Spiritual knitter

I'm back, but I'm moving

2012-01-01T23:10:00.001-06:00

To the handful of readers/followers out there: I've finally started the move of SpiritualKnitter over to my other website, where I also have my professional work as a religion journalist. I'm hoping this works. Let me know if anyone has trouble following this site:

www.heidischlumpf.com, then click on SpiritualKnitter blog.

Heidi

I'm back!

2011-12-31T19:36:00.000-06:00

New Year's resolution: To try to get back into the habit of blogging.

I'm pretty sure I have no readers left after my nearly yearlong hiatus, but I started this blog to be a chronicle of my crafty pursuits for my own record. With two toddlers, a full-time job, plus plenty of freelance writing, I don't have the time for crafting that I used to, but I do manage to do a few knitting and sewing projects, as well as some fun thrift store and estate sale finds. I just haven't had the extra time to blog about it.

I really miss having that record, so I'm going to try again, even catching up with some of my past projects. Wish me luck in 2012!

Here's a very short video clip of me and the kids skating on New Year's Eve afternoon.

February Lady Sweater in February

2011-02-28T22:18:00.003-06:00

"Be gentle. Every person you know is fighting a terrible battle." (Ancient Greek saying)

I did actually finish the February Lady Sweater by the end of February. here it is unblocked. This photo shows the color more accurately than the others.

I ended up doing 20 repeats of the Gull lace pattern for the body, and 20 repeats for the sleeves, since I wanted them to be long, not 3/4ish. I also decreased the sleeves a bit so they wouldn't be so wide, and made the button band wider, so it was the same width as the lower edge.

I also have a little boo-boo on one sleeve. I had noticed that the lace pattern was wrong and ripped it back and redid it, but it turned out wrong again in two repeats. I have no idea what I did, and of course, wouldn't you know, it's on the front of the sleeve. Oh, well, that's what makes it handmade. I'm sure most non-knitters won't notice.

You can also see a little bump above the bust in this photo, but that came out in the blocking. The sweater seems to fit well over a T-shirt. Now I just need to add buttons. I have this idea to make some wooden ones out of a stick. Kind of like these. Unfortunately that creative idea will only delay the finishing even further--definitely into March!

Homemade Valentines

2011-02-23T22:17:00.000-06:00

"Every child born has innate goodness." (Chinese proverb)

Still catching up... At 2 and 3, the kids are finally getting into doing crafty stuff. In fact, Sam is practically obsessed with building things with tape. Here are the Valentines we made this year. I bought foam rectangles, on which they glued hearts cut out of paper they had painted pink and red. Then I taped a chocolate to them.

These were for our Wiggleworms group, a little music "class" in our neighborhood, held in rotating people's homes. It's been really nice for meeting other moms of preschoolers. It was funny: we made a Valentine for each kid, but Sam also wanted to make one for Beth, one of the moms. I think he's a little sweet on her!

For Sam's preschool, we got out the construction paper and some pipe cleaners. Sam really loves to cut with the scissors. Sophie also helped out.

And I made little crayon hearts out of pink, purple and red crayon pieces (like these crayon cars from Sam's birthday two years ago) to tuck in with the preschool Valentines. I got the heart mold on 75% off clearance at Target last year. I picked up a few things on clearance this year, too, including some "ready-made" Valentines, but I hope we just use them in our homemade ones next year.

Next up: their crafty project for Daddy's birthday...

Felt convo hearts

2011-02-14T10:15:00.001-06:00

"To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes, to let it go, to let it go." (Mary Oliver)

So I'm a little behind again, but committed to keeping this blog a record of my creative endeavors--even if it takes me practically a month to post them. I may not have much time to blog, but I am finding a little time for creativity. It keeps me sane.

For Valentine's Day I made this conversation heart banner, which I have had in my head for ages. Once again, using only things from my stash: I had a bunch of the smaller letters left over from the Jesse trees of a few years ago, used recycled wool sweater felt in pastels and hung it on some pink yarn.

The hardest part was coming up with traditional "Conversation heart" sayings. I found a bunch of pictures online.

Sam loved this--he's clearly ready to start reading and is always asking what things say. I had to read these hearts to him a dozen times.

Only wish I had made two more while I was at it, because I know my sister and mom would love one of these!

Happy New Year

2011-02-08T23:40:00.004-06:00

“The world is a book and those that don’t travel only read one page." (Unknown)

Yes, this is belated, but not as belated as you might think. I'm wishing everyone a belated Happy Lunar New Year (Vietnamese and Chinese). We only celebrated Vietnamese this year. Plans to go to the parade in Chinatown were postponed when we learned it was on Super Bowl Sunday (and during naptime). Next year.

Our Vietnamese celebration was, for the third year, with the Vietnamese American community at St. Henry Parish in Chicago, where we are usually two of the three or four non-Vietnamese people there. It was a good time: Sam was scared of the dragon; Sophie was not. (Photo above from that celebration.)

I was so excited that I finished this little decoration: a banner of felt lanterns saying, "Chuc Mung Nam Moi"--Happy New Year in Vietnamese, even with the diacritical marks! I cut out the lanterns from red felt, then zigzagged the gold tops and bottoms with my sewing machine. The felt letters are pre-cut adhesive ones I had leftover from the Jesse Trees I made a few years ago.

Then I added large black rickrack at the top and little tassels from some trim at the bottom--both of which I had to buy. Still, the whole thing probably cost $3. And it helped me--and Sam--finally learn how to say "Happy New Year" in Vietnamese.

February Lady Sweater in January

2011-01-15T23:37:00.000-06:00

"One is not born a woman; one becomes one." (Simone de Beauvoir)

I'm knitting my first adult sweater--and it's for me! Sometime last year I started the February Lady Sweater (Ravelry link), but then set it aside to knit gifts, work, take care of the kids, etc. But this winter I was itching to knit something nice and wooly, so I picked it up again and am making serious progress. I may finish this February Lady Sweater by February!

For you non-knitter, this is a pretty famous sweater (with more than 10,000 Ravelry folks knitting or having knit it) based on a baby sweater pattern by the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman. I'm knitting the smallest size, skipped the eyelets, and started the gull lace pattern right at the third buttonhole. I do hate my buttonholes, but hopefully the buttons will cover them. I can't wait to pick out cool buttons. I also plan to narrow and lengthen the sleeves. It really helps to have ravelry forums to learn from others mistakes.

The yarn I'm using is vintage--I'm not sure how old, but Bernat wool sure doesn't come in this kind of packaging now! I believe my late Grandma Doris bought this yarn (on sale for 90 cents a skein, down from $1 a skein). It got handed down to my mom, who passed it along to me. I always knew there was enough for an adult sweater, and in the spirit of stash-busting, started the sweater with it. So even if I had paid for the yarn, it would be a nice wool sweater for less than $10! I hope to have a finished sweater to show off soon.

**Just did some quick research on the yarn and seems like it's called for in patterns from 1970s pattern books. Also some is for sale on ebay (looks like this exact color) for about $12 a skein!

(I'm still playing catch-up with pre-dated posts with my fall and holiday crafting. More to come.)

Resolved

2011-01-01T11:19:00.001-06:00

I will spend more time on my blog, catching up with pre-dated posts, if necessary.

Our girl is 2

2010-12-30T23:19:00.002-06:00

"There is only one thing necessary: to be what God wants us to be." (Thomas Merton)

Sophie has a dreaded between-Christmas-and-New-Year birthday, but we are trying to make sure it doesn't get lost in the holidays. This year Grandma and Grandpa hosted a party for her in Wisconsin, with the Manions also in attendance.

Sam eventually got some "birthday spirit," but for weeks had been erasing the birthday cake on the dry-erase calendar. I knew he wouldn't want to share the felt birthday crown I had made for him (but thought would be used by both kids).

So I made her one of her own. I put a cupcake on it, and was going to do some stars and balloons, then decided to embroider "Happy birthday" in Chinese.

You can see the Chinese characters a bit better in this photo. The cupcake is a little catty-wampus, but it works.

This was Sophie's first birthday with us and her first Christmas. I can't believe it's already been almost a year since she came home. It's funny that she's rarely smiling in photos, because she is a very happy little girl. Such a sweetie. And now, the terrible twos...

Handmade holidays #2

2010-12-21T20:32:00.021-06:00

"One kind word can warm three winter months." (Japanese proverb)

Looking back, I did actually make more gifts than I thought. This was a last-minute one for my Dad--a small felt bag for carrying candy canes when he is portraying a certain Jolly Old Elf. I just created my own pattern, and used felt from sweaters. Cost: $0.

My niece wanted an eyelash curler and some makeup, so I made this little makeup bag to hold her gift. I was so excited to make it out of something from my stash--a pair of silky boxers with a makeup print. I can't find the tutorial I used, but it was very similar to this one. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, but, boy, was that satiny fabric hard to sew! In retrospect, I probably should have lined it. Again, cost: $0. (Zipper was from my stash.)

Finally, I made a couple of these little mini-stockings out of felt to hold Borders gift certificates for my godchildren. Felt from sweaters, a few buttons, a little hand-sewing, and voila! Cost: $0.

Of course, the other handmade gift this year was little jars of raspberry jam made from raspberries from our back yard. I gave this to a bunch of people this year, wrapped in some fabric with a cute little tag.

Nothing major, but these small, handmade items made Christmas a little more special. And all were free, or nearly free.

Handmade Holiday #1

2010-12-20T10:54:00.001-06:00

"Not only is the Bible extensive in its teaching on wealth and poverty, but it is uncomfortably clear and plain. There is not the ambiguity and complexity that one finds in some other subjects ... The Bible is clearly and emphatically on the side of the poor." (Bob Sabath)

Although I have little time for crafting--between a full-time job, freelance writing and two toddlers--I am still committed to making as many gifts as possible. Not only is it more meaningful and economical, but I am trying to be more committed to not buying into (pun intended!) the whole commercial culture of stuff and more stuff. So it's even better when I can make something out of something that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

One of my favorite media is felt from recycled sweaters, of course. And I've wanted to make some coffee cozies for a long time. It's a double environmental whammy because then you don't have to use a disposable paper one. I had the idea to make some with the ND logo for my South Bend friends. I was initially going to embroider it, but then decided to go with felt applique. I just used a paper cozy as the pattern, cut the outside, navy felt with pinking shears, stitched on the gold felt and appliqued the ND logo, which I had cut from navy felt.

Here's one being modeled on a Packer cup. Now I just have to make one for myself. I always forget to do that!

Stash-busting for charity

2010-12-18T20:29:00.005-06:00

"There is no enlightenment outside of daily life." (Thich Nhat Hanh)

A while back, actually a long while back (BK-Before Kids), I started knitting up some of my stash yarn into hats, scarves and mittens, with the idea that I would donate them to a charity. Then they sat in a bag in my craft room for too long. This year, our giving tree at church had some tags that said "Women's knit hat" so I grabbed two, plus one that said "man's knit scarf."

My first women's hat recipient got this grey wool-blend hat with pink flower detail, plus matching mittens and a scarf. This flower comes from a tutorial from the first blogger I ever read. It's here.

This men's scarf was a stash-buster for a bunch of wool and wool-blend green yarns I seemed to have accumulated. I did straight garter stitch and a random color blocking with two strands of yarn. Then I added fringe. It was super long, so I hope it keeps its recipient nice and warm.

Sorry for the blurry photo. Here's a close-up. Ed had his eyes on this one, but I told him it was already promised to charity.

Finally, I knit a purple hat using Soule Mama's favorite hat pattern , but when I knit only 4 rounds of the pattern, it was way too short, so that one got tossed in the kids' hat basket. The second one, knit with 2 strands of worsted, was more adult-sized. I paired it with a scarf that combined a soft purple yarn (can't remember which) with the same purple wool.

Getting these projects off to good homes felt good! But believe it or not, I had three more possible sets that I wasn't able to finish in time for the giving tree deadline. Maybe next year...

Things I've thrifted 2

2010-11-24T23:21:00.000-06:00

"You sanctify whatever you are grateful for." (Anthony de Mello, SJ.)

I picked up these napkins earlier this year. Love the 70s colors and prints. I think they'll be perfect for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. We're hosting Ed's brother and sister-in-law from Kentucky along with their two kids (almost 4 and 1). I hope the cousins get along!

This year I'm so grateful that our family is complete and our kids are doing well (not sleeping the best, but otherwise doing well). It's been a bumpy few years, but I'm happy with our life. It's busy, but good.

Ed's brother brought cranberry-pear pie, homemade bread and wild rice stuffing. We're doing the turkey, brandied sweet potatoes (family recipe), mashed potatoes, cranberry orange relish, salad and pumpkin pie. Should be a feast.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Among the things I'm grateful for is the community I've found online. Happy Turkey Day!

Yes, I can!

2010-11-20T00:14:00.001-06:00

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." (Albert Camus)

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost three months since I've posted to this poor, neglected blog. That would be when the new semester began and my life got crazy busy with teaching, writing and of course trying to keep up with the kid and things at home. There has been precious little crafting, but plenty of food preservation going on here.

