Blog Contest Winner - Emily!

Thank you to everyone who gave to Bowl for Kids Sake to support Big Brothers Big Sisters! Ranette and I raised $534.05 - that is much more than I ever dreamed possible.

Emily is our big winner! She wins her very own copy of The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs from the First Ten Years!

Emily, send your address to me at renee DOT antoinette AT gmail DOT com and I will send the book to you. In case you already have this book, we can work out another knitterly prize for you.

I was a biology major and I feel the need to include a "Methods" section to this blog post. My completely scientific process included:

1) put all four entrants names in an excel spreadsheet

2) sort the names by the third letter in each person's first name

3) run down the hall and ask my co-worker Greg to pick a number between 1 and 4

4) tell Greg that 3.5 is not an answer that works for me and ask him to pick a whole number

5) Greg picks 3

6) I run back to my desk to see who is in the number 3 position on the spreadsheet and see that it is Emily.

So congratulations, Emily! Your book will come to you soon.

Also coming soon, the last of my Christmas presents!

Bowl for Kids Sake!

I am holding my first ever Sassa Nova Blog Contest to support Bowl for Kids Sake (BFKS)! This event raises money for my local Big Brothers/Big Sisters agency. In fact, this one event raises nearly 40% of the total annual budget for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

This event means so much to me because of the smart, funny, super cool 13-year-old by my side, Ranette. We have been matched through Big Brothers/Big Sisters for three and a half years and we have loved every minute of it! OK, she doesn't look like she is loving the particular minute that was captured in this picture, but do you know how hard it is to get a 13-year-old to smile? Especially when she is super cool AND surrounded by her super cool friends!

Ranette and I will be bowling at the BFKS event on February 23rd and we need sponsors! If you can spare $5, please donate online here. Leave a comment saying that you donated (no need to say how much) and I will enter you in a contest to win a great knitting prize. Only 3 people read this blog so you have a REALLY good chance of winning. Good luck!

Gifts for Kids

What little girl doesn't like a dolly? Especially a handmade Ruby Doll with calico, lace, ribbons and cute felt faces. These dolls were Christmas gifts for the baby daughters of a few of my friends.

They were a joy to sew up! I matched the dolls "hair" color to each baby's hair color. Each doll has a different hair style, facial expression, and outfit. I added little flannel sleeping bags and blankies for each doll. If there is one thing I learned from Barbie, it is that every doll needs an accessory. Ruby doesn't get a Corvette or a condo with an elevator, but she does get a sleeping bag.

I met seven-year-old Tevan at my cousin's wedding in Buffalo. While we were waiting for members of the bridal party to get their nails done, I taught Tevan how to knit. She picked it up in a matter of minutes. She is certainly a knitting wunderkind! To encourage her in her art, I gave her the book "Kids Learn to Knit" by Lucinda Guy and Francois Hall. I first saw this book on the Brownberry Chronicles and knew that it would be the perfect Christmas gift for Tevan. I added a few skeins of kid-friendly DK yarn (colorful, not itchy, not acrylic), a blunt tapestry needle, and a pair of size 6 bamboo needles just like the needles in the book. Tevan called me last week to say that she loved her Christmas surprise and that she has already cast on!

This is so very "Reading Rainbow," but I have to say that I love this book. But don't take my word for it! Go to your local library or check out the Blue Blog's great write up about "Kids Learn to Knit".

During that knitting class in the nail shop, Tevan said that she wanted a scarf with a cat on it. So, of course, she got that in her Christmas box too.

Whew! I think that is the last of my Christmas craftiness blogging. Now I get to start a little something for me!

Christmas Gift Wrap Up Part 2

More Christmas gifts!



Dad got a promise of a sweater vest and an actual scarf. The scarf is much darker and richer looking in real life. The yarn was something gorgeous and sproingy from the sale bin at Knit Picky. I think it was a Crystal Palace yarn, but I will have to check. The pattern is the Cable Scarf from Lion Brand.

