Felted Christmas Slippers

Now that these slippers have been given and received and there's no secret left to keep, I thought I'd share them here for yarn along today. They were an experiment, and I didn't have very high hopes that they'd actually become usable footwear, much less well-loved, perfectly-fitting (well, close), warm, cozy slippers, but that's indeed what they became! I wrapped them up and put them under the tree before felting them so that my husband could witness the transformation (pre-felting, they looked like I had knit them for a giant), and so that he could wear them around to shape them while they were wet.

The pattern is great--I followed it without making any changes and the sizing turned out just right.

And reading...I'm so boring these days. I still just can't get enough of James Herriot (All Things Wise and Wonderful now). I'm thinking of trying to tackle Middlemarch next. My daughter has really loved Jan Brett's new book Home for Christmas--a sort of winter Swedish troll version of the prodigal son story, with the most beautiful illustrations, and vocabulary and story line that satisfies the adults as well as the preschoolers.

Now a question for all you yarn-alongers out there. I'm fairly new to knitting sweaters, and with my last several sweater projects have been so disappointed at the pilling that occurs within days of wearing the completed sweaters. Is this inevitable? Preventable? Possible to remedy once it's happened? Have you found particular yarn or brands that pill less? It never seemed to happen with my mom's handspun wool. It's so satisfying to complete a project that can actually be worn, but it seems hardly worth it when the garment becomes so pilled that it's not suitable to be worn in public. Any advice?

Pop on over to Small Things for more yarn along inspiration!

...and on Earth, peace to all

Hoping your days have been merry and bright...

Well, hello again...just wanted to share a few bits of Christmas beauty after a rather extended absence from this space--time and energy have simply been spent in other places for the past several weeks. 
We have been sniffling, sneezing, coughing and wheezing here, taking comfort in peppermint tea, eucalyptus baths, and familiar books (Bear Feels Sick, anyone?), and watching more movies than can be good for us. But it seems we're recovering now, and we were able to find moments of peace and joy in the midst. (And no, I did not make that beautiful Christmas bread; it was a gift from a dear dear neighbor and baker extraordinaire.)

Hoping you find rest and refreshment in these remaining days of 2011.

in appreciation of autumn leaves

This weekend's wind and rain brought the last of the glorious firey leaves to the ground.

As we've been walking through the neighborhood these last few weeks, I keep pondering to myself what words I can use to describe the trees at this time of year.

A phrase from a Wallace Stevens poem came to mind the other day.
We had the poem read at our wedding--"The Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour."  "...a warmth,

a light...

 a power,

the miraculous influence..."

That seemed to capture perfectly what I feel as I walk under the sheltering canopy of these luminous trees,

on the brightly colored carpet of their leaves. 

"But outside my window all day a maple has stepped from her
          leaves like a woman in love with winter, dropping the
          colored silks." 

--from Jane Hirshfield's "Three Times My Life Has Opened"

{this moment}

Joining in with Soulemama today...
In her words: "{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

heirloom garden, heirloom knits

With the completion of anniversary knitting last week, I'm on to sweet baby knits for several babes due to arrive by Christmas. These are the Stay-On Baby Booties from Knitting for Baby. I've heard they really do stay on...we shall put them to the test! I love knitting a pattern that has been around for generations, to feel connected to all the mothers and grandmothers and aunties who made these for there special babes years ago. Heirloom indeed!

Also heirloom--my reading of late--The Heirloom Life Gardener, by Jere and Emilee Gettle. I'm actually stealing this book from my husband (I gave it to him as a birthday gift and couldn't keep my hands off it). It's written by the founders of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, and besides being beautiful and inspiring, is full of useful information about growing, preparing, and saving seed from all kinds of lovely heirloom vegetable varieties. I have to say I'm in awe of the accomplishments of these seed-saving prodigies--Jere was born a year after me, and by the time he was seventeen, had already started his seed company. And what have I done in that time? Ah well, we do the best we can with what we're given, right? I do so love stories about people who find success and make a difference by following their passions.