Today I:

Made applesauce with apples from our Indiana apple picking adventure. I canned four pints and had some leftover for the kids to eat today. This was my second batch this week, so we now have 8 pints of applesauce in the basement.
While I had the canner going, I skinned, chopped and canned a pint of tomatoes. I had a TON of green tomatoes at the end of the season. They're in paper bags trying to ripe, but I'm not having much luck.
Except with the cherry tomatoes, which are ripening nicely. I dried a batch of those in the oven today. I think I've done about 5-6 batches of these this fall. They're yummy. Can't wait to put them in salads, on pizza, in spaghetti sauce.
Chopped, cooked and pureed two small pie pumpkins--froze half the puree and made a pumpkin pie out of the other half. Pumpkin seeds are soaking and reading for drying/baking tomorrow.

Whew! I was on a mission. And I still have several pumpkins left and a bunch of apples that I think I'll try freezing. I had food preservation on the brain, because I recently wrote a column about it for National Catholic Reporter. I'll link to it once it's online.

I have done a little bit of knitting and have just started some Christmas crafting, so will try to do a little catch-up and get back in the habit of blogging. Although I'm not posting, I'm still out there reading (a bit). It's the only relaxing thing I do to unwind after a long, tiring day.

Well preserved

2010-08-29T13:27:00.000-05:00

"My deepest vocation is to be a witness to the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch." (Henri Nouwen)

Here is what I have preserved so far this summer:

1 batch 3-berry freezer jam with agave (not sweet enough)
2 batches watermelon pickles (about 6 pints each batch)
12 small jars raspberry jam (for Christmas gift-giving)
1 large bag frozen raspberries
6 jelly jars of blueberry/agave jam (many already gifted)
5 pints chopped tomatoes from the garden
3 pints canned salsa (w/tomatoes from the garden)
7 batches of frozen pesto (plus two batches we've already eaten and several gifted!)
2 batches of dried cherry tomatoes (frozen) from the garden

This is actually fresh salsa. No recipe, just tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, red onion, cilantro and lime juice. So tasty!

I do actually have some knitting to post from some late-summer projects and hope to get to that soon. I know everyone is in back-to-school mode, and so am I with lots of class prep and Sam getting ready for his first day of preschool. But the blog will probably still be very summery for the next weeks, as I finish up preserving as much of the bounty from our garden (and the farmer's market) as I can.

Raspberry jam

2010-08-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

I'm catching up with photos of all the preserving I've been doing. Here's the yummy raspberry jam made from raspberries from our (and a neighbor down the alley's) raspberries. I still used the Pomona for gelling, but went with real sugar this time.

I bought these cute little jars for the jam, and got 12 whole jars out of this one recipe. This is so going to be one of my Christmas gifts this year!

My canner is really just a garage-sale seafood pot with some cake racks in the bottom. I use regular tongs. I've recently read (on my favorite canning blog, "Food in Jars," that some makers of these ceramic top stoves say you can't use them for canning, but I've had no trouble."

Here they are all canned. I love hearing the "pings" when they come out of the water. I've never had a problem with anythings sealing yet (knock on wood).

This is what was left, so our family ate it up. It was especially yummy on top of a bagel with cream cheese.

Today I saw new raspberries on our bushes, so I think we're going to get a second crop. So far, none on the bushes down the alley. I would love to do another dozen of these!

**Sorry no quote on this post. For some reason Blogger is not letting me insert text before the first photo.

Ode to summer

2010-08-23T22:54:00.000-05:00

"Some things ... arrive on their own mysterious hour, on their own terms and not yours, to be seized or relinquished forever." (Gail Godwin)

Is that gorgeous or what? I've been harvesting basil and tomatoes like crazy these past few weeks (and taking lots of pictures but too busy to post them here). I've also been "putting up"--canning, freezing, drying. It's so fun!

On a much sadder note, a 9-year-old boy from our parish (a family from our adoptive families group) drowned in Lake Michigan last weekend while on vacation with his family. If you could, please keep his parents and sister (from China) in your thoughts and prayers.

Xie Xie*

2010-08-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

"Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others." (St. Augustine)

Some of you may remember this cute "3 Little Pigs" blankie made by my blog friend Diane of Woolie Wanderings, who lives in Scotland but travels all over Europe doing fun things. I live vicariously through her! And congratulations are in order because she just bought a new flat and is busy decorating.

Well, no sooner were we home with Sophie than she was emailing me wanting to make a matching blankie for her. Sam's pig one referenced his being born in the Year of the Pig, but she had a hard time making a "rat" connection for Sophie. So she went with Little Red Riding Hood. Isn't she adorable?

The blankies are made from recycled felt and have tons of cool detail (including a squeeky toy inside). She does beautiful embroidery (and also is quite the knitter). Arrival of this beautiful gift was delayed by the volcano ash, and I've been very remiss in not posting pictures and thanking Diane publicly.

She included a little mousy/rat, too. We still haven't finished Sam and Sophie's room, but I have an idea about how I want to display these--and some other handmade gifts the kids have received. Stay tuned...

*** Xie Xie is "thank you" in Chinese (Mandarin).

Things I've thrifted

2010-07-31T22:20:00.000-05:00

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)

You'd think from my lack of posts about thrifting that I never hit the thrift stores anymore. Though I did slow down while we were still in the condo and things were getting, ahem, "crowded," now that I have a basement and craft room I'm free to buy a few treasures again (though still trying to have some restraint. Our house isn't that big!)

I do find a little time to occasionally shop the thifts; I just don't have time to write about my finds! So rather than feel guilty that I don't document my purchases right after I buy them, I'm instead going to do some occasional posts about "Things I've Thrifted" in the past months that never made it onto the blog.

That said, I bought these three Pyrex bowls just last week at the Salvation Army. While running an errand to the grocery store, I braved the SA with both kids in tow. I don't think I've ever been there in the morning before, and they were just putting things out--which is why I think I scored these. They were dirty (still need a little better cleaning as you can see from these photos!) but is a gorgeous set of three "Cinderella" bowls in the cool aqua color.

As you can tell from this ebay listing, my set is missing the largest teal bowl. A set of all four goes for about $60. I paid $12 for all three, which is no super-bargain, but not bad. I can't decide if I want to risk using these in the kitchen (breakage a very real possibility) or save them for display in our "new" kitchen (kitchen redo on hold for now unfortunately) or in the craft room.

Happy update

2010-07-16T12:58:00.000-05:00

Our friends for whom I made the "Cutest. Dress. Ever" (post below) got their referral the day after I posted this! YEA!!!!! And it's an 18-month-old girl who should fit into this dress perfectly. They hope to travel by fall. I will keep praying till that little girl is home with them. So excited for them (and for Sophie, who will have a little friend only two weeks older than she is!)

Cutest. Dress. Ever.

2010-07-11T21:03:00.001-05:00

"The secret of patience... to do something else in the meantime." (Anon.)

This is a very special dress--for a very special little girl. Our friends are in the process of adopting from Nepal, and about a year into it, the process has not been smooth. The mother-to-be just got back from a visit to Nepal, where she stayed in a few ashrams and unfortunately contracted Typhoid. She's all better now, and back to waiting for news of a referral.

The dress is the Soli pattern (ravelry link here). I knit the Size 4 with Patons Grace on Size 7 needles, so it wouldn't get too dense and heavy. I love the pink/brown combo and the seed stitch top (make that: I love the look of seed stitch; I hate knitting it.) The skirt is a ton of stockinette.

The flowers were my own design element. I used this easy flower pattern from "For the Love of Yarn," an online knitting 'zine that is no longer published but still up.

I learned to do something new with this project: CROCHET! The pattern calls for single crocheting around the armholes and neckline, which I was going to skip, until I read a Ravelry comment that warned not to, otherwise the neckline will stretch horribly. So I followed an online video, and did it! I don't think I"ll be taking up crochet anytime soon, though. I have a hard time with the tension.

Now, back to praying that our friends get a referral soon--and that it's a girl! (I started this back in December for her shower; they've since changed their paperwork to say they're open to either gender.)

This has to be one of the cutest things I've ever knit. I know another little girl one would so adorable on. And I have some yarn left...

Berry berry good

2010-07-09T22:54:00.000-05:00

"So tell the earth to shake / With marching feet / Of messengers of peace / Proclaim my law of love / To every nation / Every race." (Thomas Merton, from his poem, "Earthquake")

I am having so much fun harvesting and preserving from our garden. My favorite so far has been our raspberry bushes. The kids love to pick a few for breakfast in the morning. Luckily, I have discovered a gold mine of raspberry bushes that have grown into a nearby alley--and the owner does not pick them at all! Almost every day I pick about a pint!

I made some three-berry freezer jam with raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, using agave instead of sugar (having learned from fellow bloggers about Pomona's Universal Pectin). It's definitely not sweet. I think I'd use more than 2/3 cup of agave next time.

Here's my little helper! This week I harvested enough raspberries to make some raspberry jam in jars. Speaking of food in jars, I've been getting lots of tips from this blog.

Also on deck: another batch of watermelon pickles. And tonight we picked our first ripe tomato--a cherry one, which Sophie promptly popped in her mouth, then spit out!

Gardening as grace

2010-07-01T20:26:00.002-05:00

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace." (May Sarton)

Here are some garden "before" and "afters"--or really "before" and "durings." This is the herb garden. On the top is when it was first planted; in the middle is from a few weeks ago; and the bottom one is most recent. I had to add a fence to keep the kids out (Sophie pulled the basil in the corner.) I added another basil, a dill and a cilantro plant (visible in third photo). I've never had much luck with cilantro--it has always burned and gone to seed, but that was in pots, so we'll see. Everything seems to be growing really well.

We have 10 tomato plants, a variety of cherry, plum and regular. The top photo is the ones planted against the garage, with some strawberries in between them. (We had a few berries, but bunnies or squirrels ate them before we ever could.)

Here are the three heirloom plants, again from a few weeks ago. I added those cages a bit late, but just in time. Now they are about 4 feet tall and over the tops of the cages. However, to be honest, there aren't a ton of blooms and no fruit yet. But they are huge. It's amazing to see something grow so fast.

These three plants on the right are also quite a bit taller now. I see a few cherry and plum tomatoes on them. (That's a strawberry to the left.)

And these are a mixture of tomatoes I planted in another bed, just to compare which area does better. These are rather small; and I haven't even put cages around them. But there are quite a few plum and cherry tomatoes on them. It's a constant struggle to make sure Sam doesn't pick them!

I'll have some updated photos soon, hopefully showing some early harvests!

Watermelon pickles

2010-06-25T22:02:00.001-05:00

"Remember, the bread you meet each day is still rising. Don't scare the dough." (Macrina Wiederkehr)

Now that we have a garden and a house in which to store canned goods, I can't wait to "put up" a bunch of food this summer. I started with watermelon pickles. These are made from the rinds of watermelon you have already eaten, so really a great opportunity to make something out of nothing (or at least out of something you would probably throw away.)

I remember eating these growing up; they are a sweet pickle. But I always thought the recipe was my Grandma Werrell's (Mom's side) but it's my Grandma Doris' (Dad's side.) My sister made some a few years ago and I learned from her mistake. You have to use a potato peeler to remove the hard, green part of the rind first.

Here's the recipe (don't be afraid just because it starts, "Day 1")"
Watermelon Pickles
Day 1: Cut rind from melon, cut into pieces and cover with water. Boil until melon can be pierced easily with fork. Drain. Mix 7 c. sugar, 1 pint vinegar (I used the pint canning jar to measure) and 1/4 tsp. each oil of cinnamon and oil of cloves. (My sister bought this at an old-fashioned drug store). Bring to a boil and pour over melon. Refrigerate.
Day 2: Drain syrup; bring to a boil and pour over melon. Refrigerate again.
Day 3: Same as Day 2.
Day 4: Bring melon and syrup to a boil. Pack pickles and syrup into jars. Process and seal for canning. (I just followed the directions on the canning lid box.) I boiled for 5 minutes and all the jars "pinged" within a few minutes of removal.

I used about half of the rind from one of those smaller, seedless watermelons, which made about 6 small jars (pints and jelly jars) and seemed to be about right for the amount of syrup. I tasted one and they are yummy. Just like I remember!

Anyone else ever made or eaten these pickles? Next: jelly with raspberries from our own bushes!

Best Daddy Hands Down

2010-06-20T22:56:00.000-05:00

"There are some things you learn best in the calm, and some in storm." (Willa Cather)

Happy Father's Day, first of all, to my Dad, who is recovering from surgery so not having the greatest day, but who I hope will feel better when we see him over the 4th. And to my husband, who is such a wonderful Daddy to our two little ones. They are so lucky to get so much time with him, though I know it is sometimes very hard. And to my godfather, who is still living, and my grandfathers, who are not. And to my daughter's godfather (Sam has only godmothers). Finally to all the new fathers, fathers-to-be and waiting adoptive fathers--and of course to our children's biological fathers.

Some recent pix of the kids in the back yard. Sam is getting to be such a big boy, although he likes to say he's a baby.

And Sophie, who's always pointing at something. She has a few words; can't wait till she has more. She's not as "laid back," ahem, as she was when we first brought her home, but she's still a cutie.

**Oops. Forgot to mention the hand-made gift. I love anything with kids' handprints. I stole this idea from my sister, who made sweatshirts for godparents and grandparents when her kids were little. Ed got some free time on Sunday for a long bike ride, then we all went to a local street fair to hear some music and to Garcia's for some Mexican food.

