 2012

Stripey Stripey, I love stripes!

by Christina

Sock Yarn Cardigan

Hello Friends!

I wanted to get this posted yesterday… but Lil John was under the weather again with a runny nose. Ugh.. being two is hard. Not only are you learning a million things a minute but your immune system is getting conditioned and knocked about. Poor little guy.

We had a lot of “car road” time and “pooh-bear” time yesterday. All the cars drive to “Gimmie’s House” where they eat apples and play with Gimmie and Papa. And Pooh-bear is a “silly-bear” who sometimes plays cars too.  Oh, my – it’s fun to see John’s imagination.

The Rag Bag Cardi is almost finished! I can’t believe it. It has been so fast to knit – I think that is because it is so much fun to knit stripes.

I added some lace panels to the bottom. I think it adds a bit of contrast and interest to the piece.

I can’t wait to get the front band on and to give it a good bath and blocking session. Hopefully early next week we’ll have a ta-dah post!

Also, I do think bright stripes are a must for January knitting from now on out. It was so happy and fun to knit during the rather quiet month. It added such brightness and happiness to knit with happy colors…

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January 31st, 2012

Playing House

by Christina

Hello Friends! So sorry for another little absence.

Towards the end of last week I found myself busy, tidying the house for company.

And then the weekend came and with it company and the house was filled with laughter, little children, lots of food, heaps of tea and fond memories.

The house is quiet again… but not for long… in a couple hours fun and laughter will descend upon the house… Heather and mom are coming over to work on a project with me…

I’ll tell you about it soon!

ta-ta for now!

C

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January 24th, 2012

Yarn Along

by Christina

sock yarn cardi

I’ve been amazed at how quickly this Rag Bag Cardi is growing under my fingers.  Two sleeves are complete. I knitted them flat so that I have a nice seam in which I can hide the ends.

I’ve been reminiscing as I knit – “Oh, yes, this yarn I made my sister-in-law a shawl out of. This was mom’s Christmas socks…oooh and so was this – boy when did I knit that?”  I think I could also call this sweater the memory lane sweater.

The one thought that gives me great pleasure is: these little scraps of yarn are not hitting the dust bin but being worked into something creative and wearable.

And yes, wearable. I know a few of you have commented on the colorful stripes … and yes, have mentioned that they couldn’t be seen in public. Well, perhaps. But… did you notice Anthropologie is selling a sweater very similar to my idea – heavier yarn of course:

So I can’t be completely crazy! =)

What am I reading? Well, I’m “re-listening/re-reading” An Irish Country Village. Over Christmas I read, A Dublin Student Doctor, and decided to go back because I couldn’t remember a few details from earlier in the series. If you haven’t read this series by Patrick Taylor you should give it a try. It’s a lovely easy read.

Joining Ginny in her Yarn Along

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January 24th, 2012

Following In Footsteps

by Christina

So many people shutter themselves inside during the cold winter months. But there is so much quiet beauty outdoors that I cannot do that. Almost every weekend we make some escapade into the woods for a little jaunt.

I remember doing going for winter walks as a child. I remember the crunch of the snow under my boots and find that sound fascinating. I remember drinking hot jello out of a thermos and how yummy the snacks always tasted because one seemed hungrier in the cold.

Now I’m following in those same footsteps and taking John out for winter walks. He seems to marvel at the same crunching sound under his boots. I haven’t fed him hot jello out of a thermos but somehow I think he’d like it. So far we’ve opted for hot tea at home or coffee out at Starbucks.

I realize that so much of what we do as adults is what we are used to doing and have done… beginning with the adventures and things we did as children.  We are less likely to do things we are unfamiliar with.

Perhaps little John will take his kids on winter walks one day.

CategoryMothering, My Life, Weekending | Comment4 Comments »

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January 17th, 2012

Felted Mittens

by Christina

toddler felted wool mittens handmade

I’m so pleased you all liked the two new shawls. Yesterday was an exciting day when Mama Ruffles drifted up to the 13th most popular knitting pattern on Ravelry. What excitement… and then it drifted down the ranks again… yep, things come and things go.

Last week John and I made these mittens together. I noticed he had done what every child does during the winter… lost a mitten. So it was time to make some more.

He waited, somewhat patiently, while I finished the household chores for the morning. (I had given him the plain cut out pieces to hold while I did the dishes, laundry and mopped the floor.)

toddler felted wool mittens

Then we went down to the basement (i.e. the project room) and began.
“Would you like a car or a funny face on them?” I asked.
“A car.” he said (of course)
“Would you like a red car or a blue car?” I asked again.
“A red car.” (of course)

I could have predicted his answers but it drew him into the process. Then I had him sit on a chair to one side of the sewing machine and he watched, entranced as I sewed the pieces together.

Toddler felted wool mittens handmade

When we were done he was so proud of his new mittens! And it was a fun activity to do with him. The one thing I need to add is a little band of elastic to help them stay on a little better.

As soon as I’m feeling better (have another blasted cold in my nose) I’ll write up a little tutorial.

ta-ta for now!

