New Year’s Eve

I spent a few hours today on a fun machine sewn project to complete my “Hearts Full of Christmas” Advent Christmas tree quilt.

I discovered that I had red, green, and cream versions of the same print I used for the base of the tree on the quilt, so I used them, and some fast 2 fuse to make a fabric bowl that will be used during future Advent seasons to hold the hearts as they wait to be placed on the tree.

I used Linda Johansen’s book fast fun & easy Fabric Bowls for instructions and made the octagonal bowl that is shown on the front cover in blue, except that I cut deeper curves to make it more scalloped. 

I’ve made two other bowls from this book over the past year and while I’m still learning my way around my new sewing machine, I’ve had fun with them, especially the one I made for Larissa for an Easter basket (yes, even though she’s 25, she still expects an Easter basket!).   Here’s the finished bowl:

 

I attached some gold ribbon bows that echo the bows on the Christmas tree.  It’s about 10″ in diameter.

 

My husband who is obsessed with hats, thought it might make a good hat, and wanted his picture taken with it.  New Year’s Eve silliness, I guess. 

If Larissa’s reading this, you can be sure she’s embarrassed.  John thinks part of his job in being a good parent is to regularly embarrass our daughter.

I’m off to start on pizza.  A few year’s ago I started making homemade pizza for New Year’s Eve from a cookbook I’ve had for years and still remains one of my favorites–Colorado Cache by the Junior League of Denver.  The recipe is Super Deluxe Pizza with homemade (whole wheat–yeah!) crust, sauce, and whatever goodies you want to put on it.  Yummers!

Read Full Post »

A Little Practice Makes a Big Difference

Speaking of taking out and starting over, on Friday I picked up a project I had begun this past spring, but after taking it out several times finally put aside.

On a day trip to Williamsburg, VA (when I still lived in VA Beach) I visited a great knitting shop, Knitting Sisters.  I knew I wanted to try making some socks, so, with some help picking it out, I purchased yarn in shades of one of my favorite colors, purple, along with a book with several sock patterns.

The yarn is a fingering weight 100% merino by ClaudiaCo.com in Just Plum.  The pattern I chose is “Retro Rib Socks” by Evelyn A. Clark in Favorite Socks:  25 Timeless Designs from INTERWEAVE.  I chose this pattern because it says it is good for beginning sock knitters.  Well, maybe, but perhaps not beginner beginners!  I lost count of how many times I took this out. 

I couldn’t get used to using double pointed needles, especially ones so small (size 2).   I couldn’t get the pattern right and kept having to take it out.  I especially couldn’t figure out how to do the heel. 

It was a really busy time in my life–preparing to move and preparing my congregation for a new pastor–so I just put it all away.

Shortly after I arrived in Taos, I visited Taos Sunflower to see if they had a class or some suggestions.  No class, but a recommendation to start with bigger yarn and bigger needles and to work through Ann Budd’s Getting Started Knitting Socks.  Great advice.

I bought the book, some larger needles, and some worsted wool that in the store looked like purple.  I should have read the label, because when I got it home I realized that it’s really blue.  The color of the Lamb’s Pride 85%wool/15% mohair yarn is M-65 Sapphire.  It’s still a great color, even though it’s not purple.  I sailed through making these socks with great instructions and easier yarn and needles to work with.

 

Feeling pretty confident I immediately moved on to some alpaca socks for my husband using some sage green yarn I picked up out of the “mix and match” basket at Victory Alpaca Ranch.

Even with very fine yarn and size 2 needles I moved quite easily through these because I used the same instructions with adjustments for yarn weight.

 

 

 

The socks turned out great and John loved them.

Unfortunately the yarn was not good for wear and he wore holes in the balls of the feet in a couple of weeks. 

Live and learn.

In the meantime I worked on my Christmas gift projects and gained a little more practice in knitting patterns.

So, now, I’ve begun again on my Just Plum Retro Rib socks and so far they’re turning out great:

 

 

I can’t believe how easy knitting them seems compared to the first time!  We’ll see how it goes when I get to the heel. 

