inspired by nichole at little brown pen i have embarked upon my own color series. here's yellow, brought to you by my amazing week in miami, florida.
-melissa
January 2011
January 30, 2011
January 29, 2011
a snowy day and a new friend
miracle of miracles, we actually had a snow day this week! nyc has actually had the snowiest january on record, with 19 inches of it having arrived this past thursday.
i went to bed completely convinced i'd have to go to work in the morning (it is ridiculously rare to get a snow day in nyc), so imagine my glee upon waking up to this!
i haven't been feeling that well, so unfortunately i had to limit my outdoor time/activity to a 15 minute walk of a 4 block radius. but what a radius it was!
the kids were out in full force, enjoying every inch.
and, having to stay inside was actually perfectly delightful because look who i spent the day with
isn't she the cutest? the patten is called poppy and it was the most charming and fun and easy pattern i think i've ever made. perfect for a snow day!
the only thing missing from the pattern was the fact that i thought she'd feel more comfortable in some underwear. so i whipped her up some.
hope you are having some beautifully snowy days and meeting fun little friends of your own too!
-cmv
January 25, 2011
springtreelove and happy accidents
i am sure you can remember the very exciting announcement that melissa made about the brilliant maya of springtree road extending her hand-dying talent into the sock world! wee! well naturally after hearing this news and seeing melissa's gorgeous socks, i couldn't help but immediately get some of my own!
once you've entered her shop you will instantly understand how very VERY hard it was to choose amongst such glorious colors. though completely tempted by the sumptuous color of that delectable olivine, i was ultimately swayed by the richness of color and blatant ikea reference of the irresistible lingonberry jam.
and what better way to kick off the start of the sandwich meetup weekend than to unite the lovely lingonberry jam with melissa's wonderful shiraz thousands of miles in the air on a plane bound from altanta to houston! would you believe that we totally accidentally booked the exact same flight to houston even though we were coming from opposite ends of the country? what a brilliant accident!
i knit away all weekend on this cute little fiona's top and somehow managed to finish it (sans buttons) before getting on the plane home!
but no worries, i was not left without knitting for the flight back because the very wonderful melissa had brought me a christmas gift of the gorgeous olivine that i had been so lusting over! actually there's more of a story to it (and even more evidence of how clever she is). before i even knew about the new springtree road sock wonderland, melissa had already bought me the very same lingonberry jam that i ended up bying for myself. upon discovering i had bought the same thing, she quick asked maya to switch it for the olivine without even knowing that was the other color i was torn between. how wonderful to have such amazing friends who know you so well!
well olivine came home and quickly knit itself up into some wonderful ribbed handwarmers (rav link) that are just perfect to use as photographer's gloves.
there's no way better to start the new year than with some bundles of springtreelove!
thanks maya!
and thanks melissa!
-cmv
p.s. and what is a girl to do next after being so happily immersed in the springtree yarns? well no worries, i've already ordered the foxtail pine!
January 22, 2011
crochet-a-rainbow
the amazingly talented sarah london has put together crochet-a-rainbow, collecting granny squares to make blankets for those in australia effected by the devastating floods.
it's a wonderful way to send some handmade love to those in need while using up your stash and playing around with colors.
i highly encourage you all to go check it out, sign up to help, and make a few granny squares! if you're not that comfortable making granny squares, sarah has provided a step by step tutorial here.
as sarah said on her blog these blankets will serve as "a reminder that there is always a rainbow after a storm."
i love using the power of handknits for good!
-melissa
January 21, 2011
One more bit of MLK love
Thank you to Melissa and Claire for coming to visit. I loved every second and Sabrina reveled in your doting.
Yes, that is a yarn tag around her leg and row counter in her hand. I think it is a promising sign that she clung to cmv's row counter for a long time. Is it too early to teach her to knit?
-Lindsey
January 20, 2011
a completed garden
it is definitely not garden season here in minnesota (i'll leave that to louise, who is currently awash in glorious growing greens) but crochet-gardens are always in season! so i set myself to work finishing my granny square garden blanket (which i started last april).
i did change up my original plan of making 100 little squares, opting instead for two big guys (and 68 little guys). but i think that only added a little fun and funkiness to the garden.
as claire said in the last post, i brought granny to the houston meetup to finish, which meant i got to borrow sabrina for the photo shoot.
doesn't she have the cutest skinny little baby legs?
and after seeing how cute she was, rolling all over the blanket, there really was no other option but to leave it in houston with her.
-melissa
January 19, 2011
sandwich meetup! (a houston style top five)
Hello all!
