extra yarn

in an effort to work from my stash, i made a felted yarn bowl with wool on hand, extra yarn. the cut out happened after the felting and the bowl was dry. i'm surprised, it's working fairly well, the wool does catch some, trying to think what i can do to remedy that.
this is brown sheep lamb's pride bulky weight in the color eggplant. i think. i've misplaced the band somehow. inspired by watching one of my favorite movies last week, and trying my hand at needle felting again, i added a small red fox, into the bowls bottom. he seems to be content, curled up and asleep, snuggled in his soft nest.

i have three books to share this week!
i received 'a knitter's home companion' as a gift from a dear friend. i intended to savor it, keep it in my knitting basket, taking it out here and there for inspiration. instead i read it in two days time. it is charming and i loved it, and i think it's going to stay in my basket as much for the patterns and recipes, as for the friendship it came with. you can find the book here.

then after reading a review (in the knitter's home companion) for the book 'safe return', i knew i needed this one for my library too. here is the review (i hope it's okay to share):

safe return

by catherine dexter

'safe return', a middle - grade novel named after a swedish mitten pattern, is one of my absolute, hands-down, all -time favorite children's books. a beautiful and moving tale, 'safe return' takes place in the stark setting of sweden's gotland island. the main character, ursula, an orphan from the mainland, is being raised there by her aunt and uncle. her outsider feeling is reinforced by her inability to knit, a skill acquired early  by the other children in visby, their fishing and farming village.

many books for kids that involve knitting are about the process. in 'safe return', the character learns not only how to knit, but how knitting can soothe even a reluctant knitter's turbulent times. there is an authentic tenderness to the text that reflects the author's understanding of the setting, character, and knitting. you can almost feel the lanolin in newly spun wool, the fierceness of the wind, and the darkness of the night in a time and place before electricity. and in 'safe return', you will experience the joy that comes in a very satisfying ending.

it really was a lovely read, it arrived this morning and i finished it in a couple hours, the more i think about it, the more i love it. there is something so comforting about reading books at this middle grade level. i'm also loving the fact it's based not only about knitting, but about a true event that took place in 1824. and it's about sweden, which is where my family is from. happy. book found here.

the third book is 'extra yarn' by mac barnett illustrated by jon klassen. this book caught my eye in a local children's bookshop, it says it's intended for ages 4-8. but i bought it anyway. i am still those ages, plus a few more. i love the short sweet story, and i think the pages would look great framed. link here. joining with:

p.s. the bowl pattern can be found in this book!

west coast crush

thank you very much for kind words on a first attempt video tutorial, i will try for more, but it would be so much easier if you came over instead.    :)
our day was super fun, chuck surfed for hours (third pic down), and i watched and took photos for a little while. but when the tide started going out, the sea anemones and sea glass began vying for my attention. with temperatures hovering near eighty degrees i got a little sunburned, woops! happy weekend!

knitting color

i've made a swatch for demonstration, and a very short, under three minute, video to share
(nearly didn't post this, feeling kind of awkward here, who wants to hear their own voice. oh dear).

it wasn't as easy as it seemed, to make one. it's a bit like writing
on a typewriter, mistakes show! truth is i was self conscious, even though it
was only me at home! well, i hope these tips, if you haven't used them before,
will help you in your color knitting. that's the most important thing.

if you don't want to watch or can't, what i've shared are two tips that help
make fair isle, or color knitting, much easier.

the first is to work with short strands (i said cut yarn, but really
meant short strands!). the idea is to cut a yard or two at most, of
wool. this eliminates balls of tangled wool, bobbins or twistys. the
shortened strands practically undo themselves. i tried to show in the
video, but i couldn't drop the wool or you wouldn't have been able to see it.
it really does work though.

the second tip is to spit splice the ends as you go.
much less weaving at the end of your project. again, in the video
my hands were out of the picture somewhat,
but you will want to take both your ends, after separating
them about an inch. wet them in your mouth, then overlap
about a half an inch, pinching the wool together. then between
your palms, roll the wool until you have a nice felted bond.
(thank you bella for reminding me to say this will only work with
animal fibers, anything that is 100% will do).

i liked the first video i made much better (everything is easier to see) but it
didn't want to be published. i hope this one was some help, thank you
for watching!

joining with....

glow

my goodness.