Crib Bumper to Valence: A Tutorial

2010-06-19T21:42:00.000-05:00

"God is something so simple: always to live for others, never to seek one’s own advantage." (Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings)

I'm pretty excited about the valences I just finished for our kids' room. I'm really trying to do this room on a budget, so I didn't want to spend anything on window treatments. But the dirty old off-white curtains left by the old owners were heavy and ugly. One night while lying in bed trying to get Sam to sleep, the idea came to me: to turn his old crib bumper into valences. (I also write some of my articles in my head while waiting for him to fall asleep!)

I already knew the fabric would match, since we were using the same paint color as his old nursery. The next day I measured the windows and the bumper and realized they would fix EXACTLY. Wow, meant to be! It was pretty simple. Here's how I did it:

First I removed the ties from the bottom of the bumper, using a seam ripper. (This is the other side of the bumper, a green gingham. The flip side is a green and white toile.)

Then I resewed those ties at the top, equidistant from the existing ties.

It took me awhile to figure out how to fix the rough edges where I had cut the bumper to make it into two valences. Then I remembered that the crib set had come with a matching comforter, which we had never used.

I got out the seam ripper again and removed some of the solid terrycloth binding from the comforter. Then I stitched it on the rough edges of the two valences. I did all this by hand. The stitches were easily hidden in the terrycloth fabric.

Voila! I tied the valences on to the curtain rods from our old bedroom in the condo. The windows now look great--with a new coat of white paint (Vaspar's glossy latex, which I have to say is better than my beloved Benjamin Moore, just as the paint store guy said) and new vinyl shades. I considered getting nice, insulating cellular blinds, but they were just too expensive--and we have five individual windows in this bedroom (a group of three, and a group of two--hence, to valences). Plus I'm assuming one of the kids will probably ruin these, and at $10 a pop, I won't be so mad.

We're almost done with this room--just have to get the crown molding and baseboard, paint and install it, and strip and stain the doors. I'm finishing the radiator cover tomorrow.

**Hopefully no one notices that on the smaller valence, the toile pattern is upside down. I could remove all those ties and put them on the right side, but I'm too lazy!

How does your garden grow?

2010-06-06T12:21:00.000-05:00

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." (Albert Einstein)

One of the most exciting parts of finally living in a single-family home is the possibility of having a garden that's not just in pots and flowerboxes. This year we decided to just experiment with some inexpensive options and see what happens. Our main plot runs from along the fence with our neighbor (who has a very green thumb), from the back of the house to the alley. The previous owners left a big peony and a bunch of hostas. A lot of the neighbor's daylillies cross through the fence. I put a little herb garden at the end near the house and a few tomatoes halfway to the alley. This area gets pretty decent sun all day, except for the shade from some of our neighbor's plants.

Then there's this area along the garage. I put an assortment of tomatoes (some heirloom, plum, tomato and whatever was on sale at Jewel) and a pepper plant. This doesn't get morning sun because of the garage, but is pretty bright the rest of the day. We also put in three strawberry plants given to us by the aforementioned green-thumbed neighbor.

Along the fence with our other neighbors, to the south, there are a ton of raspberries near the garage and then some roses. Apparently before he got ill, the previous owner liked roses. I'm not a fan of them, and I gave one plant that was too close to where the kids play to our neighbor. He replanted it along the fence, so I'll still get to enjoy the blooms withou the kids getting pricked by the throrns. I'll probably leave these ones along the other fence and see what happens. I would like to move the peony over here, though. It's too big and hangs over the sidewalk. But I've heard sometimes they stop blooming after you move them.

Finally, we have this little bed against the house. At the far right is a black tulip that came up this spring! And that's a piece of siding that has fallen off the porch. Ed put some flowers that were leftover from the front back here. This gets decent sun except in late afternoon.

We didn't do much in the front, where Ed had removed two big bushes that were blocking our front windows. The stumps are still there, so we just planted some flowers around them. The front is very shady, so I might move some of our extra hostas there. I need to think about what we want in the front before we spent a bunch of money. Ed also put some grass seed there, so the front "lawn" (it's about 5 feet by 5 feet) looks a little better. He's really interested in landscaping and gardening, so I'll let it be his thing, although I would like to grow herbs and vegetables. I'm already dreaming of canning tomatoes!

Speaking of birthdays...

2010-06-04T23:13:00.001-05:00

"It takes a long time to grow young." (Pablo Picasso)

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I had a great day at a book conference, where I signed copies of my book and met with both of my publishers, plus heard a great speaker and had a nice dinner. Thanks to my husband, who made it possible by watching the kids all day and night.

A week ago we celebrated another important birthday--that of our friends' Karen and Jeff's twins. I have made them handmade gifts before, and this year was no different. I decided to whip up two felty birthday crowns, much like the one I made for Sam last year.

Mesfin's was his favorite color (orange) with a brown star decoration, and Mari's was her favorite color (pink) with a cupcake on the front.

I had two very willing models during my photo shoot! (I have no idea what that is in her mouth!)

Their birthday celebration was at one of my favorite restaurants, Ethiopian Diamond. Yummy food, and lots of fun with other adoptive families and kids running around! Happy 6th birthday, Mari and Mesfin!

Catching up

2010-06-01T23:07:00.000-05:00

"We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies." (Etty Hillesum)

Sophie and cousin Katie in the hotel pool

Lots of worrying about the "morrow" here, since I go back to work next Monday (or rather my class starts then. I'm already "back to work" prepping my class.) Also trying to finish up some home improvement in the kids' room. Progress has been made. I'll have photos soon.

Sam and Daddy at Alma bridge before scary train came

We had a wonderful two days in Wisconsin over Memorial Day weekend. We drove, with the kids, to LaCrosse to meet up with all the Peltos to see "5,000 pounds," a play about the Vietnam War written by my cousin's husband. It was really quite good--funny but also thoughtful and moving. Then Saturday we drove up the Mississippi River, which was beautiful. The bluffs are the closest thing the Midwest has to mountains! Then to Mondovi to visit my Aunt Pat and godparents Betty and Mike. A long drive home Saturday night, but the kids were troopers and it was worth it.

Sophie and Betty during Mondovi visit

I did a little knitting in the car (and some reading for class), working on Sophie's purple Daisy sweater. Lately, I've done a few dishcloths, just because we need them for wiping down the kids after meals. I liked this pattern, Mandarin Lemon, though it took up quite a bit of yarn (more than one skein of Peaches and Cream). It's a big and thick cloth, though.

Now I'm working on "A Little Lace," but I keep getting confused on the lace pattern.

Tomorrow, I turn 46. Yikes!

No-cost guest room

2010-05-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

"Do one scary thing every day." (Eleanor Roosevelt)

We're finally starting to tackle some projects in our house, mainly work on the kids' room. I'll report more about that later, as it's still ongoing. My goal is to have it done before I got back to work, which is the first week of June.

In the meantime, I decided to create a guest room, since we've had two sets of grandparents visit their new granddaughter. There was a section of the basement that was "quasi-finished"--not fully finished (with the pine paneling, etc.) but not totally unfinished. The walls, ceiling and floor were painted, and there was a ceiling light fixture (fluorescent, but at least not a bare bulb). The realtor said the former owner used to do some typing work down here.

After tons of reorganizing, I had emptied the room. Then I put out a call on Facebook to see if anyone we knew had an extra bed. A friend of a friend's dad had died (not in the bed!) and was cleaning out his house. So we got a fairly new full-sized mattress and box spring. I enclosed the mattress in plastic, then put our nice Calvin Klein linens on it (no use having them on our bed when it's full of kids). Underneath are two rugs that are not nice enough for upstairs but do the trick here. Two little sidetables and a lamp, and voila!

Then, in a stroke of genius, I got out the curtains I made for our old bedroom and used them to cover the back wall--and to block the room off from the rest of the basement (and the hot water heater). It really makes it cozy in there. It's a bit chilly, but the down comforter is warm--and all of our parents said it was OK.

Sam has slept down there while we were replastering and painting his room. And I think it will be the coolest place to sleep in the summer.

The best part? I didn't spend a penny. Which means we have more for the kids' room ... and the kitchen ... and the bathroom ... and the upstairs ...

Under the sea

2010-05-07T21:03:00.001-05:00

"I am you; you are me. You are the waves; I am the ocean. Know this and be free, be divine." (Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

So these are the other sea creatures that were part of the trio I knit for our friends Jerry and Stephanie, who are having their first baby in June. Jerry had told me she was having a "sea" theme for the room and really wanted knitted and crocheted toys.

This lobster is so freaking adorable. I found the free pattern here, though I found another one here. The pattern is putsy (as so many toy patterns are) but if you stick with it, it turns out. The only thing is that I used some Sugar & Cream cotton from my stash, which is really a pain to work with with all those "M1"s.

This fish, like Ollie the Octopus, is from a free Lion Brand pattern. Let me just say that this was my first experience with lots of stripes and boy what a pain in the ass it was! All those ends to weave in! I kept thinking it would have taken me about 1/10th the time to knit this as a solid. But then in the end, it looked so cute with the stripes. Again, Sugar & Cream cotton from my stash.

So these, together with the pink octopus, are my gifts to our friends. A little someone kept interrupting my photo shoot to play with them. I really should make some of this stuff for my own kids. (I know I keep saying that.)

Here are some other patterns I considered but didn't get to make:

Ollie the Octopus

2010-05-05T16:40:00.001-05:00

"In the long run, the pessimist may be proved to be right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip." (Daniel Reardon)

Well, I finally finished the octopus, with a few weeks to spare. (Our friends' baby is due in early June.) I didn't want him to be a lot bigger than the other underwater creatures I made so I shortened his head and tentacles a bit. I don't know why mine don't curl up like the ones in the demo photo from the Lion pattern. I also just went with embroidered eyes, instead of crocheting ones.

Oh well, he's still cute. And he's done. The rest of the aquatic menagerie to come...

Haircut

2010-04-20T21:32:00.000-05:00

After a couple years of wanting shorter hair, I finally took the plunge! This bob works well with my natural wave/curl, so I can just wash and go. Very necessary with two kids. It even looks OK with my old glasses.

Kung Fu Panda

2010-04-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

"There lives more faith in honest doubt, / Believe me, than in half the creeds." (Tennyson)

Speaking of cute softies... This adorable little crocheted panda arrived in the mail for Sophie last week. It's handmade (and probably designed by) my friend Kristi.

It was this "golden pig" for Sam that got Kristi, already an experienced blanket crocheter, into making little softie animals a little over a year ago. And she told me that she usually creates her own designs. This panda is perfect for Sophie! (I made the back picture small, since she thinks her embroidery is not expert enough. I like it just fine.)

And there she is--licking the spatula while Sam licked the beaters from a chocolate cake for Auntie Trish, who is visiting tomorrow. I kept her away from the white panda while she was all chocolatey!

4 down, 4 to go

2010-04-15T22:32:00.001-05:00

"Our patience will achieve more than our force." (Edmund Burke)

I'm knitting an octopus. More knitted sea creatures to follow.

Lent and Easter

2010-04-13T22:17:00.002-05:00

"Our Lord has written the promise of the Resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time" (Martin Luther)

Lent kind of slipped past me this year. We left for China the day before Ash Wednesday and arrived home in the middle of Lent. The only lenten practice I had this year was to join our parish knitting ministry in creating a square for a blanket they're making for a local nursing home. I knit it during Holy Week.

I used this book (from my mom) to find the "Inverness Diamond" stitch pattern (Dec. 13 on the perpetual calendar). Details (in case I need to do another someday): CO 40 stitches; K 5 rows, K3, do pattern, K3. Do three repeats of 12-row pattern. K 5 rows. I used some worsted weight washable purple wool (darker than in this photo). The "square" was supposed to be 7 x 9 inches.

Knitting-related Easter shots: Here's Sophie wearing the Easter sweater my mom knit some 40-plus years ago (for me and/or Amy). It's missing one bunny-tail pompon and is a bit "felted," but still fits a 1-year-old perfectly. Sam wore it last year, too.

For more cute Easter pix of the kids and family, go to Dear Sam and Sophie.

China stash

2010-04-10T22:10:00.000-05:00

"A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark." (Chinese proverb)

So here's my wooly loot from China. I bought some red washable wool to make a sweater for Sophie. On trip #2 to the yarn store, I added some black. The plan is to knit Sophie a Chinese-style sweater in red with black trim.

This is some super soft orange wool (it's not as bright as it looks in this photo--more of a "pumpkin" color.) I bought enough to make an adult-sized sweater for myself, according to the shop clerk. But later I realized this would be perfect for the Hex Coat by Nora Gaughan that I wanted to knit for myself. Thanks to Ravelry, I could look it up back at our hotel room, return to the yarn store the next day and get enough for the sweater/coat. (That's when I got the black, too.) I think I paid about $30 for all of this--all three colors!

For the orange, red and black, I had asked for "cashmere," but not sure what got lost in the translation. Then, in a second yarn shop, our guide pointed out that this yarn was the very best from a special animal in the mountains. I assume that it's cashmere. I bought a box of the red for my mom. (Even this was only about $20.)

