Ahh...The English Seaside

Uhh...it's gray and snowing, freezing, and hurricane windy. I want to go here -

Stunning beach house in Whitstable built in 1884 for use by the British Army. Fantastic interior and interesting props. Private beach and decked seating area. Large pretty cottage garden. (What was the British Army doing at this fabulous beach house? Sign me up.)

I found these gorgeous pictures at jujulovespolkadots. Now that would be a dream vacation - to be in that cottage by the sea, taking classes taught by Julie. She just seems so clever and funny. It's fun to dream anyhow.

As long as we're dreaming, check out the other country estates pictured at the Oak Management web site - can you imagine?! I think I'd enjoy 'The Woodland House' in Bath while on my Jane Austen tour. They even have a category for 'Quirky' properties. Can you tell I'm really avoiding the housework today?

nothin' could be finer than to knit with Caroliner

Today's a half day at school. Alissa went to a friend's house, and Emily has a full day (poor girl), so I have Caroline all to myself. Guess what she asked to do?.....she actually asked to knit with me - oh my heart goes pitter-pat!

March is Red and Pink

I'm not officially participating in Project Spectrum - but I thought I'd make something red just for the fun of it. I love the color red, but for some reason, I don't ever wear it, decorate my home with it, or craft with it - hmm... So this little word cloud was about all I could pull off.

Now pink is another story. In a home with three little girls we have loads of pink, and I mean that literally. I am amazed that I can do two full loads pink (or pinkish) clothes each week.

As I finish this post I've realized that I overlooked some red that is literally staring me in the face - this groovy 3-D poppy that Alissa made hangs above my computer.

Get Unstuck

Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun

Sick Day

Caroline is home with me today - she ate too many strawberries and got a tummy-ache. It's nice to have her here. We're reading The Hundred Dresses - a great book for little girls to read, and help them think about being kind to other girls who might be a little bit different.

Caroline found this tea cup in the bag where I keep all the shards of lovely things I've broken. I usually can't bear to just toss them. I imagine that some day I'll make something clever out of them. Anyhow, she salvaged this pretty cup (apparently I only broke the saucer) - she's been sipping her OJ from the cup with a bendy straw, very elegant.

Signs

Is the Pearl Buck Swing Jacket in my future? I'm beginning to think so. Although I'm completely put off by all the piecing and finishing involved, I'm still drawn to it. First it really is a beautiful sweater, second the model in IK looks just like a grown up version of my niece Anya, and third The Good Earth is one of my favorite books ever. Last night I opened up my e-mail and found this:

Be-eth ... Be-e-eth. Kni-i-it me...

Love, PBSJ


strange.

TGIF

I've been waiting for this day. My red envelope arrived from Amy probably over a week ago (along with the always fun to peruse King Arthur Flour catalog). But I haven't dared to open it until I had a day - a day to myself to really enjoy it. It's been long in coming, but hurray the day is finally here and how cute are her illustrations?!




I feel like a little kid, so excited to have something fun arrive in the mail. Now maybe I'll actually get myself organized. It's just so nice to have the house to myself - it seems so rare these days. I plan to spend the rest of the day with Hemingway, and my Hourglass sweater.

This is the view out my kitchen window



So I was feeling quite pleased with my picture of these cheery daffodils (although beginning to droop a little) in their humble little Ball jar.



Then I checked out Yarnstorm as I always do - and could only laugh when I saw Jane's fabulous vase of Daffs. Now how sad are mine?

Y is for Yarn

Oh happy day - after months of struggle, Caroline had her a-ha moment. Suddenly she's reading - this is such an exciting thing to watch. When you break it down into all it's basic elements, it amazes me that anyone learns how to read at all. I have no memories of learning how to read, other than that I was painfully aware of being in the slow reader's group in the first grade. While all the quick little readers were in the bunny group, I was relegated to the snake group - and believe me I couldn't have felt lower than a snake. I swear what are some teachers thinking?

This graphic is from the Jan Brett web site - I love her illustrations. She has tons of cute activities posted on her site. Check it out

Time's up!

And we have a winner!...oh no, and a loser. But enough about me (the loser) let's hear from our proud Gold Medalist Alissa.

