Marie Grace Designs

Have you seen it?!?

Twist Collective Summer '09 is up, up, up!

I can't even put into words how totally stoked I am to be part of something as awesome as Twist. 

Check out the sunny summer issue... and don't forget to have a peek at my new design ... Pop Rock!

Almost...

I am firmly planted in a phase of almost done-ness. The kind of funk that is created when there are so many little things that are destined to be bigger things yet the gumption to give them that final shove is beyond the scope of available motivation.

You know what I mean.... every project has that moment where you realize how much time and effort you've put into it already yet the blob of whatever you have sitting in front of you is quite anti-climactic. Its desperately in need of "just a little more" but the fact that it looks so wonky right now makes you wonder if its worth the last little nudge.

The visions that danced through your head when you sparked the whole thing have since moved on to something new and you're left here with this. Wondering... and trying to find just a tiny bit of inspiration to feed the fire that has petered out.

I have this weird knack for ending up here with multiple projects all at the same time which makes it even worse. Multiple wonkiness. Heaps of not-quite-done. Piles of finishing up. Even the garden and the school year are in that phase of "just a little more" but I find myself wanting to whine and stomp my feet like a toddler and squeak I just don't wanna do anymore.

But I know how it goes. As the pieces fall together and the final seams are stitched it all starts coming together. Those little flames are fanned with hope and the washed out visions become a bit more vivid.

Something small swims into view... something that reminds you why you started this particular project in the first place. Maybe the way a seam curves into shape or the way certain stitches line up just so.

I'm gonna have another cuppa and see if I can find a little motivation (natural or caffeinated) to finish something today. Just one thing. Hopefully that will spark a desire to finish a few other things. 

Tuesday? Already?

That long weekend went entirely too fast.  Lots of burgers, grilled chicken, an fresh veggie salads were eaten. Can we do that again?

Anyway... I must admit that I used a very large chunk of the long weekend, when I wasn't eating, to work. Can't really complain though when "work" includes choosing fabrics and hours of stitching. 

You may recall that not too long ago I mentioned some really nice fabric I discovered at Jo Ann Fabrics which had me all impressed because really Jo Ann's is usually a big disappointment. Well, I had cause to trek to Jo Ann's again over the weekend. I wasn't actually there for fabric but ya know how it goes when you go to a fabric store so I ended up with just a little bit. Wouldn't ya know... they are more Heidi Grace fabrics.

Colorful and whimsical but still clean and simple in a botanical sort of way. 

And I swear I plucked them off the shelf without even realizing they were Heidi Grace.

I did a quick internet search on this elusive Heidi Grace and found that apparently these designs started their perky careers as paper goods, I suppose for scrap-booking... stickers, papers, that sort of thing. 

Big cheers for Jo Ann's for finally bringing some new quality stuff to the dingy not-well-lit store. Big boo for employing snotty teenagers who obviously know nothing about fabric. Or floss. Or quilt rulers.

On the knitting front... I know it seems as if the knitting has come to a screeching halt here but really its just off the radar at the moment. If I could just eek out the last sleeve on the current cardi design I would be done. That and sending the whole thing for edit... which really I could do now... so by the time it returns the sample will be done. That just might work.

Obsessed? Maybe just a little...

We have been swindled. Lied to. We, as people with stashes of fabric and fiber, have had the wool cotton pulled over our eyes.

A few weeks ago I was perusing the crafty wall at my favorite book store when I noticed what appeared to be a shiny new quilt book. Might I say a gorgeous quilt book. 

Now, I must say, I've actually been quilting longer than I've been knitting. If you made me choose I'd still say that knitting is my ultimate passion and I'll never trade in my wool for anything but I still like to give a quilt a go every now and then.

My problem is that when faced with fabric choices and rows and rows of color I just can't make heads or tails from it. I can deal with garment sewing and fiber stitching because its more... orderly. Now maybe that sounds weird because if anything is orderly, its quilting. But still there are so many decisions to make... quilt block, color (s), arrangement, sashing, borders, the actual quilting. I have a hard time getting what's "in my head" to translate to a big project like a quilt.

I am pretty well stuck on "classic" quilt designs. I like the formal pieced quilts and just can't wrap my head around "art" quilts and I don't like crazy quilting at all. I need the balance... the matchy, matchy at least on a minimal level.

That said... I'm not quilting anything in mauve or mint green. I want color. I want splash. That's why I let a 10 year old design the quilt I'm making now... he's not color-phobic. Actually... I'm not color-phobic either I'm just mot sure how to put it all together without it looking like Crayola had a bad, bad accident.

Well, let me tell ya. This book has set me free. Free, I say.

The 2 ladies who wrote this book and designed the quilts actually own a quilt shop in Australia. The quilts they design are spiffy versions of traditional quilts. They've been vamped up with color, some slightly rearranged, and perked up a bit. 

