novamade

things to do in northern cali when you're crafty

I spent last week in northern California and due to having limited internet access took an unintentional blog break.  My apologies, I am working to catch myself up on your lives, projects and what-not.  But I wanted to share some of my doings with you, as most of them are of a somewhat crafty nature that you may or may not be interested in.

So here is my list of things that I did and things that you can do as well if you find yourself in northern California and you are crafty (if you are celebrating your birthday, that sort of helps too).

Pebble Beach, California. Wollmeise Gloria Cowl.

Start and finish knitting a Gloria Cowl (details here) to give to a friend for her birthday.  My friend is named Kathy, your friend can be named something else.

Artfibers in San Francisco, California.

Have your friend (Kathy) take you to local-to-her yarn shops like ImagiKnit and ArtFibers.  Acquire pretty things that make you smile.

If you are bloggy, take the opportunity to meet up with a knit bloggy friend and her beau. Especially if said knit bloggy friend is a birthday twin and is like some sort of long lost crafty twin of sorts. Apologize profusely for exposing your knit bloggy friend to your tired tyrannical toddler.

Rangsiwan meets a very tired Little Sir.

Because you can, go to a fabric store, there are lots of them in San Francisco.  If for some reason you, like me, are planning some sort of novelty quilt requiring 21 shades of silk dupioni, you should go to Fabrix like I did.

And since there is a Kinokuniya in San Francisco, you should go there and buy some Japanese craft books, especially if you can not decipher Japanese.  It makes crafting interesting.

And because you neither speak nor read Japanese and you bought a bunch of books written in that particular language, you should probably get some written in English (or whatever your primary language is) just to balance things out.

Whether you are crafty or not, you should take time to smell the roses (or whatever flora is at your disposal).

Pacific Grove, California.

And don't forget to take time to experience wonder.

Jellyfish at Monterey Aquarium in Monterey, CA.

When you return home, get giddy about the books you received for your birthday from friends near and far.

Utilize the book about pies as soon as possible, you know, if you are so inclined. 

Pineapple pie, a very sweet sweety pie.

So yes, good trip, I have a few more trips to California scheduled for the summer, but I am thinking they will not be as acquisition-friendly as this one, a birthday celebration is a great way to justify stash enhancements of all sorts.  While I usually kick off my birthday celebration on Cinco de Mayo and count up to my birthday (are you not doing this as well?), Special K suggested that we start the celebration on my actual birthday this year and add 8 days to it, isn't he sweet?  So with that said, I am still celebrating.  Though right now, I am trying to get my back to stop hurting after incorrectly lifting heavy boxes of books and documents at work.  I am also going to think about happy things, like friends in Philly having lots of fun.  And knitting, because I can do that lying down.

Hey, happy knitting, quilting, sewing, or pie baking!

trains need homes too

So yesterday I shared what I thought was an fo photo session of the tomten that almost killed my knitting mojo.  I was feeling all puffed with pride, so much so that I didn't give a second thought to Little Sir's reading selection for bedtime last night.

After we read about Corduroy and his pocket, Little Sir began his strategic assault on why his tomten needed pockets (culminating in the statement that "trains need homes too").  Of course they do.

Rockstars don't need pockets, I mean seriously, did the Biscuit ask for pockets?  Probably not, because he, you see, is a rockstar.  Little Sir is really a prepster who was posing.  He got his haircut and gone were his rockstar delusions.  So here is my kid, with a sweater his mom knit for him.  With pockets.

Or rather, a home for trains.

I did a pair of afterthought pockets and now the prepster is willing to go folksy and wear his tomten with a smile.  It all came down to pockets, you see.  Honestly, it's a good thing we can't go to MDSW this year, because he would be sporting the tomten no matter what the thermometer might read (and there would be trains in the pockets, of course).  Our absence from said happy event is probably best for all parties concerned.

After all this, I needed pie.  Or rather, a quick french berry tart with red currant glaze.  All is now well with the world.

Dorie wanted to send me some baking from her home to mine.  Just FYI, Dorie Greenspan is my new baking hero.

