Sock Summit 2011

The alarm rang shrilly in my ears at 3:00 am, breaking the night quiet in the house. 

Silently I slipped into my clothing, and grabbed my suitcase.  Headlights flashed briefly in the shadowed windows.  I eased out of the house and into the waiting van.  “Good Morning!” grinned my partner-in-yarn-crime, AnneLena.  “Early enough for ya?” Here we come Portland Oregon, for the Sock Summit 2011 convention!

We had several activities in the works.  Friday, tour the Marketplace, take a class and attend the Sock Hop. Saturday,  explore Portland, take another class, and go out to dinner. Sunday, explore Portland some more and fly back home.

The Convention Center.

A  contemporary, light filled building offered a huge room for the Marketplace, and many smaller classrooms.  Unlike Stitches West, there was plenty of room to peruse vendor offerings.  Granted, it was perhaps 1/3 of the number of vendors and fewer attendees, but 6,000 people signed up for classes, so there must have been quite a few shoppers touring the Marketplace. My goal was to check out the vendors that don’t make it to Stitches West.

Fiber Optic.

Into my bag slipped several skeins of stunning sock yarn and fiber rovings.

Plucky Knitter

Plucky Knitter was next, with an almost overwhelming selection of sock yarns.  This one came home with me, the gray an excellent match for the more detailed socks I planned on knitting from my new Cookie A book, Knit. Sock. Love.

Sanguine Gryphon

Although The Sanguine Gryphon does go to Stitches West, I could not pass up her delightful booth, and discovered two matching skeins of Gaia Lace in the Goblin colorway, which I have been dreaming about ever since spying a sample at the A Verb For Keeping Warm store in Oakland CA.

A Verb For Keeping Warm

Speaking of AVFKW, I headed over to their booth, both to say “Hi!” to the darling owners, Adrian and Kristine, and to check out the specials they had dyed especially for Sock Summit. This little beauty “Aster” cuddled right next to the Gaia Lace.

Portland

With my shopping completed, AnneLena and I headed off into the wilds of Portland, via the MAX, Portland’s free transportation system.  Yes, free!  Within city limits, this electric, above ground rail system takes you pretty much anywhere you need to go, or at least takes you to a bus line that travels through out the city.  Every 20 minutes, a train shows up, and they are clean, and safe. What an impressive city!  I thought California was Green, but Portland is far and away more Green that any place in California I have ever been.  Every restaurant has multiple bins for recycling.  Even street corners had bins for recycling!  Billboards promoted Recycling, Reuse, and various other ways to keep Portland Green. The Zip Car really captured my interest.  You can rent an electric Zip car by the hour, day, or overnight. No need to own your own car if you live in the city.Food Pods are another unique feature of Portland.  Tiny, portable sheds and pop-ups surround entire city blocks, each featuring a selection of delectable foods, from ethnic to doughnuts, freshly made for you, with low, low prices (and no sales tax)! I bet you can almost taste the Turkish Wrap I’m enjoying!

Powell’s Books was next, bookstore nirvana!  I don’t think my local library has as many books as Powell’s does. As I wandered the towering, narrow book filled shelves, dreams of ditching my teaching career and working at Powell’s drifted briefly through my mind…

Urban Fiber Arts

Shaking off the intoxicating book fumes, we next headed to Urban Fiber Arts. AnneLena was recognized as a designer by a shopper, which  gave me plenty of time to select a skein of sock yarn for a friend that couldn’t make the trip.  Urban Fiber Arts promotes local talent, and the yarn I selected can only be found in Portland. 

Cupcake Jones

Energy waning (remember, we have been up since three in the morning), we headed over to a Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream shop.  Right next door was Cupcake Jones, the most heavenly odors wafting from inside. AnneLena couldn’t resist this little Root Beer Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting.

Racks of fresh-baked cupcakes sat waiting for their caps of frosting. YUM!

Sock Summit Classes

Sated, we headed back to take classes and get books signed. My favorite class Sock Spinning Luxury Fibers was taught by the well-known Judith MacKenzie.  It was an entertaining, and informative class.  Judith is a font of knowledge, and I would love to take more classes with her.