There's so much inspiration in here that I can't even put it into words. Full instructions for all the quilts and a section for the basics. Pages and pages of beautiful photographs, diagrams, techniques, and encouragement.

I was so impressed that I went online to scout out a website or blog for the book or the authors and managed to find the blog here.

So... what was I talking about being lied to and swindled? Well... as I found on the blog... this isn't a new book. Its only new here in the States. Its been available in Australia and the UK for over a year. Somebody has been hiding this book from us. And the worst part?

There's a second book. And you can't get it here at all!!!

Oh, the horror!!!

Well, geez lady. If it isn't available here how do you manage to have one sitting there on your sewing table?

Well, because I threw a big fit... emailed the ladies at the shop... converted my dollars to their dollars... and had one sent clear from Australia. 

(The world gets a little smaller everyday.)

Ya know how the sequel is never as good as the fist? Forget all that. 

The second book, IMHO, is even better than the first. The quilts are even more creative, colorful, and just soaked with depth. These girls really have it go'in on.

Truly... nothing short of phenomenal.

As with the first, the second book is full of instructions from the basics to foundation piecing and color theory. Full instructions for every quilt, diagrams, explanations, and helpful tid-bits.

One thing I've always struggled with when it comes to quilting is the demand to get the quilting stitches "just so". See... I like threads and strings, and the look of the stitching on fabric so trying to get my hand-stitches to a million per inch just never sat right with me.

Ya know what some of these quilts are quilted with?

Perle cotton.

How. Cool. Is. That.

Not only can you see the stitches on purpose but they are bold and colorful and add another layer (get it... layer) to the whole deal.

Holy wow.

We need this book here in the States. If you ever quilted, thought about quilting, tried quilting, what ever... we need this book. We need to raise up our fabric obsessed voices and demand for somebody to make this book available here. Maybe they plan to release it here in a year or so, sort of like it worked with the first, I dunno. But I felt it was my duty to make it known that there is a gem of a quilting book (actually 2) out there.

Even if you aren't too sure about quilting but love fabric and color you won't be disappointed in these books. The inspiration alone is worth every penny. I've read both of them from cover to cover and have been showing them to anybody that stops by. I even got my friend to buy a copy of the first one while we were out over the weekend. She read hers from cover to cover, too.

Phenomenal, I'm telling ya. 

Oh, and the perk of being so stubborn and having one sent clear from Australia... mine is signed!

What a lovely day...

and what a nice view. A perfect afternoon for sitting on the deck and knitting. The weather is beautiful, the sky is clear, I have my feet up and my knitting fingers are ready.

But wait... what's this... why its Houdini Zeke and his tribe of merry fuzzy butts!

I would so enjoy their company if it weren't for the fact that they are only here for the food... aka my potted planters that they can't normally get to and are determined to investigate. Zeke is an eating machine and knows that there are herbs on the deck. I'm pretty sure he has dedicated his life to finding a way to get those herbs.

The rest of the crew is normally pretty content to play on the "mountain side"...

They really aren't supposed to be out here but we have them in a temporary field fence while we're waiting for our fence guy to get here to add on to the real fence. Obviously the field fence isn't quite enough to hold Zeke and once Zeke is out the rest of the crew follows. That boy is like a bulldozer. He has bent fencing down and army crawled out from under it. The littler fuzzy butts are obviously great students.

Who said country life was boring and lonely? No boredom here... and lots of great company and entertainment. There's nothing funnier than happy goats playing in the grass... or on the deck.

Pick, Pick, Picky...

I suppose one of the most purposeful things you can learn no matter what sort of craft you enjoy doing is how to un-do whatever you did.

Ripping out rows of knitting, tearing out crooked seams, and snipping little stitches that just aren't right. Its always better to take the time to re-do than to become frustrated and stall out completely. Take a step away, a day away, or do something else for a while.

I've started some smocked nightgowns for the girls and have already un-done one of them. The design was just too dense and fiddly so it had to go. That's one really nice thing about smocking stitches... you can snip them all out and go back to a clean slate and nobody will ever know.

I'm a firm believer in enjoying the stitching work part as much as the result. Whether its knitting or some other hand stitching if I'm not enjoying the process... it will end up as an un-finished object. If I find I'm doing more counting and backing up than humming and stitching something needs to be changed.

Smocking is charming and perfect on its own. It doesn't need to super fancy or overly embellished. Its simpleness and functionality speak volumes.

-------------------------------------------------

And I gotta say... you guys are kill'in me with the "no baked goods at school". Are you seeing how awful the transition to public school is gonna be for me? I understand the reasons behind the rules and all but I can't believe how much things have changed. I'm dreading the whole thing but don't tell the kids. 