Mom got a scarf inspired by Denyse Schmidt Quilts. "Inspired" means that I didn't follow the directions and it came out different than it was supposed to be.

Mom also got the Juliet I made for myself. I went down a size, but I think that I need to go down to the small (unthinkable!) even though I got gauge with the Patons Shetland Chunky. I'll have to try it again.

I didn't manage to get started on the Amy Butler messenger bag for my brother Sturkey. Hopefully, he will get it for his birthday next month. My little brother is only 10 so I didn't want to inflict hand knits on him (although I did threaten him with itchy wool underpants). He got a Playstation 3 game instead. But when he saw me knitting the Dashings, he said that his friend had a pair of fingerless mitts and he wanted some too. I'll have to start on those soon plus a pair for Stephanie, in red of course.

My co-workers, family, and my book club buddies all got rice heat therapies bags and a few got eye pillows too.

The coolest thing I made is for my friend Ben out in Colorado.

That hat was amazing to knit! This was my first fair isle project. It was fun watching the pattern emerge as I knit from the chart. I used Cascade 220 in cream and black (the leftovers went to Laura's Dashings). This is the perfect hat for Ben because 1) the logo for his new band involves skulls so he can wear this onstage during gigs, 2) Colorado is cold right now and the extra earflap will be useful, and 3) he loves him some pirates y'all.

And of course everything got wrapped up all cute like and Christmas cards (from Paper Source) went out before Christmas!

Overall, everyone loved their gifts. I have decided to start making gifts all year long so I don't go through this again next year. If you think that's a good idea too, check out the Year Long Gift-A-Long.

Christmas Gift Wrap Up Part 1

I got an email from Stacey the other day commenting on another Scholar Collar that I made for a Christmas present. Stacey (very nicely) made the valid point that she has to keep up with my projects via flickr because my blogging is . . . well . . . less than frequent.

That's true, but there has been a good reason for that. You'll notice that badge for Handmade Holidays on the left of my blog. Well, I attempted to make nearly all of my Christmas gifts this year and every free moment for the past 5-6 weeks has been spent knitting and sewing. I even developed what I call "Craft Induced Insomnia" - a state of sleeplessness brought on by self-inflicted deadlines, the whir of a sewing machine, and the clack of knitting needles. I would look up at the clock after finishing a project and notice that it was 1:00 am and I had to be at work in 7 hours.

I can't really complain though. I knit a lot of great little projects, learned a few new techniques, and saved myself from the mall. Here are a few items:

For my friends Danielle and Christine - The "Simple Tote Bag" from Bend The Rules Sewing filled with rice heat therapy bags (thanks Sew, Mama, Sew!), eye pillows and books

from my collection that I thought they would like. Christine also got a Scholar Collar for her birthday on the 22nd. Christine, like Danielle, is smart, skinny, successful, and beautiful. Yet she is so cool and funny that I can look past all of that and call her one of my best friends ; )

For my sisters Laura and Stephanie - Shoulder Bags, a capelet for Stephanie, and a set of Dashings for Laura (picture to come). Lordy, next year Stephanie won't be allowed downstairs with a doo rag on. And she won't be allowed to wear ALL of her presents at the same time!

More to come . . .

The Scholar Collar

My dear friend Danielle is one of those people that you would assume that you would not like. Beautiful - yup. Successful - yup. Smart - yup. Stylish - yup yup. Nice - yup yup yup. It is that last part that gets you. She is so nice, kind and funny that you have to forgive her for being so darn perfect. She is the one person that I can call that I know I will end up laughing so hard that I will have to gasp for breath.

Danielle is three weeks younger than me. This means that I get to see what it is like to be 31 and then I tell her what it's like. Luckily, nothing has fallen off or dropped to the floor. We can both breathe a sigh of relief. Besides this special knowledge, I can also give her a handmade present - the Scholar Collar by brooklyntweed. I chose this because: 1) Danielle works in Brooklyn, 2) she went to law school so she is certainly a scholar and 3) it is probably the only one of the gorgeous things designed by brooklyntweed that I can actually make.