Cookie A.

Cookie A. kindly signed my new sock book, Knit. Sock. Love. Someday, I would enjoy taking a class from her as well I can tell it would be an entertaining class!

Flash Mob

The Flash Mob was a fun “secret” display of Sock Summit enthusiasm.  500 participants danced and displayed their dancing skills in front of the Conventions Center.  You can check out a UTube video of the Flash Mob.

Amalfi’s

AnneLena and I grabbed a taxi to the outskirts of Nob Hill District, our tired feet ready for a break.  Wine and knitting, does it get any better?  Only when being serenaded!

Final Day

Sunday I took one last tour of Portland. Purchased a hat at the Portland Bike Gallery, one of the oldest bike stores in Portland.

Had to get a little souvenir for my daughter from Finnegan’s, a charming toy store.

Shopping complete, I sadly headed back to my hotel to pack my bags for the flight home. An amazing weekend trip was over. Hopefully, in two years, there will be another Sock Summit!

Stitches West 2011

Saturday morning, 5:00 am a firm knock sounded on my front door.  I opened to door to darkness and a chill wind then in stepped my partner in yarn crime, Anna Lena. “Ready?” she inquired.  Ready?  Ready to go to Stitches West 2011?  You bet your circulars I was ready!

Off we drove, making the usually long drive in a record-breaking amount of time.  Once inside the Hyatt, I set off for my two classes taught by Gayle Roehm, Fitting Japanese Designs, and Challenging Japanese Stitches, while Anna Lena settled down with some design work before the Market opened at 10:00.  Gayle Roehm was an excellent teacher, prepared, organized, and informative.  My favorite class was the Challenging Japanese Stitches where I learned how to translate symbols that closely resembled a plate of spaghetti or two fishes into actual stitches. My goal was to gain the confidence to attempt a pattern from one of my two Let’s Knit! Japanese books (a deceptively simple sounding title).

However, my favorite part of Stitches this year was meeting the many indie dyers and designers that swarmed everywhere, in what is supposedly the largest yarn and fiber convention in the Western hemisphere.

I was thrilled to finally chat with Gryphon, from the Sanguine Gryphon, whose blog I have been following since she first emerged as a tentative newcomer in the hand dyed yarn market.  Judging from the crowd around her creatively designed medieval tent, I would have to say she and her truly unique and beautiful designs are very, very successful. In person she is just as energetic, fun and witty as she is in her blog, despite recovering from a concussion obtained by a falling shelf during set-up.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Alana the designer from the Never Not Knitting blog and podcast.  She is  just as sweet and friendly as she sounds in her podcasts, and tiny to boot!  I’m only 5’4, and towered above her, as you can see from the photo.  Additionally, she is as beautiful in person as she is in her design photos!

Alana was sharing a booth with Lisa from Becoming Art, an indie dyer that I had heard about from the Never Not Knitting podcast, but not seen in person.  Oh, my, but her yarns and the colors are divine!  My only unplanned purchase, I could not resist the two plump skeins Lisa plopped in my hands, perfect for the Cedar Shawlette that Alana designed.  Just as promised, Alana had her surprise design in the booth, which also came home with me.  Alana’s designed patterns are little works of art.  They look like beautiful, illustrated books. Her newest design is for a child/toddler/baby headband, two designs in one pattern booklet, which is filled with fun games for a little one to play.  How creative, and perfect for mothers wanting to entertain the little one as they knit up a quick project!

Other people whom I met and enjoyed chatting with  were Rosemary, from Romi Designs, Adriana from A Verb For Keeping Warm, the Knitmore Girls, Miss Babs, and all my local pals from our knitting group.  Of course Anna Lena, wearing her newest design featured in the Spring issue of Interweave Knits garnered a lot of attention as well.

As well as a modest amount of yarn, I picked up two books, Misty by Kim Hargreaves, and Toe-Up Socks for Every Body by Wendy D. Johnson.  You will be certain to see project knit from those two inspirational books posted in the future!

