[february] calendar&hat

February has passed so quickly and it is now time for the hat and calendar page of the month to be revealed. The hat of the month was no small task as I mentioned before. Despite the many times that I ripped this hat out it was a lot of fun to make. I am currently working on sizing it down in order to make it in a child’s size. The shape and texture of the hat is so fun and it makes for a unique knitting experience.



This months calendar page was made by Jo. Her calendar page was built around the theme of 'these are a few of my favorite things' and with this she combined a smattering of objects from the craft world. She included samples of her favorite artist, designer and fabric designer. It was wonderful to get a glimpse into someone else’s inspiring forces.

Now back to figuring out Etsy and writing up product descriptions. If you would like to be notified of shop updates please email me at christina[at]scissorstitch[dot]com.

studio work

Well the first of March is fast approaching which is the self-imposed launch date of my Etsy shop. I guess I could see it as a little birthday gift to myself, it never hurts to have a driving force to get something accomplished. Yesterday I spent Miss. A's naptime photographing products. For some reason it was such a daunting task that I had put it off until now. I believe that part of my hesitation is that I live with a photographer who does product shot for a living and so when I asked him for a little help to set up lighting etc it took quite a bit of time. There are just so many details that I don't take into consideration. I guess it would have been easier if I would have just done my own setup of products upstairs but since we have the small lighting studio in the basement I figured I should take advantage of it. So after 1.5hours of shooting I had about 70 images and only about half of my items documented. The above images are of some dishtowels I made special order for a friend. Last summer I gave her and her husband aprons for their wedding gift and she loved the bird&tree fabric so I made these to be added to their kitchen setup.

The exciting thing for me it that the shop is finally becoming a reality and I am eager to start working on some new projects. Just this past weekend I went to the fabric store for the first time in a month and bought just a few fabrics to work with. I am very drawn to solids right now and I have some items of clothing that I want to make for Miss. A this summer. one of which is the smock that Alicia posted last week.

I am excited for what's to come but for now I need to get back down into the basement and document a few more products. The first is just around the corner and there is still so much to do.

finds of the day

just wanted to post a few sites that caught my eye today.



::DWR just announced the winners of the Annual Champagne Chair Contest.

::Some interesting USA Architecture as they like to call it. I am enjoying the modern houses from around the states.

::Print&Patterns mention of Hanna Werning. Always something fun to look at.

::11.5 foot wide house. This is actually an older link from the site be bought our house numbers from. The story of this place is quite stunning and I was reminded of it when looking at USAarchitecture.


now back to the evening at hand.

Work In Progress

I was thinking of writing this post a few days ago and it never got written. At the time I was going to talk about the hat I was knitting for February. About my love for the pattern and how fast it was knitting up etc. Well I will admit I still love the pattern and it truly does knit up quickly. The problem lies in my faulty knitting. I was well into this hat, about 114 rows in when I realized I was increasing instead of decreasing for a few rows. Usually this would not be a problem I would just rip it out to the point where the problem started but this pattern is different. You knit the hat on a horizontal axis as opposed to the normal vertical pattern. Honestly the first time I made this hat it took me the longest time to actually see where the pattern was going. Over time I grew to loving this pattern and the way that it kept me on edge always paying attention to things that were changing. So Sunday evening we were getting ready to sit down to watch a few episodes of Deadwood(our newest Netflix obsession) and I realized that the whole thing was off. So to the woolwinder I went and ripped the whole thing out. Now I am starting all over again. It is just funny to think how excited I was to see the hat come together so quickly and now I am back at row 14. I hope make some major headway in it this evening at my usual Tuesday knit night.

Another thing that I am in the middle of working on is RSSing all sorts of blogs. It has taken me this long to actually figure out how to do it. You would think I would have done it a long time ago but no. I am excited to finally read posts within a few hours or days of them being posted verses the days or weeks it used to be. It will be some time before I get all my blogs bookmarked etc. but at least I am making progress. I guess this may explain to some of you why you are actually getting comments from me.

One other thing I was in the middle of when I first thought of posting this WIP was a new book. I have since finished it but would highly recommend it to others. The book is Midnight at the Dragon Cafe by Judy Fong Bates and our local library chose it to be the Everybody Reads book. It is a captivating book that delves into many different cultural issues that I found challenged the reader in a good way. I am excited to go hear the author speak on the first of March. I would recommend those of you who live in town pick up this book and read it before Fong Bates comes to town. Since finishing the book I moved on to reading Morrison's BELOVED but have just started it. I am quite certain I am one of only a few people who have not read this book but I am looking forward to seeing what I have been missing out on. It was not my intention this year to read so many books but a friend of mine decided to challenge herself to reading a book every two weeks for a year. For me that was a lot because I am a slow reader but I did challenge myself to reading only one book at a time. This is something I thought I could never do. The challenge has been wonderful and I love how I am now drawn into the book and have a desire to finish. Prior to these two books I read Gileadand want to read it again very soon. It is such an endearing book I would also recommend this for a good read.

