Mamacat's Palette

Mamacat's Palette

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

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

Meet Me on the Equinox: Spring Super Inspiration Sunday

Apartment Gardening

Test Eagle II

Bead Boxes I

Yellow Bloom Boom

Bead Boxes II

Bluebird Colorburst

Backyard Hawking

Super Moon Rising

Up, Up and Away!

Happiness on a String

Today I ran some errands before it got too cold out {tomorrow: 19F, Monday, 13F, not counting the windchill, brrrr!} and enjoyed some winter New England sunshine. I loaded up on ingredients to make my first from-scratch chicken chili, thank you Giada! Hopefully by the end of this weekend I will have kicked the dregs of Super Head Cold 2011.

I stopped in Party Favors to ogle the cupcake case and when I came out I saw this tied to the meter:

Uplifting Color

It was enough to put a spring in my step and motivate me to power walk home, where I collapsed on the couch for a few hours. However, the giaganitc doilies I picked up at Party Favors were too irresistable to leave in the sleeve, so out they came. Note the Scotch Tape roll for scale:

Pondering the Heart

Which led me to this Chez Terez State of Affairs:

Chez Terez State of Affairs

Come back tomorrow and see what I end up with.

XOXO Terez

Works in Progress: Feb. 21 self imposed deadline!

I <3 Yarn

Those of you who have visited Chez Terez lately have seen my baskets and totes spilling over with yarn, glorious yarn. Since I moved to Boston eight years ago I've been magpie-like at just about every yarn store I've stopped in, seduced by the colors and collecting a couple of a skeins at a time.   Now my couch looks like this:

State of Affairs

But after a Saturday out on the town with the Norwegian Knitter, I have this to add to my stash:

Red, White and Blue: Chez Terez Style

Two Reynold's Blizzard Teal, four Lion's Brand Homespun Candy Apple Red, one Lamb's Pride Bulky Spruce (discontinued! Gasp!) and Lamb's Pride Bulky Red Hot Passion and one Lamb's Pride Burly Spun Aztec Turquoise.

This will make: one scarf, two hats, one prayer shawl and one as of yet unidentified object.

While organizing my yarn last night I realized I have six intense Works In Progress:

1. Double Basket Weave Scarf (1/4 of the way done)
2. Sunset Scarf (1/3 of the way done)
3. Matt's Christmas Scarf (1/2 of the way done)
4. Candy Apple Red watch hat (1/5 of the way done)
5. Seawaves scarf (1/3+ of the way done)
6. Basket Weave Scarf (4/5 of the way done)

Plus I really, really, really want to start on my hand painted Misti Alpaca that I have been hoarding for a year. But that's going to be cabled so it can wait until I am not too intimidated by those needles.

Goal: Finish the above six pieces by the end of President's Day weekend, Feb. 21st. Do you think I can do it?

I have to! Because I'm not allowed to crack into this until I do:

Lamb's Pride Burly Spun

And I really, really, really want to try it out.

I'm also not allowed to go back to the amazing Windsor Button until I do bind a few of those projects off, although Stan and Susan are the nicest proprietors and their shop is my favorite yarn shop in the greater-Boston area, and their selection of Lamb's Pride Bulky and Burly and Malabrigo (I think) is the best in the state:

Waiting For Me

So wish me luck and I'll keep you posted. Knitting with the girls today got me off to a pretty good start.

XO Terez

Sunset Scarf

Sunset Scarf Start

Yoweee it's been a long month already, and it's only the 9th day of January. December 29 I started feeling a bit off-- a sore throat late in the day--and 10 days later I'm only starting to feel like I have completely shaken off Head Cold 2011. Sinus infection, conjunctivitis, hacking cough--I'm looking at you over my shoulder and telling you to not dare come near me again.

All that time stuck on the couch gave me three things: a renewed love of day time soap operas, an overdose of Zaftigs Matzo Ball Chicken Soup and time to stare at my yarn stash long enough to want to untangle it, line everything up and plan my next creation. This is what I came up with:

Pattern

I grouped all of my Lamb's Pride Bulky together and started playing around with the color spectrum. I wanted something rainbow-ish but not something corny. I picked up a skein of Sunburst Gold while I was in PDX and added to my purple heavy stock, I liked the way it freshened things up. Threw in some shades of rose, fuchsia and red and I was ready to start:

Stockpile

I started with Jack's Plum and will gradient in toward what I think is either Spice or Mulberry (I have long lost the label, for shame) and Fuchsia and then shift gears toward Blue Blood Red, Lotus Pink, Rosada Rose, Rust and then center things with Sunburst Gold. I'll repeat the pattern in reverse from there, ending in Jack's plum.

Progress

I'm a bit further along than the photo above--since then I've added on three more colors--almost to the center! I just finished watching Mr. Darcy and Lizzie Bennet get hitched (BBC marathon version) so I'm ready for a break and to call it a night. Can't wait to resume life in the land of the living again tomorrow.

XO TEREZ

PS GO DUCKS!

PS I'm using circular 10-1/2 needles, cast on 25 stitches and am knitting 25 rows of each color (50 of the center color) in a simple garter stitch. Lamb's Pride Bulky, my favorite yarn.

Rear window

The view from my work table

Today I was up with the birds. What is with them lately? 

In the summer they are so boisterous in their singing that I can hear them over the air conditioner's chug chug chug. But that's the summer. It's cold now. I have pumpkin bread in the oven and I am drinking cocoa. Shouldn't they be flying south about now?

Today they were outdoing one another in full force.

I was so excited to work on the projects that I have been too busy to touch that I popped out of bed when I heard them warming up at 5 a.m. All day while I working in the back room (pairs of earrings created and photographed: 23. Good News Bears sewn and cut out: 18. Secret baby projects started: 3.) they were at it.

Look close at the photo below--this little guy hung out and watched me for about 20 minutes. He didn't mind having his picture snapped:

My little buddy

Living in the treetops has its advantages. The birds are my neighbors and the greenery is gorgeous and doesn't need any ladscaping. The sunsets have been spectacular from this room lately.

Speaking of sunsets, check out this palette that I am working with from Anna Maria Horner's Folksy Flannels collection. There are some nephews or nieces in my future so I need to get cracking. Stay tuned to see what I make with this buttery soft fabric, I'm almost done with Secret Project 1.

Anna Maria Horner's Folksy Flannels

Also be sure to check out the Etsy shop--I'm in the middle of loading some of the many new pairs of earrings, hurrah!

XO TEREZ

Color wheels II

Wheel o' beads: crystal, Swarovski pearls, blown glass, cloisonne, gemstone, pressed glass

Strawberry quartz, cloisonne disks, foiled-lined glass

Sneak peek! Stay tuned.

P.S. Don't you love love love these vintage Fire King milk glass deviled egg plates? They make perfect bead palettes!

Color wheels

Fancy Felt cools

Fancy Felt warms

I am a color addict.

I ordered these Fancy Felt color samples from Giant Dwarf's etsy shop a few weeks ago. Mamacat happened to be here when they arrived.

"Hmmmmmm," she said.

I could tell lightening was striking her brain. "You know, those would look really good framed."

I just happened to have two that would fit the bill on standby. I slipped them in, and voila! That empty spot in my hall is filled and is now one of my favorite places to look for inspiration.

Color swatches available here.