my favorite part

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, 

and creates a vision for tomorrow. "

Melody Beattie

I'm so grateful for the time that I've had home with baby - sixteen weeks! With the birth of my first child my life has been completely transformed. I was joking with my husband the other day that this change in my heart and head has been so drastic that I hope I still remember how to do my job when I get back to the office. I know most parents understand this feeling of transformation. All of my priorities have shifted toward a new focus of keeping my family safe and secure and raising a healthy child. 

And somehow squeezing my creative projects in . . . 

I'm almost finished with my star quilt. I've got the binding on and I would be sewing it to the back of the quilt, but I only have polyester thread that matches it and I don't want to use that. I read somewhere that polyester thread lasts longer than the cotton material and ultimately it will end up "cutting through" the weaker fabric. We can't have that happening after I put so much effort into this project.

Baby and I will be making a trip to the store either today or tomorrow, so it will have to wait until then.

I've already decided on my next project after I wrap up this quilt. It's going to be a pretty pink baby sweater. The yarn is wound and waiting. I think this soft pastel color looks so pretty on babies. Their skin is so fine, it just seems to glow in soft colors. So I can't wait to get started on this project.

My husband found an orchid sale and brought me home two plants. I have one in the kitchen and one upstairs in my studio. I love their friendly and exotic blossoms.

xo Jill

P.S. I can't decide what my favorite part of a project is - finishing it or starting it. What's yours?

his story

Only the cat will sleep in the baby's crib at the moment, while baby is content to sleep in his little bassinet in the middle of the living room. Morning, noon and night he drifts off to sleep and we walk around him, picking him up when he starts to stir and coo. (The cat likes to lay beneath this bassinet and paw at his diapered butt through the layers of cloth when she thinks it's time that he should wake up. I'm constantly shooing her away. Strange kitty.) The dog is always at the edges of everything. Nosing her furry face and paws into every photo.

I put together a shutterfly book about our journey to Logan, my pregnancy and his birth. It was a fun exercise and I got a lot of closure from it. It's like I couldn't relax until I knew that part of our life was documented and put somewhere where we can look through it and remember. We intend to read the book to Logan as he grows. I've already flipped through it what seems like a hundred times.

We've also been reading other books. Right now Logan seems to scan the pictures on the pages, but I think he's reacting more to the tone and cadence of my voice than anything else. I so want him to love stories and reading.

Lots of projects in the works, but some are nearing completion. I've got the baby sweater out today and I'm knitting the final length of sleeve. Then I only have to block it, photograph it and put it away for future use. I'm going to have some yarn leftover and I can't decide if I should make some mitts or a hat. If I make the mitts I can look at the color turnovers and contrasts all the time when I'm wearing them. That may be the way to go.

I laid out my star quilt in the middle of our living room last week and basted it together following these instructions on Amanda Jean's blog. Her tutorials are so helpful. I had a lot of fun with the back of the quilt - it's in the background of the photo with all of the baby books. I grabbed a bunch of random squares and sewed them in a strip up the back. I'm going to machine quilt this blanket in a spiral starting in the center. I just need to go out and buy a walking foot for my machine. Hope this goes okay. I can picture exactly how I want it to look in my head and I really want it to turn out that way. I intend to bind it with bright magenta fabric.

 I've also got to finish my tweed baby blanket because the baby shower for my friend is coming up soon. I'm excited to clear my crafting plate so I can start and/or finish other projects.

Happy Wednesday!

Jill

jaunuary rainbows

We went up to the farm in the middle of this week to spend the evening with grandma and grandpa and to eat good food and dig around in the fiber bins.

We found a lot of things to make us happy!

Grandma and the girls have been dying fiber all year and stashing it away for me to find. (Ha ha - that's what it felt like to me, because when I opened the plastic storage tub holding all of the dyed yarn my brain exploded with color and inspiration. This happens every January when the landscape is so devoid of color and warmth that you're constantly seeking creative stimulation with your eyes and hands.)

I found it at the farm. Tubs overflowing with colorful fiber!

And it's my birthday this week, so my mom said "Take what you want."

"Okay!" So I did.

Isn't the quilt gorgeous at the top and bottom of this post? It's my sister's work. You can find more of her creations here on her blog. She has a very unique approach to color and piecing her quilt blocks together. She told me that she's been wanting to do a star quilt for years, but I guess they are difficult to piece together and she had to do a lot of tearing out and resewing to get this far. Now she's trying to decide what color to put in the background. I voted for a dark fabric.

Another person responsible for this vibrant yarn is my cousin, Ashley. She's got a knack for combining colors in the dye pot. I'm so excited that she's started blogging again here.

The mostly orange sock is my mom's work, knit from some of our hand-dyed yarn called "desert rose". I like the waves of color that are taking shape - this color way is a keeper. That's the fun part of knitting with handmade yarn. The color combinations and patterns are always a surprise.

Knitting is an adventure. 

Well, now we have to make something with all of this fiber. I'm still finishing up my striped pair of socks and the tweed baby blanket, but as soon as I have some empty needles I'm going to be casting on some of this lovely wool. You can find more of our fiber in our shop. Shearing time is also just around the corner, so we'll keep you all posted.

Happy Friday everyone!

xo Jill

sunny afternoon

This week it's been absolutely beautiful around here. I took at walk on Tuesday night and visited a stand of tulips that have been shouting out to me (alongside the road) on my drive in to work. I'm glad I "got them" before they dropped their petals.

Last night Garrett and I went to meet a dog. We're thinking about adopting a sheltie/collie mix from an sheltie rescue group in our area. It's taken me a long time to get Garrett to come around to the idea of having a dog, he is a "cat person." Now that we've started to reach out and meet perspective puppies I can see him coming around - we're both coming around. It feels like I'm coming back to myself in a lot of ways. I don't know how I lived so long with out a dog. It's been three years since my Siberian Husky - Cree - passed. I can't believe I've gone that long without a walking buddy.

I'm already thinking about meals for this holiday weekend. There's going to be a lot of grilling and maybe it's time to whip up a batch of my favorite deviled eggs.

I finished my socks, just in time for summer! (Isn't that the way it always goes? Oh well.) I'm re-reading "A Room With a View." I forgot how wonderful that book is. (Almost on par with Jane Austen, almost.)


Hope you all have a fantastic Friday.

Cheers!

Jillian

sunrise

 

There was a beautiful sunrise one morning this past week and I popped outside to snap a quick picture as I was drinking coffee and getting ready for work. I finished reading Sense and Sensibility (again). I'm currently making my way through the stack of books I showed in my last post.

I was playing around in my studio today. I re-did my inspiration board. The new collection of images calls to mind the approaching summer and all the fun I'm going to have running barefoot through the grass.

Hope you are having a good weekend.

ode to spring socks

The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks . . .

Pablo Neruda

There's nothing better, in my opinion, than making a pair of socks. The entire process is engaging, meditative and beautiful. The finished product keeps you warm and cozy for many years to come. The snow may finally be melting around here, but that hasn't curbed my desire to finish this pair of socks. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.