Day 40, 60 to go: Finishing the Hat

The last tendrils of yarn with the finished hat.

I love Sondheim.  I am so excited I got to use the name of a song from Sunday in the Park With George in the title of this post.   Today was actually “Sunday teaching crocheting with Maggie and Lily.”

First, the finished hat. Zoe asked for a hat in earth tones.  I ordered some, but when it came, the yarn designer’s idea of “earth” was coral, shrimp, white and brown.  It was a fairly small skein of yarn and I didn’t have any additional solids to augment it with, so I needed to create a hat that would make the yarn go as far as possible.  This is the finished hat surrounded by the 2 yards of yarn that were left. I can’t imagine coming much closer to designing a hat that would use just the amount of yarn available.

Not a gnome hat

Here is the fabulous gnome-and-hat-loving Zoe modeling said finished hat.  Sadly this shot is a bit washed out, so you can’t really get a sense of the color.  The yarn is called “self-striping.”  This means that they dye several yards of it one color, then the next color for several yards and then the next.  The hat looks like I made it from 4 different yarns, when it was, in fact, just one skein with all of those colors in it. I really like the effect.   Most multi-color yarns are called “ombres” and they have maybe 18 inches or a yard of one color before they switch.  They create a more random color effect.  (You’ll see what I mean in tomorrow’s riding-the-bus hat.)

I worked with Lily (age 5 ½) and Maggie (age 4) on crochet and knit lessons for quite a while.  Lily got the fattest knitting needles I have ever seen for Xmas.  They must be close to an inch in diameter.  I showed her how they worked, but they are really difficult to get the tension right for an experienced knitter.  She gave it a shot, but the two ginormous needles were beyond her (and me.) 

I showed Maggie how to finger-crochet chains.  She was starting to get the hang of it.  I remember doing a lot of that at Grandma’s feet. Sometimes Grandma would even take the really long chains I made and stitch them into a coiled mat I could use as a doll rug.  I was so proud.  Since Lily is intent on learning to crochet, finger-crocheting is Maggie, ever the little sister’s “me too.”

Lily is quite good at chain stitching with the crochet hook.  Using the hook rather than fingers is actually pretty sophisticated.  We worked on some single crochet stitches, but she will need to sit and practice and practice if she wants to learn.  Getting the tension right in the stitches and the feeder hand takes a lot of dexterity.  At 5, she might not quite have the fine motor skills she needs. 

Luckily, I was able to recruit someone to give them follow-up lessons.  Rachel, my Mini-Me niece lives near Lily and Maggie, is a great crocheter (I taught her when she was about 10 and she picked it right up) and most importantly, is a rightie.  She is excited about continuing to coach them.  I think it’s important to let Lily set her own pace so she falls in love with it rather than gets too frustrated by it. 

All the cool kids know how to crochet.

Here is a picture of Maggie, her Mom (Borg #6 of 8) and Lily after the crochet lesson.  On the left, providing an excellent photo bomb is Mini-Me (in case that isn’t immediately obvious) ready to carry on the tradition of crocheting to the rest of her generation.

Rachel loves Zoe’s hat, by the way, so I am making her one in greens and blues.  I also showed her generally how I made it.  She is plotting to have a little crochet circle with her friends to all make hats now.  I think she just needed the concept of how they go together (as opposed to afghans).  I love it. I can’t wait to see what she’ll do.  I gave her a quick Intro-to-Pom-pom-Making tutorial too  Seriously.  I can’t wait to see her hats.

Day 36, 64 to go: Crocheted lacey hat

Hat-to-be

It was a long day on the bus.  No internet access.  Some crocheting.  And lovely chatting with my seatmate who was on her way from Philly to Detroit.  I do not envy her time on the bus.

So I got this hat started.  It doesn’t look like much but should be more hatty in the next day or so. 

The gnomes are not making themselves.  They did not fit into my suitcase, so I will get back to them when I get home.  Very little fit in my suitcase, and it turns out it’s just as well.  I arrived in “dahntahn” Pixburgh just as torrential rain started blowing sideways.  I was soaked through in about 3 minutes.  As I unpacked tonight, I learned that my hot pink rolling suitcase is not remotely waterproof.  So at least the gnomes are warm and dry back home on my kitchen table. (And probably under a cat or  two)

Day 21, 79 to go: Dachshund pajama pants

I made this myself!

Last Christmas, I taught my then 9-year-old niece Anastasia to sew.  We made a nightgown together. I cut it out and attached the sleeves due to time constraints, but she did all of the other sewing.  I picked this fabric because she has a couple of dachshunds, Petey and Doodlebug.  

Peteys and Doodlebugs

So  here are the pajama pants she is getting for St. Nicholas Day this year.  It’s just covered in Peteys and Doodlebugs.   I am sending her extra fabric so she can make a pillowcase to match.  She took a sewing class at Jo-ann’s and made a pillowcase there.  I am so glad she is excited about sewing.  I love feeling like my grandmothers are living on in yet another generation.