Some tasty yarn I scooped up at Stitches…

A neat find that I was introduced to in Gayle’s class is Highlighter Tape.  Far, far better than sticky notes, because it stays sticky longer, won’t peel off when you stick it in your project bag, and its see-thru, so you can refer to rows you have previously knit.  If you knit lace or color work, I don’t need to explain why this is a crucial benefit!

In my last post I mentioned that I had begun Paper Dolls for my daughter.  It’s now completed, and although it came out beautifully, it’s huge!  More a size 8 than a size 5. I suppose she will have to wait until next winter to wear it.

Another completed knit is the Ingenue, from the Custom Knits book, and I have to say, this project has become one of my all time favorites!

Well, I must go lie down and recover from all of the yarn fumes I inhaled at Stitches West.  ‘Til next time, happy crafting!

January 2011

Well friends, it’s been a bit since the last post, due to the usual holiday madness. Let’s talk about crafting!

Book Corner

I crafted many, many gifts, a few of which I am excited to share with you! Amalie looks just like Little Red Riding Hood in this adorable hoodie that I knit from the Raven pattern in the Rowan Story Book of Little  Knits. The book itself is adorable, and has a story inside that you can read to your little ones.  All the characters are wearing wonderful little knitted items, and the patterns are in the back.  I knit Raven out of the QED yarn from The Sanguine Gryphon, in a rich crimson red.  I loved knitting with this strong, hard-wearing yarn with super stitch definition. Winter perfect!

In addition to the hoodie, I ventured into knitting a toy.  Never having attempted to knit a toy, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it came out, and how quickly it knit up.   I knit the Princess and the Pea from the book Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson.  I did however, make a few changes.  Amalie’s little dolly features dark brown hair (just like hers!) instead of red hair.  I used mostly my own hand spun yarn for the blanket and the nightgown.  I also decided to use up some vintage fabric scraps and sewed the mattresses and feather beds rather than knitting them.  My favorite part is the bed my husband and I built.  I found some wooden scraps, and cut them to the dimensions of the mattresses.  After my husband assembled and sanded the bed down, I glued on tiny pea pods, blossoms, leaves and vines that I molded out of an air drying polymer clay from Michael’s.  I then gessoed the entire bed, and painted on a few coats of acrylic white paint.  I mixed up a peach-y pink color of acrylic paint and painted all the details.  Quickly wiping off the still wet paint left a hint of color in the crevices, adding a nice “shabby chic” look to the bed.  I finished up by highlighting with a pearl acrylic paint.  At the foot of the bed, I hand painted a replica of a castle from Germany.  It really is a wonderful toy that I hope Amalie will someday pass down to her own children, should she have any!

My daughter wasn’t the only one to receive a knitted gift, my brother received a pair of hand knit socks!  I used a simple ribbed pattern from the book, Toe Up! Patterns & Worksheets To Whip Your Sock Knitting Into Shape.  The beautiful Sanguine Gryphon sock yarn in the Port color way was part of a long-ago color club that I belonged to when I first began knitting.  I think the colors in the sock are manly and sophisticated.

Great Knitted Patterns

After finally finishing so many holiday knits, I settled down to some selfish knitting!  I quickly whipped up the Tea Leaves Cardigan, knit from the Siren Two Worsted Yarn by Pigeonroof Studios.  While I don’t yet have a picture to show you, the final product is satisfying in every way.  The yarn, sublime, soft, yet firm and bouncy with great stitch definition.  I tossed it in the washer AND dryer (gasp!), and it emerged in perfect condition.  The colors are beautiful and subtle, a hallmark of Krista’s style of dying.  The pattern itself is a fast, easy and enjoyable knit.  A wonderful first knit for 2011.

Other Crafts

As well as knitting, I put to use a new skill I taught myself: jewelry making.  I crafted pins and earrings for all the female members of the family.  I am happy to report that they were well received!

