Crafty Caroline

Flower Pots

2010-10-02T15:54:00.002-04:00

Over a year ago, I took a few applique classes at Cloth and Bobbin. The class was based on Kim McLean's Flower Pots quilt, and I was inspired by the pattern to use tons of Kaffe Fassett fabrics. The quilt is huge, and before I got started I could barely hand-sew so I had no illusions of finishing this quickly...

My first block didn't take too long - I was on the road a lot, which meant tons of time for stitching. Plus, it was a new project, so that always is inspiring...

but the second took well over a year. To be fair, between the boy and work life is pretty busy. But a few weeks ago I decided it was time to pick this one up again. And thus i finished block #2.

Now onto Block #3... pattern is traced, freezer paper shapes are cut... and starting to stitch...

I'm going to be cross posting on Glorious Applique, where a lot of folks are sharing their journeys with Kim McLean's applique patterns. Check it out - there is some BEAUTIFUL work there that inspires me to keep going.

So its been a while...

2010-09-26T16:36:00.003-04:00

I've been known to go a while between posts. A couple of months isn't the rarest thing. But almost two years is quite a hiatus. Lets face it - being a working mommy hardly leaves me time to do the dishes. But there has been some crafting to be had over the past few years, so it makes sense to share what I've been doing...

A few updates...

I've determined that spinning is just not for me. So I'm going to sell my spinning wheel. Interested? Leave me a comment and I'll email you with details.
Applique turns out to be a good craft for the intrepid traveler. Portable, limited chance of confiscation (although I've lost a few pairs of embroidery scissors).
Haven't been so into knitting lately, although that may change shortly (see below).
Oh, and we're having another baby in January! So if life seems busy now its only going to get crazier.

So welcome (back) to my blog! I can't imagine it'll take almost two years for me to post again...

100th Post

2008-12-07T18:45:00.003-05:00

Ari was in need of hats, so I made him this cool Vintage Racing Helmet from one of the Sublime books.
It looks pretty awesome on him!
It is knit using Filatura di Crosa Zara in Navy and Ivory, and matching booties are underway!

A Trip Around the World

2008-11-29T21:53:00.006-05:00

A year ago this week, I was leaving on a trip around the world to Germany, The Netherlands and China. When I came home, we found out I was pregnant. So it seems fitting that right before Ari was born, I finished a Trip Around the World quilt.
I'm still working on piecing the back of the quilt using the scraps from the quilt-top. Think we'll be sending this out for quilting and then it'll be off to our goddaughter Lucy!

Letters

2008-11-29T18:55:00.004-05:00

Every nursery needs the baby's name on the wall. My theory is that it helps them learn to spell their name, and it definitely reminds people whose room it is (like we'd forget?).

These letters were easy to make. I used kraft letters, paper & stickers from Paper Source and used methyl-cellulose to adhere the paper to the letters. I applied some sewing techniques ensure the letters were covered cleanly. First, I traced the letters on the paper and cut an additional 1/4" around. Then, clipped in the corners to make sure the edges would fold nicely. Then, I wrapped the sides in 1" wide paper and randomly stuck stickers all around. They look great on his green wall and go so well with his bedding.

Ari Milo

2008-11-29T18:50:00.003-05:00

It turns out that being a new mom means that you don't have a lot of time to blog. Here is my latest project

Ari Milo Lewis was born on August 13th, weighing in at 6 lbs 14 oz. He is the light of our lives!

patience is a virtue

2008-07-26T12:05:00.002-04:00

The thing about false alarms when you're getting ready to have a baby is that once you have one, you're ready for the real thing. At least, I am. On Thursday night we went to the hospital for what seemed like it could be the real deal. If I had listened a bit more to Christina, our fantastic Doula, perhaps I would have stayed home, which is were we returned by 12:30am. The good news is that we now know how to find Labor & Delivery at Lankenau after hours, and learned first hand that the nurses are great (and got to see some super cute newborns while walking the halls of the antepartum area), and we have time to finish our redo of the living room.
So now it is a waiting game - any day now, or in three weeks. In the mean time, Scott is busy finishing up the paint job downstairs, which looks fantastic (thank you Beth!), and I'm trying to make some curtains for his office and our guest room. The first set for the office is done and up in his workspace. Scott describes the fabric as 70s French Haute Couture Home Dec. The second and third sets require a bit of finesse in terms of lining up patterns, and are thus still in progress. One thing that I'm sure I'll finish is the quit top of the Trip Around The World quilt - only 3 more strips to sew together! Unless, of course, the baby decides this afternoon is a good time to come into the world...

Ready?

2008-07-12T13:40:00.003-04:00

Less than one month until my due date, and people keep asking me "are you ready?" This is often followed or preceded by "are you sure its a full month until your due date?" or a sympathetic "this heat must be really uncomfortable." (By the way, the answer to both of these questions is yes).
Asking if you're ready to have a baby is a pretty loaded question - is this a reference to the material sense of having all the baby "stuff", am I packed for the hospital, are we mentally prepared to be parents, do I have a birth plan, did we pick a pediatrician, do we have names picked out, is everything at work wrapped up and under control or any of the other numerous items that one can do to be "ready". While most of the aforementioned is done, it was only a few days ago that I realized that mentally, I'm ready to have the baby. Not that the Bean should come out undercooked by a month, but if the baby came today, I'd be confident in my ability to be a good mother. Of course, I was pretty confident about this when we decided we were ready to give this try, but nine months of pregnancy can lead to second guessing, and a bit of trepidation when things move from theoretical to impending...
I know what kind of parent I want to be and while I don't know all the ins and outs of what "to do", its seems pretty clear that either I'll figure it out, or ask friends and family. Of course, there is still some anxiety about all the newness, and being responsible for the well being of another human (none of which my husband seems to have) but I'm ready for the little one to be on the outside.

Diaper Bag

2008-07-09T17:38:00.003-04:00

With my new found following patterns confidence, I embarked on a new project over the fourth of July weekend, which I actually finished by Sunday evening. Behold the Nappy Bag:

and the accompanying changing pad and case!

The project wasn't difficult as much as it was labor intensive. The bag is fully lined with cotton duck canvas, and is fully lined, with pockets that are fully lined, with additional pockets layered in there, and there is even a little exterior cell phone pocket detail (which was hard to photography - probably should have asked a professional like my husband for help!). So I probably spent an hour and half cutting everything out. And then there were a lot of steps. But it came together great. I'm planning to use it as one of my two bags to bring to the hospital for baby delivery...
Don't you love the fabric? Scott thought it looked like "a grandma's couch on acid, in a good way".
My knitting has been really neglected lately. Maybe I can just finish the striped blanket that has been in progress for a while and sew the seams on the Baby Surprise Sweater. Its not that much work, but the fabric has been drawing me in....
Now I'm off to another quilt class, this one for the Trip Around the World quilt. No. More. New. Projects. really...

The cutest thing ever

2008-06-30T05:58:00.003-04:00

In a few weeks, check back on what I'm refering to as the the cutest thing ever. But until The Bean arrives, this little dress for Ally is topping the list.

I was itching to make this pattern by Oliver+S, and picked up the pattern and some super cute fabric from Johanna at Cloth and Bobbin about a month ago. Then I got a little nervous about making something from a pattern, since I hadn't done that before. Fortunately, Johanna decided to teach a class on the dress which wrapped up on Wednesday, and I just put the finishing touches on everything yesterday.
What I love about this pattern are all the little details such as the hem lining, the topstiching on the bodice, the contrasting bodice lining.

I have a new appreciation for making clothes. Wow - so much harder than cutting out and sewing together squares and triangles!!! I'm going to make this again when the Bean comes, or the matching little boy playsuit, depending...

So now this dress is off in the mail to Ally, who can wear it when she comes to visit her new cousin in about 7 weeks.

In the rules for the project diet, I mentioned that anything for a class didn't count as a new project. Which is why it was totally ok to get all of this fabric for a Trip Around The World Quilt and sign up for the class. The last session is 11 days before my due date - this might be somewhat ambitious. Guess only time will tell.

Oh, and I just couldn't resist starting Amy Butler's Nappy Bag. Technically, that wasn't in progress, but I had all the fabric and the pattern, so it was close to being in progress. Is that cheating? I dunno. I made the changing pad last night, and am close to finishing its little carrying case. Pictures soon...

Project Diet Progress

2008-06-06T18:38:00.005-04:00

The project diet is actually working. Two projects down so far, and haven't started anything new (buying fabric for a planned project doesn't count...). A week or two ago the baby hat and booties made it to completion, and last night I finished up the Easy Baby Quilt for my cousin's little girl Sarah.
The hat and booties have had multiple intended recipients, but I never really thought through the idea of giving such warm things to babies in Dallas, where they are undoubtably not needed. So these are moving into the "gifts for people who are having babies" pile.

This little quilt is on its way to baby Sarah, who was named for my grandmother Sylvia. The pattern comes from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. It wasn't as "super quick and easy" as billed, possible because it was one of my first sewing projects. but it turned out well. Sarah is about six months old, and it was about time this was finished.

Next on the list is the Rail Fence Baby quilt, which is moving along. Tonight I'm working on the quilt top and maybe will even make the quilt sandwich. As long as the airconditioning stays on, it should be fine. Because its miserably $#@%n' hot outside.

A comment on testing

2008-06-01T18:53:00.002-04:00

There appear to be varying schools of thought on all the tests during pregnancy. Some women choose not to do a lot of the tests like sequential screens or ultrasounds because of false-positive rates, or misdiagnoses. Some women prefer to do all the recommended tests. As one of the latter, I'm not sure if the women who forgo the tests also pass up other tests like the 1 hour glucose screen and I'm curious to find out. I did the one hour test two weeks ago, and after borderline results, tomorrow get to go back for the three hour test. Apparently, 75% of women who are referred for the 3 hour test do not have gestational diabetes, but its the only way to make sure. I'm hoping I'm in that 75%, but its an interesting insight into why women choose not to take certain tests. Personally, I prefer to have as much info as possible, and I'd rather live with uncertainty for a period of time while further tests are done and have the full picture rather than be surprised by something potentially major. But I see how other women see the high false positive rates as something that causes unnecessary stress and worry. My biggest concern is that I may need to give up sweets for the next ten weeks. That would suck. So I'm enjoying an early dinner of lemon pasta, in anticipation of not eating until 10:30am tomorrow. That's a long time without food for me, and a super long time without food for a pregnant me!

A comment on the footstool

2008-05-30T18:15:00.002-04:00

A commenter, who has identified herself at "Mums" noted some dispair that the needlepoint footstool is towards the end of my list of projects, as listed on the project diet. It's an important distinction to note that its not dead last on the list, but second to last, with the Horsey Needlepoint Belt as the final project. Why is it so low on the list? Well, really because all that is left is really boring. I did the whole pattern (like 4 years ago) and now I just need to fill in the the background in black. I try to work on it every once in a while, but there is little that motivates me on this one, other than having a nice gift for my mother when its done! So to appease mums, perhaps I will edit the rules of the diet, and add the stipulation that this needs to be finished as well, before I start other projects. Now, if only I'd made a bit more progress on other projects over the past week....

