Calder & Company

Oh No Crow, Finished...

~Finally, the "oh no crow" rug is finished (seems like I started it a lifetime ago).   I have a million spots on where to put it, on table, in office, near bed...guess I need to start on another rug.  I have some small pillows in mind (for the holidays) that I need to draw out, so can get going on those...

~I have to include some photos from our trip to Lake Superior seashore.  Of course we have to pick destinations so remote that there is no phone service (eek!) or gas (double eek!).  It makes you grateful for the technology that we have available at our fingertips every day.

 ~thank goodness the boys had their hip waders.  Every time we are near a seashore, my laundry load quadruples!

~Our only store on the peninsula for necessities (like dried cherries and wheat thins--latter for moi).

~The sunsets are magnifique!  I always look forward to a change of seasons.  It is a necessity for my soul...

Rug hooking: for the tooth fairy...

~My sweet guy of seven, lost his second tooth last week, so glad that I had his "new" tooth pillow that I hooked--ready to be stuffed...Whew!

~N. needed a fairy pillow--so I thought to design something that was just for him (being the middle child--always striving to make him feel special).  It has a tiny pocket on the backside for his "precious pearl" --as I hear the wee fairies call them.  A dash of red piping on the side was added because it just needed a little more....something.

~C.C.'s school does this wonderful walk in the forest in the fall.  We look for leaves, pine cones, acorns, and yes PUMPKINS.  They are scattered throughout the forest, which yields, a good old fashioned "pumpkin hunt".  Es un buen momento!

More rugs I've made...

 

~Speaking of spring insects, here is a dragonfly pillow that I made a while back.  I did not design the original dragonfly pattern and unfortunately--don't recall who did (to give them credit).  The pillow ended up being the perfect size for the family rocker--behind it is a pillow that I knitted up years ago.  At the time I made the pillow--it caused me "lots of grief" as my mom would say.  It had a lot of increases and decreases with the ruffles.  The pattern is from Knitter's Stash: Favorite Patterns from America’s Yarn Shops.  I loved how the colorway turned out, but all that rusching took FOREVER.

~One side of the pillow is flat, and the other side is rusched.  It is nice that all you have to do is insert a pillow and add buttons to the edge.  I selected wooden buttons--which seems to be my button of choice for most garments as well...The tricky part is finding good wooden buttons.  Just recieved some vintage buttons from Etsy that came from Israel (country--not store name).  I am crazy about them.  I am always on the hunt for good buttons, and will sometimes create a garment around the buttons.  I am so finicky about buttons and get frustrated trying to find them in commercial stores...

 ~Also wanted to include a final photo of the pillow that I created my sweet boy of three who was born on Valentines day...

 ~I will post more soon, we are so busy around our place with gobs of birthdays this month.  Not to mention spring gardening and sports season heating up...

Spring week...

~We have had a beautiful lead-into spring, up until the snow lately (and another big storm tonight).  It is lovely to see the bulbs pop up and my 'Goliath' poppy's are reaching out more each day.  I have wanted to grow the 'Goliath' variety for several years, so was overjoyed when I found them last fall at White Flower Farm (yes, they did cost a pretty penny).  Up until this point, I only saw them on-line in England. 

~So I quickly finished the spring 'peep' above which is the outline of my oldest son's foot (my 3 year olds foot is trying out in the pic).  I have a whole file of rugs/pillows I would like to hook and this tracing is a good 2-3 years old--so I thought, I better get on the stick and create this peep!

 ~I was trying to incorporate my son's initial "Z" into the peeps wing--mainly so I can remember whose footprint was traced...

~I had this vision of making pop-up Spring cards for the holiday, and the task ended up being more difficult than I had planned...

~I printed up gobs of photos of the boys, and I was hoping they could be the pop-up feature.  Anyhow, they weren't perfect in the end (needed time to do more research on the subject)--but were appreciated by the recipients...so that's all that matters...I love to give personalized cards that the children have created with their own thoughts and idea...

~Lastly, our little guy has been eagerly rearranging the Easter books.  The boys love getting out the holiday books, and C. keeps asking when it is time for the Halloween books...egads..

~So the rest of my day will be writing bills (ugg), finishing some Citronille shirts for Z., cutting out one more Amy Butler pattern, exchanging table cloths (I'm obsessed), and quickly reading Still Alice--which I just started last night and is due for my book club tomorrow, not to mention play-doh and puzzles with C.C....It is so nice to have a day at home with C.C.  With the gray, cool weather outside today...it is definitely a soup day for us...

A spring peep...

 ~since I have been kicked out of my sewing space this week due to some house updates--I have been working on rug hooking...more details on this soon...

  ~If one is ever going to tackle Tolstoy...it has been this long, long winter...I am almost finished with the book--hot damn! (I had to buy two versions--both used-- to understand some of the translation)...Photo by N.

~A pair of trousers I made for my favorite Star Wars fan (made a month or so ago--forgot to post).  It is my own pattern, size 7--using some fabric the I found on ebay.  They have side waist and leg pockets with a fly front.   

~Spring is almost here, and we are cheering it on at our place.  (Lovely pot at MIL that we gave her years ago for her birthday)...

~The snow is still melting, but we have tulips and daffodils peeping up...We walked the property yesterday to pick up all the trash that the snow moves around.  (When you live in the countryside--sometimes we find people think they can just throw trash out the window.  ugg!)  Still feels good to be outside in the dirt again...trash and all....

Finished: Oh No Crow Rug...

