magic

Kindness is like magic, if you ask me. I believe in the adage, One good turn deserves another. I am fortunate to have been on the receiving end of much magic lately.

Last spring I wrote about my huswif project and told you about how generous Theresa was with encouragement and guidance. Well, her kindness has been constant since that time in the forms of reading here, commenting, and thereby encouraging me further. For those gifts I am humbly grateful. In December, she hosted a give-away which I entered, fingers crossed, and considering her large readership, I figured I didn't have much chance of winning. I did not win. Jokingly, I posted a "whine" comment, and she took pity on me! (or probably more accurately, she saw an opportunity to be generous!) The give-away was for some goodies from Namaste, a company that specializes in knitting bags in some beautiful colors and styles. Bag Lady that I am, I had no Namaste bags in my collection. Well, Theresa remedied that and then some! Look what she sent me for not winning but whining:

Now, I do not advocate whining, I have a five year old, and she'd be the first to tell you that my hearing is unusually poor if a request is made in whiny-voice. I thought maybe I'd get a chuckle out of Theresa with the whine, but, wow! She sent me a parcel with a colorful, handy Namaste Catalina pouch, a purple Namaste totebag (did you know purple is my fave?), and two skeins of Noro Blossom which is soft and jewel-y and gorgeous! All that, out of the kindness of her heart, her generous heart. Thank you, Theresa. <3

And also from her generous spirit, sprouted the idea of a Magic Yarn Ball Swap a'la Knitalong. The participants (it took me about 20 seconds to join that fun!) were assigned a swap partner, and we each wound a Magic Ball to send. My swap partner, Britt, was so quick! The guidelines for the swap allowed us until January, so my last-minute tendencies found me sending my Magic Ball on Saturday. I had fun hiding items inside, and I hope Britt enjoys it to its very core! Here is the ball I received:

Do you see those very curious bits of paper? I've been dying to find out what's inside this ball, but I've been waiting until I sent her Magic Ball, it only seemed right. I'm planning on casting on for a pair of JCasa fingerless mitts today. Thank you, Britt! <3

Of course, you noticed that delicious pile of flannel goodness that the Magic Ball is perched upon... more generosity! My knitting group recently gathered for our holiday celebration (better late than never), and the Girls rolled my birthday in there too! It's a bunch of Anna Maria Horner flannel from her new Folksy Flannel line and the cherries are from Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market line. I'm looking forward to some happy sewing time and all the comfy-ness this fabric will yield! We're planning a pj pants sew-a-thon sometime soon. :) Thank you, thank you, knitting Girls!

So, about that saying, One good turn deserves another:

Theresa, I've sent a wee little something. :)

Britt, your Magic Ball is on its way. :)

Knitting Girls, let's make some pj's! :)

xoxo - Annri

my rock star

Today is our rockstar's fifteenth birthday! It boggles my mind how time has passed and how in some ways it hasn't budged. I remember what I ate (or at least tried to eat) the day before he was born; I remember the path of the walk Brian & I took during early labor; I remember the strangely warm weather, the mist of that day; the gentle encouragement of the delivery team; the way that in an instant, I became his mother. It could have been yesterday, but so much has transpired since. What a blessing in the form of a child, our boy.

As requested, he received his own dino!This little guy dreams of an NBA career.And rock & roll fame. How else does our fifteen year old wish to celebrate? Ride the city bus downtown after school, eat fun food, play a basketball game, and go out for pizza late. Oh, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for the team and loyal fans, please. No problem. Wishes will be granted!

Happy Birthday, dear Koji!!! I love you.

ETA: additional requests: rice balls and a win!

... oh, and Nancy, I did finally get out of my pj's! ;)

color infusion!