Project Diet

2008-05-24T12:22:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week I updated my "on the needles" and "in the sewing pile" list, and it looks like I have some ADD going on. Clearly there is limited discipline when it comes to starting new projects, and starting a new project is in no way related to finishing another. Don't get me wrong - I've completed a ton of crafty projects. But lately, its taking longer because so many things are vying for my attention.
So my new plan is NO NEW PROJECTS until I finish the ones in progress. I'm wondering how long this will take - can I get it all done before The Bean's arrival? or how about before the end of maternity leave? Another good question - is this really feasible, or will I be tempted by something that I just HAVE to make, or start making?
Here are the rules of my diet:

I will only knit projects that are currently OTK
I will only sew projects that are currently in the sewing pile, with the exception of that cute Oliver + S dress that I got fabric for yesterday and the nappy bag, which is a just a practical thing I'll actually need (although I have already bought a diaper bag, so need is a relative term).
Taking a class in something does not count as a new project, even if the class has homework (for example, the tab curtain class that I'm thinking about)
There are a few needlepoint projects on my "in progress" list that frankly may never be completed. Maybe the footstool These are last on the list.
Project Diet does not mean stash diet. I'm only human.

Wish me luck!!!!

Sew...

2008-05-23T21:51:00.006-04:00

Around the holidays, I got a sewing maching, mostly inspired by Cloth and Bobbin, because I loved looking at all the fabrics. I'm not so fond of my machine - it might be a lemon - and in the next few weeks its either going to be fixed or replaced.
So, before the machine went on the fritz, I made a few things. First there was this quick little bag from which came from the PurlBee
Its a little wonky, but for my first project, I'm ok with it. Still haven't figured out how to get all the chalk lines off - maybe they'll fade with time. Right now its a project bag...

Then I took a little class called "getting to know your sewing machine" and made a cute pillow for my niece Ally. But forgot to take a picture before I sent it... Hillary, send a picture!

Then I took another class where we made a little quilt that was supposed to be a wall hanging. Once I finished the quilt top, I learned how to machine quilt, and taught myself how to bind the quilt from a book (maybe not the best idea, but it seemed to work). Since the pillow was so cute, I made the wall hanging to match. Scott took a picture, but I can't seem to find it right now.

Recently, I've been working on a baby quilt for the Bean, which I started in yet another class. The only thing that remains to be done on this is the "piano key" border. Easier said than done, but its on its way...

There are a few other projects in the works, including a really simple baby quilt that is almost done. Not quite as simple as promised, because it would haven't taken so many attempts to get it done if it was. And then there is this other quilt which I've spent what seems like tons and tons of hours cutting and piecing squares, which is becoming a bit of a pain to figure out how to put together.

But why finish these when I start yet ANOTHER project? Today I picked up an adorable pattern from Oliver + S, as well as some fabric for a cute little sundress and bloomers, maybe for Ally, maybe for my goddaughter Lucy. We'll see how this one goes.

Radio Silence

2008-05-14T20:58:00.002-04:00

What ever happened to Crafty Caroline, you might be wondering... or might not because my blog has pretty limited readership...
Anyway, the blog went on vacation for six months during my first trimester (when I felt too crappy to do anything other than sit on the couch and moan, when I wasn't busy getting sick) and my second trimester (when I was so full of pep and energy that I didn't have time to blog). Now we're settling into trimester 3, getting ready for the arrival of "the bean" and i'm going to give this a blog thing a shot again. In the past six months, I've taken up quilting, done a bit of knitting and tried a little handspinning. Photos to follow soon!

What time of year is it?

2007-12-13T17:33:00.001-05:00

It's Christmas time for the Jews! Its one of my fave SNL spots ever, and sums up what how Scott and I will be spending Christmas (well, maybe not circumcising squirrels, but definitely chinese food!)

FBS on the Loop Blog

2007-11-23T22:50:00.000-05:00

Check out this link:
Loop Blog

Thanks to the nice folks at Loop for posting this! They are a fantastic LYS and a place I visit almost every time I go into Center City. It just makes me happy!

And She's Off!

2007-11-23T22:36:00.001-05:00

On Sunday I leave for my round the world trip - three countries in two weeks. I've been planning my knitting for this trip over the past month, and likely completely overestimating how much I can possibly accomplish on flights where I would best be served by sleeping. This is possibly more thought than I've put into the presentations I'll be giving, and all the other work stuff on the agenda. But I digress (because talking about work on my blog is not my style...)
So the proposed packing list included the Clapotis, which is coming along quite nicely, and a sparkly scarf in a really cool silk yarn that has sequins in it, as well as some yarn to start some socks, and a hat I was thinking about. But is probably a lot more than is really necessary and when suitcase & briefcase space is at a premium, prioritization and being realistic becomes an necessity. So, no socks and no hat. But I will bring The Omnivore's Dilemna, which has been on the to read list for over a year, in case I finish up the knitting.
So there will be few (if any) posts over the next few weeks, but there should be a few good pics when I'm back.

One item finished, two more started

2007-11-20T21:13:00.000-05:00

The February Baby Sweater is done! It looks pretty good - I picked up the buttons at Cloth and Bobbin, where I had intended to take the quilting class. Yes, that's right - intended. So that didn't exactly happen. A few days before the class was going to start, I learned that I was going to be out of town during two of the four classes. So it didn't make so much sense to take the class after all. Maybe I'll be able to take another beginner sewing class in January. But, really, I don't need another hobby.
Here is the FBS:
Look for this picture on the Loop blog!
I had a nice email chat with Tante Sophie - I saw the Mocha Scarf pattern on the Purl site, but wanted to order directly from the designer. Love the pattern which is quick and clever. The ruffles are picked up from the body of the scarf, creating a nice warm scarf. I'm working on the trim on the ends now - should be done soon. Isn't the brushed suri yummy? The color is called toasted marshmallow. Double yum.
The picture kind of looks like a worm...

And since I'm feeling a bit ADD today, I also started a clapotis made with Sheep Shop 3. My mom had a lot a trouble with this pattern, but so far it's going ok.

It will be a good travel project for my round the world trip, which starts on Sunday. Destinations now include Germany, the Netherlands and China. All work, for two weeks. But it should be interesting and productive. Its a long time to be away, but should be cool - I've never been to Shanghai.

February Baby Sweater

2007-11-11T18:31:00.001-05:00

The last time I knit from an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, I failed miserably. I tried to make a Baby Surprise Jacket out of a really nice pink bamboo yarn, and it was a total mess. It was ripped out and restarted two or three times, and then I just gave up. The pattern didn't make sense, I kept counting wrong, and it was just a big jumble of disaster. A few months ago I was in Loop to pick up some needles, and because I have no self control, left with three skeins of Koigu Kersti and The Knitters Almanac, in addition to the needles. The February Sweater was so cute, I figured I'd give it a try, although I was a bit skeptical based on the Baby Surprise experience. I cast on for this on Thursday, and its already almost finished.
Once I got the hang of the lace pattern and figured out exactly was going on with these funky sleeves, it has been rolling right along.

One reason I got a lot of knitting time in was because we went to Dallas this weekend for Susan's birthday. It was a nice visit - although very quick. Seems like we were barely there! We'll be back in a few months once our neice, Baby B, arrives. Maybe she'll be the recipient of the FBS, although not sure how often Dallas babies get to wear wool sweaters!

Yummy

2007-11-08T21:38:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday night, we made the perfect fall dinner. Braised short ribs, sauteed kale with apples, and polenta. Ok, the polenta was the cheating kind in the tube, but the rest of the dinner took work (most of which was done by Scott).

And last week I finished this yummy blanket for our soon to be born niece. Its the Blue Sky Alpaca Eyelet Baby Blanket knit in the worsted hand dyes. Its so soft and warm, I'd keep it for myself if it were adult sized...

Airport Blogging

2007-11-03T16:30:00.000-04:00

What better to do in the airport when you're waiting for 2 hours for your flight than blog? I've tired of newstand perusing and my second embossed leaves sock is not far from completion, so hopefully I can save that for the flight itself.

I'm on my way home from Lynchburg, VA where I had some meetings yesterday and today. Yes, on Saturday. But its comes with the big job, so here I am in Charlotte, waiting to go home and looking forward to enjoying one day of the weekend tomorrow.

All this air travel has gotten me to thinking about all my upcoming travel, which is my scheduled "knit for holiday present time". Here are ideas on the list (recipients undisclosed!):

Tante Sophie's Mocha Scarf (x2)

A cool long hat using some brown and green Frog Tree and maybe matching mittens

Jaywalkers knit using some fun Lorna's Laces

Cashmere hat using my bargain find at String (see my stash over to the right? that cashmere. YUM)

Ok, so that is a lot of stuff to knit on a few flights, but between now and the holidays, I'll be going to Dallas and circumnavigating the globe, via Germany, The Netherlands and China, which will be tons of flight time and tons of hanging out in the hotel time. Should be enough time to finish this list and hopefuly there will be enough room in my luggage for all the fiber!

Rhinebeck Report

2007-10-28T21:52:00.001-04:00

Would love to have gotten this up sooner, but life has been crazy. We had a great visit to Rhinebeck. We left very early in the morning from NYC:The drive up was a bit foggy

But we got there just before 9am and the sun had come out and there was no line at the gate!
I went right to The Fold and picked up a bunch of Socks that Rock
and some roving
Wait, what is a knitter going to do with roving? Well, my mom and I headed over to The Wool Room where I received some great instruction on how to use a Lendrum. It was so natural, I bought the weel.
After some more wandering around, I saw this lovely pumpkin
Guess this guy had some of the fried pickles. There was some damn good chicken pot pie, much less disturbing than lamb chops. And speaking of food, this was good year for some organic purchases, such as some locally made cheese and Organic Flour and Cornmeal
How about these cool glass pins from Moving Mud?
There were a lot of other goodies, but best of all is seeing the goats
and the sheep!

Feeling Better

2007-10-28T21:39:00.000-04:00

Hi, Frances the cat here. Just wanted to tell everyone that I'm feeling much better these days. Things were rough for while, but my parents took good care of me, and I keep hearing them grumble about their savings account. I'm not really sure what that is, but it sounds like theirs is smaller than it was and it has somthing to do the nice people at the vet. My feeding tube came out last week, and my mom and dad have been shoving pills into my mouth twice a day. This is really annoying, and I'm going to have to get sneakier if I want them to stop. But its better than when they were shoving food into that tube thing. Well, must go eat more now (and then hide - I think they are going to give me another pill soon).

