I made this apron from a beautiful white pillowcase.  The pillowcase is an odd size, it must have been a huge throw pillow or something.

I really like the apron, and I look forward to wearing it when I cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family.  It will be the first time I’ve had the whole family over since before having the kids.  I’m looking forward to it.

For Thanksgiving, I’m planning to make and freeze some pies and rolls.  I used to freeze dough in pre-shaped roll-sized balls.  Why don’t I do that anymore? Also thinking of freeezable side dishes.  Ideas?

I’m working on perfecting my pie crust, now that I finally have a real pie plate.  I’ve been making pies in a cake pan.  I’ve never been very good at pie making, so lots of pies are in my future.  I know, poor me.

Have I mentioned that I hate summer? Okay, maybe not hate, but I don’t love it in the way that Northerners do.  Every summer I “think” things will be one way (fun and carefree, full of the beach, running around barefoot, and making lots of jam) but the reality of summer in Florida is that we usually run from one air conditioned pod to another.  As quickly as possible.  Every summer I get cabin fever.  And when I think I can’t take being cooped up another day, I venture outside only to be carried off by mosquitos.

So yes, I have cabin fever.  I am ready.  Ready for fall.  But since it will not be arriving on my doorstep for another six weeks, I am thinking forward to how awesome it will be to finally go outside for a change.  The Boy has been asking to have school outside, and I cannot wait to say yes.  I am looking forward to: pumpkin custard, halloween costume sewing, gardening, having the windows open, and wearing my new socks.

These socks are only the second thing I have knitted for myself and I love them!  The Boy and I are reading the Harry Potter books, and I have to admit, I’m really enjoying them.  I’m gonna just let my freak-flag fly here and say I’m a superfan. Enough to knit myself (and The Boy) matching Gryffindor socks. The pattern is from Alison Hansel’s Charmed Knits, which I happily stumbled across one day at my local library.  There’s actually a few more projects I’d like to make from the book, and I found the sock pattern an easy and fun project.  These took about three weeks to make, although most of the knitting was done while we were on vacation and I had lots of spare time to knit.

Come on fall!

I’ve been carrying this sweater with me everywhere.  Row by row, I had the entire body of the sweater finished and bound off.  It was time to start the sleeves when I realized I’d made a huge mistake. I was pretty proud of myself for not having a total meltdown when I made the discovery.

The following evening, I sat down on the couch with my yarn winder, and row by row, I unravelled my work and re-wound the yarn into nice neat balls.  A bit heartbreaking, yes.

While telling my tale of woe today at the beach, I was consoled by two friends.  One (a fellow knitter) who simply shared in my agony, and the other who reminded me that this was a good lesson in the state of impermanence.

Indeed I have let go of this, and surely I can let go of more.

I was reminded of Erin’s post from earlier in the week, in which she shared her frustrations of motherhood.  I can so relate, and while I try to keep this space of mine focusing on the positive, I would be remiss if I didn’t speak honestly that I am struggling through a difficult patch right now.  It’s the honest truth that all of us mothers struggle on a daily basis. And it’s okay to struggle.  I just have to remember that “this too shall pass.” Words I think I should just have tattooed on my forehead. I need to remind myself that yes, sometimes life is struggle.  And that some days it isn’t.   It’s the attachment to the concept of happiness that makes it so difficult.  How can it be so simple?  I love this quote by Arnold H. Glasgow: “Nothing lasts forever, not even your troubles.”

Remember my word of the year? Mindfulness. It seems I fell off the wagon and I need to get back on.

Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience.  It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. –Sylvia Boorstein

Both of these purses are from the book Patchwork Style by Suzoko Koseki.  I knew this purse would be small when I started but it was so tiny that it would barely hold my wallet and phone, the strap was unbelievably short, and it hangs wide open in the top when I carry it (making an easy target for pickpockets).

Cute?  Yes, incredibly.  Practical?  Not hardly.  I’m not kidding.  This thing is small. So I gave it to The Girl.  She loves it.

Purse #2 was thankfully usable.  I really like this tiny little thing.  It zips closed, it has a nice long strap, and all it will hold is my wallet, phone and keys.  I don’t use it much now that we are home, but I’m sure it’ll get used again.  I cannot believe I used to carry a tiny purse like this all the time.

Yes, and then I had kids.

Around the same time, I had to make myself a new wallet.  I don’t like a big wallet, and couldn’t find one in the stores that I liked.  I carried the same ratty one for years until I was out to dinner with some girlfriends and the wallet (already full of holes and worn thin in spots) would not open.  The zipper had finally given out.  So I had to cut it open with my Swiss Army knife.  (Always prepared!)

Did I make a new wallet then?  No.  It was a few more months of carrying that horrible thing around until even I was shocked by its condition.

One evening, I decided it was time.  I was so happy to finally find a use for the fabric selvedges I had been saving for a long time.  I pieced them together, slapped in a vintage metal zipper, and lined the whole thing.  I used Amy Karol’s (The Angry Chicken) instructions from her book Bend the Rules Sewing.  I have made zillions of these little lined pouches, but never had I thought to sew the lining in my hand before.  It took no time flat, and it looks really nice inside.

