Wishing you all a joyous holiday ! 

a new year awaits .        .               .  

* foraged greenery for the kiva    .  .         .

greek yogurt + honey + almonds

Fading daylight and bowl of pine cones .   .   .

*

A friend recently introduced me to the world of hot water bottles and I'm officially hooked.  Oh my word. I do not know how I was ever without one.  I knitted a nice cover for it, of course.  I recently started a Ravelry account — any fellow Ravelry users out there? You can find me here.

i'm at peace now that it is autumn.

been doing a good amount of re-arranging and organizing lately — 

deeply inspired by "Into Great Silence."  it's a documentary about daily life at the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery nestled deep in the French Alps.  i suggest watching this film slowly over the course of several days, little bits at a time, to keep your good focus.  it's absolutely stunning and mesmerizing. . . 

*bottom photo*:  a few coasters i made out of a dress that never fit quite right. 

sober home vibes .  .   .

daily ritual: brewing twig tea

.   .    . beautiful sumi-e paintings by Laszlo Thorsen-Nagel

p.s. takashi sogo has an etsy shop now !

stems from our fringed sage plant .   .   .
to use later as kindling.

Inspired by the various tutorials on the internet on how to turn ugly plastic mini blinds into roman shades, I decided it was time to consider window treatments for our place. Since we rent our condo, disassembling the mini blinds was out of the question, unfortunately. So instead we jerry-rigged the curtains to function along with the blinds, keeping the blinds intact. I used basic un-dyed muslin which made for a very inexpensive project. It didn't quite materialize as I had envisioned in my head (does anything ever?), but I am pretty satisfied with the results nonetheless .  .   .

it only took a few short weeks,

to learn that nettle is no good for dish rags

hole after hole after hole.

i've wound the hemp (again, by hand), 

and hope that it will fare better.

~ small metal tools

~ my sewing box

linen dresses .      .             .

(made by me)

+

a flowering tree from last month

one scrub cloth complete . .    .
in simple garter stitch to go with this unruly yarn.

~   small ceramic spoon i made last spring

cake

projects are slow-going   .     .               .



center-pull yarn "cake"
wound with a fat knitting needle and my hands
the process is very satisfying.



helpful video here

nettle & hemp

hanks of organic, wild-grown, handspun nettle and hemp —
to be made into dish scrub cloths.

an easy project to have on the needles while sewing my jacket.  

clay : linen

next project: a dark brown linen jacket — 
a rather nice alternative to black, i think. 

~ inspired by a crude stoneware bowl i made last year

socks

first pair of knitted socks finally completed  .        .             .

~ 100% wool

~

calm

.   .    .       around the Valles Caldera National Preserve area

"elk land" 

 

knitted sweater turned vest .      .      .       didn't like the sleeves. 

now i'm working on a pair of socks. 

how is it almost february ?!

hat for sale

Happy New Year!
I've been knitting up a storm this winter. 
A vest, a hat, and now I'm knitting socks. 

The hat is up for grabs if anyone is interested. It is made with super soft yarn consisting of 70% undyed merino wool and 30% undyed alpaca fiber. Unfortunately it makes my forehead itch as the skin on my face is so sensitive, yet holding it in my hands doesn't bother me one bit. Thought I'd see if anyone here would be interested in it.

I'm asking $35. That includes domestic shipping within the U.S. I'm happy to ship to other countries for a little extra. :-D

Email me at mlchamlee AT gmail DOT com if interested!