I Love Mittens for Sale!

I listed both pair of mittens today in my Etsy shop:   jerisew.etsy.com  They are sized for a medium woman's hand and are very warm!  Anyone ordering a pair will also receive a free heart dishcloth!  How can you possibly resist?  Jerilynn

Everything Big

I am sure you have seen these over-sized yardsticks on Pinterest.  I believe they were originally a Pottery Barn creation.  We had a scrap 1 x 10 that Carl sanded a bit for me.  I used a Sharpie and drew lines and traced around numbers I printed off my computer.  Very high tech.  I liked the natural wood against the door of the amoire in the studio that just is conveniently located next to the Everything is Big wall.  I started the number one so that when the wood was hung, the number one would be one foot above the floor.  So, it is cute, but also somewhat functional...to measure stuff, of course.  Included in the picture is a new purchase:  a vintage child's toy ironing board - in red!  I am using it as an end table for The Red Chair.  So, I guess you could say this is the Everything Big, and One Thing Small corner.  Jerilynn

New Couch Pillow

 

I probably shouldn't show you my latest project.  It is strongly influenced by a famous British designer's style.  I researched and found out that it is okay to do this for personal use only, so I hope that extends to personal blogs, too.  Normally I am a very cautious person - I don't even remove the labels off our  mattresses.  Anyway, I am on a pillow kick, trying to update our living room a bit.  The background of this pillow is a wonderful natural-colored linen.  The petals of the applique are made out of Cherrywood hand-dyed cottons.  I cut out a petal shape, sewed two pieces together, turned it right side out through a slit in the back, and stitch them on the pillow with invisible thread and a tiny pick stitch on my sewing machine.  The center stem is also from Cherrywood and I turned that tiny tube with my smallest Fastturn tool.  Linen wrinkles, so I wanted to make sure the pillow cover was removable, so I stitched a zipper in the back.  I didn't realize until the zipper was sewn in that I had sewn it upsidedown.  So, I cut off one end, slid the zipper pull out, and fed the pull on to the zipper right side up.  I was shocked to find out that this idea actually worked!  Who knew?  Jerilynn

For Mature Viewing Only

I hope my children don't read this blog.  They get very nervous when they visit and see a stack of small, knitted squares.   They don't mind seeing wonderfully warm, felted mittens, or afghans, or sweaters, or hats...it is those little squares that seem to spook them.  "Do you need any new dishcloths?"  "No....Mom.  I still have the twenty you gave me last month."  "They wear out, you know.  Get faded and yucky."  "Nope.  We're good."  Intarsia garter stitch hearts - addicting.  Jerilynn

Beer, Baby Sweaters, and Wonky Fronts

A while ago I bought a kit for the Tulip Cardigan Sweater at Eat.Sleep.Knit here.  I read about it on the November 25, 2013, blog on Yarnharlot.ca.  Surprisingly (not) her sweater looked a bit less odd in the bottom front area.  This was the first time I knitted applied I-cord, so maybe that has a bit to do with it.  It still is cute in a hand-knit sort of way.  Stephanie was right on her blog:  it is a very fun knit, and fairly quick.  Lots of color combos are available.  I now want to look at my Pinterst knitting and crochet board to see if there are other little sweaters to knit, something for a 4 year old boy.   I would like to try a Baby Surprise sometime, but my first effort, years ago, was not very successful.  I ordered a line by line worksheet to go along with the pattern.  Hope it helps.  I promise I will show you some sewing projects soon.  This cold weather finds me happily under a blanket, knitting away, beer at the ready.  Oh, wait.  Maybe THAT is why the front got wonky.  The beer.  Jerilynn

There is Love in the Air!

Another Pinterest inspired creation!  I saw the heart made out of recycled, coiled paper (bottom picture) and originally thought it was made from spools of thread.  I had a jar of  mostly red and pink old spools of thread, so I got out my glue gun, and glued them together in a heart shape.  I threaded some coral colored ribbon through a couple of the spools, and, done!  (Top shot)  I have some heart- themed pictures and quilts in the Stairway to Heaven, so that is where it now hangs.  I think I may be in a Valentine mood.  The 14th of February in 2014...must mean that this is a very special Valentine's  Day coming up, right?  Normally we don't do anything too special, but there is another Pinterest post that I just might put to use:

It uses one box of Hungry Jack® Easy Pack™ Funfetti® Valentine's Buttermilk Pancake Mix (what???).  I also have the perfect gift picked out for myself (also pinned to my Pinterest board "Want!"):