On The Needles

Currently I am involved with a project for Amalie using the Paper Dolls pattern by Kate Davies.  It is a sweater, knit in the round, featuring color work, and comes in many sizes.  I decided to teach myself how to use The Philosopher’s Wool Method, that my designer friend Ana Lena uses so effectively.  It is essentially two-handed knitting, with the main color held in the left hand, and the contrasting color held in the right hand.  The knitter knits Continental style with both hands.  What a humbling experience!  I once again remembered what it was like to learn how to knit for the first time.  My right hand, which really is my dominant hand, seemed to have either far too many, or far fewer fingers than usual, and none of them followed my directions.  Slowly, I eked out a few rows, only to discovered I was somehow knitting a Möbius!  Frogged, and started anew.  Second time around I got a bit farther…another mobius!  Perplexed, I frogged and started again.  By now, my right hand was catching the hang of this two-handed knitting stuff, and I managed to finish the ribbed, two color band along the bottom without any more errors.  Phew!  Now I am knitting the one color body in the usual method.  I can hardly wait to start the color work yoke!  One of the reasons I chose this pattern was because I could use yarn I already have.  This is known as “stash busting” in the world of knitting. I only cheated a little bit, buying two skeins of yarn for the color work.

New Yarn

I am really excited to be using the Chickadee Yarn from a new yarn company, Quince &Co.  Their yarns are produced from American wool, in an American mill,  Not only are the colors delicious, but the prices are Oh, so reasonable!  The Chickadee yarn is a sport weight yarn and is bouncy, with good stitch definition and some tooth, perfect for color work, just as promised by Quince & Co.  What I didn’t expect is how wonderfully springy the yarn is as well.  I am really excited to have found this company, and plan on making the Castle top from their line of patterns some day.  Here are the two colors I am using for the color work: Clay and Bird’s Egg.

In my next post I hope to show you photos of the completed project!  Happy Crafting!

The Crafting Continues

First of all, let me say, “Congratulations!”, to the The Mayor Of Crazy Town, winner of the Sanguine Gryphon earrings!

Next up, Miniature Goodies!

Here are some close-ups of the kitchen hutch, by Michael Mortimer.

Pewter tankards are from Swan House Miniatures.  The blue “spatter ware”, small baskets, cookie tin, jar of orange balls, tray and glass punch bowl are all from my childhood.  A few new additions to the kitchen are:

This delicious apple pie.  Looks good enough to eat, doesn’t it!

These amazing brotchen for the little people’s breakfast from After Dark!

How about this tasty spread for dinner from After Dark?  In Germany, lunch is the main meal of the day, served hot.  Dinner is usually cold cuts, cheese and fruits.  In my opinion, this is a much healthier way of eating, but my husband could not imagine foregoing a hot dinner!

Germans really love pickles!

And sausages!  The delicatessen’s in Europe have many more varieties of sausages than we do here in the U.S, and they are all delicious!

Next blog you’ll get a peek into the bathroom, and don’t worry, I’ll clean up before you arrive!

Book Corner

A friend loaned me this book, Dropped Dead Stitch, by Maggie Sefton.

I don’t usually like mysteries, but I enjoyed this book despite myself.  Knitting was involved, as was mention of lots of yummy food and coffee, but the main focus was the mystery.  A charming mystery, and a fun, easy read.  Looking forward to reading some more books by this author.

Baby Jackets

Today I am posting 2 new baby jackets in my second shop Enchanted 123.

Heath and Heather, a cloud soft 100% baby alpaca cardigan, size 1, with a simple silk ribbon neck closure.$45.00

And Airstream, a reversible 100% cashmere baby jacket size 2-3T, featuring a designer fabric, and hand carved buttons. $85.00

Fiber Doings

Last weekend I went to a fiber retreat hosted by Studio 49 up in the mountains of Sonora.  Two friends went with me, and I have to say, we had so much fun!

There were speakers, and demonstrations, as well as a dying workshop.  Here you see two looms being demonstrated.  There must have been at least 100 people in attendance.  Never have I seen so many spinners in one place!  The retreat also hosted vendors from Shaggy Bear, Dreamy Goat Designs, and more.  Naturally I had to buy a little fiber.  Um, maybe a bit more than a little!

And of course I found a little friend for Amalie to take home.  100% Alpaca, from Peru.

Check out this display by Dreamy Goat.  Don’t you wish you could buy it all up?

