Stitching Old & (almost) New Together

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Jen

I was given a handful of really old collars by my girlfriend almost a year ago (thank you Sorcha!) and finally I have decided to put them to use, and started by performing stitch-work surgery to one of my favorite thrift shop finds, a linen jacket shirt with a ruffle at the bottom and big shell buttons. First I took the top button off, turned in and stitched down the high narrow collarless shirt to the dimensions of the lacework collar…

Then I pinned the hem of the collar just inside the edge of the shirt…

Then simply whip-stitched the two things together and then turned the collar out, without ironing, so it has that lofty personality of the collar…. and voila !

The thing is , these few antique collars have cast a magic spell on me as I am in love with the -old-fashioned ritual of hand-stitching on a hand-made collar on to not-so-new clothing. I just can’t imagine what might blossom from this seed, except that with this old collar I now have …

” Something Old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. “

outfit for wedding

Hey! I’m getting married tomorrow!

A Frolick On The Knitting Trail

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Jen

Ready , set ….

Hats on !

Before setting out into the woods on my Knitting Trail, Maya, Molly & Rosanna each chose hats out of my chest of knitted pattern prototypes, plus other bits, then we set out with Emma leading & me in the back with the camera, and no end to my demands while taking still another photo as we tried to cover trail, and so a twenty minute trail walk turned to fifty. But we really had a great time, and for me this was the absolute highlight of the whole holiday family get-together, though it lasted less than an hour. I couldn’t be happier with the many great shots (although fuzzy in low light of the forest) , best of the Bohemian Raven Goths! Thank you Rosanna, Molly, and Maya, for a wonderful impromptu knitwear photoshoot on the knitting trail!

Vineyard Rows Tam

Chalten Beret

Dicey Highland Hat

In The Kitchen

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Jen

As I mentioned in previous post, my nieces came for a visit for a couple of days. We mostly ‘chillaxed’ around together with our EDC’s (electronic devices of choice: iphone, kindle, laptop) but with plenty of time in the kitchen, just the way the last days of summer vacation should be spent, after a very busy one they had. Both nieces had a busy summer, but Miss Eleven had and an incredible growth spurt ~~ and this visit was special, as for the first and last time, we are all three the same height !

Two days, one night, and four times we flung flour. The first time was making noodles (flour & egg) for upon their arrival they were good and hungry and I had some home-made chicken soup all ready for their expert noodle work. By the way, Miss Fourteen could easily win a chicken-noodle-soup-eating contest … hands down! Second time, made Amish moon pies ( flour & butter) with apple filling I had made ahead of time waiting in the freezer , and came to life good & proper with their very experienced moon-pie-making magic touch. How many moon pies did I personally eat? Don’t ask, I lost count! Third time, pizza for dinner (flour & yeast) which means of course, pizza dough… and lots more flour (sorry , no photo of pizza) . Fourth time, next day repeat noodle making for to finish off the chicken soup. Thats about it, a whirl-wind couple of days flinging flour and exhausting relaxation. We three girls thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and that’s certain.

What totally killed me was in our last hour before I had to bring them back to Calistoga to meet their mom, Miss Eleven says ” Lets bake something ! ” Can you believe that? C’mon kid ! She cracks me up. Anyway, we will leave you with our humble little noodle recipe . . .

~ My Niece’s Way of Noodle-Making ~

Crack one egg into bowl. Add a pinch of salt, and maybe pepper and other herbs & flavors ‘to taste’~ whatever strikes your fancy. Add flour and stir with fork until ball forms. Add only enough flour to keep very moist wad of dough so that you can pick it up with your hands, the rest of the flour will be added from well-floured hands and surface. Break off small chunks and roll out with your hands. When all rolled out, into a pan of rapidly boiling water, or chicken broth, or soup, add all noodles quickly and at once, Stir , then let simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Eat and savor the hand-made goodness.

Chaltén

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Jen

Dear Jen, when you asked me what is the paradigmatic mountain of Patagonia, I did not hesitate in giving you the answer: Chaltén, the blue smoking mountain. In the last trench of the Andes range, Chaltén raises like a magnificent … Continue reading →

Just Hanging Around Knitting . . .