I used this yarn and size 10 1/2 needles for this project. I knit a garter stitch rectangle (7" X 22.5") and placed buttonholes where I thought they should go. The results are so squishable . . . I really almost kept it.

Danielle, this is how you wear it - just button and go:

Happy Birthday, Danielle!

Greetings from Buffalo!

I have loads of FOs to share, but I thought that I would share my "Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet" first. A few weeks ago I started looking for a little sweater to wear over a black spaghetti strap dress that I planned to wear to my cousin's wedding. Since cousin Tommy's wedding was going to take place in Buffalo in October and I am so not used to cold weather, I had to find something reasonably warm, but still dressy enough for a wedding. In a radical change of thinking, I decided to make something instead of simply going to the store.

After an exhaustive search through Ravelry, I came across the capelet - a short sleeved cropped sweater in reverse stockinette. The chunky yarn, the reversibility, and the pin closure sold me on the sweater. I chose Cascade 128 in a lavendar shade (maybe lilac mist - did I just make that up?) and I used just over two skeins. Which was kind of a problem. I only had two skeins and couldn't find another one in Winston-Salem or Charlotte. I went online and found what I needed at Yarn Country. Luckily, it came quickly and I was able to finish up the ribbing on the bottom of the body and sleeves.

This was my first time blocking and I think that it turned out all right. I used the full-size upright steamer I got for Christmas a few years back (before I even considered it for blocking). I found a cute pin at Target and I was all ready for the wedding.

It was such a success that my sister and a bridesmaid have asked for capelets of their very own!

OK, I am no longer in Buffalo. It is November 9th and I am just now remembering to put up this post. I've got lots more to share - I hope that I can get to it all!

Help Find A Cure for Lupus

Aimee over at Fairie_Knits is raising money to support the Alliance for Lupus Research Walk With Us To Cure Lupus Walk-A-Thon. The Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) supports ground breaking Lupus research that will, hopefully, find a cure for this awful disease. My rheumatologist, Dr. Mishra, has a research project that is funded through the ALR. So you know that the money you give will go to the researchers who will help me and other patients with Lupus live a healthier life.

The walk will take place in Raleigh on Saturday October 6, 2007. Please take a moment to go over to Aimee's blog to donate to the ALR. She hopes to raise $5,000 for Lupus Research and I hope that you can help her reach that goal. If you like to knit, crochet or spin, there are a lot of great prizes that you can win if you donate. If you aren't crafty (or just crafty in a different way), you can still donate.

Thank you for helping us find a cure!

A Little Flower Power in the Living Room

Chair slipcover 1
Originally uploaded by Renee Antoinette

It has been a few weeks and I am still not sure how I was able to pull this off. Maybe it was all that "Project Runway" that I saw on DVD. Maybe I inherited the seamstress gene from my mom and grandmother. Despite my limited experience with my sewing machine, I was able to turn out a chair slipcover in one day.

The chair - an IKEA purchase from years ago - is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I was heartbroken when I spilled red wine on it. Since the chair is discontinued, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get a cover from IKEA. So I purchased the fabric, "Flower Power" at Hancock Fabrics during a big sale. I glanced at a slipcover book and I was soon on my way. I draped muslin around the chair and pinned around the edges ("Project Runway's" influence I bet). Then I used chalk to mark where the seams would go. I took the muslin off, cut around the marked seams using a seam allowance that went from 1/8" to 1" - very sloppy. I sewed the muslin together and fit it on the chair. The fit looked surprisingly good given my slap dash pattern making.

I ripped out the seams of the musin slipcover and transferred the pattern to the fabric. Miraculously, the slipcover fit as well as the muslin. I poked holes in the fabric where the arms attached and put it all together.