If you're a gardener and would like some heirloom flower seeds of your own, be sure to enter my little give-away!

 Hop on over to Small Things for more yarn along inspiration!

the wonders of seed saving, and a little give-away

It all started with a few marigold seeds I saved several autumns ago. The next spring, I tried planting them, just to see what would happen. Miraculously, they sprouted, grew, thrived, and became that summer's marigolds.

The next year, I gathered some of the dried sweet peas clinging to our fence. They, too produced fragrant flowers when planted the next year.

The year after that, I added seeds from this striking red salvia.

Again, the seeds produced beautiful plants the next spring, and more seeds to save that autumn.

Each year, as I've witnessed the magical cycle of seeds sprouting, growing into hearty plants, flowering, and producing seed again, my enthusiasm for seed saving has grown.

My experience has mostly been with saving flower seed, but this season I added pole beans...

 

 

...and some herbs--cilantro, parsley, and chives are all very easy to save. 

The sunflowers, calendula, chamomile, and lemon balm have always reseeded themselves with no help from me.

Saving seed requires just a bit of knowledge, time, and care, and the effort is so worth the reward.

Before choosing a plant from which to save seed, make sure it is open-pollinated, and not hybrid. A hybrid plant is created by crossing parents of two different varieties, and it's seed will either be sterile, or will revert to one of the parent varieties. An open-pollinated variety will produce seed that stays true to the plant you harvest from. There is much to learn about plant pollination and reproduction, and the best source I've found is Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. The Seed Savers Exchange is a wonderful resource for finding heirloom seeds, and sharing your own seed with others.

 

All the plants I've saved seed from can be harvested after allowing the seed pod to dry fully on the plant. Once you have harvested the seed, you will need to store it in a sealed container in a cool, dry place. Moisture and fluctuating temperatures will compromise the quality of your seed and it's ability to germinate next season. I have had great luck with placing the seed in small paper envelopes, then storing them in a sealed plastic Nancy's yogurt container in the fridge. I've had great germination rates with this method. 

And now for the give-away! I'd love to share the wealth of my generous little plants by giving away a small packet of french marigold and red salvia seed (both pictured above).  A gift from my garden to yours. If you think you could use them, just leave a comment below by 8pm Pacific time Sunday 11/20. I'll choose a random winner or two and post them here shortly after. Because I am not familiar enough with regulations regarding shipping seeds internationally, I will only be able to ship these seeds within the USA.

Happy seed saving!

And the give-away winner is...Ellen!

handmade holidays: a totebag, a star, and some plans

Now that we're approaching the second half of November, I'm beginning to feel the elving bug in earnest! This weekend proved fruitful for gift-making, with lots of planning and even a few completed projects.

 
I used some cotton-linen scraps, along with help from Randi's fresh-squeezed tote bag tutorial to make this sturdy little bag:

The interior is made from a pink carnation clad vintage pillow case.

It's a wonderful tutorial and I'll try to make at least one more of these totes for gift-giving. Next time I think I'll use flannel instead of batting for the lining, to cut down on seam bulkiness. And I'll make the pocket smaller. This one tends to flop open.

And this is my wonky little patchwork star ornament:

I went through my tiny fabric scraps and found all the red and green bits, made a diamond template and sewed this prototype together. But I'm most excited about what's inside this plump little star--pure, clean, fluffy, magical, local wool! I've been looking for affordable and ethically produced wool batting and found the perfect source in the Wool Gatherer Carding Mill. If you're interested in crafting with wool (or just learning about the wool industry), I recommend this article. The batting is available from A Shepherd's Dream, but if you know you'll use a lot, you can contact Wool Gatherer directly for bulk craft wool at half the price of retail. I'm planning to make some bed pillows with my giant stash of wool...if they work out I'll post about them soon!

