In my yard*

Okay, so our lawn is still pretty sad looking. There's still lots more happening out there to be happy about. More joyous reminders of spring, like this gladiola bud.

And, more happening on the fig tree: full-fledged leaves! Because I was so astounded by the rapid greening (scientific term) of the fig tree last year (it went from bare to full of leaves without me having a chance to blink) I decided to document its growth this year. If you recall, last we saw the fig tree a mere two weeks ago, it looked like this- only tiny sprigs of leaves. Look at them now!

And lookie here!

And last but not least, this guy. He is a regular around these parts. He likes to hang out in the yard in the lawn and in the trees and around the house on fences and wires, eat various items, bury things in potted plants only to harvest them later, and on occasion...stare right the f*ck at us.

Gah! Melanie, what did I tell you? This beady-eyed dude was just a few feet away from the back door the other day- making a huge racket, I might add. (Note: Squirrels and me- not so much. I link this back to my college days whereupon very friendly (aka: crazy aggressive) squirrels would stalk us while we sat out and studied in the sculpture garden.) Lucky for all involved, the screen door was closed. It wouldn't have been a pretty sight if either a) Doogles could get out or b) that critter could get in. I closed the main door just in case. Ca-reepy!

Okay, let's look back at the pretty fig tree leaves now...

* I have "In My Place" by Coldplay in my head right now.

In remembrance

This week our family lost someone very close to us, B's Great Aunt - 'Auntie' to us. But this is not a sad post. Auntie was a remarkable lady and someone who showed an extraordinary zest for life. Her last few years marked many firsts for her, including some described here, as well as a trip to France - her first international trip in her 80-something years!

She also had an amazing sense of humor, as you can see here...

...as well as a truly generous soul. And because she lived these last few years to their fullest, it is with peace that we know she is now at her final rest.

Since I am unable to be there for her remembrance today, and because I had shared a little bit about her here in the past, I thought I would publicly honor her memory here again.

Auntie we will miss you, but you have made us all richer for having shared your life with us.

Cure for a sore throat

Okay, so I didn't exactly see the doogles listed as a treatment method on WebMD or anything, but looking at this sweet face does make me feel better. :)

FO: Bunnies!

I didn't intend to make Easter baskets, but I got inspired at the last minute after I found cute little baskets and came across the pattern for these little egg cozies. A little extra time, some extra yarn in the stash bins, and three adorable nieces for inspiration, and I was off knittin' some bunnies!

Pattern: Bunny Egg Cozy by Kawaii Crafter
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic in 3001 White (from stash) and scraps of pink and grey yarn also from stash
Needles: US3

Talk about instant gratification. I was able to find random bits of yarn in the ol' stash bins and these knit up so quickly- I made all three in one afternoon! I don't know why plastic eggs would need cozies, necessarily, but that's really beside the point. ;)

Unfortunately, it slipped my mind to take pictures of the assembled baskets before we gifted them away (duh), but in the event you want to make a baskets for a 20 month-old (or three of them, as the case may be), here are some things you may put in each: a tiny stuffed bunny rabbit, plastic eggs filled with little toys or organic cheddar bunny crackers, a mini box of raisins, a chunky cardboard book about colors or numbers, a mini rubber ducky, and of course, an egg topped with a bunny egg cozy!

Glimpses of Spring

First, thanks so much for the comments on the Lucas beanie/bootie set! I can't wait to gift it away and see it modeled. :)

Second, today is the first day of March Madness. Go Bruins!

Last but certainly not least, it's the first day of spring. Let the happy dance commence!

Lucky for me, I don't have to go far to find evidence that spring has arrived. All I need to do is step outside, into our yard. The fig tree, mere sticks and bare branches over the past few months, is starting to sprout leaves. This sight makes me very happy!

And the Jasmine, which has taken over an entire fence, is in full bloom. The fragrance is breathtaking- I just love it!

I have to say, spring is my favorite season. The weather in SoCal right now is just how I like it- still cool (but not cold), the air on a good day is clear and crisp, and it's sunny and bright out. The only downside is that all the pollen in the air is killing me with my allergies, but I'll take it as a necessary evil, pop another Claritin and be fine.

Happy First Day of Spring! What signals spring for you?

FO: Lucas Baby Set

Yes, I've been knitting! Good thing, too. The year o' baby knits has officially commenced. We are lucky to know a few moms-to-be this year. This suits me fine, as there isn't much I enjoy knitting more than baby gear! This set is for B's cousin's baby, born just last week.

You know me, I love shoes no matter how tiny, so I couldn't resist knitting a pair of booties. For a change of pace, I decided to steer away from the old stand-by and test drive a new bootie pattern.