The retreat also presents a High Tea, hosted by 3 lovely members of Studio 49.  They make all the table settings, and you get to take home your own hand-made place matt!  Home made goodies by the ladies and their spouses are nibbled during the “Show and Tell”, and raffle.  Of course I never win a thing!  I am beginning to wonder if my bad luck is rubbing off on my friends, because they didn’t win anything either.

However, so much fun was had by all that it really didn’t seem to matter.  Angela, whom I greatly admire for her clear headed-ness and amazing spinning skills (She won 2 awards at the Dixon Lambtown Festival), is putting her Spin-o-lution Bee spinning wheel through its paces.  Angela knit the lovely cardigan she is wearing.  The pattern is called Que Sera, available on Ravelry.

Ana Lena, blows away my mind with her color work, is an up and coming designer. She also won 2 awards at Dixion Lamb Town Festival.  Her first pattern will be released in Interweave Knits, due out this Wednesday!  Look for more designs from Ana Lena in the future.  She knit the sweater she is wearing from the book Poetry In Stitches. Amazing!

That’s all for now, have a craftastic week!

Is Anyone Ever Really Finished?

I certainly am not!  But I am getting closer.

I present to you, The Bavarian Doll Haus!

As you can see, the base is incomplete.  But other parts are finished. The fresco.  Shown here larger than Real Life.  The cattle are smaller than the head of a pin.

One of the windows.  They actually open! I hand painted the Bavarian motifs.

Close up of the geraniums.  I made them from a kit.  They are paper, and I had to use tweezers, as each is slightly larger than the head of a pin.

I love the English style light over the front door!  My daughter can turn them on and off via a switch.

I’ve decided to show you only one room at a time. Today, I give you (drum roll) the Kitchen!  Based on the old Nuremberg style of kitchen, with the tile floor, and dutch tile wall.  The Bonnie Glo stove is left over from my childhood, and although not at all German style, I decided to keep it for nostalgic reasons. The sink is a porcelain sink from Doll House Collectibles. Above the sink is a hand painted plate by Amanda Skinner.

The table and hutch are hand-made by Michael Mortimer [Google his name and you will find various places that sell his work], and I adore how the furniture has that heavy dark Tudor style that I remember being so prevalent in Europe. The apple basket is handmade by Richard Johnson, purchased from Swan House Miniatures.  The chair is an inexpensive Besqua (available at almost any place that sells miniatures) ladder back chair, with a “rush” woven seat.  The pie tin and rolling-pin are left over from my childhood.

The tiny real hand forged copper pots  and ladle are from Lara Copper.  They make life-sized copper items as well!  The tea kettle, and the iron pot rack/shelf are from there as well.  I think I will stain the shelf walnut (remember the title of this post is about never being finished).  The three spice containers, and the two wall hung salt and pepper containers are made by Reutter, an old German brand, and have the words for cinnamon, sage and hazelnut printed on them in German.

This handmade copper pot was purchased from Swan Miniatures.  It is hand hammered, and has tiny brass handles, by Jason Getzan.

German kitchens always had these copper molds hanging on the wall. These two are by Matthias Matthes, from Germany.  In the wonderful hutch made by Michael Mortimer, I have 3 pewter tankards.  Very German!  There is also a set of blue a white “spatter” ware left over from my childhood.  The set is now 35 years old…does that make it vintage? Also a set of baskets, cookie trays and a pewter muffin tin are from my childhood, and a glass historically incorrect punch bowl!  Still on the hunt for some realistic butter and jelly/jam pots.  My German relatives really like butter and jam with their fresh morning brotchen!  The dear little curtains that I made aren’t quite ready, and I will show them off as well as how I made them next post. I also need to make some kitchen towels.  And how about a tiny white apron, to drape over the chair?

Fiber Delights

Although my knitting has been put on the back burner, I have still worked on my UFO at least once a week, thanks to my local Stitch N’ Bitch Group.  And yes that’s what it is really called, to my husband’s sniggering delight.   The Henley by Ann Hanson is fantastic, as is the Sundara Yarn that I am using for it.

Close up of the clever lace rib pattern.

I am currently working on the front (this is the back). I just know it’s going to turn out well!

Book Corner

Those that can’t knit enjoy reading about knitting (or at least I do)!  I recently received the new book by Miriam Felton, and it’s wonderful!  I purchased both the e book (gotta love that!) and a hard copy. 

