Winter Lace Shawl ~ and Christmas Crafting!

This shawl reminds me of The Snow Queen a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.  I'm not really sure why because the snow queen wore a white robe and so it might just be because it's something opulent that a winter queen might wear.  And, really, it never hurts to wear something that makes you feel a like a queen every once in a while.

If you are not familiar with The Snow Queen fairy tale it involves the struggle between good and evil and kindness and forgiveness and the choices we make in this life and it has special meaning for me.  Not because I relate to the queen but instead to the small boy in the story who like me struggles to find his place in this world and his attitude toward family and life in general.  There are many distractions in this world that claim our attention and as a result we rarely take the time to consider what virtues are important to us and and define our life. But it is one of the most important things that we can do with our time and teach to children. Because if we don't know what is truly important to us it is more likely that we will make wrong choices along the way.

I knew this shawl would be worn at the holidays so I added a mixture of crystal and seed beads to add sparkle and catch the light.  I began by using all crystal beads but ran short and when I reassessed the effect I added in colored seeds beads because I thought the contrasting beads added a more interesting effect.  I love the finished shawl and can't wait to wear it when I make my appearance in the evenings.  I just wish I had a crown and scepter to complete the effect.

Particulars:  Trieste by Rosemary Hill (sold by Designs by Romi); US 8 needles; 3 skeins (I used 2.5 skeins) Rowan Kidsilk Haze; beads (mixture of crystal and seed beads); blocked dimensions: 40" x 80"; I knit a total of 9 triangles (instead of 10).  I found this to be an easy pattern to knit with a stunning result.  Block Dimensions 76" x 44."  Previous Kidsilk Haze shawls I've knit are: The Fleur Wrap; Willow; Dove; Anisette Stole, Birch.   Other designs by Rosemary Hill that I've knit are: Carson Shawl.

Christmas Crafting!

I'm still a kid at heart and love Christmas crafting because it's a time of year when you can use sparkles, doodads and glitter and the more the merrier! This year I made a wet felted Christmas tree using green and white felt and then decorated it with sequins and beads, and I am delighted with it.  It looks very jolly sitting on my kitchen counter along with a cute Grinch ornament and adds a touch of Christmas cheer to my kitchen counter.  It was very simple to make using a resist and if you are interested in how to make a wet felt project my Felt Bunny post has some helpful information and links.

We always leave town over the holidays and I also take a break from the internet so I'll take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year from Steve, Simcha and myself!  Until next time, be well, love well and have fun celebrating the holidays and have fun adding some glitter and glitz to your holidays ~

A Good Egg ~ Cozy

A hot breakfast on the weekend is a luxurious way to ease into the day.  If I had my druthers I would begin every day this way.  But during the work week I'm dashing about and can't relax and enjoy the experience as I would like.   Instead it is purely a weekend indulgence.

My enjoyment of breakfast comes from my childhood memories.  My father loved (and still loves) a cooked breakfast and so my mom would occasionally cook a full breakfast on the weekend.   I remember mornings that began with the sound of beautiful music playing, the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling on the stove, and a large pot of tea brewing on the dining table.  Such a treat and so civilized.  To this day I find no more enjoyable way to begin the day.

I rarely cook bacon and eggs just for myself, though, as Steve won't eat it.  Instead I'll make a soft boiled egg with toast.   And, as everyone knows, a soft boiled egg need a cozy.   But (this will surprise you) an egg cozy is a surprisingly hard thing to find.  So I made one for myself.  It's nice to be self sufficient that way.  Really, I could have been a pioneer woman.  If I had been a pioneer they would have buried me along the trail.  The first week.  Preferably.   Since a soft boiled egg is not a common breakfast item, I'll describe how to cook a soft boiled egg as I know you are dying to try this at home. 

