read.this…

especially if you knit.  yarn harlot has an awesome post about lace and negative space.  amazing that i have never thought about this that way before!!!!

new.adventure

i started bible study fellowship tonight.  i am looking forward to learning to study the bible with other women all over the world who are reading the same stuff we study in our class.  i need to be in the bible more.  i need to work in God’s word and learn His principles for my life in a new way.  

i am excited for this year!

meet.coraline…

 

my favorite online crafter emily graciously shared the pattern for this doll with Martha Stewart last winter.  i saw the rerun yesterday and had to try my hand at making one. 

she is made from cotton and felt… and machine sewed my yours truly.  i don’t sew.  not usually.  and i fought tooth and nail with the machine to get her to look like this.  but i am so happy with how she turned out!  i love love love her.  i think all the teeny girls in my life are getting one for christmas this year!

but it’s a secret… so don’t tell anyone, K??

in other chez sparrow news: we are getting ready to start the school year… which means buying curriculum, setting work schedules around school and other activities, and preparing for sixth grade.  i can’t believe it.  bella… a middle schooler.  she is growing up so fast.  we are using alpha omega lifepacs for our core learning but a new friend is showing me the notebook system for spelling and writing so we may incorporate that into the year too.  on top of the normal “book learning” bella is also taking violin lessons with a private teacher and hoping to join the girls choral academy here in grand rapids.  she loves to sing, and we are hoping that this program will not only train her voice but help her grow in self confidence and leadership abilities.  we are excited… it is going to be a great year!

llamas.alpaca.and.sheepies…

oh my!  oh, and did i mention the yarn booths?? and the fleeces??

 

my mom and i went to the fiber festival!  it has been about ten years since i remember going as a little kid. i enjoyed myself then, but oh, now that i am a knitter, i loved it! we saw some friends, we made some new friends, we spent waay too much on roving and needle felting supplies, and bought yarn from a little group of spinners that we can purchase from at the lys ten minutes from chez sparrow.  but it was all worth it. my mom and i got to know one another better.  that’s something we haven’t had much time to work on lately. and i learned that i am a knitter not a spinner… i just don’t have the patience.  

while i like the feel of roving, and enjoy the process of watching a fleece be carded and handled and spun and all that, i don’t have the patience to make it happen.  i like taking the finished product, the yarn itself, and twisting and manipulating it with my pretty needles until it is something i can use and wear.  i purchased this awesome super bulky/thin from yarn hollow (their studio is located in the greater grand rapids, mi area). i am using this pattern and….  this yarn to make a scarf.

it is turning out soft and fluffy and scrumptious.  i can’t wait to wear it.

i also learned to needle felt.  i had heard a bunch about how you do this activity, but i hadn’t tried it myself yet.  i think i am hooked.  here’s the pile of roving they had at the demonstration to choose from… 

me and my mom felting…

and finally, the angel bookmark i made.

i have tried to felt some since last weekend, but nothing relatively creative has happened.  i did manage to make one really fun 3d flower, but that is about it.  bella keeps saying, “mom, just go with it… be creative!” but that doesn’t really happen… sigh. maybe soon… 

oh, there were so many things to see:  

there were yummy silks to dream of knitting with… 

more funny haired alpaca (or is that a llama?? and how do you actually tell the difference??)…

and stitch markers to bring home… 

it was awesome.  my mom got some yarn for a scarf to go with a project she is sewing and some roving to spin on her drop spindle.  we spent more than we should have, walked forever, and came home exhausted… but happy!