Note: for a wonderful splurge or a holiday Wish List Item, get the hand bound limited edition copy!

The wonderful thing about these patterns is that they are specifically designed for luxury or hand spun yarns. Apparently, Miriam is unaware that I sell hand spun yarn and would have been happy to provide her with enough for one of her projects!

Another new release that I really love is Brave New Knits by Julie Turjoman.

Not only is it chock full of wonderful projects, but the concept is unique.  The designers featured are all bloggers as well as designers.  Each designer has two or more pages dedicated to their history, and this isn’t information cobbled together from their blogs, but fresh new insightful comments.  The only flaw, if one could call it that, is each blogger credits Ravelry with making huge changes in their design careers.  Now, I think Ravelry is amazing, but reading how wonderful Ravelry is 26 times in one book is a bit…repetitious, dare I say? (ducks rotten tomatoes)

Despite my lack of time for knitting and spinning, I can’t resist the occasional yarn goody.  Lurking in my mailbox:

Fiber from the Bee Mice Elf Club, and

BFL yarn from the Sanguin Gryphon. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

The Sanguin Gryphon sent me a free gift of earrings.  unfortunately, I have metal allergies, so my bad luck is your gain!

The 5th comment on this post will receive them FREE in the mail!

You will need to leave me a contact email so I can get your address and send it to you.

Happy crafting!

A Happy Birthday Wish

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e.e.Cummings

5 Years.  I am so blessed.

Fresh out of the oven.

3 weeks.

3 months.

First Mother’s Day.

First trip, 9 months.

9 months

Two years.

2.5 years.

3 years.

3.5 years

4 years.

4.5 years.

Five sweet and precious years.  Five trying and exhausting years.  Five years of unforgettable memories. Wishing you the best of birthdays, with oh, so many more to come.

Love Mommy

The Looming Deadline

Three weeks.

That’s how much time I have to get the dollhouse finished.  And I am nowhere near finished!  The kitchen floor tiles are on order.  New ceiling beams must be picked up, stained and installed.  Every single wall and ceiling needs to be sanded and touched up. The wiring needs to be run.  The hardwood floors need to be installed.  The child doll is on back order.  The father doll needs to be wigged and clothing needs to be made for all the dolls.  The bedding needs to needs to be sewn, as well as the curtains.  The curtain rods need to be installed, and so does all the furniture.  I can see a lot of late nights in my future!

But, oh, it looks so real!  The very best idea I had, was to create the ceiling beams.  It adds a tremendous amount of miniature perspective.  The hardwood flooring looks spectacular due it it’s labor intensive finishing.  I found the technique in a marvelous book I recently purchased, Magnificent Miniatures: Inspiration and Technique for Grand Houses on a Small Scale. The book has stunning doll houses and furniture.  I also have The Doll House Book, featuring a more historical tour of doll houses, and that one taught me about Nuremburg kitchens, which I decided to copy in my doll house.

One thing I have learned is that renovating an existing doll house is a lot harder than decorating one that is unassembled.  I have to do everything in situ, that is, on site.  Trying to stick a paint brush into a room no wider than 5 inches is pretty challenging.  I created some special finished for my doll house that you might find useful, if you choose to make your own doll house.  Stucco, for the exterior, is a mixture of wood filler, a combo paint/primer, and wood glue.  Since my exterior was already painted I wanted to make certain the new coating would stick, thus the wood glue. Mix until it has a thick consistency, like icing, and apply with an artists painting knife.  The white stucco on the interior is  made from a combination of easy sand wall spackling, Tacky Glue, and white ,matte paint/primer combo.  A soft whip cream thickness is what you’re shooting for.  I applied it with a stiff brush, but the brush marks will need to be sanded off, and a few trowel marks will be added with the artists knife afterwards.  The reason behind all the texture is when the rooms are light with the miniature lamps, the texture will be amplified, and so will the illusion of reality.

All the beams were measured, cut and stained with a walnut stain/sealer before installation.  They were glued in place before the stucco was applied, but that was a real pain, since I had to mask off every beam.  Pretty hard to do since I couldn’t see the inward facing parts of the beam, and I had to apply the masking tape by feel!