Day 21.  I have been at this for 3 weeks.  Time flies whether or not you are having fun.  I thought I would count up my output to see what I have accomplished so far.

Crocheted hat: 1

Etsy Shop: 1

Embroidered tea towels: 3

Medieval Tunic: 1

Pajama bottoms: 9

Polymer clay earrings: 1 ½

Raggedy Dolls: 2

Raggedy doll nightgowns: 2

Red flannel nightgowns: 1 1/2

Xmas Tree Skirt: 1 started, 1 gnome (20 to go)

It’s a start. Once Xmas is over, I hope to move on to curtains, slipcovers, pillow covers, tea cozies and some jumpers, dresses and blouses… oh, and a resume…

Day 13, 87 to go: Finished Bunny at Cookie Jar dish towel

Chocolate Chips, obviously.

So I finished embroidering the dish towel I had started almost a week ago on my bus ride to NYC.  As I was working on it near her sliding door, my mother mentioned that I reminded her of her mother who was always doing handwork at a window.  (You met her mother if you read the Day 1 blog.  She is kind of my guiding light on this project.)

I eventually did manage to buy the flannel I picked out yesterday from Joann.com for a mere $2/yard.  However, tomorrow morning they are selling it for $1.47/yard at the store.  So I will join the other pajama-sewing nutcases bright and early to see if they have anything good at the store that was not available on line. (Thought it’s hard to imagine beating the lovely Brainiac fabric I posted yesterday.)  I am still glad I bought on line because I won’t have to haul that fabric back on the bus.

I also hope to score a portable full-spectrum light for $2o.  It should help with the handwork and even ward off SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) I would think.

We had a nice Thanksgiving with all of my sisters and their families—25 people in total, including a couple of great kids who are dating my niece and nephew.  We missed my brother and his wife and daughter.  My sister (Borg Designation: #7 0f 8) and I set up 3 parallel tables—like in the Great Hall at Hogwarts—without room for Slytherin. The arrangement worked very well.  The table full of college and high school kids was THE place to be. They really enjoy each others’ company.

It just occurred to me that I made Maria Rodale’s raw cranberry sauce the other day and didn’t even think to mention it here on my “making” blog.  It is delicious and easy.  You process cranberries, a whole orange and the juice from another one along with some sugar and let it macerate for a couple of days in the fridge. It is spectacularly gorgeous as well as yummy.  Not overly sweet, which is how I like it, but you could double the sugar if you like…

Hat for the beast.

Zoe snatched up that hat I made on the bus and was delighted to find it was big enough for her giant mane of hair—she and her friends refer to her gorgeous abundant curls as “the beast.”

The little boys like their new robot pjs.  Their mother was happy the fabric had a blue background—it looked white on her computer when she saw it on this blog.

Clinging to Mom and Raggedies

I was stunned and delighted that Raggedy Maggie and Raggedy Lily accompanied Maggie and Lily to Thanksgiving dinner.  My sister (#6 of 8) told me that since the dolls arrived, Lily and Raggedy Lily have been inseparable.  Lily even takes her Raggedy in her backpack to kindergarten with her.  Both girls were too shy to even talk to me—they only see me once or twice a year.  But they adore the dolls.  You never know what kids will latch onto.   

Another holiday survived.  No known casualties.  In the words of the great philosopher (and my former co-worker in Youth Ministry) Chuck Babiera, “No one died, so that was good.”

Day 11, 89 to go: Striped Crocheted Hat

It’s been a challenging day.   Travel days tend to be like that.

Hat

Although I had that tea towel to finish embroidering, it was so dreary and rainy, there wasn’t enough light on the bus to be able to make the tiny stitches necessary.  So I settled for crocheting this hat.  I just made it up as I went.  I was so glad I had this project.  I find the rhythm of crocheting is so deep-seated in me that my mind can just wander and work on all manner of problems and notions. 

It also reminds me of all those nights crocheting with Grandma while we watched tv.  I remember watching her and being fascinated with how quickly she was able to work an afghan.  Today I watched my hands speed through maybe even faster than she did.  It always profoundly touches me when I feel her presence come through me and the memories wash across the stitches.  She died 30 years ago when I was in college.   Yet she still teaches me.

Cat

Since I was at my mom’s, neither Felicity nor Fergus were available to supervise my work.  I did, however, have Monty.  He is such a friendly and handsome boy.  He is a boarder at my mom’s while his family has run off to live in Mauritius.  They will be back to see him every summer, but at his age (12 or 13) they felt he wasn’t up to the rigors of international travel. (When he was younger he lived with his family in Senegal)

Challenging as this travel day has been, at least I wasn’t on the turnpike before this awful spill.  What a way to spend Thanksgiving week. I wonder if they will think of it as Black Tuesday?