finger knitting (for little fingers)

I knit a lot, and for a couple of years now, Lotus has been asking me to show her how to knit, too. 

Finger knitting is a great introduction to knitting or weaving, and it's perfect for kids. 

 

Lo is in preschool, and I taught her how to finger knit when she turned four. She can almost handle the needles, too, but this is a little bit more fun for now.  She asks me if she can finger knit all of the time!

 

She loves picking out yarn and making things all by herself.

A few months ago, we made a little video to show you how to get started. I'll let the video explain, but it's basically like knitting on a loom. You wrap, and then lift the loops over each other to make knitted rows. Easy peasy!

When you're ready to finish off your strip of finger knitting, carefully remove the loops from your fingers and cut the yarn, leaving a 6" tail. Thread your tail through the eye of a needle (without pulling apart the loops) and go through each loop with your needle, one at a time, until you've caught all the loops. Pull tight and make a knot. If you want to make doll/stuffed animal scarves like we made here, cut a few pieces of fringe and attach them to each end. Hope you and your favorite little knitter have fun with this!

meeting Tony Alva

Last night, we got the chance to hang out with skateboarding legend Tony Alva at our favorite local skate shop, Subsect. (Tony is one of the original Z-Boys and is considered to be one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. If you've ever seen Dogtown and Z-Boys or Lords of Dogtown, you'll know who I'm talking about.)

Bo has grown up skating and Tony has been a huge influence for him ever since he can remember. So it was extra cool for Bo to be able to meet and chat with him. He was a super chill guy and had a lot to say; he really liked Lotus's name and even went so far as to give us suggestions for the new baby's name. Which was pretty rad.

It was all part of Subsect's 'Get on the Bus Tour' 2011 which was hosted by Vans, and they packed the house. Andrew Langi was also there and the Vans bus was outside handing out lots of sweet t-shirts, hats and stickers.

We always have a great time hanging out at the shop for awhile, checking out the boards.

And hanging with Kevin and the rest of our friends there.

They even had free hot dogs on the grill. This girl ate two of them.

After we had chatted with everyone, we grabbed dinner at Zombie Burger and watched the fireworks. 

 It was such a rad Saturday night. We feel pretty grateful that we can do fun stuff like this right here in Des Moines.

Thank you, Subsect!  :)

NYC: yarn, fabric, a dress and a pair of Levi's

So, you know we had to shop in nyc, too, right? Just a little bit. Here, I will share the documentation of our shopping adventures. Yes ... yes, this does deserve its own post.  ;)

Hello hello, Marimekko.

Oh my. Jamaica and I drooled like crazy over everything in this store.

It was almost overwhelming.

Gorgeous bright prints ... everywhere!

We each debated over the awesomely huge prints and patterns, which are usually sold by the repeat and are kind of spendy. But we decided that you really need to go there with a plan and a pattern in mind. And I didn't have a plan. But wow, we had so much fun looking around.

Then, Jamaica introduced Kristi and I to Malin+Goetz. We walked away with a couple of indulgences and a crapload of samples. Samples are fun!

Everything in The Future Perfect was amazing and, well ... perfect. I really, really was into that green, yellow and white drawer set. Along with a crazy cool glass-top coffee table supported by skateboard wheels/trucks. Too awesome.

And then, sigh. Then, there was Purl Soho.

This year, I got to go inside. (Unlike last year ... see story here.)

I sort of flipped out over the Knit Collage yarn.

And flipped out again when I realized that they carried the brand-new Brooklyn Tweed yarn, Loft. I mean, of course they have it! But I was so totally stoked to see it there. (Here I am, making some kind of excited exclamation about Brooklyn Tweed to the guys who worked there. Yarn nerd.)

All of the displays were so fantastic and textural.

And I loved seeing all of these rad Purl projects in person – I had admired all of these online at The Purl Bee.

I have actually started knitting this exact baby blanket (in different colors) for our new little dude.

So many yarn colors and fabrics and samples ... I could have stayed there all day.

(Seriously. I could live, work and sleep there.)

I spent my last day in the city exploring a bit on my own (and taking the subway all by myself for the first time.) I magically ended up at Lion Brand Studio. Check out that huge crochet hook in the window. They always have such cool displays.

Like this life-size knitted tiger pelt! (Whoa.)

I loved the way the store was set up – the sampling wall is just too cool.

I knit with a lot of Lion Brand, and it's hands-down my go-to yarn of choice when I'm working on new projects. It was fantastic to be able to check out some of the specialty LB Collection yarns they offer that I had never seen in person before.

They also had all of the new Martha yarns on display. I picked up some of her mint green Roving Wool while I was there and can't wait to try it out.

So, what did I bring home after all of that? Well, there's only so much room in a suitcase. I brought home a wooden NYC building block set from Muji for Lo, and she's been playing with it a lot.

Other treasures included some yarn from Purl Soho, kitchen towels from Marimekko, a pair of skinny Levi's that I scored for $10, and a dress from Anthro that was $100 off. (Not bad, huh?)

local events to get excited about ...