~Worked hard on this rug last week and finally finished it...now it is ready for binding!  Woo hoo!  It is such a good feeling for it to come together...

~I did change the colors a few times as you can see from this picture.  Since the border and background are darker--I really needed to lighten up the details.  While working on a rug, I think, "Is this going to go on the floor, made into a pillow, hang on the wall, become a table-mat--or something else?"  Once I know what it will become...it helps me select the colorway.  This will probably be used on the floor somewhere in my abode--in a small place.  Wool hooked rugs can endure a lot of foot traffic--which is a must at our place.  (Actually just found remnants of a creme-filled donut on one rug--maddening--glad it cleaned up perfectly). 

~We just pulled out all the easter/spring themed rugs.  I love getting holiday-specific rugs out--I forget the ones we have--and the boys love putting them about our house.

~Here is our Saturday morning walk in the woods...

~this walk started out slow as we stopped to admire all of the beauty in the woods...as we walked on, Z's boots started hurting and N. got his foot wet while exploring a stream (luckily this happened right near the end).  Ho hum...Some things you just can't plan for!  So overall we still walked for a good long part of the morn--and it is worth getting out in the snow every day!

Woolen crows and waistcoats...

~I must have purple and green wool on my mind because two of my recent projects have been in that color scheme...

~Here is the "Oh No Crow" primitive rug hooking that I am hoping to finish up soon.  I may have changed a few of the colors since I took this photo...sometimes I just look at it for a few days and decide if I like the color placement (usually I put it in the family room--so I walk by it 100 times a day!). 

 

~I recently finished a waistcoat from Jenny Watson Designs.  The waistcoat pattern is from the Noro collection:  Book 3. 

 

 

~The original pattern is for a cropped waistcoat.  In order to lengthen the waistcoat---I added nine rows to the bottom 1x1 rib pattern.  I must explain that I am on a quest for the perfect vest or waistcoat pattern.  I wear a ton of vests during the winter--not to mention I loathe  knitting sleeves...I have about 3 more patterns that I am hoping to try.  I have visited many knitting stores in hopes of uncovering the vest pattern of my dreams that I can make every year.  Yes, I know I should just design one myself---which is already in the works.  After making several vests now, I am getting closer.

~I did add one buttonhole--since I lengthened the garment.  (That darn second button likes to come unfastened all the time).  I had such high hopes for this waistcoat design---and yet, I don't find my self pulling this garment out to wear all the time.  I need to think more about it---maybe it is the colorway that makes me hesitate (though Noro in general is an enchanting yarn to use--with all the color changes).  Perhaps it is the silhouette...still thinking about this project...

A little of this and that...

~Really making progress on the crow rug hooking.  A while back, I was just stymied with this project.  I had just lost steam and motivation to keep working on it.  It is such a decision with colors and order of progression, that I just had to put it away for a while.  After a little discussion with my MIL--who is an expert rug hooker--I was back on track.  Now I try to fit in as much hooking as possible, sometimes even during card games!

~Pot of lovely pheasant feathers (at nanas) that expands each season.  Each year in the fall, the guys have a few hunting expeditions and the boys love to watch the bird cleaning.  They want to hold the birds, explore the birds, and of course--add a few more feathers to the collection.   The boys are always amazed at how many feathers have been collected over the years--it has really turned into a lovely array.

~I have been in crazy late night cycle lately.  I tend to go through phases where I stay up until 12 pm or so, and then I switch back to going to bed early and getting up early.  I don't really know which allows me to be more effective.  I have been getting ready for the holidays, as most people are doing this time of year.  I wish we could add a few more hours to the clock this time of year.  Especially living in the northern hemisphere--it is dark at 4 pm these days.  I have been sewing, and sewing, and sewing--and plan to cut out another pattern when I am done typing this.  Plan to share a red cord mini tomorrow...Adieu!

Rug Hooking for the Love Bug.

 

 ~Here is the rug hooking pillow that I created for C.C.'s birthday that was finally finished over a week or so ago.  His birthday was on Valentine's day--so that makes it only a few months behind.  Glad that he is only two and can not read the calendar yet! 

~For me, rug hooking is very fulfilling, and I wish I had more time to concentrate on just hooking.  All that sewing and knitting--really gets in the way!  The next rug that I am starting will be in the green and purple color-way.  Adieu.

Preparing for Love Day~Series 3.

~We are drawing so close to our weekend celebrations.  The boys are decorating the house for C.C's birthday, and I am trying to get things finished and wrapped.  Can I just have a few more days please?

~Here is a little something for the sweetest boy of almost two. 

~On another note, after the first of December, I planted an amaryllis entitled "Double Dragon".  As you may know, it takes about 8-10 weeks for the bulb to bloom.  (Oh, the amaryllis was purchased here.) 

 

 

~The plant is located by my bedside and I took a photo one afternoon while C.C. was nearby (as you can see his hand here).  Guess what?  As I thought we moved on to other projects, I went back into our bedroom only to find the flower head ripped off the stalk and dirt all over the floor!  ARG!  Double ARG!  This was the first time C.C. had noticed this new item by my bedside. The flower was so close to opening, and I was dying to see the bloom. 

~On a whim, I put the bud in a vase (yes there was a nice bite mark on the bud--checking for flavor?), and it still bloomed.  Yeah.  Thank you, thank you to all of those people that hybridize to bring us these beautiful flowers.  Merci.

~Here is a photo of the new snow we received during our slumber.  Just perfect.