This Evening's Sunset

The View From Apt 6

The enjoyment of this evening's sunset was heightened by:

:A double long chat with Mamacat (with a surprise chime in from HH)

:A spritzer

:A good mini-run

:The last of the bolognese

:A satisfyingly successful day at the office

:A brainstorm about a new hanging that will be sewn, soon

:Savoring last piece of chocolate sent via UPS from the Universe

:Anticipation for things to come

:Thankfulness for the way things are in this very moment

XO TEREZ

Old Shale Update

Progress

It's been slow going, this Old Shale scarf I'm working on. With the 18 stitch repeat, I've got 54 stitches I have to pay attention to. The first three sittings I ended up ripping out most of my stitches, despite the stitch markers. Then I finally got smart:

Life Line

See that white thread? It's a lifeline. Literally.

I read a tip somewhere out in blogland (I'm sorry, I can't remember where) that for complicated wavy knit patterns, you can save yourself a lot of grief if you pull a needled and thread through a row you are certain is correct. Right next to the needle, under the loops. That way, if you do mess up, you only need to rip out to the thread.

Needling It

I pulled one of Mamacat's doll needles from her pin cushion while I was home, and use a double strand of Perle cotton as a place holder. The funny thing is, since applying the fail safe, I haven't had to use it yet. {knock on wood}.

Step Back, Review

Every night I do about 12 rows. At this rate I'll finish when the spring equinox hits, but that's ok. This piece is more about the journey, not the destination.

XO! Terez

Disappearing 9 Patch

Disappearing 9 Patch Draft

This year I was certain I would make Christmas gifts for most folks on my list. It seemed like a good idea in September, but not such a good idea on December 23 when I was sewing the wrong-side-to-the-right-side of some complicated items. I had to walk away, fly home, and finish the little guys on my parents' Pfaff at the last minute:

Pin Cushion Cut-astrophe

They are darling pin cushion caddies from Anna Maria Horner's Seams To Me book. In the end I was able to save them, and give them, but for now perhaps should stick to straight lines and two dimensions. You'll notice on the lower right of the photo above a half-finished pin cushion that I was making for my sister-in-law, Michele. I loved the red-white-blue combo and started playing around with some fabric I had left at my parents' house combined with pin cushion scraps. I started sewing random 16-1/2 inch 9 patch blocks and came up with this:

9 Patch-Patch

I knew all along while sewing these delights that I was going to put them under the knife, like this:

Split Patch

I also knew I'd be doing this:

Cut Into Corners

Which let me do this:

After walking away from it, and packing it up, and hauling it back to Boston, I still love it. I need to add some more darks and I have a few more patterns and solid to blend, but I'm off to a good start. I'll keep you posted.

XO! TEREZ

Kitty in the Mist

Kitty in the Mist

::Bebe
::Anna Kat
::Kitty Kitty
::Anna Wysocki
::Boo Boo
::Baby Baby
::Mon Bebe

Whatever we call her, we love her, all 19 of us (me + one HH+ one Mamacat + four brothers + three sister-in-laws + six nephews + three nieces). I took this on New Year's Eve Eve, when I noticed she was sheltering herself from the ever-present-Portland mist in a tunnel under the rhodies.

That's Portland, Oregon, by the way.

White Stag {for those of us old enough to remember!}

XO! TEREZ

High Tea Holidays

High Tea with Hailey

Mamacat and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Heathman Hotel for holiday tea:

Terez by the Tree

It might be after December 25th but the decorations were just as lovely, and the real tree we were seated near scented the air delightfully.

Treat Tower

The menu didn't change too much this year--old friends: opera cakes, scones with marscapone cheese, smoked salmon and chicken salad and cucumber sandwiches were back. As were our favorite treats, the mini jam and honey jars:

Mini Marmalade

We had to box up the top layer of desserts and bring it home.

Pink Dishes and Pearls

My niece is just old enough to be enchanted by the idea of a tea party. We decided to have our own this morning, complete with jam sandwiches, shredded wheat biscuits and tangerines:

Tea for Three

Lily Belle isn't quite ready to drink out of her own cup but next year I predict we'll have another one at our table.

Cheers!

XO and happy new year!

Terez

Mamacat's Palette

Mamacat's Palette

I hope she lets me take the Mt. Hood study!
XO Terez

Christmas 2011

Stitched by Mamacat, 1989

Merry Christmas, all!
XOXO Terez

Walk to Work Wednesday

John, Andrew, Paul and Matthew

Sneaky Sunlight

The Breakfast Club

Beacon Street Water Works

Mini Mums

How did it get to be November already? Autumn this year has been less than spectacular--the leaves are stubborn and refuse to change or fall from the trees. We've already had a snow storm--and still many people are without power. As for the temperature change, I don't mind...too much. I sometimes wish the summer away--the heat and humidity are worse in my mind than the bone chilling temperatures we're expecting in a few weeks. Fall and winter means Mamcat's-Not-So-Secret-Anymore-Hot-Cider Recipe, pot roast, Jane Austen, knitting, purling, quilting, Baileys & Cocoa, snowy Sunday dinners with friends, the Nutcracker, down comforters, holiday handmade gift making and purchasing (and sometimes keeping!). By February I'll be through but for now I'm settling in with a mug of tea and already enjoying the incumbent holiday season. And finally...finally...my fingers are itching to create some new baubles.
XO Terez 

