Snowed In!

So I think most of the eastern half of the US is getting buried under snow or rain, depending on how far north or south you live. Of course, we too have had our share here. We first got about 2 feet of snow, now we may be at 2 1/2 feet. It just keeps coming. It's beautiful and exciting. Then again we still have power and heat; not everyone in the city is so lucky right now. I've seen some great things happening too--neighbors helping one another. It's nice. Call me crazy, but I'm enjoying this.

Still working on the Hardanger curtains. Once I'm done with all the Kloster blocks and trees on the first panel, I'll take a photo, hold my breath and start cutting the threads between the blocks. If I have done things well it will be fine; if I have one little stitch on the Kloster blocks a smidge off, there will be some unraveling and I will cry or curse or both at once. You'll see the end result here either way. Once the threads get cut, the various wrapping and weaving of the threads left in place between the blocks ensues. Then I will repeat the whole thing for the second panel. I think I once again underestimated the time it will take to finish these; I told Nature Boy I hope to complete them before I die.

Sadly, I still have not sewn the pillowcase dresses for girls in Haiti yet. I have 10 cases bought at a discount store at $2 for a pack of two. So they will basically have cost $1 each to make, not counting the elastic. I have some so I didn't buy any and I think I may even have enough.

We did venture out between storms to hit the store and I picked up some organic seeds for our garden. We grabbed some cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans and snow peas. I also got some chives, a perrenial mix (which I get suckered into every year and it never grows where I put it), morning glories, sweet William and petunias because these were all 20 cents each (the organic veggies were $1.50 a packet). I want to try and start growing some indignous flowers around the estate too, we shall see.

So besides shoveling snow, playing in the snow, baking, eating, drinking hot tea, embroidering, reading, garden planning and watching the snow come down, not much is getting done here. No cleaning on a grand scale, that can wait til the snow stops. As a stay-at-home mom, I view cleaning the house as a my job so since I'm snowed in, I can't go to work and do my job, right? Right?

A start...

Starting out with Kloster blocks and one lonely fly stitch tree on a curtain-to-be...

Starting over when you loose it all must be devastating. One blog I like to peruse often is Freshly Picked, and she has a great idea for the crafty folk out there: sewing pillowcase dresses for Haitian girls. She has drop off info for Utah, but I wonder if there would be a way to make some wherever I (or you) live and send them with other donations? Or maybe getting them all to Susan to drop off at the quilt shop that is organizing and helping? For me, I like this idea because as a stay-at-home-mama, I don't have much leftover cash to help, but I have a sewing machine and can whip up some pillowcase dresses (I think). Susan has a tutorial on her blog too if you don't have access to the book her dresses were featured in (thanks Susan). I like thinking good things as I make an item for the recipient, hoping it brings good stuff into their life and I hope to score some pillowcases this weekend either in the linen closet upstairs or in the discount stores around town. Oh, and since I have a boy Wee One, it gives me a chance to make a girly something for a change. So many positives I can't see not doing this!

The Boring Post

The neighbors to the northwest of Knitsburgh had a baby in October, which we were so excited about as that means a friend close in age for Wee One. I haven't seen them much since the fall, as we are stuck inside when it is cold and windy. The last conversation we really had struck me as she mentioned how bored she was all day being home with the baby when the baby was sleeping.
Bored? I've never been so far from bored in my life. And I owe it all to the crafts.

From designing a project or just looking up a pattern someone else far more clever than yourself has already written; from gathering supplies and envisioning color schemes; from the actual crafting of something with your own two hands and getting to that moment when you finish it and look at it, critically. You can laugh at it or cry at it. Either way, you made it and no part of it was boring.

I'm so glad I like to make things and have those stolen moments to keep crafting. It may not always be the prettiest, coolest stuff but it was made with thought and care and not on an assembly line. I'm happy I'm not bored with my life. I'm happy I get to stay home with my Wee One.

So here are a few projects I've been working on over the last few weeks. I hate when I've been absent from the blog for so long, but at least I have some things to show you to distract you (and me) from thinking about why:

First, the Wee One Red Sweater was finished!

If you want details, check out the info on Ravelry. I'm Knitsburgher there.

Next, some sewn flip flop slippers for my sisters' birthday (yeah, they are twins):



The flip flops were from a tutorial found HERE; they called for vinyl soles but I used some denim from some old jeans instead. I also used 100% cotton batting (2 layers) inside instead of poly batting. This is a great project for little scraps of fabrics you have laying around. They live in the south and really don't need warm knitted slippers.

I made some curtains for the kitchen:
I started some prep work for curtains for the dining room. I cut the linen and basted a rough seam on my sewing machine:


hand washed it in warm water with detergent to remove any crazy fabric additive stuff, rinsed it with cold water, then dyed it in some tea water (used 6 bags with the hottest tap water):
I just used regular old black tea but may try this with other teas in my cupboard too--I think green and reddish maroonish pink would be two other colors I could try using varieties I posess. I didn't leave it in the tea too long, just wanted to make it not-white. Purely white things just don't hold up well here at Knitsburgh. I rinsed it in cold, wrang it out, and pressed it semi-dry with the iron since it is linen and after wringing was mad-wrinkled.
I'm letting the panels air dry so it will be somewhat stiff for the Hardanger embroidery I will be working on it. You can read about and see some examples of Hardanger HERE. I've made some gifts in the past with Hardanger (a pillow, some wall hangings, a needlecase) but don't really have any for myself around here. Before we purchased the estate I bought the linen and threads for some curtains, then told myself I should wait 'til we bought a place before making fitted curtains with lots of embroidery on them, only to move and have them not fit the next place. So now I am finally getting around to making them. I think we've been here 4 years now and I hope it was worth the wait in the end. We shall see...

So on the knitting needles? Forest Floor Sock #2. On the embroidery frame? Hardanger Dining Curtains. On the craft scene? A project involving glue, old paper and some photo albums. On the night table? A biography of Catherine the Great. On the TV tonight? Psychic Kids and Paranormal State. I am so not bored.