glowing is me to know that there are at least ninety two people in the world that love childrens painted wooden knitting spools. maybe my family will stop teasing me now. hee hee. thank you so much for all your memorable comments. i really loved reading them all, hearing your memories. some of you had spools made by a beloved parent or grandparent, some made their own. i am most amazed that small children can work the spool knitter. its an art, like knitting, that will survive, and more, i think it will thrive. i'm sure of it. i wish i had a hundred knitting dolls to send out, how lovely that would be. but i had to choose just one for the giveaway. the random number generator helped me, it picked :

claire of border stories 

and

the lovely host of yarn along wished for one too,

another knitting doll will be on it's way to ginny of small things.

a small thank you.

the mittens are flying off to:

evi of sister sun

i hope you'll enjoy   :)

this weekend my daughter and i shopped for wedding dresses. the one above was ordered online and is being returned, it's not the one. but i think we may have found it in a shop saturday, it's simpler, with just a bit of lace. the wedding consultant asked my girl 'is this your dress?' and we giggled (but she didn't say yes. yet. but she was glowing). and oh i cried too, the shop had boxes of tissue strategically placed. they know.  :)  the above glowing rose photo, along with a few others, are newly added to my etsy shop, with new smaller sizes and prices to match. now, time to knit!

knitting dolly

once upon a time, long ago, i brought home a knitting dolly

 it was so cute, i found myself bringing home one more, and then one more, and now i have several. i love them, standing there painted and ready...to make something... but, i've never made anything. i didn't know how. this child's toy baffled me. until this discovery.



 now i know how to spool knit! round and round, inch after inch, the cord grew. i carried it everywhere this week

the spool in one pocket, wool in the other

spool knitting is easily toteable (my grandson wondered why i was playing with a toy though!)

  i had an idea, i have a chair, this yellow one, that needs a seat pad

 the little knitting doll is helping me to make one

 all i have to do is knit for another few rounds and a few more days, and my chair seat will be done! well, it still needs sewing together, and maybe a knitted dolly tie or two. i'm happy to be using the sock yarn left over from this project

 and then i think i'll be satisfied to just admire the cuteness of these knitting dollies (otherwise called a knitting nancy, bizzy lizzy, knitting mushroom, knitting spool, french knitter, peg knitter, knitting noddy or knitting knobby!)

i picked up two of the same dolls, one to share with you, in case you'd like to start (or add to) a collection yourself!  leave a comment if you'd like this doll (little box included). i'll choose a name on sunday, the same day my other giveaway is ending. go here to enter, if you haven't already.  reading a charming book written in nineteen o nine on spool knitting, here is a free download.
joining with small things yarn along this week!  xo lori



to finish, to give

 i finished my mitts! so happy with these little hand warmers, they are cozy and very warm. if you'd like to knit them i hope you will give the pattern a try. you can find it here. i was thinking of making a video demonstrating a couple techniques i learned that make fair isle easier. i wonder if there would be an interest?

 if you don't knit (or even if you do) i'd like to have a giveaway of this pair of winter white fingerless gloves (showing one front, one back here) . i was thinking as i was knitting them, that so many of you make for others, knitting or crafting, giving of yourselves in so many ways. perhaps you've never had a thing hand knit especially for you. theres also all the kindness you give, so abundantly, all the time here. which means the world to me, so it would be my pleasure to offer these. if you'd like them , they are made of the softest merino wool and cashmere (one size should fit most, the 4 x 1 rib gives a good stretch) please leave a comment letting me know. but if you can't wait and would like to make a pair now, you can find the pattern here. comments will be open till next sunday, january twenty second, when i'll announce the winner!

and the knitting doll photo?  it's the thing i've been up to lately, more to come on tuesday! i hope you have a
very good week ahead, with moments of magic and true joy. xxx lori

vintage effect



hello hello! today i'm sharing photos taken with one of my film cameras. a vintage thirty five mm pentax i found at a flea market. a super lucky score! these are untouched, with the exception of the last one. its had this effect applied. when i got these back from the lab,  i saw that i'd taken just two photos of this sunset. there were many people on the beach that night that claimed it was the most spectacular sunset they'd ever seen. i felt this way too. perhaps that is why i took this and then stood agape in wonder.

i think i told you i didn't paint the little rock house or rock grandma. but i did paint these blocks. i'd
forgotten about them (till the rock love), these cute wee blocks. it may have been twenty but more like twenty five years ago that i made these for my children. (can't believe i misspelled puzzle, eeps!) i recently took them over to a wood worker friend and asked him if he could cut a few more blocks like this please. i think i'd like to make some more.

happy birthday to my baby boy, my youngest son, who will be twenty three tomorrow! do you remember
these puzzle blocks honey? love you so very much son.

jacob and hannah, twenty some years ago