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this moment + a blog reboot

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So, I took a little break from the blog. Then I got out of the habit of blogging. Once I realized how long it had been, we had a national tragedy. Then I felt blogging about yarn and fabric seemed so insignificant. Finally, I realized that the earth is still turning and sooner or later you run out of excuses and you just need to start writing.

The easiest way to start back up for me was a moment from this week. My daughter has been working on a project with her mentor about Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan and Louis Braille for the past few weeks. Yesterday she got to present it to her class during share time. I just happened to be finishing volunteering and stayed in the back of the classroom to watch. She didn’t know I was there taking pics and a few snippets of video.

I am so darn proud of this girl. The first time she presented to her class, she was so nervous. It took a few days of us, her mentor and her teacher convincing her she could do it. (Ok, so an ice cream reward may have really cinched the deal.) Yesterday was the first time I got to see her in person, and although I could tell the nerves were still there, overall she sounded so confident! And her classmates seemed really interested in her topic, too. I am so grateful for the amazing educators in our lives. They do really good work.

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tiny science, big fun

Last year when we went to NanoDays, I didn’t realize it was an annual, nationwide event. My daughter had so much fun we decided to go again; this time with a friend.

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I figured many of the stations would be the same, which was fine because she approached them with a whole year of new knowledge and curiosity. I was happy to see some new experiments, as well.

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I’ll take her to this every Spring as long as she has an interest. I like the diversity of the instructors, including gender. You know the saying, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” I love seeing all of the female scientists and engineers at this event.

If you have a little science lover in your life, you should mark your calendar for this next Spring. The NanoDays website has a listing of events by state.

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knitting fair isle for marriage equality

marriage equality pin

If you spend time on Facebook and Twitter, you’ve probably noticed a lot of red squares with pink equal signs. It is a way for people to show their support for marriage equality. I wanted to do more than just change my social media avatars, so I knit up a little pin.

I don’t often knit with two colors, and I tried this a few different ways. Intarsia was easier, but too many ends to fiddle with. Duplicate stitch over a red square looked just ok. I even tried crochet, but the lines just weren’t straight enough. Fair isle won out in the end.

I’m offering the chart with the disclaimer that when it comes to fair isle, I really don’t know what I’m doing. Even though I checked my gauge and made a chart, my first few tries came out more rectangular. I wound up adding a row of red to the top and bottom to even things out. Blocking into shape was also a must.

notes: Red yarn was Lion Brand wool. Pink yarn was a random soft acrylic from my odds and ends bin. I used size five needles. Finished size is 2 x 1 3/4 inches. I also found some great video tutorials that helped me out.

— How to Knit Fair Isle with Two Hands
— How to Knit Fair Isle Neatly in Purl
— How to Carry the Yarn Across the Row

Also, here is a site where you can generate and print graph paper according to your gauge.

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is there problem fray check can’t solve?

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A friend of mine asked me to hem a pair of jeans for her. Last time I did this, I didn’t have to take them up too much, and I just tacked the extra material to the inside seam.

This pair needed to be taken up more than that, and there was quite a bit of denim leftover, making a giant cuff on the inside of the leg. My plan was to cut it off and serge the ends to keep it from fraying. When it came to the side seams, my serger had other plans. “No thank you,” it politely said as the denim refused to let go of the needle.

So I fell back on my tried and true method for raw edges: fray check. It feels a little stiff now, but I bet after one washing it will soften up.

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loving these loops!

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I was expecting more of a textured look to the Honey Cowl, but using a variegated yarn is giving the loops a personality of their own. I like it.

This project has been on my lap for most of the last week, but hasn’t progressed all that much. I was sick, my husband was out of town and my daughter had extra Tae Kwon Do tournament training. At the end of the day, I was too tired to knit. I hate when that happens.

I’m so glad to be well again and full of energy for creative things. What are you working on this week?

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another baptism prayer pillow

Remember the first prayer pillow I made? Well, the recipient’s sister was baptized last weekend, so I thought she should have one of her very own. Everything came from my stash. My daughter approved the colors and fabric.

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I had some more expensive transfer paper on hand and found I didn’t like the way it worked as much as the original paper I used. I do like how it looks all distressed, but I can’t see that look working for all kinds of projects.

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this moment: hanging out, literally

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Overheard in our house today: “No bare feet in the snow!”

It’s hard to believe this was Monday. Gotta love our crazy Nebraska weather. (Also, I may have let her go barefoot for a little bit of our walk home.)

This Moment is a Friday ritual inspired by Amanda Soule.

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mending: sweater hole fixed

sweater mending

I’m pleased with how this project turned out. It was really hard to capture the black on black stitches, but you get the idea. It’s less noticeable than in the photo.

sweater mending

One thing I found helpful while navigating all those dark stitches was to thread a contrasting yarn through them to help me keep things straight. After finishing a row, I just pulled out the contrasting yarn and continued on until finished.

I don’t recommend using a fuzzy yarn like I did. The fibers made quite a mess!