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.

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.

mitsy and bitsy

Phew! These two ladies are done. I've wanted to turn my little sweaters into dresses for some time now and Plush You II seemed like a great reason to go for it. Sure it's about 120 degrees outside, but these two mice are toasty warm. They stand around 13" tall (bigger than I usually make, but I made the dresses first - oops!) and are quite a close pair. I can't wait to see the rest of the submissions for the show and I hope these gals have a good time in Seattle.

Now onto a new project, starting tonight!

toy collection #1

With this post I am instituting a new rule for myself - no matter what I'm up to, no matter what I have or haven't made, I will post ONCE a week. Promise. This blog picked me up out of a creative funk last year and I owe it to the virtual world gods to keep it going (I also have a sneaking suspicion that I may be making more again now that Sadie goes to bed at 8:30 and Jay and I have decided to give each other free time). So it's a brand new day.

One of the BIO questions for Plush You II was whether we had toy or plush collections. I'd be surprised if none of us did, but I also thought what a great thing to share as points of inspiration. Eagerly I started taking photos last night of a few finds of mine and hopefully Jay will start letting me take pictures of his great toys too. I'm starting here with a doll I found in a Kingston market when I was a student. I couldn't afford him so I used my food money (seriously). His clothes are so detailed and next to the vacant face...well I just find the whole combination wonderfully awkward.

Any other toy collectors out there?