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Jen

Last Friday was the Independence Day holiday here, and we went on over to my brother’s as there was quite the party happening in his little Appalachian-esque neighborhood. Well, there I am knitting, you know ‘on-the-go’ , with the knitting bag slung over my shoulder and knitting as I always do. My youngest niece, Miss Eleven-Years-Old knows how to knit, and is getting better, so I said “Lets get you some knitting ! ” … so we walked down to her house and raided her mom’s stash & needles, and found a darling knitting bag and we set her up to knit-on-the-go too. So there’s the two of us among the wild & crazy dancing & feasting folk outside, she and I knitting together near the whole time, while walking about here and there with knitting satchels slung over our shoulders, swaying to the music … knit-dancing ! … and thoroughly enjoying our peaceful & productive selves ( stopping only to munch cake and other wonderful things ) . She got nearly half of a garter-stitch cotton dish cloth finished, and I made great progress on my hat band. I knit until it was too dark to knit any longer, however, Miss Eleven carried on knitting into the darkness which totally killed me, her eyes like a hawk’s .

Backstory over. About the forthcoming big Autumn Thing, this year I’ve got some ideas, I may either come up with a whole new design from which I will write & submit a pattern, but I best not dawdle. The motif I have got going here, about a wide and shaped band for a hat, and playing with some 2ply (Starmore) wool, I’m on a roll. I’ve got most of my big chores out of the way for the week, so looking forward to just hanging around knitting !

One-And-A-Half Days

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Jen

Dazzled by the spirit of the holiday, and all that I’ve been busy with.

I can’t believe this pile of gifts I made . . .

(( My heart is about to burst with pride that I sure turned around when I thought I could only manage the kitty which got sent off over two weeks ago, and the felted bag which went to Mexico with Jeff. ))

Since then I really went into making overdrive.

All of my hand-made Christmas gifts are finished, as of yesterday, and tucked under the tree, waiting for family to gather. I hate to seem all smug & self-satisfied, but now that I am finished, I can’t help but just be elated, and enjoy myself !!! This folks, is not something that happens every Christmas, as I am usually always making up into Christmas Day itself, and beyond. But this year…. I just put my nose to the grindstone and did it.

( Interesting lights photo at top of page was accidentally shot while I was moving in front of our Christmas tree. )

Sending out loads of love and encouragement to all those elves busy still making, hoping all gets finished and that you may too relax ! ~~ xx.

Kitty

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Jen

This *possibly may be* the only gift I plan on knitting for the holidays this year. I started with a Louisa Harding pattern, a very simple pattern indeed, thinking for a first-time toy knitting, I couldn’t go wrong. Ah, but I couldn’t help myself from changing it all around… so this is a very modified version. I used up some left over pima cotton boucle yarn from her baby blanket I made almost 3 years ago, and stuffed it with a bit of wool fleece I had in my loft closet…not bad for a first toy , eh? Kitty is purring and ready to go to Nora for Christmas!

I was up against a decision just before Nora’s kitty was finished: 1. Spend from now until xmas knitting gifts, or 2. Design fun new things! Though in recent years not my first choice, but gifts can always be bought , so I am choosing to work on new ideas through the holidays instead. ::sigh of relief:: ((however, this doesn’t prevent me from giving away my prototypes…lol)

Coming up: Another something to add to the ” Vineyard Rows” ensemble, as well as another thing from a ways back… in blue !

Molly in Montreal !

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Jen

Remember Molly’s Montreal back in this post ?

Well, I just got word from Molly , and photos of her wearing her “Montreal”. Beautiful Molly shows off my modified version of the sporty original Pin-Striped Sweater Tee marvelously . . .

Modifications were to crop the waist, and lengthen the sleeves by simply continuing the pin-stripe pattern from the provisional cast-on before ribbing for the cuff, with no decreasing except for at the underarm gusset (that gusset part still needs a bit of tweaking). Shall I modify the pattern I am wondering, to include this variation?

Above all . . .

Always ask for exactly what you prefer in life Molly, because most times really good things happen as a result. I thank you so much for asking if I could make your tee with longer sleeves and shorter waist, because I believe I love it most of all this way and will make one just like it for myself ~~~ xoxo from your Auntish !!

A Cheerful Teapot

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Jen

Meet my new cheerful little teapot, nearly the color of golden honey, or milky tea, or marigolds.

This morning I was over at Morrie’s house. She has quite the collection of tea and teapots, the most adorable little ones too. We had an impromptu ‘tasting’ of three teas, not because of any reason other than I wanted to use all three of her littlest cuties that happened to be within arms reach, and because there were all these bags of tea everywhere, we pulled out of kitchen crevasses while looking for the Earl Grey.