It came in this fancy box and with some matching thread. I have no idea what that animal is on the front. If anyone can read Chinese, feel free to fill me in!

I also bought some buttons at a little button stand. These are all just cheap plastic buttons, but I thought they were cute. If I had known I was going to buy orange yarn, I would have gotten orange squares instead of purple. I think these cost a total of about a dollar.

Yarn shopping in China

2010-04-08T20:56:00.001-05:00

"Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts little wisdom." (Chinese proverb)

I always try to look for yarn when I'm in other countries. I remember how hard it was to find any in Ireland, of all places! And I didn't find any in Vietnam. But our guide in Nanchang asked around and found a nice yarn store in the city market area. Outside they were selling yarn in huge cones.

This is the outside of the store.

Cute sweaters hanging outside.

Woman knitting in the store.


Look at all those colors. I asked for "cashmere" and they showed me what looked like regular wool, although it was pretty soft.


That's our guide "Nana" translating for me.

I didn't have a pattern in mind or with me, so I just bought enough for an "adult sweater" and "child sweater" plus a gift for my mom. Those pictures and details in the next post.

Knitting in China

2010-03-29T22:25:00.013-05:00

"The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing ... not healing, not curing ... that is a friend who cares." (Henri J.M. Nouwen, Out of Solitude)

As I mentioned, I saw women knitting all over China, especially in Jiangxi Province. And every child was wearing a hand-knit sweater. They were always knitting in the round with very long (about 18 inches) double-pointed needles.

Our guide in Jiangxi was surprised that I was a knitter. She said knitting was not popular among young people; it was mostly "Grandmas" who did it. In fact, her mother-in-law had already knit many things for the children she and her husband hadn't had yet! (Since she and her husband are both only children, the government allows them to have two children.)

This is a woman knitting at the yarn store in Nanchang. More about that in the next post. Let's just say I came home with some yarn!

The purple sweater

2010-03-24T16:40:00.001-05:00

"Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down." (Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated 30 years ago today)

This is what I was doing just minutes before we got the knock on our hotel room door to meet our daughter for the first time. Yes, I was knitting. I had just started the Daisy sweater for Sophie in some nice lavender wool.

A few moments later I was snuggling with the sweetest little thing, who had arrived wearing (among many other layers) a hand-knit purple wool cardigan sweater.

Most likely her foster mother knit it for her, and given how many women I saw knitting in China, that's entirely possible.

Not only is this something that will go into her "China treasures" box, but it's a lovely coincidence that I was knitting her a very similar sweater, don't you think?

Airplane knitting

2010-03-16T00:52:00.000-05:00

"Do not memorize anything that can be looked up; save the mind for creativity." (Albert Einstein)

It seems so long ago that we left for China--it was only a month, but our world has changed since then. It was so hard to say goodbye to Sam, who stayed with my sister and her family while we were gone. Once we were on the plane, though, it was nice to have 13 uninterrupted hours to myself, even if it was in coach!

I got out my airplane knitting, a sock on thin plastic needles (just in case, because you never know what the knitting needles rules are in other countries), which I keep in this cute bag my mom gave me. This sock is just a plain one, but knit with this (cotton) yarn that makes a pattern that kind of looks fair isle-ish, which my mom bought me at the Rosemont knitting convention a few years ago.

Before this trip, I had done the ribbing, On this trip, I turned the heel and almost got to the toes. Of one sock. Sigh.

Movies to knit by: The in-flight selections weren't the best, but I did watch a few, including Bright Star, the love story about Keats. Also, The Boys are Back, about a sportswriter who raises his sons after his wife dies (this did not help with missing Sam). Then I watched the first part of the National Parks documentary, which was excellent.

I also started (and finished while in China) John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, which was recommended by my friend D'Arcy. What an excellent book! Here's an interesting article about it on salon, and a reader's guide here.

It will probably be a long time before I get to read a book for pleasure again!

Back in the USA

2010-03-15T02:26:00.006-05:00

"There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." (Chinese Proverb)

Three of my favorite photos of our new girl, Sophie, from our trip to China. We're home now, so happy to be re-united with Sam and adjusting to being a family of four.

Believe it or not, there was knitting in China--and yarn buying! Pictures to come.

Speaking of potties...

2010-02-14T22:45:00.004-06:00

"It is not so essential to think much, as to love much." (St. Teresa of Avila)

Guess who started going in his little potty? (Sorry for the blurry photo.) Bad time to start toilet training, as we leave for China in a day and half. Visit the adoption blog to follow our journey, starting Thursday when we're expected to arrive in Beijing. See you in March! And happy Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year (it's the year of the Tiger).

Nesting

2010-02-07T21:24:00.009-06:00

"Measure success by the obstacles overcome." (Booker T. Washington)

We leave for China in 10 days to get our daughter Sophie Yue. I'm just sick about leaving Sam (and it's turning out to be longer than I had thought--almost three weeks!). I'm also having "Second Baby Blues" that our little family of three is changing, even though I know it's for the better.

There is so much to do to get ready. Today I made two loaves of banana bread (with my little helper in his 40-cent thrift store apron!) and a quadruple batch of White Bean Chicken Chili. All of it but one batch of chili went in the freezer. I remember how hard it was to shop or cook when we got home from Vietnam, and this time we'll have a baby and a toddler! I'm hoping to get a few more meals in the freezer this week. Maybe a lasagna.

I promised pictures of the new toilet, but it turns out I only took a "before" photo. This project turned out to be very complicated. Apparently this toilet was installed when the house first got indoor plumbing and the ring on the floor is soldered to the pipe! Needless to say, this required about a dozen trips to Home Depot and Lowes.

I was all excited to get this mod toilet (Jacuzzi Espree) that had no ridges on the side to clean, but it wouldn't fit against the wall where the pipe sticks out. So we had to rebox and return that one and go with a more basic model, but still very environmental--ony 1.6 gallons per flush! (I also wanted one of those "two button" models, but Ed nixed that. Thought the kids wouldn't get it.) The tank is about half the size of the old one.

Sam was so excited: "New potty!" But that doesn't mean he's going in it yet.

Craft Hope for Haiti

2010-01-25T19:57:00.008-06:00

"People [are] stepping up — the world is compassionate. Despite what many may think, the hearts of men and women are warm. Sometimes I think that we are distracted by so much war that we forget that we are loving people..." (Haitian musician and activist Wyclef Jean)

It's heartwarming to see how the craft community is rallying around fundraising for Haiti. These two bloggers I follow are auctioning off items as fundraisers. Craft Hope for Haiti has raised more than $10,000 in one week by asking crafters for donations to an etsy shop, where 100% of money raised will to to Doctors Without Borders. I didn't donate anything yet, but I did buy something.

When I saw these tiger jammies in a 12-month size, I knew they were meant for Sophie, who we hope to bring home right after celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Tiger.

They have sold 1,477 items already and only have 173 items left right now, but will be adding more soon. There are some nice downloadable patterns, including this cute Haitian girl for embroidery. I think I might get that.

Craft Hope organizes lots of other projects in which crafters make and donate items to charities that need things. So does this Mama to Mama site. I'll be watching both of them.

Cookie monster

2010-01-18T21:19:00.000-06:00

"The curse of poverty has no justification in our age." (Martin Luther King Jr.)*

We interrupt what has temporarily become a decorating blog to bring you some crafting. I finally made some felt food for Sam's kitchen. While at Amy's, Sam helped make chocolate chip cookies (picking out the chocolate chips when eating them), so I thought he would appreciate these. I scoured my button collection for some "chocolate" colored ones for these cookies. Otherwise, they're just simple circles of tan felt, with a little batting and blanket stitched shut. He likes to carry them on this little baking sheet and put them in his play oven. Cute!

Next: an unplanned renovation project--a new toilet, which required three days of installation.

* Especially appropriate quote in light of Haiti.

Stripping

2010-01-13T10:17:00.007-06:00

"Where there is great love, there are always miracles." (Willa Cather)*

No, not that kind of stripping--wallpaper stripping. Here are some photos from our wallpaper stripping project in the baby's room last weekend. I excitedly started with my spray bottle of non-toxic fabric softener and a putty knife early in the morning, thinking I'd have this wrapped up by afternoon. Not.

Once I got underneath a section of the pink (itself at least a few decades old), I discovered another layer, a nice burgundy floral. I'm not sure how old that was.

Underneath that were some pretty yellow roses on a tan/greyish background.

Not done yet. Here you can see the fourth and final layer: a light green texture.

Finally--plaster!

Things went a lot quicker once Ed joined me with a razor scraper.

Ah, finally--clean plaster walls. you can't tell from this photo but they are in awful condition. Lots of holes and cracks. So the next step is to get a professional plasterer to fix them up so we can paint. We also removed the thin, cheap trim at the ceiling. We plan to put up crown moulding--the kind you can hang pictures from, so we don't have to put too many holes in the plaster. The other two walls must have been stripped and replastered when they put in the new windows. Thank God. Two walls were enough!

Unfortunately, we're in the middle of a little unplanned renovation this weekend--a new toilet. More about that later.

*Praying for miracles in Haiti--and donating to Catholic Relief Services. I have first-hand experience with CRS in India and Ethiopia. They do great work.

Baby's room before

2010-01-12T14:15:00.006-06:00

"Quakers call the presence of the Holy Spirit working within us a 'sifting silence.' It separates the worthwhile from the worthless." (J. Brent Bill)

I can't believe we've lived in our house for almost four months before even attempting any home improvements. Yes, we had the floors sanded and varnished before we moved in. But we haven't even painted a wall. Well, while my sister's family watched Sam last weekend, we finally started the redo on his room (soon-to-be his and Sophie's).

There's not a ton to do in there, but here's my to-do list:

1. Remove peeling pink wallpaper on two walls
2. Have walls "skim-coated" with plaster; also the ceiling
3. Paint walls green (same color as nursery in our condo; it matches the rug) and ceiling white
4. Paint baseboard and other trim white
5. Add crown moulding and picture hanger moulding; paint white
6. Eventually have second door (to kitchen) closed off

7. Replace old light fixture (cute and vintage though it is) with ceiling fan (we have no AC)
8. Rewire the room (part of whole house rewiring) and add outlet

9. Replace curtains with white wood blinds

One thing we've already done: bought gorgeous solid oak bunk beds on Craigslist. Sam's been in a big-boy bed since after Christmas, but he still doesn't sleep through the night. Now one of us is in his bed, instead of vice versa.

Next: photos of the wallpaper stripping.

Twin set

2010-01-11T22:01:00.006-06:00

"If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No one can serve two masters." (Thomas Merton)

I finished the second little hat for my friends' twin boys: Jack and Henry. Many thanks to Katie for explaining to me that I need to do the first round of a new color in plain stockinette, instead of the ribbing, to avoid the little "dashes" like I had in the blue one. I was tempted to frog the blue one and reknit it correctly (it is a small hat, after all) but then I fought that perfectionistic thought and let it be.

Here's the scary doll modeling the red one without the little dashes. Yea! You learn something new every day.

Speaking of kiddos, Ed and I were child-free this past weekend. Sam stayed with my sister's family as a trial run for when we go to China to get Sophie. (What a saint: she didn't get much sleep.) As much as I missed Sam, it was great to have a whole 2 days to ourselves. We watched a movie (see below), ate some Thai food, slept a lot and went out to a bar to watch football. And we started a home-improvement project, which I will blog about soon.

Movies to knit by: While knitting these hats, I watched two Netflix movies that we have had for about four months. Both were good, though not exactly uplifting. Frozen River takes place on a Native American reservation and is about two women doing what they have to do to make ends meet for their families. The Wrestler is about an aging professional wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke). Great acting in both, but I liked Frozen River better.

Knitting Christmas

2010-01-06T19:57:00.007-06:00

"I never have any difficulty believing in miracles, since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart." (St. Augustine)

I got a few knitting-related Christmas gifts this year--mostly from my mom, of course. First, three skeins of Cascade 220 wool in a nice bright red. She had a specific project in mind:

... a sweater for Sophie! So she gave me this book, which I have yet to completely study and choose a fave pattern. Of course, at the rate I'm knitting these days, she'll have to make it!

Tucked in my stocking was this book from Santa. Although I like the idea of knitting a creche, some of these characters are a little scary looking. And they're pretty complicated too. But maybe...

My friend Karen gave me these two little knitted sweater ornaments, which she bought (she is not a knitter, alas). It's funny, because I had bought some little sweaters a long time ago at a craft fair (I think they were supposed to be for teddy bears) and I finally gave them to my mom, who used them as ornaments. Now I have my own--again. I hung these up in my craft room after Christmas so I can enjoy them all year long.

Cute "snowy day" pictures of Sam over at the adoption blog today.

Vintage Christmas (50% off)

2010-01-04T14:57:00.008-06:00

"The great problem is bringing life back into the wasteland, where people live inauthentically." (Joseph Campbell)

Although there are TONS of great thrift shops in Chicago, I tend to go to two: the Salvation Army on Broadway and Montrose, and the Village Discount Outlet on Lawrence and Kimball. The Village has sales on most holidays--50% off the whole store. Unfortunately, I'm usually busy doing some fun holiday stuff and can't hit the store. But not this New Year's Day.