Lucas Booties
Pattern: Boy's and Girl's Booties from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Pakucho Organic Cotton in Chocolate - less than 1 skein for both booties
Needles: US6

These are so cute and I like that it has the drawstring around the ankle for added security (theoretically - I'll have to get back to you on that).

And far be it from me to cover a person's feet without regard for their head, so here's to another favorite accessory of mine- hats! I whipped up this little thing in no time. I just love the stripes!

Lucas Beanie
Pattern: Beanie Hat from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Pakucho Organic Cotton in Natural and Chocolate- less than 1 skein of each
Needles: US5 and US7

This was my first time working with the Pakucho, but it won't be my last. It's a really good cotton yarn, and of course I love that it's organic.

I'm sorry, but I am a sucker for cute, little baby knits. I may have found my calling...

Verity

Ever had an itch that you just needed to scratch? Despite knowing that I'm not really a hat person (although I would like to be), I knew as soon as I saw Verity that I needed to make it. In fact, I went out and bought yarn ASAP after seeing the pattern release.

I knit the hat in slightly less than one hank of Malabrigo worsted in Olive. The yarn was not as drapey as the yarn called for in the pattern, so my row gauge was considerably shorter. I decided to knit the large hat to accommodate for the short, non-poofy factor. Then since my head was truly a medium, I knit the band down to the medium size when I attached it. I did this evenly around the brim by knitting two hat stitches together with one brim stitch until all the extra stitches from the large size were removed. This strategy worked for fit and for the most part its looks, but you can still see that mine is quite a bit more stiff than the original.

The yarn was super soft and it eased quite a bit after I gave it a full wash. I still can't believe I was able to get the whole hat out of less than one hank given that it seemed like I was running out of yarn most of the time I was knitting.

The pattern was very well written and it makes me really excited to work on more of Ysolda's patterns. I've been a long time admirer of her work, but this is the first project I've knit. I also wanted to pay a little homage to her pattern photos by taking mine at the botanical garden at Balboa Park. (Although, I have to say my weather was a bit different ;-)

Anyway, while I'm not a big hat wearer, I do hope to wear this one when the San Diego weather deems it appropriate, which means it probably won't see too much wear until next winter. However, I am bringing it with me on an up and coming snow boarding weekend, so hopefully it isn't completely done for the season.

Southern Utah - Travel Suggestions Wanted

Hi everyone, I thought I'd ask ahead of time for a change...B and I are planning a one week trip to Southern Utah and we'd love your suggestions on where to stay, where to eat, and what not to miss. We are planning to spend time in Zion and Bryce for sure, but we also know there is so much more to see!

If we do this on our own, we are likely to use the AAA guides, which did get us an amazing Arizona trip, but I also know that you guys are a wealth of information. We are especially interested in lodging suggestions, whether cute motels, condo rentals, or others...but we aren't big campers.

Anyhoo, I'd love to hear your suggestions. Please feel free to leave a comment or PM me on Ravelry (my user name is the same).

Thank you in advance!

Nonnahs' First Quilt (the show & tell continues!)

Since Dis just shared her adorable first quilt with us, and since I recently stumbled upon my first quilt again by chance, I thought I would share mine, too. This photo makes me so happy, I can't even tell you.

First thing's first. I don't think I've blogged about my sewing yet, so I guess I'll start at the beginning. I learned to sew (and embroider and cross-stitch, etc, etc) from my paternal grandma. I owe so much of my craftiness to her. I remember being very little (pre-school age), sitting with her at her sewing machine- she would press the peddle as I helped her feed the fabric through. Eventually, I got my own little, kid-sized machine and we would sew side-by-side. She was big into patchwork quilts. It was the early 70s in Hawaii, mind you, so these were some seriously bright quilts! I remember helping her cut out squares (with scissors - no rotary cutters back then), sew them together, then press the seams open. We also made aprons, but I'll save that for another post.

Fast forward to the summer before 7th grade when Dee and I took a sewing class together at a local Bernina store (she will correct me on the year, if I'm wrong). That's when I learned to read and follow patterns. Until then, free-form sewing was all I knew. I made some really ugly early 80s clothes in that class. But, that's okay, it was fun- and I was learning.

Fast forward to college, when my stepmom gifted me a sewing machine (that I still use- bless it for hanging in there all these years). I really got into sewing some of my own clothes (dresses, skirts, pants). A few years later, Lisa was pregnant with her first child, and since I was going to be an aunty* for the first time and excited as all get out, something made me want to sew a baby quilt. I picked up a random book of baby quilts from a fabric store and fumbled my way through it. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I knew (and remembered) enough to get by.

