retreat recap: contemplative knitting

Our Sunday class at retreat wasn’t really a class, but more of an exercise. Anne led us in a morning of meditation and contemplative knitting. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work for me. I’ve never been good at meditation. Things are always popping into my head — what’s for dinner, need to [...]

granny bookmark and the kind diet

My little granny bookmark is finished. Actually, this is my second one. I gave the first one to my mom and now I’m working on a third. I went down a hook size since the first and I think I prefer the tighter stitches for this wool.
The book I’m reading is The Kind Diet by [...]

i finally bought a craft book from japan

I love looking at photos of Japanese craft books online, but I’ve never really felt compelled to buy one. Then I got sick, slowed on the crafting front and spent way too much time on ebay. (I’m feeling MUCH better, by the way. Thank you for all of the well wishes!)

I saw this book and [...]

inspiration and paper cuts

I’m still spring cleaning my creative space. Last night I went through all of my knitting and crochet magazines. I was surprised how much paper I was holding on to for just a handful of patterns. I cut out the ones I liked and bundled up the rest to pass on to my friends at [...]

what’s the most creative time of your day?

I love the wee hours of the morning. Some of my fondest memories are from my little apartment in Baltimore staying up until 2, 3, or 4 a.m. just drawing, reading or listening to music.
Summertime was my favorite. I lived right in the middle of Mt. Vernon’s night life: restaurants, bars, dance clubs. I’d [...]

gift bag resolution

After my daughter was born, we had a huge supply of gift bags. Most of them were pink, but we had our fair share of gender neutral and holiday bags, too. It’s been over three years, but I’m almost finished using them for gifts.
Honestly, it felt like my stash would never be gone. When [...]

granny stars!

Once I decided to crochet some stars for a garland, I started seeing stars everywhere. Isn’t it funny how that happens? My favorites are these totally adorable granny stars.

I’ve ditched my Chromium Blanket stars for these. They work up a lot faster and are so much fun! If you crochet, you should really give one [...]

handmade, no-sew abby cadabby costume

I hope that all of the handmade costumes in my future are as easy as this one. Remember the tulle I found at the thrift store awhile back? Even then I had a feeling it might make its way into an Abby Cadabby costume.

Tutu
I found both of these tutorials very helpful: how to make [...]

how to sew a baby quilt in five easy steps

So you’d like to make a quilt, but you’re intimidated by all of those little pieces, right? I am, too. But you can make a quilt without blocks. It’s easy and looks just as nice! Here’s how I did it:
Materials
1 – 36×36″ piece of top fabric
1 – 36×36″ piece of bottom fabric
1 – 36×36″ piece [...]