I haven't posted any thrift scores in ages, in part because I had cut back on thrifting in the months before our move--and when I did go, it was for wool sweaters for felting or kids clothes. But now that I have a big (relatively--to us) house, I can get a few treasures. Here's what I got for 50% off on New Year's.

First, the Christmas stuff: a vintage Rudoph Golden Book (20 cents), a handmade (but probably not too old) quilted tree hanging (about placemat size and 40 cents), and...

and this quilt, which is so soft that I bought it even though I'm not much into geese. Or is it a swan? It's about crib size and was 90 cents.

Onto non-Christmas vintage. This tablecloth has a few stains on the white edge, but I lvoe the yellow/gold polka dot center. It was 90 cents.

This picnic basket matches one I got last year, though this one doesn't seem old (maybe it's just in great condition.) It was $1.50 and is already full of yarn, just like its mate.

An Irish linen tea towel, 45 cents.

Here's a close-up of the saying.

And a few baby/kid clothes, mostly for Sophie. I love the burgandy corduroy skirt with ball fringe and yarn flower. The striped dress (with leaves for trim) is Gymboree. And the pink boots! So cute. Just plain green cords for Sam. All dirt cheap.

And of course about a dozen wool and cashmere sweaters for felting.

One down, one to go

2010-01-01T11:20:00.004-06:00

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but set about remdying them--every day begin the task anew." (St. Francis de Sales)

Hat #1 for our friends who had twin boys on Dec. 26 is done. I used the Huck's Baby Hat (free) pattern from Jimmy Bean's Wool, casting 55 stitches on size 5 doublepointed needles with some Lion Brand cashmere I got on clearance for $4 a skein last Thanksgiving in Lexington, Kentucky. I made it 6 inches, as the pattern called for, but it seems a bit long on this model (a doll given to Sam last night from his friend Mari.) I assume the twins will be a bit bigger, and it will stretch wider and not have so much extra at the top.

The next one is going to be red with a white stripe. Does anyone know how to make it so I don't have those little white "dashes" in the purl part of the rib where I start the white stripe? Mom?

I'm only making three resolutions this year: to start working out again, to go to church more regularly and to blog more regularly at the National Catholic Reporter blog. Oh, and to be a more patient wife and mother. I always do that one.

Do you "carrot" all?

2009-12-30T22:13:00.003-06:00

"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again." (Joseph Campbell)

I guess I spoke too soon about only making one gift this year. I did knit three carrots, using this pattern from Jimmy Beans Wool (They're supposed to be rattles, and there's a eggplant, banana, orange and cucumber, too.) I made them a little bigger so they resemble real carrots, though now I wish I'd made them smaller.

The carrots are the first in what I hope are a bunch of "softie" food for Sam, who got a new-to-him kitchen for Christmas. I was super tempted to get this cute retro pink one, but aside from being pink, it was $239. The above bright-colored one was $25 from my friend Staci, whose boys had outgrown it. The IKEA table was a gift from Sam's godmother Kristin, and the two white chairs I got at a garage sale a few years ago for $1 each. This little set-up is in the corner of our dining room.

He loves pretending he's cooking. It's so cute!

While on the Jimmy Bean's site, I found this cute hat pattern. I've just started the first of a pair of them for one of Ed's friends who had twin boys the day after Christmas.

Blankie

2009-12-26T22:36:00.000-06:00

"It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear... It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold onto." (Marilyn Ferguson)

I only made one gift this year--probably a record for me. Of course, I still made several batches of toffee to give away, but only one crafted gift. It was this cashmere blankie for my new nephew with the Christmasy name of Nicholas.

I made it out of felt from recycled sweaters--but all cashmere, so it's super soft. I've only made one of these before (one I donated to a Chinese orphanage), and that time I zigzagged the squares together, but this time the cashmere was too slippery for that. So I had to do two lines of straight stitch instead. It's a little messy, but I guess that's just the "handmade" look.

I used an interesting combo of bright colors, since Nicholas' mother is not into traditional boy baby blues. I did some red highlights, with large rick rack and polka dotted ribbon with a few loops for sucking on. And I hand stitched his name on it.

There was a little boy here who wanted it for himself. I really should make some of this stuff for my own kids!

P.S. We made it home safely from a lovely Christmas in Wisconsin, despite lots of snow here, there and in between. I know most people take a blogging break during the holidays, but this is when I finally have some time to read and write blogs posts. So hopefully I'll do a little catching up on the (few) creative projects in my life lately.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T11:57:00.000-06:00

"For unto us is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe, and relaxing holiday.

This is Sam playing with the newest "toy" in our house--a beautiful, hand-carved nativity set from the Holy Land. Of course, I saw these when I was there in 1999, but didn't buy one. My parents gave it to us as an early Christmas gift this year. Sam loves it, especially the star, which winds a music box that plays "Silent Night." (I know the Palestinian artisans are really suffering because of the decreased Christmas tourism these past years, so I'm glad my parents supported them by buying this.)

When I ask him what happens on Christmas, Sam has been saying, "Jesus born." But tonight, after a long fun Christmas Day of presents and playing with his cousins, he said, "Santa born." Oh well.

Cookie Baking Weekend 2009

2009-12-23T11:52:00.002-06:00

"Many hands make light work." (John Heywood)

The annual Schlumpf Women Cookie Baking Weekend was held a week later this year (it's usually the first weekend of December) because I had a work party and a baby shower. Plus, I had to miss half the say Saturday because I was teaching. For that reason, it was also moved to my sister's in Aurora--though with some finger-crossing, because the last time we had it there, my sister's dog died. Buddy, their current pooch, survived this year.

According to the official counter (my mom), we baked 2, 225 cookies this year--our second highest number in history. However, my mom arrived with some three kinds already baked for us, so it's kind of cheating.

We had an extra pair of hands this year. He rolled, cut out and sampled a few. He also played with Grandpa, Uncle Andy and his cousins.

Once home, he chose a sugar cutout snowman that had black frosting on it and made a bit of a mess. But he loves the cookies. His favorites are the cutouts (especially the candy canes) and the creme de menthe balls, which he calls "Christmas balls." It's a simple, unbaked cookie that we've made since I was a little girl. The recipe is from "The Electirc Company Christmas Cooky Book," from 1964 put out by Wisconsin Electric Power Company (here's one for sale on ebay).

Creme de Menthe BonBons
1 c. vanilla wafer crumbs (Nilla Wafers--we grind in a meat grinder, but you can use food processor or even buy as crumbs)
3/4 finely chopped pecans
1 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 c. green creme de menthe
Green food coloring
Powdered sugar for rolling

Mix crumbs, pecans, sugar, syrup and creme de menthe. Add a few drops of food coloring. Chill dough. Shape into 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar. Refrigerate. Makes about 5 dozen.

This is a great cookie for little hands to help with the rolling in powdered sugar.

**Our family loves creme de menthe. I remember us pouring a bit on vanilla ice cream for dessert, or having (weak) grasshoppers. My mom also makes a yummy creme de menthe cake topped with fudge topping and cool whip that is a favorite at family birthdays.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-22T23:40:00.003-06:00

"A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

We have been a bit slow on the Christmas preparations around here. There were final papers to write (for Ed) and lots of final papers to grade (for both of us). In the midst of the end-of-the-semester madness, we also have had to deal with Sam have a major reversion on his sleep progress. It's been exhausting.

Little by little, I've put up some decorations, but it wasn't until Friday--yes, less than a week before Christmas--that we finally made the trip (to Home Depot, I admit) to get our tree. Sam helped pick out this Blue Spruce for $24.95.

Ed did the all-important straightening adjustments at home.

Sunday we finally decorated it. I carefully sorted through all my silver, gold and crystal ornaments and packed them away for about 10 years. Instead we decorated with every old and unbreakable ornament I had. It's a mish-mash, but it looks festive--and I don't have to freak out every time Sam plucks an ornament off the tree, which he did a lot at first, but a little less so now that we've blocked it off.

Once finals were done, we started trying to catch up with friends. I was happy to use a vintage tablecloth for a simple supper of quiche and Tom & Jerrys with our former neighbors. (At the condo we didn't have a dining room table.)

* It turns out I've used this title before. I guess after three years, you run out of clever titles.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T20:53:00.004-06:00

"Don't pray when it rains, if you don't pray when the sun shines." (Satchel Paige)

I didn't mean to disappear for a whole month. This semester has been crazier than ever: I'm teaching two classes, plus Ed is teaching one and taking one. So we have a lot of papers to write and grade these last weeks.

Thanksgiving was also an adventure. We went to Kentucky to meet our new nephew Nicholas (snuggling with me in the above photo). On the way home, we had car trouble (on Saturday afternoon) and ended up stranded in Indiana until a mechanic could look at it on Monday. We've had about $1,500 in car repairs in the past four weeks. I hope we're done for awhile. Still, it could have been a lot worse, and at least we broke down near Lafayette, so we were near a hotel and many fast-food joints!

There has been very little Christmas readying around here. No tree yet, no cards, just some thinking about presents, and a few batches of homemade toffee. Some friends are coming over tonight, so I'm going to try to make a batch of Tom and Jerrys. And this weekend is the annual Schlumpf Women Cookie Baking event. I'll have more to report after that, and more Christmas fun after my last class (Dec. 19, grades due Dec. 22). No homemade gifts this year, though.

I hope life settles down soon. It's just too crazy. All the more reason I enjoyed just snuggling with a month-old baby on Thanksgiving! Isn't he so cute?

Halloween Post-Mortum

2009-11-02T16:17:00.010-06:00

"From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
Though gates of pearl stream in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!" ("For All the Saints," by Anglican Bishop William Walsham How)

With Sam's birthday the week before Halloween, I can see that the end of October is going to be a busy time for our family. Luckily, I already had a costume for Sam--a cute dragon that my sister had bought him last year but we had not used and still fit. Is he cute or what?

I tried to make him a little pumpkin bag out of orange felt, but I ran out of time and I didn't make it deep enough. Luckily, he only went to three or four houses so it sufficed. Our new neighborhood is so, well, neighborly. Everyone gathers in costume at the park and parades through the neighborhood before trick or treating.

I'm using this yet-unpainted and unstained tall shelf that used to be in our condo entryway (now in our dining room) for holiday themed decorations. It helps that Sam can't reach the high shelves. Here are our simple Halloween items.

I found these two little copper molds with acorns at a thrift store in Aurora last week. Aren't they so cute? I don't know why I love acorns so much. I guess I'm a sucker for anything fall-related. They're about two inches across. Not sure what they're for, but I think they fit with the orange metal wine pitcher from Greece.

It's not going to get any less busy, as I just started teaching two new classes--both of which I have never taught before, so lots of prep. In addition, I have tons of freelance writing projects, including an interview with Mary Gordon tomorrow night. Looking forward to that.

Now, on to Thanksgiving and (yikes!) Christmas.

Felt birthday garland

2009-10-29T08:59:00.001-05:00

"Begin to weave, and God will give you the thread." (German proverb)

As you can see, it was a very felty birthday celebration for Sam. My final handmade touch to the birthday celebration is this felt garland or banner--again, another idea I've seen all over craft blogs for years. This was a quick and easy project anyone could do (even you, Amy!) Even better--like the crown--it was made completely from stash materials.

I cut the triangles out of brightly colored felt (from recycled sweaters, but you could use regular craft felt). I made them 5 inches across and 7 inches deep. Then I used stick-on felt letters leftover from this project. Then I sewed them together with jumbo-sized red rick rack, reinforcing back and forth in between each flag. You could glue the rick rack if you don't have a sewing machine (or I could do it for you, Amy). It used less than one package of jumbo rick rack.

Add a few helium balloons and the Moon Festival lantern still hanging from last month and you've got instant party atmosphere. The new red chairs add to the bright decorations. (Yes, those funky wood squares are topped by an incredibly ugly 80s floral wallpaper, but it will be awhile before we redo the walls in the dining room.)

Felt birthday crown

2009-10-27T17:59:00.012-05:00

"Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possess you." (Andrew Gide)

My favorite gift to Sam on his birthday was this birthday crown I made from felt from recycled sweaters. I'd seen these throughout blogland and wanted to start the tradition with our family. I also wanted decorations that weren't plastic and covered with characters marketing to children. I know it's the thing to have theme parties these days (Thomas the Tank, Elmo, etc.). I know our kids will insist on that someday, but for now the theme is just "birthday."

I used this tutorial from Frontier Dreams and went with a sun/moon/stars theme and used all my bright colors from my stash (now organized in a dresser in my new craft room. Pictures of that soon!) I blanket stitched around the shapes and to hold the outside and inside together.

My favorite part is the fabric-covered elastic in the back. It makes the whole thing look so neat and finished. Also notice that I went with the initial "S" instead of spelling out "Sam" so that Sophie can use it too. Good thinking, huh?

I was afraid Sam might not want to wear it so we practiced a few days before and he loved it. When he wore it around the party, everyone thought he was so cute. The perfect little birthday boy.

One more birthday craft to share tomorrow.

Crayon cars

2009-10-24T22:23:00.003-05:00

"What do you plan to do with your one, wild precious life?" (Poet Mary Oliver)

Today was Sam's 2nd birthday, and we celebrated with a party of 65 people (including 26 kids) at our new house. I went with easy food: hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, deli potato salad and chips. I made the cake (from a box). But I did manage to get creative with a few touches.