Rhinebeck here we come

2007-10-18T22:27:00.000-04:00

Only a day until Rhinebeck and I can hardly wait for the fiber frenzy to begin. My mom and I are leaving NYC first thing Saturday morning, with all intentions of arriving by 9 or 9:30am. Since neither of us are particularly good in the early morning, hopefully we'll get there by noon. Our prep has included the following:

A thorough review of all vendors and a preprinted map with key locations highlighted
A set of rules for both of us - no yarn for Liza, no roving for Caroline, no new hobbies for either of us (oh, but how I'd love to hook a rug with a primitive sheep design, and my mom would be quite happy with a loom...)
Scoping of "events" like the blogger/Raveler meetup at noon, and visiting Clara Parkes' book signing
Prioritized purchases - i.e. spinning wheel for me like a Louet or a Lundrum

I'm not quite sure I can get lunch at the lamb booth again this year. It may be a bit too cyclical for me. Yes, they are a different kind of lamb, but it seems kind of wrong to be munch on a lamb chop while holding a big bag of wool.

There are a few things about Rhinebeck I don't quite get - planning your outfit around your most recent knitted accomplishments, the whole lamb for lunch thing, and the sheer volume of people who attend. There was actually a whole discussion on ravelry, with a ton of posts, about outfits. My outfit hadn't gotten much further than danskos... comfy feet are key.

So I'll be the one in the non-knitted objects, lugging around a crapload of roving and wool that I didn't plan to buy, chowing on lambchops. Just like everyone else there...

Embossed Leaves Progress

2007-10-17T21:08:00.000-04:00

Continuing in the trend of the past few weeks, travel is ever present in my life. Over the past week, I've been to West Virginia, Cleveland and Boston (not Quebec) which means much knitting time. The latest project on the needles in a pair of socks, Embossed Leaves, knit in Socks that Rock from Interweave's 25 Favorite Socks.

While I was knitting on a flight from Philly to Charlotte, I sat across from a woman who told me that when she was first married, she knit one pair of argyle socks per week for her husband. The evolution of knitting from a necessity to provide clothing, to a leisure hobby is a fascinating one to me. What people once did to save money and clothe themselves, has become, for me at least, a way to make really expensive socks and sweaters. I bet the nice woman on the plane would not spend $20 on yarn for a pair of socks!
This pattern is great, although notice the nice little hole at the top of the gusset.
One sock down, another to go.

Things I'd Like

2007-10-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

To know exactly who thought it was acceptable to use my credit card number to buy $400 worth of jewelry in Quebec last week
To sleep in my own house for more than 3 nights in a row
To get to Rhinebeck early enough to get to The Fold before all the Socks that Rock sells out
To find some time to get to the gym, which I joined two weeks ago and have not been to yet
For my brain to be a bit more functional right now....

Uploading Loser

2007-10-06T19:43:00.000-04:00

For all the knitters who read my blog, I'm sure you know (or have heard) what a great thing ravelry is. For those who are not knitters, its basically a site that you can use to organize all of your yarns, log your projects, and share ideas with other knitters about projects, etc. Its a great tool, but I do feel like a bit of a loser having spent 2 hours on a Saturday night loading photos of yarn and baby sweaters onto Flickr and Ravelry. I mean, as great as this tool is, it does take a lot of time to get yourself organized on there. Maybe it is faster once you've gotten all of your stuff loaded.
I'm thinking about going to Rhinebeck again this year, which will be on another weekend when I'll be a photographer-widow. Maybe I'll play Rhinebeck bingo.

Like a hole in the head...

2007-09-30T20:03:00.000-04:00

A new hobby is not really something I need right now. Knitting and my dallying in spinning takes up a lot of time (not to mention an entire closet-full of yarn, fiber and other stuff), and I really could benefit from other ways to spend my time, like continuing to put together our house, and getting my *ss to the gym. But I couldn't really resist signing up for an intro to quilting class at the new fabric store in Narberth. This will lead to the purchase of a sewing machine, I'm sure, and I just stocked up on all sorts of supplies like fabric scissors and a rotary cutter. Class starts at the end of October, so stay tuned for updates on Caroline's adventures in quilting...

Some Recently Finished items

2007-09-30T19:20:00.001-04:00

A lot of travel leads to fewer posts, but more knitting. In the past month I've been to North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee and Connecticut for work and for fun, which means hours of plane and car rides for knitting. Oh, and also it means spotting John Waters in the Knoxville airport and on my flight back to Philly. Frankly, I was kind of wondering what I was doing Knoxville, but I really wonder why John Waters was there. A southern version of Hairspray?
The Baby Burlbaw collection continues to grow:

The pink kimono is knit in a cotton/merino blend that I picked up at the String moving sale back in February. There is probably enough left for a hat and booties, which may or may not get made. The multi-colored kimono is made with Peaches and Cream and the hat in Be Sweet Magic Ball. An eyelet baby blanket is almost done too, and then I'll get to work on another blanket and a hat and mitten set.
The Hat and Booties I knit a few months ago now have a good home with the newborn son of a co-worker:
And Scott's Camo Socks are also finally finished, much to his surprise....
These are knit in Lorna's Laces shepherd sock camouflage (yes, somewhat obvious based on how they knit up...) and the pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks.
So that is some of the recently completed stuff - maybe I'll get some of it up on Ravelry one of these days.

Almost...

2007-09-10T20:41:00.000-04:00

on Ravelry. Here is what the wait list checker says:

You signed up on June 29, 2007
You are #11558 on the list.
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Life in general

2007-09-08T18:01:00.000-04:00

I was going to write a long post about the circle of life. Instead, just a quick snippet about the surreal nature of yesterday. I was in Chapel Hill, NC for a college friend's memorial service, which was absolutely tragic. In the afternoon I visited Neely and Richard in Raleigh and met Sylvie (who is two, and it is really abysmal that I hadn't met her until yesterday) and Lucy, who is three days old today.
So needless to say, the past few days have been very pensive... i could write volumes about everything from keeping in better touch with friends to the unjustness of untimely deaths not only for the deceased but their families to the beauty of new life. But not today.

Home Sweet Home

2007-08-08T20:09:00.000-04:00

Things continue to come together here in Narberth. Life on the Main Line is great - everything is so convenient, we know our neighbors, there is stuff to do, and I love our house. Quite a change from Cranbury where there was nothing convenient except for pizza and chinese food, we didn't know our neighbors, and there was nothing to do.
Its amazing how much work there is when you buy a house, even if its turn key like our little bungalow. Today we had the visit from the electrician who installed the new vent hood for the stove. I never really thought much about vent hoods until we didn't have one, but they are pretty essential if you cook a lot like we do.
We also had our new pendant lamp installed in the dining room.
This was a great find from MacKenzie Childs, and I love how it works with the terracotta stucco, (which incidentally, I've decided to live with, because it would be such a p.i.a. to remove). On Friday, I'm off to a super secret warehouse sale where hopefully I will find new dining room chairs. And hopefully will have good knitting time because its 1.5 hours away.
On the Frances front, she is back in the hospital, where she had a biopsy and aspiration today. Things were getting better, but then took a little downward turn, which is how we ended up back in the hospital. We'll confirm the diagnosis tomorrow, but the news from the vet was encouraging. All the vets, nurses and staff have been so great, and the receptionists all know us now. Apparently Frances is the most popular cat there, probably because she is so damn cute and such a sweet kitty!
In the meantime, Max is enjoying life as an only cat. That will end when his sister comes back home tomorrow!

Polka-Dotted Princess

2007-08-01T21:40:00.001-04:00

Frances got some snazzy new bandages today at her vet checkup. How about those polka dots? She's not eating on her own yet, but that may not happen for a month or so (hence the tube). She's on a four times daily feeding schedule, which doesn't give her much opportunity to get hungry though.
I've decided to knit the Baby Surprise Jacket with the Be Sweet Bamboo that didn't work so well for the Mason Dixon baby kimono. I've ordered my first EZ book, and signed up for Zimmermania . I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival in the mail so I can get started. I'm not so motived these days on the knitting front - maybe because the cat care and feeding takes a lot of time and effort...
Must go - its time for Top Chef!

Kitty update

2007-07-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

Frances is doing a lot better. Her animal hospital's radiologist is out, so we had to take her for an ultrasound and then back to the animal hospital today. The iv fluids she has been on seemed to put some spunk back into her. She remembered that she doesn't like being the cage or the car and whined the whole way there and back. The ultrasound confirmed the original diagnosis and didn't show anything else, although she is very anemic.
When we left her today, they were about to put in a feeding tube so she can get some nutrition, which will hopefully address the anemia, and if all goes according to plan, she'll be home on Saturday or Sunday. Max is a bit confused and lonely with his sister's absence, so we'll all be happy when she's back.

Stressed Out Kitty!

2007-07-25T18:58:00.000-04:00

Moving twice in six weeks has taken a toll on us, but it has really taken a toll on our little kitty Frances. Frances doesn't get much air time on the ole blog because she isn't quite the attention getter that her brother Max is. While Max likes to be in the middle of everything, Frances likes chilling out, and enjoys a good cuddle. She can get a little spazzy, but is just generally a friendly little kitty.
Frances hasn't take well to Narberth. While I'm sure she loves the house (who wouldn't?!), she has been spending a lot of time hiding in the guest room between boxes, and seems generally disinterested, but not in an aloof cat kind of way. Last night it was clear she wasn't herself, so it was off to the vet. From the vet, she went to the 24 hr animal hospital, where she was diagnosed with Hepatic Liver Disease. Turns out that not eating or drinking will do that to a cat... It will also lead them to loose 5 pounds, which is a huge percentage of body weight.
She is now receiving a kitty iv with fluids, and they are trying to stimulate her appetite. Tomorrow she goes somewhere else for an ultrasound, and then we'll know the whole story. Fortunately, its treatable, and she can be 100% back to normal in about a month, assuming the ultrasound doesn't reveal anything else. So we are hoping for the best, and I'll get to see her tomorrow when we go for the ultrasound. But the house seems a bit empty without the little black cat...

Pictures, finally

2007-07-22T22:00:00.001-04:00

Three weeks after moving in, the house is starting to finally come together. We successfully sold furniture that we no longer want in our life on Craig's List this weekend. Our lime green adirondack chairs are gracing our front porch,
the new grill is on the back deck, we have at least one hanging towel bar in our bathroom and life is good. There is still lots to do, but things are really taking shape.
Over the past few weeks, there are a few knitting projects that have also taken shape. A few months ago, I picked up some Classic Elite Obsession at String. Unplied cashmere is a beautiful, luscious thing.
But how does this knit up? Quite nicely, thank you very much. This jumbled mess is actually a scarf with a little ruffled edge, which will be wonderful for the winter.
The yarn sort of variegates as it goes, but all of the colors are always incorporated.
I also finished the pink baby blanket which is HUGE. 36" square. Here it is in progress on the plane to Sedda's wedding...
That was about 2 months ago, and now it is done! Now its just a question of which of my wonderful friends expecting little girls will be the recipient... And time to get started on a sweater for the other. I tried the baby kimono is the be sweet bamboo which I picked up at Loop, but the drape is all wrong. Now I need to find a) another project for four balls of bamboo and b) another baby project. Preferably these will be one and the same. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
So while I'm thinking about this, I'll be watching the debate with Scott and Max. Yes, my cat is watching the debate. He's not a convential cat - we think he's hoping for a Kucinich/Gravel ticket. Fortunately he is not registered to vote.
These days, I think my vote is with Edwards. Don't tell my cat.

