Elemental Stitches

Swapping

Last month I did a swap with another blogger Tanya from Washington State Apples.  She is living in Germany and writes about her travels on her blog.  I was completely thrilled with the goodies she sent me and devoured a bunch of the chocolate and the noodles in the first couple days.  Thank you Tanya!

Are you wondering what Kirschkerne are?  When I saw it I was like "what the...??"  Then I read the little tag (not the german one, the one Tanya wrote me).  Cherry pits, used for heating packs.  You know the ones we usually make with rice, buckwheat or flax seed and you throw in the microwave.  In Germany they are using cherry pits which are washable and work great!  I love it!  The noodles made it into a cassarole one night for dinner.  Tanya please tell the egg guy that California gives his noodles two thumbs up.

Isn't that box pretty!  I love the little spools of thread and the silver clip in the corner.  A little touch of old world.  Speaking of old world, check out this spectacular doily.  

Jaw dropping, isn't it.  It's so fine that it is staying in its little box.  Only to come out when I want to admire its beauty and stare in awe at each of the itty bitty stitches.

My new bag has gone several places with me keeping my books and knitting safe.

And part of this scrumptious ball of German yarn has already been turned into these.

Which are keeping my freezing tootsies toasty.  The pattern is the Pom Pom Peds from The Purl Bee and is one I can see myself using again and again.  The only change I am going to make to the pattern is to add a few more rows of ribbing at the ankle for a slightly longer cuff. It was so fun to watch the colors come alive.  The color palate comes from paintings which are shown on the side of the ball.  You can see this one on the ball above.  I would love a ball using the colors from Van Gogh's Starry Night.  Anyone see one of those?

Thank you again for swapping with me Tanya!  I hope you enjoy your goodies!

 

Autumn in California

We donned a new hat and warm sweaters this evening for a little walk outside.  Autumn is much more colorful here then I thought it would be.  I figured this is the city.  They would have planted all Fruitless Mulberry trees or something.  But no, it seems like builders and landscapers used a bit of forethought when planning the neighborhoods here.  All of the color makes the city look a little like a painting.  Here are a couple pics from our walk.

I think these beautiful leaves belong to a Persimmon tree.

The new hat is a version of the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret.  I tried to make a smaller version to fit my daughter, but it didn't turn out like I expected.  It certainly is not a beret.  Overall, it came out fine.  It looks similar to the original, but this one sticks up a bit more.  I am not sure an adult would love the look but its cute on this kindergartner and we both love it on her.

Christmas Make and Do

Am I really thinking about the holidays?  Have we really lived in this house 8 months?  Time flies by so quickly, it seems like we have lived here only a few months.  This is the first year where Tom and I will not be spending the holidays visiting relatives and I find myself cuddled up on the couch in the living room imagining where our tree will go and where should we put the stockings since we don't have a fireplace.  I know everything is going to be perfect because we are here together in our own place.  Last year Tom spent the holidays in San Jose working while I was in Southern California with my daughter, Mom and siblings.  It was very hard to spend that much time apart, especially during a holiday, which is why I am so excited about this holiday season. 

I've been writing down a list of things I want to make for my little one this year.  Like most kids in America, she has far too many plastic dolls and toys taking up space in her closet.  As a matter of fact I plan on getting rid of a lot of that stuff she never plays with (we already started with a mountain of naked hand me down barbies) and replacing them with more of what she really loves.  Dress up clothes, books, play kitchen toys, art supplies, and doll clothes. 

Toy Craft List

-Felt Food - I already started on this.  I have 3 carrots, a bulb of garlic, some bow tie pasta, and a zucchini finished.  Plans for more veggies, a loaf of bread, peanut butter and jelly, sushi rolls, tea cakes, cookies, and much more are already in the works.  I have found some great tutorials from

• Chasing Marcus
• Helping Little Hands - Look at the left sidebar for a huge list of felt food tutorials
• Felt-o-rama - Again the list is in the left sidebar
• Lit'l Brown Bird's Passion

-Dress Up Clothes - The princess dress I made a couple months ago for our sew a long has been a huge hit.  Its amazing its still here too.  I forgot to tell you about how it got completely covered in my little ones blood when she fell and cut her head.  By some miracle we got all the blood out and my daughter is fine.  I was hanging up all her play dresses the other day when I thought about turning the project for this month into another princess dress.  I think there is a lot I could do with it, so that is tentatively the plan.  I would also like to squeeze in a crown somewhere.

- Legwarmers, hat, mittens & maybe a cowl - Okay, so this is probably to make me happy rather then her.  I figure she loves when I make her things and if I make them pink she will be happy.

