M a d e l i n e T o s h

happy halloween

happy halloween from the little gnome i found in the garden.

 

treetops raglan

So the collection of handspun below has now become a raglan sweater for the wee one.

The colors just asked to be knitted together and conjoined like happy twins. The fibers include everything from Blue Faced Leicester and Merino to some mottled Jacob farm wool pictured below which I over dyed with rusty, reds and oranges.

The sweater is based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's EPS system. I added a hemmed edge to the bottom and have already tacked it down as it kept rolling up under my fingers as I knit around, minor annoyances.

I am so in love with the entire theory behind the magic loop method. Magic loop sleeves are just another plus!

As this sits in the knitting basket. I may just have found another addiction which might include color-work swatches. Colorwork I declare highly addictive - dangerous, definitely dangerous!

My amazon queue is now full of colorwork books and each book posted at schoolhouse press really should be mine, honestly.

Oh, and by the way, colorwork addicts I need some advice. How should I hold my yarn? EZ's idea seems the best thus far. I will learn the continental method yet.

the pincushion saga

Sooo,

I was thinking far to hard and lusting after yet another purl bee project that looks ever so easy to pull off (for normal people that is) when I came across this tutorial for a "very easy" pincushion.

So I proceeded to try and f-it up as much as possible by not following the directions and winging bits of it here and there. Logical for a Gemini.

I found my un-ironed fabric, threw a small but clean dinner plate on top of it and cut around the plate with my scissors to make a nice jagged edge.

Next, I turned under the fabric and began stitching with my weak cotton thread (totally not recommended by purl bee). I made nice short stitches in an attempt to duplicate a running stitch instead of longer and wider ones all the way around.

I sat on the couch thinking goodness how nice it is to hand-sew something, make it myself ya know etc, etc..... blah, blah blah.

So I yank the yarn when finished, pull the thread taught and decide to stuff the inside with what else wool (purl bee highly recommends cotton here)

I stuff, pull, stuff and pull and then snap (visualize weak thread breaking here) and poof - the above becomes this:

%#^%

So, I decide to try again, using new, stronger thead, and cotton, like purl bee said from the get go. And wouldn't ya know it worked. Why all be!!

Next, I decided to add the little wool topper. I cut what wool I had before-hand, so of course it doesn't fit the opening now, why would it?

Out of wool, I decide to ad lib. I cross 2 pieces one over the other to make a hideous x on top of my pumpkin instead of a nice round leaf-like circle. Very nice and pirate like. It clashes extremely well with the gold and chocolate cotton fabric that I have cherished for months now.

It could work, it could look good, or eclectic, or half-assed. Or it could just kinda look.

Ah well. It looks pretty from underneath.

oh my...

Oh my goodness you guys are so very kind, it seems unreal at times. I will not write some long diatribe, but rather thank you all for your kindness and sincerity from the bottom of my heart. Your well wishes made my mother's day.

Oh, and here is her present as promised.

Simple, pretty and functional - so very like her.

mom's b-day hat.
pattern: robin's egg blue hat. a free pattern found via ravelry and posted on her blog here
needles: size 10 addis
yarn: my hand dyed worsted in cape cod cranberry
buttons: vintage shell button from my grandmother treva's button jar.

xo,

everyone.

happy birthday ....

Happy Birthday Mom!

I hope you like it. :)

I promise to show it to everyone tomorrow, after you have had a first peak.

If you want to leave my momito a b-day message feel free everyone. She always gets a kick out of the messages you guys post and can't believe how sweet you all are.

OK, let's see here, a little about my mom. She was kind of a guitar strumming hippie in college, taught herself how to play guitar, very Joan Baez like. She has always worn a Mia Farrow pixie haircut and she still rocks it. I don't know anyone else that could pull that off.

No one has ever believed she was my madre as I came out a bright little, pale-skinned red-head while she was a raven haired, sallow skinned, cat-eyed beauty.

She taught me to sing from the time I could walk, harmony, Christmas carols, voice lessons, playing piano, polka dancing - music has always been a huge part of her life - can you tell?

She crafted and taught me an appreciation of making, giving, thrifting - doing for yourself, by yourself and doing things for others.

She gave me independence and a huge thing for girls, SELF-confidence, not arrogance, just self-assuredness and a little gusto.