Babies everywhere

2007-07-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

It seems like everyone is pregnant or has a very small child. All three of my bridesmaids are pregnant. My cousin Holly and her husband Matt just adopted a little girl, and her sister Caren is due in January. Ginny and Oren's baby #2 is adorable.
My biological time-bomb is continuing to tick loudly, and maybe I'll join the pregnancy ranks one of these days.
Now, here is the interesting thing. As a woman, you spend much of your adult fertile life focused on not getting pregnant. By the time you hit thirty, if you're like me, you have tried a bunch of different pills, you perhaps had a Seinfeld moment when the today sponge originally went off the market (theoretically, of course), and you don't have any issues buying your own condoms. Maybe you've taken the morning after pill, or gone with a friend to planned parenthood. Our focus has been on not getting a disease and not getting pregnant.
So when you are ready to get pregnant, its a whole mind shift. To understand how to get pregnant when for most of your adult life its been what you are trying to avoid takes some study. Of course, most women probably don't actually study up on this, but I've been doing some reading. And starting to learn quite a bit. It'll have to be a few unsuccessful months of just plain old trying before we delve into ovulation tests and basal body temp monitoring. More to come in the next few months on this...
Until then, here is a little baby kimono for Holly & Matt's daughter Maya (who we are meeting in a few weeks!)

Bustin a Move

2007-06-29T20:31:00.001-04:00

That's what we are doing tomorrow - bustin a move to Narberth. Our floors are done (and they look fabulous) and fumes are nearly gone. The cleaning guy came today, and we've been schlepping car loads over from our temporary place. And as nice as this place has been for a furnished apartment, we're cramped and crowded and ready to get out...
In the past month I've done tons and tons of knitting - although I have no idea where the cord the connects camera to the computer is, so no pictures just yet. The baby blanket for Neely's baby is almost finished, the baby kimono that was originally for Katie's baby is finished (but now its for my cousin Holly's baby girl, who we didn't know was coming quite so quickly because she was adopted), and the little booties and hat set for Jennie's baby is also done. Maybe I could do some knitting for grown-ups one of these days....
The exploration of Main Line yarn shops has begun. Ewe and I is a nice little shop in Bryn Mawr that has a good selection, and they seem very friendly. They also have a little needlepoint section. Frou Frou was less impressive, probably because they have a whole lot of one thing, and limited selections of other things. They seem to stock every variety and color of Debbie Bliss yarns. In fact, when I went to check it out, Debbie Bliss herself had just left an hour earlier after a talk. But other than that, their selection was not fantastic. Lots of novelty yarns, and not too many interesting small dyers, spinners, etc. But I'm sure its great for the people who like it, and no one is forcing me to shop there, and if I need any Debbie Bliss, I know where to go. There are a few more places to check out, so I'll continue to post my reviews over the next few months. Ok, who am I kidding? It will only take me about a week to make sure I've been to all of them!

Bonjour from Montreal!

2007-06-17T10:44:00.000-04:00

Scott and I are in Montreal this weekend celebrating our anniversaire. In honor of our location, I will intersperse this post with some random francais. Although I have no idea how to put accents in the right places. I'm sure that'll offend some frenchies, but hopefully they will get over it.
We are eating well - we went to an awesome Vietnamese place in China town - Phuoc Loi - which was some of the meilleur Vietnamese I've had in a long time. And last night nous avons mange a L'Express, which was tres bien. Ce soir, we are going to Au Pied du Cochon. Can someone say Porc?
Salut and tomorrow we'll return to Philadelphia a bit more rotund... and with no pictures cause I forgot the camera!

Tomorow is the big day!

2007-06-11T23:02:00.000-04:00

After what seems alternatively like eons and the blink of an eye, we are closing on our house tomorrow. Of course, I've become so superstitious that I don't even want to blog about it cause I wouldn't want to jinx anything. But it's so amazing that we're finally here because we've been talking about buying a house for almost three years now.
We're so super close - we're out of our Cranbury house (praise the Lord - I did NOT like that town) and in a beige apartment in Malvern, PA. By the end of the month we'll be in the new place. Pictures tomorrow. Or when life slows down a bit.

Princess Goes Camping and Friends and Family get Married

2007-06-01T19:25:00.000-04:00

With the craziness of the past few weeks, and the impending greater craziness of the next few weeks, its a bit of a wonder that I'm blogging right now. Did I mention that we are moving, buying a house, and I'm starting a new job, all while going to a bunch of weddings all over the place? Just a few things going on here... But I'm trying to keep things under Control.
Last week we were at Sedda and Greg's wedding in Yosemite, where I camped.

Yes, Princess went camping. Its hard to believe, but its a good thing that Scott got some photos of me sleeping in the tent, because no one will ever see this again. I see how this is appealing to people, but I am not one of those people. Nature is great, and I appreciate it, but I'd rather sleep in a bed than a tent.
Seriously, this is one of the advances humankind has made over the past several thousand years - moving from tents into sturdier structures. One of the reasons Jews don't camp is that our people did a lot of camping over the course of 40 years in the desert. This was enough for the rest of us. For the rest of eternity. Also, I like having showers readily available. But the wedding was beautiful, and Scott took gorgeous pictures.

And we went from there to DC, via home, on about four hours of sleep, for my cousin Avi's wedding to his wonderful wife Anne. It was another beautiful wedding, but it was a study in contrasts with earlier in the week. Outside vs. Inside, 40 people vs. 200, both elegant in very different ways, and my favorite contrast - a toast about the metaphor of rock climbing as related to marriage vs. a toast by my uncle referencing the rosenbergs and another referencing anne boleyn. We're not really sure how or why these latter two toasts occurred, but fortunately, there were others with metaphors other than execution.

So that is the wedding report for now - check back in two weeks for our final report of the spring wedding season...

My first meme tag

2007-05-18T20:07:00.000-04:00

Ginny tagged me, so I'm going to join the fun. The rules are to post 8 random, interesting things about myself and tag 8 other people. I'm not sure that I know 8 people who read my blog who actually are bloggers, but I'll do my best...
1. My middle name, Aviva, is a palindrome. It means spring in Hebrew (interesting, because I was born in February).
2. I've lived in 4 different states - NY, NJ, NC and TX - and 3 different countries - US, Japan & France. And now we're moving to PA...
3. Our cats, Max and Frances, are named for my favorite children's book characters.
4. Scott and I met at a bar but it wasn't really like we met at a bar because it was a it was a cheese tasting at a wine & art bar. This is only interesting if you know me and Scott, because we're probably the last people who you would expect to meet each other in a bar...
5. I was proclaimed a "Duchess of Hazard" by the mayor of Hazard, KY. The proclamation was accompanied by a key to the city that doubles as a paperweight and a bottle opener. I'm not really sure why I was made a duchess, but I used to travel to Hazard once a month because I was the HR manager for a coal mining business that was a subsidiary of my former employer.
6. On the subject of work, I worked for Enron and am currently employed by Tyco. I was there until the bitter end, and got laid off while I was an expat in Japan. I've heard every possible joke on this subject(s). And no, I'm not going to go work for any of the following as my next employer: Adelphia, World-Com, HealthSouth, WasteManagement or any other scandal-plagued company.
7. I played the violin for 13 years, and was actually pretty good. But I quit in college because I never found the time to practice. I would love to take it up again.
8. I learned to knit when I was pretty young. My mom taught me when I was about 7 or so, it didn't take, and then we learned to knit in the fourth grade. I knit a purple hat and white striped hat that my mom still has.

So there it is...
I'm tagging my mom and the first seven people who read this post. Ok, I actually have no idea how to make that work, so any of you regular visitors, consider yourself tagged! Leave me a comment if you're going to do it!

Choices, Choices...

2007-05-15T20:24:00.000-04:00

Even though its still many moons until the Pennsylvania Presidential Primaries, I've decided its about time that I throw my weight behind a candidate. I'm sure Crafty Caroline's endorsement will really be huge for any of the contenders - probably as important as the NY Times.
Here are my thoughts so far - Bill Richardson is probably the most qualified from an international experience standpoint. For that matter, he's also got a lot of good domestic experience. His energy background would be key to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and would probably put a lot support behind a greener approach to power generation. But, he doesn't have a ton of pizzazz. I think he'll end up on the ticket as VP.
I really like John Edwards' position on poverty eradication. Ambitious, well thought out. A bit odd that someone who lives in a home the size of a small nation is focused on eliminating poverty, but I'm will to look past it. Not sure he's as strong on the international front, and in a recent Time magazine commentary by Joe Klein, sounds like he needs some more ideas on Iraq. The guilty liberal in me gets very excited by Edwards focus on poverty, as ultimately this is one of the biggest problems in our country today.
Barack is certainly intriguing, but might need some more time, and Hillary would do a great job, but is a little smug. So over the next few weeks, I'll be doing my due diligence, and sharing my findings.
Now, off to read more about the other candidates...

Whoa...

2007-05-13T19:53:00.000-04:00

Whoa - this is so bizarre.

miss ewe knits: a video for distraction...

For any other yids reading this who get creeped out by hearing a lot of German, turn down the volume...

Ahh, Saturday...

2007-05-12T19:09:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of Saturdays. There is something about the first day of the weekend that is really relaxing. Sundays, I'm thinking about all the crap I want to get done before the end of the weekend.
This Saturday has been great - I went to Loop, which I've been dying to check out. Its a really nice store - great selection, helpful staff, and well organized. They stock a lot of Blue Sky Alpaca, so it was a good opportunity to pick up some stash for one of the several baby blankets on my tkl (consider this a newly coined phrase- "to knit list"). Their Organic Cotton and Dyed Cotton worked out nicely for Leo's blanketso I picked up some more for the next blanket on the list. Different pattern from Mac & Me, but same basic mitred corner concept. It'll look nice in this pink...

So back to my Saturday... Then I moseyed over to HeaDAreA at Matthew Izzo and got a very good cut - I totally gambled cause I had no recommendations, but now I have a Philly hairdresser. Yay. Color next week (baaaaadly needed)... I'll post about my fear of new hairdressers some other time.

And then I've basically been chillin' since I got home, which has given me a chance to catch up on blog photos. Here is my package from my secret pal:

And Scott's camo socks which are progressing. Well, its still the first sock, but lets keep in perspective that these are knit on #0 needles.

During my radio silence, I almost finished the dragon scale mitts for my secret pal

And just because they are beautiful, here is a picture of some fresh eggs which one of my co-workers brought me last week. Scott's already eaten them - the review was very good!

