The Runcible Bin

And simmer for 20 minutes

2011-06-01T09:54:00.001-07:00

We have scraped 100 years of wallpaper from the bedroom walls and found the plaster beneath pink and a little vulnerable. I've been feeling very Jude the Obscure about the walls. Remember when he gets to Oxford and wanders around pressing himself against the stone walls? I took a break from scrubbing the paste and filth off to remove the door hardware and simmer it in a baking soda solution - instant transformation! They only needed a little salt and vinnegar, not too much, I don't want them to look new!

Library books

2011-05-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

I highly recommend both Print Workshop by Christine Schmidt and The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes by Sasha Duerr. They are both great inspiration for Summer craft projects.

More Any Way You Slice It

2011-05-13T12:13:00.001-07:00

For those interested, Denyse Schmidt's pattern is in her book Denyse Schmidt Quilts. I used her suggested fabric color palette and chose worsted weight yarn from Harrisville Designs. I blew up her template to 10" and used it for my blocks. They are knit point to point just like the ones from the Community Afghan in Handknit Holidays. I threw in short rows where needed. The Harrisville yarn blocks beautifully which is wonderful since my blocks are all wonky and different sizes.

Any Way You Slice It

2011-05-05T20:10:00.001-07:00

This is my next blanket project - a knitted version of Denyse Schmidt's Any Way You Slice It quilt. I am obsessed with this pattern. I am putting together a cafe curtain in this design using muslin and linen in creams and whites. I am thinking of doing one out of paper to cover the transom in the kitchen now that the morning sun is so bright at breakfast.

Counting Pane

2011-05-03T11:16:00.001-07:00

The Counting Pane by Wooly Thoughts just needs two borders and it's done but it has already gotten a lot of use. We've had a lot of discussions about the patterns that are visible when integers are represented by color. We used the colors of the Montessori bead chains so red, the color of ones is dominant and contrasts with green, the color of twos.

Camera Obscura Window Shades

2011-04-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

Have you seen National Geographic's article on the camera obscura photography of Abelardo Morell? They posted directions on their site and so I taped some black plastic bags over my window and punched a small hole through them - what do you know? - my neighbor's home is reflected onto the opposite wall! This is very addictive. I've been contemplating making some quilted shades for our south-facing windows to keep the Summer heat out. Imagine if I make one for the bathroom window, and I include a 1cm wide grommet in the center. The trees outside will be reflected onto the shower wall! And the back bedroom! Our garden will be reflected against the closet doors!

Are you curious? Go see Morell's photos!

You too can have Yumph

2011-03-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

Desperate for some evening entertainment, I've been watching 1930s movies - for the clothes, the banter, the cars, the nightclubs, the crowd scenes of hundreds of hats and heels and suits and gowns driving big steel cars and ordering drinks for the table.

Counting Pane

2011-03-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

Old picnic tins are great for organizing large blanket projects like our current "Counting Pane" from Wooly Thoughts. Inside we have yarn and three sets of needles. On the lid we keep scissors and darning needles and a picture of the blanket. We are using the same colors as the Montessori bead chains.

Blanket-inspired clothing

2011-03-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

The Financial Times featured some of the blanket-inspired clothing at London's Fashion Week. I like the quote by Christopher Kane, "I've seen girls wearing crochet who look pretty hot."

Birch mitten

2011-02-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

I made this second Birch mitten more like the original in the picture. I love the woven single strand of white all up the cuff to mimick the trunks of birch trees. Next time I'm going to continue the weaving to the end of the cuff. I am eager to block these and embroider the bark with black yarn.

Sandwich ideas

2011-02-17T17:41:00.000-08:00

I picked up 'Wichcraft at the library this week. It is full of beautiful and delicious sandwich ideas. I think we need a soup and sandwich night during the week. If I make large batches of soup we can freeze half and have a meal in the freezer.

Beeswax candles

2011-02-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

I took that medium-sized metal pitcher for frothing milk that used to sit on the espresso machine and I filled it with chunks of beeswax and set it in a simmering pan of water. While the wax melted I cut some wicks and stuck them in the bottom of some votives, a small pot and a cookie cutter on a piece of foil. I poured the wax in and steadied the wicks with toothpicks. Fifteen minutes, 6 candles! I need to read about candle-making. Any suggestions?

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm mixing up some Valentines gifts here in the kitchen today - brewing some hair rinse and sewing some herbal sachets from leftover muslin. I may even serve hot chocolate this afternoon with heart-shaped marshmallows. I just saw the recipe on Martha's site requiring only a marshmallow and a cookie cutter!

