I was bewitched for a long time by frilly feminine sweaters, many of which looked nice but weren’t all that comfortable to wear. I knit some sweaters just because they were popular or because I wanted to try a certain technique, and they didn’t quite satisfy me when it came time to wear them.

Eventually I realized I wanted a rugged, warm cardigan that would stand up to horseing around in the outdoors with my kids–or yes, even on my own.

Rosedale fits the bill perfectly! My version is knit with Noro Kureyon in colorway #90. I love it.

I try to monitor my language, but sometimes I slip up. Like yesterday, after helping Claire untangle her seatbelt, I cracked my head on the car door and let loose a rude expletive. Nothing escapes her notice, especially when mommy shouts it at the top of her lungs so it can be heard throughout the neighborhood.

Later on, when bickering with her brother over who had to clean up the living room, Claire said the bad word. She thought shock and awe was a good strategy for gaining her way.

Sam then faced a moral dilemma. How should he inform Mom and Dad of his sister’s transgression without uttering the objectionable word himself? Well, that wasn’t much of a problem. He illustrated the event.

His father and I are glad his spelling still needs some work.

It all started innocently enough. We watched a popular children’s movie called Ice Age, in which a silly sloth attempts to soothe a pair of angered rhinos by offering them pinecones. He couldn’t convince them that the pinecones were good eating, but his antics made my daughter laugh and laugh, and instilled in her a lasting infatuation with pinecones.

She collects them on walks through the neighborhood and now has a huge treasure box full of them. Our mantle is decked with especially fine specimens, and every once in awhile, I’ll find more tucked in the pockets of her jacket. While fun to look at, acorns and chestnuts don’t measure up to pinecones. Claire proudly proclaims herself the truest pinecone-ist in the world. Since I never heard the word until she coined it, I’ll believe her!

I thought it was high time she had a special t-shirt decorated with her favorite thing, so I used freezer paper to stencil some pinecones onto it. It was difficult cutting out the stencil’s tiny openings, but an X-acto knife and a good dose of patience helped me achieve good results.

Incidentally, why is it so difficult to find plain t-shirts? Most stores only carry t-shirts with something already printed on them. I had to search high and low for this green shirt, and was disappointed that it didn’t come in the right size.

The pattern is the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I used Socks that Rock mediumweight yarn in Farmhouse and Watermelon Tourmeline. It was a fun project, but I don’t recommend making this for a last minute gift. It took a good long while to knit–definitely worth it in the end, but not a quickie!

Claire has spent a fair amount of time cuddled up on the couch with a good book and some friends.

She’s also made sure her bunnies are warm and cozy before bedtime.

All of us have been nibbling away at the Amish friendship bread I baked the other day.

Everyone seems peaceful, except me. It’s like a creative bomb has gone off inside my head. I’m full of ideas of things I want to make and am working on half a dozen projects all at once.

I’ve started sewing a dress for Claire from the thrifted apple fabric I showed you a few days ago.

I found the pattern in an old Ottobre magazine. It’s one of those projects that’s fun, but requires a lot of attention to the little details. Although my progress is slow, I have high hopes for the finished outfit. It’s going to have an underskirt to make it fluffy and especially good for twirling.

Meanwhile, I’m decorating t-shirts using freezer paper stencils, drawing cats and bats and owls with my son for a school project, and, yes, I’m even knitting a little bit. I’ve decided to finish off a couple of projects that have been marinating in my closet for far too long. One is the Chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and the other is a Kureyon cardigan. The scarf will take FOREVER, since it’s made out of sock yarn. I must have lost my mind when I started that thing. The cardigan could be finished very soon, if I would just buckle down and work on it. All it needs is a collar and a front band. As some of you know, I have to take it easy with knitting, so I don’t aggravate a painful problem I have in my neck and shoulder area. I’m trying to be good about it, but it’s hard when you’re really excited!

Here’s a perfectly wonderful way to start your day. Brew some good, strong coffee. Make a bowl of fruit salad. Whip up a batch of Pumpkin-Apple Muffins.

Sit in a sunny spot. Read a novel. Enjoy the treats you prepared.

[...] a delusional young man who buys a life-size sex doll over the Internet — and then falls in love with her [...]

What??? I cerntainly didn’t order a movie of that type; if I didn’t do it, then Robert must have. Was this an indication he was turning into the proverbial dirty old man (hereinafter, DOM)? If it wasn’t something pornographic, then was it one of those moronic movies about the crazy antics horny young men get up to ? In either case, it didn’t seem like something I wanted to watch.

So, when Robert got home and excitedly popped the disc into the DVD player, I sat back and waited for him to be exposed as a DOM. Well, to make a long story short, the movie wasn’t at all what I expected it to be and my husband can parade around as a sensitive guy rather than an incorrigible DOM (Of course, his character is not that black and white…).

Lars and the Real Girl is the poignant tale of a young man who suffers from a severe social phobia and delusions. Lars believes Bianca, the life-sized doll he bought over the internet, is a real woman and his girlfriend. His family, acting under a doctor’s advice, play along with his delusion, uncertain if he’ll ever be ready to give it up. The community also rallies around him, and before you know it, Bianca has a “life” of her own. She has a job, volunteers at the hospital and goes to parties.

There’s nothing surprising about the plot after you get over the oddness of seeing a grown person treating a doll as if it were real. What makes it one of the best movies I’ve seen in awhile is the phenomenal acting. The actors make this story deeply touching. At times, the tragedy is piercing and other times, a gentle sort of humor shines through.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, I liked the movie and think you will too, but also because I felt the name of Claire’s new doll needed some explanation. Meet Bianca.