Mr. Puffy's How to Cook a Soft Boiled Egg
Bring a sauce pan of water to a boil.  Use a spoon to gently lower the egg(s) into the boiling water.  Cook to desired firmness.  A typical egg timer is 3 minutes, but I find that a 3 minute egg is too undercooked for me.  Instead I will boil my egg for 6 minutes which is long enough to almost set the egg white but still leave a runny yoke.  Opening the egg is tricky.  You can either open the egg by using a knife to lop the top off or, as I prefer, you can use the bottom of a spoon to first crush the top surface of the shell and then lop it off with a spoon or knife.  A soft boiled egg is nice served with buttered toast.  If you have children it is fun to cut the toast into strips that can then be dunked into the yolk ("toast fingers").  I still do this on occasion.    An egg cozy to keep your egg warm until you are ready to eat it, is optional.

Particulars: This egg cozy is wet felted using a resist made of bubble wrap.  I allowed for 20% shrinkage and, at the final felting stage, I used an actual egg to ensure a proper fit.   Materials:  merino roving (for the egg cozy); wool felt sheets (used to cut the flower embellishments); and beads from my bead jar.  This is an extremely simple project.  If you are new to wet felting you might consider Uniquely Felt by Christine White as a basic resource and I have a few wet felting blogs listed on my sidebar.

Note:  All the eggs used in this post are from my sister's chickens. She has Arucana chickens that lay the prettiest eggs I've ever seen.  They are naturally shades of blue and green and some have speckles.  How cool is that?  Apparently owning and raising chickens is on the upswing and according to my sister they are fun to raise, particularly if you have children. 

The MisAdventures of Simcha

Simcha, our german shepherd, is approximately 16 years old in human years and in the middle of the dreaded teenage years.  We're just hoping he doesn't steal the car keys; a six pack of beer; or otherwise raise hell in the neighborhood.

Until next time, be well and love well and try beginning your day listening to beautiful music.  If classical music is not your taste, you might try soloist such as Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, or Helmut Lotti or music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  I think you will find this an inspiring and uplifting start to your day.

Finishing Touches ~

At this time of year our thoughts turn toward the holidays and I find it helpful to have a few quick and easy gift ideas and reliable recipes to make the season a little less stressful.  To dispel a common perception, a knit gift does not have to be fancy, expensive, or take weeks of complicated knitting to be a gift you are proud to give or wear.  It's all in the finishing touches.

Both pairs of gloves in this post are based on a basic pattern that has used a simple but effective design element to elevate it to gift giving or holiday wearing status.  All that is required is a single skein of yarn, a tried and true pattern that has been made successfully time and again, and a few notions in the way of buttons or beads to add a finishing touch or two!

Lately I've been thinking about finishing touches and not just in the context of knitting.  It strikes me that of late I haven't devoted nearly enough time (truthfully no time at all) to reading good literature, listening to fine music, or devoting my efforts to a worthy cause.  In other words, I'm in serious need of some finishing touches!  One's self is the most important work in progress we have.

The second pair of gloves is a personal pattern utilizing design elements from a variety of patterns.  I love to wear something a little fun and frivolous when I'm out and about over the holidays.  The contrasting reverse stockinette border and flower embellishment are just some of endless ways to personalize a basic pattern to your taste, just as your choice of yarn and buttons will personalize any pattern.  Adding a faus black pearl bead to the flower's center is the final finishing touch.

Particulars: Blue Gloves:  Welted Fingerless Gloves by Churchmouse Teas; US 5 and US 6 DPN; Mandos del Uruguay - Silk Blend; no modifications whatsoever.  However, as I have a tiny wrist, if I were to knit these for myself I would reduce the number of stitches cast-on and probably use the smaller needles throughout the project.  These gloves were gifted away to the lovely Dilshani (Rav Profile) as part of a German Shepherd Lovers swap hosted on Ravelry.  The second pair of gloves (Brown Gloves) is knit using a composite of several patterns and is very similar to the evening gloves I knit last Winter for Christmas.  I used a single skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino; US 5 needles; and a small amount of contrasting yarn.  I knit the flower using a pattern I found in the book Knit 2 Together.  Using resources you already have or that are free on the internet is a great way to find ideas to embellish patterns.

Dried flowers in the fading Summer sun are a reminder that time is always passing leaving only traces of what once was behind.  Wet felted flower made by following the Tutorial by Ingermaaike. 