 

 

 

Isn’t it just so true that a little practice makes a big difference?  Not just in knitting socks but in most areas of our lives. 

Lots of people think we shouldn’t have to practice in our spiritual lives, but practicing spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, scripture and spiritual reading, gathering and conversation, sacraments and others start out with “big yarn on big needles” and gradually, with practice move to greater depth and complexity. 

Read Full Post »

The Fifth Day of Christmas

I think it’s safe now to show the pictures of gifts I made for Christmas, since all the packages have been opened and gifts have been put away.

For my daughter I made LaLana Wools’ A Very Nice Scarf out of their luscious Phat Silk Phat in “Hot Stuff”, a gorgeous magenta/pink.   

 

It was very hard to give away, so I’m going to have to put making one for myself on the list for next year.  Now to decide on color….

 

 

 

 

For my mom I made Taos Sunflower’s Adele’s Scarf out of natural handspun alpaca from Victory Alpaca Ranch in Mora, NM.

 

 

I really liked this pattern when I made it out of worsted weight Louet Euroflax 100% Linen (machine washable and dryable!) for myself two years ago.  I think the color is no. 101 St. Lawrence.  This is great yarn, too, and makes for a wonderful warmer seasons scarf.

 

 

 

 

Here’s a picture of my linen scarf.

 

 

 

 

Finally, I made A Very Nice Scarf up again, only this time in alpaca, for my sister.  It is shorter than the silk one and is made out of a great blend of natural brown alpaca and raspberry dyed alpaca.  It’s called “Raspberry Patch.”  Another yarn I love, but not always available from Victory Alpaca Ranch. 

 

I was only able to get two skeins of this yarn so this scarf is not as long as Larissa’s silk one, but is still a very nice length, especially to wear with a pin.

 

Speaking of pins, if you haven’t seen Romi’s great pins for scarves and shawls, check out her website at Designs by Romi.  Not only is she a great pin designer but she designed the yummy Ice Queen cowl/hood in the latest issue of Knitty.  I’m trying to figure out if I have justenoughtime to make one or two of those creations in 2008.

Starting to think now about gifts to make for 2008, since I only have 5 1/2 more months before I go back to work. 

Read Full Post »

Taking Out and Starting Over

This week I nearly finished my self-fringing bias shawl.  But before I cut the fringe I tried it on and played around with it a little, and decided I really didn’t like it very much.  So yesterday I took the whole thing out.

Now I am on the lookout for a different pattern to use for this lovely Brooks Farm Duet yarn.

I’m looking for something with a little more pattern to it.  The self-fringing shawl is simply garter stitch, and I really didn’t like the bias shaping as far as wear goes. 

I’m looking at some leafy or fan stitch patterns.  But I’m going to set it aside for awhile and let the yarn rest.  I don’t know if it will become a shawl or a scarf.  It will depend upon the pattern I choose as I only have one skein. 

One of the most important things I have learned in my many years of sewing, stitching, and knitting is the ability to take out and start over.  When I was working on my fourth piece for my Doodling Designs embroidery class at Joggles, I took out the stitching in the top “flower” part of the design several  times until I was able to create the effect I wanted.  

First I stitched the “petals” outlines in black, then in the variegated Watercolors, then in burgundy.  I even tried satin stitching the “outline” of the petals in gold.  I finally settled on an echo of the “stem” using burgundy and mauve, but with a lighter back stitch.

Then I tried using a long and short stitch to fill in the spaces with the Watercolors, finally settling on using that thread in a more wispy way instead of filling in.  But it involved a lot of taking out and starting over.  And not a little frustration and exercise in humility.

I have read through and studied Joan Chittister’s book, The Rule of Benedict:  Insight for the Ages, several times, always especially noting the section on humility.  Chittister writes,

If the twentieth century has lost anything that needs to be rediscovered, if the Western world has denied anything that needs to be owned, if individuals have rejected anything that needs to be professed again, if the preservation of the globe in the twenty-first century requires anything of the past at all, it may well be the commitment of the Rule of Benedict to humility.