One of the disadvantages of marriage is that if you like a certain kind of food, and your spouse doesn't like that food or is allergic to it, it tends to disappear from your cooking repetoire. So I am taking advantage of the fact that Scott is working tonight to make myself some Shrimp Scampi. Yum. But honestly, this seems to be a very small trade-off in the grand scheme of things...

Yes, I'm still doing this blogging thing...

2007-05-11T21:08:00.000-04:00

I could imagine how one might think that this crafty-caroline thing has been abandoned. What with the limited posts and all...
Actually, however, life has been nuts and blogging seems to have fallen victim to lack of time. Since I last posted, I've been doing two jobs - my new job, and the old one which is still ongoing until sometime in the middle of June, commuting to Philly for a few days as week, finalizing the deal on the house, and being a supportive and helpful daughter as my mom and Marsha got Civil-Union-ized. Oh, and we're planning the move, which is probably not that difficult considering all that we have to do is have the moving people show up and they pack up all our crap. Not to gloat, but there is no move like a full service move. But we still have to get things organized, get our asses into temporary housing and clean this place up.
In the midst of the mayhem, I received a great package from my Secret Pal last week, which included a beautiful skein of Socks that Rock (yay!), More Sensational Socks, some yummy chocolate, bath salts and jelly bellys. Thank you secret pal! I'm so looking forward to making some cool socks!

and she's back...

2007-04-27T20:04:00.000-04:00

So it's been a while, but now I'm back to the world of blogging. In the past few weeks, I've finally gotten over my bronchitis/laryngitis, and we've started the house buying process. We found a great house in Narberth, and had our inspection last week. Assuming all continues to go smoothly, we'll be moving in mid-June.
Not too much knitting lately, but I've finished Leo's blanket and its off to Ginny and Oren tomorrow (provided it's done drying!). And I'm also almost done with the fingerless gloves for my Secret Pal. Her first goody bag is ready to go, although i accidentally left some chocolate I got her in my car, and well, it ended up as a big blob of melted goo. So, no chocolate this time - perhaps in the next package...
Today, I made a little trip to String and got some really cool unplied cashmere, and a new tabletop swift. No pictures cause I'm feeling way lazy right now, but maybe later...
Perhaps I'm feeling lazy because I did two days of Bikram Yoga this week, after not having been to Bikram in over three years. Yoga is one thing, but 90 minutes of intense sweating yoga is another. And its not like I've been working out lately. But the Bikram place is about 5 minutes from my new office, so there is no excuse not to go. There is something really perverse about enjoying the bikram experience - but thankfully I recognize that - and the end result is totally worth it. The last time I was really into this, my now "skinny jeans" were too big. Lets see how quickly I can get back there...

Enough Already

2007-04-14T12:38:00.000-04:00

I'm ready for this damn bronchitis to go away. Nothing like spending an entire night hacking up a lung, when you'd rather be sleeping.

Stitch Markers!

2007-04-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

I got the most fabulous stitch markers as part of the Get Stitchy swap from Sparrow in the mail the other day. And cool packaging to boot!

I am so loving these, and I realized that my stitch markers need a bit more polish! My jewerly making skills are a bit rusty. So I took apart the ones I made for Sparrow and for my SP and started again.
And speaking of my SP, she mentioned that she would really like some fingerless gloves. And while she specified a pattern from Knitty, I really wanted to try the Dragon Scale Mitts from PurlBee. While they suggested Blue Sky Alpaca's Sport Weight 100% Alpaca, I went with the Alpaca Silk Blend. So yummy.

Perhaps I will make a pair for myself as well...

Mis-Adventures in Customer Service

2007-04-13T17:50:00.000-04:00

The state of customer service in this country, or at least in central Jersey, is truly appalling. In the past week, I've had three not so good experiences, and I've become a complainer. Just not going to tolerate it anymore.
For the past few days, I've had a miserable cough and a fever. Yesterday, I made a doctors appointment for today so I could get this thing under control and kick it. And the timing is unfortunate because I was looking forward to my mom's and Marsha's shower at The American Girl Store in NYC this afternoon.
When I got to the appointment (admittedly, 10 minutes late) I was told by the receptionist that since I was tardy, I couldn't see the doctor, and would have to go the emergency room. Now, I associate the emergency room with oozing cuts in need of stitches, limbs in need of casts and heart attacks, not a fever and a cough. I tried to explain to this woman that this was not an acceptable solution, and that perhaps if they had taken the person who had the appointment after me, couldn't I have that person's appointment? No dice. Anyway, I was explaining the situation to Scott in the elevator, and a woman who worked elsewhere in the hospital said "That isn't right - you should call the office manager." Good suggestion - I did, and was in to see a doctor within 10 minutes, and greeted by the office manager at the front desk. The receptionist gave me the evil eye when I came back into the office.
Part two of my misadventures occurred when I went to drop off my prescriptions. I was told that they'd be ready in 30 minutes, and we went home, and I came back about an hour and a half later. Now, when I arrived, the prescriptions were not ready, and I stood there for about 20 minutes until anyone explained what was going on (and not unprompted) and then another 25 minutes until I got my prescriptions. Apparently, they needed some info on my prescription plan, but instead of calling me to get an answer, they just waited for me to return. And then when expressed my displeasure, all I got was a mumbled "sorry". So I went to the store manager and explained the saga (nicely), and informed her that I'd be transferring all my prescriptions to another pharmacy.
Not every place of business can be like Nordstroms but I would be happier if they were.
Oh, and it turns out the cough and fever are viral bronchitis. Ugh.

Nut Ball?

2007-04-09T20:44:00.000-04:00

Scott thinks my picasa stash organization a bit over the top. In fact, he just called me a nut ball. Yes, its a bit strange, but nut ball? Maybe I won't share this stuff in the future for fear of being involuntarily committed.

Very Productive Weekend

2007-04-08T18:44:00.000-04:00

Well, maybe not by all accounts, but I would say that a mani/pedi, facial, and various other spa treatments is a lot to get accomplished over the course of two and a half days, as well as making a few stitch markers for the stitch marker swap.

sewing in the seams for Leo's blanket and blocking it

and photographing my entire stash and uploading it on Picasa

Yarn Stash

and then organizing it and storing it in a Max-proof fashion. So, now I can just look up on Picasa and find out how much I have of different yarns. Next, its time for needle inventory, but that's pretty boring...

Happy Mazto!

2007-04-02T23:23:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, Scott said something to me I can't say I ever expected to hear. Really. Never expected. Absolutely shocking. And those words were "Would you just go watch some Oprah and relax?" He actually requested that I go watch Oprah. Possibly because I was frantically preparing for tonight's seder and doing things like filling the ice bucket three hours before anyone was supposed to show up. Admittedly, it didn't make a whole lot of sense, because the ice probably would have melted before anyone got here.
So we had all this ready before Oprah

And somehow it was relaxing to watch 30 minutes of Oprah, even though I was sure it would stress me out even more...
Holiday dinners are nice, because they are a good excuse to use some of those nice wedding gifts...

We had a great menu, which included homemade gefilte fish, hard boiled egg, Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls (seen here in progress)

Traditional Haroset

and a yemenite haroset made with figs and dates, and flavored with ginger and cayenne pepper.

For the main course, we had braised lamb shoulder, asparagus and roasted root vegetables. And the dessert consisted of homemade macaroons

and matzo crunch, which is possibly one of the easiest recipes ever, but oh so decadent.
So it was a very nice seder, with a small crowd of six, including us, my mom and Marsha, Sam and my Aunt Angela. And even though the final NCAA game was poorly scheduled to coincide, we're now watching instead of contending with this mess...

Oh, and if Florida wins (and it seems to be looking that way!) I move up to 4th place in the office pool. Fourth place! Sure its out of the money, but certainly good enough for bragging rights. And a nice comeback, I might add, from the start of the tourney!

Sock it to me...

2007-03-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

Its been sock central around here lately. I finished knitting the purple socks a while ago, but just sewed in the ends. They are quite yummy!

Then we started Scott's socks. I say "started" because the pair that was in progress was completely frogged and I'm starting from scratch. Scott picked one of the many "Gentleman's Socks" from Knitting Vintage Socks and they are starting to come together.
Now I get why the colorway is called "camouflage." Check out my little stitch marker - I made a bunch, putting my massive bead collection to work.
Today, I went to my LYS to get some Secret Pal gifts. I got some good gifts, but ended up with more things for me, including four baby blanket patterns (yes, four) from Mac and Me and one from Blue Sky Alpacas, along with stash for a present baby blanket.

So the socks are going to take a little rest for now while I get going on the blanket.
Another lazy Saturday around here (although, honestly, I've done a lot already today) and then we head into the city for a dinner with my dad and step-mom. I LOVE the weekend!

The Compendium

2007-03-21T17:52:00.000-04:00

Now that Volume One is complete, its ready for its own post. Ta da!

And it even has its own catalogue card.

Do they still use these? And by "they", I mean my mother, step-mom and all those other crazy librarians out there. Well, even if Liza and Marsha don't use these, you can still make your own. Isn't it a bit ironic that the internet, which is likely responsible for the demise of the card catalogue, was my source for card kitsch? It's all so self-referential, but probably not as deep as I think it is.
Back to the Compendium - its my attempt at pattern organization, now nicely categorized and in individual plastic sleeves. I imagine most knitters have collected their patterns like this for years, but for some reason it took me a while to get around to finding something better than random piles of paper randomly interspersed with my knitting books in the craft room. Hopefully it won't degenerate into a major mess too quickly.

Number 1357504

2007-03-17T18:44:00.000-04:00

This is where I rank overall in the Yahoo NCAA standings. And I'm squarely in the bottom ten of the office pool out of 70 people. For the first time in my life, I was rooting for TAMU just moments ago. As a Rice alum married to a UT alum, this borders on sacrilige. I'll get over it since their win improved my standing.
But I still made some consolation chocolate chip cookies...

My preferred recipe is Ina Garten's from Barefoot Countessa Parties. These will be a great dessert for tonight's dinner of chili, made by Scott. mmm. Must go back on some sort of diet of moderation...
And on the knitting front, it turns out that knitting with size 17 needles means that things knit up SUPER FAST. Susan's Loopy Scarf is now finished.

In the mail to Dallas on Monday. I really like the way this came out - its very different, and has a nice drape. Hillary, if you read this, be sure to show her the picture! Now, back to the purple socks...

1/2 a Snow Day

2007-03-16T16:31:00.000-04:00

I used to love snow days when I was a kid. Who didn't though? You got the day off, got to play, stay inside and eat comfort cold weather food, after enjoying some sledding in the park.
Snow days are only a little different as a grown-up, and believe me, I'd go sledding if I could (which would require a sled and a nearby hill). Today wasn't a full snow day, but we had "early dismissal" at work because it is super gross outside.