She gave me life, loved me when I was ill-tempered, hugged me when I was sad, and spent 2 weeks with me in a hotel room in Arizona on Thanksgiving Day when I was very sick.

The list goes on, far to much to note or describe, but never to much to forget or worse neglect by not retelling and sharing.

So Happy Birthday Mom, Me maw, Wife, Mother, Ria.

Much Love,

from you know, us.

Trunk Show @ Jenning Street Yarns

 

Trunk Show!

What: Madtosh Trunk Show

When: Saturday, November 10th, 2007 from 10am to 12pm or later

Where: Jenning Street Yarns in Fort Worth, Texas (in a fabulous historic building no less)

Why: because yarn is a necessary and positive addiction? no?

We will be bringing boo-koos of yarn along with the Candy Cane Knee Sock kits and the Chrismukkuh knee socks that I just cannot seem to make fast enough!

Plus, a few of the new colorways for the Winter line will make their debut as well.

Can you say Pop-Rocks, Citrus and Tomato three times in a row really fast?

You can't! Well, neither can I.

By the way!!!!!!!!

Question for each and everyone!

What COLOR would you like to see added to the Winter line?

And has everyone already seen this sock pattern because it is new news to me? But then again I am always so far behind the curve I am usually no where near it, something akin to being at the end of the line where the curve begins.

I am smitten with MimKnits, Eleanora Socks pattern, the historical aspect of the pattern, is very intriguing. The interesting part is I actually purchased a post card of this portrait of Eleanora at the Uffizi in Florence because I was so intrigued by her fingers and the way she carried herself in the portrait. Funny what a small/big world this is.

Count me in on this pattern.

doing, doing...

So I dyed my first pan of wensleydale roving and have to say that I am extremely fond of it. For fiber it is very soft and holds a nice luster even after it is dyed. The best part, it does not have the sneezyness or itchiness associated with mohair. I think it's a keeper for me. I have already ordered more of the good stuff.

The roving above became this;

quite a bit richer and brighter in real life, but the rain is not allowing me to take a true picture.

As the days get cooler wee and I have been planning his costume for the Halloween Carnival. My niece also requested a little doo dad. So I whipped up this twirly skirt, an idea taken from a Martha Stewart magazine with a small girl seated on a porch in a skirt very similar.

Pattern: Simplicity 6398

Fabrics: both sale finds at a big box store.

I added a 3 inch border to lengthen the skirt a bit, too short in the pattern for my liking. Now all it needs is a bit of ric rac for some whimsy I think.

Playing around with different color combinations for the glazed sock line has led to two new colorways as well.

Meet Milk:

and Wash:

I have neglected to blog about wee's treetops raglan sweater here so I will fill everyone in next time. I lack one sleeve and the yoke and it is finnito.

And of course I ran out and watched Elizabeth: The Golden Age Saturday evening.

Stunningly inspirational!

Her costumes led to many, many colorful explorations in my beady little brain. I think Cate Blanchett could honestly act her way across the stage in a potato sack and still put on a mind-boggling performance.

Hopefully one day she will do a play, and I will have front row seats in which to soak up her talents. Sadly, while living in London, I never saw her in person. I did see Dustin Hoffman if that counts for anything.

Hey, have any of you had a star sighting?

days are like that....

So, whenever you might wonder what to do with all of those wooden spools in your sewing box, here could possibly be your answer, especially if you have a wee one who is slightly obsessed with traffic laws and their requisit signage.

wooden spools + internet connection + tape + crayola pencils = hours of pure kiddo bliss.

Halloween is almost here and the wee one seems to be taken with all of the lights that can be attributed to all of the upcoming holiday's.

Case in point:

Note: daddy-o gets the photo credit for this one. I just happend to find it while uploading the photos on the camera and almost fell over.

It is still oppresively hot down here, but bearable in the evenings. The wee one likes to wander along the trails in our local park and cross the suspension bridge to drop leaves in the creek below.

I think he delights most in choosing which path to wander down when he comes to an intersection. The process usually unfolds with him pausing, looking both ways, smiling and then declaring dis one when selecting a path.

He actually spotted a path I had not seen before, which took us right down to the creekbed.

He softly shooed away the fish and then proceeded to plunk rocks into the shallow waters.

The sun set so we headed back, retreating from the mosquitoes and returning home for some cold milk and a swim in the bathtub.