Sewing Reveal....

Here are the Secret Sewing Projects I finished a couple weeks ago but had to hold back on discussing as they were birthday presents for my two lovely sisters, who yes, are twins!

What are they, you ask? Why little makeup brush/tool rolls.


Front of one...


Back of one...


Front of another...


Back of the other!

I used the lovely tutorial from Susan at Freshly Picked. The only mods I made were I made mine out of three 10" x 10" sqaures and opted not to use interfacing so they would be more flexible. Now you should really check out her picture and post of Christmas morning at her house. Just trust me!!! Thanks Susan for your tutes and your awesome sense of humor!!!

Hit the Motherload!!!

We went to spend Russian Christmas with Nature Boy's family in the Icebox of PA last weekend. Much fun and excitement was had, but for me one of the most exciting things was receiving this fantastic assortment of knitting and crochet tools!!!


They were given to me by one of Nature Boy's aunts who used to pursue all sorts of handicrafts (not pictured are a mostly completed needlepoint project and a half completed patchwork pillow cover). Part of the large bag of fun were these fantastic pattern booklets!


While I would love to show you each and every one, my life does not allow it (and yours should not either, at that) so here a just a sampling of faves.


This is a dress I LOVE!!! Maybe one day...


This is a MEN'S KNITTED LEISURE SUIT! Just let that sink in...



Finally, this one was featured in the Gypsy Knits pattern booklet. A two-piece knitted ensemble. Oh, if I only had the time...

The Homeland...at home!

I finished up some sewing last night, but alas, as it is a surprise, I really can't discuss it currently. What else can I say right now?

The Wee Guernsey is coming along now, after reconfiguring the pattern to fit the skinny yarn I'm working with. I hope to get some more time this coming weekend to finish it, or else Wee One may just outgrow it before he has the chance to wear it.


Over the Thanksgiving holiday (yeah, I know, that was a while ago...) I got the chance to see my favorite aunt and uncle and they gave me the most stupendous gift! Some of my ancestors on my mother's side of the family emigrated to America from Scotland in the 1800's. My aunt went to Scotland and brought me back....a rock! I have a little piece of the Homeland here at Knitsburgh now. She also gave me photos of where it came from (Palace of Scone) and twenty pence. I love to feel the stone in my hand and wonder about it; have others touched it before? What has it seen or overheard? Maybe one day I'll get to Scotland myself but if not, I have come close.

Hiding out...

After weeks of celebrations and reconnections and house-guests, I am ready to hunker down. The last guests departed on Monday; the holiday decor was put away for another year. The Estate was put back to order and scrubbed clean again. The routines are starting to return to normal again.

I feel like I don't want to leave Knitsburgh for a while. Ready to hibernate. Made some lentil soup today (the French Lentil soup from Veganomica, again...I love it so). Don't have to go anywhere for anything...

Except...we are stone-cold out of chocolate. No chocolate chips, chocolate bars, chocolate soy milk or chocolate anything. Damn!!!

Guess who's arse is going to the store tomorrow? In the snow? Did I mention it's a preggo arse too? Yeah, it's that bad, the need. That bad.

WHEW!!!!

As it's been some time, I might as well try to explain myself (aka make excuses) for my neglectful posting. I was preparing for the holidays which always seems to get me all flustered. Cleaning, shopping, mailing cards and making foods and gifts sure does take time!

First, there was the baking of cookies and the business of making candies. The cookies this year were scaled back a bit. I made some vegan sugar cookies, vegan chocolate chippers and these Vegan Caramel Pecan Bars which were very good and very sweet. One of these is enough to satisfy the biggest sweet tooth! They were also the easiest to make.

I tried my hand at some candies. First I made some yummy Rock Candy or Glass Candy.

It seems to go by both names. I used vegan granulated sugar and the only other ingredients are water, corn syrup, food coloring and flavoring oil. I made red cinnamon flavor and green spearmint flavor. I remember this candy fondly from my childhood; my grandmother always had it during the holidays. I thought she made it herself but my mom thinks she bought it from someone every year. Either way, it was relatively easy to make and yummy and I now have some very fresh breath.

The vegan gumdrops...not so happy an ending here. There was a recipe for gumdrops in a recent Better Homes and Gardens mag that seemed pretty close to vegan. I tried to make the coconut flavored gumdrops but my vegan fruit pectin I bought at Whole Foods came packaged a bit differently from the pectin the recipe was intended for and alas, I don't think I used enough pectin. It turned out like coconut flavored jam which really is sort of a weird thing. I ended up throwing it away but have lots of toasted coconut sugar on hand (which is what you roll the gumdrops in after they firm up and you cut them into little squares). I will let you know what I use it for...unless anyone out there has some suggestions? Seriously, I would love some.