This picture hardly does it justice, but its really slushy and sleety out, the roads are a mess and its cold. Oh, and the sleet is kind of painful when it hits you in the face.
So I'm enjoying an afternoon of Hoops and knitting. The loopy scarf for Susan is in much better shape than my NCAA bracket. I'm still trying to get the hang of the loop stitch, but it's starting to come together. This is knit is in Trendsetter Segue on #17 needles.

My bracket, on the other hand, is a total disaster. Who would have thought that VCU would beat Duke? Clearly, I didn't. And Notre Dame losing to Winthrop? Didn't see that coming. I'm just hoping that Wisconsin doesn't lose to the the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders (who?), although its looking questionable just into the second half. Maybe I'll make some cookies to console myself.

Stitch for Chicks

2007-03-14T21:04:00.001-04:00

I am totally loving Get Stitchy lately. Lots of helpful boards, nice folks, easy to navigate, and fun stuff. Since I didn't do the Kool-Aid Dye Along and wasn't too interested in the Green-Hat along, I was excited to join the Stitch for Chicks-along. Knitting for other women during Women's History Month is a fantastic idea. The "chick" I'm knitting for is my Mother in Law, Susan. A few months back, she took me to a cool yarn store in Dallas, and picked out some yarn and a pattern for a funky scarf. The scarf would be much further along (i.e. done) if I hadn't misplaced the pattern, so after some help from the folks at the yarn store, I'm now ready to go. I just casted on, and hope to be making progress shortly...
So, how would one prevent losing random patterns picked up at the LYS? Well, after contending with this issue more than once, as well as mangled patterns, I've created the Crafty Caroline Compendium. I envision this as a multi-volume work, which will warrant its own post one of these days. Volume One of the Compendium includes all sorts of knitting stuff and is categorized - patterns by type, technique, stitches, works in progress, etc. protected in plastic sleeves. Additional volumes are planned for needlepoint and bookarts, and maybe even jewelry making. Speaking of which, I'm really thinking about taking the beading stuff out one of these days, especially since I found a bracelet I loved today that I could totally make. And if I do make it, I'll be sure to share.

Another kind of stash

2007-03-11T20:09:00.000-04:00

I've recently determined that my stash is reaching capacity - lots and lots of all different kind of stuff, and a few years worth of projects. Oh, and then there is the roving stash, which is its own issue, espcially since my spinning hasn't really progressed since I finished my first skein. I'm going to try to curb the acquisitions for a while in these areas, largely because I'm running out of storage space.
But today, we did some acquiring of another kind. We stopped into Corkscrew and within 30 minutes, had piled up a case and a half of wine, including half a case of Aigle Blanc Vouvray. This is currently my favorite wine and since its not made anymore, I scooped up as much as I could find which included some 90s and 98s. The good news is that our acquisitions are all drinkable now, or as they say at Corkscrew "accessible", unlike some of the bottles in our fridge which are labled "2011 or later".

The Hunt

2007-03-10T20:03:00.000-05:00

Today we resumed our house-hunting expeditions, and I can say I'm feeling a lot better about this whole house purchase thing now than I did about a month ago. The last time we went out and looked, there were two houses that we really liked, and both had two offers on them in 24 hours. Not being interested in a bidding war, we walked away, and then I freaked out and thought "oh crap! this is too fast! must move slower - perhaps will rent for one year..." My wonderful husband said "no problem" and we didn't do anything for a few weeks. But reality has set in that we must grow up and make a commitment to a house (especially since the rental market looked really dismal) and we started looking again. A few potentials today, but nothing we're going to make an offer on. Our realtor gave us some homework, and suggested that we each come up our top ten criteria for a house, and to see if they match. So far I'm at functional kitchen, at least 1.5 bathrooms (that make sense - not a random toilet covered by a shower curtain in the basement like one house we looked at), good light and hardwood floors. A lot of other things come to mind, but aren't really essential like central air (could be installed), a entry way instead of entering right into the living room, and room for me to have my own home office. But I've been a lot better at coming up with things I don't want, all of which are changeable, but sometimes hard to look past. For example, drop ceilings, yucky carpets, kitchens that make no sense and kitschy bathrooms tiled in forest green and pink. I'm trying not to love a house because I love the decorating (i did love a house primarily because the owner had some of the same shoes as me, some knitting stuff in her study and a perfume that I love) but sometimes its hard to look past. I know our house is out there - fortunately, we have a few months before we need to find it and move in!

New Shoes, New Shoes, Red and Pink and Blue Shoes...

2007-03-04T14:09:00.000-05:00

In the first grade at a Brearley, everytime someone wore new shoes to school, we sang a little ditty "New Shoes, New Shoes, Red and Pink and Blue Shoes...Which shoes would you choose if they let you try... " (and I don't remember the rest. Its been a long time since I was six years old.) Anyway, yesterdary I accomplished some good shoe shopping in the general vicinity of the big B. My two acquisitions include some HOT patent leather pumps and some surpisingly comfy open toed pumps. Somehow, I doubt anyone will sing when I wear my new shoes to work like we used to at school, but these make me happy. I have a specific shoe purchasing philosophy - buy quality that lasts, and take good care of them. Somehow I've found that the only shoes that fit my feet are on the more expensive end. This could be because I have flat feet that seem to have some funky extra bones (unconfirmed, but nobody else seems to have these) or because I am cursed with having an appreciation for and gravitation towards "the finer things". But if its priced reasonably, it likely doesn't fit. Really.
I used to be quite a prolific shoe shopper, but I've calmed down a lot since moving to New Jersey. Well, there were several pre-wedding shoe acquisitions, but other than that, my shoe collection has remained stagnant. Perhaps the shoe drought will end when we move to Pennsylvania. I imagine that the proximity of King of Prussia Mall to my office will help in this effort.
Today is our 9 month anniversary - we're celebrating by watching the Duke vs. UNC game (not looking good for the Blue Devils) and I'm working on the second purple sock. Almost done with the heel.
My next project is going to be part of the Stitch for Chicks -along from Get Stitchy. Over Christmas, my MIL took me to this great yarn store in Dallas, and we chose some yarn and a cool pattern for a scarf. Good occasion to get this moving along... The pattern is knit of size 17 needles, which I haven't used before. But they look fun!

String Madness

2007-02-25T21:27:00.000-05:00

For about 2 weeks, I've been looking forward to the String sale. And today was the day. Apparently, my mom, aunt and i were not the only ones looking forward to the sale. We got there 15 minutes before the store opened, and there were at least 30 people in front of us in line. When you think about this, its pretty amazing that there was a LINE for a yarn store sale. After a bit of waiting, my aunt and I got in and did some serious damage - I scored 20 skeins of noro chenille (for what I have no idea), four skeins of classic elite cashmere, and a sample short sleeve silk sweater in cool purples, cream and camels. Somehow, I thought there would be some of their really amazing stuff on sale, but no dice. It was a total zoo inside, but unlike NY sample sale mayhem, people were friendly about climbing all over each other and digging around in bins on the floor. My mom was still waiting in line by the time we were done, but she was happy to give up and join us for Chocolate across the street. Excellent sustenance for a maddening shopping expedition.
Slightly off topic, but I'm watching the Oscars right now, and they are showing everything nominated for costume design. I think one of the costumes for Marie Antoinette had a sail-boat headpeice. Seems very strange. Did women every really wear sail-boat headpeices? Crazy.
Ok, now back to knitting... I finished the first purple sock. Time to CO for sock #2, unless distracted by more interesting headpeices.

Crafty Caroline, Master Sushi Chef

2007-02-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

I lived in Japan for about a year in 2001 (more on that another time). Before I went to Japan, I loved sushi. When I lived in Japan, I loved sushi even more. And when i returned from Japan, I started making my own sushi. Here is last night's dinner, as documented by twice pulitzer prize nominated photographer, my husband.

Yum yum yum

Tomorrow is the sale at String. I'm as so excited - hoping for some massive finds, but am bringing cash, because lord knows that String is a place one could go massively out of control with the stash enhancement. Until then, I'm just going to spend my Saturday chillin', watching tv (Notting Hill is on right now - excellent!) and working on the sock. Oh, and looking over my new book, Favorite Socks. Lots of ideas...

Relpax to the Rescue

2007-02-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

Migraines absolutely suck. Totally debilatating. Every couple of weeks or months, the throbbing starts, and then all bets are off. That means its time to take my favorite medication, and lie down until it all passes. And that is what I did yesterday after 2 hours of work. I hadn't had one in a while, but that doesn't make them any better. And the replax leaves me with its own distinct hangover-type feeling for the next day, which I guess is better than the migraine, but still crappy.
After everything passed, and I got a bunch of work done (from my bed), it seemed like an opportune time to try the short row heels again. Armed with my trusty copy of Simple Socks Plain and Fancy, and an amazingly thorough resource compiled by Knitwerk, i was able to turn the heel. Once I got the hang of it, it was fine, but goddamn was that hard!

Max found the heel intriguing too.

Short Row Heels

2007-02-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

Work has been crazy, so i keep coming home looking forward to working on these short row socks i just started. I think the socks are just stressful as work has been. i've pulled out the heel three times now. ARGGH...
Maybe spinning would be better therapy right now.

Nothing says Happy Valentines Day like Red Velvet Cake...

2007-02-15T19:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, there was an article in the The New York Times about Red Velvet Cake . I'm a closet Red Velvet fan - I've been known to order it, especially when living in North Carolina, but probably have never proclaimed my appreciation publicly. But yesterday, that all changed. I saw the recipe and HAD to make it. HAD to. So once I got home safely on the icey roads, I convinced Scott to go the store and get all the stuff we needed. So after some fun with food coloring, we enjoyed this yummy cake.

So today at work when asked what we did for Valentines Day, I proudly proclaimed "I made Red Velvet Cake and it was SOOO good". No more red velvet shame here! I'm even bringing some of it into work tomorrow for everyone else to enjoy.

Secret Pal 10 Questionnaire

2007-02-14T18:18:00.000-05:00

I'm excited for my first Secret Pal. Its taken me a bit of time to complete this, but here goes...

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I'm a sucker for natural fiber and anything with a cool colorway. Right now, I'm in a phase where I love Artyarns supermerino, claudia's handpainted sock yarn and lorna's laces shepherd sock. I really don't like anything with acrilyc or that sheds a lot.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My crafts room is an attempt at organization, but the one rubbermaid tub devoted to needles and various acoutrements has not proved to be the most efficient storage. I rifle around to find things, so I've been eying some of those nifty bags.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I've been knitting for 22 years, on and off. I'd call myself an intermediate/advanced intermediate, mostly because I really started knitting when I was nine, and nine year olds don't knit all that well. My mom taught me how to knit when I was seven, but I didn't complete my first project until the fourth grade when we were required to select some sort of knitting or embroidery project. Who would guess that my school was known for creating intellectual young women - cause in retrospect, it sounds like an enforcement of gender roles! (however, my husband will point out that they did not teach us to clean...)

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes - Amazon...

