some old pictures

Tomato slicer! (in my kitchen, Minneapolis)

Grandmas backyard in Santa Rosa.

Santa Rosa snail.

Huge clouds and rain out of nowhere in Santa Rosa.

Drive back from West Virgina rainbow.

no snow no snow no snow

I have been knitting so much lately. Many projects get started and I mess it all up and have to pull the whole project apart. I am getting better at my patience and (drum roll please...) I am reading and following knitting patterns! I am learning and doing things like PPSO and using a kitcheners stitch! I take breaks every few rows and doodle a bit (the pictures above).
These people below live on my window. They are old and I think a dog used to chew on some of them... or maybe they were makeshift doorjambs. Someday I would like to make sets of people like this, maybe some animals too.

mittens

This is a pair of child size mittens I found at steeple people for something like $1. I wish they were bigger; they seem like a perfect pair of mittens.

I have finally caught the knitting bug. I made a hat last Sunday. I forgot to take pictures before giving it to the head it was made for. I will try and get some. I think it turned out pretty well.

This last week I have spent hours looking through books and browsing the internet for a good simple basic knitting pattern for mittens, the simple mittens I want. I want to make a pair of mittens that are like the mittens I draw (minus the idiot string).

I found a pattern. I never use patterns. They kind of freak me out. I read it (super easy) and understood it, then... of course... I made changes. I did not like the changes I made and read part of it wrong. That is why this is a test mitten. I kept the things I didn't like.

I decided the next day I was ready to start making my first version of the 'perfect mittens'. They are red, then 'fisherman' yarn long cuffs with a blue boarder. I (like a dumbie) didn't follow the pattern exactly, again. I realize what was needed that I tried to sneak past, and what I followed that I will change. The other half of the pair of mittens will have my changes/fixes. I am sure they will look the same, but I think it will make a difference.

When I am done knitting these, I plan on shaping them to my hands by wearing them in some warm water and swooshing them around. They are made of wool, so I think that should work. Last winter I bought some leather pieces for sewing onto mitten palms. I will sew those onto these mittens and I think they will be pretty awesome.
I think the second version of these mittens will be knit with smaller needles. The ones I am working on are size 4 and 5. I would like to do 2 and 3 if I have the patience. I would like them to be a little more interesting but still very basic. Cables are an idea. Seed stitch always has my heart though. Maybe they will look something like these mittens but with a much longer cuff.

old and creepy (cute!)

I don't remember how or where I found this picture online, but I love it. It generally is my desktop image. Who are these kids? How old are they now? Are they still alive even? What the heck is this for even? Easter, Halloween, a play? So many questions, so many stories to make up.

So recently I found out about this artist Paul Chiappe. He draws tiny pictures that look like vintage photos. Here is one of them...

Woah.

Hello December!