Tactile Textile Pleasure, 2016

A big storm is coming this weekend...well, big for South Carolina.  One to five inches of snow and ice.  This means that I'll spend the weekend outside, taking long walks with my camera and one very excited dog.  That won't leave me much room for my "year-end craft roundup" photos, so here is a supplemental post of last year's gift crafts! 

In 2016, I completed:

- a bulky-weight herringbone cowl
- a quilted wall hanging for the living room
- a pair of fair isle socks
- several pillow covers
- several sample quilt squares
- an embroidered shelf liner for our dining room hutch
- an embroidered sign for Todd's office
- my first vintage skirt
- a pair of mittens
- a lined baby cardigan
- a quilted pillow
- most of a quilt
- most of a shawl
- a set of embroidered napkins
- a cross stitched pin cushion

And, the projects below, kept hidden because they were gifts. First, I embroidered this garden journal cover for a friend, but loved it so much that I made another one for my mother-in-law (size is around 8" x 10").

I love all the little details and had a lot of fun making it.

I also knitted this hot water bottle cover for my mother-in-law.  I LOVE it, especially the pom poms, but it's knitted with fingering-weight yarn and took a little longer to knit than ones I've made in the past with thicker yarns.  Still, POM POMS!

I knitted a few small ornament-sized mittens and made little felt animals for the fronts, to send to a few friends.  I'm looking forward to doing more with felt in 2017!

I knitted this cardigan for our niece.  I made it a little oversized so it could bridge two winters.  I really like it!

I quilted this cheerful table runner for a friend.  It might be one of my favorite projects for 2016.  It was so much fun to make and I think I'm going to do one for our house!

 I knitted these mittens for a friend.  I had a terrible time with them because I made the mistake of using silk yarn (the mustard color) with wool yarn (the rest).  The tension was wonky and I didn't think they looked right at the end.  But, they do fit!

Finally, a failed project for myself.  I got a Kindle Fire mid-December and found an online tutorial for sewing a cute padded case.  A lost afternoon and two too-small attempts later...

...and I realized that my Kindle was possibly a different size than the example given.  Sigh.  I ended up making a padded pouch with a ribbon top.  No pattern, nothing fancy...except I did use one of my sewing machine's fancy stitches across the top.  I originally wanted a button-close top, but my machine ran out of thread mid-buttonhole and it took me 20 minutes to pick out all the thread, and when I surveyed the mangled remains I didn't have the courage to move forward.  I cut off the offending bit, hemmed the top, and inserted the ribbon.  It's perfectly functional!

By the way, am I the only one who can't say "fully functional" without thinking of this Star Trek episode?

So those were my 2016 gift and end-of-year projects.  Looking ahead, I have two embroidery projects I want to try.  Both are stockings.  The first is a plain white stocking embroidered with trees in several shades of green, with bronze beads as accents.  So pretty!

The next is also a stocking, but it's not a seasonal one.  I think it's so interesting and will enjoy seeing it up all year long!

Finally, my brother surprised me with this quilt kit, everything included.  It's folk art and not normally my style, but I love cats and, although it's hard to tell from the picture, the kit contains beautiful soft flannel fabrics in lovely earth tones. 

Here is January:

My goal is to quilt/embroider one square per month.  I need to pick up some interfacing at the store before getting started on this one.  Hooray for cats! 

I received this book for Christmas:

It contains the pattern for the dress that sparked my interest in vintage dressmaking:

Here's another variation:

It's a huge book and I anticipate that it will take me several months to get through it, going slowly and carefully, but I want to make this dress for next winter, to wear with a cardigan and tights.  Red plaid, like the fabric of my Kindle case.   So those are three projects, and I also have other knitting projects (I'm in the middle of a pair of socks and a shawl right now), and other craft projects in general, not to mention finishing my "butterflies and snails" quilt from last year.  It's hard to find time, so I've scheduled out 30 to 120 minute blocks of time throughout the week to keep me on task. 

Phew!  That's a lot, but I love to do it and my hands are always busy, even when I'm watching T.V., so I find little moments to get things done.  

Here's to another year of tactile textile pleasure!  :) 

Warmer Wrists and New Years Lists

It's been mostly overcast here the past couple of weeks, which I love.  Living in what feels like the land of eternal sunshine, I appreciate every rainy day we get.  Still, when it's cooler like this, I don't mind the occasional ray of sun.  

The cats love to get outside and nose around...well, as much as they can, from a 2nd story deck.

Our little mallard family is back, same time as last year!  And, like last year, we have three males and one female.  I was curious about that, and it turns out that the proportion of male to female ducks is uneven.  So it's typical to see one female with many males.

It was so warm this weekend (65 degrees!) that we planned to go down to the pond and play Scrabble.  It looks so pretty right now with its little swaths of leaves. 

Rain moved in, though, so we stayed inside.  One group around here that seems to love the rain is our turkeys.  I see them every day now, digging through the leaves or flying across the pond for a better selection.

I also spotted my favorite "stray," Clothilde, the other day!  She isn't really a stray.  I'm nearly certain she belongs to one of my neighbors.  She dutifully heads home after a walk around the woods here, and I always love to see her.

Since it's finally, sometimes, dipping into the 30s at night, I've gotten to pull out my hot water bottle (hooray!) and my woolens.  I've finally organized my hand knits in one place, and it's almost like seeing an old friend to open the lid and see a long-forgotten hat or pair of mittens.

I finished knitting my wristlets.  It was a really pleasant knit and I didn't use a pattern, just lots of tiny leftover balls of scrap yarn and size 1 needles.