My first quilt was a baby quilt for Jack, who is now nearly13 years old. (Holy crap, is my boy almost a teenager? *shudder*) When I was at that cookie swap, I went looking for a kid and wound up finding a deserted fortress compound. To my delight (understatement), what did I see as one of the fort walls? That's right! Jack's quilt! The photo quality isn't the best, but I couldn't resist sneaking a picture of it, as is, before the little ones returned. The scene was too precious to pass up.

I'll have to ask Lisa to get a better picture of it, but for now this works. I love seeing it in this context. I can't tell you how much I love the fact that it's being used as part of a fort! Lisa, Dee, and I made similar forts like this when we were little, too.

* When you grow up in Hawaii, pretty much everyone older than you is considered your Aunty or Uncle, whether you're related to them or not- it really doesn't matter.

First Quilt

As promised, here are the finished object photos of my first quilt. The quilt called Just Can't Cut It from All Washed Up was made as the class project for the ABC beginning quilt class at Sowing Sisters in Carlsbad. It was a bit of a drive to get there for my Wednesday night classes but fortunately my office allowed me to work a slightly different schedule (6 am to 3 pm - ouch!) on class nights. But it was all worth it:

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts on this project, the little pastel dots from the Moda Monkey'N Round line by Erin Michael served as my inspiration, but inspiration quickly shifted when I found that lovely bright floral (which I've managed to cut off every trace of the manufacturers information from my leftover scraps). I also used the green and blue dots from the Katie Jump Rope retro collection from Denyse Schmidt as an accent block as well as my backing. This made for some real fun trying to line up my dots for the back seam. (Note to self: use solids or semisolids for backing!)

I used both the dots and the striped binding (from Amy Butler's Belle line) to provide a balance to the predominance of the florals on the front. And I am really pleased with the result.

As for the quilting, I wanted to provide a close up of the stitching lines I followed for inside the large blocks and the outer border:

Again, the viney lines were a nice contrast to the more ridged ones surrounding each of the pieced blocks and around the inner border.

I also knew that the quilt was a winner in our house once it got Jenny's approval. As soon as it hit the grass for the photos, it was all B could do to keep her off of it...and eventually, he lost:

Thanks for indulging me in this quilting diversion...I promise next up - more knitting!

Cookies and Congrats

I'm at a crossroads with knitting right now, with nothing really at all to show at the moment, so until that changes (which will be soon, don't worry), I've got a couple of other things to share.

During my visit back home, I was pleased to attend a cookie swap that Lisa hosted at her house. Fun! I mean, check out this spread! I contributed a big bowl of spiced nuts. I felt a little guilty for not bringing actual cookies, however, the nuts were specifically requested by the hostess, and so I happily obliged. Lisa's sister, Dee, brought snickerdoodles. This was perfect, since when I think of snickerdoodles, I think of Dee. I don't think she minds this association. She also brought a few vegan pumpkin cookies (which I really did like, Dee, seriously)! :)

table o' cookies (clockwise from top left): almond, cocoa krispie,
sweet lemon-thyme,chocolate-kahlua, boring spiced nuts,
ranger, breakfast, shortbread, and snickerdoodles

I'd like to mention that I grew up with Lisa and Dee. Like, since birth. Our moms had been best friends since high school, so we've been pals since the diaper days. Growing up we played together, had sleepovers together, and yes, even dressed up their little brother in girl's clothes together (hehe- good times)! We went to high school together, traveled to Japan together, and well frankly, amassed countless (too many to mention) special memories together. I love that our moms brought us together as babies, and am grateful that I have lifelong friends (family) as a result, not to mention fabulous nieces and nephews in Lisa and Dee's kids who I adore to death. I treasure the time I get to spend with them all when I go back home. The fact that cookies were involved this time, is pure icing on the cake...or powdered sugar on the cookie, as the case may be. ;)

And while I'm on the subject of dear friends, I want to publicly congratulate two others, who are each starting exciting new chapters in their lives. Mary-Heather has landed her dream job (thereby becoming the envy of us all), and is now working with Jess and Casey (and Bob) at Ravelry. I'm so stoked for all parties involved. For Jess and Casey, for growing everyone's favorite site to a point where they are able to expand (and for having the good sense to chose MH to fill this role); and for MH for having this amazing opportunity. Just when I thought I couldn't love Ravelry any more...*sigh* We can all look forward to even more great things from this team, I just know it! Yay! And on a different note, heartfelt congrats to Julia and Moxie, who are expecting their first child this fall. I'm bursting at the seams! And this time it's not just 'cause I haven't been working out...it's because I'm so super happy! Hoolia's going to be a mommy! Woo-hoo! I see more cupcake baking in my future! ;)

Yay for good friends...and baked goods! :)

I'm back!

