Our Yellow House

Off The Needles and On The Needles

Just this weekend I passed on the next two items to my dear, and wonderfully talented pal, Katie. She is a magnificent jeweler, among other things, and we have been working on this long term trade. Please check her work out at Katie Nare Jewelry. Way back in May, I fell in love with an incredible beaded pink and red necklace with a trilobite fossil pendant. I need to get a good photo of this necklace to show you all its beauty. After seeing it, I couldn't get it out of my mind and I just knew that it was mine. Katie was up for a bit of a barter but as we were coming into warmer months we opted to put off my side of the bargain until the chills came. Those days are here and her son is the recipient of a pair of woolie overalls.

This is my pattern that I have been making since Frances was a wee one and this pair looks adorable on the little toddler. More details on Ravelry.

For Katie, a pair of striped socks (modeled on my feet).

I had such fun making these and this evening while the girls were in the tub, I began another pair! Details on Ravelry.

Now I am so excited to be working on another sweater for myself. For Christmas I received yarn from my mama for a sweater that I have been dreaming about since first seeing on Ravelry.

The sweater is called Alderbrook. I am loving this yarn a whole lot too. Now that I am back to work I have to pry this project out of my hands in order to go to bed at a reasonable hour, otherwise I might stay up for three days straight in order to finish it. Here are my details on Ravelry.

Swap Round-up

This post is long overdue. Remember back in February when I organized a swap? Well, my partner and I were a bit behind schedule but the results are wonderful.

My package from Katie arrived last week and inside I found a few recipes, sunflower seeds to plant from her garden, three cds filled with fun music (I haven't received a mix in years and I really forgot how fun they are!), an incredible knit washcloth and soap, and a pair of super cute knit slippers. She also included the patterns for the knit items. Oh yeah, and some cotton yarn for me to make another washcloth. Score! Katie you really went overboard, I have been enjoying all of it. Big thanks.

I stuck a little closer to the "four items" and included in my package to Katie were...

a copy of At Knit's End, a skein of yarn, six vintage buttons, a CD (Rani Arbo - Cocktail Swing), and three little snack sacks which are good for packing with pretzels, dried fruit, or a few cookies.

I certainly had a blast with this swap but in retrospect I would have done a couple of things differently. The main one being I would make the deadline a bit shorter. I don't know how you other swappers felt but having an entire month to put a package together was too long for me because I kept on putting it off. I am generally a procrastinator so of course I put it off until way late. It might be fun to only have a week to put a package together! I am interested to hear what you all thought of the exchange. 

If you haven't done so already then head over to the flickr pool to check out a few other beautiful swap packages. 

I have been thinking of making a few things to barter with. I would love to do a some one-on-one trades in the next couple of months. If any of you are interested or have some ideas then let me know.

My Shalom Cardigan

Hurray a sweater for me! Well I guess it isn't quite a "sweater." I had every intention of adding sleeves to this puppy but seeing as I ran out of yarn and would have had to order more and wait for it to arrive, I went for the short sleeves. I think I am in love.

The pattern is available for free here in the sidebar. The directions are clear and it was a very quick knit (on tens!). I did a few minor modifications and still need to sew closed those two bottom buttonholes. I ran out of buttons too! All for the better I say. More specifics are Raveled.

How are your swap packages coming together? I am having fun coming up with things to put in Chelsea's and Katie's. Lucky me I get two partners! I wish I could swap with all of you but since that is insane I have set up a Flickr group so we can share our swap items and oogle over the goodies. Here is the link. Problem is that I am so new to this that I don't exactly know if it is set up correctly. If any of you have more of a clue than I do then let me know if I need to do anything else. Thanks and I can't wait to see how this swap works out for all of you.

February is Here :: Let's Have a Swap!

Though February is the shortest month of the year it often feels like the longest.  Many of us find ourselves wishing for more sunlight, warmer temperatures and longing to see the crocuses popping through the cold ground. To me, this sounds like the perfect time to host another swap. Here are my thoughts.

This swap is for us adults. You don't have to be a mother. You don't have to be crafty. You don't have to have a blog. (Though you can be any or all of these things.) You just need to enjoy putting together packages and receiving packages.

Sign up and I will assign everyone a swap partner. We will each choose four things from this list below and spend the next few weeks collecting or making the most special things to include in a package. We will all mail our packages by the end of the month and check our mailboxes excitedly every day. We will slowly open these packages and a smile as wide as the sky will remain on our faces for days. We will be very thankful that we participated in such a cool exchange. Sound good?

Here is the list :

• Something handmade                                           

• An art/craft supply

• A CD - a favorite album or a mix

• An assignment or a list

• Something useful

• Something old

• A book

• A favorite recipe or two

• Something soothing and relaxing

• Something beautiful

• A beginning

Items will most likely fall into more than one of these categories but please include four items. Please spend little or no money on this project. Dig through your yarn stash, your itunes library, your bookshelf, and your creative brains to come up with a package that you yourself would love to receive.

Leave me a comment on this post if you want to participate and make sure I have your email address. I will match you up with a partner and their email address so you can exchange mailing addresses.

If you have a blog then please feel free to tell your readers about this swap. The more the merrier. I will close sign-ups on the night of Friday Feb. 5th and will get out an email list by the end of that weekend with everyone's partner assignment. Please don't be shy. I would love to hear from some of you lurkers out there too! And, of course, from friends near and far.

I will post a list of all of the participants and links in my sidebar. I think this will be fun. A little something to get us through February.

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Sign-ups for this swap are closed. Thank you!

Handmade Received

I am finally getting around to posting a few photos of swap items and handmade gifts that we received for Christmas. Unfortunately there are a few holes but most likely the other items will show up in other later posts.