Devon socks

2011-02-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

I have finished one Devon sock from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. I'm using Socrates which is an alpaca sock yarn. I'm looking for a great sock yarn - sproingy, wool with a little nylon, nice solids or semi-solids, a lot of yardage. I am thinking again of dyeing some of my own using those fancy food coloring gels.

Dragon mittens

2011-02-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here's my first dragon mitten - a request. It's a pattern by Barbara Gregory here on Ravelry. My sock/mitten stragegy is to knit one and then switch to another project and knit one of those and then switch back. So far it's working.

True Brit Knits

2011-02-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Belinda over at True Brit Knits recently put her pattern for these Charleston cushions up for sale. The green and pink version in the back there has me hooked. The originals are knit in sock yarn, but I am thinking of using a heavier weight and using some chenille for the pink bits.

Totoro mittens

2011-02-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

I made the Totoro mittens in good old Cascade 220 for a quick worsted weight mitten needed for a snow trip. After reading Anna Zilboorg's introduction to Magnificent Mittens I became addicted to the idea of lining mittens in angora.
"Since you're putting so much labor and love into them anyway, and they'll be so beautiful, you might as well use the best lining material. This is either angora or alpaca or even kid mohair...All these are worked up loosely, so the lining doesn't take forever to do...With time the lining felts into the mitten a bit making them virtually waterproof and windproof."
Something happens inside your head when you puick up a wool mitten and then slip your hand inside and feel angora on the inside. I do not know the scientific term but it feels like ahhhhh.

Mitten binge

2011-02-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest in my mitten binge. I read about the hand dyed Riihivilla yarns and mitten kits a few weeks ago on Knitters Review. These remind me of pressed wild flowers. I think I'm ready to create a Berkeley mitten. I'm going to throw all these very different mitten traditions into the runcible bin with some Berkeley history books and postcards and see what bubbles to the surface!

It's been so long I forgot how to log on

2011-02-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

I am beginning a new year today and am resolved to get back on the blog horse and ride again. For my mid-morning snack I prepared my new favorite treat from Mad Hungry. I keep bagels in the freezer and I bake a batch of bacon and keep it in the frig, so when I need a bagel breakfast sandwich I just warm up the pieces in the oven and scramble an egg! It is magnificence!

I've been knitting these Valentine wash cloth/dish cloths. I use Natalja's pattern over at Sonnentaler. For a nice dish cloth size I double her numbers - casting on 10 (instead of 5), increasing to 18 (instead of 9). Her instructions are so nice you could adjust them to knit any size heart!

I'm also making some Kiki Mariko socks with my leftovers...

And mittens - I've been thinking of these Birch Mittens in last year's Piecework (Jan/Feb 2010) by Jette Uzane and adapted by Barbara Plakans. I changed the leaf a little to resemble the originals. I am going to embroider the black lines of the Birch bark after I steam them. I enjoyed this quote in the article:

"I soon lost interest in following the strict geometrical patterns of traditional Latvian etnographic designs and wanted to make something more complicated and original. When knitting those traditional designs I was only moving my fingers. I couldn't knit myself into them."

They are wonderful to make, as are all the traditional Latvian mitten patterns that can be found in Lizbeth Upitis' Latvian Mittens. Why not go on a mitten binge, or like Jette Uzane, create a mitten cycle?

Luxury brand rice crispie treats

2010-11-17T12:38:00.000-08:00

I meant to take a beautiful close up of these white chocolate rice crispie treats, but I only managed to snap a shot of this little pinch of a piece. This is David Lebovitz's famous white chocolate and candied peanut rice krispie recipe. He managed to take a wonderful photograph before they were gobbled up. I was brave and managed to make my own candied peanuts as well! No pots or utensils were harmed in this process!

Beaded knitted capelet

2010-11-12T10:43:00.001-08:00

This photo of a Brunello Cucinelli beaded knitted capelet from today's Financial Times has me thinking I need to knit something similar. I have been working through my stash, my pottery, my books, my clothes - a long drawn out clean out. I will root through the remains this weekend.

Fish sweaters

2010-10-25T10:24:00.001-07:00

Mr. Lear saw this little exhibit in the Southwest Airline terminal at LAX. The theme was non-functional clothing. In addition to the ~~bog~~ large fish, there were little minnows that had sweaters too.

Bookshelf

2010-10-01T12:24:00.001-07:00

This Fall I am thin-skinned. I strive to be 'even-tempered, prudent and resolute' and so I am reading Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf with Tolkien's essays. The introduction alone is wonderful. I am also paging through my old favorites in the housekeeping and parenting category, but I am haunted by images of swimming in chainmail and magic swords that are powerless against monsters, and Grendel's patchwork pouch of dragonskin. Perhaps you have some interesting leftover skeins of metallic this and that that could be swatched up into all the stitch patterns resembling scales? Then you could wear your pouch 'intracately strung and hung at the ready' for marauding farmers' markets!

