"been trying to title this for 10 minutes" post

last year i heard that my sister suzie was collecting strips of fabric to make rugs, so i sent her several years worth of fabric strips i had. this was at the start of my house clearing movement, and i was really excited that she could use them.

last night i came home to a package on my doorstep. in it was this small rag rug crocheted by her.

when i pulled this rug from the box i had an unexpected emotional reaction. i chalk it up to these things:
-when i make a gift for someone i spend a lot of time thinking about them as i'm making it. that my sister had me in mind like made me feel loved.
-this rug is made from the fabric i sent her: i recognized every piece as being from quilts i made my brother, my friend nora, my aunt, my friend who isn't aware that i have an unfinished quilt for her in my closet...and the quilt i just finished sunday night, which i am sending to this same sister. also in there: a couple of dresses i sewed, the tail of a plaid shirt i cut off in college.
-and this: the other person to make a rag rug for me was our grandmother. when i was very little, for my dolls. i still have them. familial continuity can be a wonderful thing. :)
i love it. it's so beautiful! i put it in front of this wooden chair in my bedroom. it's where i sit to put my shoes on. but this morning i just sat in the chair in my robe, holding my coffee, with my bare feet on this soft, cushy rug.

HO-LEE TOLEDO.

this site may be The Coolest thing that i've come across. ever.
spoonflower: custom printed fabric

i had to pull myself away from their website. just knowing that this service is out there is crazy exciting for all sorts of sewing shenanigans.

i may have to order a swatch or two to check out the fabric and feel of printing.

thanks to jen, for the link!

food related: coffee, orange slices

knit-tacular!

since mid-december i've been on a bit of a craft tear. i'd been in a bit of a creative lull, but i got a request from roberta for a green scarf. my friend petra turned me onto some amazing yarn: rowan cocoon: merino wool and kid mohair. SOOOOFT! then, she showed me a terrific pattern: kim hargreaves' "haven."
roberta and i exchanged a flurry of texts while i was in the yarn store re: color and yarn weight. after "green," "chunky" and "city over sporty" she gave me license to knit what i wanted. now that she's received it in the mail, i'll post some pix.
this is a close up of the lace pattern.
(the fabric behind it is the back of a quilt i made)


---> in this shot you can see how long the scarf is. that is a queen size bed! for the record: i did NOT make that quilt. it's from the company store. :)

i knit this scarf in coffee houses across los feliz, silver lake, chicago, new york, and coast to coast on virgin airlines.

back to it: this scarf stoked my creative bug. since i started it, i've also been working on a beret made of pale green alpaca (oh lord, again with the softness!), some covered baby hangers for baby hoover, come close to finishing the supa-bright kids' quilt, and made this rad bag from an urban craft center pattern: i love the bee fabric. it's lined with some purple fabric from the stash in my closet. woo!
one last highlight: i've been pulling together some pix of my old quilt and knitting projects. this is a baby sweater i knit for roberta's son, beck:
that is a slice of buttered toast. r & i were housemates at humboldt. properly preparing toast was an art form in our apt. :)

this sweater is the first project i knit using the intarsia method. the pic is off-center. alas. there is a companion sweater to this: features an eggplant.
(if any of you have a pic of this one, let me know!)

also: this morning i decided what phrase will go on the bright kids' quilt.
i'd been waffling between "i will not fail you rainbow chicken" and "there will be snacks!" when i woke up this morning i was singing andrew bird's "tables and chairs." so.

as a bonus, that phrase always makes me think of my friend, natalie. :)