I wanted to offer something nice in the goodie bags without going overboard. Then I saw this idea for crayon cars on Craft Apple. I ran out to Target and got the car cupcake pan, bought some dollar-store crayons and started peeling them. I had no idea the party would get so big, and ended up making 24 of them. That's a lot of peeling.

But they turned out so cute! I dropped them in these cute blue robot bags from the Target $1 area, with a Halloween pencil, box of raisins, package of fruit snacks and a handful of Dum Dum pops.

Luckily I have a few left over for Sam.

The hunt for red chairs in October

2009-10-19T23:35:00.008-05:00

"A quiet patience has taken us this far." (Adrienne Rich)

Because we didn't have a dining room in our condo, we didn't own a dining room table and chairs. In our new house, the dining room is the literal center of the home--and I wanted it to be the figurative one too. So I didn't want a formal dining room set. When we discovered that the previous owners had left a beat-up but solid dining room table in the basement, we brought it upstairs. I had visions of refinishing it, but decided not to when Sam started pounding on it with his silverware.

But we needed chairs. I have always loved the chairs at Starbucks, which look a lot like the "Schoolhouse Chair" from Pottery Barn ($200 apiece). I even like the mismatched color look. I considered trying to collect mismatched chairs from garage sales, thrift stores, etc., but wouldn't you know: once you're looking for something specific, you never see it.

I tried Ikea. Nothing good there. Craig's List? I found one nice set, but they were already sold. I went to the unpainted furniture store (where the owner was SO helpful) and found exactly what I wanted (I could stain/paint them whatever color I wanted--by this time I was thinking black would be nice), but even with a "buy one, get one half off" sale, it would have cost over $500 and taken 4 weeks.

Then last Thursday night, I was checking out the Chicago estate sale listing, peeking at the photos of sales I couldn't go to because I wouldn't have a car that day--when I discovered one in my neighborhood. And the first picture was of four red chairs. EXACTLY THE ONES I WANTED!

So the next morning, I got up and walked almost 2 miles in the rain (the bus never came) with my son in the stoller, wondering the whole way how much they'd be. I had decided I'd like to pay $100 but would be really happy with $80. That is, if they weren't gone already. I arrived 15 minutes into the sale and grabbed them immediately! They were $65. For all four.

I love, love, love them. And they really cheer up the old table and our dining room. I had hoped to paint that room a pumpkin orange, which won't go with these chairs. But on the other hand, I am thinking maybe red accents in the kitchen, when we redo it and include an eat-in area.

On top of that, the sticker on the bottom of the seat says Heywood-Wakefield, which means they may be antiques or collectible. The estate sale was for a former college professor (who had thousands of books) and his artist wife. I imagine she painted these "old chairs" to brighten their colorful house. And gave them several coats of varnish. They're nice and shiny.

This has to go down as one of my best estate sale purchases ever. (And I bought a few other things at the same sale too!)

Owls and Moons

2009-10-16T21:55:00.002-05:00

"Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy." (Abraham Herschel)

I made another felt owl as a birthday gift, this time for my godson Lincoln, who just turned 3. I paired it with the Caldecott Medal-winning Own Moon, a book a friend gave Sam when we first got him. Using my Borders coupons, I can pick up nice children's books for gifts.

I've been into owls lately, and I'm also into a moon motif. In fact, I'm thinking of a second tattoo--a moon. We got Sam during the Moon Festival in Vietnam, and now Sophie's name means moon.

The owl pattern is from Button It Up and calls for triangle buttons as "claws," but I can't find any anywhere. Suggestions anyone? I don't think these hearts work that well. (Lincoln's name is on the back.) I need to make one of these for Sam.

We're getting more and more settled into our house. Every day we try to do a little more unpacking and organizing. Tomorrow I have a very exciting estate sale find to share!

Vote for my sister's tote

2009-10-16T10:56:00.007-05:00

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." (Cicero)

My sister, who is a librarian at Aurora University, has entered a contest sponsored by the American Library Association to design a tote bag to promote libraries. Although she is not a graphic designer, I think her theme is very clever. Would you please go to here to vote for her tote? You vote by adding it to your faves on Flickr. Thanks!

It's a girl!

2009-10-13T16:27:00.003-05:00

Big news over at our adoption blog.

Bungalow before

2009-10-10T10:06:00.003-05:00

"With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown..." (Chinese proverb)

Here it is: our new home, as of Sept. 10. A beautiful red brick bungalow (read about Chicago bungalows here) with the original stained-glass windows in the octagon-shaped front.

The living room (with the previous owner's furniture--these are the realtor's photos). A Japanese-American couple raised four children in this house and lived here almost 40 years.

The dining room (check out that arch from the living room). The realtor claimed many who looked at the house wanted to keep the mid-century wood squares, but we're going to get rid of them. Ditto for the floral wallpaper above them.

The kitchen is the first order of business. It's quite small but has a pantry and back porch where we plan to expand. It will be a big project, but we hope to do it next summer. It will be nice to be able to make it the way we want it. In the meantime, I hope we get a dishwasher soon!

The "master" bedroom on the first floor will be Ed and mine--until we redo the upstairs. That's a longer-term project. There's a second bedroom on the first floor, where Sam is now, and two upstairs, but they need a lot of work. We hope to "dormer" up there someday and make a master suite with bathroom and office. Until then, it's our office and my craft space!

We love the vintage finished basement, complete with wood paneling, orange vinyl barstools and piano--all of which they left. There's also tons of unfinished storage space down there--and a small bathroom and separate shower. Hopefully someday there'll be a guest room down there.

View from the back. You can see the porch on the right that we hope to make into a bright kitchen that leads to a deck. It's a nice, city yard--takes about 7 minutes to mow!

We haven't done much except unpack boxes and arrange furniture, but I will slowly have some small steps of "after" to show soon.

Hope

2009-10-09T21:58:00.003-05:00

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." (Nobel Peace Prize Committee)

Kind of makes up for not getting the Olympics!

I'm back

2009-10-08T12:52:00.007-05:00

"The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part; the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." (Pierre De Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic games)

Well, it's been over a month, and I'm sure any readers I had left have given up on me. But I'm back. The good news is that we've moved into our new house, and we love it. The bad news it that it caused Sam to revert to not sleeping well--not going to sleep, refusing to sleep in the crib, and getting up multiple times during the night. And it lasted more than a month. I was exhausted.

So I haven't had a minute to do anything creative, except unpack boxes and start to put our place together. We' got the first floor in good shape in time for a visit from my in-laws last week, and on the second floor I get to have a craft room. I'll be posting some before, during and after photos of our house soon. And I may even pick up the knitting needles soon.

P.S. Yes, I was bummed about Chicago not winning the Olympic bid. Many Chicagoans opposed it, because they figured it would mean higher taxes. But I was excited about the possibility of a once-in-a-life experience of the world's diversity in our own back yard--for me and for our kids. Plus, it was a little humiliating (or humbling) to come in last. :(

Garter Stitch Cardigan

2009-08-28T11:45:00.004-05:00

"Every person born in this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique." (Martin Buber)

This is pretty much my only summer project--a sweater and hat for little Cecilia born to our friends William and Maria in July. It's the Garter Stitch Cardigan (Ravelry link) from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. They had a shower specifically for pink clothes since their first child is a boy. Too bad I don't have a close-up of the buttons, because they were really cute. It's in a bumpy cotton yarn that was a pain in the butt to knit.

But I like this pattern and would like to knit up some yarn I got in Kentucky as a sweater for my own kids (with the button band and sleeve bands in the "Popcorn.")

Now back to packing. I have way too much craft crap. But I will have a craft room in the new house. Moving day is in less than a week.

Summer

2009-08-11T08:35:00.003-05:00

"The value of a marriage is not that adults produce children, but that children produce adults." (Peter De Vries)

Even though it's August, it still feels like summer around here. In fact, Chicago is finally just getting some real hot summer weather. I finally finished the book I was working on this summer--or most of it anyway. But my fall class starts in three weeks, and I have a lot of prep to do. Oh, and we are probably moving before Labor Day.

Before summer is over, here are a few pix from the past month. Sam and his cousin Elena during a visit in July. Aren't they so sweet? There are more pictures of the kissing cousins here.

I made a strawberry-rhubarb pie from the strawberries Sam and I (and Amy) picked in June. It was yummy!

The Butler boys and their kids at Millennium Park. Both expecting to be daddies again this fall. Boy, will we have our hands full then!

2009-08-10T22:47:00.005-05:00

"Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is." (German proverb)

You've got to love an almost three-minute commercial for knitting needles--featuring male knitters to boot! You've got to love Germany.

By the way, I don't own a pair of Addis, except some I got at an estate sale.

Oh, no! I'm just watching "The Colbert Report" and Stephen is dissing knitters! He's interviewing Chellie Pingree from Maine's First Congressional District ("the fightin' first!) and notes that she has written books on knitting, then falls asleep while she tries to defend knitting as not boring. Say it ain't so, Stephen! You can mock everything, but not knitting!

Busy weekend

2009-08-02T23:56:00.002-05:00

Condo sold.

Offer on new house accepted.

Amen!

Condo for sale

2009-07-28T08:30:00.001-05:00

"Any idiot can face a crisis; it is this day-to-day living that wears you out." (Anton Chekhov)

Wow. It's been more than a month since I last blogged. Here's what we've been doing:

*I finished teaching my summer class. Five days later, Ed started taking two classes for ESL certification.

* We put our condo on the market. I don't have a link to our listing, but it's a lovely top-floor two bedroom, two bath in Lincoln Square in case you know anyone who's interested. It's $269,000. To get it ready we had to do a few last fix-ups and throw out and store a bunch of our junk--and now keep it spotless for any last-minute showings. So far, there's been decent interest.

* In tandem, we have been looking for a house: either in the city or in the nearby suburb of Oak Park. We need to find a deal, since our price range is under $350,000. So far we've seen two we like, but we need to sell our place first.

* We spent the 4th of July with my parents in Wisconsin. Sam did not like fireworks. He did like riding in Grandpa's boat.

* We had visitors from Kentucky: Ed's brother, sister-in-law and niece Elena. Cute pictures of Sam and Elena soon.

* We've been to the pool, to the park and played on the deck a lot. But mostly I've been working on a book project that's due August 1. And Ed has been studying. Not the relaxing summer we hoped for, but all stuff that needs to get done before we get Baby #2.

* Not a lot of time for being creative, but I did knit one baby sweater and hat for a friend who just had a little girl. Photos to come.

We're a little sad about leaving this condo. It was our first place as a couple and as a family. And it really is an awesome place--just on the third floor and no elevator. That's hard enough with one kid; it will be nearly impossible with two. And even though Oak Park has an urban feel, we're very conflicted about leaving the city. It probably makes sense not only for my job but for Ed, who is interested in teaching in the 'burbs. But we are really city people. We've fallen in love with a cute bungalow not far from our condo. If our place sells soon, we might have a chance at it. Prayers to St. Joseph (some people bury statues) appreciated!

Strawberry fields forever

2009-06-25T22:31:00.016-05:00

"Blessings on thee, little man,

Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!

With thy turned-up pantaloons,

And thy merry whistled tunes;

With thy red lip, redder still

Kissed by strawberries on the hill..." (John Greenleaf Whittier)

Today Sam and I enjoyed my birthday present from my sister--a strawberry picking outing. We went to Knutson's Country Harvest in Newark, Illinois, about 20 minutes from Aurora, a very quaint little family farm.

The berries are grown in these hydroponic stackers made of styrofoam. At first I thought it wasn't "authentic" enough of a faux farming experience, but since it was 90+ degrees today, it was kind of nice not to have to sit in the dirt. Each stacker had about 20 plants and could be spun around.

Sam knew exactly what to do! Of course, he put them right into his mouth instead of the pail.

Amy scores a nice big ripe one! My sister also babysat Sam all day yesterday while I was at work and teaching, and while Ed was doing some projects around our condo. Sam had a blast, as he always does at the Manion house.

Sam was also good at taking strawberries out of the pail. He wasn't exactly clear on the concept of putting them IN the bucket. Oh well, we didn't have to pay for those he ate in the field.

I love living in the city, but I also love getting out of the city. Sam seemed to enjoy being out in the country. The Knutson farm also had chickens. Sam said, "Cluck, cluck" to them. I guess all that singing of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is paying off.

I also got some rhubarb, so I hope to make some strawberry-rhubarb compote or jam or pie or something. I may have to freeze some of the berries, since we're leaving for a conference in Florida in a few days. It can't be any hotter there than it is here. Sam got a little red-faced and sweaty out in the field.

All strawberried out on the way home. Notice the red stains all over his face. Thank you, Amy, for such a thoughtful gift. I love gifts that are experiences--especially ones as Schlumpfy as strawberry picking.

Thrifty Daddy

2009-06-21T21:04:00.010-05:00

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." (Clarence Budington Kelland)

So last weekend Ed tells me he's going to hit a few yard sales to find a bike seat for Sam. I tell him, in my most know-it-all voice, "Honey, you can't just expect to find a specific thing like a bike seat. In fact, I've been going to garage sales for years, and I'm not sure I've ever seen one."