This throw is from Sundance, so, of course, it is just slightly overpriced.  Anyone that has been to our house knows that I have just a few blankets/afghans/throws...this isn't a case of need.  It does fit in well with the post, though, doesn't it?  Jerilynn

Mittens and Vodka - Cold Weather Necessities

Yep, it is cold and we are taking the severe cold warnings very seriously.  We went out to breakfast today, the last day before the super-sub-zero-three-day-blast, and then to the grocery store.  Kielbasa, beef roast, potatoes, onions...just what any good Wisconsin grandma needs in her cold weather arsenal.  We also are not dumb: we checked our vodka supply and it was seriously close to empty.  That was close.  I mostly have been in The Green Chair, under an afghan, knitting away.  The little mittens are for Benjamin (4) and Addy (almost 2).  The big ones are for moi.  I will not be wearing any mittens for three days because I plan not to venture out.  I hope the little ones do not wear their new mittens either, for the very same reason.  The yarn I used is Berroco Peruvia 100% wool (not the washable wool) and I am finding that it felts beautifully.  At almost $10 a skein, it is not cheap, but it only takes about 2 for a pair of mittens.  $20 and a few days to protect precious hands from frostbite is a bargain.  Cheaper than the bottle of Absolut that we bought.  Jerilynn

Knit Tree Pillows

Whew.  We put away the Christmas stuff today, and, at the same time, decided to clean/organize the storage closet.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  After all, lots of the boxes were pulled out anyway.  Mission accomplished, the house looks somewhat plain again, but that is okay.  I realized while I was pulling the Christmas stuff down that I may not have shown you these Christmas Tree Pillows I made.  Just Dishie yarn from KnitPicks, and just a garter stitch.  I finished a pillow last night that is also in this vein, only in brown yarn with a red heart.  It needs to be washed to shrink up a bit, and then I will make a pillow form. Now the couch will have two new pillows.  I did notice when I put the old pillows out today, they are looking a bit tired.  Since "threes" are good design, I will need to make another new pillow to start the new year.  Jerilynn

Rainbow Art for a Cold Winter's Day

Daughter-in-law Katie saw a picture of framed colored pencils and thought it would be a good craft project to make for son Patrick, his wife Sarah, and their daughter, Addy.  I happened to have a huge bag of old colored pencils (people have been known to make fun of my utter inability to throw away writing utensils...in this case, I had the last laugh).  We gave them a new, sharp point, found, miraculously, a deep and long Goodwill picture frame. Alas, no picture was snapped!  After the art was done, we both decided that we wanted a colored pencil picture, too.  My drawer of old pencils is full, but no more colored pencils could be found.  A trip to good old Walmart proved to be fruitful.  The frame is a Canopy brand frame that has openings for three 4" x 6" pictures.  Once the multi-picture inset is removed, the frame is the perfect size for colored pencils.  We found packages of 72 RoseArt colored pencils (already sharpened!) that were perfect!  We glued them on a piece of watercolor paper, snapped the frame back on, and....done!  Not as whimsical and vintage as the original one Katie made with the old, various sized pencils, but the new pictures have a modern, colorful, all-in-a-row soldier quality.  About 55 pencils are needed - we didn't use the dull colored ones (I have them saved, however - in the pencil drawer).  Life is too short to use dull colored pencils.  All in all, each picture costs about $20 to make.  Daughter Ellen, the girl who has always loved rainbows, really loved the picture that Sarah opened.  I am going to visit Ellen in a couple of weeks and will bring along a glue gun, a black frame, and a box of sharpened colored pencils.   A good craft project to brighten a very cold January!  Jerilynn

New Normal Time Pillow

Yesterday I remembered that I had a grey wool sweater stashed away.  I was keeping it until it might fit me again (!) and until I could get over how itchy and tight the neck is.  Since I can't even remember how long ago I put the sweater away, I decided it was time to repurpose.  I used the sweater sides as the pillow sides and hand-stitched a red wool heart on the front.  I used the serger to close up the top.  The sweater bottom had a nice finish, so I decided to let that show.  I made a pillow form, stuffed it in the sweater pillow, and stitched on lots of little red buttons to close up the bottom.  The grey wool thread I used can be snipped to open up the pillow should I ever want to do that.  What prompted me to do this?  I have four cute Christmas pillows on the couch that will soon be tucked away until next year.  Normally I like getting back to "normal time", but I knew my couch would be sad, and would appreciate something new.  I have some sweater pieces left over, too.  The arms will make great wine bags, especially with a little red  wool sewn on.  The naughty neck?  Not sure yet, but I will stash it away until I figure it out.  Jerilynn