simple pleasures

I never imagined that I would ever feel this way, much less announce it in a public forum, but I love making baby food. There is something so satisfying about pureeing the hell out of steamed veggies and fruits that have have been cooked into mushy bits.

spontaneous color

It feels like forever since I've sewn anything. I've been itching for the stitching so badly. I have a bunch of bee blocks to finish, but feeling slightly rusty as I do, I decided to hone my skills and simultaneously exorcise myself of this insane and pressing need to make a quilt inspired by these Ellsworth Kelly paintings. Thanks to a conversation with Matt and the delightful evils of pinterest, I hatched up this crazy plan to make a bunch of quilts inspired by modern & contemporary art. Everyone has their project for the year, be it a year in photos or some group thing or whatnot. This is going to be my project. Originally, I wanted to do a quilt a month, but realistically speaking my time is way more limited these days so that plan might not work. I'll play it by ear and see what I can do.

Funny thing about the process - sewing this made me appreciate all the things I love about sewing. It reignited my passion. It reinforced the sweet satisfaction of perfect corners and reminded me of the simple loveliness of a fresh needle running through fabric. It's so wonderful to just get lost in the process of making something for a moment. And it's so rewarding to look at what you're making and enjoy how it's turning out. I love everything about this. (Well, maybe I need a better iron, but that's another story....)

This top, which has survived iron vomit (which made me flip my shit like a crazy person  - I mean, really, tears were shed, panic ensued, it was nuts), coffee (I was apparently on a roll), and baby drool (the least offensive of all three substances), is this close to being done - I just need to add a white border. I'm debating whether to make it 2 inches or 4. As it is, the top is 64 x 64 inches, which I think is the biggest size I have worked with yet. I'm excited to finally make a big quilt. I'm hoping to finish it some time in the next few weeks. I'm not fond of sewing at night because the light here is not ideal and my eyes get tired, but I am looking forward to finishing this piece because I can tell I am going to love the hell out of it.

the knit parade - the silver lining in the ice cold douche

pattern: none, just my own improvised recipe for a knee-high (see below)
designer: anyone who has ever knit a sock
yarn: Socks That Rock heavyweight in a colorway I forget (Lover's Lane, maybe?)

needles: Addi Turbo 32 inch circs in US size 3

The upside to having to go through wet bags and boxes of yarn and fabric and crap when the melting roof starts peeing on them is that you come across almost-finished projects from the long-long-ago - projects that you totally forgot about that are so close to being done that you are able to finish them in one night. These knee-highs were one down, one at the heel. Super easy, right? What took me so long? Maybe it was my fear of short row heels? It was a fear I easily conquered in one evening. Whatever mental block I had about doing them before melted away as I banged one out while knitting with a friend. Maybe I was over-thinking them?

I didn't use any pattern for this. I can't even remember what exactly I did, but it looks like I cast on 60 stitches, k1p1 for 2 inches, then decreased 2 stitches at the back every 10 rows until I was down to 50 stitches on the needles. I worked a short row heel, knit for another 5 inches, then worked a round toe. Simple. Fast. Efficient. They're cozy as all get-out, and I think they're the perfect socks to wear under Wellies. Hooray for lost projects found!