'tis the season

We have a tree! Well, we have a potted shrub that will eventually go in the front yard, but this is the closest thing to a Christmas tree that I'll ever get. Jay isn't so fond of Christmas for completely understandable reasons and most years I plunk dead branches in a bucket of sand and hang my ornaments off the bare twigs - it may sound awful, but really, it looked pretty great. Even so, the scent of pine and real greenery is by far my first choice. Sadie's eyes just lit up when I plugged the lights in last night (my brother's birthday is today, so my Mom always tried to have the tree up by now) and she has been describing each ornament and counting the cardboard stars ever since. I took photos of two of my favourite ornaments - the first is one that Jay made (there's a little bit of Christmas in him yet!) It's a rubber baby frozen in epoxy and when the light comes through the bubbles just glow. The second is a see-through scene with one little girl looking out a window from inside and then another little girl looking in from outside. My Mom gave it to me in 1984, and it's just so charming and sweet. It's the one I'm excited to see every year - and I have to say, it suits this whole "live" tree much better.

I just hope my neighbours can forgive me for digging a huge hole out in the front yard that will stay empty for at least another month. Oops.

warm feet

With winter looming and a busy work schedule, I figured the time was right to finally attempt socks. I started with small toddler socks, but that didn't make the project any easier. The first sock took four, yes four tries until I got it right (at least the small scale wasn't so heartbreaking to undo). Needless to say I was well practiced for the second sock and it was a smooth knit. Sadie likes wearing them around the house but only on top of other socks, so I can't say they are very practical. However, I do agree that the process is quite magical when the heel takes shape, so I think more socks are in my future. And maybe for my feet next time.

In case anyone wants to know, here are the details:

Pattern: Two Tone Socks from "Simply Baby" by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino
Needles: 5mm DPNs
Mods: None, except for needle size. I did the 6-12 month size, but with larger needles than called for. Oh, and I only used one colour.

mail heaven

Ahh, mail. Just before we left for New York I got this wonderful package from Julia at Moth Heaven. Fabric, beads, badges, patterns...the bounty was endless. It's such a powerful feeling when someone you've never met understands exactly what you like. The detail shot reveals the sweet spot: pages from a 1914 mini calendar. I don't know what I will do with them yet, but the type, scale and age make them a prized new addition to my paper things. Thank you Julia!

When we returned from New York another package was waiting for me, this time from Dawn. Gertrude the Bunny is the lovely creature in the corner, and she is just one of the many dolls Dawn has been making for Supermaggie. With any luck I'll be able to find some time this weekend to get packages out myself so that power of mail karma can keep working.

As for New York, Jay and I had a great weekend away. I tried to visit Seedhouse to see if I could get a glimpse of Tamar's fantastic creatures, but unfortunately it wasn't open. Giant Robot was a more successful venture, and then a small splurge at the Camper store in Soho. We toured the MOMA for the first time in 10 years and I could have spent hours with the artist's books in the "Eye on Europe" exhibit. Oh, and speaking of books, when we walked around Chelsea looking at galleries we stumbled upon the first ever "Artist's Book Fair" sponsored by Printed Matter Inc. Again, I could have spent hours there, but it wasn't totally Jay's thing. I still managed to walk away with a small treasure - a book of poetry by Simon Cutts called "The Smell of Printing". What a perfect title, and what a perfect trip.

Perfection was shot to hell when we got home though - Sadie has decided she doesn't need to sleep. All week we haven't been able to get her into bed until midnight. Midnight! She is an irritable walking zombie and tonight is the first time I've been able to even sit down at the computer. I sure hope it's a phase and not punishment for us leaving her. Two year olds...I can't say I wasn't warned.

two years and counting

I apologetically admit that in our house, birthdays pass without much fanfare. With Sadie they definitely seem more important, but until she knows that it's her special day we get away with stretching it out or even celebrating on some other date that works for everyone else. It is no surprise then, that her birthday party was held on November 11th...even if her birthday was October 6th.

To make birthday matters worse, this photo isn't even from either her birthday or the party. I've chosen it because I feel that it presents her "twoness" if such a state of being exists. No longer can I refer to her as my baby - she is most certainly a little girl. She often chooses tights over socks, she knew instictively what to do with a rolling Dora suitcase, and she speaks to us in little sentences that two months ago she couldn't even imagine. She's two, she's a toddler and she's the most fabulous creature I know.

Hey, it's been a while and the mommy in me just had to gush.

noggin warmers

There seem to be babies popping up everywhere, and this time around I think I understand the size of a newborn head. So a series of hats simply had to be knit, based on the hat from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits. I first made this hat before Sadie was born and she still has a few years left of wear in it - it was that big! I love the shape and it's an easy project...even when there are five of them to make. One of the mothers is having twins, so I also finished a special hat just for her, Louisa Harding's Flora Hat. Moms need recognition too.

I was surprised recently when I found a new Debbie Bliss book, Simply Baby, that was just like Baby Knits in terms of level and amount of cute patterns, but this book is half the price! Somehow seeing a $14.95 sticker meant I had to have it, as though this was some fantastic deal for a girl with more pattern books than is ever going to be necessary. If I didn't have hobbies I would be a rich woman.

