For Today

the lumineers album. every. single. song. on. this. album.

lattes. we've been making them almost everyday. and when we don't make them ourselves. we visit Erin and she makes them for us. so spoiled.

the weather. negative temperatures makes all of us want to be home and in the big bed reading books. i love being home.

wool socks. mom got me these beauties for my stocking. loving my growing smartwool collection and my tootsies are toasty.

simple mittens. i am almost done with mitten no. 2. this video really helped with the thumb gore.

girl scout cookies. they are tasty and i do not have to coordinate the sale this year. this is a win win. carmel delites now come stress free. (on sale from today to march 17th... wink wink)

husband. he came home with teacher appreciation chocolate bars + an extra for me. truman wrapped it up along with my favorite-daily-used pen. "i knew you would love the pen. since i KNOW you love that pen." nice thought, Truman! even if he did have to borrow it from me-- to wrap it up and give it back.

this book. this documentary. this show (so dramatic!). this video.

What makes your week happy? What things are you loving?

Yarn Along: Beach Side

It's raining here today, I walked into work with an umbrella under my arm and water in my keen sandals. The summer showers abated for just a few moments, but with the wind, wet grass and temperature in the low 60's it feels cold and grey.

This weekend, however, was full of sunshine and while on the beach, I took a basket of goodies with me. I had planned on reading Taproot magazine-- and on a few occasions this weekend, I took it with me. And I finished one article. And I only finished a few rows on my knitting. 

But I spent more of it listening, watching, playing, thinking, dreaming.

And that's how we should all spend our time? Right?

So here's to getting one more article read this week!

Joining Ginny and with Keep Calm, Craft On.

Yarn Along: Vests and Authenticity

This week, thanks to a wonderful book. There has been much more reading than knitting. But I am still working on this little project. And it's been really nice to do most of the project in garter stitch so when I do have a minute or two I grab it out of my bag and work a few rows.

And it's been pretty cold in our house so snuggling under a few blankets on the couch (or soaking in the bathtub) has been the best way to enjoy a new book!

I picked up the book, An Unquenchable Thirst by Mary Johnson at the library and I can't put it down. I'm about half way through it. And it's such a unique look inside her experience as a nun in the Catholic Order-- the Missionaries of Charity. It's a realistic look, not sugar coated and not blasphemy, but a healthy dose of honesty and humanness. It has been wonderful to see the depth of devotion and sacrifice given to God but, it is also facinating looking into a world I'm not super familiar with.


What are you reading? Knitting? If you want to see all the books I've finished this year, I'm trying to catalog them here.

Yarn Along: The Rhythm of Family

We've been in need of quiet family time. This weekend we took some time just for us. My goal for comfort + joy and together, togetherness has been pounding in my ears and deep in my heart. So loud I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I've had to stop, listen, adjust our lives and go out on a limb-- I can let life take over and I have to remind myself so often what is important. My little people are important, good food is important, spending quality time together is important, playing outside, good food! Remember I'm in the middle of making my manifesto work. And it is hard work, rethinking, retraining my work-a-holic tendencies so that I take care of my children, my husband, myself, my body.

I ordered Amanda's book a while back and it came in the mail in a divine envelope, meant for that moment in time. My ears are open, my hands are open and I am listening.

I also found this from Ida's blog, there are lots of little tiny babies in our lives. So I'm knitting away!

Yarn Along:: Sort of...

I've been knitting-- well if you consider moving my knitting basket to vacuum last night and then thinking very hard about what to knit next, then of course, I'm knitting.

But, as I looked at Kerry's Honey Cowl and at this. I thought, hmmm I've never made a baby sweater and there are lots of friend's babies on the way. I should knit something. So I'm going to, perhaps that tiny sweater will end up in the next Yarn Along addtion.

But, I am reading.

I finished a beautiful book last night (after vacuuming, laundry, dishes, paperwork... you know the usual), called Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women. 

It was indeed just that, an invitation into a life of these women to share a table, to share their joy and heart ache-- learning how they lived their lives so differently and yet so similarly. The back of the book calls it a 'soul-comforting read.' And it was, it read quickly almost as if it was written as a letter.

I'm glad that these women didn't try to cast stones at the weaknesses of the 'English' or the Amish-- there was admiration on both sides, for both traditions.

If your heart needs some soul-comforting, a few recipes and some heartening verses/poems, this would be the book I'd reach for.

It's going to be a girls end to the week, starting with Girl Scouts tonight, a girl date tonight and a girls craft weekend too(love my girl friends)! I'm spoiled (and excited)!

A place for me...

Before Truman was born and when he was a tiny baby, I had a little office/studio in his room. We shared it-- which at the time was awesome. We played and napped at the same time. I could feed him and put him down while Izzo napped and then design and coordinate until they woke up.  It was so  good for a work-at-home mom.

Then he got older, and I went back to full time work. My studio moved to the basement. But that has never been condusive to creating for me. Carving out large chunks of time to create in the cave-- no thank you. And most of the time I just camp out at the kitchen table. But that leaves a huge mess in the kitchen-- a big pet peeve I can't seem to overcome. 

I still have a studio in the basment, bookshelves of screen printing and block printing supplies, looming supplies, paintings from college, paper making and paper-art, old books... whenever something strikes me I have tools at my diposal.

I just needed a little space upstairs for the daily creating and a place to keep everything.

So move over nightstand! It's a bit like college, having a bed and desk right next to eachother (and that chair is from my desk at college). But I will be finishing my degree in the fall, and I need some place to study with a door that locks. And our room seemed like the perfect place.

For a creating space, I narrowed my focus to the three media I work with most often (ahem, right now--because that changes frequently).

Yarn-- I had three large bags of yarn in my room. Some of this acrylic yarn I've had since childhood. So I actually (gasp), cleaned out all my yarn and kept only what contained natural materials. And the rest I've donated. Except for a bag I have that has a blankets worth of yarn I was just given. That will become a blanket this winter.

Sewing and paper. I don't do much of either right now, and usually I sew onto my cards so they go together for me. I had kept my stamps, cards and address book in my purse-- but now it's in my desk. And I can sit down to finish up a few cards and addresses in no time. So much easier.

Photography-- this was in another bag. And now is tucked neatly in a drawer. All the specialty lenses in their place. Literature, manuals and cleaning kit.

 And I love that this is totally seperate from our computer desk. As my computer can be a time-suck.

So there you have it, a bit of a desk, a tiny studio. And a sigh of relief for me. 

Do you have a space of your own to create? Or a little corner you've taken over?

A needed long weekend...

I am sitting here... cup of iced coffee in hand, on a chilly and rainy MAY morning. It is may, right? I heard from Heather that they are getting a dumping of snow. Kate called it global PMS. Rain isn't snow, I shouldn't complain. But, seriously, I'm wearing long sleeves, wool sweater a scarf...

I digress.

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My parents were here for a long weekend, it was so nice to have them here and just live life with them. I took off two days from work and Eric took over cooking. I love it when that happens. Honestly, we were hoping for long walks and picnics. But we had to resort to lots of coffee, book reading, knitting and snuggling (not a bad trade).  My dad and Truman were 'hiding from the FUNDER' in the picture above.

The first evening they were here, we went on a little walk to the grocery store and stopped at our local butcher for supper-- yum. They sell brats from a small stand adjacent to the store front. While in line for my onions and mustard, it started raining-- and continued in fits and starts all weekend.

This weekend good mix of doing nothing and action packed. It was holiday weekend, you know, with all the celebrating of Mothers and um... my birthday. And many cupcakes were had by all.