Red shrug

2010-09-30T14:35:00.001-07:00

This is the "silk" shrug from Erika Knight's Classic knit in Quince and Co.'s chicadee. I should make a bunch of these and some with long sleeves.

Wire bags

2010-09-29T16:09:00.001-07:00

This page of wire carry-alls from a recent Real Simple got me thinking about knitting string bags with wire! I have been seeing a version in my head that looks like tinsel and shredded pink tissue. I'm sure there are multiple possibilities over at Habu.

Parsley Snap Pea leaves

2010-09-24T13:57:00.001-07:00

Nothing gets watered in our yard. The only thing that made it through the Summer was a recycle container on the back step filled with potting soil and a basil plant and some mint - I emptied the tea kettle into it whenever I thought of it. So I am planning a kitchen doorstep garden and trying out Quince and Co.'s Puffin yarn on large needles in the Cotton Leaf Rag pattern.

Old gold socks and "A Reverence for Wood"

2010-09-23T11:37:00.001-07:00

This is Cookie A's Angee pattern from "Sock Innovation." I love this old gold color which I think is from Black Bunny Fibers. On Phila*craft's advice, I am reading Eric Sloane's "A Reverence for Wood" - old barns, eel traps, barrels and canoes.

Last days of summer

2010-09-22T12:43:00.001-07:00

This wonderful raspberry souffle is really a neck warmer using Quince and Co.'s Osprey yarn. The pattern is from Reversible Knitting. I have finally settled into the new school year and need to take pictures of all my Summer knitting!

Yarn bomb in my neighborhood

2010-07-30T12:37:00.001-07:00

We were very excited to see a yarn bombing right here in our neighborhood! The Berkeleyside blog did a post here:
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/07/20/inside-the-mind-of-an-anonymous-yarn-bomber/

Hands on with a hand axe

2010-07-23T14:31:00.001-07:00

Late on a Friday we discovered the British Museum was celebrating the Italian Renaissance. Besides falconry, sword fighting and dancing, they had a table where you could hold a 350,000 year old hand axe. My hand fit perfectly! Have you been listening to the British Museum's 100 objects podcasts?
http://www.britishmuseum.org/ahistoryoftheworld

Tea granita

2010-07-21T19:13:00.001-07:00

A glass of tea granita with a chilled spoon really hits the spot when it's 105! I was inspired by the granita recipes in Jamie Oliver's British magazine. I steeped some tea in a sugar syrup for about four minutes and then froze it. When you need a treat, scratch the ice with a fork until you have a nice cup of tea. The magazine also had an ad for Aztec Duel, "the new garden game phenomenon for 2010," which makes our plain old ladder golf game sound so exotic!

Tarkhan linen dress

2010-07-20T21:09:00.001-07:00

This is the 5000 year old linen dress from the Petrie Museum. I would like to sew my own version as a tunic, maybe in that deep green from the Tube tile photo with light turquoise beads.

Tube tile

2010-07-19T08:21:00.001-07:00

This forest green and light turquoise tile is from the Green Park tube station. After cases and cases of Egyptian beads at the Petrie Museum I think I have been brainwashed to covet all kinds of dark green and turquoise color combinations.

The fountains of Lego

2010-07-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

I love this outdoor fountain made of yellow legos. Legoland's miniature Europe has so many beautiful buildings, but I really love the boats and fountains. Throughout the park there were beautiful Lego doves tucked into eaves and trees. I think our garden at home will benefit from a Lego fountain and dove!

Paint your kitchen on fire

2010-07-17T12:26:00.001-07:00

I've thought about putting a mosaic above my stove or maybe a mirror. but now that I've seen this kitchen display in the Museum of London, I'm planning a soot and flame mural.

"Handmade Modern" inspiration

2010-06-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

This book is a mini introduction to many modern designers and contains DIY projects inspired by their styles. The bedside table with the stained cork board top would make a lovely table anywhere, especially if you painted a design on the cork! I like the idea of finding a table top and adding modern legs.

Summer cups

2010-05-28T11:56:00.001-07:00

My small handle-less cups have dropped their T Brown coats and transformed themselves with green glazes for Summer drinks and wines. I'm enjoying the carving and need to explore other tools.