I've been trying to soothe myself with things like plans to make baked goods, and sewing new school dresses for Tater, and maybe volunteering at the school. Anything I can to feel like I'm still involved and part of the whole process. I'm sure I'm worrying too much and honestly I'll probably have a harder time adjusting than the kids will. 

Life and parenting are so full of bittersweet moments... so many more than I ever thought there would be. Seeing them so bold and confident and ready to head out without me makes me feel so very proud but also leaves me feeling a bit wounded. I'm so glad they've come so far. Children shouldn't have to live with the kind of clouds hanging over them that these kids lived with for so long. I'm so... relieved I suppose... to see them finally come out of the shadows of lingering tragedy and go forward. Now I just need to figure out how to keep up with them from a distance... to let them go just a little. 

I love Lucy...

Lucy Neatby, that is.

I've been a big Lucy fan for a long time and even though I consider myself a pretty experienced/confident knitter I still watch my Lucy DVDs. Sometimes I play one on a laptop while I'm sitting at the kitchen island knitting or stitching just to listen to Lucy and remind myself of how cool she is... and how okay I am.

See, its a two-fold sort of thing.

Lucy is wonderful for anybody who wants to learn all the nuts and bolts of knitting... everything from the knit stitch, the purl stitch, and basic casting on and biding off, to shaping and color-work and so on. She covers everything a step at a time, talks directly to you, and you get to see everything she's doing. Its like having you own personal knitting teacher right there in your house. You can pause, replay, skip, and search for specific topics.

What I like best is that I can check out techniques that I already do, like steeking, to see how Lucy does it and what neat little tips she has to share... like not binding off the very first and last steek stitch to make picking up stitches around the armhole neater later. Its also really comforting to see her have some of the same issues I've had. At one point she is demonstrating putting edge finishes on a cardigan and she explains how at this un-finished point all knit items just look ratty and weird. She states that all sweaters must go through this short phase in order to become beautiful. Once they are finished and blocked they look nothing like the awkward blob of knitting they once were.

Lucy tells us about how to keep our stitches happy and also gives a real explanation of why the stitches do what they do. She does these cool explanations with the aid of a marker and a big piece of paper. She draws the loops and explains how they work together and what needs to be done to keep them "happy" and looking nice and neat.

Lucy Neatby DVDs are worth every penny and a great addition to any knitters collection of yarn and books. Check them out... you won't be disappointed!

I order mine from Knitting Software but there are other places they can be ordered from. Just search "Lucy Neatby DVD".

Dear Martha...

Shame on you.

You certainly must realize the issues you are causing.

Giving someone like me... someone who is so easily distracted by things like string and calico prints and pointy needles an entire book of yet more things to be distracted by, well, its just mean.

Its just too much. I can't be helped. Next to the word "enabler" in the dictionary there should be a picture of you.

You and your paper quilling. How did you know?

And tissue paper! The flowers made of light, crisp, colorful tissue paper.

By fall my entire home will certainly be plastered with pressed botanicals and flowers made from pine cone chips and there will be only you to blame.

Can't you see I have knitting and smocking and quilting to do? Its right there behind you... sort of out of focus and a little fuzzy. 

And as if it weren't bad enough... last night... I caught my innocent little daughter staring into the chapter on beading. She didn't even hear me when I called her name. She was completely consumed by the thoughts of stringing little glass beads into the shapes of dragon flies and lady bugs. I'm afraid I've lost her.

And to make it all worse... soon there will be an entire book of cupcakes. Cupcakes! What will all the other mothers think of me when my children go to public school for the first time in the fall and when a birthday rolls around I show up with hand-made from scratch decadent cupcakes lightly dusted with real cocoa powder in sparkling cupcake papers and garnished with a little sprig of mint or a curl of chocolate. They'll hate me.

Dammit, Martha. Dammit all to hell. 

Maybe its a theme...

I have been woken up early in the morning by lots of things throughout my life. Human babies, hatching geese, fuzzy baby goats in boxes beside my bed, and all manner of cats. This time it was what sounded like an airplane that couldn't have been but a few inches above the peak of the roof. Turns out that's exactly what it was. 

Turns out it was our turn for Gypsy Moth spraying. The sprayer plane flew so close that the windows shook and the cats went nuts. The boys actually stood in front of their bedroom windows on the second floor and waved at the pilot... and he waved back. No kidding. Thought the guy was going to fly right in the top floor of the house. Totally creepy. I snapped that picture while standing on the back deck. You can read about the Gypsy Moth destruction program here if you have questions. 

So that was how the day started. Fast-forward about 9 hours. The hummingbirds have been enjoying the new feeder I hung on the deck at the edge of the pergola but it seemed they were only feeding out of one side. I suppose it was hung too close to the fern.