My cast-on was 56 or 57, I think, and they're a perfect fit.

I can pull them down so that the ribbing is over the base of my thumb, but then my fingers get cold.  I'm considering adding an afterthought thumb. I would snip a few stitches, put those live stitches on needles, and knit up a few rows.  Then I would basically have fingerless gloves.  I'm going to try these out for a few more days and see what I think.

I just ordered my planner for 2017. 

I am an unapologetic maker of New Years resolutions.  I set challenges and goals for myself on an regular basis, and my favorite time of year to evaluate my life and really set forth a robust set of challenges and goals is January 1st. 

2016 just wasn't a great year for me, but I'm determined to work hard and make major changes in my life in 2017, or at least cultivate a sense of acceptance for those things that I can't seem to change.  Here's to a great new year!

Spring is Sprung!

A week ago, this was the view from my front porch:

Today, however, is March 1st, and the first day of spring in the Chamberlain household. My husbands protests that spring won't be here for another 3 weeks, but I was vindicated by some surprises in our backyard. The daffodils are coming...

...and the crocuses are popping up! My tulips aren't far behind. Their satiny furled tips are just breaking the surface.

So spring is here, and, per my plan, I'm changing things up around here to reflect the season. Last week I prepared. I measured and cut all my fabric, then hemmed the rough edges on my sewing machine.

Unfortunately, I'm terrible at using it. I still have to refer to the manual when the bobbin needs filled, after 5 years of ownership (in my defense, it's almost never been used). I think my machine is a bit malicious. I'll think I've sewn a relatively straight line, like this:

But underneath, the thread is twisted and looped in a decidedly mocking fashion. I prefer to sew by hand if something needs sewn.

I did just that with my next project. I'm in love with bunting flags and decided to make some mini-flags for the living room. I cut triangles from scrap fabric...

...and hand-stitched the edges. Let me tell you, these are pretty rough...but I can't complain, since I got them stitched in the time it took to finish The Social Network. More on these soon...

Starting last night, I spent hours and hours taking down my fall and winter things. My deep red plaids, my carefully pressed and framed leaves, my decorative gourds, my little dishes of acorns...all gone. Even the poinsettias got the axe. I put my spring-themed fabrics on the couches and bookshelves. I lined up all remaining houseplants on the window seat to create a soothing green space. Mostly, since this is a work in progress, I'm trying to create small "spring spaces" that will spread as I continue to work on this project...especially after the garden centers open up!

Here's an example of a small, simple green space I created next to the couch:

...and a little spring-themed spot atop a small bookcase in a very dim corner of the living room:

Marjolein Bastin is a beautiful illustrator, and I have some of her books. Here I framed two drawings that fit the season:

Closer, you can see many things that fit in with my theme: bees, spring flowers, and eggs.

The other side is a really nice depiction of a bird that I particularly like.

This frame went over the dim-corner bookcase to create a bright, cheerful space.

In the other end of the living room, we have another long, dark bookcase. I filled 3 mason jars with things that I like: white and clear buttons, pebbles, and ceramic eggs. This egg art print pulled it together, hopefully. Mason jars at Goodwill: .50 each. Art print: $10. Frame: $1 at Goodwill. I like to do these things on the cheap!

Here are the bunting flags! I just threaded a needle with multi-stranded embroidery thread and pushed through the top of the bunting triangle. I think it makes a nice look! I'm going to make another one this week.

The kitchen is still a work in progress...but I've made some headway in the sun room. I bought matching pots at IKEA (I believe they were .75 each!) and repotted all the little houseplants I had on the window sill. It needed some color, so I cut a fabric runner for underneath. Much better!

I will continue working on this for the next few weeks, in between my regular work, and my other hobbies that compete for attention. One of those is knitting, of course, and I've managed a bit of that late last week. I'm knitting mittens, and they have really clever cuffs. You knit the fabric in one long tube, with one purl row in the center of your 2 stockinette sides.

When you're done, you fold up the bottom and knit it together with the next row.

That purl row that was in the center becomes a clean bottom row for your mitten cuff.

I'm nearly done. It's time consuming to pick up each stitch and knit it together with the new stitch, but at least it's a mitten and not, say, a sweater. I'm excited to get to the next part!

I always, always make time to bake, especially with Todd hard at work on his dissertation and therefore requiring tasty snacks at regular intervals. This recipe is a little time consuming but the resulting cookie is awfully tasty! This recipe is taken directly from Bakingdom with no modifications. Let me tell you...that woman knows what she's doing! It was her idea to invent cinnamon roll...cookies.

Cinnarookies
Taken from Bakingdom
Makes 3 - 4 dozen cookies

COOKIE:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

ICING:

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 - 4 tablespoons milk

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, cream your butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the rest of your flour mixture and combine. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes.

After the dough has chilled, split the dough ball into two halves. Put one half into the refrigerator and pat the other half into a 9 x 12" rectangle. Let me tell you, it is messy and the dough will NOT go easily. Just push it together the best that you can!

Once you've beat it into submission, spread your soft butter on top, and then sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon.

Carefully roll it into a log and cover with plastic wrap. It will need to chill in the freezer for 30 minutes. After you put it there, go ahead and repeat the process with the dough ball that you placed in the refrigerator earlier. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove your logs from the freezer and slice them into half inch slices...you should get close to 24 per log. Place on greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

They already look like cinnamon rolls!

Once they've cooled, mix your icing ingredients together to your desired consistency and drizzle on cookies.

They're really good...like a sweet, cinnamon-y shortbread cookie. It's definitely worth the effort to make these!

Enjoy...and happy spring!