Hyacinth! You commented about a hanging garden in your city window and I must direct you to the Window Farms site. Please get going on some plant hangers for your plastic bottles. Don't be shy of hemp and beads! Try thin, deep red or deep pink hemp, turquoise. Add a little hand-bent copper wire and some tiny pulleys. This is going to look fantastic in your pre-war 6 foot narrow windows.

Do you happen to have any of those little garden lights that look like dragonflies? A small string of Pmas lights in an empty glass jar hanging somewhere in the midst of this would be good, some holes poked into the lid and the slightest wiff of pickle juice.

Irene Feesey

2010-05-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

The April issue of The World of Interiors has a wonderful article by Ruth Guilding on Irene Feesey. Antony Crolla's photographs show the artist's needlepoint, embroidery, paper mache bowls and lovely handmade cards. I love that songbird cushion behind her in the photo. I think it would make a great ipad cover.

Another Audrey

2010-04-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

I've knitted another Audrey cardigan and I'm planning another. I'd like to use two strands of Haiku or Kidsilk Haze next time. I think I will keep knitting this pattern over and over. Wouldn't it be nice as a sleeveless pullover in something silky with cotton?

20 innings of chair weaving

2010-04-19T15:35:00.001-07:00

Well it didn't take 20 innings of the Cardinals' game, only 3 or 4 tries to get the chair sorted out. I ended up sewing my denim strips together into one long strip. This chair needs a cushion. I may cut up another pair of old jeans and weave a cushion top.

I'm about to finish another Audrey cardigan in Scottish Tweed. Next, I'll cast on Uhura in SWTC's Terra. I'd like to knit Audrey in some kind of cottony blend for Summer. What Summer yarns do you like in 24s/4" gauge?

The batter is in the shadows

2010-04-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

"The batter is in the shadows and the pitcher is in the sun." I'm listening to Game 3 of the 1968 World Series while weaving a new chair seat. At last weekend's Alabama Chanin workshop, Butch Anthony gave a little demonstration on weaving ties into a chair seat. We have no ties, but these strips of old blue jeans are working fine. If there isn't a game on the radio near you while weaving or weeding or mopping, I highly recommend listening to a 'vintage' game here.

Alabama Chanin

2010-04-12T14:06:00.001-07:00

I have fallen off the blogging wagon into a prickly sewing patch - can't even remember my flickr password. Saturday I walked down to the Edible Schoolyard for the Alabama Chanin Workshop. You've probably seen the books - Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style - but have you clicked through the couture photos on their site? I began a little pieced tank top in reverse applique for the young Miss Lear.

These books and patterns change the way you think of applique. You begin using the word as a verb. I am annoyed when people use 'impact' as a verb. It sounds rough and careless to run around impacting things with bulletpoints. But now 'applique' is sounding just as reckless. If you're not going to wear that, I'd like to applique it...applique over that stuff...I should just applique that thing.

Embroidery is also sounding slightly destructive. It appears like propaganda overnight - clean laundry is not just mended but a-mended with a vine and a little house. All the market bags are open targets. I am armed with milliners, sharps and betweens and I find clean and simple tedious.

"Simple Flowers" by Constance Spry

2010-03-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

While cleaning the hallway I found the umbrella stand. I bought some lilac stems this morning and snipped some things from the yard and now I have my very own arrangement a la "Simple Flowers". I love the photos in this book and the simple advice. The chapter on containers is good too.

Desk by the window

2010-03-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Bell's "Interior with Housemaid" painted in 1939 inspires me to push all the tables and desks to the windows - and where there's no sense of privacy, place large painted screens.

Style Inspiration

2010-03-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

This photo sums up all the elements I want to pour into our home: bookshelves, plants, and workspace. This room was photographed by Jason Schmidt for the New York Times Magazine, April 11, 1999. The caption explains the room belongs to George and Effie Soter and was used in the movie "You've Got Mail" as Jean Stapleton's apartment. I've added my inspiration pictures to a flickr set here.

Apartment Therapy's Spring Cure

2010-03-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Apartment Therapy's Spring Cure begins today and I am signed on! This is the diningroom "before" picture and there's my yarn stash in the foreground - not much left really. I'm knitting another Audrey sweater between bouts of mopping and sorting.

Golden Gate Gardening

2010-03-05T09:48:00.001-08:00

This year I am embracing the cool fogginess of my backyard. I just got my copy of Pam Peirce's Golden Gate Gardening. We're lucky to have some fruit trees and some herbs that have gone native in back; I keep a pot of mint on the front porch. But this Spring I would like to put in a few more things. I want to grow some viney things.

Planting time

2010-03-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

I am starting some seeds from last summer's farmers' market - French cantaloupe, a bright yellow melon, and some sweet peppers on the windowsill. I moved my yarn armoire into the kitchen to be a pantry. This has left my stash sitting around the diningroom suddenly homeless and vulnerable.

