DIY: Fern stencil pillow

So I had this really great step-by-step tutorial on how to make a pillow using a fern. HAD. Then my computer broke and the folks at Apple are having the trickiest time fixing it. Because of all of this, I lost every one of my pictures. Luckily, I instagram enough and texted Christine some updates. I gathered some sword ferns from the Evergreen Forest when Nick and I went mushroom hunting...

Home & Away: Wish I Were Away

I wish I were wandering around the Smithsonian museums this week. Looking at creatures long dead and immense collections of random/amazing/historically significant objects seems infinitely preferable to the whole lot of nothing that's currently happening here. Sorry, Spokane, I don't mean to speak ill of you, but come on. It's the Smithsonian...

Peanut & Purls: Winter Knits

It's almost December which means that Christmas is coming. As I'm sure you've noticed from a gazillion other posts, my sisters and I tend to gift handmade treasures as much as possible. Even though I have almost a month before Christmas, I really need to get-to-getting on some knitting projects. I recently increased my stash...

Make: Cotton Necklaces

 

For a long time my favorite yarn has been Sugar n' Cream, I just love the bright fun color combinations of the 100% cotton yarn... that's under $2. So it should be no surprise that I used it for my cotton necklaces. One day I looked at my size 1 double pointed needles and some pretty color variations and lo and behold, the cotton necklace...

Book Report: Charlotte's Web

One of the things I love most about Charlotte's Web is that E.B. White doesn't dillydally with a lot of overly sweet sentimentality. Yes, it's a poignant story about the enduring power of friendship. And yes, it does include talking, spelling, reading animals, but there's also the very real threat of death hanging over the main characters' heads. White doesn't pull any punches on that count. I mean, the first line of the novel, Where's Papa going with that ax? (If you've somehow managed to avoid hearing anything about Charlotte's Web ever, Papa's only heading out to slaughter a darling runty piglet.), pretty much tells you that although he's treading into the fantastical with talking pigs and spelling spiders, White also has one foot planted firmly in the real world. And in the real world, on real farms, animals are raised and butchered...

Insta-sista

Nicholas and I ventured down to Portland last weekend. I worked on some more on this sock for Nicholas.

DIY: Unconventional Advent Calendar

Well, Thanksgiving is over, so it must be Christmastime, right? I mean, I've been hearing holiday music at the grocery store for about three weeks now. (Slight eye roll.) Still, it's hard to deny that once we near the end of November, the Christmas spirit starts creeping up, and that spirit is aggressive. Well, this year I'm ready because I made an advent calendar...

Home and Away: Thankful for my ladies.

Although I don't really get all into the let's countdown what we're thankful for spirit that Thanksgiving time typically generates (this could just be the cynical Nicolai nature), I am still very thankful (annually) for a lot.

One definite thing I'd like to highlight since I've moved away from everyone is that I'm super thankful for all the ladies in my life that bring it, to California, all the time. I actually noticed that these ladies are the only people I've awarded a handmade badge, seems I have my priorities right.

Peanut & Purl: Secret knits revealed!

You might remember a little secret knitting project I was working on for the last month or so. Well, it's finally finished!

Brief Musical Interlude: Lennon & Maisy

Aww, they're so terrific! Visit the Lennon & Maisy YouTube channel for more videos. I'm massively hooked on their lovely voices and genuine sweetness. Sisters!

Make: $5 Dress

Typical little weekend for me in Burbank. I went for a walk up to Portos to procure some delicious breakfast foods, and ended up sifting through thrift store garments. Lucky for me, (and not so lucky) I found some things. To be honest I have, in the past, been notorious for buying garments that I have every intention of altering to my specifications, (to take something from being a little off putting, to a fit to delight over) and sat on them for years, and years, and years, to present day. This weekend was different, I actually bought a dress and altered it the same day, what do you think...?

Book Report: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

One of the greatest messages conveyed in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is the idea that even if you're small, seemingly powerless, and perhaps reviled, you can still accomplish great things without compromising your integrity. Yes, that is a lesson learned from mice and rats. Sadly, no mice or rats appear in this post. Rather silly, I know, but have you tried finding pictures of rats engaged in industrious business...like say building a plow or an elevator? It's a tad difficult. So, I'm basically giving a big old F you to Mrs. Frisby and the enlightened rats of NIMH. But not really, because I do love them. I mean, seriously. Justin the rat was one of my childhood crushes...

Insta-sista

It's been a slow week on my instagram feed. Sorry, followers, but my life has become pretty boring of late. There has been a lot of this little brat...Matilda. See above. A lot of clouds. A lot of trees. But not much else...

