Ever since we moved to Alaska, I’ve thought it would be fun to spend the holidays here–avoid travelling, and get to experience an Alaskan Christmas. This year, I finally convinced my mom, and my brother and his family to come join us in Juneau for the holidays. I’m so excited, but I’m also completely unprepared. I . . . → Read More: A Christmas at Home
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As you know, I’ve been scouring the local thrift stores in search of ruined wool, and I haven’t been having much luck in that department. On the other hand, I’ve been finding an amazing cache of hand knits too beautiful to destroy even for the sake of felted art. The jacket above is one example. The . . . → Read More: I Have a Fairy Knit-mother I’ve spent the afternoon preparing supplies for a class I’m teaching this month at The Canvas, an art studio here in Juneau. The class is called Sweater Reclamation. We’re making new projects from old wool: felted sweaters, cut up old blazers, anything that might look better as a new craft. I’m bringing ideas and supplies, and . . . → Read More: Wool Rescue I really wish December was two months long. Right now I’m on a break between semesters (which reminds me… I’ve got to go register for spring!). So I’ve been getting into the Christmas spirit, with Christmas crocheting and knitting and general crafty fun. Today, I dropped everything to make some treats. I have a couple of gifts . . . → Read More: Gifts of Food: A recipe for Candied Pecans Here in Cordova we have a vibrant Filipino community. We’ve all benefited by learning about the delicious food and a bit about music, and dancing from the Philipines. Last night, the Library hosted a craft night, and the featured craft was a Parol: a Filipino Christmas lantern. (The word parol comes from the Spanish word for . . . → Read More: Make a Parol: A Filipino Christmas Lantern Brrr! It’s chilly if you run outside without a coat, which is what I just did to snap a picture of the fog on the lake. The light is dim here all day right now, so the photo doesn’t do justice to how pretty it is. I finished my school work for the semester and we’re getting . . . → Read More: Starting to get crafty for the holidays: make a wreath from an old book Most of the time I don’t mind that there’s no movie theatre here in Cordova. Going to the movies is a fun part of any trip away from town. But sometimes I just want to be part of a cultural phenomon–like today, when the new Harry Potter movie opens. Jay Jay is currently obsessed with Harry Potter. . . . → Read More: Wishing for Deathly Hallows On Wednesday night we had our annual pumpkin carving party. We’ve been hosting one each year since we moved away from Seattle where our friends Van and Tracy always had a great party. James has adopted Van’s recipe for Hot-Buttered Rum. This year, the party almost didn’t happen because we’ve had a shortage of pumpkins! Getting . . . → Read More: Cinnamon-Crusted Pumpkin Seed Recipe photo credit: JOE MARINARO I’ve always had a thing for sheepy yarns. You know the kind I mean. They smell earthy, feel a bit like lanolin. They maybe even have a bit of straw left in them (Spinners call this “VM” for “vegetable matter”). When I lived in Maryland I was surrounded, north and south, by . . . → Read More: Feeling Sheepy photo credit: Kirstea When’s the last time you fixed something instead of throwing it away? I have a love-hate relationship with mending. I can’t stand to get rid of clothes just because they need repair, (so much of our wardrobe comes from thrift stores–I’d hate to end the cycle of re-use) but mending is always something . . . → Read More: In Praise of Mending |
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