handmade

You remember all that grief I gave Zephyr not too long ago? (I've got a second collection I'll eventually share--this one includes something The Fiance might not want me to share!) It turns out Penelope is not so innocent. I woke up this morning to find her in a little nest she had made of the skeins of yarn I'd left on the sofa overnight. I thought I could trust her, leaving her to roam free for a few extra hours (she's generally well behaved), but it turns out the temptation was too much. She was so adorable as she looked up at me, trapped in the loose threads, wanting to be snuggled with. I left her tangled for a little bit before I threw the whole mess in the garbage (wasteful, I know, but Emily was due in half an hour and I had to shower and still put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher). I suppose this is one way to take care of an unruly stash. I just wish she could have made a nest out of all the yarn I bought in This High School's colors.

A while back, you may remember a mysterious donor leaving a $100 gift card at the desk of our local independent bookstore. I found out it was my department, as a going away gift, which was so kind of them, and I am just as surprised as anyone else that it will not start off with two books that involve plot or poetry (though one could argue that the plot that will unfold as I learn these things will be amusing, especially for The Fiance, as long as there are no foot stamping tantrums, and the poetry of what I have seen of these two books does not come in words but in talent and craft). To arrive at the very best of local bookstores, I ordered Sew U and Bend-the-Rules Sewing. I have been inspired, not only by my poet friend Eireann, who makes these gorgeous handmade things, but by all the lovely women whose blogs are growing in my sidebar, who put up images of tender knitting objects and gorgeously sewn projects. I can dabble in both--and when I say dabble, I mean, I can make some mean squares (pillows, washcloths, scarves, blankets, you name it).

I know how to knit, purl, cable. I am learning how to bobble. I know how to do quick cuts with a rotary blade, hand quilt, and whip stitch. I can make quick sachets, that's for certain.

And that's about it. I made a messenger bag, but my mother did all the difficult things.

I made a patchwork jumper, but my mother, again, did all the difficult things. (Overheard: Hey, I think I have a quilt like that on my bed.)

My first patchwork pillow reminds me of a lollipops. (They're supposed to be trees.)

I've knit little things: scarves, dishcloths. I've crocheted blankets. I'm working on a knit toddler sweater, but I've gotten confused on the sleeves.

But I'm learning, and I'll get there, sooner or later. And I'm going to use this blog, like I use it for all other motivation (to write, to take photographs, to give you little bits of French, to remind me to travel, to be interesting, to do things worth remembering) to share that part of my journey here.

Watch it (slowly) grow: flickr handmade par moi. Oh, and this one: flickr garden. Because I'm working on that too.

I think it's almost done, no? The colors are much brighter in person, and you just want to run your fingers up and down--this yarn is s.o.f.t. (That little lump on the far left is a mistake in the yarn, but I worked right through it--I like flaws in projects, gives them personalities.)