There was some knitting. Three Interchangeable Hats (aka Poppy) for three lovely nieces.
Last year, I made one for one niece as I had her name in the big gift exchange we do for all the children in Nature Boy's family. Apparently, her sister has been stealing said hat and stretching it out. Since Nature Boy and I had the other two remaining nieces for the exchange, I went ahead and made three to cover all the nieces. Don't worry, they don't just get a knitted hat for the gift exchange, they get some cool presents too, these are just in addition to...

I also managed to knit up a sweater for a certain wee one who will be arriving in Hawaii close to the time Wee Too shows up here!
The pattern is the same as the sweater I made for Wee Too recently. I also knit up a Greenleaf hat to match.
After the baby shower, as I was driving home, it struck me a babe in Hawaii may not require sweaters and hats. I guess it's the thought, right?

Finally I made up some earrings and a ring out of some vintage buttons for my mom and one of my sisters. I also began another project but alas, it was not finished in time. I will detail more on this one another day.


Lastly, on my recent birthday, I think I got a strong message from the universe I am still trying to sort out. I was given a card with owls on it from Nature Boy in the morning. A package arrived from my sister with a birthday gift that was wrapped in owl paper she had made. At the night's end, as we were sitting on el coucho, Nature Boy tapped my hand and spoke softly to me that there was an owl outside on the pole. As I looked, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a small Eastern Screech Owl sitting ON OUR PORCH!!! IN THE MIDDLE OF PITTSBURGH!!! Looking right in the window at us!
We watched the owl for an hour at least, then finally had to head to bed. The owl did not leave but when I awoke at 3AM as usual, I came down and looked and the owl was gone. I have heard owls outside as a girl but have never seen one outside in the wild. It was truly an amazing birthday, one I will never forget!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday (whatever you choose to call it or however you celebrate it). Peace, love and joy to everyone out there!

Holiday Cheer

So I finally finished my holiday project--







These were the rules (self-imposed, of course):

• It had to be el cheapo. They turned out free, my favorite price.
• It had to be something to hang in the dining room windows which are normally quite barren.
• It had to be quick. Something one could finish during naptime.

So under those parameters, I think they turned out fairly well. I was looking for wreath ideas when I stumbled across this little cutie by Laurie Cinotto and decided I could use the idea to make some window hangings. I collected the larger branches for the frame, pine cones and pine needles while we were walking in the park; the smaller sticks were found around the estate grounds and on walks in the neighborhood (aka city streets and alleys). I used some scrap fabric to make the deer and birds and stuffed them with some stuffing I had on hand. I used some surplus ribbon from holidays past for the hangers, along with some thin wire. Thick floral wire was used to tie the larger pieces together for the frame, as in the inspiration piece.

I hand-sewed the deer and birds together using a blanket stitch and this took the longest of all. I'm thinking it would look just as cute to use deer and birds or other animlas cut out of pretty paper or even out of a photo (kind of like THIS, another source of inspiration). Now I almost wish I would have made a sasquatch for one of the hangings, how fantastically fun would that have been?

Maybe they aren't the most modern, most neat, most sparkly holiday decorations out there but I really do like their simplicity. It fits our home, our lives, our year.




I also made some trees from this tutorial from The Small Object with scrap fabrics and although they look a bit wind-blown (ahem, crooked) they were fun and easy to make. I'm not sure where they will end up in the estate, maybe the kitchen and bathroom which seem to feel a bit neglected right now.

So maybe now I will get back to knitting...

December already?

Wow these last few months have really been going by quickly! With the first snow of the season today, it is really beginning to feel like the holidays are on their way. I've been working on a project to decorate the estate this week and will post some pics and information when they are finished. I need to let some sticks (that's right, sticks!) we found today on our walk dry out before adding them on to the project.

I started and frogged a sweater for Wee One, then refigured the pattern using my actual gauge as I did not use the same yarn as the pattern was written for and my fibre is much thinner. Keep your fingers crossed here! I've only cast on and knit about three rows. I've been slacking in this arena. How surprising, right?

I am still trying to figure out some gift ideas. One great resource has been the November blog entries over at Sew Mama Sew. Great links to tutorials for all sorts of gifts! Sewn gifts, that is. Go check it out if you need some inspiration.

Happy start of Hanukkah to those out there who celebrate this holiday!