The flooring is purchased unfinished doll house wood flooring.  I stained them with first an oak stain, then a walnut stain.  Sanded with 00 steel wool, another coat of oil based polyurethane, another sanding, then 2 coats of floor wax.

The bathroom has a “modern” hex tile floor.  It came as an all white sheet of plastic.  If you have ever seen this flooring in real life, you would know it has dark grey grout in between the tiles.  I added several coats of gray acrylic paint to the tiles, wiping of the top of the tiles. It looks satisfyingly realistic.  Just in case Amalie decides she wants to clean with water (God forbid!), I sealed the floor with a clear, gloss acrylic sealer.

As I wrap up the walls and ceilings, I must think about lighting.  Lighting means electricity.  I’m scared of electricity!  When I was a child on a summer trip to Germany I had the bright idea to pet a cow.  I accidentally touched the wire fencing around the field and ZAP!  An invisible hammer slammed into my hand and my arm went numb up to the elbow.  Unlike the US, electric fences were common in Europe, and there were no warning signs.  Since then I have developed quite a fear of being electrocuted.  More to come on whether I overcome my little phobia…

School Daze

Summer.

A couple of months to cram in vacations,  appointments, organizing and of course, crafting.

DisneyLand

Freshly spun yarn.

A 3 ply merino silk from Bee Mice Elf.

A 4 ply alpaca silk from All Spun Up.

Progress has been made on the doll house renovations as well.

Completed projects;

Vesper

Air Stream

Alexandria

But I’m ready.  Ready for sharpened pencils, the bang of my class room door.  Ready to see the spanking new library. Ready for the freshly waxed sheen of the floors, the shuffle of high school kid’s feet.  Excited to introduce my two new classes, Fiber Arts and Jewelery Making. And of course, looking forward to some new projects

Renovations

Early Christmas morning in 1975 I snuck downstairs before anyone else was awake.

In the dim living room, the Christmas tree glittered and shone in quiet majesty. The sweet scent of candy stuffed stockings filled the air. Piles of mysterious wrapped gifts covered the carpeted floor.

And there, under the tree, sat a small, glowing house. Bavarian style, with an interior decorated just like my house! Tiny people sat in miniature chairs, pulled up to a wee little table. I was dumbstruck with joy. For many years, I played with my doll house. Bought a few furniture pieces with my carefully hoarded allowance, and wallpapered a couple of the rooms. Eventually, I grew up and moved away. The doll house was packed up, put away, and forgotten. Years passed.

One day, another little girl was born to the family. My father drove up to my house and dropped off a large heavy cardboard box. Inside was the Bavarian Doll House. The many years had left their mark. The decals were no longer crisp and fresh. The windows were yellowed and brittle. The classic 1970 interior was faded and outdated. My little girl is fast approaching her 5th birthday, and I would like to gift it to her. It is time for a renovation.

I knew I needed to replace the brittle windows, and damaged door. A Google search reveled that although there were several on line stores that sell replacement doors and windows in a 1/12 scale (which means 1 inch equals one foot in real life), none fit the openings in my doll house exactly. A sinking sensation filled my stomach. I began to suspect my father, a skilled craftsman, had not used a kit. He passed away last December, and I could not ask him to verify my suspicions. I did a search for Bavarian Style Doll House, and got one hit. Scotties Doll Haus Shop-Book. They had a kit that can be purchased, and a little booklet, that explained how to paint the doll house, and doll house furniture. I quickly purchased the book, since I had already planned on replacing the peeling decals with traditional hand painting.

At first glance I thought that the doll house on the cover was the same style as my doll house, but then I saw a number of differences. Scotties doll haus does not have functioning doors or real windows. Also the layout of mine is different on the interior. My doll house has a different balcony, and real shutters, and different trim. Perhaps my father purchased the plans, and made modifications. My doll house is made out of heavy duty plywood and pine planks. It certainly was made to last! But that doesn’t answer the question of where my father purchased the plastic window film and decals.

