A Wrinkle in Time (and playing hooky)

"Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself."

Hot on Antonia's heels, I read the much beloved A Wrinkle in Time. I needed a bit of youthful escapism after the depth and breadth of My Antonia. I read it one evening, like I used to do as a teen, and loved it as much as I did when I read it the first time many years ago. I found the escapism I was looking for, but also stumbled upon bigger, more intense questions and answers than I remember.

The darkness of sameness and a lack of responsibility ultimately being detrimental to society hit me hard, especially after my feeling of 'playing the adult'. Of course I'm glad to be responsible for all the little people in my life and of course I really do like having decisions to make. Visualizing the opposite of choice as portrayed on Camazotz was frightening and poignant (especially after having watched "The Winter Soldier" the day before). It all had a very "big brother" feel. I am so grateful for my agency and hope to use it for the benefit not detriment of society.  

It had been a long, long time since I had picked up my hooks at all. Summer has been ridiculously hot and the idea of my sweaty hands playing with yarn made me cringe. But Nins picked up her hooks yesterday and told me that she was making me a scarf for Christmas, so I decided to follow her suit and play around a bit with Christmas in mind.

Linked up to Ginny's Yarn Along 

Fox cup cozy

Now that Christmas has passed and we've rung in the festivities of the New Year, I can share a few of the items that I made for gifts. I kept it fairly small and simple seeing as I'm currently growing a human and raising several others. Starting with this Fox cup cozy:

Using hardly any yarn, and very little time, the project took a total of two episodes of Sledgehammer to complete, including the base and assembly. The adorable pattern can be found here. I followed the pattern exactly, but seeing as I don't drink coffee and don't have any fancy cups to try it out on I just guess that the sizing width work. Making this foxy cozy gave me an excuse to bring back into my family's (and now your) lives the greatest song of 2013.

Happiness for 2015

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light - Albus Dumbledore

We determine our own happiness, individually I mean. My husband can't make me happy. My children can't make me happy. I need to make me happy. Over the course of this year, I read (and listened to, thanks Audible) Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project and Happier at Home. (You can find my review of the first book here and podcast show notes for the second near the bottom of the page.) Rubin uses a straightforward tone, as expected from a former lawyer, to reassure and inspire that her happiness project is feasible to all who wish to partake. She outlines what works for her and gives loads of useful and practical suggestions for accomplishing goals and becoming happier overall. She maintains that this project should be tailored to the individual by understanding what actually makes you happy and unhappy.

My own happiness project for 2015 is going to look a little bit different than Rubin's because I'm tailoring it to me and I'm not Gretchen Rubin. I've been going back and forth between what to share and not to share in this little space of mine, and for now I'll stick to crafting and develop Rose & Toast in that direction. Starting a blog leaves so much open not only for criticism but also for community, and since I am in fact a three-dimensional character (or in other words a human being) I have more likes and dislikes than yarn, fabric, and floss. However, I want to develop this creative area of my life (for my own personal happiness as well as possibly my family's) and hope that I have something to contribute to the crafting world at large. My hope is that you'll join me on this journey as I muddle my way through.

Quick recap of 2014:

I started the blog in September. Woohoo! Since I started quite a bit later in the year a few projects didn't get documented and I don't have photo documentation so you're going to just have to take my word that they did in fact get completed.

- 3 crochet blankets 

Daisy | Baby Ripple | Granny Square 

R2D2 Halloween costume 

- 4 quilts 

Wee Wander (x 2) | Rocket man | Stars

Car seat cover (using the fabric featured above) 

I also made several hats including Captain America themed, Alabama, Jayne Cobb x 2, Mickey Mouse x 2, and various other knick-knacks. 

Now as we ring in the glorious New Year, I plan on being much more diligent about documenting projects in all their various stages. I hope you all had a fantastic 2014, and here's to an even brighter, happier 2015! 

50 State Stitching quilt top

A little while ago, I mentioned (I think I mentioned) that I am working on an embroidery/quilt project. The project is through Wild Olive and if you're interested I think that you can still sign up. You'll be a bit behind, but heck, I am too, so really it's just joining the party!

It's such a fun project and includes hand stitching and English Paper Piecing (EPP), two techniques I'm still pretty new to. Every Tuesday, I get a new state in my email. Mollie (from Wild Olive) is so creative and takes her task of choosing themes very seriously and writes the greatest letters to commemorate each state. My favorite star so far is the Virginia ham (and if you've ever seen The American President, you'll completely understand why).

At first, I was so good about completing each state the day I received it, Tuesday was my weekly stitching night and each star was completed by Wednesday, Thursday at the latest, and then....then I wasn't so good. I was going for a Civil War type theme with the fabric while keeping with the patriotic 50 states. I'm still catching up on the embroidery part BUT I finished the blocks and stripes today!

It's a terrible photograph because the light is wrong and the wind picked up and Little Man's shadow is clearly visible in the left corner but it's finished (sort of). The project is intended to last a while (next July to be precise) so keep an eye out for updates on the stars. 