Then I spread out my latest knitteds on Morrie’s kitchen table, and we discussed sock formulas and then she showed me her latest black Shetland raw fleece and we buried our noses into it while both agreeing it was the finest and very sweet smelling! We flipped pages in knitting books, fondled yarnish things, and we infused each other with ideas as the tea infused in the pots. And so it is . After having come back from Black Sheep Gathering with fleeces to show me, she was a bit preoccupied about ‘ observing process ‘ over ‘ processing observation ‘. I can just hang with someone like that !

So anyway, I wanted to show you my teapot, my very first teapot ever I can remember having, strangely. It is a three or four-cupper, and I got it for $2 down town at the thrift shop on the way home from Morrie’s, and the loose tea stays nicely at the bottom while I pour the tea out ~~~ it just doesn’t get any better than that ! I’m having my first cup of tea (Irish Breakfast) from it right now.

I think I will make some shortbread to go with !

Lupinus Albifrons

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Jen

Lupinus Albifrons. Known as just ‘ lupine ‘, it is one of the more populated native wildflowers of Northern California, and in April fills the mountain meadows, between grape vines in the rows, and trail-sides with deep blue & purple variegation. A small woody shrub when mature, however, where grass is mowed annually (as in the vineyard rows here on the mountain) and where seed is planted from the wind, you’ll see it popping up everywhere as young single stemmed flowers . . .

I luckily had just the perfect yarn handy when I became inspired from my walk of last week. I had a bunch of green which I over-dyed from grey wool which perfectly illustrates the ‘silvery’ grey-green leaves of the plant. The rich deep blue and purple played illusive games however with the camera, which wasn’t able to distinguish the two, and both came out as blue tones in most of the photos. But here it is , un chullo, for my brother’s birthday tomorrow!

I absolutely go wild photographing still-life knitteds ~~ its just one of the things I love doing, in every light possible , which enables me to make an assemblage of photos that catches different tones and characteristics of the yarns and knitted shapes . . .

The detail with which I experimented for the first time on this chullo hat, was to add a running crocheted chain just inside the typically chullo-esque double-crocheted edge, to neaten up the edge.

I love to make my chullo hats a bit of a hybrid with gnome hats by decreasing into a point, then finishing with a braid extending off of the top . . .

They blossom into a hat with a lot of character and playful whimsy . . .

The crocheted edges tame the curling tendency of the stockinette stitch. . .

Braid finishes being made on both ear flaps . . .

(the purple really pops in this photo below !)

Un chullo, inspired from the lupine flowers in the fields of Northern California. To be given to my brother tomorrow, and there could be nobody more appreciative than he, who wears them everyday , and who is also a botanical wizard !

NOTE : I have taken notes as I knit this one, so if anybody is interested, I could assemble a pattern of sorts from it.

Details on Ravelry HERE

Well, I’m off to walk the mountain with Emma, but I will leave you with a little slide show of the early morning walk of last weekend, from which this chullo’s lupine photos were taken . . .

A Birthday Satchel

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Jen

What do I have here ? A knitted & felted satchel of course. (Yes, knit almost entirely while walking.) It is a birthday present for my sister-in-law Patricia. In mere minutes I’m going to drive up to St. Helena to meet at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company, where we will have our cafe latte’s and I will give it to her. Afterward we always hit our favorite thrift shop ’round the corner. Actually, this satchel is completely reversible.

Happy Birthday Patricia !

Mini Mitts For Nora

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Jen

Tiny and bright. Too cute for words.

Miniature version of the Pin-Striped Fingerless Mitts

For Little Nora (who will soon be two!)

I knit these little things pretty darned tight on the very skinny #0 needles… so there’s some ‘laddering’ going down the middle of the mitts. I love the affect of the variegated yarn too.

Roastery

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Jen

Met my sister-in-law in Calistoga today. It was roasting hot too !!! In fact, we are having upper 90 degree temperatures nearly all this week , especially in Calistoga , the hottest town in summer in the Napa Valley ! You wanna know what is very odd about this post?

Meeting for c o f f e e

and giving of w o o l s o c k s

in the middle of a California A u g u s t .

No matter, because the Calistoga Roastery is one of the most bohemian nouveau places in the Napa Valley, and we always meet there when there’s something knitted to give. Oh, such as these sweaters .

Patricia loves her new wool socks,

and that makes it worth every tiny stitch !