You guessed it: He found one. $20. So today, for Father's Day, Sam went on his first bike ride. As you can see, at first he didn't really like it. Mostly it was the helmet around his chin.

But once we got going, he had a great time. We rode for about an hour, then stopped at the new Middle Eastern place near our house for some schawarma. Yum! Sam learned a new word: cucumber. He's talking up a storm these days.

Another "thrift Daddy" story: Ed always carried Sam in the Baby Bjorn and later in a hand-me-down backpack that was too small for Sam and way too small for Ed. We started pricing baby backpack carriers and discovered they're over $100. One day Ed is at the Vietnamese sandwich shop with Sam, and a customer says, "That backpack is too small for you. I have one I'll sell you for $20." So Ed gets this practically brand new super nice backpack for $20!

Other Daddy's Day news: Ed was on the cover of our parish bulletin today (actually with that old backpack!) Before dinner we went to Foster Beach (more pix on Dear Sam and Sophie). I made homemade blueberry muffins for breakfast, and ribs, corn, green beans and watermelon for dinner. Plus I let Ed sleep in two days in a row. Happy Father's Day to the best "Dada" in the world! I'm so lucky to have these two amazing boys in my life--not to mention my own wonderful Dad!

Hoot hoot

2009-06-07T21:36:00.001-05:00

"A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw the less he spoke,
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?" (Old nursery rhyme)

I love that nursery rhyme--I remember my Great Uncle Fran reciting it to me and my sister. (According to Wikipedia, "During World War II, the United States Army used the rhyme and tweaked the ending to 'Soldier.... be like that old bird!' with the caption 'Silence means security.' "

Anyway, I have found myself drawn to the many, many owl images in the craft blogosphere lately. They're so 70s, but I love them. When I saw this simple pattern from Button It Up, I knew they would be fun to make out of felt. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the backs, which are cute matching fabrics. I added the ribbon trim and emboidered the recipients' names on them. (Those are heart-shaped buttons as claws. Turns out triangle buttons are very hard to find.)

The owls were birthday gifts for these two cuties: my friends Karen and Jeff's twins, Mari and Mesfin, who turned five this month. Karen and Jeff had a cool birthday party for them, complete with face painter and clown--and jello shots that even put me to shame. Let's just say the Chocolate Covered Cherry was to die for. I knit these sweaters for these two when they first came home from Ethiopia two years ago, and gave them this embroidered quilt (which still amazes even me) last year. So this is in keeping with the homemade gift theme. I'm planning to make more of these.

My friend Lourdes and her husband Jason took these photos of me and Sam (and those of Mari and Mesfin) at the party last Sunday.

I love this one.

Won't you be my neighbor?

2009-06-01T21:29:00.005-05:00

"Love your neighbor as yourself." (Jesus)

For living in a big city like Chicago, we have been incredibly lucky with super friendly neighbors. First, we had our friends John and Leigh Ann who lived below us (still close even though they live a mile away now). And now we have Andy and Michelle who live next door and share our porch. Every morning Sam goes over to their door and waves hello, even if they're not home. They are the sweetest couple, even if they are 20 years younger than us! We often sit outside with a drink at night, I can borrow anything from them, and Andy joins us for dinner when we make something good.

Andy and Michelle are getting married 4th of July weekend, and Saturday was the wedding shower. I made Michelle an apron to match her kitchen towels and oven mitt. Andy was actually over having dinner and watching hockey the night I made it but he acted surprised at the shower, which was an exceptionally nice, sit-down luncheon thing at a golf course. I modeled this apron on the last one I made and used a hand-printed dish cloth from the thrift (50 cents) and a scrap of brown linen-like fabric (washable, though). The back is green tiny gingham check from a pillowcase.

I asked Sam to model it but he kept taking off! He doesn't sit still much these days. Which means I won't have much time to make myself an apron, though I'd like to.

Great thrifting minds...

2009-05-27T19:12:00.004-05:00

"If the rain spoils our picnic, but saves a farmer's crop, who are we to say it shouldn't rain?" (Tom Barrett)

...think alike! A few months ago I found this green vintage picnic basket at the thrift store for $2. I brought it home and promptly filled it with--what else?--yarn. While visiting my in-laws over Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia, I saw the brown vintage picnic basket in the bedroom. I thought they were exactly alike except for color, though now that I see the pictures together, I can tell the textures are different.

My mother-in-law Marge (above with husband Ed Sr.) and I like to hit rummage sales when I visit, though I can't buy too much since I have to fly it all home. This time we went to a few in one neighborhood, then one at a church with about 50 different stands. Lots of kids' stuff--I found two nice Melissa and Doug wooden toys (including sewing cards) and a few books for Sam. I fell in love with these cherry Wellie-type boots for a little girl, but I am committed to not buying girl things until we know for sure that Sophie will be a girl. So Marge bought them for me ($1) and even offered to store them until Sophie comes home!

We had a great visit, and Sam loved getting to know his "Mimi" and "Pop Pop" better. On Memorial Day we went to a local parade that was totally small-town America. They even had free hot dogs and beer in "Veteran's Park" afterward. It was Sam's first parade and he loved it, especially the bands. He would run in the street and dance! So cute.

I'm going to post some more pictures from our trip at Dear Sam and Sophie soon. And will be sharing more thrifted treasures, too. Even though I've been lax in posting pictures, I have been getting a few things at estate sales and the thrift lately. I'll try to catch up with some random pictures soon.

Notre Dame "Fightin' Irish" Dishcloth Pattern

2009-05-18T19:28:00.008-05:00

“The university is where the church does its thinking.” (Former ND president Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C.)

Notre Dame Fightin' Irish Dishcloth Pattern

(Please don't look too closely at the sample I knit; it has a boo-boo in it. The mistake is not in the pattern, however.)

I used Lion Brand Cotton in Sunshine and Navy, but any blue and gold cotton will do.
Size 7 needles.

University of Notre Dame “Fightin’ Irish” dishcloth

Cast on 40 stitches

Rows 1-10: K

Row 11-12: K5, P30, K5

Row 13: K5, P7, K7, P6, K3, P7, K5

Row 14 (and all even/right side rows): K

Row 15: K5, P7, K7, P6, K3, P7, K5

Row 17: K5, P7, K7, P5, K4, P7, K5

Row 19: K5, P9, K3, P6, K5, P7, K5

Row 21: K5, P3, K22, P5, K5

Row 23: K5, P3, K23, P4, K5

Row 25: K5, P3, K24, P3, K5

Row 27: K5, P5, K3, P1, K3, P4, K7, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 29: K5, P5, K3, P1, K3, P3, K4, P1, K3, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 31: K5, P5, K3, P1, K3, P3, K3, P2, K3, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 33: K5, P5, K3, P1, K3, P2, K4, P2, K3, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 35: K5, P5, K3, P1, K3, P2, K3, P3, K3, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 37: K5, P5, K3, P1, K3, P1, K4, P3, K3, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 39: K5, P5, K3, P1, K7, P4, K3, P1, K3, P3, K5

Row 41: K5, P3, K24, P3, K5

Row 43: K5, P3, K23, P4, K45

Row 45: K5, P3, K22, P5, K5

Row 47: K5, P9, K5, P6, K3, P7, K5

Row 49: K5, P7, K6, P5, K7, P5, K5

Row 51: K5, P7, K5, P6, K7, P5, K5

Row 53: K5, P7, K4, P7, K7, P5, K5

Row 55: K5, P30, K5 (On this row with blue one)

Row 56-67: K

Bind off.

The view from the pressbox at yesterday's commencement at Notre Dame. Obama's speech was impressive. So was ND president Father Jenkins' and all the ND students I talked to. And it was cool to get a White House press pool pass. My coverage of the event can be found here.

Obama drama at ND

2009-05-15T19:18:00.003-05:00

"There are two kinds of people in the world, Notre Dame lovers and Notre Dame haters. And, quite frankly, they're both a pain in the ass." (Former ND Football Coach Dan Devine)

Is anyone tired of hearing about the Obama/Notre Dame graduation controversy yet? It's such a tired old story to begin with... Well, I'll be there on Sunday, covering it for the National Catholic Reporter. Any excuse to go see Obama in person! Here's my take on it in a blog post on the new NCR Today blog, which launched this week. I'll be blogging regularly there too. (in my spare time. Right.)

Anyhoo, coincidentally, as part of a clean-out-the-craft-clutter spring cleaning, I decided to finish this waste canvas cross stitch sweatshirt I started approximately 10 years ago--and have carted from apartment to condo to condo. As you can see, it's the ND logo. And FINALLY, to celebrate ND's commencement, I will post the ND dishcloth pattern tomorrow (assuming there's enough sunlight to take a decent photo.)

Happy belated Mother's Day to everyone. I posted about my first Mother's Day on our adoption blog (plus there are some more photos of Sam there.) I decided I needed to get moving on introducing Sam to crafts, so he/we did fingerpainting last week, then I cut the masterpiece up and made Mother's Day cards for his grandmothers and godmothers.

Here we are on Mother's Day (observed), which was Monday, since I had to attend my university's graduation all day Sunday. Ed and Sam took me to my favorite Ethiopian restaurant. It's such an honor to be this little boy's "mama." Most days I can't believe it's true!

Watch the NCR website and blog late Sunday and Monday f you want to follow my coverage of the Obama drama.

It's easy being green

2009-04-25T20:08:00.006-05:00

"I conceive that the land belongs to a vast family of which many are dead, few are living, and countless numbers are still unborn." (A Nigerian chieftan)

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." (Native American Proverb)

Sorry I've been silent so long. As the end of the semester and academic year approaches, I get busier--and more tempted to play outside. We've had some beautiful days, and some rainy, haily, almost snowy days, too. But spring is clearly here!

Happy belated Earth Day. I've been working on a lecture on the environment for the "Understanding Wellness" class I'm teaching, but I also have had another kind of "green" on my mind lately. Although I haven't been motivated to start or finish anything complicated, I did decide to knit up a bagful of stray balls of green wool into a a basic garter stitch man's scarf--probably for charity next Christmas. I kind of like the colorblock look. I'll do fringe with all of the colors, I think. Last night I sewed in all the ends so far, so I won't have so many at the end.

We had our friend Christian over for dinner on Thursday night (big, juicy steaks on the grill). His girlfriend Adrienne wasn't able to make it, but she happens to be a knitter and a blogger at Yarn for Brains. Christian, who basically gambles for a living but is also a lawyer, is helping us with our readoption. Kids love him, in part because he's a kid at heart.

It was such a nice night that we sat outside for wine and cheese. It was so funny because one of Sam's made-up words is "Goo-da." He says it all the time and was saying while we happened to be serving Gouda cheese. Christian was very impressed with his vocabulary! I call this picture "still life with sippy cup."

Movies to knit by: I watched a very sad but good Chinese film, which we've had from Netflix for approximately 3 months. It's called "To Live." Warning: I mean really sad. But good.

Update: here's the link for the tutorial on weaving ends in while knitting that Adrienne suggested in the comments.

A tisket, a tasket...

2009-04-09T21:17:00.011-05:00

"Ordinary vision would stand at the foot of the cross and say, 'This is the end.' Only the eyes of faith could take in that scene and say, 'This is the beginning.'" (Baptist pastor Kenneth Chapin)

... a green and yellow basket! I'm so excited I actually have a creative project to share. A year ago I bought a perfect "old lady" sweater with green and yellow flowers on it from the thrift store for felting. Sometimes designs in wool sweater felt well, and sometimes they don't. This one did, and I was sure it would be perfect for some springy project. I just wasn't sure what. I thought about a purse, but then I have so many purses.

Last week the idea of an Easter basket came to me. I cut the felt for the bottom and sides (the top edge is the bottom of the sweater), then lined it with a yellow gingham sheet stiffened with interfacing. The handle uses the sweater's flower motifs, and is handsewn around a coat hanger and handsewn onto the basket (before I attached the lining). The handle is a little wobbly. I think if I had had the handle go all the way down to the bottom, it would have been sturdier.

A close-up of the flowers. I love this basket and may make others some day, if I find the right sweaters. This one was done with a few minutes grabbed a couple days this week (when I should have been doing our taxes).

Sam knew exactly what to do with it! I can't wait till he has his first egg hunt. (It was warm enough to be out on the porch in shorts this morning. Hallelujah!)

My favorite photo of him these days, taken this afternoon by Ed in the park (when it got a bit cooler). That adorable hat is from his godmother, Auntie Trish. He's turning into such a little boy.

For those who celebrate it, I hope you have a holy celebration of Easter. Lent was hardly on my radar this year, but I can certainly relate to Easter's celebration of new life. In the church I grew up in, Easter was a bigger deal than Christmas. I can't believe I'm finally celebrating Easter with a child. Miracles do happen!

In real life

2009-04-08T13:11:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I had writing to do. Now that I've left publishing for academia, I actually have (relatively) more time to write. Although I already have too much on my plate (full-time job, book project, baby), I got an offer a few months ago that I just couldn't pass up. The National Catholic Reporter, the venerable national progressive Catholic newspaper, asked me to write a column on popular culture, media, etc. My first column, last month, was on the topic of online friendships. I thought I'd share the first part, since it mentions a fellow craft blogger.