Voila! One becomes three

I rescued this huge bouquet from the trashcan at work. It was left over from a board meeting and no one wanted to take it home. I can see why - it is a bit too formal to have in your house.

I knew that a little creative re-arranging, a vase and two re-purposed candle holders would yield wonderful results. So my house looks all pretty and it didn't cost me a cent! Don't you love it when that happens!

What I have been up to, craftwise

This is the start of my first quilt, the Crazy Eights. So far I have 16 of the 32 squares that I will need for the quilt top. I have no idea how to piece them together, add a back to the quilt, or do the binding. I want to learn the process one step at a time. This will probably result in a lot of mistakes, but this is how I will do it for now. Can you tell that I am one of those people who hates reading the instruction manual first?

Mistakes aplenty have already been made. Due to an unfortunate cutting error I will have to go back to this lovely store - Sew Original - to purchase more fabric. The last time (and first time) I was there, my mom and I DESCENDED on that store. The sweet owners showed us all of the fabric and all of the projects hanging around the store. They invited us to come back and take a class or just browse to our hearts content. They ended up keeping the store open for 30 extra minutes to answer all of our questions. It was probably the best experience I have ever had in a fabric store and that is saying a lot.

A Particularly Good Sunday

I got the chance to read a novella and drink a cup of weeping rose tea from a local tea shop. After that I did a little crafting.

I think that I should have slowed down while reading "Memories of My Melancholy Whores" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Now that I am writing about it nearly a month later, I can hardly remember it. I just have this hazy memory of a very sumptuous story. It was definitely a good read for a hot summer afternoon.

I've Been Simpsonized!

Woo hoo! I've been Simpsonized!

It's A Live Blogging Christmas! Part 2

The living room is officially a disaster area. The Taylor family has ripped through layers of wrapping paper and yards of ribbon and we are all playing with our brand new toys. Like every year, we went from youngest to oldest (Daniel to Mom) to take turns opening our presents. Stephanie cried when she opened her new mac book. Within an hour she was creating and editing a movie (she is a media studies major). Laura already has tons of songs on her iPod and I added a subscription to "Ask A Ninja" to her iTunes. I am really excited about my sewing machine and a fancy-schmancy home dry cleaning system. I can't wait to experiment with them once I get home. I wonder how long it will be before I can make a skirt?

OK, I feel a gumbo coma coming on. I shouldn't have had that second bowl . . .

It's A Live Blogging Christmas! Part 1

I woke up this morning and decided that I was going to live blog this Christmas. I'll start with a re-cap of the Christmas Eve activities. I picked up my Little Sister Ranette for a little last minute grocery shopping and a quick trip to Starbucks. Ranette helped me wrap the last of my presents while I finished cleaning. As soon as I finished cleaning the bathroom, I saw my sister Laura's head pop through my front door. Great timing. My mom and my sisters helped me in the kitchen and pretty soon we were eating chili-rubbed salmon with zucchini spears and fiesta corn followed by my favorite dessert - chocolate bread pudding. We all got to open one present (a Taylor family tradition). Daniel was less than thrilled with his Soduku books and Laura and Stephanie were aghast when they opened their matching toothbrush/flosser sets. I was thrilled with my picture key chain and makeup set from Ranetti Spaghetti and her family.

After dinner, my parents went to pick up my older brother from the airport and the rest of us headed to Danville. Stephanie's boyfriend, LJ, and some of her other friends joined us around midnight for a late night snack and a gift exchange. They got a kick out of listening to the message the Funky Robot left on my answering machine. They begged the FR to make an appearance, but he is terribly shy. Maybe they will get a phone call from him.

Sturkey and our parents came in after midnight. He allowed one hug before bellowing, "Stop touching me!" Awww. I miss him too.

I am a little antsy waiting for the present opening to start. Laura and Stephanie are going to pee on themselves with excitement when they see their gifts. And I am going to laugh at them for peeing on themselves. What a nice big sister!

