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