"I was really surprised when I won and Mom didn't. She's such a better knitter than me. I should give her credit because she's taught me sooooooooooo much about knitting (and she chose a bigger project than me ........ and I started a little early).(Tee-hee). But my project was an orange suede scarf that's very comfy. The scarf is as long as I am tall. I'm sooo happy I finished- it's my first knitted project I finished."




Well I'm so proud of Alissa this her first finished project after many years of gentle pressure from me to get her to knit. This Olympic project really sparked her interest, and she's so pleased with her finished object that hopefully she'll continue.

I'm pretty disappointed not to have finished myself, but as it became more and more clear that I would not be done without Herculean efforts - I decided to enjoy the process, enjoy the Olympics, and enjoy my girls for their last few days of winter break. I'm very glad that I participated - it was really fun knitting along with women all over the world, and now I have a sweater that's 75% complete. Caroline's dolly miss Ariel has graciously agreed to model:



Lessons learned along the way: it's not really necessary to make cute stitch markers to match my project (although I do really love them), and it's probably not a good idea to become obsessed with creating a new blog at the same time, and lastly I should always check the kid's school vacation schedules before making such a commitment. Thank goodness this was all just for fun - and it was fun. Goodbye Olympics!

Tic Toc

I didn't even consider the irony when choosing the aptly named Hourglass sweater for my Olympic knitting challenge - but it's oh sooo clear to me now. The lyrics from the Queen song Under Pressure reverberate through my mind as I sit in my nest on the couch watching the Games, trying to knit through the achiness in my left wrist. I had no time to train, no swatching, late arriving yarn, volunteer commitments, cancellation of school due to high winds, and now the dreaded mid-winter break all conspire against me. And I've just discovered the highly stressful countdown clock at the Yarn Harlot's site. Yet I'm inspired by the athletes - I will press on.
I'm trying to go with the "Enjoy the Process" Eddy the Eagle attitude.







But yes, I must confess - I really want to earn a gold medal for my Blog page.
So with that stark reality I will employ all available resources.


Coffee - Check
Merlot - Check
Chocolate - Check
Addi Turbos - Check

Happy Valentine's Day

Craftiness abounds in this household. The Valentine on top was made by Caroline at her Waldorf preschool - she watercolor painted the big heart then decorated the top with pretty paper hearts. The hearts on the chandelier are the classic waxed paper with melted crayon sandwiched between and the beaded heart in the middle is a la Martha Stewart, from last year's Kids Magazine. We made the beaded hearts with my Girl Scout troop last year, I just love how they catch the light. Over 60 handmade Valentine's were produced by the girls' for their friends at school - the glittery doily heart variety. And I made some giant heart shaped cut out cookies which did not last long enough for me to snap a picture. Bottom pic shows the gifts for the girls wraped in 1940's reproduction fabric that I found at Carriage House quilts in East Aurora (I've just discovered this cute little shop, tons of cute, cute fabric). What's inside these pretty packages? The Long Winter for Alissa, Little Pear for Caroline, and peanut butter hearts for Emily. But best of all are the peppermint nougats - I've only ever seen them at Christmas - I was thrilled to find them with a Valentine theme - love them! Sadly they're gone already, and I can't blame the girls. Must see if I can find them marked down post holiday.

Braided Toe Holder

I don't know why, but the name of this sock makes me laugh. I can just imagine the designer trying to come up with something clever. Anyhow, at long last here's my first post of a finished object - my new Braided Toe Holders! I'm modeling them in my favorite shoes - my Born Mary Janes. They're sensible yet feminine, and I feel about five years old when I wear them. I wear these shoes all the time with my jeans and love that my pretty handknit socks peak out of the open top so that I can secretly admire them. Would a 40 year old woman wear shoes like these? You betcha!

I knit these on #2 dpns, using one skein of Mountain Colors Yarn in Sierra. The pattern is from 3 Trails Handknit Designs. This pattern has a pretty little braid that looks like a small cable, but is actually a twisted stitch pattern. The twisted stitches definitely added to the knitting time, and I think would have been more effective in a solid yarn - the pattern gets a bit lost with the variegated. But I love them and will wear them often.