Let’s talk turkey.
18 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Family, Knitting Content Ahead
We are now less than a week from my FAVORITE family holiday. Growing up Jewish meant that the big family holiday was Thanksgiving, a tradition we continue today. Now my sister and I both celebrate Christmas with our husbands’ families, but Thanksgiving is still the big WOLF holiday.
This is the time of year that visions of pumpkin casserole and Grandma Ruthie’s homemade stuffing and of course that chocolate cherry Bonnie Maziotta cake dance in my head. Where we make the stuffing on Wednesday night and then on Thursday I put the mashed potatoes through the Foley food mill, and the little sis stirs the gravy. And we eat too much and talk and laugh.
It’s also the time of year I’m thankful: thankful for my family and most especially my wonderful husband, thankful that we all have good jobs and roofs over heads and plenty to eat, thankful that we’re healthy and happy and have survived another year.
The only problem is that this year I may have to go naked at Thanksgiving because I’ve been concentrating on what knitting projects I’m going to take. The yarn and patterns and implements are all packed, but nary a stitch of clothing. This is normal right?
A little of this, a little of that.
15 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
I guess I haven’t been very good about posting now that October is over. It was nice to have a reason to post each day, but it’s also nice to take a step back. I haven’t been neglecting the crafting though.
We’re now in the time of year when I take most of my photos on the weekends, so that I can use natural light. I can’t seem to take photographs under lamps and indoor light that I like quite as much as those I can take in natural light.
Anyway, I gathered up a ton of stuff this weekend and got out the camera.
There were a few spins:
And of course there was knitting. A test shawl for a friend:
And my favorite, a new set of handknit fingerless gloves. I didn’t actually spin this yard, but rather traded for it in a group on Ravelry. I LOVE the colorway though (by one of my favorite dyers, maude & me). I mixed up two patterns to make my own. When I was done I had a bit of handspun leftover, and you know it’s a SIN to waste good handspun so I made a matching headband/earwarmer.
I also cannot say enough wonderful things about etsy. I got the buttons from a crafter in Israel!
Next time… more weaving, and sweaters #9 and 10!
Novelty Nightmare
07 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago I got a wild hair. I have two or three Rubbermaid bins full of yarn odds and ends, mostly leftovers from samples I have knit for shops over the years, but also free samples of yarns and ends of my own projects. The idea was this: what if I grouped them by colors, warped the loom and wove them into scarves? I decided this was either going to look fabulous or hideous.
This was my first:
I love all the different colors and textures in it.
My second effort was a little less successful. I like the colors, although not as much as the first. I also wove really different weight yarns in the second and the edges are a little uneven for my tastes.
On Friday, I gleefully went through all my bins of yarn and started grouping colors together. I can’t wait to continue experimenting.
And, if you’re interested, some of the results will be available in my shop.
Day 31: Leaving Kansas. Come again.
31 Oct 2011 3 Comments
in 31 Days
I hope you’ve enjoyed our journey through Kansas this month. Some days I was scrambling making sure I had a photo, but I loved trying to see how many different parts of Kansas I could document. And this isn’t even half of it – I rarely get to the western part of the state so you mostly got to see the eastern parts.
Because I am insane, I have created a little collage of our adventures. Clicky to embiggen.
Day 30: Getting ready for Ghosts
30 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in 31 Days
I was going to post this for October 31, but I realized that I have a wrap up post already set for tomorrow, so I’ll post this a day early.
Kansas is a spooky state. Atchison, which I mentioned previously as the home town of Amelia Earhart, is also known as the state’s most ghostly town which you can visit by trolley. Kansas City is fairly acclaimed for being a city of haunted houses as well, with The Beast garnering rave reviews. As my favorite holiday of Halloween is upon us, we all need a good scare, right?
Okay, well I tend not to be the type who enjoys haunted houses, but who doesn’t love a creepy little graveyard: peaceful by day and spooky by night.
Photo taken August 2011, Stilwell, Kansas.
Day 29: Arboretum
29 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in 31 Days
Kansas isn’t entirely made of cities and farmland. There are quite a variety of lovely gardens, but one that we have recently come to love is the Overland Park Arboretum. The Arboretum boasts a number of beautiful gardens which are open for exploration.
There’s the Monet Garden:
The Erickson Water Garden:
And a number of beautiful areas of flowers.
Photos taken October 2010, Overland Park Arboretum, Overland Park, Kansas.
Day 28: Forgotten America
28 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in 31 Days
Kansas is not unique in that it has many abandoned properties. As I said in an earlier post Wes loves finding abandoned structures to photograph. This past weekend we took a road trip and ended up using some of the smaller country highways rather than the interstate. We found this house just outside of Overbrook, Kansas.
I questioned Wes about his love for these kinds of photographs and he started talking about how it fascinates him that these beautiful houses and barns that were built by communities of people, possibly a few hundred years ago, now stand empty and forgotten. Did someone die without heirs or a will? Did someone lose the house? Could someone not keep up with the maintenance of an old house? What becomes of these houses and barns?
I’m adding this one to our growing collection, and hope to dedicate one of the huge walls in hour house to a gallery of these breathtaking pictures.
Photo taken by Wes, October 2011 outside of Overbrook, Kansas.
Day 27: The Little Apple
27 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in 31 Days
Located 1340 miles east of “The Big Apple” (Manhattan, NY) is “The Little Apple:” Manhattan, Kansas. Manhattan is a college town at the intersection of the Kansas River and the Big Blue River. It’s home to Kansas State University (go Wildcats!) and is right outside Ft. Riley. It’s also where my in-laws live and my husband went to school, so we spend a decent amount of time there.
Photo taken October 2011, Manhattan, Kansas.
Day 26: Famous Kansans
26 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in 31 Days
There are quite a few notable people who started their lives as Kansans.
Last month, when my parents came to visit we took a little field trip up to Atchison, Kansas to learn about one such notable person: Amelia Earhart. About an hour north of the city, Atchison lies beyond Leavenworth, a small town on the Missouri River and the site of the Atchison-Topeka-Santa-Fe Railroad.
While there, we visited the picturesque Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, the house in which she was born that has now become a museum and hosts some wonderful artifacts of her life. We spent an hour or so immersed in her life from her birth to her solo voyage and her mysterious disappearance.
Photo taken September 2011, Atchison, Kansas.
Day 25: This here’s a tale of Johnny
25 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in 31 Days
Meet Johnny Kaw, Kansas’ answer to Paul Bunyan.
Johnny’s a tall drink of water, coming in at over 30 feet tall. He’s the pioneer wheat farmer of Kansas and he was born in 1966, 11 years after author George Fillinger created him in a series of stories and ink drawings for the Manhattan Centennial. Today he abuts a large park and playground, watching over the children as carefully as he watched over the waving wheat.
Photo taken October 2011 at Manhattan Park, Manhattan, Kansas.