Humility in the spiritual life is about falling down, getting up, and starting over again.  Benedict describes it as being on a ladder, upon which we “descend by exaltation and ascend by humility.”  Just when we think all is right with the world and we’ve made it that way, our bubble of pride is burst and we come tumbling down.

Throughout my life, my work with fibers and fabrics has been instructive in humility.  The necessity for taking out and starting over, or taking out and affecting repair is always there.  Sometimes I completely lose it, and other times I am able to proceed calmly to begin again. 

Several years ago I was participating in the Master Craftsman in Quiltmaking program with the Embroiderer’s Guild of America.  There were several steps to the program with specific instructions for pieces that were completed in various stages and then sent to be examined and judged.  Everything had to be precise and as perfect as possible to pass each stage.

The second piece required applique in a lattice setting.  I created a beautiful small quilt top in shades of peach and mauve and had completed the entire top, when by accident I snipped the very center square with my scissors.  I was very upset and set the project aside for awhile until I could calmly and carefully take out that center small square and again, very carefully replace it.  I then quilted the piece and sent it in for judging.  

The judges loved the quilt and gave me spectacularly high marks, asking that it be shown at the next EGA national seminar.  Wow!  I was pretty exalted.  But there was one small comment to the effect that there seemed to be something not quite right about the center square, but they couldn’t figure out what it was.

 

  Back down the ladder! 

I am reminded that only God can create perfection.

In our on-going discussion of slow cloth, begun on The Red Thread Studio and In a Minute Ago blogs, I have been contemplating the importance of taking out, starting over, and humility in producing slow cloth.  While I recognize that some situations are perfectly well served with quick cloth and rapidly crafted projects, I fear that in our rush to produce, one thing we might risk losing is the important discipline and practice of humility. 

Read Full Post »

Yummers!

I haven’t been working on any fiber or fabric projects this week, but I did make a GREAT cake for Christmas day.  Larissa had asked for a spice cake with cream cheese frosting and since I didn’t really have a good recipe for one I went onto epicurious.com and searched for one. 

I found Spice Cake with Blackberry Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting from the July 2001 issue of Bon Appetit magazine (which I probably actually have torn out somewhere in my stack of recipes) which has several great reviews. 

Larissa and John thought we should take pictures of the cake in progress.  It was supposed to be made in a springform pan and split into three layers, but I made it in three pans, instead.  Not sure I wanted to try to manage splitting layers.  I also had to figure out adjustments for baking at 7,000 plus feet altitude. 

One reviewer recommended chilling between each icing and filling step which I did, and it helped a lot in the assembly.  Chilling was done in the garage, since it was in the teens here and the refrigerator was packed with other things for Christmas week meals.  

Here are the pictures:

 

 

Layer one with filling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Layer two with filling.

 

 

 

 

Layer three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crumb coat — really useful since berry filling was trying to come out the sides a little.

 

 

 

 

Final Icing. 

Isn’t this a great plate?  A member at the church I served in Annandale, VA gave it to me.  I love it.

 

 

 

 

 

Garnished with fresh blackberries on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Cutaway” view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready to eat.  YUMMERS!****

And it was really good, too.  Playing with flour, sugar, butter and spices, can sometimes be as much fun as playing with fibers and fabrics.

 

***YUMMERS is one of our all-time favorite children’s books and in our house saying ” Yummers!” means something is really good and would be a favorite of Emily Pig’s. 

Read Full Post »

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas…. Oh.  that was yesterday.  Today is the second day of Christmas.  Am I behind already?

24 years ago I began making a set of 12 days of Christmas ornaments for my daughter, one a year.  They are counted cross stitch — not my favorite to do — made from a pattern in a Leisure Arts folder I purchased way back then. 

I was doing quite well until the ninth day of Christmas when Larissa was 9 and I started back to complete my undergraduate degree and then go on to seminary for graduate degree and ordination. 