So sorry that we missed posting our top five this month but actually it was for good reason. We were busy getting ready for our latest sandwich meetup! It has somehow become tradition for the sandwich to meet on MLK weekend and this year Melissa and I were thrilled to fly down to Houston to reunite the sandwich and meet its newest adorable addition!
And so for our belated top five this month, we are proud to present the top five highlights of the sandwich Houston meetup!
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1. Doting on little miss adorable Sabrina
Ack! Isn't she just the most scrumptious little girl? She really is just oozing with sweetness and loveliness, what a joy it was to coo over her all weekend.
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2. Sharing some communal sandwich knitting time
Wouldn't be the sandwich without it! (and we are so glad that Nina the cat could join us)
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3. Draping Sabrina in handknits
Well we wouldn't exactly be proper knitting sandwich members if we didn't induce little Sabrina into the sandwich by surrounding her in handmades! Melissa made this adorable little eco bunny blanket (rav link). And Melissa was working hard on this beautiful granny square garden the whole time she was in Houston. Then before she left she decided that who better to enjoy it than Sabrina! The orange sweater is a little ramona ruth I made for Sabrina some time ago and was so relieved to see it still fit!
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4. Super yummy food
We can't take a trip to Texas without a visit to Chuy's! Or a delightful Sunday brunch (we sure missed you Micki and Jerry!)
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5. Having our hearts completely warmed and charmed by what an incredible mom Lindsey is
I think that both Melissa and I on numerous occasions over the weekend found ourselves with tears in our eyes watching how completely wonderfully Lindsey has taken to motherhood and what a loving, sweet and incredible mom she is. Sabrina is such a lucky girl to have such a beautiful, strong and inspiring woman for her mom. Goodness we love you, Lindsey!
Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend and let's start planning the next meetup!
- cmv & the sandwich
p.s. there are a few more pictures from the weekend here if you're interested.
January 09, 2011
quite possibly the warmest hat ever.
it has been quite cold in minnesota as of late. so cold that walking the dog can be rather painful for one's extremities - especially one's little ears, no matter which of one's multiple hats one might try wearing. imagine my joy when i was reminded (thank you heather) that i purchased a kit for a thrummed hat at the fiber festival last may!
here is an in-progress shot. (if you're wondering about the thrumming process there is a great 2 minute tutorial here.) the kit came from vantastic designs (etsy or flickr), but i can find no link to the pattern/kit anywhere online. you'll have to trust me that i followed it closley. the only change i made was to add thrums to the ear flaps. (i was taking no chances that my little ears would get cold!)
here's the finished product in flap-down mode. all the thrums are politely tucked in keeping my little ears all snug and warm.
and here we are in flaps-out mode. the thrums are letting it all hang out, yet still keeping my little ears surprisingly warm.
claire asked to see the inside, so here you go clairey - a wild mess of warmth and color!
i am extremely happy with this hat. it's been out on two dog walks already and i have nothing but toasty warm ears to report! i think i just may have created the perfect cold-cold-cold weather hat! hooray!!
-melissa
January 08, 2011
card swap wrap up
here is the "cards we received" edition of the kids craft weekly holiday card exchange (if you missed it, the "cards we sent" edition is here). i made up a little map so you could see where we exchanged cards with - mostly the u.s., with two in canada and two in australia.
we got a lot of fun cards - it seems that trees were a popular theme this year. lily really loves doing this exchange, she loves getting mail from all over the globe! (and who wouldn't?!?)
-melissa
January 03, 2011
new year, new yarn, new project
those of you who already share my love of springtree road maya's handspun yarns will also share in my excitement at the announcement that she is now dying sock yarn. i was honored when she asked me to test knit a skein and the moment it arrived i was amazed that it was, in fact, even more lovely in person than in her gorgeous photographs.
isn't it lovely? the colorway is called shiraz. maya is a color-genius, you should go check out the other colorways she's created. (but be warned, she's also an amazing photographer, the combination could have you snatching up some sock yarn for your very own before you even know what hit you!!)
the almost-solid colorway is perfect for showing off the textures in this pattern (which, by the way, is hedgerow socks by jane cochran - pattern or rav link) and the yarn is knitting up into squishy socky wonderfulness!
in the spirit of full disclosure i should publicly state that i am a huge fan of maya as a person, a blogger, a photographer, a knitter, a spinner, and a dyer. i am amazed by and proud of her for taking the big step of starting her own business and i whole heartedly hope she finds all the success she so clearly deserves.
that said, i'll give you that link to her yarns one more time so you can go and drool and oooh and ahhh over her amazing work.
-melissa
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