5. What's your favorite scent?
I'm a fan lavender. Not too big into citrus scents or anything cinnamon-y or musky.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
From the woman who had a candy bar at her wedding (as in a big buffet of candy), yes, I have a sweet tooth. I really like Jelly Bellys!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
My mom is teaching me how to spin, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm also learning how to make hand-made books. I've also done some needlepoint and I love to cook and bake.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I'm not a huge music buff - I mostly listen to NPR...

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Pink, Pink, Pink. But I also love blues, purples, greens, creams, black, grey. Not a big red, yellow or orange fan.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married with two cats

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes - I wear all of these except for ponchos

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Hmmm, a favorite... Not quite sure. I'm getting into socks right now (working on my third pair) and I'm enjoying mittens and gloves. Nothing gives me more satifaction than finishing something big like a sweater, but there is one sweater I've been working on since 2002.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A few things - top down socks from Simple Socks, Plain & Fancy, some mittens for my dad, and a funky scarf for my mother in law. Always good to have a few things going at once.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Not really...

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circular needles - big fan of Bamboo and of the addi-turbo aluminum. Also, big user of dpns.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
One of each...

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
It would be the purple sweater from 2002. Its really nice. Its just taken a back seat.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Turkey day! (Thanksgiving for those not from the US)

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Not actively, but I keep meaning to collect this super cool china pattern from the 60s that I have a few peices of. Not that I expect that anyone but myself would add to that collection.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I like to go to my LYS and pet the Blue Sky Alpaca. Its all so soft and cozy... I would like to expand my collection of sock patterns. I get Interweave, which I love.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd love to learn instarsia. And this is the year of the sock - I want to become a good sock knitter.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes I am! A beginner sock knitter, but a sock knitter none the less.

23. When is your birthday?
February 12th

Pink Sock Success?

2007-02-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

It's been a whirlwind couple of days! Scott made me a yummy birthday dinner on Friday night

since I was out of town yesterday for my actually b-day. Rack of lamb... mmmm...
Saturday was jam-packed with visiting with our Our Friends in Portland and then an Ethiopian dinner in NYC. Then we ran to Philly on Sunday morning to look at houses and then I flew to Boca for work on Sunday afternoon. And now I'm home. With all this craziness comes lots of knitting time so the pink socks are now done.

They came out fine, but I definitely have some opportunities to improve technique. Especially where the heel flap joins - seems pretty loose. Also, gussets seem a little hole-y. I'll give myself a B on these. Now I'm starting some top-down socks based on Simple Socks Plain and Fancy with a short row heel. Claudia's handpainted again, this time in some fun purples. This year is going to be the year of the sock...

out damn sock

2007-02-08T19:12:00.000-05:00

I should know better than to feign any competence in the sock department. I can't keep them paired in my sock drawer or on my feet in bed, let alone knit a full pair. Sock number two of the pink socks was coming along swimmingly until i did something while working on the heel flap that was irreparable, and i had to frog a good 1.5 inches. ugh. just when i thought i was getting the hang of it...
Why did I think toe-up socks were a good beginner sock option? why?

New and Improved!

2007-02-07T22:46:00.000-05:00

Like the new design? I sure do!

But it seems like we just got here!

2007-02-07T19:55:00.000-05:00

After two years in Central Jersey, we're moving to the big city . No, not the big apple, the city of my youth. We're moving to the city of brotherly love! I got a promotion, and am transferring to another part of my company. The job is really exciting Lucky for me, Scott is self employed and very, very flexible. Have I mentioned what a great husband he is?
We're stoked to live in Philly. Well, I should clarify - we are planning to live somewhere on the Main Line, maybe Narberth, Bala Cynwyd, Ardmore or Haverford. Close to Philly, but no city use taxes... Not quite clear when we're going yet, but we should find out by Friday so we can start planning. So soon the stress of moving will set in, but for now its all blissful...

In from the Cold!

2007-02-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

I know that Al Gore is right and that things are definitely amiss with the climate. But its still damn cold in Vermont, or at least it was this past weekend. Five of my friends/co-workers (fortunately, these are one and the same!) had a girls weekend at one woman's home in Vermont. Here we are embarking on a one hour hike in 8 degrees F weather.

When you are a passenger in the car for an four and a half hour drive, you get lots of time to knit. So I finished my first adult sock on the way home from Vermont to New Jersey.

The second sock is already coming out better, but there are a lot of opportunities to improve sock technique.

These are knit in Claudia's Handpainted using Judy Gibson's Generic Toe-up pattern. I'm excited to finish these and work on something with a bit more of a pattern.

Ply Away!

2007-01-28T22:53:00.000-05:00

Today was session two of Caroline Learns to Spin, where I learned how to ply. Here is the evolution of my very first skein...
Singles (wrapped on tennis balls)

Plied on the spindle

Me holding the skein

and the wrapped skein...

It came out very even, and is 40 yards, 7 wpi. We plied it using a variation of a method my mom learned from Jenny Bakridges. Instead of placing the singles in flower pots and pulling them from there, we constructed a makeshift version with boxes weighted down with books (easier to do in a library than flowerpots!) and put the singles in there to pull from. Think I've got the hang of it now... Thanks Jenny for the method! And thanks to my mom for lesson #2!

Damn Cat update

2007-01-27T19:29:00.000-05:00

Ok, so my husband found the other ball of my spinning under the bed. I knit up a little square of acrylic for Max to play with instead, but he is not interested. If he got into my stash, he would probably help himself the nice hand dyed yarns, or anything with silk or cashmere in it. At least he has good taste.
Speaking of taste, we are making Green Chili Stew for dinner. Every September, a friend of ours sends a box of hatch chilies fresh from New Mexico, and Scott roasts and freezes them for year long use. Doesn't this look yummy?

As a foodie who appreciates the best of both high and low brow, sometimes I get cravings for things like Velveeta & Rotel Queso dip. Velveeta is not part of my typical shopping list, so I asked a young lady at the store where I could find it. Her response was "Velveeta... Is that an imported cheese?" Oh boy...
Since socks are on my list for things to work on this year, I indulged in some stash enhancement at Pins and Needles today. I'm excited to start on my pink socks...

Damn Cat!

2007-01-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

This is Max, one of our two cats

He looks like a sweet cat, but don't be fooled. He has a thing for fiber, and it is starting to cause some problems. Let's document the history...
Sometime around New Years, Max discovered two balls of Qiviut on the dining room table and carried them around the house while we were asleep. I found them (fortunately intact) in my husband's office and our bedroom. Just for the record, these two rooms are nowhere near the dining room. The Qiviut is now safely stored in my craft room.
Episode two occured about a week later when Max found some Frog Tree Alpaca and decided it would be good to wind it, spiderweb style, around the entire house. I'm sure it can still be used, but it could take hours to untangle it...
The latest episode was discovered today, while taking stock of my recent spinning and getting things together for my plying lesson with my mom tomorrow. I discovered that Max had now taken a ball of singles and adeptly hidden it somewhere. So instead of two of these, I have one...

If this cat had opposable thumbs, he'd be quite a fiber artist.

Crocheting is hard!

2007-01-21T20:03:00.000-05:00

This weekend, i finished piecing together my silk sweater from Luxury Knitting.

I've been working on this since April, on and off, but the hardest part has been crocheting the trim around the edges. I'm still working on the fringe - crocheting is not a natural act for me, and takes so much concentration! I'll stick with knitting. The sweater is knit in Prism plied silk in Antique. The fringe is Prism Chenille Silk.

Another friend had a baby this weekend so the latest round of hat and booties is going out the door. These are the patterns from my LYS in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

Now it's back to crocheting the fringe...

Bugs

2007-01-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

I seem to have caught a nasty bug. So has my husband. I have caught a stomach virus, and my husband has caught the syndrome of the need to watch sports on tv. Its unclear when exactly Scott's virus began (mine began on Sunday), but I've been noticing for the past few weeks, Sunday bring the drone of "i want to watch football". Interestingly enough, Scott demonstrated no interest in football when we were dating or engaged. Perhaps it is related to our ridiculously large television - it even makes me want to have a superbowl party (well, not enough to actually have one, but almost). I take no issue with watching college basketball, but this football thing has thrown me for a loop. What's next? Golf?
My days at home have given me some time to do some spinning. However, I've found that crafting while ill can lead to disappointing results, so no pictures today!

The Slanket

2007-01-14T16:50:00.002-05:00

A few months ago, I saw the Slanket on Daily Candy. It seemed so cool - a blanket with sleeves, so you can use your arms but still keep warm. Ideal for knitters, soduku players, etc. who are always cold (i.e. me). After my ongoing commentary about the coolness of the Slanket concept, my MIL sent me one for Hannukah and it arrived this week. It is just as fantastic as I imagined - perfect for sitting on the couch, staying toasty and knitting. I'm not sure it'll work with spinning, but my spinning is in such nascent stages, I could be totally wrong. So, for any fellow knitters who also get so cold that they need a sweater in the freezer section of the grocery store, consider this a slanket recommendation.

Caroline learns to Spin!

2007-01-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

When my mom and I went to Rhinebeck in October, I acquired a lot of roving. A lot. Romney. Merino. Merino with stuff like Silk, Angora... (and accidently Merino with Acrylic). Undyed roving, dyed roving. You name it, I got it (or more accurately, my mother got it for me).
Now, this isn't unusual for many people who go to the Sheep and Wool Festival. However, for someone who had only recently expressed a mild interest in spinning, it was probably a bit much. For a few days, I experimented and ended up creating a minor disaster using my lovely top whorl spindle and some romney. Then I gave up, because clearly I had no idea what I was doing.
But on Sunday my mom and I had Spinning Lesson #1...
Here is mom teaching me how to attenuate the fleece

And here is some of my first spinning, when I let go of the roving at an inopportune moment and it all got stuck together ...

My mom lent me another spindle, and I got started on something with some color. It's not even at all, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it...

Big Loser

2007-01-02T21:36:00.000-05:00

I'm not one for resolutions. If it's time for a change, it's time for a change - no need to wait until New Years. However, right now happens to be time for a change, and it coincides with the time of year when lots of people make changes. After a honeymoon during which I indulged in every kind of turkish delight possible, including the better part of an entire lamb (ok, well I'm not sure, but its probably a fair estimation) and another six months of enjoying all sorts of food made using all our registry loot and fairly inactive life, its about time to start eating with some discipline and getting my tush back to the gym. I've rejoined weight watchers online, and am participating in the biggest loser contest at my gym at work. With some work, hopefully I can get back to my pre-wedding buff shape...and fit back into some items of my wardrobe that are now just decorations for my closet since they are way too small! Too bad knitting doesn't count as exercise...