And because I'm totally proud of this photo, I'm sharing it. Wookie's hair gets lighter every year and though it makes me sad my black haired babe is slowly morphing into a blondie, the highlights are truly spectacular.

Progress

Right now, I'm in the midst of several big projects and a few smaller projects that are meant for Christmas so sharing is off limits. Most work is getting done once kiddos are in bed, at that point the sun is long gone, and the heater is purring noisily. The sound of the sewing machine is soothing and the rhythm of my hooks comforting. There's a lot up in the air at the moment, but instead of getting anxious and crazy, as I have a tendency to do, I'm focusing on this season. This wonderful, magical, spiritual season.

I love that Thanksgiving feeds right into Christmas that feeds into the (shiny) new year, and I'm working diligently to remember all the things I am grateful for and all the things I need to work on. We constructed our Thankful tree over the course of November and it continues to hang in the kitchen near the table, serving as a reminder for all the things, temporal and spiritual, we have as we tuck in to our daily meals. Over the years, I've taken the whole resolutions making ritual quite seriously, but I'm thinking of changing things up a bit.

My hope is to have several finished projects to share in the coming weeks, though I can't make any promises. I'm also considering adding a more different venture, still along the same vein, for 2015. There are several things I'd like to leave in 2014 and several more I'd like to pick up in the new year and this would be the place to add and share.

Daisy meadow blanket

I miraculously finished this blanket Thursday evening and spent all weekend waiting for the sun to shine so I could snap some photos. The sun did shine amid the snow and I took full advantage.

What a work in progress. Daisy began in March as a sort of in-between project, with forty-nine mustard circles, turned daisies, turned squares (in Sea Mist from Lion Brand), that then increased in September to number sixty-four to form more of a lap blanket than a baby blanket. My inspiration came from here but I wanted a more neutral, meadow-like color combination.

Internal debate ensued on how to join but was settled with a standard raised single stitch. The border consists of a row of double crochet (in Dusty) and two rows of half-double crochet (in the Dusty and the Taupe). Again, debate about whether to finish with a single stitch of the mustard, a color I quite like, but decided against. I'll use that color more prominently for another project.

It snowed two weeks ago and only just began to melt this weekend, it was that cold and then it snowed again on top of the frozen snow. Super fun stuff. At church on Sunday, poor little man's hands were beet red from a short, block-and-a-bit walk to the building and when feeling started to return to those extremities, he was not a happy person. The bushes along the drive have kept a nice patch of ice rink for the kids to enjoy, though I'm terrified one of them will conk their head. After plenty of snow play, we have been sipping on Husband's homemade hot chocolate and warming chili to keep us cosy. Now that this blanket is finished, we can add it to our extra snuggly pile and watch what's left of college football and move on to college basketball.

Throwback

Today I'm coming in a day early (after having totally missed the last two weeks other than to promote the husband's book on Monday) and I'm bringing to you the very first blanket that I ever crocheted.

It's only slightly a cop out because I don't have a new project to show, though, Monday should bring a "ta-dah" moment, if the sun decides to cooperate, which is debatable.

This blanket stayed wrapped in Christmas paper for, we're in November, so a year. I am the absolute worst at sending gifts, I usually have the best of intentions but then I forget or get sidetracked or totally lose my mind.

My sister-in-law taught me to crochet after she visited another sister-in-law who taught her how to crochet. The sister-in-law who taught me is left handed and I am right handed so we ran into a wee bit of confusion, plus I'm a bit dense and didn't pick up on it very easily. I played around a bit with some yarn and made a scarf like thing using single stitches that became a shawl for one of the girls' dolls because it was way too small for a human being to use.

This blanket was my first attempt at a double crochet. I look at it now and laugh a little. There are so many little flaws, skipped stitches, extra stitches and a clearly defined line where I ran out of one skein of yarn and attached the other. I had no idea about counting stitches and hadn't discovered Pinterest so the proportions are all wrong. The border is wonky and bunches near the corner; it is far longer than it is wide and it could stand to have several more rows added. But it was my first ever completed blanket and for that it holds a pretty special place.

Swans and Swallows: A Comedy

I have been working away at various projects and when they are completed I'll share them here.

In the mean time, I've been keeping busy promoting a book written by my husband and his brother. It's entitled Swans and Swallows: A Comedy. It's a satire all about the main character, Gregory Nightingale.

Here's the blurb from Amazon: Gregory Nightingale is a revered author, known as much for his rambling, post-modern philosophies as his ability to create relatable stories. Eccentric, apathetic, and in love with both alcohol and sensation, Gregory unwittingly becomes an active participant in efforts to tear down his reputation. Can he contain his antics long enough to clear his name? 
With a cast of witty, realistic characters, Swans and Swallows: a comedy, hilariously explores the complexities of human nature, and modern relationships. It is a must-read for anyone who likes to laugh.

It is currently only available for order at Amazon (dot) com in ebook format, but if you ask me it is well worth the $3 they are asking for. We found out today that it made the Amazon New Release hot list and jumped to #53 in their genre. I am so proud of all the hard work they both have put into this novel. May this be the first of many. 

You can find the book HERE