Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Novembrish Things




A little sewing, for Ashwood's Yuletide Fair and Artisan Marketplace of last weekend, which in turn benefitted the school. It was a tricky business to be given the parts of this advent calendar and told how to put them together, and then do it without worrying too much about realizing someone else's artistic vision. Would my idea of perfect be perfect enough? It turned out the answer was yes, as the two that I made retailed for $42 each!
Remember those little hand warmers, first pictured in last post? I used local yarn, from Good Karma Farm, the rainbow skein with a little of their green variegated alpaca blend at my oh-so-sensitive wrists. I find that I like them at this length quite a bit: knitted just up to my first pinkie knuckle makes them just a bit warmer than others I have made, but still functional for knitting or typing.
note how that central figure is slightly light in value?
amazed that S thought to convey the notion of distance and perspective that way.
note the bulgy muscles on this fellow
(Babe Ruth)

Here is a good un-blogsworthy photo of what our dining room table usually looks like, just to keep it real:
And for those of you who know our house, you may notice a different view out the window, in relation to the table! We have made a major swap in our downstairs layout. This was a brainflash that I had in the midst of feeling really awful, during a recent nasty cold, when I found myself pulling up a duvet in front of the woodstove and lying on the floor of my dining room.


A few days later, when I was turning the corner towards health again, we swapped the dining for the living room. Hello? Duh? I hear you wondering how come it took us eight years to figure this out... The room with the woodstove should also have the couch in it!

The room with the woodstove and the best nighttime lighting should also have comfortable places to sit for reading and knitting! The room with the woodstove is actually quite hot and annoying in the winter to eat supper in, when we have the stove going.
The former living room was really not much more than a glorified hallway, I never sat there, and now we sit by that big window and eat dinner together. And the slightly longer walk from the kitchen? Not a problem.
It feels like a new house.

And while I grew up with a mom who loved moving furniture a few times a year, this move of ours was a big shock for my boys who have had everything pretty much the same since we moved here. Definitely a creative endeavor and an opportunity for some deep cleaning too!

4 comments:

  1. Hi -- I love those hand warmers. The color is perfect for November when everything seems so gray.! Could I ask where I could find the pattern?
    -- Karen, enjoying gray days in Cambridge (MA)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Karen in Cambridge (MA!)---

    Glad you like them. I have been living in them! The pattern came free with the yarn I purchased from Good Karma Yarn at the Common Ground Fair. I bet if you inquired, you might be able to get a copy from them: info@goodkarmafarm.com. They are super sweet folks and have great yarn. I used an alpaca blend for my wrists, since they are sensitive, and their rainbow yarn for the rest. I split the skein into three balls for a shorter stripe sequence.

    Good luck with them. Let me know if you need additional help! Happy knitting,
    Iris

    ReplyDelete
  3. I want to come visit and check out the new digs! I love how the house you have lived in forever is still evolving as you are. I miss all of you!

    Ryan

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's really gratifying to see that my simple pattern gave you and others such pleasure. I like that you used some alpaca at the wrists. Good idea, both for warmth and for softness!

    ReplyDelete