If you are interested in the details behind the afterthought pockets that made me Little Sir's hero (for about 5 minutes) I wrote it up in a tutorial, see the post below.  I think I am all done talking about the tomten now (you are all probably sick of reading about it too).  Now it's time to move on.

on productivity

I have written many blog posts in my head, I just haven't actually typed and posted them.  We have all been there, right?  I have been too busy actually doing stuff to talk about it, I think every now and then we crafty folk need to do that; do the thing and not talk about it so much (or, if you are like me, obsess over other people's amazing craftiness to the point of inertia, or something like that).

Over the past weekend I went to New Hampshire to craft my little heart out, it has sort of re-energized the craft of crafting for me.  It was supposed to be a knitting weekend; but, I spent a goodly amount of time making buttons.  With clay.  And a toaster oven.

I just think it's funny that one can make buttons with a toaster oven.

 

But maybe that is just me.

These buttons are not assigned to any sort of project at the moment (none of them, and there are a lot of them).  Should you have any great contribution to make to spark my creativity, do share.  I am almost at the edge of being "all tapped out."  Almost.

 

I am particularly proud of my shawl pins.  I know the sticks look like carrots.  Try imagining them with some sort of earthy twig found while taking some walk down some path somewhere.  I know, it's hard to see past the carrots.

But I did also do some knitting; or rather, I did some weaving of ends on knitting.  You know that tomten with the 50 bajillion ends?  Ends woven, surplus cut.  The fact that there is now the zipper and pockets to contend with is something to think on later.  Let's focus on the positive, shall we?  Ends woven.  Surplus cut.

Such a feat deserves a fitting celebration, like pie.  Truly great and excellent pie.

Like carmelized orange tart with blackberry puree (go and print the recipe, I will wait).  Delicious.  Perfection in pie form, really.

Okay, back to the doing.

sorry papa, i had to make pie

In a fit of avoidance (you have no idea), I went through my stash last night to start a new project (this is ridiculous on so many levels).  I really didn't have anything in mind, I was going to let the yarn inspire me.  When all was said and done, I realized that everything I pulled out was green. 

I wish I could say it was Project Spectrum that inspired this color frenzy (it's just a happy coincidence, really); but, I just figured out that every year, about a month before my birthday my affinity for the color green increases exponentially.  I try to incorporate it into everything.  So why fight it?

And going to Webs with my friend Kathy over the weekend didn't help either (they are having a pretty big sale right now, if you are interested in that sort of thing).  Also, Kathy gave me an early birthday gift.  A bajillion yards of laceweight forest green baby alpaca.

That's a whole lotta green.  Enough for an Icarus.  Um two Icaruses...

And then there is this:

I received this sock yarn in a wee trade with Christy recently.  I really love it, and have been saving it for the perfect pattern.  I have a particular pattern in mind for the sock yarn; but, if you can think of something better, please share your suggestion.  It needs to be something that would maintain my interest...because I tend to get bored with socks and my interest usually wanes after the completion of the first sock (in case you hadn't noticed).  This waning interest in sock knitting is a problem since I have an unspeakable amount of sock yarn in the stash.

Oh, so those limes...  I used them to make a tart.  Shocking, I know.

Good, but not great; but, anything would be better than last week's disaster.  It's the Key Lime Tart from the April 2007 Everyday Food magazine (a lot of the older recipes are available online, but I love flipping through the magazines).  I really just had to make something with limes in it.  A mojito might have been a better idea though (hmmm, Mojito Monday...it sort of has a nice ring to it).  I think Papa would definately approve.

i am like a magpie

And to me, the equipment of fiber arts are like so many shiny baubles.

I could look at Brooke's amazing work for only so long.  I will be honest and say that I never really thought about weaving until Brooke started posting her weaving (which is sublime, really).  So I ordered a "vintage" rigid heddle loom off of ebay, pulled out some stash yarn that I figured would never get used otherwise and started weaving.  Keep in mind, I had no idea what I was doing.

