~no demands~

"He who makes great demands upon himself
is naturally inclined to make great demands upon others."

Andre Gide

I am still here...I am...
making no demands upon myself...or others...

Thank you for waiting...
It is summer...everything moves a little slower...
days are longer...
naturally...

Oceanside Organic cotton color(#2)...Drift..
a pale,pale ocean green...naturally
Match it with the rolled neck jersey from this book ...
and one special little girl will be very happy...

That is if I can stay focused...
and keep working...
find my natural rhythm again...

But I am making no demands...
I am enjoying myself...naturally..
and you should..as well...
It's summer...

You know you want this...

"Trust that little voice in your head that says "Wouldn't it be interesting if..."
And then do it..."

Duane Michals

Trust me...
you want this...

you do...
2 skeins of Suri Merino
that's it...
free pattern...here...

make it bigger...make it smaller ...
just make it...
you want it...you do...you won't regret it
it's all about trust...
I am loving this shawl...

and this hand spun...Patience... by Elaine...

and this as well...hand dyed and spun...she rocks the wheel...
she does...thanks E. xoxo

Now everybody...go knit...
Trust me...

material girl~

"...Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl... "
Madonna...

Japanese fabric...that is the material...again...

Seems that a certain birthday girl wanted
something hand made for her birthday...

And she chose this book ...
And some fabric I had on hand...a delicious Japanese cotton,
(sadly, no longer available...)

Had to have pockets...
and tied...at the top...for a summery look.

cut...sew...done...
and I thought I'd add this fun sundress...
tutorial found here ...

because when you are 6...
you like to have fun,
ride a bike,
get girly...

and play dress-up...

as I am...

" We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are"

Anais Nin


So- here I am again...in front of the red door...
really, welcoming you all in,
and wanting to show you
my Veste Croisse ...

It seems that my decision to make this particular sweater
with the Rowan Summer Tweed was a good one,at least for me.
The pattern is loose, not to be bulky,
so the drape that this yarn affords me is perfect.

Slouchy, not sloppy...
soft and airy for cool spring and summer evenings...
a mix of silk and cotton,in a nubby tweed,

who's color I have yet to capture exactly...but, then...
we don't see things exactly as they are...all the time...

sometimes we need to look deeper...


the perfect button...a gift...
the pattern...a gift...in French...translated by me...
the yarn...

Particulars: I shortened the sleeves to accommodate my taste
(I'd be pushing them up anyway)
and I think I may play with the button placement a bit.
Otherwise...I am in love...

a favor was asked...

"The end is to build well.
Well building hath three conditions:
firmness,commodity and delight.:

Sir Henry Wooton...architect

A favor was asked of me by Martine ,
to please try out her new fabric line and tell about it.
Of course...I would be delighted ...easy...I like to sew...

She sent me the tribal collection ... and Zanzibar...
Each a true delight.

Hand painted designs made of linen and cotton.
I had several ideas, but remembering those three earlier conditions,
and I wanted to do something to show off the uniqueness..
thinking and thinking I finally made a decision.
Instead of one project using all of the fabrics,
I would do two different types of designs.

I made a fabric sewing tray...or knitting if you prefer...
Designed to hold a few things while you stitch...or knit...
Or used to hold necessities on a dresser or desk.
Approx. 6 1/2" x 5 3/8" with curved sides...reminiscent of a camel back sofa.

and the second was an oven mitt...inspired by these children's mitts...
I took the liberty of enlarging the pattern for a grown up...
*thanks Al*
and was quite pleased with the result.

So, I hope I have attained the three conditions to build well,
and Martine...I hope you approve..

the beauty of numbers...

"Numbers are intellectual witnesses that belong only to mankind"
Honore de Balzac...France

I needed to first grab a pencil,then the ruler,
the numbers were there,in this book...waiting.
I measured...
I marked...

I cut... I sewed... I folded,pleated and pressed....
pocketed,tagged and top stitched...

the numbers kept me intrigued as I went along..
the numbers well arranged and easy to apply...
and soon, I had not only one...
but two aprons...
ready for the giving...

pink and green... two colors of Spring
bold prints on wonderful cotton...
two fabrics for each....
two gifts...
for two women...

and one beautiful
bleeding heart for you all.

Happy Mother's Day to you all this weekend...
Hoping your numbers add up to a perfectly wonderful day!!

doubts & certainty

"Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty"
{quote} from the movie DOUBT...
When I purchased this Rowan Summer Tweed
I was certain what I was going to knit.....

it was going to be Whitby from this new magazine ...
but,I doubted that I would like it in the end...

so, instead I decided to make this Veste Croisse...
this,I had no doubt,that I would love...
I was certain of it

at first,I was doubtful of the yarn,
but as I made progress, I knew,with all certainty
that this yarn...silk and cotton...tweed
would be perfect...light,summery,just was I was hoping for...
yes,I am certain I will love wrapping in this.

and when this arrived from Elaine {thank you again}
I knew, without a doubt, that I loved it,
I still am not certain,however of what to make...
but,whatever it becomes,
I am certain it will be loved...no doubt here

and this,well the Rowan Summer Tweed...
reminds me of this color...
without a doubt...