knittin' mittens

this morning i decided that i wanted to make some mittens. years ago i used to knit a LOT of mittens, and i knew i had a stash of sport weight yarn upstairs, so up i went. looking through the yarn i realized that  my taste in colors has changed over the years, and i couldn't find anything for what i had in mind, but i do have a very colorful niece and i think she will love some colorful mittens!

i'm using a combination of designs from  swedish and  latvian mitten books. i have made many of the patterns in these books and can recommend them both, if they're still in print that is! it's so fun to choose colors and patterns, and from the latvian book i've done a scalloped edge. it's not hard. if you can knit and purl, you can do these mittens. with double-knitting or fairisle knitting  i think the most important thing to be aware of is not to carry your yarn at the back too tightly. otherwise you just follow a graph, which is very simple. some of the designs are very complicated, but others, like the ones on these mittens, are simple to remember. if you have been wanting to try something like this, it's REALLY not hard. you can do it!

also, i'm using size 2 double pointed needles. i used to do these on size 0 (!), which really does make a nicer mitten, but the 2's are fine.

hope you're enjoying your sunday!

post-holiday laziness

i'm so lucky to have today off!!  time to rewind after the busy day yesterday. we had such a nice christmas with two families, a new cat and a new dog to meet, wonderful food, gifts and most importantly it was so good to spend time with everyone.

today i have been half-heartedly working on a couple of projects. i cut out fabric for two quilt squares, but didn't really feel like sewing them together and did a bit of crocheting and thinking about new things to make. i am just starting on the heel of the socks i'm knitting, so that's something! mostly i've been watching the huge fluffy snowflakes fall outside and just enjoying the day.

my niece made me the beautiful star and the plate with our shared intials on it. (we are both JAR's!) such sweet gifts!

i guess i should GET DRESSED, ahem, and get out there and do a bit of shoveling.

happy boxing day!!

merry christmas!!!

i hope you all are having a lovely christmas day!! thank you to everyone out there who reads my blog and leaves nice comments.  i love hearing from you!!


wishing you peace, love, health and happiness for the new year to come!

xo jen

caffe kilim

caffe kilim.  best coffee in town, hands down.

and my portrait on a caffe mocha!!

a winter wonderland!

we woke up yesterday morning to a winter wonderland! about a foot of beautiful, light, fluffy snow. just perfect! i really wanted blueberry pancakes and had no eggs, so i was out shoveling bright and early and off to the store.

it was a great weekend of cooking, sewing, knitting and eating! i have finally made my perfect hat. i've made hat after hat and put them on and been, "meh". but this one i really like and i used the softest, most luxurious feeling yarn. that "eco duo" is really nice, a blend of undyed baby alpaca and merino wool. you can see the hat on ravelry called "rikke" and here is the free pattern.

**i did adjust the pattern a bit as this yarn is a bit bigger than they call for. i cast on 91 stitches and used a 5 and an 8 circular needle. i also knit the hat to around 7 inches instead of 9 so it isn't quite as slouchy.

hope you all had a nice weekend too!

sewing day, waiting for snowing day!

a very nice woman who knows i like to sew came into the bakery the other day and said she was cleaning out her attic and had a box of fabric for me. words i love to hear!! some of the fabric was straight out of the eighties and i love it!! here it is:

that black one on the right is soooooo great! reminds me of this, which i need to get!

that one above i found at the thrift shop for 26 cents! 1970's for sure!

so i worked today on my x and + quilt and used some of these fabrics. i'm at 26 squares now. 23 to go.....

lots of snow predicted for tonight and tomorrow. yay!!!!!!!!!

hope you're warm and cozy and enjoying your weekend!!

winter love

when i am driving to work in the mornings i always make great plans for what i'm going to do when i get home, usually involving sewing and making something for supper. i should know better...i never have much energy left after work,  especially with it getting dark so early. well, i have good intentions anyway, and thankfully brian likes to cook, or we'd have toast for supper every night.....

it's damn cold today. i went out to see the chickens when i got home with a big bag of leftover pasta from work which they love, but they'd already gone up to roost. poor chilly girls! i have 4, and three of them were all piled on top of the laying box and one was left alone on the perch! i wish they'd all stay together. i'll warm up the pasta and give it to them for breakfast. they'll like that.

i do love these cold, dark days. i love being in the cozy warm house with my pets and brian, going to sleep under so many blankets i'm afraid i'm going to put my back out when i turn over sometimes! i love the warm colors of the lamplit rooms, the beautiful blue of the sky through the windows before the sun goes down. candles and tea and comfort food.  this is my time of the year and i'm enjoying every day of it!

brace yourselves........

 

i found this in the church basement thrift shop. half price. i thought it would make a hilarious joke christmas present. you know, fill it up with pretty christmas cookies so the person thinks, "how nice", only to be HORRIFIED when the cookies are gone! hahaha!

brian had other ideas. 

it is now hanging. on. the. wall.

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

thrifty jackpot!

 

a while back i found this AMAZING vintage fabric at the flea market. SIX whole yards and in great shape!!

 i was thinking i'd use it to back a quilt, but it's so nice i might put it together with these two other vintage fabrics that i haven't had the heart to cut into and make a whole cloth quilt. gears are churning!

in the meantime it's plenty of rest and hot tea to knock out this cold that i've finally gotten. yuck!

happy monday to you all!

 

warm and cozy

textiles.

that's what it's all about for me. blankets, pillows, curtains, rugs, tablecloths. they make the house so warm and cozy and interesting to look at. and easy to change!

speaking of warm and cozy, now that the cold weather is upon us, "cocktail hour" (or i should say, "my one drink after dinner that pretty much makes me useless and puts me to sleep"...) is something i look forward to! my favorite drink right now is a white russian. yummmmmm! ah yes, useless and sleepy!

what is your favorite wintertime drink?

*****

rest in peace nelson mandela.

craft fix round-up!

the craft fair was fun although attendance was a bit lower this year, possibly due to yucky weather. still a good day though!

these were some of my favorite tables. such creative people out there!!

* paper cuts by dylan metrano

* super cool stuff here

* lovely leather designs

* no link for bethany's adorable childrens' toys!

glad i can now work on other things, like my x and + quilt.

i cannot believe that christmas is right around the corner. YIKES! i've been so focused on the fair that i haven't even begun to think about christmas.........happy tuesday!

CRAFT FIX

craft fix is tomorrow!!! i am DONE making things-yippeeeee!! now i just have to work on my table set-up and load the car.

hope to see some of you there! most of my items this year are UNDER $20. WOW!

can't wait!

happy thanksgiving!

thanksgiving is truly my favorite holiday. i love getting out the fancy china and setting the table. i don't so much enjoy the cleaning, but i do love the clean house. so nice to spend time with wonderful family and friends. sad not to be with family who couldn't make it this year. and the food!!!

we got up early yesterday and started right in. we were feeling so ahead of the game when we lost power about three hours into cooking the turkey...that's fine, we thought. we still have gas. it will be very romantic to dine by candlelight!  but then we were noticing that we weren't hearing the oven cycling. the burners still worked, but i guess there is a safety feature that shuts down the oven. great! fortunately the power was restored about 45 minutes later and all was fine.

i forgot to take pictures of the food in all of the excitement, but i did get an after picture that kind of says it all :) !

hope you all enjoyed your thanksgiving day!!

more craft-y-ness

BIRD TAGS!!!!!!!!

new socks

i finished these a while back.

wore them for the first time the other day.

they are bright.