Wednesday

Signs of Spring

by Phoebe We love to watch for signs of spring at home and in our neighborhood.  This is a lovely sign of spring- new tulips working through the soil up into the sunshine.  I love to see how they can grow through sticks and rocks and find their way to the light.  I wonder what color the bloom will be?

Monday

Adventures with Mrs. Jelly

by Phoebe Mrs. Jelly is a most talented artist in every category of fiber arts.  I was fortunate enough to spend some time watching her weave on her beautiful loom, and I even got to pass the shuttle a few times myself!  It was fascinating to see the pretty patterns which were created by simply changing the way the pedals raised the shafts as we wove. 
Sister made this pattern. It is my favorite!

Saturday

Hickory Dickory Dock


by Phoebe
This is me being just plain silly today.  A dear friend (who is called Mrs. Jelly by the children in my family) invited us to her home for a visit.  At the tippy top of her grandfather clock lives a little wooden mouse.  I just had to climb up and see for myself!
It got me wondering where the name grandfather clock came from in the first place.  So Mother looked it up, and we learned that the name comes from a song written in 1876 by Henry Clay Work.  Click here if you wish to read more about the story behind the song.

Thursday

Close up knitting

by Phoebe I just noticed a newly finished knitted item draped on a chair in Sister's bedroom. I thought the colors were all so pretty I had to take a really close up look at it. Beautiful!

Wednesday

Sweater design

Everyone has their own style for writing and creating.  I love to type because my handwriting is kind of messy.  But some people love to write things on paper.  You can see here a spread of notes, handwritten numerical charts, yarn, knitting samples, and a stitch dictionary to guide Mother through her newest sweater design.  This sweater will be available for sale through her Slate Falls Knits pattern store later this spring.  It will be nice to see the sweater all finished and ready for the photo shoot.  I think I will be able to tag along for the shoot, I can't wait!

Monday

4-H Carnival

by Phoebe This weekend I went to a fun carnival hosted by our county's 4-H program.  Children from different clubs set up and ran the carnival booths.  We are new to 4-H this year, and love the variety of classes and activities available to our family, such as sewing, knitting, fiber arts, cooking, archery, and woodworking. You can visit the 4-H website to learn more about it!

Friday

Knitting through the hard times

by Phoebe A good family friend is in the hospital where she and her baby can be closely watched due to some complications.  We went up for a visit, Mother, Sister, and I.  Nice thing our friend is a knitter- we had a knitalong right there in the hospital!  I quietly watched and kept this mama company.  Meanwhile, there were three sets of hands moving, three sets of needles flying, and three projects growing right next to this beautiful belly.  So far, the doctors say that her baby looks really good, and this patient mama has been knitting a lot lately!  Mother says that knitting has a way of getting you through the hard times...

Wednesday

Skein to ball

by Phoebe
When I was at knit night a few weeks ago a friend (who is a brand-new knitter) said, "I bought a skein of yarn and I tried to knit straight from it and it got all tangled up!"  All of the other knitters jumped in to explain that you need to wind the skein into a ball before you can knit with it.  This is all a little new to me, being a fairly young knitted mouse and all, so I was happy to watch the process, and thought I would walk you through it now that I have seen it.
First, you start with a skein or hank of yarn that looks kind of like a double number eight:

Then you need to open the skein into one big loop like this:

Next you need to stretch it onto something.  You can make a yarn swift like the one pictured here: (here is a link for a neat tutorial, thanks Crafty Diversions)

Or you can simply find a friend who is willing to help like this:
Make sure you find the ties on the skein, remove the short ones as you untie them, one tie will be the beginning and the end of the yarn!

Now it is time to start making a ball of yarn.  You can buy a ball winder (like this) or you can simply do this by wrapping the yarn around your hand like Mother does here:

Now you just keep wrapping and gradually turning the baby ball to make it nice and even.  It helps to wrap it a little loosely so as to not stretch out the yarn too much.  I got to try a little bit, too:

Mother kept wrapping and wrapping (and wrapping- this is a 50g skein of 440 yard laceweight yarn!)
Until the end of the yarn.  All ready to knit!

Tuesday

Watercolor roller skater

"All children are born artists; the problem is to remain artists as we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso
(watercolor roller skater by middle brother, 5 years old)

Saturday

Yarn Drop


by Phoebe
When I returned home from my journey, I found that the delivery truck had brought a very big box of yarn to our house.  21 pounds, to be exact.  Brown Sheep Company has offered yarn support for some new knitting designs being developed at the studio here, and I was glad I was able to be here when they opened the box!  Whew- it has been a busy week, I think I will just sit here on the couch and relax for a while...