Pistachio and Currant Biscotti

A seasonal recipe that I make this time of year is Mary Kay's Pistachio and Currant Biscotti.  I like to have a few cookies on hand that go well with coffee or tea.  Try serving them on a paper doily ~ it adds a nice finishing touch.

I will be away and busy much of the coming months and will be spending less time online, although I will still be knitting and continue to add posts.   So until next time, be well and love well and I hope this season of holidays is a time for you to reconnect with what is important in your life.

Felt Bunny

This little bunny is made with my own handmade felt.  I made it without any knitting and virtually no sewing!  To make felt you simply lay out an interlocking pattern of merino wool and agitate the fibers using your hands with soap and water and - hocus pocus - you have felt!  It's very magical and I've taken to felting like a duck to water.

I made this bunny using a "resist" which allows you to create a 3D piece of felt which is later cut open and, in this case, stuffed.  When he was all dry and stuffed I needled felted on his facial features and added a red glitzy heart that sparkles.  There is no way this bunny can hide his big heart.

I'm keeping this fellow for myself because he reminds me of something similar we saw in a bed and breakfast where we stayed in New Zealand.  I definitely try to make things that remind me of places that I've been and enjoyed.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm trying to hold on to memories and need an anchor or they will simply drift away. 

Particulars:  Felt Bunny made by following the free felt tutorial by Inger who writes the blog Daily Felt;  Finished Dimensions 13" x  9" (after felting).   I cut open the bottom of his feet and used a knitting needle to push the filler inside (100% polyester) and sewed him closed with matching embroidery floss.  I used merino top that I purchased from Inger's etsy shop.  I also made him the green scarf he's wearing in the middle picture, which is wet felted.  If this project seems a bit too advanced you might consider using traditional knit felt and sewing a toy together with a contrasting blanket stitch similar to Kristin Nicholas' Fat Cat or use commercially made wool felt.

Toast and Honey

Work has been a slog lately, but one must still find time to eat.  These are my own baked loafs using the Tartine Bread cookbook.  How I love this bread.  Let me count the ways.....

Toasted and slathered with butter and honey and my morning cup of Joe.  Truly an inspired combination.  If you don't have the time or inclination to bake your own bread, an English Muffin will do in a pinch.

Until next time, be well and love well and remember that simple pleasures add immeasurably to quality of life.

Woodland Flower ~ Powder Puff

I made this Woodland Flower Powder Puff simply because it makes me smile.  That and I actually use dusting powder.  But why did I really make it as I can obviously get along just fine without it?  For the simple reason that exploring my creative side adds beauty and fun into my life.  I may have left kindergarten but I have never forgotten how much more fun it is to finger paint than it is to sit at a desk working sums, which I do plenty of.

The real truth revealed in that early class room experience is that you don't have to have special skills or be "an artist" to enjoy creating.  You simply have to enjoy the process and with a little luck you will be happy with what you make too.  And since I am happy with this powder puff I'm going to explain how to make it.

Wet felting is very much like finger painting.  You can be an absolute beginner but with some fiber, hot water, and soap you can begin to use your hands to create felt.  There is a bit more to it than that, but not much more, and nothing that isn't readily found on the internet.  For the purposes of this blog I'm assuming you know the basics of making felt but should you need a reference book I found Uniquely Felt helpful.

This powder puff is incredibly easy to make.  To make the base I soft felted a clump of wool roving (batt) in my hands using just my body warmth and a bit of needle felting to achieve the size and form I wanted.  I then embellished it with a small amount of white silk that I needle felted in place, as pictured above.  I then attached a wet felted flower and wool locks as a decoration.  As an alternative to attaching a flower you could simply attach a pretty ribbon bow for a more traditional powder puff look.

To make the wet felted flower I used a small amount of wool top to form a round disk shape that I slightly prefelted.  I then shaped the disk around a blunt knitting needle (any blunt pointed object will do) and rolled and twisted the felt around the knitting needle until it felted into a fluted shape. You can also add a stem (as I did) by rolling a small amount of wool top into a stem leaving a dry brush at one end.  The dry brush is then wet felted onto the flower base. When the flower is dry you attach it to the base using a stitch or two of embroidery floss. If desired silky locks can be needle felted around the base of the flower.