My father electrified my doll house with LED lighting, which in the 1970′s was revolutionary.I will be refreshing the lighting system as well. You can see where he labeled the rooms, in German of course!

Here are some photos of the original interior.

Here is a picture of the Scottie’s Doll Haus (named the Mier Haus) interior.

I ordered replacement parts from an online store called Doll House Collectibles. They have a extensive assortment of working doors and windows. The parts I selected were as close to the style of the originals I could find, but I was going to have to remove the existing trim and enlarge the openings. SCARY! My hands actually shook as I gingerly took a hammer and 5 in one tool to the trim. I tapped. I pried. No results. Finally I hammered with gusto. If we ever have an earthquake, I’m going to crawl inside that doll house, because it will surely make it through intact! At last I got the trim off with only minor splintering.

Inside, I had to remove the 1970′s carpeting and vinyl. Those were more difficult. I had to sand them down with an electric sander to get the underlayment off.

You can see from the window openings the cuts I had to make in order for the new windows to fit.  Next, I will have to fill in the little notches at the top with tiny bits of wood.

In my previous post I promised I would show you a picture of my Secret Spinning Project.  Here it is!

This 8 oz roving from Creatively dyed is a blend of merino, silk and cashmere fiber, and it was a real pleasure to spin.  As you can see the interesting colors blended beautifully, and the yarn is really soft and warm.  This yarn will be the color in my Top Secret Project.  Next I will dive into the 3.5 lbs of prepared Cormo that I have in my studio.  The natural white will be the other component of the Top Secret Project.  Never having spun any fiber prepared by Morrow Bay (that I am aware of), I am curious to find out if their reputation of being the top mill on the West Coast will meet my expectations.

Yarn Love

I have a new love to share with you. Don’t worry, I haven’t broken any vows.

It’s a love of yarn. One particular yarn. Malabrigo Silky. Currently being worked into a ravishing cardigan from the Alexandria pattern from Connie Chang Chinchio, available for purchase through Ravelry. This pattern is stunning. The moment I saw it, I HAD to have it! I just happened to have a sweater’s worth of Malabrigo Silky in the Cape Cod Grey color way sitting around, and I knew it was a match made in heaven. A graceful rounded neckline and straight front, edged with a interesting textured knit lace band. The Malabrigo Silky, a 50/50 silk and merino wool blend is so soft and shiny, it really highlights the textures. I am just up to the arm holes, and I can already tell it will be a wardrobe essential. As a knitted project, it is easy, yet the band created interest, and so avoids boredom. The delicious yarn makes each stitch a pleasure. This is definately, my favorite spring project yet.

On the list of completed projects, the Gretal baby jacket is finally done. I had the knitted side done many months ago, but set it aside for Truckin’ Lizard. I resumed work on it last week, and I have to admit, I’m pretty pleased with the results. I spun the knitted side from 2 rovings, one from Poppy Flower Fibers in the Poison Apple color way, and the other was a silk/merino blend in the Blyth color way from Pigeonroof Studios. I loved the way the two color ways complimented one another.

The knitted fabric looked great with the small amount of antique French sateen I had in my stash. French sateen is a true sateen, with the warp composed out of cotton threads, and the weft composed of silk thread. The tightly woven fabric is lightweight with a slight sheen, that won’t wash out. It also takes color beautifully. The background is a mid value green, with a stylized ribbon and flower print in white, olive and brown. It is a bit remaniscent of a folk print, and blended with the olive and greens in the knitted fabric, while highlighting the whites and pinks. The folk lore theme brought to mind lace, and so I added antique ruffled eyelet lace sleeves, Juliet style. I think the lace may have been the edging on a pillow at one time! I make the fabric side by sewing a complete jacket, fit it into the knitted jacket, and hand sew the two sides together. I then add buttons to both sides. Available for purchase from my Etsy store, Enchanted 123, size 3-6 months.

Moving onto the spinning side of things, I just finished spinning and plying 8 oz. of a cashmere/silk/merino roving from Creatively Dyed. It was such a pleasure to spin, I was almost sad to have finished it up! After being “set”, it is currently air drying, and given the rainy state of our weather, it may take some time to dry. It is destined to be part of a secret project, so more about that next time!