If you live in the Des Moines area, you have to hit up the East Village Holiday Promenade this Friday, November 18th. Fireworks, ice skating, free horse and carriage rides, treats and refreshments and all kinds of good things from the area businesses. My pal Chrissy at Domestica will be having cupcake tastings from A Cakes, plus other treats and spiked cider. Sign up to win one of two $40 gift vouchers. And check out her store full of fantastic gift ideas ... she seriously has the best stuff.

Subsect Skateshop, our one and only favorite local skate shop, will be hosting the Tony Alva. This is so exciting ... we can't even believe it. Plus they'll have Vans reps on hand, discounts on Vans and free bbq. We'll definitely be hanging there. I can't wait.

So many of my favorite shops in town will be all decked out. Ephemera. RAYGUN. Eden. The Village Bean. Ichi Bike. Projects. Be sure to check them all out. (And duh, fireworks! In the winter? That's just fun.)

Next Friday, November 25th, skip the malls and come out to visit us at Market Day Black Friday! It's the biggest and best show of the year. 

I'm knitting a crazy amount of super cozy accessories to bring along – my best colors and biggest selection that I'll have all season. Cowls start at only $25 and make great gifts. Don't miss Market Day Black Friday – I hope to see you there!

block after block

A couple of weekends ago, I had the most excellent adventures with these girls in wonderful NYC.

The four of us crashed in Brooklyn. We spent a long weekend trekking, eating, shopping, walking, laughing, navigating public transportation and taking a lot of photos. We had massive and delicious breakfasts/lunches. We saw bits and pieces of the NYC marathon and knitted with paintbrushes. We hit the Bushwick photobooth extra hard. We admired graffiti and handbags that were out of our reach and smiled. (A lot.) Here are some of my favorite parts of our adventures.

 

 

I had a beautiful time; I really did. It was just what I needed. I feel lucky to have friends and memories and adventures like these.

oh my

Oh my! Check out all the spectacular new goods from my friend, Kara. (I'm especially in love with the yellow pullover.) She's opened up shop and you can find these pretties and more over at Stuff Kara Made. See something you like? Enter the coupon code 'stuff4you' to receive 25% off your order.

26 weeks

Sometimes it actually feels as if someone is doing their laundry in there. Tumble dry.

This week, the little dude weighs two pounds. I feel huge already. We haven't found the perfect name for him yet, but we're working on it. I wonder a lot if he'll have dark hair like Lo did when she was born, and if the two of them will look alike. I picture him being an adventurous little skater boy, like his dad. My center of gravity has shifted. I get the midnight leg cramps. I already have trouble sleeping, but I smile a little smile when I'm up during those late hours, knowing that it will just be a matter of time until I'll be up at all hours of the night with a tiny babe in my arms. We have three months to go before he gets here, and sometimes I feel unprepared and I wonder how we'll get it all together. But I know deep down that we'll be more than ready for him. So ready to do this.

Do It Yourself mag feature

If you happen to pick up the Winter 2011 issue of Do It Yourself magazine, you might spot a little home decor makeover project I worked on.

Check out the 'Before and After' section, and you'll see how six bloggers (me included!) reinvented a dated piece of thrift store furniture, giving it a new and fresh look. Such a fun challenge!

My original piece was a classic older wooden chair with a sad little maroon seat. It was definitely crying out for a little tlc. I gave it a new sunny yellow paint job, and then knitted a black and white chevron cushion cover. I had one weekend to do it and it was seriously too much fun!

Be sure to check out a few of my friends who also are featured in this issue! My pals Karen Brady and Arin Wiebers of Ephemera Design show off some fantastic gift wrapping ideas on page 8, my crafty friend Leslie Poyzer produced and contributed to several sections in the mag, and the gang at Renegade Handmade did a fantastic re-do on an old schoolhouse desk on page 43. There's lots of other great ideas in these pages, so go pick up your copy now.  :)

25 weeks

I spent the last part of my 25th week in beautiful nyc with three of my girlfriends. It was a total last-minute adventure that happened to work out for all of us, and I'm so happy that we were all able to meet up. I had an appointment with my doc right before I left and she gave me a permission slip to fly.  During my stay, my belly button officially popped out. I consumed donuts, meatballs, fried chicken, pancakes and pizza. I taught a friend how to knit using two paintbrushes instead of needles. I took the G and L trains all by myself. We perused fabric shops, yarn shops, handmade/vintage markets, breakfast joints and coffee houses. It was fantastically perfect.

It was just what I needed; a long weekend with quality girl time, good food and that little bit of freedom that everyone longs for once in awhile. Don't get me wrong – I love my family with every single particle of my being, but this short getaway was such a refresher. I came back better and brighter because of it. (And also a bit rounder.)  
More nyc pics and stories to come.

a million thanks

So, yeah – I just wanted to take a second to say thank you for reading. Today, I reached a million hits. Whether you're a friend who has been following along here for a few years or you've been on my blog for 30 seconds, thank you. You are fantastic. I love blogland, I do.

So, let's hang out. Do you follow me on Bloglovin'?  Do I follow you? If not, link me up. I love me some Twitter, too. Are you on Ravelry? Pinterest? Anything else you'd like to say? Hit me up on the email if you'd like.

And a big THANKS again for reading. You rule.