I was here:

but now, I'm back. Sad panda.

I went home for a short visit to see the fam, since I didn't make it back around the holidays. It was great, as always, to see everyone and get my fill of yummy local food. My trips back home are usually spent at my dad's house, which is great in and of itself, however, not quite the true "Hawaiian vacation" most people get to enjoy while visiting my home state. I decided it was high time I get me one of those vacations. So right smack dab in the middle of my trip, I checked myself into a bonafide resort (which happens to be at my favorite beach spot) for a few blissful days of uninterrupted relaxation.

I didn't leave the hotel grounds for 3 days. It was fantastic! My little sister came over for a sleepover one night, and spend the whole next day with me. We had a great time. We started the morning with this:

And then meandered our way to the spa for massages and some quality time in the steam room. Aaaahhhh...

We also hung out by the pool, and the beach. Oh, and I even got in a little run (okay, jog/walk - hey, I'm just beginning!) one morning, on this great path that lines the lagoons that make up my favorite beachy area. With scenery like this, I could run everyday!

I don't know how or why I hadn't done this until now. Hello? In the end, it was a splurge, a ridiculous indulgence...and I would do it again (and plan to) in a heartbeat. I plan to make this a permanent stop whenever I go home. It's just too good to pass up. So this is what a real vacation is like!

More on the vacay later. Now I must attend to some 235 emails and many, many blog posts. So, I'll be stopping by soon to catch up with everyone. I've missed you guys!

Now we're quilting!

My quilting class is officially over and so is my quilt! But I'm painfully behind on blogging, so I thought I would take this moment away from an unexpected solitary evening to share a little more of my progress.

Once the quilt top was pieced and the borders added, it was time to piece the backing. I decided to use the same green and blue dot fabric for my backing with the hopes that it would be a nice contrast to the heavy florals on top. We used a spray adhesive (that I had no idea even existed!) to baste the top, the batting and the backing together with no pins and no hand sewing. The little sandwich looked like this:

You can see the batting sticking out around the edges. You use this overhang to help square up your quilt once all the quilting is done...which is what we did next:

We stitched in the ditch in a radiating pattern from the center out to the inner border. We then went inside the quilt and stitched around all the small pieced squares. This particular batting is apparently pretty nice and had a pretty wide quilt line recommendation - I think 6 inches apart. The quilting line requirement is related to the stability of the batting. If it is weaker batting (i.e. may pull apart or bunch up with wear and wash), closer quilting lines are usually recommended to compensate.

Because we had 12 inch blocks, each of us were able to pick a stitching 'method' that would accent our individual quilts best and close the gap between stitch lines. My teacher had the great idea of me using the vines and leaves in my florals to trace with my quilting lines. I loved the idea and followed that method across for each 12 inch block and throughout my outer border.

We also used the groovy device above to help keep an even pressure on all of the quilting layers while we stitched. It's a pressure foot and compresses the materials together as it moves under the needle. It helps to reduce the puckering you would see on the back of a quilt with uneven tension of the feed dogs and a regular foot. (However, this puckering is not to be mistaken with the crinkly look of a washed cotton quilt...that texture is fully intensional and often times desired!)

Once all of our quilting was done, we squared up our quilt by cutting off the extra batting and backing in an even width around the entire quilt. We then learned about attaching the binding. 'Squaring and binding night' was probably the most technique-intensive class out of the 6 class series. Our teacher had us practice our bindings on scrap pieces about the size of a potholder. Once we had the basics down, we moved on to our quilt and machine stitched the binding to the front. We then pulled the binding over the edge and hand stitched the edge down on the back.

This is what mine looked like before I sewed it down on the back. (Just pretend the corner is square please. ;-) The hand sewing we finished at home. I finished my class last Wednesday and over Thursday and Saturday evening had the binding all done.

Now that we are finished, I'm really going to miss going to class. We had a great group of students and everyone had a great time. You can see a few of the other examples of quilts from our class here at the Sowing Sisters blog. However, I also wanted to show you a peak of the quilt from my favorite class companion, my mom!

We've never had a chance to do anything like this together and since the class was in her neck of the woods and during the evening (easier for her to get away since she cares for my 92 year old grandma), it was really a perfect opportunity. We had a great time and had a nice little tradition of getting a bite to eat each night before class. This weekly time with her will definitely be what I miss the most. But all good things must come to an end and I will have finished object photos to show you soon!