Happy September

Lately I am doing a lot of creative endeavoring. But not a lot of sewing. This comes in the form of hanging my family's colorful laundry. I decided that since I went the whole summer with barely any laundry on the line (thank you, June), September would be a month of laundry hung out to dry. So far, so good since the weather has been perfect: dry, warm, a little chilly in the mornings.

Also, stacking the winter's wood is another creative endeavor. Today, after mostly a whole day inside (such a crime), I did a wood-stacking, Matthew-inspired workout. Here's how it went: Pick up two pieces of wood, sprint to the woodshed and throw them inside, ten times. Then stack them on the woodpile. Then run back out and repeat, nine times. After 10 I realized that I should do some push-ups in between. So starting with the nine round, I added in the push-ups. Can anyone do the math for me? 2x10=20, 2x9=18, 2x8=16...how many pieces of wood? With 9 push-ups, then 8, then 7...how many push-ups?? Anyone?

I won a giveaway! Skip the Chips (of Swap-Choo fame--and lots of great ideas like this one) had a nice little giveaway to thank us readers and honor her 100th post, and I entered and won! See this adorable little bowl by Elm Studios, now residing on my windowsill? It looks so happy. I'm happy when I see it.

Here's the quick-to-knit sweater I am working on, in a nice bulky merino, the Owls sweater by Kate Davies. It's based on the Penny Straker kids' pattern, but modernized for bigger people ever so nicely. It is slim-fitting, but looks a little small to my eyes. I have tried it on and it seems good and stretchy so far, and very soft. The Mr. helped me pick out the yarn color from KnitPicks. Enjoy your weekend!

Swap--CHOO!

Spring may be coming (here in Maine, at the pace of a glacier), but the sniffles are still around. Need to brighten your purse? Lift your spirits? We have the answer...

Peggy, of Skip the Chips, and I are collaborating on a hand-stitched, rolled-hem hankie swap, entitled, what else? Swap--CHOO! We are sweetening the deal by encouraging you to include a favorite poem with the hankie you send off, in celebration of April (National Poetry Month). It doesn't have to be an original poem, just a favorite, and if you pen it in your own hand-writing (in this age of computerized print) we'll love you even more.
The great thing about hankies? They use such a small amount of fabric that I can almost guarantee you have something in your "scrap" pile that could be a hankie. You can go wild and make it colorful and floral or wacky and wonderful! You don't need mad sewing skills either, but I will say that my success was greatly improved by a skinny needle (as opposed to the big ones with big eyes that we mostly have around here). It's a project of short duration; really, it takes about a half hour at most. (And if I can do it, what with the various crazy school and home-related dramas of my life, so can you.) Wouldn't you love to impress your friends with your totally earth-friendly AND gorgeous AND handmade remedy for a spring sniffle, that was made by a stranger in some far-away place? Or perhaps flaunting it as you wave from the deck of a large ocean steamer, flapping your hankie in farewell?
So. How to do it. Check out Skip the Chips, for her original post (what got me started on hankies), and her flickR page for a close-up. Visit the Tutorial from Purl Bee. Leave your email address as a comment on this post (or on Peggy's post about the Swap--CHOO) and we will let you know who your swap partner is by Wednesday of next week (March 25). Make your hankie in the next three weeks and you should have yours by Easter/Passover! The talented Peggy has also set up a Swap--CHOO flickR group so you can upload your pictures there and see what others have made also.

Getting Our Craft On

Thanks to Skip the Chips I have embraced yet another Grandma craft, yes, now I can say I have made a rolled-hem hankie by hand just like my Aunt Stella used to. She posted a link to a lovely tutorial from Purl SOHO, if you want to get your Grandma Craft on.
It's so fussy and super detail oriented that I have not made it start-to-finish through one hankie...I usually take a few stitches, then move on to something else. As it happens there are a couple birthday girls who needed presents. Would they have chosen this pattern of fabric? Probably not, but I figured why NOT have something bright and happy to blow your nose on?
You may remember the fabric from the Tiny Purse project that started this whole sewing thing.
One of Sylvan's very dear friends, Miss S. is turning 4 on Tuesday! As I am pretty sure she is not reading this blog, I feel confident to show you the interior of her birthday card. She will be getting a special gift of the very last Tiny Purse in stock and a doll.
This is Sylvan displaying his 3rd place ribbon that he got from his VERY FIRST skiing race, in icy and fast conditions, at yesterday's Family Fun Race hosted by the Ragged Mountain Ski and Snowboard Club! He was so excited to be wearing that bib, displaying his race number (#57). The ribbon has his NAME on it, on the back---he wants me to tell you---and they announced his NAME and NUMBER and TIME on the loudspeaker. Although there was initially some totally slapstick humor style misses on the mountain...Sylvan had no helmet, Dad had the helmet on the mountain somewhere, Sylvan waited for him, then decided to go up and find him, Dad came down (repeat this a few times)...all ended well and they finally reunited.
And I had to repeat last week's cinnamon rolls. This time I made extra for our friend Ed who plows our driveway at no charge, a significant gift, as plow prices are steep and this winter is such a doozy. They are saying 8-12" of snow for tomorrow?!?! Come on. So when I get the chance, I like to make Ed some goodies. I froze his rolls unbaked so that he could have the aromatherapy for his house also.

Art at Your Library

Rockport Public Library is venturing into Year 2 with art! Today we had an ATC Make-and-Swap with needle-felted and embellished cards, with the wonderful Robinsunne and a few talented artists, young and younger.

Our combined efforts at the end of the afternoon, above.

In case you haven't experienced the wonders of needle-felting, it's a dry felting technique using these really vicious barbed needles that help to stick the fibers to each other, making felt with no water or mess (only the occasional poke and loud words). The results with 3D objects are amazing, but here we were today, having fun with it in 2D form also.

That's a sponge, which helps against poking yourself with the felting needles.
That red bird makes me glad.

Beads, shiny metallic papers from chocolate wrappers, paper bits, and even those weird plastic domes that protect pills in their foil wrappers... Don't you love this?

Do you see that guy in the lower left? With the yellow eyebrows?

Best of all, I got to meet a blogging neighbor from the midcoast, who blogs at Skip the Chips! It's always so crazy to me that the friends I find online could actually, physically be near to me. When you check out her blog, make sure you read the post about 10 indoor things to do with your kids (OK, you southern hemisphere folks, don't gloat because you have gorgeous summer right now, just bookmark this post for later!). I also loved the post I just read about great art supplies to have on hand with kids...And oh, yeah, she's also a hedgehog fan (another shared interest) who just visited Alewives Fabrics for the first time because she read about it here.

The Prince and the Pea? Stacking beanbags in the children's room to read on a perch, it's Sylvan!