- Socks - Believe it or not, she has requested hand knit socks.  I can't say no to that.

- Doll Clothes - I am not sure what to do here.  She has specifically requested barbie doll clothes but I honestly have enough to knit this year.  Maybe I can fit a few in late at night.  Here are lots more clothes too!

- Doll Crib & Dress Up Closet from Ana White - Remember the coffee table I built with my friend Tina?  I am pretty confident that if I could build that table then I can build this adorable Doll Crib and a Dress Up Storage Closet.  Ana is posting new toy ideas to build for the next month! I am sure there will be more things added to this list. 

That's all for my kid craft list.  Isnt it enough?  I also have a whole list of holiday decor I want to make as well.  I got out our puny holiday decor box and realized that all we have left from our two moves last year are ornaments.   That just wont do!  I will be posting pictures of what I am working on and how I am decorating over the next few weeks.

What's on your holiday craft list and what are your decorating plans?

Grateful

I adore Thanksgiving.  I love the food, I love the jovial spirit people are in now that they are on their first vacation since Summer.  In my family, Thanksgiving is not celebrated for the fact that we Europeans committed near genocide against millions of Native Americans (the Pilgrims, first Thanksgiving, yada yada).  Instead, our family celebrates all of the great things we have accomplished throughout the last year.  We think about how far we have come on our goals and recognise those accomplishments as a family. 

We also celebrate the closeness of family.  During hard times we rely on our family members to help us through.  Thanksgiving is a celebration of the love and dedication we have for our family and what we go through to spend time with them.  If you have any doubts about this just watch any of the comedic films on visiting the family for the holidays.  You don't want to go, but you love them so much you are going to go through the torture of holiday travel and sleeping on the couch next to cousin Margaret to visit.

So this year I am grateful for:

- a stable income, this is the first year I can say we are keeping our heads above water and even have been able to pay off some nagging debt.  Even though my computer is broken at least I have the money to fix it.  Couldn't say the same last year when I was a starving student.

- a roof over my head, because last year I barely had one myself.

- my country, we are truly lucky to live in a place where we can be free to be who we want to be (for the most part).

- my husband, who works like a superhero to put food on the table and is my best friend.  I couldnt have dreamed up a better partner.

- my daughter, who has taught me some of the greatest lessons about myself and about what is important in life. 

- my readers who give me boosts of confidence, inspire me to create more, and remind me that there are others like me in the world.

- those who taught me to knit, sew or craft, they have given me a great gift.  I always loved this saying "You can give a man a fish and it will feed him for a day, or you can teach that man to fish and feed him for life".  Making things feeds my soul.

- my Step Dad and Mom, who taught me to always try to see things from the other person's perspective.  When we can be empathetic and understanding toward one another then there can be a chance for peace in our world.

What are you grateful for this year?  And, if you are American, what are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Technical Difficulties

I am trying to recover from a string of inconveniences this week.  Starting with car registration problems (my car needs expensive repairs) and finishing the week with my computer's power supply fizzling out leaving me without a computer that can handle photo editing.  The computer I have left is an ancient slow emergency backup that is literally driving me bananas.  I am trying not to complain, but a person can only fix so many things in one week.

One thing that has gone well is my newest writing, photography and cooking adventure Shoots and Roots.  I have been thinking of starting a food blog for years.  I even wrote about the idea on this blog four years ago.  Reading over my posts from the last year I realized that this blog has multiple personality disorder.  Is it a crafting blog or a food blog?  I think its been equally both, so I decided to separate the two.  Now all my food posts will be over at Shoots and Roots and Elemental Stitches will be my home and craft blog.

I would love for you to check it out and tell me what you think!  I will be back on Monday!

Summer Garden Wrap Up

My summer garden is finished.  The rain made my tomatoes vines grow like mad, shooting new branches off in every direction and even teasing me with a flower or two.  The sky is cloudy more often then not and the sun has moved so that part of my garden no longer receives any direct sunlight at all.  It is time to pull and get ready for winter.

So, what was harvested and how much?  Here are the totals for Summer 2010!

