Sunday scavenger hunt...

Okay, I know that my post should really look like this...

Alas, today's post has much more to do with creating family memories than it does with crafting or making, but I really wanted to share this with you because it so much fun! Recently my husband and kids discovered Geocaching. Have any of you done this? It is terrific!..

It's essentially a scavenger hunt. It turns out that there are little caches or containers (some of them very tiny), containing a register and sometimes little items that people place in them, stashed all over the place. In fact, according to their site, there are some 886, 671 active geocaches stashed all around the world—who knew?! We have found them at parks, metro stations, roadside rest stops, in the country and in downtown urban areas—too much fun!

Here's how it works...
You access information about the caches in your area using various types of gps devices (we use our phones). You enter your postal code or address at the Geocache site and click "go" to find the caches near you. There are clues that lead you to the cache's whereabouts. Some are easy to find and some are really tricky (you can choose your level). Once you find a cache, you sign the register in the cache and then later put it in your register on the Geocache site on your computer.
We have found that this is the perfect diversion for both adults and kids, and accessing the caches can be as strenuous or as laid back as you want it to be. There have been times when we went out specifically to find a cache—where hiking and some real active hunting was involved, and there have been other times, like when were driving cross country or when my husband was waiting for a train, where we just took a few minutes to check for and find a cache. How cool is that?
Have a great end to the weekend and if you want to give this a try...

happy hunting!

Driven to distraction...

That's what I have been. You know how you can get an idea in your head and it just wriggles around in there, nagging and itching until you do something about it? Well these buttons have been like that for me.

First of all let me say that I love buttons, old buttons, new buttons, handmade, store-bought—I love them all and always have. I can spend hours (yes, hours) in the button isle at the fabric store. And I love to knit...you can see where this is going...

It was really just a matter of time before those two got together and demanded that I make something—kind of like that old Reese's commercial—you got your knitting in my buttons, you got your buttons in my knitting—wait for it...mmmmmm.


Now, I have made buttons before , so that's not really anything new, but this is the first time that I have made this kind of button and it was sooo much fun. I loved it and I love the end product! And there we are...I've been making buttons and planning projects around these little gems all week (my daughter reports that I might be a little "little obsessed"...as if). My current distraction is coming up with a project that is truly button worthy—so much pressure.

Sometimes, actually more often than not, it is little things that make me happy and bring joy...laughter from the other room, the smell of the coffee that I wake up to each morning, the comfort of the sweet corgi always at my feet, wool in my hands, the notes that drift downstairs from my daughter's harp and my husband's banjo, the backward waves and thrown kisses that my children send my way as they head out the door, and making pretty things just because...the list goes on and on. These buttons definitely fall into the category of something pretty made just because. I'm happy making them and once made they make me happy—a real win, win.

I will try to post a pattern and tutorial for making these soon. Until then I'm off. Have a great weekend, full of happy moments and happy making—just because.

Can we talk?...

My recent knitting has been plagued by a series of false starts lately. Does that ever happen to anyone else? Sometimes the idea is there, the swatches are worked and the yarn is beautiful, but somewhere along the way the project just isn't quite right. That has been the case with a number of projects for me lately. What I've realized is that for some reason in this one area of my life, I'm okay with that. It feels like it is just part of the creative process. Sure I get disappointed and even discouraged when a project seems ill-fated, but it doesn't really bum me out like set-backs in other areas of my life do. I never see the time spent as wasted because, even if nothing comes from it, I have to admit that I enjoyed the knitting while I was doing it, and that's a good thing! I guess that for me the design process is sort of like a conversation. Sometimes I get on with someone right off and the connection and communion is immediate, sometimes it takes a little longer to get to a place of understanding, or the connection is great but some new piece of the puzzle enters in and changes everything, or somewhere along the way I get introduced to something else that alters the course of things. Knitting is like that for me, and the thing that I love about it is that I almost always enjoy the conversation. I wish that I could say that I am this easy going in every area of my life, but it just isn't true. Maybe even the realization of this will help remedy that, but if it doesn't do the job entirely, I know for a fact that knitting needles and yarn in my hands will get me a lot closer to a peaceful place.
I am on my way out the door to my lys—an hour drive away :( —but will return home with new yarn and the beginning of new conversaiton—love that. Here's hoping your day is full of happy knitting, peace within and peace without.

welcome to my world...