Larissa turned 25 this year and guess what?  I finally finished the last four of her ornaments through this past year.  Here is the completed set:

I ran out of lace and wasn’t able to get some that matched exactly for the last four, but it’s pretty close.

They are backed with velveteen–green or red on every other one–and have a thin layer of batting in the middle. 

While I was at it I made a fabric envelope using the FREE instructions for the Flexi-bag on Sue Bleiweiss’s Fibre and Stitch for the ornaments to be stored in.

It’s approximately 12 inches square.

This was the first time I really did any quilting with my new Bernina with the stitch regulator attachment (BSR).  I made a few mistakes and learned a few things, just trying it out.  I especially learned that you need a LOT of thread.  But running out of red caused me to use white and lime green to echo the flowers I started with in red, so I think it actually turned out better than if I had not run out of red.  I don’t know if I would have thought to use the other colors otherwise.  I really like the idea in the Flexi-bag instructions for drawing, satin stitching, then cutting a decorative edge for the flap.  Much more interesting than just a straight edge.  I added a snap at the lowest curve just to hold things in place.   Here’s the inside:

 

I’m planning to make a bunch more of these Flexi-bags in different sizes and fabrics to have on hand for gifts and gift bags throughout the next year. 

It will give me a chance to practice more on my machine quilting with small items.

The samples in the Flexi-bag instructions are done with hand printed fabrics and when I get better at it, I’ll try doing that.  But for now I’m going to use up some of my stash of commercial fabrics.

Thanks to Fibre and Stitch for providing great ideas and instructions!  As if I needed more projects for 2008!!!  On the third day of Christmas….Hmmm.  What’s next?

Read Full Post »

Merry Christmas!

The “Hearts Full of Christmas” Advent Calendar/Christmas quilt is complete with all the hearts tied onto it with gold ribbons. 

This has served as our Christmas tree this year as we are trying to better utilize resources.  It’s worked out well, although I do miss lights.

The quilt will remain hanging through Epiphany on January 6. 

Between now and then I plan to make a fabric bowl or box to keep the hearts in before they are put on the tree during future Advents.

 

Here are some pictures I took of the beautiful sunset Christmas Eve from our street.  Our neighbors had on their lights, including “farolitos” that are traditionally paper bags with candles nestled in sand.  Now you can buy plastic ones with lights attached to use over and over.  They are the most common decoration around the town of Taos during this season.

 

This picture was taken to the east.

<==

 

This one was taken to the west.

            Merry Christmas!

Read Full Post »

Images of Christmas – Christmas Eve

I have a small collection of small crèches that I place around the house during Advent:

  This was our first crèche, purchased when our daughter was little.  We wanted one that she could play with and set up any way she wanted.

This crèche was made in Taiwan, and since Larissa was born there, we thought it was fitting to be her and our first crèche.

We usually place it somewhere where it is easy to move the figures around at will. 

This year I’ve placed it in her room.

 

I purchased the next crèche in El Salvador when I visited there in 1996.  It was made in a workshop in San Salvador where beautifully crafted crosses and other items are hand cut and hand painted by artisans with the traditional Salvadoran bright colors, animals and flowers.

This remains one of my favorite crèches because it reminds me of the deep faith of the people we met in El Salvador and the great joy of their faith that is expressed in the bright and whimsical images they create.   

This crèche is from Haiti.  It was given to me by a good friend who is the music director at a church I served in Manassas, Virginia.  He purchased it for me while he was on a mission trip in Haiti.

 

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and is a place where people live with oppression and fear on a daily basis.  Sometimes it seems that anything we can do is but a band-aid on their misery, yet by coming to know these people who live in faith in such dire circumstances we can truly see Christ.

 

This crèche is from Bethlehem and is made from olive wood.

I purchased it when I traveled to Israel in 2000.  Many large and beautiful olive wood crèches are available there, but in keeping with the small, simple crèches in my collection, I chose this one that is less than 10 inches tall.  

While in Bethlehem we visited a Palestinian refugee camp.  The living conditions are appalling for a first world country.  It is dispiriting to know that most of the people living there have never known life any other way. While across the road from the camp were being built beautiful, modern homes, in the camp children were being raised behind chain link fences with barbed wire strung across the top being taught in classrooms that were barely less than adequate. 