I'll check back in after the present opening starts.

Song of the Week

The Song of the Week is "The Stars of Track and Field" by Belle and Sebastian. This particular song is dedicated to my cool new boss Jeffrey because it offers a glimpse into our working relationship.

While Jeffrey is very professional, I sometimes have problems with what we call "image management." This usually involves me doing or saying something ridiculous in response to something sensible that Jeffrey has said. For example, Jeffrey mentioned his new track jacket and I quoted him this line from "The Stars of Track and Field": "You only did it so that you could wear/Your terry underware/And feel the city air/Run past your body." So my thought process looked like this: Track jacket -> "Stars of Track and Field" -> weird Belle and Sebastianesque lyric.

This type of behavior would usually result in a psych evaluation and a written warning from HR, but Jeffrey just smiles and shakes his head. I have vowed to work on my image management and Jeffrey has been very patient with me. There has been progress - I haven't done the robot dance at my office in weeks. Three cheers for professionalism!

Song of the Week

I am resurrecting the "Song of the Week" - I believe the last one may have been "Freak-A-Zoid," a true classic. This week's song was inspired by Caroline's blog entry about Sufjan Steven's Christmas Box Set. From her description, it seems like the box set is a cavalcade of stickers, sing-a-long sheets, and Christmas-y goodness. I must run out and get it. I can already tell that it will be my soundtrack as I attempt to make most of my Christmas gifts this year.

As for the much awaited Song of the Week, it is "Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head (Restore! Rebuild! Reconsider)." Known for his interesting song titles and amazing story telling ability, Sufjan Stevens is a little hard to describe. Just last week I was telling someone about Sufjan Stevens' music, and after a lot of rambling, the person still had no idea what a Sufjan Stevens song sounded like. I guess I can say that it is indie/pop/ folk and many instruments are used (not really that helpful). On the "Greetings from Michigan" CD, Sufjan plays: oboe, English horn, piano, electric organ, electric piano, banjo, acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, recorder, wood flute and like minded whistles, drum kit, various percussion, shakers, sleigh bells, tambourine, dramatic cymbal swells, singing, rhetoric. Slacker.

I hope that you enjoy his music, and if you have a succinct way to describe this loveliness, let me know.

BFF - No, really . . . forever

I'm skipping the shame spiral this time around. It has been months and months since my last post, but at least I had good intentions to blog. I mental blogged - I thought about it, was encouraged to do it, but I never sat down to do it. Now that the semester is nearly over, I feel like I have a little more time to sit and reflect.


I know that everyone is in Christmas frenzy, but I want to roll the clock back a few weeks to Thanksgiving. Even though I swore I was too old to pile in a van with my siblings for a car trip, I ended up driving Mom, Laura, Stephanie, and Daniel down to Atlanta to meet my Dad (on his way home from New Orleans). Once in Atlanta, we invaded the home of my great-aunt Anita and auntie Deborah. I smothered my sweet-a aunt Anita with kisses and gave my auntie Deborah a bear hug then I promptly fell asleep and let the others finish making the Thanksgiving meal.


Before we started gathering for Thanksgiving dinner, Anita received a special Thanksgiving treat. Her friend, Mrs. Haddad came over for a visit. Anita began working for Mrs. Haddad over 50 years ago. They became very close and Mrs. Haddad's family became Anita's family. After Anita retired, Mrs. Haddad would drive over to Anita's to sit and chat in Anita's front room. Their frequent visits (as well as visits from Mrs. Haddad's son and grandchildren) were ended by Katrina. Anita went to Atlanta while Mrs. Haddad remained in the New Orleans area.


Now Anita and Mrs. Haddad look forward to their phone calls and rare visits. It is really so sweet to see them together talking about the past and their families. I wonder how their friendship has lasted so long, what has kept them together over 50 years, a catastrophic hurricane, and many other obstacles.