Jane Birkin's sweater

2010-02-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

I love Jane Birkin's sweater in this Financial Times photo - the neckline, three-quarter sleeves, the ribbing - the color.

DSQed from Olympic knitting

2010-02-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

About three little girl hockey player commercials into the pre-opening ceremonies show I DSQed myself from my UFO knitting project by starting a brand new scarf. Life is short. This will be a stripey scarf reverso style.

Olympic knitting

2010-02-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

It's not a bad idea to talk yourself into spending two weeks every two years finishing up projects. I'm pulling everything out and getting ready for the opening ceremony!

Socrates' Personal Footprints

2010-02-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

This is another shot at a pair of socks knit from the alpaca blend yarn Socrates (first pair felted, second pair lost half the yarn). I'm using Cat Bordhi's Personal Footprints scheme. All my projects right now are simple small things that fit in my raincoat pocket. I'm saving my energy for the olympics!

The Last Dickens

2010-02-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

This book was a good time. I had to google all the publishers in the story - those Harper Brothers! I'm so excited about nineteenth century magazines. Don't you love magazines? I want to make a magazine - mostly I want to make the ads and write the "in the news" bits! The Christmas issue of Tiknor and Fields's Every Saturday features "No Thoroughfare" a story by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. I'm also going to keep a diary this year and write to my future self.

Classic Knits

2010-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

Erika Knight's Classic Knits was at Half Price Books this week. I feel like knitting this cardigan in every shade of Alchemy's Haiku.

Wool binge

2010-02-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I go on a Noro binge and I want to knit everything with self-striping yarn. Recently I've been on a Jamieson's binge. Every pattern I see I think, wouldn't that be lovely in a shetland jumper weight? A Jamieson's binge can be quite economical. An Alchemy haiku binge would not be.

"I mend people's clothes for free on the street"

2010-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Serge Debrebant's piece on Michel Swaine in the FT last Saturday caught my eye. It begins, "I've always liked clothes that had a life before me." Swaine has a sewing cart with an umbrella, a neon sign that reads sew, and a treadle sewing machine in San Francisco's Tenderloin.

Another Haiku Portrait Scarf

2010-01-26T13:03:00.001-08:00

I'm so happy with the maroon and the orange versions, I've cast on a green. With my addi lace needles, this makes quick, waiting-at-the-DMV knitting!

Haiku portrait scarf

2010-01-22T08:58:00.001-08:00

I've really fallen out of the habit of blogging my projects. I've given up waiting for a sunny moment to photograph my Veronik Avery Portrait Scarf. My first version is in 2 balls of Kidsilk Haze - sometimes I wear it tucked into my coat, but mostly I wear it like a cowl. This mini version uses just one ball of Haiku and I wear it constantly. I have some more Haiku in my stash - all destined for mini portrait cowls. I'm wondering if I can wear two at a time?

Short order naan

2010-01-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

I'm back on the 5 minute bread bandwagon with a tupperware of light whole wheat dough in the fridge. I followed the directions in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for making naan to go with my chicken curry. I poured a little vegetable oil in a cast iron frying pan, tossed in a flattened disc of dough and covered it with a cookie sheet. It took 7-8 minutes. I should look up pita bread next.

Semi-solid sock waves

2010-01-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

This bandless ball of yarn is a little more than a semi-solid blue. I love it in this feather and fan stitch. I've been paging through Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn and finding patterns for stashed sock yarn.

Candied orange peel

2010-01-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

This is a spoonful of orange syrup - it tasted like heaven. The smell of simmering orange peels filled the house with an incredible smell while I did some kitchen chores, read the paper. I had 5 degrees to go on the candy thermometer when I left the kitchen.

When I smelled the burning orange peel I knew my giant cough drop was done.

Audrey in Shetland

2010-01-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly coming out of my Christmas cookie coma. A few weeks ago I finished the Audrey in Unst sweater from Twist Collective. I made it a little small, so I'm going to add some hooks and eyes to the front bands. I ordered this Jamieson shetland from Schoolhouse Press (179 colors). They also carry Jamison & Smith shetland - that's hundreds of heathered colors to choose from. I love this sweater.

Nuts for the holidays

2009-12-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

David Lebovitz's Holiday Snack Mix is so good I just kept burning my tongue eating it straight from the pan. I used some back-of-the-cabinet leftovers for this batch, but I am planning one with pecans. This is a great snack to whip up when you are doing some hard holiday crafting and need protein coated in butter and syrup and salt. Playing Keep the Car Running on repeat is also helpful. I don't know if our little parakeet is ringing his bell like crazy because he likes to play along or if he is screaming mercy.