These photos were taken last summer.  I am really missing that green grass right now.

I recently “found” my sewing desk again.  It was buried under the chaos of holiday crafting.  So I am sewing again lately.  For myself! I am determined to make four tops and four skirts in time for spring.  One top is done and the other, the Liberty of London I bought at Purl Soho, has been cut and started.

Spring, I’m getting ready for you.

Not long after our email exchange, this package arrived on my doorstep:

Squee!  As I said in my thank you note to Erin, there really aren’t enough capital letters and exclamation points for me to express how EXCITED I was to receive this package!!!!! I held it in anticipation for just a moment, looking at the wool I could see already peeking out of the hole in the wrapping. The anticipation did not disappoint.  Inside I found:

Four ounces of the most gloriously soft, soft, really soft, creamy white roving, already carded and ready to spin. I have written before of my love for the perfect creamy shade of off-white that I love so much.  This wool is that perfect color.

Next I found eight ounces of an equally beautiful gray blend.  Flecks of brown, light gray and charcoal gray, carded together into wooly perfection.  Gray, how much I love you in the winter.

When I wrote to Erin and asked her where this wool came from, she told me it was from her very own shetland sheep named George and Gracie (so cute!). She has since gotten rid of the sheep, but the wool remained in her basement.

Dearest Erin, thank you again from the bottom of my heart.  Your blog, your friendship, and your wool mean so much to me.

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at spinning for so long.  I finally found the inspiration I needed in the video Renate Hiller’s On Handwork.  If you have not seen this, please do yourself a favor and watch the four and a half minute video.  It is gorgeous.  How amazing it is to try a hand at something humans have been doing for thousands of years. To have a connection to knowledge that used to be so common, and is now so rare.

So I managed to get a copy of Abby Franquemont’s Respect the Spindle, and read it. Whew!  It’s a fabulous resource, and I’m not even ready for most of the information in that book.  That woman knows her spinning.  Next I bought myself a top-whorl spindle and some fiber from Mielke’s Fiber Arts.  After watching lots of spinning videos on YouTube, I finally gave it a whirl (har har).  It was challenging at first, but became easier with time.  This bit of yarn only took me three evenings to make.  It’s an ounce of New Zealand Corriedale wool.  I only wish the color in the photo was more true to life, because this color is the most gorgeous shade of teal.  I see myself buying a lot more of it.

I have no idea what I will make with this yarn.  It’s full of mistakes, but I certainly can’t get rid of the first yarn I ever made.  I’d like to spin another ounce of this color, then ply them together.

I was unsure if I would like spinning, but I can definitely see myself doing more.  I’ve already found myself pining for a spinning wheel.  And let’s not even talk about the sheep I want.  Yeah.  Because I really need more yarn.  And I live in Florida.

And came out with this:

Meet the new Fall quilt.  Mostly from the fabric store, some from my stash.  Solids in purple, brown, tan and gray.  Corduroy, velvet, sateen and broadcloth, all in cotton, linen and silk.

I know, I know.  I’m insane.  But at least I just discovered that this is not a new phenomenon.

Let’s not speak of the other unfinished quilts. This made me do it.  I’ve had quilting on the brain ever since.

And this one’s going to be done lickety-split, I swear.  Just in time for fall.

Well, I’ve never seen Project Runway, but I can say now that I understand why they would shoot a tv show in that place.  I tried to come up with a way to describe the place without swearing, but it proved to be impossible.  Let’s just say that place is amazing.  What an experience it is.

So to get there, you wander down the sidewalk of the Garment District in Manhattan, trying hard to ignore all the shops with signs out front saying things like, “no trying on” and “wholesale only” and “samples–$5.” Then you stand there looking like a yahoo wondering, “where the hell is it?” because you are standing right at the correct address and Mood is nowhere to be seen. Then a very New Yorker doorman says, “You lookin’ for Mood?  Third Floor.”  So you take this ancient elevator up and when the doors open, the smell of fabric sizing and inspiration fills the air.

I snapped only a few photos because I was so busy running around admiring all the gorgeous fabric.  As someone whose only choice for apparel fabric is Joann, this place is my holy mecca.  With its three huge floors and over 40,000 square feet of floor space, you can find any kind of fabric you can imagine, from faux fur to the finest lace.  The staff is actually really helpful (kind of unusual in my experience of NYC).  There are lots of cute boys working there (What? Why are you looking so surprised?) who are being flirted with constantly (not by me).  Fashion students can be seen wandering the aisles with design sketches in one hand and fabric swatches in the other.

I felt like I was in a tv show, even if I wasn’t.

Pictured above are the leather hides.  I would have loved to purchase some leather to make a purse, but I was completely unprepared, and had no idea what I wanted to make and how much I would need.  It’s really expensive and sells by the square foot.  Someday.