DIY: Tassel Necklace

Do you ever have a hankering to make a necklace and aren't sure what to do? Problem solved. Make a tassel necklace, it's easy and you can make it any color you want to adorn any outfit...

Away: Iceland, Denmark, & Sweden

Lately, I have been spending an unhealthy amount of time thinking about vacations. Of course this leads me to reminisce about some of my favorite travels in the recent past...

WANT: Datter Industries

tiny golden hand necklace

OK, I'm just going to say it: whenever I don't have money to spend on handmade trinkets and unique adornments, I want them even more. Get a clue, brain. You'd rather have soy milk and grapenuts over letterpressed posters and digitally printed silk scarves, right? Priorities! So, I've decided that until I'm able to make these lovely items my own, I'm going to quietly covet and visit them online and profess my admiration for them here, there, and everywhere. Today I have an object crush on the delicate jewelry by artist Kaye Blegvad of Datter Industries. Everything she creates seems to exude a magical quality, almost as if each item were a little spell...

Peanut & Purl: Winter socks

It's officially sock weather. More specifically, it's officially hand-knit sock weather. Nicholas is lucky enough to live with someone (read: me) that knits him socks...

Make: A Merry Garland

So it's mid November now and if you are like us sisters, and love to put those handmade majesties under the Christmas tree, then the clock is starting to tick. Lucky for me I can pull out last years decorations and not spend all that precious time selfishly making adornments. I will, however, encourage you to take the time to make a handy construction paper Christmas garland to bring some holiday cheer into your home.

I'd advise you get your garland ready now, because you'll need all of December to make your lists of projects that you have every intention of completing. So get garlanding...

Book Report: Kävik: The Wolf Dog

In the tradition of stories about animals returning to their people, I present to you: Kävik: The Wolf Dog.  This is first chapter book I ever loved. Mr. Wiggins read it to us in the third grade at Collins Elementary, and I checked it out again and again from the Ft. Lewis library. The copies I read were hardcover and featured a rangy wolf stalking through the trees. I always wanted to steal the library's copy and still hope to steal it somehow. Alternatively, I might happen upon a much-loved hardcover copy in a used book store...

Insta-sista

Fall leaf badge.

DIY: Thanksgiving inspired cat toys!

In the spirit of giving thanks, I decided I would give thanks to Peanut (even though she's bad all the time) and make her some Thanksgiving inspired handmade cat toys!

Home and Away: The I-90 Corridor

You might think there's a whole lot of nothing between Spokane and Seattle/Tacoma. Well, let me assure you, you are mistaken. One of my favorite things about Washington is the amazing landscape from the east to the west side. I don't even mind the 4.5-5 hour drive all that much because it takes me from grassland and prairie to dense forest and mountain range. Also, because driving relaxes me. Yes, just like Ms. Miller in The Chipmunk Adventure. I think about her way too much. Please tell me you know what I'm talking about...

Peanut & Purls: Koolhaas hat

This week I finished knitting up a winter hat that I've been working on for a while now...

Make: Black Beauty-ful Bookends

I love ceramics. I love to find them, and repaint them; it makes me so happy. So you can imagine the joy I felt when I happened upon these wonderful ceramic horse head bookends at a local thrift store.

But they weren't always the Black Beauty(s) that you see here...

Book Report: Black Beauty

Like all ladies who love horses, I read quite a few horse novels as a girl. While my elementary school chums were reading the Sweet Valley High series and dreaming of the day they'd enter high school, I was tearing through The Saddle Club series, Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind (both by Marguerite Henry), and The Black Stallion (Walter Farley), dreaming of the day when I'd be stranded somewhere with a horse as my only companion...

Insta-sista!

As I'm sure you know, it's been getting colder. We still haven't turned on our heat, so I usually resort to bundling up in all those garments I've knit in past years...

DIY: Arrow Rack

I found a bunch of old arrows while messing around in Dad's shop a couple months back and have been going back and forth about what to do with them. I finally committed to turning them into a rack for necklaces. If you've visited us before, you may remember my tree branch necklace holder. Apparently, I'm big on necklace display. Not surprisingly, this project requires a few arrows, and unlike me, you might not just stumble across arrows as part of your everyday activities. So, here are several ideas on where to procure arrows of your very own...

Home and Away: Halloween

As I write this I can hear several things: the drums of the haunted house two doors down, the screams of people anxiously waiting in line on the sidewalk, and the happy candy-fueled conversations of the hordes of kids shuffling along the street. It's Halloween in Burbank...