things to come

Here are the bits and pieces of what I'm up to. The two knitting books are waiting to be reviewed by me in some form; the first is Sexy Little Knits and the next Morehouse Farm Merino Knits. I have gone through both with the intention of trying a pattern from each. Unfortunately the cover of Sexy Little Knits is more inspiring than most of the patterns (unless you liked fashion in the 80's), but Morehouse Farms will be easy - the patterns are simple and the children's mittens are adorable so I think I will start there. Sadie will need to keep those little hands warm soon enough.

Next up, my knitting. Jay's scarf is half finished and I am still in love with this wool. It has a wonderful weight and bounce to it, plus the mottled effect of the dye is stunning (I'm not sure the photo does it justice). The other wool is to make a scarf for myself, though I don't know what pattern I'll attempt. I'd like a lacey scarf, but there's too much risk that I'll never finish it so I may just go with seed stitch like Jay's scarf. Tried and true, right?

Last, but certainly not least in my mind, is a tiny preview of my cross stitch project. It looks fairly boring in this state, I know. Trust me that it is going somewhere and I'm really just getting the hang of which materials to use and how to get through a lot of text without going bug-eyed. I feel really good about this project so I'll keep you posted as is starts getting somewhere.

And now I might take a break to start reading a biography of Margaret Mead's. Thank goodness it's a long weekend!

camera ready

Not quite two and this girl knows how to pose. The other great update in her world is that she has a little polar bear named George, but coming from Sadie's mouth it sounds more like "Dorge!" (insert great toddler excitement as you say it). I love hearing it and find every opportunity to coax Sadie into saying it over and over again. Bad mommy.

Summer is almost over and like last year, I'm feeling a burst of "making" energy. I've started a scarf for Jay out of hand-dyed Koigu merino wool (it's so soft and light, I wish I'd tried it loong ago), a cotton sweater for Sadie, and best of all, an actual art/conceptual project using cross stitch. I'm so addicted to it that I was even stitching on the subway today behind Sadie's stroller as she said hello to everyone around her (while also offering complimentary Melba toast). I'll take photos soon, promise. The other reason for finding some creative momentum has been that I have way more workspace now; before Sadie was born I had our big bedroom as a studio but it became a bedroom for all three of us once Sadie arrived. But Sadie's happily been on her own for a while now so Jay suggested we take the big room back as a shared studio for both of us. What a fantastic suggestion - not only is it a great space, but we'll also get to spend more time together while working. It's a win-win all around. Yeah for husbands with great ideas!

girl power

On August 3rd, my Great Grandmother turned 100 years old. 100! It's such a shocking thought. During her celebration we snapped this picture of 5 generations of women, because really, it's pretty special. All the daughters of daughters. Sadie might not understand the significance now, but when she's older I hope she appreciates this picture and the fact that the women in her family have lasting power. My Great Grandmother has been through a lot, seen a lot, and she's still going pretty strong. We all hope to have inherited her strong genes, right down to the little two year old she had her hand in creating.

Life sure is a wonderfully complex thing.