I've started my own friendship with Anita's "other" family. Over Thanksgiving, Heather, Lauren, and I commiserated over the fact that the doctors at the hospitals where we work look nothing like the doctors on Grey's Anatomy. Stephen and I discussed music. It looks like the friendship between our families will continue to grow . . .





Sara and I have only been friends for 20 years (since the 4th grade). We drifted apart and back together again about a million times - Sara told me in the 6th grade that she had to dump me in favor of more popular kids (she hates when I tell that story) and I told Sara in the 8th grade that our friendship had lost its zing. We were very odd children. Despite all of the pre-adolescent, big banged, aqua mascara tinged back stabbing, we are still friends. We had dinner together last month in Asheville and we laughed and laughed . . . you would have thought it was Field Day 1986.

That's the thing that I am looking for - what brings us together despite egos, pride, pettiness, and all of the other things that get in the way. As much as I wish that my Thanksgiving was a big, happy reunion, it wasn't. We had a little family falling out. I only hope that we can all find that something that binds us.

So now we can roll the clock back to the present. I have papers to write, presents to make (yes, make), and a dog to play with.

Until next time,
Renee

PS: Here are two songs to enjoy: a little brazilian music and a little scottish music. "If Looks Could Kill" by Camera Obscura and "Bem Querer (My Dear)" by Seu Jorge.

Little Miss Remiss

Y'all, I'm going through a shame spiral. I haven't blogged in weeks . . . this is more shameful than my pile of unfolded laundry . . . more shameful than the El DeBarge on my iPod . . . more shameful than a stack of unread issues of the New Yorker! I wish that I had a good excuse like I was rehabilitating a hateful and over-gelled Mel Gibson. Or that I was healing the enormous rift between Paris and Nicole. Alas, I was just having a full-on veg-out between the Summer and Fall semesters.

During this time I have succeeded in doing very little. I have watched nearly half of Season 2 of both Project Runway and The O.C. I have lost a good deal of brain cells doing this and may start drooling at any minute. I have to say that Project Runway is pretty spectacular. Many of my friends told me how great the show was, but I feigned disinterest and a commitment to my cable-free (cheap) lifestyle. But when I heard Daniel V. say the words, "It's a mothef**king walkoff!!!" I knew that I had found something special. I find The O.C. equally addictive and I noticed that O.C. speak has sneaked into my vocabulary (I said something was gi-normous the other day).

When not wallowing in pop culture over the past few weeks, I have read my favorite book - Running in the Family - and what may be my least favorite book - Jitterbug Perfume (sorry pagan bookclubbers). I am currently enjoying A Girl Named Zippy and am looking for another book to read before school starts. Any suggestions? I also got to see my favorite movie Black Orpheus (not Black Orifice, as my brother thought).

I traveled to Atlanta twice to visit with my family and I had a great time as usual. My 88-year-old Aunt Anita is beautiful as ever and my grandpa (her brother) seems to be the most popular guy in town. When we paid a surprise visit to his apartment, we were a little stunned to see his lovely young (25ish) neighbor sitting at his kitchen table. It turns out that she is a great person who often visits with Grandpa. He assures us that they are just friends.

On my long car trips to and from Atlanta, the Gilles Peterson in Brazil podcasts kept me company. The commentaries are a great introduction to Brazilian music and a wonderful way for me to expand my horizons beyond bossa nova.

Well, that's it. I'm going to do something frivolous. Until next time . . .

Song of the week

Last week was heavy on the "nova" so this week will be heavy on the "sassa." For your listening pleasure, I present "Freak-A-Zoid" by Midnight Star. My good friend, The Funky Robot, is heavily featured on the track. As some of you know, The Funky Robot hacked into my cell phone voicemail system and has recorded the outgoing message. I should change it, but he is such a talented rapper.

Speaking of talented . . . my very talented sister had a birthday on Thursday. I hope that you sassed it up on your special day, Stephunkanie!

(Stephanie is in the picture on the right.)