Christina

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January 16th, 2012

Enjoying today

by Christina

handmade

I wrote this post a little over a week ago but never got around to posting it. But I thought you would enjoy my reflections on a January Tea even if it is a little after the fact.

Today was a perfect January day. The temperatures outside were bitter and biting. The snow on the ground glittered and crunched under your feet.

John and I worked on chores and rewarded ourselves with a “project.” He chose the colors and car. I did the sewing while he watched, fascinated, on a chair beside me.

After lunch we packed the car up and headed off through the woods and over the resevoir to the cousins’ house where we spent our afternoon. Tea was savored – four kinds in fact, books were discussed, crazy events were laughed over, finished projects were displayed and current projects were worked on… all while the wind whistled and blew outside.

Yes, today was a perfect January day.

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January 15th, 2012

Mama Ruffles & Baby Ruffles

by Christina

 handknit lace shawl pattern LOFT

One of the things I love about my family is how inspiring they are to me. My mom and sisters are wonderfully creative – amazingly creative. Each sister has a special talent. And my mom, well… she taught us all we know and then inspired us to go beyond her knowledge.

It was my older sister (I’m right in the middle, so I hope you can forgive me for referring to my sisters as older and younger) who inspired me to create the Mama & Baby Ruffles shawls.

handknitted lace shawl LOFT

She mentioned that we needed a cute “Baby” shawl for little Laura (her youngest) and of course I agreed. When it was finished she said, “Well, I want one too.” So Mama Ruffles was born. But then we all liked Mama Ruffles better than the first Baby Ruffles (now renamed Shoulder Ruffles) and another shawl was made (now the current Baby Ruffles).

Ah, you see how delightfully complicated inspiration is! =)

If I could dedicate patterns I think I would dedicate this pattern first to my Mom – who inspired me to be creative and then to my sis, Heather, who is a fabulous mother to 5 very creative children… and of course… to little Laura who has made it through so much. Love you little girl!

Here are the links for the patterns.

Mama Ruffles

Baby Ruffles

The new CCKnits Knitting News just went out and it contains a coupon for them. If you are not a subscriber – subscribe. You’ve missed out on this month’s patterns… but you are still in time for the rest of the year!

happy knitting!

C

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January 13th, 2012

The Recession Cardi/Rag Bag Cardi

by Christina

sock yarn cardigan

I am making great progress on my Recession Cardi which amazes me because I feel I have had no time to knit.

I think I end up staying up a bit later than I should at night. It’s so much fun to knit, “just one more stripe.” It’s also fun to look at the basket of sock yarn remnants and scheme up which color should be next.

A little snow fell yesterday here in the Indiana prairie. It was so much fun to watch and talk about with John.  I have really missed the snow this year. John is the perfect age to begin to play in its feathery depths. It is bringing back a lot of memories from when I was a little girl – the deep snows of Vermont and sledding down Grandma’s great big hill…

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January 12th, 2012

Winter Walks

by Christina

walking in Eagle Creek Indiana

IndianaIndianaIndianaOne of the things I love about winter walks is the starkness of the landscape. There is very little color but a lot of texture in winterscapes. It is as if you are glimpsing the undressed beauty of the earth.

On Sundays John, JK and I like to take walks. This past Sunday we discovered a new walk and were delighted with the experience. John said we were tracking Woozels (sp?) like Pooh and Piglet. We pretended right along with him and even found some deer tracks for him to inspect. I am really enjoying the wonders of my 2-year-old boy. What fun!

I hope you all had a grand, restful weekend.

So sorry for the terrible pics – I only had my phone with me.

And so sorry for the absence earlier in the week. I’ve been working behind the scenes to pull the January newsletter  together. Monday is the release day for the newsletter and the new patterns. You’ll want to make sure you’ve signed up!

happy knitting!

Christina

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January 9th, 2012

A PhotoShoot Kind of Day

by Christina

Hello friends! Did you have a good weekend? I had a lovely, relaxing weekend, even though it included a broken washer due to a felting project of mine. Yes! I know! My father and my husband had to take apart the washer, find the confounded wad of fiber, take it out, and then put the washer back together…

I have a very good husband… he didn’t complain or get mad at me one little bit.

While he was fixing the washer with my dad, my sisters and I were trying to meet for a quick impromtu photo shoot.

You just have to laugh with me. When I imagine a photo shoot I always think of this well planned, well designed set with lots of people in the background with props and tips and make up artists.

Not here at CCKnits! No way! It’s usually goes something like this… all of a sudden I realize I have a new pattern that needs to come out next week and I panic, reach for the phone and call my sister with the camera, “When can you stop your busy schedule, leave your 5 kids and take some pictures?” Sometimes after looking over the schedules we realize that, well, we had better get in the car and head out right now to take the photos!

That’s almost how it went on Saturday. But, boy, do we have fun. This time my “model” sister came as the prop director and Little Laura came as the second model.

I’ll give you a hint… it’s a mother/daughter shawl! Or as in the case of the above photo an Auntie/Niece shawl!  Isn’t that fun?

ta-ta for now!

PS: All the photos are slurped from my sister’s blog. Even though you will see the same photos you should hop on over there and read her post – it’s all about the little model! =)

 

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