Mohair Portrait Scarf

2009-12-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

You may recall Veronik Avery's scarf from Knitting Classic Style. I am working on it in a deep red Kidsilk Haze.

Audrey in Shetland jumperweight

2009-12-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

I went with the original design for Audrey. I would love to make this in a bunch of colors. I am haunted by the inside-out sweater. J Crew for kids has an inside-out sweater. I want to make one for myself - a little magpie-ish with a sparkly strand and a tweedy strand.

Coffee with Sherlock Holmes

2009-12-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Imagine coffee with Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson every morning. One year I put my knitted teacher gifts in jars like preserves. I love the hot coco mixes and cookie mixes in jars that look like a geological strata sample. This year I want to paste a scan of a favorite character or author into the lid and seal it with that fancy clear acrylic stuff.

Felted Autumn leaf

2009-11-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

This is the dish rag pattern in Frappe Merino and felted to death. I love the way these colors felt. I'm going to knit a bunch for coasters - coffee, tea, wine blends right in.

Reversible shetlands

2009-11-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

I like this. I'm going to make a series of shetland cardigans using the funky patterns from Reversible Knitting. I'm also intrigued by Kate Gilbert's Kirigami pattern in Twist's Winter issue. I'm thinking about Christmas and games. I'm still seeing a game of tiny pieces of porcelain inside an unfired sphere of clay which you break open. You break open the egg of clay and the pieces tumble out and the dice is rolled.

Tea with milk and sugar ice cream

2009-11-17T12:49:00.001-08:00

Cooler weather calls for new flavors. I substituted Earl Grey for the black currant tea in David Lebovitz's recipe in The Perfect Scoop. This was wonderful on hot apple crisp. Splendid Table had a repeat show this week interviewing Paul Roberts about his book The End of Food. It makes you want to cook dinner.

Reversible Audrey

2009-11-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

When I saw Gudrun Johnston's Audrey in Unst I wanted to knit it in a heathered gold shetland yarn. Then I got Reversible Knitting (Barr) and decided my little gold shetland cardigan should be reversible too. The patterns in this book are wonderful. The lacey patterns are very macrame-looking. I am trying to substitute one of them for the lace pattern on Audrey.

Bird and leaf cookies

2009-11-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw these cookies in the new issue of Marie Claire Idees, I thought, why not carry my bird and leaf obsession into the holidays? I like the look of the seeds and pignolli, and I want to add minced candied orange peel and ginger, and almond slices.

Gold Toy lamp

2009-11-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Ryan McElhinney's Gold Toy lamp (another from Remake It Home) would be a great yard sale project.

Chiquita chandelier

2009-11-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

Anneke Jakobs's Chiquita Chandelier is just one of the dozens of amazing ideas in Remake It Home - The Essential Guide to Resourceful Living. There are chapters and chapters of inspiration.

Electric mittens

2009-11-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

I finally got my conductive thread and LEDs. A couple weeks ago I was inspired by Fio's electric mitts and reminded of Eleanor Kent's electro-luminescence pieces. I want the mittens to light up the constellations when they touch, but I also want the batteries to run a hand warmer or a little radio or something.

In other "projects with wires" news, ceramic gramophone 1.0 was bisqued and does not work. As soon as I dig up a styrofoam cone I'll roll out 2.0 thinner and more Georgia O'Keefe-ish.

Pantries

2009-10-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Mary S who suggested I look at The Pantry - Its History and Modern Uses (Pond). It is a wonderful illustrated history of how we store our food. I love the modern DIY pantry a woman built by hacking open the wallboard to store canning jars between the wall studs.
I have read that designating a place for things (Julia Child's pegboard kitchen walls) is akin to scheduling time for things (Twyla Tharp's Creative Habit). Making a pantry and taking the time to stock it creates order in place and time, and it creates confidence in a future place and time. Pantry-making is going to be my act of confidence in the future, both in earthquake country and shaky times.

Paul Taylor's home

2009-10-28T09:05:00.002-07:00

I love this series in the NYTimes about peoples' homes. Can you see the basket turned lampshade in the photo? the Jaws/Moby Dick/Jonah's leviathan portrait above the mantle? Mostly I love his cardigan against the bright turquoise wall.

Sport weight swatches

2009-10-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have a one pound cone of Bartlett Yarns sport weight still in my stash. I think it is the beginning of many light weight heathered wool cardigans with something going on along the edges - something like beads or crochet. I keep looking at the cardigans in Rowan's A Season's Tale and looking at crochet edgings. I've been thinking of a sweater the color of old bricks with a faded advertisement knitted in - something like this.