Week one of school down! This has been one busy week, full on new experiences, last minute errands, adjustment to the return of a schedule, some real highs and a few minor set backs. Everyone is surviving the end of summer nicely and all seem to be relatively happy...and after all what more could a mother ask for?
For me, the dip that my mood usually takes when the summer ends and I have to send my babes back to school has been greatly lessened by the arrival of my book and the wonderful moments I have been privileged to enjoy with friends and family seeing it for the first time. It has been so much fun—I really am a lucky, lucky girl. I can't wait to share more of the book, but today I thought I'd give you a glimpse into my world...
The bump in the road this week has been my back. I have some off-again, on-again issues there and just when I was gearing up to get back into my own routine—a dozen projects at once and me running around like a crazy woman—my back said no, and so I have been a little sidelined these past few days—not something I'm good at—it is easy for me to get very frustrated very fast when this happens. But today, for now, I am having a moment of grace. Maybe it was Gratitude Friday over at waldorf mama, but this morning when I came downstairs and saw this (all in just the first two rooms that I entered—I'll let you imagine what the rest of the house looks like)....


and this...

and this...

and this...

and even this...

I didn't go ballistic, instead I thought aren't I so fortunate to be living with such talented, interested, and interesting people. Musicians, fly fishermen, a juggler, makers, bakers, and readers who are interested in so many things. Okay, I have to be honest here, I am not a neatnik, I can live with considerable chaos, but I do get to a point where it's just too much (we are there now) and then I'm likely to say something like, "This house is at sixes and sevens!...we can't live like this!" and then everyone else feels lousy. So I love it when grace tiptoes in and I can see the forest and the trees...a rare and special thing. I will take this moment of gratitude and enjoy it and after breakfast—my little guy wants to make the waffles "by myself" today for the first time—we will attend to this mess with full tummies and happy hearts (before mom goes to the bad place). Hope your day is filled with a happy tummy, a happy heart and grateful moments.

Today's mail!!...

Look what the postman brought to my house today!...Completely surprised that it is here already! What fun! (sorry for the overuse of the !!!!!, can you tell I'm excited?)

Have a great day!

free patterns!

I just found out that Amazon has provided free copies of two patterns from my new book! Let's hear it for free stuff!

The first pattern is the Snow Queen Sweater Coat. This is one of those designs that just rolled and rolled around in my head and would not leave me alone until I finally picked up my knitting needles and got to it. I love the charm of vintage knits, as you might be able to tell from this pattern. I had a lot of fun thinking about and designing this sweater and even more fun knitting it...so much fun that I have knit this one up in different sizes for various family friends. It's has turned out to be a real fav. It's girly without being fussy and is wearable for more years than your average sweater because of the long skirt and the ruffly cuffs.


The other pattern is the Princess Crown. There are two versions of this pattern. One is a hat with lacey details at the top and the other is a basic crown. While this pattern is called the "Princess Crown" the crown version of this pattern is absolutely suitable for both girls and boys. You can whip these little crowns in no time at all, and if your kids are like mine, you can never have too many crowns.


I had so much fun designing and knitting these patterns, I hope that you do too! If you do knit either of these up I'd love to see pics!

Have a great weekend :)

Back to school...

Things have been hot and decidedly summery around here but the calendar tells me that it is time to get ready for the beginning of school. I honestly can't believe that it's that time again...time to inventory everything from socks and pencils to class schedules and aspirations for the new year. When I was a girl, I loved this time of year— I have a real thing for school supplies and books and smell and feel of a new school year. I still love all of those things, but as a mom I have to say that this time of year has a way of sneaking up on me. I am never quite ready to let go of summer and get back into the routine of school schedules, homework and all that good stuff. Maybe it's because school starts in mid-August around these parts and for some reason I am convinced that it's not supposed to begin until after Labor Day. Anyway, this year we are adding a few new projects to make the getting ready more fun. We are just getting started, but here's what we've been up to so far...

A little printing a la maya*made and the freezer paper method. A big shout of thanks to Maya for her amazing and inspirational blog. This was our first attempt at this kind of printing and it was a huge success. I highly recommend this project.