After my husband and I adopted our son, FedEx and UPS visited regularly with gifts from friends and family. One day a package arrived all the way from Australia. Inside was a personalized original piece of artwork by my artist friend Marianne. I would have loved to drop by or give her a call to thank her for it.

Except that I have never met Marianne IRL (in real life).

Marianne and I met through our blogs. Hers about her artwork, mine about knitting. The craft blogosphere is huge. Thousands -- maybe even tens or hundreds of thousands -- of women share their creative endeavors with like-minded crafters around the country and the world.

In the two years I have been blogging, I have "met" dozens of women I now consider friends. We share not only knitting patterns but also parenting advice and prayers for myriad intentions. The only thing we don't share is the same physical space.

Read the rest of the column here.

This month, I wrote about Stephen Colbert.

And next month I'm talking about marketing aimed at kids.

I'm also going to be blogging for them soon.

I started this blog as a place to record all my creative endeavors--sort of a personal scrapbook on the internet. I never imagined it would come with the fringe benefit of friendships with so many diverse people. I'm horrible at responding to comments (Blogger doesn't give me your email even if I had time to) but I do read as many of your blogs as possible, even if I don't always have time to comment on them. I love hearing about your lives and oohing and ahhing over your creative ideas.

I'm grateful for the support and inspiration I've found online. And I'm going to have a gratitude give-away right after Easter--a little belated blog-versary and 400+ post celebration. Details to come...

Better late than never

2009-04-06T20:45:00.007-05:00

"What we seek we do not find - that would be too trim and tidy for so reckless and opulent a thing as life. It is something else we find." (Susan Glaspell)

I finally finished the scarf I "gave" (via gift certificate) to my brother-in-law for his birthday last February. That's February of 2008. "Better late than never" seems to be my motto these days. I used to be so good at deadlines... Of course, that was pre-Sam.

I used Modea Dea Cartwheel yarn in Misty and knit 4 feet of a basketweave pattern over 38 stitches. More details here.

This half-semester I'm teaching a Saturday morning class that starts at 8 a.m. so I've been staying overnight at my sister's house Friday nights so I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there on time. This past Friday they were gone to Florida so I had the whole house to myself! It was heaven. I even painted my toenails for the first time since we went to Vietnam. Seven months ago. I kid you not.

Back to working on the next deadlines I'm late for--writing ones this time.

This little piggie...

2009-03-29T08:27:00.014-05:00

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 'Pooh!" he whispered. 'Yes, Piglet?' 'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. 'I just wanted to be sure of you." (A. A. Milne)

In the past week, Sam has received two very special pig-related gifts. The first, this adorable crocheted "golden pig," came from my friend Kristi. It's so darn adorable, I started crying when I opened it. She usually crochets baby blankets for expectant friends, and quite honestly, I was wondering why I didn't get one! Then this special toy arrived. She wanted to mark that Sam was born in the extra lucky Year of the Golden Pig. I love it!

This second gift was part of a swap with fellow blogger Diane of Woollie Wanderings, and it came all the way from Scotland.

She offered to trade one of her little wool blankies for some of my felt from recycled sweaters. I suggested the pig theme but was blown away with this "Three Little Pigs" blanket. Check out these close-up photos.

The house of straw is made of orange felt and has a little squeaky toy inside.

The house of sticks has this little piggie who can be tucked inside. Look at that cute embroidered pig!

The house of bricks is also adorably embroidered.

The other two pigs embroidered on a flap...

Behind them are apples--which happens to be one of Sam's words. He says, "App." (Look at how neat that back is!) Diane, this will be a treasured heirloom--and your felt will be in the mail this week.

I feel so blessed to have creative people in my life--old friends like Kristi and new ones like Diane--who are showering Sam with gifts made with love. Lord know I don't have time to make much for him!

These are still my favorite piggies, though. Sam has the cutest fat little feet.

Special day

2009-03-08T20:47:00.003-05:00

"Fond as we are of our loved ones, there comes at times during their absence an unexplained peace." (Anne Shaw)

Today is a special day. It is my husband's 41st birthday. And it is six months exactly since we met Sam. And it is the day after the first night Ed and I spent away from him.

My sister and her husband watched Sam last week while I was teaching one night, and it went so well that I decided to try to surprise Ed with a night away while Sam stayed with them. We went to Starved Rock and stayed in this individual cabin, which was very sparse but comfortable. Mostly we slept, and we had a nice dinner. It was so weird to be away from him (Conversation at dinner: "I wonder what Sam's doing now.") but it was really nice to have a short baby break. It also was a short work break, since I finished my grades Friday before we left. While relaxing in our cabin ("The Marquette") I did a crossword puzzle and even read a whole novel (T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton).

My two favorite boys in the world.

Third time a charm

2009-02-19T21:19:00.009-06:00

"What one does is what counts and not what one had the intentions of doing." (Pablo Picasso)

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday. Last year I gave him a hand-knit scarf. Or rather I gave him the promise of a hand-knit scarf. I started one with some very tasteful brown and grey sock yarn on Size 3 needles, and never finished it. This year I decided to try again, this time with some Modea Dea Cartwheel yarn that I got in a generous swap package from Rebecca. It's 100% wool in the Misty colorway, which is actually grey, not blue as it looks in these pictures.

I remembered the Irish Hiking Scarf and was just about to cast on for that, when I saw a pattern for a reversible cable scarf called Palindrome (get it--the same backwards as forwards). I knit about 9 inches on that (above) and decided the colors and textures in the yarn, which I love, make it hard to see the cables. This scarf would look nice in a smooth wool, or in the Patons SWS it calls for.

So then I decided to try a ribbed scarf. Andy's a pretty conservative dresser (except for his ties) so I didn't want anything too elaborate. This is a K3-P3 rib, with 30-some stiches cast on. After about 13 inches, I asked my husband if he thought it was too narrow for a man's scarf, and he said yes. I agreed. Plus it looked too casual. I want to do a shorter scarf for a dressy coat, not a long, casual scarf.

Finally I went with a basketweave-type pattern, though I can't remember where I found it. It's 38 stitches cast on, slip the first stitch, then K3, P3 (P4 for last group) for seven rows, then switch. So far I've got 16 inches. (This is a little more accurate of the color.)

This sign greeted me last night when I arrived at my sister's house to spend the night, because the weather was too bad to drive home after class. Clearly my nephew Kevin only wants my son to visit! It was a long stretch for Ed with Sam alone, and I felt guilty enjoying the homemade scones Amy made this morning for Andy's birthday breakfast in bed. I gave Andy a crossword puzzle book. Maybe by next year I'll have finished his 2008 gift!

Movies to knit by: Ed and I watched Pursuit of Happyness on Valentine's Day, after going out for shawarma ($20 for all three of us, home by 6:15--super romantic!) Good movie, though hard to watch. Tonight I'm watching The Naked City (1948) on TCM On Demand while Ed is out with his friends. "There are 8 million stories in the Naked City. This has been one of them."

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T09:55:00.006-06:00

"We can only learn to love by loving." (Irish writer Iris Murdoch)

Sam's first craft project! While Daddy was sleeping yesterday morning, I got out the construction paper and paint and made this Valentine with his cute little handprints. Daddy loved it. That's the extent of the Valentine celebration around here. Ed did give me a nice card and some heart peeps, but we have no romantic outing planned for today or tonight. Instead I have 16 Cross-Cultural Communication research papers to read and grade. Fun!

We're also saving our pennies for a trip to Phoenix to visit my parents during my spring break. We're already dreaming of sitting by the pool (make that: chasing Sam around the pool). Grandma and Grandpa were here on Monday and got a taste of Sam's insatiable appetite for books these days. Seriously, he wants you to be reading him one (usually the same one over and over again) CONSTANTLY. And he's become rather whiny about it. We wanted out kids to be big readers, but this is ridiculous.

His other favorite toy is this big cardboard box, in which our new stereo system came. We finally upgraded from Ed's college stereo which took up half our armoire, not to mention the three-foot speakers. You can see Sam got his big-boy haircut and looks so grown up now!

No chocolate or flowers here today but lots of gratitude for those we love and who love us. Happy Valentine's Day!

Stacked Rib Cardigan

2009-02-05T21:19:00.000-06:00

"God is in all things and all places. There is no place or thing in this world where he is not truly present. Just as wherever birds fly they always encounter the air, so also wherever we go or wherever we are we find God present." (St. Francis de Sales)

I really like this Stacked Rib Cardigan from the Knitscene Spring 2009 issue. I like the pattern and shaping at the waist and even love the pink that the model is knit in. I've been knitting baby stuff and gifts for other people so much that I've hardly ever knit anything for myself. Maybe I should try this.

Knitscene is a quarterly publication of Interweave Press, which also publishes Interweave Knits magazine. I don't subscribe to any knitting magazines: not enough room to store them (and I could never throw them away!) and not enough time to knit all those cool things I see in them. I do try to peek at my mom's knitting mags when I'm at her house. She gets a bunch of them.

If you don't already know about Knitting Daily from Interweave Press, go sign up here. It's a daily email from editor Sandi Wiseheart and has tons of great tips and lots of free patterns. I have a hard time keeping up with the daily email (and some of the discussions are a little advanced for me) but it's really well written and provides previews of the projects in their magazines and books.

S-S-S-Snake!

2009-02-01T21:59:00.006-06:00

"Chaos can release your creative power in the same way that necessity is the mother of invention. When things get extreme, when the old ways don't work, that's when you are your most inventive. If you want to grow, chaos is an indispensable part of the process." (Margaret Wheatley)

Lots of chaos around here lately. I've got three freelance writing projects on my plate, on top of the heaviest teaching load I've had since I started teaching. And of course, there's the baby. Most days I feel pretty overwhelmed. But I believe some growth will come out of the chaos. Some of the old ways of doing things just aren't working anymore. So I'm trying to learn new ones.

One person who is helping me try to find new ways is my friend Kristin. And this scarf is for her son, Lincoln. It's a belated Christmas gift that I just finished this past weekend. The knitting part has been done for awhile, but I had to go buy googly eyes and sew the little felt tongue on. The pattern is from here, and I learned about it from Jen at Rosey Little Things. I used two strands of Galway wool, rather than a chunky yarn and my bamboo size 11 needles.

I'm reknitting the Notre Dame dishcloth one more time to make sure it's correct before publishing so it might take awhile. I've got a birthday scarf to finish first. And lots of papers to grade.

A bowl of cherries

2009-01-26T10:02:00.002-06:00

"If you want to be happy for a few hours, get drunk. If you want to be happy for a weekend, get married. If you want to be happy for a week, butcher a pig. If you want to be happy for all your life long, become a gardener." (Old Chinese proverb)

I thought a Chinese proverb was appropriate for today, the first day of the lunar new year celebration. Ed, Sam and I went to a Tet party on Saturday. I'll blog about that on Dear Sam and Sophie soon.

Anyway, in reference to that proverb, this is going to be about being happy for a few hours! It's about my homemade/handmade Christmas gift for my parents and for my sister and brother-in-law. You might remember that last year I made them the very time-consuming Jesse Trees, which I finished just hours before leaving for my sister's house. This year, even though I started their gifts back in the summer, I was once again crafting all day the day before we left.

What I started last summer was this: it's called Cherry Bounce and is a Schlumpf family tradition. (We have a lot of traditions that involve alcohol!) You start with a bunch of tart cherries from Door County, Wisconsin (that's the pointy part of Wisconsin that sticks up into Lake Michigan for you non-Midwesterners). Sorry, but you can't use bing cherries. Ed and I got the cherries when we were up in Door County camping in late summer.

Recipes vary, but they all call for a cherries, sugar and liquor. I used a quart of vodka. You mix it up then put it in a jar, and every so often you "bounce" it around to keep it mixed. By Christmas you have a nice cherry liquor. Then you're supposed to either drink it all or drain it off and fill the jar with white wine. Again, bounce every few days or weeks, and by Easter you have cherry wine. After you drink that, you have some very potent cherries.

My parents made some Bounce back in the 1970s and they still have the orange and yellow Sun Tea jar with the wrinkled cherries in it. At parties my Dad will offer the cherries to adventurous souls. I decided it was time for a new batch for them. And I knew my sister would love some too. But then I got this great idea to make some matching cherry cordial glasses.

I got these at the Crate and Barrel Outlet, then picked up some glass paint from the craft store. Then, inspired by this cherry martini glass on etsy (OK, more than inspired--I copied the design), I started painting. The red took two coats, and those stripes took forever. On top of it, in addition to making four for my parents and four for Amy and Andy, I made four for myself (Ed and I have some three- or four-year-old Bounce from the first time we went camping in Door County). Then the glasses have to be heated in the oven and cooled overnight for the paint to set. I thought it would be a two-hour project, but it pretty much took all day. Thank God Ed was entertaining Sam most of the day.

Then I went cherry-crazy, wrapping the gifts in cherry-printed fabric, adding a cherry spreading knife and a bow from cherry ribbon. I was bummed that I didn't have time to knit these little cherries to match. (Why do I love knit food so much?) Still, the gifts were a hit. Some people thinks it tastes a bit like cough syrup, but I think this batch was actually pretty good. Maybe it was that $5 vodka I used.