Ice-O-Mat

2009-10-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Nothing says October in Berkeley like Ice-O-Mat! For a mere $2 I have a lovely ice crusher and all my icey drinks look so professional: lemonade, ice coffee, Clara's back porch fizz.

Electronic books and knits

2009-10-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

All this talk of ebook screens and digital content makes me think of Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age and William Blakes' graphic novels if he printed them today. Would Thoureau have a blog? (One of his friends wrote that he would have starved in Walden if his mother and sister hadn't brought food out for him every few days! Where did I read that?) I love steampunk - that spot where handmade/DIY and hacked technology meet because of the need for customization, for the love of an inexpensive solution, or all that and a desire to knit with electrical cord and conductive thread and fashion ceramic squash blossom gramophones.

Leaf plate

2009-10-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

I've been making leaf plates. I like the idea of a table covered in black or very dark navy linen and filled with ceramic leaf plates of food. I need to make these much larger - leaf platters.

Ceramic gramophone

2009-10-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Look at these beauties! Caption reads: Jason Marks' Euphorn channels the sound from an iPod, £230 or £990 to order.

Paula sweater in moss

2009-10-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Fiona Ellis's Paula sweater from Twist Collective is finished. I still need to block it and weave in the ends. I used discontinued yarn from my stash which knit at a slightly larger gauge, and I used the ridge pattern instead of the cable pattern for the collar. I plan to reknit the collar slightly larger. When I've knit through my stash, I'm going to get some Ultra Alpaca in a heathered rust or dark red and knit it again.

That scarf again

2009-10-15T10:23:00.001-07:00

I am haunted by the multi-stripe scarf sewn in two pieces! Remember that Gap holiday scarf last Winter? I planned one in leftover sock yarn and tweedy 4ply, but I did not get very far. I am inspired, but I don't like the way tweedy 4ply feels on my neck! I am going to think about what Kaffe would do if he had a very sensitive neck. I could sew all my stripey swatches together for half the scarf and then sew on a strip of printed wool or velvet for the other half. I like wool fabric with hand tied yarn fringe, why not take it a step farther with a knitted wool scarf sewn to a woven wool scarf?

Handmade lamp idea

2009-10-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

I would like to make a lamp similar to this one using wire and ceramic beads.

Budgie knitting

2009-10-13T09:15:00.001-07:00

We have a new pet, a sweet little budgie. At night we cover his cage with a shawl, but I may have to knit a cover. I like the idea of doing something from Kaffe Fassett's Pattern Library. I am also thinking of dyeing sock yarn in budgie colors - a beautiful marigold to begin the toe that matches his beak, followed by white and grey for the stripes on his face and a little bit of violet for the stripes across his cheeks - then blue and black and white and finally black and a dark turquoise for his tail - budgie socks.

I just saw Ann Weaver's post about her Christmas ornament patterns in the new Interweave Holiday issue. I am going to have to make that pinecone for our tree! I also love the Nordic Striped Ball.

Personal Footprints

2009-10-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Cat Bordhi's new book on socks? I love this book. I love all her books - they are just my pot of tea. The patterns are based on the technique she first introduced with the Houdini sock for Twist Collective. You knit the foot as a seamless piece and then open a space for the leg. I've made one template for my son and plan on sketching everyone's footprint. Knitters' Review has a review here.

Terrariums

2009-10-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

I had one of those nifty vinegar bottles and couldn't bear to toss it in the recycling which lead to finding this terrarium book at the library. I like the idea of creating a terrarium in the middle of a larger planter - like a geodome in the jungle or the Climatron in Shaw's Garden. I should go buy a six of Orangina and a few more of these vinegar bottles and then macrame plant hangers from red hemp, fill them with carbon and potting soil and grow little planets in the kitchen window.

On second thought, I could forget the soil and plants and go right for glycerin and sparkles and do some funky snow globes.

Second sock syndrome

2009-10-07T21:10:00.001-07:00

I'm falling prey to second sock syndrome. The pattern is too intricate to knit while watching the Cardinals!

Paula in green

2009-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Twist Collective just blogged about knitting the Paula sweater in different colors, and by coincidence, I started one Sunday in some mossy green Elsebeth Lavold Classic Al from my stash! My gauge is a little larger, so I am fiddling with the numbers. I would love to make one of these in some Berroco Ultra Alpaca - as soon as I've knit through my stash!

Banana Upside Down Cake

2009-09-29T11:40:00.001-07:00

I've taken banana bread just about as far as it can go with David Lebovitz's Banana Upside Down Cake. It's wonderful.