Herbertpalooza 2011

The Menu

Sing A Song With Uncle John
(Baby Marching Band)

Get Some Candy With Uncle Andy

Have A Ball With Uncle Paul

Toss A Hat On Uncle Matt

Poppi "Dunk Tank"

Swedish Fish Toss

Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing Reel Big View

The Zoo

Sea-Faring With Mamacat and HH

HH On The Lookout

All Roads Lead To Mamacat

Extra High Low-Tide

Dino-Sized Driftwood

Shorter Days/Longer Shadows

Hard to believe that two weeks have already sped by since Mamacat, HH and I took a trip to the Oregon Coast. We stopped at our favorite agate-hounding spot, which I can't give away, only to find that the low-tide was a really high one. The waves were tremendous--low shelves, quick sputters and falls, and the usually exposed agate field was about 30 feet out. Aw well. We still found time to hit Dorey Cove for Sea-Farers (giant Crab Louis) and the Tilamook Cheese Factory (I'll have you know their cheddar was rated the best medium cheddar in the world in 2010, and you can buy it for $3.29 at Trader Joe's, nationally) for ice cream and squeaky cheese. I ate too much for dinner at Camp 18 on Highway 26, but I did leave room for Tilamook Beef Jerky. I ate the whole bag in the back seat, which explains my lack of appetite.

Next episode: Herbertpalooza!

XO Terez

Parasol Pendant Lamp

Parasol Pendant Lamp

It's finally finished! Parasol Pendant Lamp. I saw the lamp on an Etsy post a few weeks ago and because I had all of the raw materials (100+ drink parasols, as Mamacat calls them), 10 glue sticks and paper globe lamp, I had to give it a try. (Also because it goes splendidly with the tropical colored walls in my apartment).

A few tips:
1. Be very careful when cutting the wooden picks out of the parasols. Do not do this around children, pets, or frankly, anyone else. The sticks are incredibly sharp and they ping right out of the scissor blades when you cut them. I also advise glasses or goggles--seriously these things are dangerous!

2. Do not hotglue 100+ parasols to a paper globe on a day when the temperature is above 85. Just don't.

3. It helps to glue the umbrellas if the lamp is hanging from the light fixture (not on or plugged in). It gives greater flexibility in turning the paper globe just so and you can place the colored parasols easier.

4. On the video on Etsy they glue just the centers of the parasols, but I found it more effective to do quick dots of glue between each of the spokes near the rim--and then gently press the colored paper on the lamp base. I think my parasols would have popped off, otherwise.

Now, the big decision: what room do I hang this lamp in? I've tried the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom and I can't decide. Until then I'll continue hanging it wherever I want a little mood lighting.

Go forth and craft!

XO Terez

There Is Only One HH

HH channeling Harrison Ford

I'm going to let you in on a not-so-secret-secret: my father is a hot ticket.

Not only has he:

Romanced the woman of his dreams, Mamacat, with trips to the beach, Friday night dates, ballroom dance lessons, piano lessons and long drives around Mt. Hood, he has...

Become the number one "Poppi" for his nine grandkids with an endless supply of animal crackers, giant pumpkin patches, a double decker built-from-scratch play house, his endless patience and his pure joy at being a grandfather. But that's not all...

For us five kids, he's been a living example of a person who is living his best life. He's the kind of guy people call on to help them move during all seasons, he stays after gatherings until everything is washed, dried and put away, he gives away his best agates and seashells to the families he meets at the beach, he shows us the value of an honest day's work and has taught us to do an excellent job and try our best all of the time--not just when other people are watching--because it's the right way to live. Because of my father I have watched three of my four brothers become exceptional fathers in their own right and I know that my baby brother will some day follow in their footsteps.

So: to the ladies, the kids, the grandkids of the world: I know HH is a hot ticket. And it doesn't hurt that he has a square jaw and a cleft chin and can channel Harrison Ford. But he's our HH, so you'll have to find your own.

Happy Father's Day, Dad--I love you!

XO Sis

There is Only One Mamacat

Mamacat and "My Angel" 1978

My mom was an original hipster in Portland before all the yahoos started moving there and has the hipster glasses, cute baby girl, trendy dress, hand crocheted afghan and cute renaissance man (taking the photo) love story to prove it.

{How did this happen?}

In 1976 my father ended up on a sight-seeing tour in Salt Lake City with two older Mormon missionary ladies on a whim to see the Salt Lake Temple. He joined one of the said ladies at a family friend's barbecue. He put together a plate of food started sauntering across the lawn, saw the most beautiful woman in the world and wouldn't you know it, tripped on a garden hose and dropped his food into her lap.