Particulars: Woodland Flower Powder Puff; wool roving (batt) is by Peace Fleece; silk top is from Jazzturtle; wool top for flower and stem is hand dyed by Ingermaaike; silky locks are from Artclub.  If you are new to wet felting I find Etsy an incredible resource for finding materials for wet felting and needle felting.You can also find several blogs about wet felting on my sidebar under "Crafting Blogs I enjoy Reading" just below the Knitting Blog list.

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

I consider nuts part of my whole grain diet and, as a treat, I'll occasionally roast them.  This is a recipe from Ina Garten's Paris Cookbook slightly adapted based on personal preference.  You will find many versions of this recipe online.

Rosemary Cashews

1 pound raw unsalted cashews
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Spread nuts onto a baking pan and roast approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs.  You should begin to smell the roasting nuts but they should not be over browned.

Mix your seasonings together but don't add to the butter.  Instead, pour the melted butter over the nuts and then sprinkle the nuts with the seasoning mix.  I find that otherwise the seasoning does not cling to the nuts as it should.  You might even pop the nuts back into the oven after adding the seasoning (for just a minute) to set the seasoning being careful not to overcook.

These are wonderful served warm.

Until next time, be well and love well and explore your creative side ~ whether your interest is cooking, knitting, photography, or whatever, you will find it adds fun and beauty to your life.

Alpaca Never Felt So Good

I would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers for Mr Puffy, whether left as a comment or expressed privately in your heart. We continue to be blessed that he is tolerating the cancer treatment medication which keeps him feeling well and gives us this extra special time with him. He is such a big part of our lives and I can not bear to think of losing him.

And, for a time, we continue along as normally as we can. We do stay a little closer to home these days, which means that I have some knitting to share. And timely, I think, with the cooler days of Fall upon us.



I saw some posh felted bags several years back in a LYS and ever since then I've wanted to make a nice big plush felted bag. Yet the style of the bags I saw a few years back were rather ordinary and, dare I say, boring. But I've kept my eyes open and finally I spotted exactly what I was looking for! It is the Pebble Bag designed by Artmuse (knit in alpaca) and I knew it was just the bag for me as soon as I saw it. Love it! Love it! Love it!



I bought it as a kit from The Toft Alpaca Shop which is located in England. I saw an ad for these bags in The Knitter a new knitting magazine published in England and I immediately placed an order using my birthday money - thanks Mom and Dad! It's on trend being an over sized bag, but I don't think so much so that after this season I won't be able to wear and enjoy it. It has a great cuddly feel and wears great next to the skin, now that the evenings are a bit cooler. But I think it really will be best this Winter when worn with a turtleneck sweater and slacks.

It's a surprisingly fast knit as you use 3 strands of yarn held together. The only major design modification I made was to omit what was supposed to be an extra large bobble closure, which I felt was just one bobble too many. Plus, this way I get to play around with different closures. The closure in the pictures above is from a key fob that Steve spotted while we were wandering around the San Clemente farmer's Market. The closure in the pictures below is a ceramic bead that I special ordered from Jennifer Jangles Beads, which I love too. For that matter, I could also knit and felt a gigantic bobble and use that a closure as well. It's super easy to switch the closure as I simply sew it on with a tiny bit of white embroidery floss.



The great thing about Jennifer's bead is that I can also wear it as a necklace.....



Particulars: Large Pebble Bag, designed for Toft by Artmuse; 600g chuncky alpaca felting yarn; US 11 needles. Modifications: I omitted the large bobble closure (as discussed above) and for the handle I began the whip stitching about 2 inches up from where it attached to the bag to provide a stronger base and a more tapered handle. There are a few finishing instructions which are a little off, such as you want the smooth side of the stockinette facing outward on the front closure flap and make sure to center your handles evenly on either side. Approximate dimensions: 11 inches wide; 6 inches deep; 10 inch strap height. On the whole, it's a very easy to follow and well designed pattern.