I think the chain of events was only a little hasty, a tad--a smidgen, really.  One decision that was really hasty was trying to rush summer, or at least the taste of summer.  If you live in the northeast and you are buying nectarines in early April, you are not getting ripened-to-perfection local produce, just FYI.  It is likely not going to be tasty, thus making anything made with said produce not-so-delicious either.

While the cream cheese pastry was good, the filling of the pie was horrible.  I am going to take the high road and say it was me and not the recipe.  I shouldn't have used fruit I didn't have a good feeling about.  I also shouldn't have rushed the process or the individual steps (of which there were many).  Next week, I am going to do something with chocolate...or maybe I will do a savory pie, you know, just to shake things up a little.

Okay, there is still time to do some knitting.  So yeah, I am going to go and do that since I am, you know, a knit blogger and everything.

ketchup and caramel

Hey, Little Tomato, ketchup!  Actually, catch up.  I was going through some pictures and realized that I never posted pictures of a quilt I finished last month.

I made this quilt for a special little guy named Dru.  I was sending a quilt for his new little brother, Marley, and I didn't want him to be left out.

Also, the quilt that I originally started for Dru before he was born two years ago crawled under a rock in my basement (aka "craftland" or my "studio", you pick) and died.  Seriously. I lost it.  A whole quilt waiting for binding.   But that is okay, I like this one better (with the exception of the center strip that taunts me with its imperfections even now).  I'll put further information in the gallery, should you be so inclined to know it.

The perfect quilt for a lil' cowpoke (which just seems so much funnier to say--and type-- than cowboy).  Little Sir helped pick out the Robert Kauffman prints, which were floating around in a local Jo-Ann's for whatever reason.  I like the bright vibrant colors of this quilt.  They are fun.

You know what else is fun?  Caramel (I know, terrible segue).

Today/tonight (details), I made you a Carmelized Nut Tart.  This is a great tart/pie.  You probably have everything you need for this tasty treat in your cabinets.  You can sub in any sort of combination of nuts and it tastes amazing (probably because of the caramel).  I also made the crust called for in the recipe which provides the most unexpected and tantalizing dose of cinnamon to which compliments the earthiness of the nuts and the sweetness of the caramel perfectly.  Sublime.  And easy; actually, quite easy.

quixotic celebrator

Quixotic, is quite possibly, my favorite word in the English language.  It has a "Q," and an "X" and ever since I was able to assemble it on a Scrabble board with someone else's "C" I have been a fan.  Aside from all that,  it is the word that best describes my way of celebrating birthdays.  You (and I) never really know what kind of fun I will come up with.  Special K thinks it's a little crazy, the lengths I go to to celebrate a birthday, but I disagree.  I think birthdays should be celebrated with great fervor.  Sometimes it takes a little work to celebrate just the way you want.  But who says work can't be fun?

After seeing this great birthday banner that Rae put together, I knew I had to make one for Little Sir and the celebration of his second birthday. 

I saw all sorts of potential for the banner and using the distribution of letters from Scrabble as my guide, I made a whole bunch of letters (see first photo).  Should I ever have the opportunity to meet and throw a party for a Quincy, Xavier or Zarathustra (you never know), I totally can.  And I can do it in a very colorful way.

It was easy (albeit a bit time consuming, because I did 64 letters--plus one exclamationa point-- you don't have to do that many, but you totally could) but it was fun, and really I will take advantage of any excuse to whip out the hot glue gun (but with this project, I found cutting the letters out by free-hand to be kind of the best part).  I cut out sets of felt circles in 3.5" and 3.75" glued them together with a folded ribbon in the middle.  And, like Rae, I used ric rac for suspension.  And because I wanted to go crazy with color, I used 14 colors of felt (I left a lot of colors at the store, so I think I showed some restraint here).  That's a ton of fun for very little moolah.  You should make a banner too, you will be glad you did.

 

And I do have to apologize, if you came here looking for pie today.  I gave myself on out this week, or rather, it was a bye week for pie.  Because for birthdays, most people (especially if I am involved in the equation) get cake.  Little Sir is sort of a minimalist when it comes to desserts (sadly).  He usually opts for plain fresh fruit but he knows how to celebrate right and asked for a "banilla" cake with "banilla" frosting. 