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

For the past few years, we have been celebrating New Years with a fantastic dinner with a few friends. The annual indulgence is organized by my husband's best friend, and we enjoy amazing wines and food, and everyone gets to cook, bake, etc. This year's highlight was a bottle of 1985 Leoville Barton - yum. My contribution was an apricot souffle with a bittersweet chocolate sauce from last week's New York Times. I'm getting into souffles lately, having made a bittersweet chocolate souffle back in November. Next on the list is fig souffle, which is something I had a number of years ago and would love to recreate...
On Saturday, we stopped by my mom's house, and she lent me a few knitting books and three DVDs. Who knew there were knitting DVDs? The books are Simple Socks Plain and Fancy, Knitting Vintage Socks and Cool Socks, Warm Feet. The DVDs are from Lucy Neatby's Sock Techniques 1 & 2, and Knitting Essentials 2. I'll post some reviews in the next few weeks. Its great having a mom who is a librarian and a fiber person, because she has all sorts of references for knitting and spinning! Of course, if it takes a while to return them, I may have an overdue fine to pay!

Commissioned Work

2006-12-29T18:33:00.000-05:00

We just returned from a few days in Dallas visiting Scott's family, specifically his mom, sister and brother-in-law and our nephew. One of my favorite things about traveling is the opportunity to visit different yarn stores. My wonderful Mother-in-law, knowing my interest in (or perhaps obsession with?) all things fiber, had scouted out an excellent yarn store, The Woolie Ewe. Huge selection of all sorts of stuff! Here is my stash enhancement...

Our trip to the YS was spurred by a request from our nephew for fingerless gloves in the colors of the Atlanta Falcons. Pretty cool request from a six year old! Here he is modeling a semi-finished glove...

These are made using Cascade 220 on a size 7 needle (5 sts/in), using the pattern from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. Our nephew consulted on the design, and implored me to finish my dinner quickly so I could come knit some more. He is really excited to get the finished pair in the mail next week! Such enthusiasm!
Oh, and my MIL also gave me a super cool book for Hannukah - Alterknits. I can't wait to try some of these cool patterns...

Swift Breeze

2006-12-22T15:45:00.000-05:00

I was just winding some yarn, and my husband asked me to slow down because the swift was creating too much of a breeze!
So, I'm starting to make some progress on the gift scarf, and ready to get started on my hat and mitten combo. Here is the scarf so far...

It may need a little something else, so I'm thinking about adding this mohair as a fringe on one or both long sides of the scarf. They seem to work nicely together.

With a plane ride ahead of us this week, lots of knitting opportunities, I hope to finish the scarf and make some good progress on my mittens and hat. Even though they are technically hannukah presents, they are for my dad and step mom who we won't see until close to New Years...
Last night we ate at Mesa Grill for Scott's dinner. We hadn't been to a Bobby Flay restaurant before, and it was quite good. Our appetizers included a Duck Pancake (braised duck wrapped in a blue corn tortilla) and tuna tartare nachos. For entrees, I had scallops with green chile, black trumpet mushroom grits, and Scott had lamb in an ancho chile sauce. Everything was great, but I wasn't really a fan of the spicy chocolate parfait. Anyway, it was a really great ambiance, the service was great, and all in a all a very good meal. Did I mention the margaritas? They were yummy...

Caution - Deep Frying ahead

2006-12-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

About 10 years ago, I decided to host a Hannukah dinner for several friends who were also nowhere near home for the holiday. Admittedly, Hannukah is a really minor holiday, but not having a nice home-made latke dinner really stinks. Although my intentions were good, the evening ended before it really began with a grease fire, and a visit from the heroic members of the Houston Fire Department. There was some damage, and the apartment complex kindly replaced some cabinets and repainted. It was an ordeal, and ever since, I've been a bit gun-shy about the ole potato pancakes.
So tomorrow night, I'm going to undertake this adventure yet again. Even though I've made tried this a few times since the great fire of '96, it could be ugly. Happy Hannukah, and stop drop and roll to all!

HD House

2006-12-13T21:37:00.000-05:00

Over the past week, the total number of inches of screens in our house has increased dramatically. Based on my calculations, we now have a total of 143 inches of screens in our house, between TVs, computers and laptops. I was already floored by the 40" flat screen tv that my dad gave us for Hannukah, but two day's ago, Scott's new computer arrived, bringing an additional 24" of screen space. It makes our old computer, which used to seem nicely sized, appear totally puny. All that said and I'm working on the little ole lap-top...
This past weekend, we did a lot of our holiday shopping. I've decided to (quickly!) knit some gifts - recipients to be revealed once projects are completed. Anyway, here is a photo of my holiday gift stash, soon be a scarf, mittens & hat. The multicolored yarn is an Artyarns Ultramerino colorways, and the brown and green are Frog Tree Alpaca. You may notice that the different colors of Frog Tree are two different weights in this picture - that would be because I already had the brown, and didn't realize that I picked up the green in a different weight. Also, turns out that one is made in Bolivia and the other in Peru...

do i really need another hobby?

2006-12-02T21:10:00.000-05:00

Something that has been on hold for the past few years (since I had knee surgery in '04) is horseback riding. Today Scott and I visited a barn that happens to be practically around the corner from the house, and I scheduled a lesson for Tuesday! I've tried on my britches (a little tight) and my paddock boots (just fine). Haven't gotten around to my boots, but they are bound to be a bit snug around the calves. I can't really say that I need another hobby, but this will have the added benefit of a little exercise too. Tuesday will be interesting - I bet I'm totally rusty, and I'm planning to be sore on Wednesday...
I realized today that my silk sweater, which is almost finished, has been sitting around for awhile waiting to be sewn up. It is taking FOREVER to seam. I spent about an hour sewing up one side, and I'm going to do the other tonight if it kills me, while watching our new TV which should be delivered any minute now!

Baby Presents

2006-11-28T20:52:00.000-05:00

Some of the recently finished projects are off in the mail. Our friends in Portland recently had a new baby girl and I also knit some goodies for her big brother.

I'm now working on some socks for Scott, and I can't seem to get them the right size. I've taken the first one out about four times. I've abandoned the toe-up approach, and now just trying the conventional method from the Ann Budd book. They seem to be too big, but I'm not excited about ripping them out again. So they will just be a little large. As a sock amateur (the socks pictured above were my first pair), it may just take some more practice...

The Finisher

2006-11-26T12:28:00.000-05:00

Last week I think I earned the title of "the finisher". I finished three projects - Baby Hat for Beta, the Cashmere Scarf and my pink and green gloves. I'm quite pleased with all of them, however the Cashmere Scarf turns out to be a bit of an issue for its recipient. After one day of wear, my husband was covered in white and green fuzz. Covered. I didn't really think about this because it didn't really shed on me while it was being knit, but it seems to be really attrached to Scott's wool coat. I am now looking for potential solutions...
But the other projects are great, and the gloves will keep my hands warm once this global warming-induced indian summer cedes...

Thanksgiving Menu

2006-11-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

We've finalized our Thanksgiving menu. There will be six of us here - my and Scott, Scott's mom, my dad & step-mom and my brother. We'll probably have food for twice that many, but that's the point, isn't it?
So, we'll be feasting on the following:
Turkey from our local turkey farm
Oyster Stuffing
Gravy (made from turkey broth and a roux from the pan drippings)
Cranberry sauce - my brother is making this, so not sure of the specifics
Sweet Potato casserole with marshmellows
Wild Rice, Cranberry and Walnut salad
Peas
Green bean recipe from today's NYT
For dessert we'll be enjoying Pumpkin Pie Brulee and Nantucket Cranberry Pie (the Laurie Colwin recipe from Gourmet). Scott also will be making deviled eggs and my brother is supposed to bring cheese as a starter.
Still need to make the shopping list, but this should be fantastic! Gobble Gobble!!!
Tonight we are making Spaghetti and Meatballs - it's simmering right now...

Photo Albums!

2006-11-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

I took a fantastic class this weekend at the Center for Book Arts. Fantastic seems to be the word of the moment - I'm using to describe everything lately. It used to be "outstanding" but that left my vocabulary after a lot of mocking a few years ago by a friend. Someone's going to get annoyed with "fantastic" and that'll be banished too... Where did my vast vocabulary go?

Anyway, the class was great. We made three different album constructions - pamplet style, side sewn and accordion. We learned a lot of techniques, and our teacher Barbara was really knowledgeable. She gave us handouts too, which is helpful because otherwise I'll get 3/4 of the way through trying to recreate one of these at home and be totally lost...
One of the outcomes of my class is a shopping list for a trip to Talas. More like a wish list, but a few must haves, like a leather punch, a spring divider (the thing I thought was a spring divider turns out to be a compass) and some cover weight paper.

In the meantime, I've finished the Baby Hat for Beta, but still need to sew in the ends. Here are pictures of the hat and the matching booties. It will remain on the WIP list until all the ends are sewn in though...

These are knit in Koigu KPPPM and KPM. They are super quick patterns that I got from my LYS Pins and Needles, that work great in Baby Cashmerino and Koigu. They make great presents, and a lot faster than sweaters and blankets!

Short Ribs and Scarves

2006-11-10T18:56:00.000-05:00

Not much is better for a fall dinner than maple glazed, porter braised short ribs. We made these last night and they were fantastic. The recipe is from the book "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens. Tons of fantastic recipes, and each has a wine suggestion. Unfortunately, because I'm on antibiotics for the never ending ear infection, I couldn't have much of the Barolo that Scott opened. I bet I take this stuff way to literally and probably could have had a glass without any problems.
I've accomplished a lot on one of my current knitting projects, a cashmere scarf for my husband. This is the third scarf I've knit him in the 2 1/2 years that we've been together. The first was a bit of a disaster - alpaca in a wide rib - because it's a) too warm and b) gets all bunched up. The second is worn often (pictured below), and this one is what I'd call a "comissioned piece."

This is a pretty luxurious scarf - I'm using Karabella Boise and at my mother's suggestion knitting a K1 P1 rib on size 8 needles. Its knitting up pretty quickly, which is good because I've put this off for a long time and Scott's been really patient. Here is how far I've gotten so far...

crafty launch

2006-11-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

So here we go! I'm launching this blog, much to my husband's dismay, to document some of my crafty projects. I'll also be posting about fabulous food, both that we and I cook and that we eat elsewhere, and our life in the sleepy hamlet of Cranbury, NJ. The main attraction in this "town" is Cranbury Pizza. Yum.
Who is Crafty Caroline? I'm a 30-something, NY born and bred, Jew with WASP-y heritage, who has lived in Texas, North Carolina, Paris and Tokyo who likes to do crafty things like knitting and making handmade books. I enjoy practicing yoga, and in theory I enjoy going to the gym. My husband and I got married in June, after two years together. I am an HR manager for a large company and my husband is a photojournalist. While one might think that this would result in fabulous pictures for my blog, but I've been told that I'm responsible for my own photography ("training ground"). I'm the person who cuts off people's heads in photos, so this could be interesting... my husband apparently does the same thing, but on purpose.
We also have two cats - Max and Frances. Max is a bit needy, and likes to sit right next to me and Frances is pretty independent.
So that's me in a nutshell. Tomorrow I'll start posting some crafty stuff...