Bibliosophy Handmade

Rainbow Relaxation

Are any of you familiar with the Hypnobirthing method for natural childbirth? We are taking a class this time around to hopefully help me train my body to more deeply relax during labor.  Even though we successfully navigated the waters of natural childbirth with Little Guy, I still ended up feeling completely physically and emotionally spent, and Hypnobirthing appears to be an option to help avoid complete exhaustion!  Part of the course is to train yourself to relax to a rainbow visualization script.  The soft-voiced reader on the CD takes you through the parts of your body, encouraging you to relax each one, and then proceeds to a picture of a rainbow, vibrating with colorful energy, helping you to relax more deeply.  

I bet you can guess what I am now picturing as I see the rainbow; that's right, a rainbow of yarn!  Now that is truly relaxing!  Have a lovely weekend with your own crafty, relaxing pursuits!

Hand-me-down Handmades

This Little Guy has inspired quite a fervor of knitting and crochet in our family.  Can you see why?

Sadly, his 5 hour baby sweater by Mommmy has now become too small (which, considering some weight issues we've had to deal with over his life, I'm really quite grateful for).  Take a look at where the sleeves hit on his arms:

 

Yes, I think it is too small.  After a wash and block, it will be ready to welcome New Baby.  And thankfully, we have been well-stocked with handmade woolens from Grammy and his great aunt to see us through the rest of the winter.  This Blastoff Sweater by Grammy is the favorite though...

 

It will be keeping him warm today as we run errands and just chill, and maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to squeeze in a little more knitting time!

Up Close

A year after I adapted my mitts pattern, I finally have a pair of my own!  With all their vintage button-y and baby llama goodness!
Now, I can think about the next knitting/crochet project; perhaps indulging in some colorful granny squares?

Thrifty Buttons

 I finished my Knit Flat Fingerless Mitts to match my cowl, and was delighted to be able to adorn them with 12 vintage buttons from my collection (I would like to be able to share a great picture of them today, but I can't quite figure out how to take a pic of both my hands while holding a camera!).  This left my collection sadly depleted, and I was thinking back to all the projects that I've used my buttons on (see above!).  The collection was originally given to my by my grandmother, it was her grandma's, and I've been slowly adding pieces to it here and there.  One of the best things about the buttons was that they came in sets, there were only a few singletons among the lot, so I was able to use them to finish sweaters and other larger items.  Now I know some might be appalled that I actually used them for things, some of which I gave away, but don't you think it would offend the thriftiness of an older generation to have a collection of useful buttons which weren't being used?  Plus, it imbues the items I create, especially those items for myself or my children, with special significance that they came from a past generation in our family.

But now the problem is that I've almost used them all up; I need to go on the hunt to replenish my stash!

In the workbasket

Embroidery has always held an attraction for me, and I've dabbled a little bit with crewel work, but have never used an embroidery transfer before.  And I don't know why not, because with the design clearly imprinted on the fabric, it makes stitching so much easier and takes out much of the guesswork.  This set is the "Sushi Bar" collection from Sublime Stitching, and it's been fun just following along the lines.  Because the stitches are small and there's less full-arm movement than knitting, it's a little more relaxing to work on in the evenings, and more absorbing!

What are your sources for great embroidery patterns?

Cool weather cowl

When we were visiting in Colorado over Christmas I purchased some lovely handspun baby llama from Lambspun, in Fort Collins.  What a fun shop!  The DH treated me to a couple skeins, and I carefully planned my project.  It would have to be somewhat small, because I only had about 500 yards, but something I would wear often.  This cowl, the Fresco Basket Whip Cowl, from Classic Elite, was perfect.  Cozy, warm, great to pull up over my ears in place of a hat, and...it's just so pretty.  Now, I'm working on a pair of Knit Flat Fingerless Mitts to wear with it! 

Today I'm putting it to good use as we look at minivans (!), and hoping to finish the other mitt to my pair.  Happy weekend to you!