I've been thinking about old Victorian homes that come with linen closets and butler's pantries and broom closets. There have been several great articles in Martha on making your own hidden storage - a craft space from two bookcases and an office in an armoire. I like this "origami living" style.

Re-skeining

2009-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am frogging my unworn sweaters. It is easier to imagine new projects for old yarn when it is in skeins.

Linen leaf

2009-09-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

This leaf is knit in Louet's worsted weight linen. I'm really over knitting leaves now. I am feeling quite smug reknitting schlumpy projects.

Felted leaf

2009-09-22T09:38:00.001-07:00

This is the leaf pattern in wool leftover from the rug project. It came out of the washer a little ruffly, and then I ironed it flat. With some fiddling I think I could felt it into a dish for keys or a place for scissors and needles and button stuff - can you see that?

Central Park Hoodie again

2009-09-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

I wore my Central Park Hoodie twice and then lost it in the hallway because it is too schlumpy. The wool is Rowan's Scottish Tweed in indigo and it is beautiful, too beautiful to be lost in the hallway. I have unravelled the buttons bands and the hood and taken it apart. I think I can get away with simply re-knitting the back slightly smaller and then putting it all back together. No un-wearable sweaters and no un-usable stash!

The Truffle Hunter

2009-09-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

There is a page in The Truffle Hunter where a domesticated pig discovers a cave filled with paintings of her ancestors on the walls. I'm going to use the pig and warthog patterns from Knitted Toys to make some of the characters. I would love to wrap it in brown paper covered in pastel cave paintings.

I've been thinking a lot about last weekend's New York Times article on happiness. Even more interesting was the FT's article about the French commission re-evaluating what data determine their GDP. I keep hearing a quote from the commission head Professor Stiglitz, "What we measure affects what we do."

That quote would make a great gift - engraved on a big metal tape measure or painted on a tiny sewing tape measure. It would make a wonderful Arts and Crafts mantel motto - a still life of old rulers and yard sticks and a huge wooden compass thingy and a clock would be so beautiful with the quote carved in wood or painted on tile - what (and how) we measure affects what we do!

Nigel Cabourn

2009-09-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

There was an article in the NYTimes Magazine on Nigel Cabourn. A lot of people know the menswear designer for his 2003 collection when he recreated some of the clothing worn on Sir Edmund Hillary's Everest expedition. One piece is based on a photo of an explorer wearing his sweater inside-out and backwards. I like this year's collection based on a 1924 expedition. The original clothing, pictured in photo, was a mixture of military and hiking pieces. Cabourn's web site is beautiful with special collections and inspiration photos. I was thinking of Teva Durham's vest and how that would look in a tweedy yarn with a funky wool lining. Give me microfiber with a good dose of tweed!

Bookmarks

2009-09-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

New York reader Hyacinth has asked for bookmark ideas: "Sometimes, when I can't find one, I just crochet about forty or fifty stitches and call it a bookmark. But headed to The Strand tomorrow and know I won't come home with less than an armload. Any ideas?"
As soon as you mentioned crochet, I thought of the bibelot Cristina made last year, pictured above. She adds mini granny squares and beads to her crochet chain. There is also ribbon embroidered or written on with Sharpie, leather scraps cut into rectangles and decorated with little hole punches, dried flowers encased in organza. In the two dimensional realm, my favorite bookmarks are photos and postcards that usually sit in drawers or envelopes marked scrapbook. If it's a flimsy sort of ticket stub, bus transfer, deli number thing, why not laminate it at a kinkos place or stick it between two sheets of clear contact paper, or iron it between two pieces of wax paper - leaves are nice this way. I like old newspaper clippings preserved this way. Let me know what you come up with.

Eunice socks

2009-09-09T17:39:00.001-07:00

This is the Eunice sock from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. Dream in Color's Smooshy yarn is my favorite right now for socks. I love this time of year. I make all kinds of plans for Christmas knitting about now.

Cotton Leaf Rag

2009-09-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

I've been very happy knitting these dish rags in all colors of green and a few demure ombre colorways. I knit one in wool and felted it. Knit it in linen or hemp and call it a washcloth. I typed up a pattern for these. It's all done with short rows. If you're not familiar with this technique, you'll need to look it up or sit down with someone who can show it to you. You'll quickly see that it's just a starting point. You can alter the leaf shape with your own decreases and increases. To download the pattern, click on the Cotton Leaf Rag link in the upper right hand corner of the blog here under Patterns.

Design as Art

2009-09-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about the mobiles in Bruno Munari's Design as Art.