So I decided I would slide it over a little bit and give the little buggers more room around the other side and while I was standing on my tip-toes and reaching my hands way above my head and my t-shirt rode up like t-shirts do when you reach up really high 2 of the little brats assaulted me! Literally! They came buzzing in out of no-where squeaking to beat all and flew right into my side... actually physically flew into me! Scared the hell out of me 'cause I didn't hear them until they were flogg'in me.

I used to think Hummingbirds were like little fragile china dolls but the more I watch them the more I realize they are no little wimps. The have definite opinions and aren't afraid to let you know. Either that or we have some sort of rouge Hummingbirds here on the mountain that have mutated. I'm pretty sure I'm soon going to have to ask for permission to sit on my own deck. 

So the fly-by thing seems to be a theme here. I think it all started with the quilt I'm attempting to make for FlyBoy. I came up with the design myself but I don't think its anything really original. I like the look of chain pieces and I wanted the helicopter pieces to be big enough that they didn't get all chopped up. An evening of graph paper and colored pencils resulted in this...

Now I just need to find time to start assembling. In return for getting a bit going on his quilt FlyBoy left me this little trinket...

I am convinced that he is the first little boy ever to present his mama with a Lego heart. Best. Gift. Ever.

Here's to hoping the fly-by theme has run its course. I'd hate to see what might come next.

Just to pause...

I know its pretty cliché to go on and on about how spring is the season of awakening and new life and a fresh start and all. Everybody says the same thing and there are bazillions of bloggers and hobby photographers posting pics of buds and blooms and bird feeders that have been ransacked by passing black bears. Gotta love it.

So if I give my rendition of a spring mantra you'll have to forgive me.

Anybody that has been patient enough to follow this "knitting" blog for more than 2 years or so knows we moved back to my home town after 5 years in the city where I was miserable and spiteful. This is only our second spring here at the new house on the hill and really the first that we've been organized enough to really enjoy it. The first spring came with some major assessments... the tree line out front was mostly dead and diseased, the majority of the more mature trees out back were being choked by parasitic vines and there's still Poison Ivy every where. Where to put the barn we didn't yet own and how to mow several acres with a rotting old push mower were on the top of the list as well. 

I suppose we should be proud of what we've accomplished in a year. The barn is settled, inhabited, and the Amish fence guy is coming next week to add about 500 more feet of fence to the goat pasture. The garden and main flower bed are tilled.

The Dogwoods are blooming, the daisies on the hill are opening all at once, and friends have divided up and passed on clumps of every sort of perennial you can imagine. There's also the new addition of a 250 gallon water holding tank for gutter run off to be used to help irrigate the garden. 

We've spent a good bit of fall and early spring cutting and pulling the parasitic vines off the big walnut and cedar trees out back and down the hill. We even discovered a pear tree we didn't know was back there. The plan is to help the native plants and trees keep going by removing the nasties. 

We put some new hand made wooden chairs out under the pergola and I have a stack of passed-on Hobby Farm Home magazines to leaf through. We had strawberries and cake for dinner one night last week. The hummingbird feeders are in business and there's a little plastic bowl of peeper frog tadpoles on the kitchen counter.

Most of my small water glasses are lined up on the windowsill with fist-fulls of dandelions and buttercups that Tater picked.

My back hurts, my only decent pair of sneakers smell like shit (literally) and I keep checking the kids for ticks. See... I have to find something to complain about or I'll sound like I'm making this all up.

I still can't believe we moved back home. I can't believe I ever left. I'm so glad Mac Daddy came with me. And I swear the kids are growing off the fresh air alone. They've been going outside after dark and playing tag amongst the trees... coming in all out of breath and sweaty at 30 minutes past bed-time. 

I wish I could pause it all right here... before it gets too hot and too buggy and before the yard work starts to feel like a chore. Before I forget how fresh and cool it feels to crawl out of bed and take a step out onto the back deck in nothing but a t-shirt first thing in the morning when the mountain is still a little hazy. Before weeding the flower beds chases away the images in my head of what the flower bed could look like if I did it just so and before the beetles find there way here.

Do forgive me... I can't stand to listen to myself. But you have to admit that one thing we are always reminded of by those who are more wise than we are is to appreciate what we have. To work hard and do something for a reason. To be content with what we've accomplished so that all the work is worth something. I don't ever want to forget how it felt to move here. Never again do I want to have "just another day". There's just too much to feel full about. Too much to see and smell and feel than to just let it go by.

Oh, and Zeke says "Hello". He's pretty happy, too.

Thanks for all the sunblock recommendations. Seems that Blue Lizard and Neutrogena are the most recommended for a good sunblock and to be non-staining. I've managed to get the stains out of the few things that got icky this last laundry round and will hopefully not have to do it again.