Fun Felting Facts:

1. Did you know that it's unusual to see anything felted that is white? This is because most wools must be bleached the color white and the bleaching process interferes with felting. Because Alpaca fleece is naturally a beautiful creamy white color it felts beautifully.

2. 100% wool will generally felt into a smooth fabric. But if you felt mohair (or alpaca) the fabric surface will be become matted and fuzzy with loose fibers that needs to be shaved to achieve a smooth fabric. If you look at the picture below, you will see what my bag looked like right out of the washing machine. When I showed it to Steve, he wanted to know if would eat a lot.....



3. Europeans generally refer to the process of converting wool fiber to a fabric as "fulling" while in the United States we generally call it "felting."

4. Felting can be hard on your washing machine, in several respects. First, if you don't want to plug your drains, it's a good idea to place the item to be felted into an old pillow case and then knot the pillow case closed as this will help capture loose fibers that may plug your drain. Second, it may take several cycles of the agitation phase of the wash to felt your item. I'm not placing blame here, but after 2 hours, my older washing machine went kaput (fortunately by that time my bag had felted). The repair man assured me that it was not anything I had done to cause the machine to break and it shouldn't be a problem to force the machine to repeat the wash cycle over and over and over again. This was greatly reassuring to me. Such a nice man. And yet. It might be wise, if you have a major felting project, to take yourself over to a coin laundry facility and use someone else's machine, if yours is older and not covered by a warranty.

5. It's best NOT to use an older pair of jeans to create friction in the washing machine. No matter how faded and old the jeans are, there may be residual dye that can stain light colored wools. It's best to use an old towel to provide the friction in the wash phase.

6. Finally, it's not felted (i.e. finished) until you pull it out of the water and no longer see any stitch definition and have a contiguous fabric. With this project, it took close to 2 hours in the washing machine to felt. Please refer to Fact No. 4 above.



Until next time, be well, love well, and do what you have a passion to do in this life.

Fun with Flowers

Knitting is something I incorporate into my very way of life. It is a hobby, an expression of my personal dressing style, a solace in sad times, a source of pleasure in happy times, and at all times a creative outlet. Some knitters expand their hobby by learning to spin yarn and others foray into other ways that fiber can be used for creative expression and one such subgroup are the fiber artists who wet felt.

I'm wearing a wet felted cherry blossom flower that I bought from a fiber artist in Norway who sells her handmade creations on Etsy as Felt by Ingermaaiker. I bought one of her flowers to see what wet felted is all about and whether it would interest me to learn how to do it. It really is a beautiful artistic piece - my only concern is that it might be difficult to achieve this level of proficiency. She is really very talented and her flowers are beautiful.



I'm finding it fun playing with the various ways that this flower can be used as an accessory. I like it best attached to a purse or in my hair but found it really added to an outfit when I wore it on my slacks.


If you have interest in learning more about wet felting, the books that looked the best to me were Complete Feltmaking and Uniquely Felt.

Although neither of these books had instructions on how to make flowers, they seemed like the best resources for someone new to wet felting.

Edit Update: The artist has notified me that she has a tutorial on making this flower which can be found here.

While I may dabble a little in this aspect of fiber folly, knitting is still my primary love and, speaking of knitting, have you seen the new Kim Hargreaves collection, Amber. I'm seriously hoping one of these kits end up under my Christmas Tree! Renee of Renee Knits Too! alerted me to this new collection and my Ravelry group "Kim Hargreaves" is now abuzz with the news as this looks like one of her better collections.

I also want to slip in a quick picture of Jillian of Snitty and me earlier today having brunch at the Inn of the Seventh Ray. Jillian is the first knit blogger that I've met in person and I'm particularly fond of her as she has not only taught me a lot about blogging but was also my first regular reader when I started blogging. She is just a delight as well as an amazing knitter and I had a wonderful time meeting her in person.

Finally, we have our pumpkin! Steve chose a good one, don't you think?

I hope you all have a wonderful week. We have company arriving on Monday from Seattle, Washington so should have a fun and busy week down in San Clemente.