The Land of Wool and Honey

The Zealous Knitter

When I left work on Saturday night, I packed four projects to take home for the rest of the "weekend"--a shawl to finish, a pair of socks to start, a crewelwork project to wrap up and a cross stitch sampler to start, both a birthday present to myself and a reward once I've finished the crewelwork.

I'm always so blissed out by the idea of a day off, I invariably pack my schedule with an obscene amount of stitchwork.  Like I'm on vacation.  Like I don't have six loads of laundry, three weeks worth of dust buffalo to vacuum or a bathroom to deep clean have no other obligations in life.  Like there's a chance I'm going to run out of something to do.

It's obvious to me now that I am unequivocally delusional about the amount of stitching my two hands can manage over the course of 41 hours. 

But still.  I managed to cast on and knit about five inches on a new sock (a gift for someone I'm fairly certain does not read this blog) and I alllllllmost finished the X on my sampler last night while watching several episodes of Rome, Season 1.

(This is an older picture of the sampler.  With just three letters left, I've been at a standstill since mid-February.  What's wrong with me?!?)

At least no one can say I lack ambition.  But endurance, wherewithal, stick-to-itiveness? 

Perhaps.

Birthday Reading, Eating and Knitting

A long coveted gift--to myself.  (Go.  Buy this book from your nearest independent retailer.  Reading it alone will change your life.  I can only imagine what hiking the PCT would do.)

Shrimp + black beans + quinoa + pomegranate seeds + cilantro = one heck of a superfood salad.  Even grown up girls enjoy birthday sleepovers with friends that include cupcakes, pajamas and a variation on the classic Pin the Tail.  True story.

And of course, I spent a good portion of the weekend knitting my latest project, Ishbel by Ysolda.

Pretty much perfect.

A Month of Food

Oh, hey there.  You probably came here for the knitting.  Well.  Shoot.  Because with any spare time I've had (and who am I kidding?  it's January--there's been boatloads of spare time), I've been cooking--and baking almost exclusively.

(photo taken by Kenna McDonald)

Over the past two weeks, I've made Honey Lime Curd, Pomegranate Blood Orange Granitas, Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake (twice!), Peanut Pineapple Soup (sounds weird but will change.  Your.  LIFE.), shepherd's pie, kale chips, hummus, Chicken Curry Soup, Pomegranate-Honey Glazed Pork Chops and the ubiquitous Taco Bar. 

February will be the month for knitting. 

It has to be.  My jeans are getting tight.

Weekending

 

 

 

I spent this weekend:

: hanging onto the last of Christmas by my fingernails.  Since that photo was taken, at least fifteen more bulbs have burnt out.  Time to take the tree down, perhaps?

: whipping up an impromtu stir fry with my youngest sissy.  Some of our favorite local brew may have made an appearance. 

: stitching away, both at home and at work.  On the knitting needles?  This gorgeous sweater.  (I'm starting in on the hip increasing.  Yay!)  On the hoop?  This whimsical sampler.  (Still.  But on a positive note, I'm on the "V".)   

: celebrating a mini-anniversary.  One year ago Saturday, we started our "Saturday Stitch" at Wool & Honey.  Every Saturday morning from 9 to 11, you'll find a cheerful group sprawled on couches and chairs at the back of the shop (and a certain group huddled around the caffeination station!), complete with spinning wheels, knitting needles and breakfasty treats.  Love, love, LOVE starting my weekends like this.  (Even if I'm the one who most needs a liquid kickstart.  Ahem.)

: dutifully cheering on the Lions with the fam.  There were words.  Angry words. 

: playing with my newest favorite toy, my new iPhone 4s.  (Thank you, Santa!)  I would be lying if I said I lusted after this phone for the better part of a year for more than just the Hipstamatic app.

: making enough cream of tomato soup to last me an entire winter.  Well, not really enough (is there such a thing as too much comfort food?!?), but the recipe dirtied enough dishes to last me an entire lifetime.

: breakfasting at my favorite restaurant with my favorite husband.   One of these days, I'll get a new favorite.  Until then, bring on the romesco! 

How was your weekend?

 

 

Declaring My Intentions

2011 ended with a riotous bang, even if you could only hear silence here on the blog.  My baby brother in-law got married on Saturday afternoon and we rocked it.  All.  Weekend.  Long.  Want to have the best New Year's Eve you've ever had?  Force one of your sibs to get married, accept graciously an invitation to stand up in the wedding party, rent the Crazy Train (yup, the big one) to take you (and 50 of your closest friends) to the reception and after an entire evening of hugging the beejezus out of your extended family, dancing like maniacs, taking advantage of a very (very!) well-stocked bar and snapping a bajillion pictures in a photobooth with a viking hat on your head, strut on down to the nearest downtown for a little after-after party. 

(This is the part where I don't blather on about how important detox is to me right now.  Blech.) 

The New Year is my favorite way to start over.  I'm excited for a fresh start.  There are so many things I want to do this year and like I always do, I thought I'd share a few with you.  No wild expectations this year--these are intentions, not resolutions nor guidelines nor systems set up to fail.  They're just the steps I'm taking toward living my idea of a well-rounded life.

* Plant a garden.  This is the year.  (Beets, cabbage, kale, cilantro and asparagus are at the very top of the list.)

* Make two quilts this year with my new sewing machine.  I've started in on the first already.