I have noticed a pattern in my knitting project color preferences which follows the seasons. Spring whispers, "Pink, bright green, clear blue." Summer inspires me to choose watered down bright shades: sky blue and dusty pink. In the autumn, orange, purple, green, grey and brown call to me, "knit me! knit me!" Then winter shouts out, "Anything bright & cheery, please!" It happened last year, I recall clearly. And here I go again!I would never argue that anyone has a better color sense than Mother Nature, but I could be convinced that the color folks who dye Malabrigo must have some kind of hot-line to Mother Nature's palettes. I've just started another Lyalya Hoodie in Malabrigo shade Flora. And I often have knitting at my side in the kitchen (what, don't you?). So the yarn was sitting on the counter, waiting patiently while I sauteed, and when I turned around I noticed that some of the fruit in the fruit bowl were nuzzling the yarn. I wasn't surprised and I don't blame them. Grapefruit pink & gold, Honeycrisp red & pink, Orange, well, orange! Totally yummy!

This hoodie is going to be a gift for a friend's Little who will soon be two. Shhhh... don't tell. I would like to introduce you to this very talented & beautiful friend and mother. Her name is Nancy Melet-Daly. We met about twelve years ago, when I received a pair of her silver hand-linked earrings which were on display at a cafe where the sprout of a knitting clutch was forming. At the time of receiving the earrings, I only knew her name and her work. Perhaps two weeks later, Nancy showed up at our weekly meet-up with her knitting! A friendship was born. Many knit-nights later and many, many earrings, necklaces and bracelets later, I am proud to say that we remain friends, I won't say "more than ever" because it's never about degrees with Nancy, she's an all or nothing kind of friend. I admire so many things about Nancy; the way she conducts her business, her family and friends, her hair, her jewelry, her sweet child, her home, and I could go on... Check out her site, check out her Etsy shop, heck, give her a call! She will welcome you with open arms and treat you like a good friend. Oh, and just in case you're wondering what this has to do with my color infusion post (besides the hoodie), just look at this vintage glass goodness or this:

Slipping this bracelet on this morning was just the infusion of cheery color that I was craving! Thank you, Nancy, I love you.

I hope you're having a colorful day! xo

ETA: When I say, "...all or nothing..." I mean that once you are Nancy's friend, you might as well be family, because she loves you just like you were. <3

the view from here...

...is quiet today. When I feel overwhelmed, I find it helps to look up. These are some of the great trees we have in our yard. They serve us in so many ways: bearing fruit, lending branches to climb, creating shade, breaking the winter winds, sprouting branches & leaves & cones & acorns to play with, offering kindling, and improving our point of view. I really love these trees.

What helps you to refocus?

bottle this

I wish I could bottle the creativity that bubbles over from her. All of this in one day. One very good day.Finished a hat for Molly. She'll need her own Ravelry page soon. ;-)Built a playgym for the dollhouse kids.Figured out that you can hopscotch with snowshoes on! Thanks, Aunty!


:::


On my creativity front, I finished a couple of hats. Two heads worth of Malabrigo goodness!
On the left, a Felicity in the Whales Road colorway (just imagine the whales' journey). I'm hoping that blocking will relax the wool so the hat will fit an adult head. In the meantime, it's super cute on Hana. On the right, another Lyalya Hoodie. Hopefully, this one won't meet the same fate as the first! I used what was left of the Cuarenta colorway with some Teal. It is a great hat pattern and the wool is so soft she never complains of itches. {details on my Ravelry page}

I have been starting projects like crazy. I'm noticing that I get this startitis every mid-winter, once the knitted gifts are all given, usually in January sometime - ahem. Yesterday, I began a pair of Give a Hoot mittens for myself. They're almost done! It is an awesome pattern. I'm using the same Morehouse Farms Merino 3-ply that I used for Dad's leg warmer. Simply cozy!
Here's a pic of the first owl sans button eyes; I really hope the button stash is up to this job. I had to hunt for a while to find my cable needle; it had been a while since cables came off my needles. Someday, I'm going to make this owl-y goodness too! I hope you're having a cozy weekend. After our re-entry week and getting back to our usual school, work, play schedule I've ended up with a head cold, nothing serious, but enough to keep me quietly knitting. I'm kind of enjoying it. I know you understand.

best - Annri

for dad

I knit a leg-warmer for my father, it fit him perfectly, and this makes me so happy I could cry. It is my father's story to tell, but I will condense it thusly:

My dad had both his legs amputated two years ago; one above the knee, one below. The longer leg often ends up uncovered by a lap blanket and gets cold. It occured to me that a warmer of some form was what he needed. I should not have waited so long. When he tried it on today, we were both really pleased. I will not wait so long to knit him another one. :) {details on my Ravelry page}

Also in the picture, yumminess thusly:

Cranberry Oatmeal Struesel Bars
1 12oz bag cranberries
3/4 c water
3/4 c sugar
:::
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp ground mace
:::
1 c packed brown sugar
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
:::
3/4 c butter at room temp
1 1/2 c oatmeal
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
:::
::: cook first group of ingredients in a saucepan to boil, then simmer for 5 mins until the berries pop; remove from heat, add mace & salt
::: grease 7"x11" pan; preheat oven to 375 deg F
::: in a large bowl, combine second group of ingredients; add butter and mix, using hands until no small lumps remain; add oatmeal & walnuts
::: press half of the oatmeal mixture into the pan, bake for 10 mins; remove and spread cranberry mixture on top; sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture
::: bake for 25 mins, until lightly browned
::: cool in pan on rack; once cooled, cut into bars.

yum. yum. extra yum. {I stumbled upon this recipe on the internet sometime last year, I can't retrace/retrace where, sorry.}

don't play with your food!

Just kidding! Play all you want! Because these three squares are meant to be played with. :)

Sometime around the age of two, Hana received a generous, timely, we-can't-believe-our luck! hand me down gift of a beautiful wooden play kitchen. She has loved that toy so much! It's a rare day that goes by without Hana cooking up some kind of goodness there. At first, dry millet, a jar of little felt balls, water, and strong imagination were all the "food" she needed. However, by the time of her fourth birthday (she's five now), some real food was requested. So for her birthday I made her some of the food below. The invitation for her party were in the form of a simple menu, and guests were asked to rsvp with their "order". Between rsvp date and the party I got busy making, and each guest was presented their "order" as part of their party favor from Hana's Cafe party. It was so much fun!On the daily menu at Hana's Cafe: for breakfast, a shortstack of pancakes with maple syrup and a pat of butter. Yum. {knitted and felted from this pattern but smaller with Rowan Scottish Tweed DK, free-hand felt syrup & butter}Then for lunch, a mixed greens salad with carrots, cucumber slices, mushrooms, and peas. Yum. {lettuce & mini carrots with Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted, cucumbers with Debbie Bliss cotton and Nature Spun worsted, mushrooms & peas were handmade gifts from a friend who knew the party theme, big carrot wet felted with Peace Fleece roving}Sushi for dinner! Salmon roll, cucumber roll, tuna roll, and salmon roe! Yum. {rice & fish in rolls needle-felted from Peace Fleece roving and wrapped with black nori/felt, little roe pieces wet felted into tiny balls then onto the rice, then wrapped} This sushi is a recent addition to the fare at Hana's cafe, you know, for the more mature chef. ;-)Dessert! Yea! An oreo-type cookie. Extra-Yum! {amigurumi cookie from Brown Sheep Nature Spun & Cascade 220 and a wee bit of felt & embroidery floss} This cute cookie is really one of Hana's dad's holiday gifts (he's an oreo fiend from way back), but he has "allowed" her to play with it in her kitchen.

For the party invitations, we also offered pasta with tomato sauce. I made bowtie pasta with white felt cut in small rectangles (approx 1"x1.5") with two long sides cut with regular scissors and the two short sides cut with pinking shears. I pinched the center and stitched it a few times to secure it; about ten pieces makes a nice serving. The tomato sauce was a "splat" shaped piece of felt. As is the way with the cobbler's children, Hana's kitchen hasn't received its delivery of pasta from the distributor, but don't worry, I'm on it! :)

I'm posting about this play food now because the colder weather means indoor play is gaining favor. As I put my mind to sprucing up her play areas to expand her options, I thought it would be nice to share these ideas with you. There are few things better than a little one witnessing the creation of a toy (or anything for that matter) just for them, or by them!

Just food for thought! {Gah! I can't believe I just typed that, but that's me, so there you go!}

xo - Annri