And Jesus wept.    

This delightful crèche was given to me by a church member in a congregation I served in Annandale, VA. 

I don’t recall where it came from, I think possibly Mexico, but it may have been made in the US.  My picture didn’t turn out too well, but the detail and whimsy of this crèche always make me smile.

 

Appropriate for our home in Taos is the newest of my crèches purchased by my husband for me on a trip to Arizona a few years ago.  The pieces are really small.  The teepee is maybe 3 or 4 inches. 

It sits on the windowsill above my kitchen sink as I look out into the snow covered garden. 

 

Each of these tiny crèches placed throughout my house is a reminder of the lowly circumstances into which the Christ Child was born.  Their origins are reminders of the many peoples of the world who continue to live in the darkness of poverty and oppression.  May the days come soon when their tears are replaced with singing, and their darkness with light.   

Read Full Post »

Images of Christmas – 2

Today is the final day of preparation during Advent.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and in our house it will be the day we make our traditional Christmas butter cookies.  Last year I began adding royal icing to them, instead of the usual sugar decorations and they are better than ever.

We’ll also be making a dessert for Christmas day.  Larissa requested a spice cake with cream cheese frosting, so I went on epicurious.com and found Spice Cake with Blackberry Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting.  It looks a bit tedious to make, but the reviews were overall quite good.  We’ll start early, because it requires several step.

Images from around our house today:

 

On our mantle is a painted Russian egg depicting the three guests at the Oaks at Mamre in Genesis 18 where Abraham and Sarah are promised  the miraculous birth of a child:  Isaac.

 

This Russian icon is a very famous presentation of the Trinity as well.

 

 

For Christmas I have unpacked John’s Russian Matrushka that starts with Mary and the infant Jesus, moves to the adult Jesus and includes the apostles, St. Nicholas, and some others we can’t quite identify.  There’s an angel among the tiniest figures, but we’re not good enough at reading Russian to make out the names written on all of them. 

Here are some closer views:

John has taken mission groups to Russian for several years, through UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission).  They go to Ivanovo, which is about 230km east and north of Moscow.  Ivanovo is a traditional textile producing community.

While there, they have made repairs to orphanages, schools, and a drug rehabilitation center.  At the same time they have developed relationships between North Americans and Russians that could only be possible through working together on meaningful projects.

The teams have developed a relationship with Russian university students who are studying English.  They serve as our interpreters and help to work on the projects as well.

In addition, our team members get to experience some of the best of Russian culture, including purchasing some wonderful Russian artifacts such as matrushkas.   

Read Full Post »

Images of Christmas – 1

I did complete the binding on my quilt last night, so all that’s left is to pull out all the basting threads (I don’t quilt with a hoop or frame, so I baste pretty heavily to hold the “sandwich” together), pop it into the washer and dryer and then onto the bed.

Since I’m really not doing any project work right now, except to continue knitting on my blue self-fringing shawl, I thought I’d share some images of Christmas from around my house for the next couple of days.

 

This is a stocking my mom made for my daughter several years ago.  It’s done in needlepoint with lots of different stitches and some sparkly metallic yarn as well as wools.  It’s about 20 inches long.

For many years, a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar was included in Larissa’s Christmas present from her grandparents, and the coins were always put in the toe of the stocking.  There are 13 there now, although Larissa is 25.  I think that coin is no longer minted.  Not sure, though.

 

My mom made these stockings for my husband and me, I think when we were in seminary.  They are each about 10 inches long and are done in teeny tiny counted cross stitch. 

The shepherd theme was particularly appropriate for us, as the word “pastor” means “shepherd.”  

Although this is her second Christmas with us, we haven’t yet gotten around to getting or making a stocking for Mishka, but there are some “white chocolate” dipped bone-shaped cookies waiting for her for Christmas morning.  Fortunately she doesn’t read my blog. 

Read Full Post »