Next on the gift-making list are a few little handmade notebooks like these ones. I'm thinking we could use old calendar pages for the covers, or nature prints like the ones in The Rhythm of Family, or some of my daughter's watercolor masterpieces. This could be a fun project to do as a family.

What about you? Have you been inspired to get creative with gift-making/giving this season?

twining trees, twining lives

We had a big anniversary and a big birthday here last weekend, so lots of warmth and celebration to revel in. A month or so ago I came upon this lovely post by Heidi with her own beautiful twining trees panel and fell in love with the design. (Original pattern here.)  I couldn't have found a more perfect anniversary gift. It's a pattern that requires full attention, which is difficult with a toddler in the house. But it was a good challenge for me--felt like a puzzle, and exercised parts of my brain that have been neglected of late.

I actually ended up making two, as the yarn I chose for the first one turned out to mask the design. The yarn I used in the second piece was in the form of several tiny bits left over from my mom's spinning days. Every time I use my mom's yarn, I feel such a connection to her. I heard an interview recently (can't remember who it was now) in which it was said that creating something by hand is one of the best gifts you can give your children. I've found that to be so true in my life. Holding an object created by my late mother's hands somehow gives a tangible heft to my memories of her. Bridges the "then" with the "now."

On the reading front, we've been drowning in books lately. Too many good ones to choose from. Simplicity Parenting finally came available for me at the library, and I definitely agree with all the positive reviews. Kathy recently wrote a post on the author's concept of "soul fever" that I really appreciated. But my favorite bedtime reading is still James Herriot (on to All things Bright and Beautiful now). My husband has been enamored with the book Teaming with Microbes  (mumbling words like actinomycetes and mycorrhizae under his breath as he reads). It truly is fascinating to learn about the incredible life and synergy and activity taking place in the soil (when that soil is not rendered lifeless with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and tilling). And my daughter is enjoying a random library find--Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin. It does a fabulous job of capturing the personality of different instruments, and the writing itself has a musical quality to it. Lots of counting, rhyming, and tongue twisting, too ("the flute, that slender silver sliver").

I also discovered an interesting series on our public broadcasting station called Craft in America. The first episode, with a profile of woodworker Sam Maloof, was particularly inspiring. It articulates so well the value that crafts-people find in doing their craft, in creating objects of beauty to use in daily life. I believe art is valuable for art's sake, but the concept of craft--of combining beauty with usefulness--has always resonated with the pragmatist in me.

Do visit Ginny at Small Things for more reading and stitching inspiration!

{this moment}

Joining in with Soulemama today...
In her words: "{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

October light

The light is changing 'round here. Shadows lengthening, days shortening. I've been surprised lately by where the light is coming from, and how it  illuminates the house's objects...

We are appreciating every moment of sunshine these days, when her light floods through the windows like this, for we know she'll be covered by rain and clouds soon enough!

a cable hat

For yarn along this week I'm pulling another project from the archives. I wanted to share the finished raglan sweater for my daughter, but she has strong opinions about clothes (and everything else!) and has so far refused to put it on. We'll give it a little more time and see if we can't get a little photo shoot once she warms up to it. In the mean time, there's this...


...my first project with cables. I very regrettably lost my favorite hand-knit hat in the park last spring and needed a replacement quickly. So I found this pattern and used some of the hand-spun yarn I still have from my mom's spinning days. It's course and bulky and you can feel the lanolin in it--perfect for repelling rain and snow. The pattern is a great introduction to cables--I'd definitely recommend it.

I finally finished All Creatures Great and Small, after savoring it chapter by chapter over several weeks. Such perfect bed-time reading and I'm missing it so. (Just put the next book in the series on hold at the library!) But many more books are calling out to be read--right now my shelf is full of various herb references, reflecting my growing interest in all things herbal. I have to say I'm still looking for a favorite volume or author in this area...any suggestions?