R is for Russian

Saturday was an amazing day of sun and warm weather. It was enough to get everyone outdoors and enjoy a bit of it. Just the sight of sun put people in a good mood, my self included. Early yesterday morning the whole family hurried around getting dressed and fed before piling into the car to visit a few estate sales. We love doing this but it always tends to be an after thought meaning we get there in the afternoon. This time we arrived before the sale even opened and there was a line and people had numbers. We had imagined things like this but this time we were those people. It was quite funny to be there among the collectors and sellers. We felt a bit funny but it was interesting at the same time to get a glimpse into this subculture.

The first sale was amazing in that they had already had a sale the previous week and they still has so much stuff. I love seeing all the different things obtain over the years. Their interests ranged from photography to knitting, sewing to screenprinting, Russia to wood cuts and many more things. We actually only walked away with a few items most of which were Russian books. There was an amazing children's text book and a 1974 calendar which has a collection of many images including sewing and knitting instructions for Russian garments. I am quite excited to see if a friend of mine will be nice enough to translate for me.



The second estate sale we stopped by because they advertised having a letterpress. When we arrived a line was still out the door. We wavered but decided to wait it out. The press was still there but the type was sold. It press was actually selling for quite cheep considering we were seareiously thinking that if the type had been there still we would have gone for it. This is not the first press we have looked into but we know that we can take our time on something like this. I will admit we were a bit sad when we saw the proofing press being taken away by a lucky buyer before we even got into the house. Now that would have been a great purchase.

After the last sale we walked up the street to a little shop for lunch and then to a children's bookstore. Before walking in we agreed to not buying a thing but of course that did not hold. We discovered the book BLUE2by David A. Carter, it was something we could not pass up.

I believe the whole family is interested in pop-up books every since Miss. A received MOMMY? for Christmas. Despite being frightened of MOMMY? at first Miss. A has now warmed up to it and will want to 'read' it three times in one sitting if she gets the chance.

When we got home from our long family outing Miss. A took a very long nap while we did chores around the house. I was able to get out in the yard and get a few things done between the visits from neighbors walking by. It was nice to see people coming out of their houses for walks to enjoy the weather. I can tell that as the sun starts to show itself a bit more we will be seeing more of our new neighbors.

wall art::1

after a good seven months in this house we are just now getting around to hanging things on walls. it is just such a hard task. we have a lot of art; both framed and unframed. actually much of the work we own is sitting in the basement waiting for either a frame or for us to rediscover it. despite the collection we already have we now feel the need to buy new things. recently Daniel acquired a bit of art for Miss. A while her and I were in Seattle. the truth of the matter is that he is the true artist/graphic designer in the family who loves to research and track down items. this most recent piece is by Hanna Werning. Miss. A loves the many different animals layered within the poster.

while shopping for this piece he also found the poster hangers designed by Jorgen Moller. there are now a few bits of art around the house being hung in the same manner.

i believe there is no stopping him now because as i sit here and type three different things have been either hung or rearranged. this has just made its way onto the wall but that is for another post.

lesson

I have realized this week that there is a lesson to be learned in traveling a lot. Over the past three weeks Miss. A has been traveling quite a bit and I believe it has caught up with both her and I. About three weeks ago she flew to Montana with her grandfather for four days and the report was that she had an amazing time. She returned in good spirits despite her new found obsession with babies and waking up a bit early. Once she returned we were able to enjoy a fun-filled week at home and then went back on the road for a few days to Seattle. Only to return and send her to the grandparents for three days. I have now realized that it may have been a bit much for her. On all accounts she did an amazing job of transitioning from one place to another and had a wonderful time while there but now it is different. It actually took me most of this week filled with frustration to figure out that she may have been a bit overly stimulated by the events.



This past week since being home she has needed to be attached to my side. Wanting me to follow her throughout the house, most of the time saying 'hand' so that I would then have to hold her hand on our excursions. At first it was fun being right by her side. I too had missed playing together and enjoying her company. But soon I grew frustrated as she would become mad if I was doing anything other then giving her my full and undivided attention. She would rip a paper out of my hands if I was reading or push me away from the counter if I was making dinner or washing dishes. On most days by the time she went down for a nap I would just sit there spinning my wheels because there was so much I wanted to get done that little actually got accomplished. Yesterday I finally realized that thought I had thought it was a developmental stage she was in, and it may be, it struck me that her behavior may be due not only to knowing that I would not leave her but that for three weeks she had experienced the undivided attention of friends, family and relatives. I am still a bit unsure about how to get that happy old Miss. A back, the one who would be happy to sit in her room and read books on her own or play with her toys for a bit while I finished a task. For now I just feel a little bit better with a new outlook on why she may be acting this way. I hope that as this stage passes more will get accomplished around here.

refreshed

A short vacation is always good for the mind and soul. Miss. A and I had a very nice visit with my sister and her two little ones. Her new little girl is very easy and it was a lot of fun to see the older kids play together. Miss. A and her cousin are only three months apart and so they were able to entertain themselves quite easily. It was sweet to see how much Miss. A enjoyed the little baby. She actually became quite obsessed with her and wanted to make sure she always had an idea of where the baby was at all times. I will make a note that being around a new little baby did not in any way give me the 'baby bug'.