Felt strawberries made by Grace.

Toadstool ornament made by Paula.

A hemp nature pouch made by Melissa.

Magnet paper dolls made by Sarah.

Julia made my girls flags with their names on them which have been paraded around every day. Victoria made small blank journals which are getting filled with stories. Lisa made a bath bomb in the shape of a cupcake which was enjoyed until Eleanor realized it's beauty was gone forever after but one bath. And Teena made a lavender eye pillow which I have been using.

This was such a talented and fun group of women and I am so thankful that they joined in on year two of the Stocking Stuffer Swap. I am formulating another swap for February so get ready!

I also wanted to share the gifts that my two awesome sisters made for us. Each year they surprise us with thoughtful handmade presents and this year they really outdid themselves. Aside from the dollhouse food they made for the girls we got...

made by the twelve year old -- a tray that was collaged with the She-Hulk then lacquered

and made by the fourteen year old -- cloth napkins with freezer paper stencils.

Such talent I say! They make a a big sister like me squeal with delight.

As much as I love the holidays I am glad to be settling in for a bit of slow winter. Now if only we could get one of these snow storms. They seem to be avoiding Albany!

Slow Toys

While working on my contributions for the Stocking Stuffer Swap I have been thinking about the idea of "Slow Toys."

The slow food movement encourages people to take joy in the growing, preparing, and eating of food. I say the same principles can be applied to the making of toys. No, toys are not a life necessity but they are certainly a part of my daily life and something that I care a great deal about. Slow toys are made with the earth and children in mind. Time is spent to create something from natural materials that inspires hours of open-ended and focused play. It is important to me to be able to explain to children how a toy is made, where its parts have come from and who made it. Specially made toys reinforce how special and individual children are. Perhaps we can't make everything for our children but we can purchase gifts with this in mind and support small businesses with similar insights. I like to think of future grandbabies when I make and buy toys. I always vote for quality over quantity (you know like chocolate).

I have been working on these dolls with help from this book. (Thanks Karin!)

There may come a time when my girls are asking for the latest toy craze and I suppose we'll have to cross that bridge later but for now...bring on the slow toys!

Making

Sorry I haven't been around here much this week. I am not quite sure where the week has gone. We have been making (and finishing) a lot of things though. Here are a few.

Three pairs of striped woolies. The two pairs of black ones were custom. They were dreamy to knit. Lots of alpaca. And the other pair equally dreamy with yarn by Karin (Note: Her incredible yarn also has incredible yardage. These new pants were knit with the same skeins as these.) are in the shop.

Brownies from Rae's book Cooking Fun. This recipe is posted here and is sooo good and quick. I am planning to make them again this afternoon. 

A doll quilt for the swap. One present down seven more to go. If you haven't checked the sidebar, I posted all of the swappers over there.

And this little girl. No she wasn't made this week. But check her out in all of her big kid cuteness.

What are you making?

Another Year Another Stocking Stuffer Swap

Let's do it!

I was thinking about skipping the swap this year but then I began thinking about all the cool stuff that I got for my kids' stockings last year including these Lumpkins made by Sarah. We received bean bags, playdough, a pencil roll, and a pinwheel. I had so much fun filling the girls' stockings with treats made by Santa's helpers from all over the country. So...here is the deal.

Sign up to make items that are small enough to fit into a stocking. I think six kids is a reasonable size group but if there are more people than that who are interested then fear not. I will split up the lists into smaller groups. Leave a comment if you are game, then email me your mailing address and the name and age of your kid(s). I will organize the lists and send them to you with all of the information. We will aim to have packages in the mail during the first week of December. I have two talented moms who are already interested (Rural Mama and NapKnits). I am really excited. I have been making things pretty steadily these days and I am having a lot of fun with it. I am excited about a deadline and a goal. I will keep openings until Sunday October 25 so you have a few days to think about it. Oh yeah...and you don't have to have a blog to join.

This will be fun!

pencil roll by another Sarah.

Knitting Lessons

I will be teaching a couple of small knitting classes this fall beginning in October. I still have a few openings so...if you are a local who wants to learn the basics or if you already know the basics and are ready to move on to your first pattern then please contact me and I will send you more information.

With the weather changing, my needles are really getting warmed up. I am filling two Etsy orders this week. The above is the first leg to a pair of striped overalls like these and I also made this octopus hat. It has been a while since I made one of these. I am going to try to put a few of them in my shop this fall before the holidays.

While we are talking holidays here...I love bartering. Last year I organized a small stocking stuffer swap and it was great. I am throwing around the idea of trying that again.  Or I would be happy just doing some one-on-one trading too. What do you think?

bunny and a recipe

This week has completely gotten away from me. I haven't gone on any outings or finished any big projects. I guess we've just been in Small World.

Here is a bunny I made for one of the girls (haven't decided which yet-there is another in the works).

I used a small ball of leftover Rowan Wool Cotton and made it up as I went along. She will find herself tucked into a basket next to this or this. I am also hoping I have time to make a couple of these dandelions.

I didn't get it together to organize another swap. Perhaps we could do one just for fun in the summer. Or maybe one for the moms instead. That might be fun?

Also I thought I would share this very simple and crowd pleasing recipe. It's one of those that is so yummy but most people may not want to hear what is in it. It's a bit...extravagant.

bowl by dovetail. it was a gift from a friend. it looks just like our house!

We will call it Herbed Cheese Spread. I had this at a family gathering a while back and had to duplicate it.

Herbed Cheese Spread

Using a mixer, cream together a stick of butter and a package of cream cheese (oh yeah). Then add salt, pepper, 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, a handful of chopped parsley, and some lemon juice. Mix again. Eat with crackers or vegetables.