That renaissance man was my father. And the most beautiful woman in the world? My mother. It was her dad's barbecue.

HH asked Mamacat out for a date (remember, he was only in town for a few days!) and she said yes.

Three days later HH told Mamacat she should marry him and she told him he was crazy.

He went back to Portland, but guess what?

Eight days after she told him he was crazy, she decided he was right.

34 years, five kids, six grandkids and three cats later they are still the most happily married couple I know.

Six months after she said yes they were married. Mamacat packed it all up in the 'blue honey moon pickup' and they drove to Montana (to meet the new in-laws) and after vehicle trouble (Grandpa D said, "you're going to break down if you haul all of those books!"--and he was right!), meeting the in-laws (rumor is Grandma and Grandpa H picked them up in their pickup and Mamacat rode with them--next to Grandma H smoking cigarillos with a  beehive hairdo up to the roof) repairing the honey moon pick up, honey mooning on the Oregon Coast and settling into a teey tiny house off SE Duke street, they decided they were going to need a bigger house. Then I was born.

Mamacat and Terez's First Thanksgiving with Cousin

It's hard to put into words how much my mother means to me. Instead I'll treat her to a list of reasons why I love her so. Because really, this post is for her:

10. Because she went face to face with Mrs. Edner who gave me a B+ in 6th grade study hall because I didn't make 100% attendance due to chicken pox.

9. Because she had hipster glasses way before I did.

8. Because she got on the carousel with me at Jantzen Beach to just cheer me up after I graduated from University of Oregon and the job prospects weren't looking great.

7. Because she gave me my love of reading: "Teresa, my eyes just aren't happy unless they are reading a book."

6. Because she gave me my love of libraries. We both worked at one through college.

5. Because she's not just Mamacat to us kids but to our friends and in-laws, too.

4. Because she loves each of my brothers and I just the way we each individually need to be loved.

3. Because she didn't get mad when I told her I was going to move to Boston. Instead she made me a polar bear quilt to keep me warm here.

2. Because we talk on the phone nearly every single day, even though we live on opposite coasts and three time zones apart. She never gets mad when I call at 5 or 6 a.m.

1. Because she has always said, "Teresa, no one will ever love you as much as your mother [except your father]" and she has proved it.

I love you Mamacat!

XOXO Your Angel

Mamacat Today

A Quilt for Grandpa-Grandpa on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday

One More Row to Go

Yesterday I spent some quality time stitching in the studio with the Norwegian Knitter. Now that the new window treats are up it is so much cooler and enjoyable to be back there this time of year and it's really hard to pull myself away.  For all of the hours I spend in there,  I can never seem to finish anything because I am too distracted/discouraged by the Black Hole Craft Closet.

This abyss holds all of my fabric...and most of my beads...and most of my carving materials...and all of my holiday decorations...and all of my empty shoe boxes I might need someday...and three unused yoga mats...and a broken Hello Kitty sewing machine...you get the idea.

At 7:30 a.m., after an hour of birding, I was fed up with the looming closet.  I was getting sucked in by the magnetic-color-wheel-explosion-pull and order needed to be returned.

I pulled everything out of the closet and was determined to regoranize so I could actually get to my fabric stash. That left me facing this:

Reality

What a mess! I post this to show you I am not Martha by a long shot.


And then I unearthed a real treasure.  Something I had started last summer.  Something that I had been meaning to finish and never got to after Hello Kitty gave out:  A Kaffe Fasset charm quilt.  I had five nine-patch blocks finished and just needed to complete four more to have a finished top. I dusted off and oiled the Singer 301 and got to work.

One More Row II

I kept sewing and sewing...and guess what? I came to the conclusion I am not a great sewer...yet.  My seams are crooked and I have no idea how to nest properly when I iron, but once I got the top up in the window to take a look, I was thrilled (big reveal in a moment).

I love how the colors and the prints play, and the way the rows trickle down like the seasons--pale winter/spring bursts at the top, failling into bright spring/summer patches and finally the saturated summer/autumn tiles complete the cycle.

I was pretty happy with my 81 patches. And then I got to thinking...Grandpa Grandpa is going to be 90 years old next Saturday. If I added one more row of nine patches, I'd have 90 squares. And I have been wanting to make him a lap quilt.

Bam! Brilliant! Of course--this will be a lap quilt for Grandpa-Grandpa on the occasion of his 90th birthday!

I got to back to work. Brewed a pitcher of Passion iced-tea for sustenance. Ate some yellow and chocolate cake. Got back on the sewing machine (oh how I have missed her!)

Passion Tea

A few more pins, seams, tucks and 'oh shoot' s later, I finished this:

Grandpa Grandpa's Quilt

Now: I have to beg Mamacat and HH to back and bind the thing, because I have no idea how to do that...yet. I've got to get to the Post Office and Priority Mail this sucker! I'll keep you posted. And for the record, I hauled down about 20 cubic feet of junk to curb-cycle, and it's all gone. But the studio is still trashed, and that's ok.

XO Terez