All of the fabrics I purchased there, and I would say almost all of what they have there is 60″ wide, which is a real departure from the 45″ bolts I’m used to.  Also, they are very generous with their cuts, giving a few extra inches of fabric on every cut.

First off, I chose three cotton batistes.  Gorgeous lightweight and crisp cottons, perfect for summer tops.  I’ve already begun working on the one with the blue fruit shapes.  I also picked up a beautiful off-white cotton viole that I just couldn’t resist. Even though it is simple white, everything about it is perfect: the weight, the feel, and even the not-quite-white-and-not-quite-cream shade of off-white.  I can’t explain why I like it so much, but I really do. I’m thinking lightweight pajamas, or a simple strappy top.  These were all $10 a yard each.

Since I’ve never sewn with any silk charmeuse before, I couldn’t resist its shiny texture and slinky drape.  And for only $12 a yard, it felt like a steal.  Did I mention that eggplant purple is my absolute favorite color in the whole world? I know it’s kind of hard to tell the color from that photo above. I see a bias cut camisole and french knickers made of this.  Something like the Nutmeg pattern from Colette Patterns.  I’m a bit hesitant to purchase it though, because I think my girls need a bit more support than that.

And lastly, I picked up the very loud and colorful green and yellow print.  Also $10 a yard.  That’s one for the what-was-I-thinking file.  I really love the colors, and I even like the print, but I don’t know if it’s something I’d wear.  The Girl likes it, so I may make something for her out of it.

Enormous self control had to be used in this place.  I could have really gone crazy, but this is enough to keep me busy for a while.  But I felt the prices were really good, the staff was nice, and the experience is definitely very New York.

I dragged the entire family to Purl Soho for some glorious fiber love, and was it ever worth it.  That place is amazing.  Beautiful white walls, well-lit, and no music.  It was a quiet, peaceful little oasis in the midst of a crazy city.  The staff was so sweet and helpful.

All of their displays are simple and sweet.

Inspiration is everywhere.

How can one possibly choose?

And I didn’t even look at the wool felt, but it was gorgeous.

I finally settled on two yards of the Anna Maria viole (on the left), one yard of Liberty of London (on the right), and one skein of Cascade yarn for The Snail, who would have died and gone to heaven if she had been there with me.  The fabrics are all intended to be future tops for me.  The voiles are just as gorgeous as everyone says they are, and now I know what all the fuss is about.

Those sneaky girls put the Liberty right there next to the cutting counter, so you have no choice but to admire it while you wait.  And that stuff?  Gorgeously amazing.  Beautiful florals and paisleys in the most luscious colorways, all printed on crisp but lightweight cotton.  You can tell that no detail was overlooked in the production of this fabric.   How could I not splurge the $35 a yard for it?  I almost didn’t but then I remembered that I was on vacation.

I asked the girl at the cutting counter, “how do you ever cut into the stuff?  It must be so nerve racking.”

To which she replied, “Once you use it, you’ll never go back.”

This could be bad. Really bad.

One-and-a-half socks, still unfinished after a year and a half.  They are a bit tight.

A black and white wool sweater made from recycled yarn.

It’s still unfinished after five years because A) it has a million ends to weave in, B) it’s a smidge too tight, and C) it’s wool and I live in Florida.  Perhaps one of the kids will wear it someday.

This capelet (still looking for the size 11 DPNs I need to finish the sleeves).

The obligatory First-Thing-I-Ever-Knitted Scarf.  It is made of acrylic and it is way too scratchy to wear.  However, it was the first thing I ever knitted, and I love it dearly. I taught myself to knit when I was pregnant with The Boy, and that scarf was knitted while I was pregnant, while I was in labor, and when he was a newborn, so the scarf means a lot to me. I can’t wear it and I can never get rid of it.

Looking back, the problem lies in my early difficulties with gauge and tension.  But the new sweater I made for The Girl came out really nice.  All the measurements are came out spot-on, and the “fabric” feels nice and flexible.  I think I may have finally reached the next level in my knitting.

Perhaps I should knit something for myself soon.  Something I could actually use.  Of course every project begins with hours spent on Ravelry.  Then hours spent deciding on the yarn.  Perhaps I would be a faster knitter if I could just make up my mind.  I am in love with:

This Noro cardigan even though it is sized for a 10 year old.

The Swing Cardigan looks like a nice fast knit, but it might be awesomeness of the the Doc Martens talkin’.

And the Delia Cardigan is beautiful.

But this Adult Surprise Jacket is just unbelievably gorgeous.

And I really want to knit myself some nice socks.  I really love this yarn from Knit Picks, in the Sticks and Stones colorway. Would it be wrong to buy even more yarn?  This would be a great small project to bring on vacation.

I really like the way The Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan Sweater works.  I may have to use that one.  Looks like I might be able to make some more striped goodness with my stashed collection of odd balls.  Only this time, I’ll weave in those ends as I go.  At least I have learned my lesson on that one….