We returned from our trip mid-afternoon friday only to repack and drop Miss. A off at the grandparents. Daniel and I took a nice weekend getaway. I had booked this weekend almost a month ago and at the time I was not aware that it was Valentines weekend. I guess one could say that it was a Valentine getaway but that was not the intention. In actuality we just needed a break. Daniel has been working quite hard all winter on many different contracts and we just needed a break. It was a lot of fun looking at antique shops, driving through the country side, and lingering with meals. We came back from the trip refreshed but a bit sluggish from the time away. I have found it a bit hard to get back into the swing of things. There are piles of laundry that need to be washed and bags waiting to be unpacked. I am sure that by the end of the week things will be under control. I was originally going to upload my Etsy shop on the 15th but I will be pushing the date back to the first of March in order to prevent stress in my life. Right now I am looking forward to finishing a few things for the shop at a slow and easy pace.

google blogger

So I was away from the blog world for a few days and when I tried to post they forced me to signup with google blogger. I have been avoiding the transition for some time and still have no idea what it all means but wanted to post so I made the switch, maybe it is time I changed over to Typepad. Not only have I been away from the computer a lot this week but I have also made some distance between fabric stores and myself. Yes, I made a vow to myself that after the show was over I would not walk into a fabric store for at least two weeks. So far it has not been that hard seeing that the amount of trips per week/day I was making turned out to be a bit overwhelming. Along with the fabric store I have yet to touch my sewing machine other than to sew on a bit of Velcro to diapers I made for Miss. A's baby. Her baby obsession has compounded since visiting relatives last week, so much so that Daniel had to confiscate all but the one she came back with. At least until she stops asking for a baby every time she wakes up.

This past week Miss. A and I made the most of our time and took a lot of trips to both the Science and Children's Museums. As a family we even ventured out on Friday evening to enjoy the opening exhibit Viscious Fishes. We had a great time staying up way past Miss. A's bed time and looking at all of the amazing snakes and fishes. We are really looking forward to the next exhibit Body Worlds3 to come to OMSI. The tickets go on sale the first of March and the show does not even open until June. I have a feeling it is going to be incredible and worth all the wait.

It feels good to take a bit of a break from sewing for a few days and catch up on other things. This is not to say I have not been busy with knitting. There is many an unfinished project laying around for me to work on. We also worked a bit on the house. Something that was unplanned but much needed. We have been intending to rip out the carpet in the den for some time and get moving on the transformation. So for a great Saturday night date we did just that. All of the dirty brown shag carpet came out in about an hour and we are once again motivated to get the room finished. Now it is just a matter of painting every last square inch of the place. That will be for another day.



Tomorrow Miss. A and I will be heading up to Seattle for a nice mini vacation with my sister. She had her second child, a little girl, three weeks ago and we will be up there helping out while her husband is out of town on work. We are quite excited to see the little girl who made her way into the world three weeks early. I foresee a lot of great walking around Green Lake and Alki. My sister is very active and there is noting that will keep her in the house not even two children less than 16 months old. We always have a wonderful time together and it will be great with it being just the two of the kids and us, something that I cant remember happening in the past five plus years.

I am currently trying to finish a few gifts to take up with me. We will see how productive naptime is today.

once a month for a year

So I guess this post should have been written yesterday since it was the last day of the month but that didn't happen and I’m ok with that. My intention is to write at the end of each month to display the calendar page for that month. I want to do this in order to display the images from the swap I participated in last year. Marianne put together an enjoyable calendar swap where each woman designed a calendar page and then send one to every particapent. I truly grew from process of making the page but the thing I am taking the most pleasure in right now is looking at other people’s pages each month. In January I viewed the art of Robyn a great collection of mixed media. Each month I am excited bring all of you the work of women from around the world.

Another thing that I will be enjoying each month this year is knitting a hat.



This year some of my friends and I have decided to knit a hat a month for a year. Our intention is to gather what we have knit by December and donate them to an organization in need. We have talked about knitting for charity over the past few years but the topic always comes up in December when there is little time to get everything done. So this year we are pacing ourselves. I am looking forward to experimenting with new designs knowing that the end result will be a gift for someone in need.