And how fabulous is my new cake stand?!

For me this meant a classic white cake (best white cake recipe I have made to date) with buttercream frosting (the kid and I just made the frosting up as we went along).

Because he was helping me make the frosting I have no idea how much confectioner's sugar he scooped into the bowl, so I added butter, heavy cream and vanilla until it tasted good and looked spreadable. 

His enthusiasm for fire is not just a little concerning.

A little imprecise, but it was fun and tasty, so whatever.

I also wanted to make a quilt for the kid's birthday, but sometimes you have to cut your losses (so much for quixoticism). 

It became apparent to me that I would not finish this quilt in time, so I am saving it for the weekend (because it's just an excuse to drag the celebration out even more, in my opinion--yay for being quixotic!). 

So yes, it was a lot of work, but really when your kid thanks you with kisses, it's totally worth it.

making things for others

It's what I do.  It brings me joy, yadda yadda... I am back from vacation... Hey, look at this!

I made this apron a while ago, but since I am trotting out all of my productivity for this wee parade of sorts (to divert your attention from other projects, ahem), I thought I'd share it. 

Little Sir impressed me by saying "ceviche" while watching the Food Network (in our house, this is considered "educational television viewing") and asked why the cook wasn't wearing an apron.  "Because he's Rocco DiSpirito," wasn't really an acceptable answer, in hindsight, I realize this.  And since my kid isn't Rocco (yet), I figured he needed an apron.  So I made one. 

I have already mentioned that my sewing is pretty mediocre.  I am also one who tends to like guidance (i.e. directions, patterns, templates, something); but, I figured it was an apron, how hard could it be?  DIY-time! I took a look at my apron and cut some upholstery fabric samples I picked up 5 years ago for no reason other than they were in the sale bin (I was less discriminating back then).  It's not perfect, but it's an apron, the point is to keep the kid's pajamas clean.

Because Little Sir is totally my sous chef.  I mean really, have you ever seen anyone handle an egg so chef-tastically?  I think not.

He helped me make today's pie, a Fresh Orange Tart with Hazlenut Crust a la Greenspan via epicurious.com. 

I We made today's Piehole Wednesday contribution for my friend M whose husband is going to Iraq on a photojournalism assignment.  She needed cheering.  The pies, they bring cheer, especially this one.  It's a good one...but it's a little, shall we say, involved.

Luckily, I had help.

There is no heat involved here, don't get your panties in a twist.

And that is how I get all the baking done.  Secret's out.

welcome to the world, here's some pie

One of my oldest friends (perhaps the first I can remember having) had a baby recently (our parents grew up together in Florida--the dads-- and Korea--the moms-- and we lived across the street from each other when we were kids, she is kind of like my big sister, actually).  The baby is cute.  Cute babies deserve cute quilts (though I have made some quilts for some ugly babies too, so I guess cuteness isn't really a prerequisite for quilt making for me).  I am not sure if there is anyone else in Angie's life who feels the same way I do about the babies and the quilts, so I thought I should probably make sure Marley (that is said cute kid's name, how cute is that!) had a quilt to soil in creative ways love.  (Also, it was a great way to avoid weaving ends. And no, Minty, I am still not done.  That is how pathetic I am.)

I am not trying to kid myself or anyone else, my sewing skills are craptastic rudimentary, at best.  I need more practice to achieve the awesomeness adequate results that I can produce from knitting; but, honestly, I don't think I have it in me to knit a baby blanket.  I have crocheted them (though I really know very little about crochet); but knitting a blanket is like knitting a really wide and short scarf to me.  I hate knitting scarves. 

Anyway, this quilt...  I did a re ally good job piecing this quilt (if I do say so myself, and I do) and the layout is pretty cute--nothing like a charm quilt to emphasize fun creative fabric that one stumbles upon in Jo-Ann's.  Binding quilts make me nervous, but I think I did okay with that. 

I used Joelle Hoverson's method of machine binding because she is a genius (and also Marley had already entered the world at this point, so my deadline had come and gone so the binding needed doing lickety-quick-like). 