Looking forward to more knitting and reading inspiration at Ginny's Yarn Along...

simple hand-made gifts

I wanted to share a couple of very simple sewn gifts I've been working on lately. They're rather common little items, but they can be embellished to one's heart's desire to make them special and unique for each recipient.

The first project is a little lavender eye pillow--a wonderful use for the lavender we harvested and dried from our garden this summer.

It is the very simplest of sewing projects--just two rectangles sewn right sides together, (leaving an open space of a few inches to turn), turn right side out, fill with flax seed and dried lavender flowers (chamomile is nice, too), then sew up the space. These seem to be loved by just about everyone, and especially by those needing a little extra TLC. The lavender is so soothing and bestows the recipient with a very tangible feeling of peace and well-being.

The second project is yet another birthday crown. They are my favorite gift for little friends these days.

Mr. Z certainly enjoyed receiving this one, and looked like quite a superstar wearing it.  I used Nicole's tutorial at Frontier Dreams for my first crown, and have been improvising a bit for each crown since then. 
For this one, I realized I could machine sew the decorations on, which saved a lot of time from the hand sewing I've done previously.

Have you seen the Handmade Holidays inspiration over at Plain and Joyful Living? I'm looking forward to the ideas that will be shared there every Monday, and hope to post a few projects myself, as we head into the holiday season. For now, we are enjoying the arrival of autumn!

{this moment}

Joining in with Soulemama today...
In her words: "{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Fall in the garden: cover crops, clean-up, and garlic planting

We've been busy in the garden the last few weeks, harvesting the last bits, planting fall crops, and cleaning up. We had such a good experience growing garlic for the first time last season that we decided to triple our planting this fall--to one and a half of our 8x4 ft raised beds. We met some wonderful farmers--Matt and Cyndee of Matt-Cyn Farm--at the Corvallis Farmer's market when we visited a few months ago. We tried several of their unusual garlic varieties and enjoyed them so much that we asked if they would sell us some seed garlic. As you can see below, they obliged by sending us a box of beautiful specimens (hand-written note and all), and it feels so good to know exactly where our garlic came from.

Planting garlic is quite easy. My husband experimented with double-digging the bed prior to planting, but this isn't required. He worked in some compost and all-purpose organic fertilizer with the pitch fork, planted individual cloves in rows about 6 inches apart, and covered with 1-2 inches of soil. Then he covered with straw mulch (and the netting we use to keep neighborhood cats from using the bed as a litter box). The garlic will establish root systems this fall, rest through the winter, and grow in the spring until the 4th of July, when we'll harvest it. (See this summer's garlic harvest here).

Yesterday we did a bunch of garden clean-up--composting spent plants, weeding, etc. We let the chickens out for the first time in a long time and they were so happy to scratch around to find slugs and bugs. Now that our remaining edible crops are protected in beds, we can let the chickens roam without worrying so much about damage to our food (they are fond of crimson clover seed, though). They have been molting and looking a bit ragged these days. Hopefully the extra protein from their slug snack will help them along.

And we have a spider city forming in the back corner of the yard by the chicken coop. I counted nine webs in a 5x5 foot area. They're looking quite plump and healthy!

We also sowed cover crop seed this weekend. After we remove the spent summer plants from their beds, we loosen the soil with a pitch fork, broadcast seed, and cover with a little compost if we have it. Our favorite cover crop is crimson clover. I wrote a tribute to it (yes I love it that much) which you can read here if you're so inclined. Cover crops are wonderful because they reduce erosion, prevent weeds, add organic matter, and some even fix nitrogen in the soil.

The bed in the back has garlic covered by straw in one half, and crimson clover seed in the other half. The front bed has daikon radishes, mesclun mix, leeks, and carrots--all crops that thrive in these cool, wet days of autumn. We planted these veggies at the beginning of August, after we had harvested the garlic and carrots previously planted.

And amazingly, bees are still buzzing (though more slowly), and cosmos still blooming!