* Make my house my home.  We've been living in it for almost eight years and while I really, really love it, it still feels a bit soul-less.  (I've never actually hung a picture on the wall.  Is that weird?)  Time to repaint the living room,  hang some art, slipcover the couches and cozy in.

* Spend a long weekend in NYC, eating my way through the city with a few friends. 

* Become a better cook.  Recipes to conquer in 2012?  Beef jerky, sauerkraut (hence the cabbage), my great-grandmother's ravioli.

* Take my yoga practice to the next level.  I've been doing Yoga X for years and I love it, but I'm ready to add something new.  My best friend gave me a wonderful gift for Christmas: my choice of five classes at Yen--an inspiring way to start the new year.

* Sweat every day.  (I stole this one from you, Ash.)

* Be productive in my knitting life.  See projects through to completion.

A new sweater I started last Tuesday.  I plan to finish this one before the month is over.  Really.

* Free up the knitting needles.  Time to rip back the projects I don't plan to finish.  There are many.

* Create space.  I easily get bogged down by clutter--physically and metaphorically.  2012 is the year to clean out some closets, file, organize, purge and make room for the things that matter.

* Be happy.

 

What about you, friends?  Any plans--big or small?

32

 

New Year's 2009.

Happy birthday to the best husband a girl could have.

Love on the Interwebs

I often spend a good chunk of my Sunday evenings trolling around the internet.  Kind of zoning out, looking at pretty things, reading funny stories and pouring over helpful tutorials.  Even though I don't have any knitting to share today, I can still share something with you--my favorites, right now.  

Joanna's blog, which I just discovered about fifteen minutes ago, is most assuredly the jewel of the week.  Design, gift guides, fresh, hip ideas--this is it.

Pinterest is an addiction.  It's also an online inspiration board, complete with links, tutorials, recipes, prices, social networking.  Go there. Now.  Just don't plan on doing anything the rest of the night.  (And if you'd like, you can follow my boards here.) 

I just know if Alicia and I lived in the same town, we'd be friends.  (One could only hope to have a friend as creative, insightful and big-hearted.  Think good thoughts for this woman.  She could use some extra love these days.)

Although a long-standing fave, I'm going to dig around in Amanda's archives--especially the bits about raising bees.  I'm thinking that a few hives might be make an appearance on the farm this spring.

Always good for a laugh.  Be warned: do not read this with your cup of morning coffee unless you feel like spraying it across your computer screen.  (Is it just me, or does every office fight about their shared refrigerator?)

So hip.  So urbane.  So hilarious.    

Why can't I move to Belgium?  Or, rather, if I move there, will my house look like hers?

Best.  Brownies.  Ever.  I plan to pre-order Deb's cookbook the day it's announced.    

* * * * *

That's a good start.  More knitting tomorrow.

 

 

C is For...

. . . Sundays filled with coffee, classic rock, cloudy skies, cooking and Christmas preparation.

Hope your day was just as cheerful.

Dotty

In the years before I bought the shop (back when it was Inish Knits), I knit.  A lot.  Hard to believe, I know, but I actually knit more when I worked for someone else--when my livelihood didn't revolve around sticks and string.  The type of work I used to do was fine, even great sometimes.  Listening to Radiohead at truly epic levels while wearing ripped jeans and latte-stained hoodies, roasting 500 pounds of coffee a day isn't a horrible way to carve out a living, especially when you're making $15 an hour.  I was in great shape, the work was easy (albeit mindless) and the coffee flowed like free, caffeinated water.  What's not to like? 

You know that old saying about an English degree gone to waste?  (Okay, so there isn't really an official saying.  But there should be.)  Well, with all that simple task mastering, you spend lots of your time busying your unquiet mind.  Weeks worth of menus are planned months ahead of time, unspoken conversations are staged, your next seventeen knitting projects get planned--you know the thing.  And because you've spent so much time working out all the mathematical/design kinks in your head, when it's time to actually sit down to knit, well.  Those needles are smokin'.   

I used to knit so much, in fact, that I was almost (almost) considered a production knitter.  If you didn't already know this about me (ha), I rather like knitting the same pattern over and over (and over) again. Knitting isn't always about the chase the challenge--I'm big on repetitive motion.  It's probably my favorite part about it.  That the same motion, done ten thousand times over, creates one long, continuous wearable fabric.   How's that for Zen?

One of my signature projects, knit sixty three times if I knit it once, was the ubiquitous clutch purse.  This week, I felt a little nostalgic.  Not only am I headed over to Leelanau Coffee Roasting tomorrow to do a bit of holiday packaging, but I decided it was time to share the pattern.

Pattern: The Dotty Clutch--Week Number Ten's project.  (Ten!)

Started: Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Finished: Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Yarn: Shepherd's Wool worsted weight in Granite (one skein) and oddments of Peace Fleece roving in Antarctic White, Shaba Green, Volsippi Blue, Baltic Blue and Blue Jay.

Needles: US 8 16" circular.

I've knit this clutch for friends, co-workers' wives, sisters, holiday craft shows--I even worked up a variation for each of my seven bridesmaids.  Somehow, no matter how many times I've knit it, I'm supremely pleased with the end result. 

I hope you'll find this little project as satisfying as I do. 

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Preparation Edition

Handstitched ornaments, garlands, sachets and pinkeeps can be found in this exquisite little shop.