Friday

Nice people of Ireland

 by Phoebe
I have had a wonderful time here in Ireland.  My travelling companions were the best (thanks Mari and Rhonda!) and I really enjoyed all of the interesting and beautiful places we got to see.  I wanted to share in my final Ireland post, for now anyway (anyone going to Ireland this summer?) some of the wonderful people I was lucky enough to meet.
 Our seaside cottage hosts:
A kind and friendly medic:

And a very happy gentleman in a beautiful knit sweater:

And so I am, once again, homeward bound!

Thursday

Blarney and Fungie


Of course, going to Ireland just isn't complete without a visit to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone.  At one time, visitors were held upside-down by their ankles to kiss the stone- luckily for me, I had a friend hold me and I felt very safe.  Legend has it that once you kiss the stone, you are blessed with the gift of eloquence. 
We also went to Dingle Bay to visit Fungie the Dolphin.  He has been living in Dingle Bay for over 25 years, and is quite the friendly attraction for locals, fisherman, and tourists alike. 

P.S. I love all of the bright colored woodwork painted on the buildings here!

Wednesday

Kilkenny and Cashel

by Phoebe
Can you believe how big this castle is?  It is Kilkenny Castle and it is from the 13th century.  It is breathtaking to see, and very beautiful!  I was fortunate enough to spend the night in a nearby castle, and it was fun to feel like a princess for the night.  It was a little chilly, too, but it was worth it!

Here I am at another famous historic site, the Rock of Cashel, also known as St. Patrick's Rock or Cashel of the Kings.  Most of the buildings here are from the 12th and 13th century, and its history goes back even farther to the days of St. Patrick.  These buildings are much older than any I have seen in the United States!

Tuesday

Cozy cottage on the "Emerald Isle"



by Phoebe
Can you picture anything more charming and sweet than this little seaside cottage?  I love its quaint charm, pretty flower boxes, and especially a lovely snack of oatcakes and jam.  Time to rest and refresh for some exciting adventures tomorrow!

Monday

Ireland

by Phoebe
One of the knit night gals was happy to include me on her trip to Ireland- fortunately I don't take up too much room and I am fun to have around.  I really enjoyed the plane trip.  You can see our flight attendant here taking good care of us:
 I was so happy to be on the ground in a new country for the first time.  What would it be like?

And finally a view of the seaside, from the other side of the pond.  More beautiful than I had imagined!

Friday

A little green in the knitting basket

 

by Phoebe
The snow is melting and I am starting to see just a little green outside. I see a little green inside, too. Inside the knitting basket I see a lightweight sweater made up of a silk and wool yarn. The other yarn in hanks is also silk and wool and is called "summer tweed." Today I learned from Mother what "spring fever" means.  Making new summer things to wear when it is still winter out- that is a kind of fever that is just fine by me!

Wednesday

Pattern Archives- Simplicity #4347

by Phoebe
I will be on the road quite a bit this spring and summer...so it is only fitting that I have some special new travel clothes.  First off, I need a pretty pair of pajamas, right?  For the last few years, Simplicity has been reprinting some of their top-selling sewing patterns from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.  This particular pattern is for a variety of outfits for 18" dolls.  I have shown you a series of photographs showing Mother's process of creating these pretty pajamas for me.  She used a simple cotton calico and some pregathered lace for the trim.  It was late afternoon as she began the project, and it was finished just as dusk fell.  Just in time for me to try them on and give them a test run here at home!

Monday

Fisher-Price Loom


by Phoebe About 25 years ago, Fisher-Price toy company sold a very nice child's loom. This particular one belonged to my mother when she was a girl in the 1980's, and although it was packed away and mostly neglected in Grandma's attic for 15 years or so, it is enjoying a second life in the crafty hands of Sister, who has spent quite a bit of time weaving this winter. It is a rigid heddle loom and the weaving set came with a handheld comb and a trio of shuttles. It is just the right size to make a place mat or a purse, and warping the loom is very simple as the loom is marked with the letters of the alphabet for the thread placement. This week Sister made a striped wool blanket, and I feel very warm and cozy when I snuggle up under it. Has anyone else out there used this loom?