Which reminds me of the other photos. This is my new knitting bag which I picked up during my week off. It's by Shinzi Katoh, and I couldn't resist. The fabric is so charming and I have quickly learned that the flat open design is great for knitting projects. I'm too scared to look through his other designs because I may not have enough reserve. As it is I'm thinking of this bag as a Christmas gift to myself.

Help.

it's all about colour

Every time I choose variegated wool I'm not thrilled with the result. Wait - correction - I did like Sadie's Swing Thing. So one time I have been thrilled, all other times a touch disappointed. So why did I get more? Well, yesterday I knew there was going to be time to knit in the car and during family visiting so I decided I needed to start a hat for myself now that the cold weather is here. I told myself that since my scarves are all solid colours I should be more adventurous with the hat. Using my happiness with Koigu as a guide, I went to the Knit Cafe hoping to find something with lavender in it. But look what I chose...did I go crazy? Oh sure, there's lavender in there, and about 600 other colours. Plus this isn't the Koigu that I used for Jay's scarf. So much for plans.

At least the trees know about beautiful colour.

So do these fantastic knitters: Coloursknits, Fig and Plum, Grumperina, Moth Heaven, Kate Gilbert and Yarnstorm. Sigh.

i heart red

This past week has been so relaxing. I took time off work but kept Sadie in daycare - which meant it was all ME time. I haven't had that since Sadie was born and even though I may have felt a tiny smidgen of guilt it was oh-so-wonderful. I went to a matinee, got a massage, found a great new store, bought wool, lunched on my own...it was heaven. I also watched the entire first season of Grey's Anatomy - how much of a guilty pleasure is that?

Of course this seems to have nothing to do with red. Here's my red story: I am always drawn to red, every hue from blood to cherry catches my wandering eye. I used to paint my rooms red too, but Jay has put an end to that (we're now an all-beige household). I love what red can do to a space, physically and mentally. I especially love what red can do to my feet - I have been looking for a pair of red shoes to replace red mary jane's that I wore out and I finally got lucky. I dress fairly plain, so wearing red shoes is such a treat. The boots above are my holiday find; the make is Pikolinos and I love the black line that crosses over. Sadie wanted to model her almost-red shoes too when I tried to take the photo, and the polka dotted thing is a wee suitcase I found at a great kids store called Polka Dot Kids. And still on the subject of red, I also noticed that our unattended clematis has red berries right now which I have never noticed. They seem so out of place in our messy backyard, like a transplanted set of perfect marbles. And for the last photo, even though we exist in beige there are bits of red everywhere, from honey jars on top of the fridge to any cushion surface I can cover (he's never been against red fabric...just paint).

There's nothing like the perfect vacation. I'm so relaxed I don't even mind the thought of going back to work. And hey, it's a chance to wear my new red shoes.

pigeon play

I kept telling myself to finish the feet before I posted photos, but it's just taking me too long. I have tried a number of wrapping and fabric options, all failures. I think paint is my next choice and I'll try it out this weekend. But enough of the apologies - here is the start of something new. In conjunction with the cross stitch I'm doing I want to create pigeons that will carry stitched messages (you can see another pigeon body hanging out in the background). I'm keeping the materials and approach simple, which allows the handstitching to stand out. I've also included the drawings that sit above these fellows, inspiring me to keep going. Perhaps this all doesn't look like much, but it's proving exhilirating to me. I've always loved showing the seams and the proof of process, but for a long time I have made very clean, tailored dolls. All this mess is making me feel free again, reminding me that there are no rules when you feel compelled to create. An idea can take shape in whatever form you choose.

This new direction reminded me to visit a past inspiration, Annette Messager. Her choice of imagery and materials combined with her dark approach to assembling installalations has always intrigued me. Check out these works in particular: My Vows, The Boarders, and The Pikes.

bescarfed

Last weekend I started two new dolls, so I decided I had to finish another project at the same time (if only to make the mental space to take on something new). So Jay's scarf was the closest to finished and wow, it sure feels good when you weave in that last end. He's already worn it too because it's been downright chilly this week. This wool was wonderful to work with plus the colour looks great on Jay.

One done, only about a hundred more projects to go. My goal is to have a shot of the dolls by the end of the weekend. It's been way too long since I've had new dolls to show, and these are very new - the bodies aren't stuffed, instead they were created first out of newspaper and twine. The fabric comes last...

cross eyed

Thank goodness I'm nearsighted - this cross-stitch work is intense! I decided to start with natural linen so I have to count every weave, and to make matters worse I chose a fairly tight weave because I loved the citron colour of it. This is still just a detail, but it gives away a bit of what I'm doing. This message is something a friend told me her husband said to her and I can't get over how beautifully simple it is. Words of love and words of lust...that's where this project is headed. As soon as my eyes see straight again I will finish one entirely. So far I've been excited by every letter form, so I haven't gone beyond them to finish the borders.

Plush You II starts soon - and there's a little part of me that wishes I could have flown to Seattle for it. As it stands I will be heading to New York at the end of October to attend Jay's opening in a Chelsea gallery. It's pretty exciting - a solo show in New York, and needless to say, he's absolutely stoked. I am too, plus I'm totally proud of him.

Uh-oh, my fever-ridden Sadie just woke up. Jay's out of town and she's been miserable all day and night with either molars or just a rotten cold. Time to go be Mommy.