My problem is always the quilting.  I basted this thing like crazy; but, maybe I need to switch to basting without all the pins.  Also, I suppose it is a good idea to know how you are going to quilt the quilt before you baste.  I kind of made it up as I went un-clipping safety pins along the way.  Very inefficient (and just a little stupid) and, it didn't produce quite the finished look I was going for, but it is quilted.  It has also been packed, shipped and received.  Welcome to the world Marley. 

I hope you enjoy your quilt, because you certainly can not enjoy the pie I made for this week's cyber consumption.

It is a simple pear pie.

The filling is quartered pears with sugar, cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon.  It was supposed to have a walnut pastry crust; but, I left out the walnuts. 

It was still pretty good though.

I left out the walnuts because I got distracted.  I was working on Marley's quilt.  You know, priorities. 

procrastination in e major

This post might make you wonder about me a little; but hey, I walk around wearing chocolate as an accessory, so there you are...

Because I have become an expert in the fine art of project avoidance and procrastination in general, I thought I would deliver today’s post in song (or lyrics), to the tune of the Major General Song with some a ton of variation here and there (with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan and to you, really).

I am a fine example of a modern knit-procrastinator

I have so many ufo’s they can’t be counted with a calculator

There is a tomten needing ends weaved in

But weaving ends does not make me grin

Even though it involves touching wool

And though that usually makes me drool

I just don’t think weaving ends is that cool.

To avoid weaving in my ends

I make the most of gifts from friends

Kirsten sent me merino, take a look at this:

I spun the wool and set the twist

I really think it’s fabulous

I have no idea what to do with it

I don’t want to let it sit

But I try to be good and put it down

Then I pick up the tomten and go to town

But I want to knit everything I see—

This has been made worse by Ravelry.

Instead of weaving in my ends

I imagine purchasing new project bins

And filling the bins with yarn I do not need

Due to my very slow knitting speed

And my stash is larger than it seems

It is the stuff of knitting dreams

I’m not complaining

I’m just saying

I have a lot to occupy my time

And fitting in all my interests is an uphill climb

To achieve some balance I try and take a rest

But my conscience always becomes a pest

And I think about the tomten sitting in the wings

I know all the other projects are really flings

But every time I take time to sit

I find a way to procrasti-knit

In my weaker moments I rediscovered the quilting bug

Because to me, sending a quilt is just like sending a hug

I sew badly but make great haste

I take the time to pin and baste

And when it’s time to bind the quilt

I leave that too to try and spin some silk

(My procrastination knows no bounds

It’s not as bad as it probably sounds)

When my hands get tired, I turn to the internet

There’s so much inspiration there, I kind of need some limits set

First Brooke began her weaving kick

Her work is so amazing it kind of makes me sick

I would love to weave things half as good

But I don’t weave and instead of knitting as I should

I troll the web for some sort of simple loom

Special K says, “you’re crazy we have no room”

But I think something small and simple would be fine

And it would likely not take up a lot of time

And time is quite the commodity

But still I return to the internet to scope what else there is to see

But I try to avoid spending more time on Ravelry

And then I go to flickr and note that Mandy dyed some wool

That struck me as really cool

Have you seen the singles, I don’t think the yarn will pool

When all is said and done, I just go and bake a pie for fuel

Because it’s Wednesday and I am a pie-baking fool

And I am still avoiding all those ends

I need to find a way to make amends

But there are so many ends to weave in it’s ridiculous

They make me feel like Sisyphus

But I am not discouraged because I like to procrasti-knit

And I’ll always find a way to let the knitting sit

It’s not as though I’ll every quit

Because I love knitting and it loves me

But weaving ends is as dull as dull can be

And I’d rather ignore all the ends I see

But then Little Sir gives me a face

And it puts me in my place

So I pick up the knitting and weave in ends

Keeping in mind advice from friends

I’ll finish the tomten, but bit by bit

Because I’ll still be prone to procrasti-knit.

I know.  It’s a special kind of crazy.  Info about today’s pie is in flickr.  Things should return to normal (which for me, admittedly, is still a little crazy) at the end of the week.  There may even be an fo!  No, not the bain of my existence tomten...