Harvested from 6/21- 10/25

Cherry Tomatoes - 9.31 lb = 149 oz

Patio Tomatoes - 26 - 3.10 lb = 49.7 oz

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes - 26 - 16.20 lb = 259.3 oz

Lemon Boy Tomatoes - 31 - 7.22 lb = 115.5 oz

Pineapple Tomatoes - 17 - 13.11 lb = 209.8 oz

Omar's Lebanese Giant Tomatoes- 18 - 21.35 lb = 341.6 oz

Ace Tomatoes - 15 - 4.38 lb = 70.1 oz

Jalapenos Peppers - 15 Peppers = 8 oz

Chili Relleno Peppers - 16 oz = 1 lb

Zucchini - 10 - 9.5 lb - 151.92 oz

Green Beans - 32 oz - 2 lb

Shallots - 4 bunches = 9.5 oz (abt 1/2 lb)

Corn - 5 ears - 1 lb 13.1 oz

Cantaloupe - Not Growing - Pulled

Watermelon - Pulled it - No Growth

Total - 90.1 Pounds Harvested (1441.52 oz)

The biggest tomato was an Omar's Lebanese (no surprise there) at 1 lb 12.3 oz.  I was surprised that one of the Cherokee Purple tomatoes came within 1 oz of beating this record!

90 pounds!  Can you believe that! Considering most of that was tomatoes I would say I saved almost $300 on vegetables this summer and I still have some in my freezer.

I haven't weighed our pumpkin yet.  We are currently on pumpkin number 2.  Pumpkin number 1 met with a moldy fate.  Yes it molded out.  Bummer, but I was able to fertilize another one in time.  We will see how #2 turns out.

My summer harvest weigh-in will be replaced by a winter harvest weigh in.  What will I be growing?  It doesn't get very far below freezing here in San Jose so I should be able to grow leafy greens, sweet peas, crunchy radishes, carrots, broccoli, and colorful chard.  I already have an Asian greens mix sprouting and spinach seeds planted, but I have to clear the tomatoes before I can plant anything else.

How did your garden grow this season and what are you planning, if anything, for winter?

CCfG - Month 8 - Dress with Contrasting Patches

I am sorry I didn't get this up yesterday!

We are getting down to just a couple more patterns!  I cant believe we are this close to being finished.  Time flies when your having fun!  This time I picked the Dress with Contrasting Patches and you are going to have two months to finish! 

This dress would make the perfect holiday dress, don't you think?  It is a little more involved then some of the other patterns which is why you have two months, but not to worry, its not hard.  I know I will need extra time with all the holidays around the corner!

Can you imagine it in Christmas red with tiny white buttons and candy cane striped patches?  Or maybe a deep forest green with brown buttons and an embroidered forest friend?  I cant wait to see what you all come up with.

The prize for this month is a little different.  I have gotten to know you a little better through this sew a long and I wanted to do something a little more special this time.  Its a surprise prize!  Something knitted or sewn by me special for you! I will let you know what it is a little closer to the end of December, when its finished.

I hope you have fun with this!  Happy sewing!

Winner for October!

I finally figured out this whole screen shot thing!  It was much easier then I thought. 

I used the random number generator to save me the anxiety of having to choose just one winner.  You were entered in the order you entered your links.

The winner is...

Mari from Choochmagooz!

Yea Mari!  Mari made some great changes to her coat like sewing the scarf from the book instead of knitting one.  I also love the buttons and the details on her pockets.  Check out the whole project on her blog.

The next project will be up tomorrow!

Getting Caught Up

I wanted to drop in for a minute to say that I am still sick, but getting better. Another day or two and I should be back to normal... of course I told myself that a couple days ago.  Seriously, I am getting better its just taking longer then I would like.

Halloween was fun even though Tom and I were trailing behind blowing our noses the whole time.  Brae decided to ditch the vampire princess idea when she found a princess costume she just had to add to her growing collection.  I argued for teeth and blood but she was completely against getting her new dress dirty.

Then I got home and my camera had malfunctioned, almost all of my halloween photos are corrupted.  By the time I discovered this she was out of her costume and snuggled on the couch with a handful of candy.  I think I got one good one.  Thankfully she got all dressed up for a Festival at her school on Friday and those pictures are fine.  Something is better then nothing.

Anyway back to crafting.  All the jackets you all have made this month are amazing and so inspiring!  I love that some of you re-purposed old jackets to make new ones.  They are all so different too! 

Here are the Coats entered for October so far.

nest full of eggs

washington state apples

Choochmagooz

I am giving you until tomorrow, Wed. Nov 3rd at 8pm Pacific time

to post your links on the project post.

I will post a winner by random draw on Thursday!

My jacket should be up sometime in the next week.  Got to grab a pic of my munchkin in it.  I should get back to my normal gardening, cooking and crafting posts soon.  My head is still kinda foggy, I want to sleep and ignore the growing mess around me.

Have a happy and healthy week!