First we found an inspiring image. We chose a bold, graphic design so it would be easier to print. Kids' books are great sources for these images. We especially love Lois Ehlert (this was from an old favorite, Mole's Hill). Love that happy face...

Then we drew our version of the image on the freezer paper and used a craft knife to cut around the image. We placed the freezer paper stencil, waxy side down, on old T-shirt and ironed the freezer paper to the shirt...


Then we put a piece of cardboard inside the T-shirt and painted it with a sponge brush and textile paint. You can use textile paint, silk screen paint or acrylics for this. We used Jaquard's textile paint. This paint is great and is really easy to use. It needs to be heat set. Ironing over the painted section (inside and out, cotton setting, no steam, paper or cloth over the painted section to protect your iron) will do the trick. The painting is easy, easy, just dip the brush into the paint and pounce it onto the shirt...great for kids of all ages.


Now the hard part, waiting until paint is dry. Tick, tock, tick, tock...Two minutes later...Is it ready now?...No?...Five minutes...Still a little tacky)...I'll go get the hair dryer...Yes! It's dry and time to peel the paper off! Note: If you do this step carefully and the paper is dry, you should be able to reuse the stencil once or twice more.

Voila!...My guy couldn't wait to wear this shirt and has only taken it off long enough to go to the pool and get a bath. It is a big hit!


It was fun for all and all for fun with this project. There is definitely more of this in our future. We are finding inspiration for new prints all around. It has definitely become a happy preoccupation. Love that!

Okay, I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to go find more T-shirts!...Happy printing!

Home again, home again, bloggity blog...

It has been far too long since I sat in front of this screen with the express purpose of writing a new post. There have been so many moments over the last couple of weeks when I have thought of this space and the latest new thing that I would like to share here. But alas, I have not figured out how to move my thoughts directly to the computer while my hands are busy elsewhere and so the long lapse in writing. Not to make excuses or anything, but I have been so busy over these past weeks. We went on vacation and I got busy...

Knitting, knitting, knitting on a new project for Petite Purls. Right before we left for vacation, I found out that a design I had submitted was going to be included in this wonderful new on-line magazine. I am really excited about this new magazine and it is a real treat to be included. Needless to say, I am thrilled!

Busy reading and editing the final pages for my book, Fairy Tale Knits. Due out at the end of August...very exciting!

Sharing long country strolls...


Swimming at the pond...


Hiking and exploring...

Learning to cast...


Finding and admiring frogs at the edge of the pond (still can't quite make myself pick those little guys up, but aren't they beautiful? We named this one Paddy after the frog in The Wainscott Weasel. If you've never read this tale, I highly recommend it. It is perfect for reading aloud to younger children and a great "on your own" book for second and third graders. Anyway, back to Paddy...isn't he cute?...


I kept busy shoveling way too much food into my mouth. In addition to being breathtakingly beautiful, Vermont is home to The New England Culinary Institute. Wonderful, fresh, and delicious food is around every corner and, as my now tight jeans can attest, we took full advantage of the bounty around us. Just one bite (right!)...blueberry cobbler with whipped cream at the Farmer's Diner...yum!


Aaahhh...Vermont, I love you...


And when we got home I got busy baking a wedding cake for a wedding the week after our return. Lemon butter cake with lemon curd and raspberry coulis filling...yummy! The design of this was based on a Marimekko fabric. Trying to translate this very fun print into a cake design was a little challenging and a whole lot of fun. Because the newlyweds are friends of ours, I was able to attend the wedding. This wedding was beautiful and thoughtful and dear. Plus, I got to watch the guests eat the cake—love that—and I got to eat too! The dinner, catered by feast catering was positively the best I have ever had a wedding—so delicious!


And if that wasn't enough, my girl turned eighteen. It does not seem remotely possible that it has been eighteen years since this wonderful person came into my life. Can we just do it all over again?...it would be so much fun. What can I say?...I love having this person in my life more than words can express. Fun, smart, funny, generous and kind—if I do say so myself.


Anyway a birthday, of course, necessitates a cake...

All in all a pretty full few weeks! Now it's time to catch my breath and start thinking about the beginning of a new school year (school starts a week from Tuesday here). I have to say that I'm really not quite ready for summer to be over, but I'm planning a few projects to add a little fun and creativity to the back to school prep—so I've got that going for me. More soon...for real this time...