Wool (and cotton) gathering

I'm brainstorming this morning about starting a prayer shawl ministry at our church, and I want to solicit your advice.  Does anyone have any experience doing this, and, if so, what are your recommendations?  I have been working on a prayer shawl with the Lion Brand Homespun since the last time I was pregnant (I'm embarrassed to admit!), and I am not impressed with the yarn.  It is difficult to knit with, and not very soft.  Also, knitting a shawl takes such a long time.  I'm thinking that the answer may be to make lap quilts instead of shawls, which would also be more suitable for men and boys.  Quilts are faster to put together, and they can involve crafters who don't know how to knit or crochet, as there is always cutting and pinning to be done.  It could be a great way to get teenage girls involved in the process.

One parish member suggested knit dishcloths, and as we have a lot of African refugees in the neighborhood, these would be useful as they set up households.  Also, dish scrubbies, made with yards of tulle knit or crocheted together.  And of course baby blankies, made from soft flannel, could be given to new baby arrivals...

Any more item suggestions, or suitable patterns for knitting or sewing lap quilts/blankets?

P.S.  Isn't that little tablecloth above lovely?  My mother-in-law brought if for me yesterday.  It was made by my husband's grandmother when she was a newlywed.  It's going in the hope chest for any future daughter:)

Keeping the little ones warm

I must say that because my last baby was born in the dead of an Ohio winter, I'm looking at this new baby's birth in the same way.  The same stress over keeping it warm (Little Guy was born the coldest week of the year, with sub-zero temps), and the same need for woolen clothes.  As a new mom, I had no idea that wool is the perfect fiber for the very smallest, and had to resort to layer upon layer of thin cotton clothes.  I now know better, and, this baby sweater vest is my answer to how to dress my youngest.  It is knit in one piece, starting at the waist of the back, knit up over one shoulder to complete one front, then rejoining the yarn at the other neck to complete the other front.  It buttons at the sides and front for ease of dressing a newborn, and has sweet little eyelets around the neck and down each front.  The pattern is written such that you can use whatever yarn you have with appropriate needles to make various sizes; just remember to make a gauge swatch, and you're good to go!  And the eyelets are perfect for personalization with ribbon, lace, or whatever fancy or funky buttons you can come up with.

I hope some of you will be able to use this pattern, it is on my sidebar, and also on Ravelry.

Enjoy!

The Birthday Party

By John Singer Sargent, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Such was the scene at our house last weekend as we celebrated a first birthday!  We had a cake, a great car from grandma and grandpa, and some Mommy-made toys.  Before DH and I were married, I purchased a panel of Alexander Henry fabric thinking it would be perfect for a nursery.  I found it recently, and decided it would make the perfect safari playmat, with it's bright graphics of jungle animals.  One playmat and some knitted toys later (purchased from mamma4earth), Little Guy has a great animal play set, complete with matching drawstring bag. 

He even had his own piece of homemade chocolate cake, but he didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought he would. 

Needless to say, I am now enjoying the rest of the cake for him!

The Humble Workbasket

After babyproofing my workbasket in our family room to make life easier, I was taken with the utility of the humble workbasket.  Created for ladies of old to keep all their mending and creating supplies, it helped them maximize their resting time in a productive way, keeping all their tools at hand.  Do you remember in Cranford when Dr. Harrison bids on a lovely little table at auction, only to find when he brings it home that it's a woman's work-table?  And can't you picture Miss Deborah and Miss Mattie with their workbaskets companionably by their sides in the candlelight?

Thus inspired, I did a little searching, and found this excellent tutorial on how to make your own workbasket.  This is mine, a little funky Kaffe Fassatt version to match my kitchen.  It has a pretty white linen lining, and I'm working on some accessories to match.  Wouldn't this make the sweetest gift for a crafty friend, or for a little girl interested in the domestic arts?

And, coming in at just around $10 and a couple hours of time to make, it is an adorable and affordable gift.  And now, I just need to make one to match every other room in my house!