Isn’t she charming? Claire loves her and had an absolute fit when I “borrowed” her for a couple of minutes to take this photograph. As you can see, I’m no born hairstylist. Bianca’s mane is top-heavy and mop-like, but I’m afraid Claire might go berserk if I tried to fix it. Perhaps I should make a hat to conceal her crazy locks. I know that’s what I’d wear if I had hair like that!

Seriously, though, it’s satisfying to make something that’s so well appreciated.

Bianca’s pattern can be found in The Woman’s Day Book of Soft Toys and Dolls. My mother used this book years ago to make toys for me and my brother. She’s the one who first taught me about how a handmade gift is an expression of love. I think of her every time I sit down to sew.

Afternoon in the Studio

One afternoon not too long ago, Claire watched me cutting and stitching fabric with a look of utter boredom on her face. I had encouraged her to find something fun to do, like coloring or playing with her ponies or building something with blocks. Nothing satisfied her.

Claire: Mom, when I grow up, I am NOT going to sew.

Me: Well, that’s ok. What do you think you might enjoy when you’re all grown up?

Claire: Washing dishes.

Me: Why wait? You can do that now!

Dinnertime Conversation

Me: Claire, you could use a fork, you know.

Sam: Yeah, princesses use forks when they eat.

Me: Haha, Sam, you sound just like a parent.

Claire: Or a bus driver!

Conference in the Garage

Sam and Claire found their dad in the garage with a piece of lumber, some screws and a screwdriver. Helping dad build things is always exciting and they were eager to find out what he was up to and how they could get invovled.

Sam: Dad, what are you doing?

Robert: I’m covering up this hole in the door so animals don’t get in.

Sam: Like gorillas?

They’re bush beans, which means you don’t have to fuss with crazy creepers, they’re very prettily colored and they taste great. There’s only one downside. They look like this after you cook them:

How disappointing is that? It’s kind of like waking up to find your date from the prior evening wasn’t quite as handsome as all that beer made him seem. Not that I’d really know what that experience is like.

Ahem.

If you really want to enjoy the season, there’s nothing like apple pie. I made this one last night, following a recipe for the crust from Everyday Food (July/August 2008). The crust is the best I’ve ever eaten, but it’s fussy to work with. I’d never use it to make a lattice pie top, for instance. It’d just crumble to pieces and look like a regular mess. However, if you want a crust that TASTES divine, but looks rather humble, this is the recipe to use.

The apples were just right too. I’m not sure what variety they were…just plain little green things (not Granny Smiths), a bit bruised and scarred, but juicy and spicy. Our friend brought them across Puget Sound just for us to try. We counted ourselves lucky to receive such a wonderful gift.

Meanwhile, I’m working on a doll for my daughter. Two funny things about it:

1. Both Sam and Claire were freaked out by its blank face. Using pins to create a dopey smiley face reassured them it wasn’t a scarey monster. (Makes me wonder how they’d react to Waldorf dolls with their blank faces…or, is it something with the shape of this doll’s head?)

2. One of the kids in the neighborhood saw the half-finished doll sitting in my recliner. She wanted to know if I was making The Stinky Cheese Man. That one still makes me laugh. I don’t know if I’ll be able to call it anything else, even after it has a real face and some hair

Now, however, since I have the luxury of preparing meals in peace, we enjoy each other’s company over dinner more often. It’s one of the best improvements in our lifestyle since I quit my job. To honour the good food and good company, I dressed up our table with new placemats and napkins.**

It’s funny how such simple things can make life so much nicer. And when I say they’re simple, I’m not just referring to their ubiquity; I’m also referring to how easy they are to make. I didn’t think to take photos and turn this post into a complete tutorial, but I don’t think all those extras are necesarry for explaining how to construct these items. Think of it like learning to make one of your grandmother’s most admired cakes. You add a handful of this, a handful of that, mix and bake.

Here’s my recipe for placemats:

1. From a piece of paper (newspaper, gift wrap, freezer paper, whatever…), cut out a rectangle. It can be any size that pleases you. Just for reference, mine was 17″ X 13.5″. I just liked the look of that ratio. There’s no special reason for it.

2. Round of the corners of your pattern. You can do this by folding the rectangle in fourths and freehanding a curve with your scissors, or, if you’re more particular, you can use the edge of a plate to draw a curved corner and cut along that line. Whatever works for you!

3. Wash and dry your fabrics. Or not.

4. Cut out the fronts, backs and lightweight batting using this template as a guide. I think I had about a yard of each material and made four placemats.

5. Make your quilt sandwich and baste together using the method you prefer. The basting spray found in many fabric shops works great for small pieces like this.

6. Quilt as desired. I free-handed some swirling lines, but you could also stitch parallel lines for a nice effect.

7. Bind as desired. I used the quick and dirty method and bought a few packages of pre-made binding. Homemade binding could make these extra special.

Here’s my Recipe for Napkins:

1. Cut out 18-inch squares or whatever size you like. If I had had more fabric, I might have made mine about 20-21 inches square.

2. Hem. I used the method described in this Purl Bee tutorial, including the zig-zag stitching, which I really like.

Enjoy your creations!

_____
* My hat goes off to working mothers everywhere.
** I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to color correct these photos. The light in our dining room is not a traditional tungsten light. It really makes everything a ghastly yellow. Anyway, I’m sorry about the poor-quality photos here.