Today is my last day of work before the Christmas holiday starts. It is ALMOST time to snuggle down for a few days of merriment with our families and I can’t be more ready for that. I am ready to switch my brain into the cozy pajamas, egg nog and board games by the fire state of mind.
Wishing you and yours a very merry holiday!
A round-up of my Instagram pictures from the past month.
I started my first ever container vegetable garden this spring- I planted tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, carrots and cantaloupe. I have enjoyed watching my little plants grow and am amazed at how much they have grown in just the past month. I just noticed the first tiny zucchini forming and am over the moon with excitement at the prospect of having my own home grown veggies this summer.
My sweet blog friend Kim of Hand Eye Crafts has been commissioned to knit doggie bones for inclusion in a bark box type of product, and she sent Henry one and it is the cutest thing ever. I have to constantly stop him from bringing it outside because he loves to dig and bury bones. This is his indoor only bone.
Joey and the band played a show at Suburbia Music festival and it was a bright, hot and dusty day, and we had an absolute blast at the show. It was the inaugural year for this festival in Plano and I hope to see it continue next year.
It’s almost summer and I’ve re-ignited my attempt at becoming a runner. Running is still one of those things that is very difficult for me and I am working on my stamina so I can keep up with Joey. My goal is to be able to run 2-3 miles at a decent pace without walking.
We still have our backyard bunnies and Joey even witnessed a mama bun nursing a burrow full of baby buns one day just feet from our back door. He said it was the craziest thing he’d seen in a while. I usually spot a bunny or two (or three!) almost every afternoon from my kitchen window. I love spying on them.
The third week of May was international mail week, as the baby sweater package I mailed to my friends Tim and Liis in Switzerland finally made it to them, and the very next day we received a package from Johan and Anna in Sweden, sending us a vinyl copy of the Basko Believes album, Idiot’s Hill, which we recorded at Joey’s studio in Denton last June.
We took a quick weekend road trip up to Indiana where Joey is originally from for a family memorial. I loved the cool nights and crisp sunny weather and oh, the green! It is lovely there. I can’t wait to go back when we can spend a little more time. At a pit stop in Illinois, I picked some daisies to decorate our dashboard for the drive.
As soon as we returned from Indiana, Joey geared up for another few rounds of touring. Festival season is upon us, and I will again become a ‘tour widow’ for the next few months. We celebrated his departure by indulging in some Tex Mex while trying to determine the number of countries he’s visited in the past few years. I’m just watching those frequent flyer miles add up and thinking of the next big trip we will take together. Mexico, Iceland, and France are on my list.
They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb which was very true for me. My month started out with chilly days filled with coffee and knitting while snuggled under a blanket on the couch and ended with a warm weekend at my parents’ ranch, drinking Coronas in the sun with my mom and aunt. Joey has been away on tour since mid-February, but he had three days at home between European and US tours. We filled those three days with lots of Tex Mex, lots of record-listening, and watching an outdoor movie at our town square, nestled in the grass on a blanket and sharing a thermos of wine.
You can follow me on Instagram as Kimidawn24
I’m excited to finally share the article I wrote for the Spring 2013 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly! I’d like to add a note that the album that the article discusses, Israel Nash’s Rain Plans is now out via Loose Music in Europe.
As a knitter married to a touring musician, I try to join my husband on his travels as often as my schedule will allow and I always bring my knitting along for the journey. This particular trip finds us down in Texas Hill Country about an hour’s drive outside of Austin, Texas. We are here for two weeks while Joey records guitar for the upcoming Israel Nash album with some of our closest friends.
photo by Tim Underwood
The setting is perfect for recording an album: there are nine of us holed up in a big ranch house that is surrounded on all sides by tree and cactus-covered hills. The closest neighbor is over a mile away; too far away to be disturbed by any music that goes late into the night. The cathedral-ceilinged living room has been transformed into a recording studio; the cowhide rug on the floor is crisscrossed with cables running from the many guitars and amps to the mixing board and analog tape machine.
Photo by Tim Underwood
As the band sets up their gear, my friend Laura and I set up our gear. We are staking our claim to the two lounge chairs on the back patio that overlook the valley that provides a stunning view at sunset. It is an idyllic setup for us: the guys will record their album while we lounge within earshot of the music, knitting away and enjoying each other’s company. I’ve brought along a ball of tweedy yarn and some circular needles and a vague idea for a slouchy hat that I want to make.
The day fades quickly into night and I find myself knitting stitch after soothing stitch as I listen to the sounds of a song coming to life. The song they are working on has a dark and beautiful sound, and has most definitely been inspired by our isolated surroundings. It is the ideal soundtrack for knitting and watching the moon rise above the hills.
One afternoon we decide to go on a walkabout to tour the natural springs that are in the area. We hike down into the valley, careful of our footing as we walk over chalky white rocks and through dry branches and thorny grasses. There is an artist living nearby that creates intricate sculptures out of the flat rocks that are abundant in the area and we happen upon a few of her works and study them with appreciation. As I survey the many precisely-placed layers of rocks, I am reminded that much like recording an album or knitting, some of the best creations are made slowly by building layer upon layer, stitch upon stitch.
photo by Tim Underwood
As the days pass by, my hat is taking shape at a leisurely pace. I’m picking it up and putting it down often between dips in the swimming pool, walks to pick wildflowers or trips into town to refresh our stores of food. I’ll knit a few rounds as we’re all sitting around in the evenings, listening to the day’s work and discussing the songs left to be recorded. Just as I’m not in a rush to finish my hat, I’m not in a rush for my time here to be over, but before I know it I am binding off and weaving in the ends and packing my bags into the car to head home.
Our trip has been full of so many fun memories that are forever linked in my mind with the songs that were recorded while we were here. And when the album is released and I hear the songs again, you can bet I will also be listening closely to see if I can hear sound of my knitting needles clicking away in the background.
Oh December, you were harsh but beautiful. The month started out with Joey heading back out on tour and me and our little Henry-dog getting snowed in by a big ice storm. As temps dipped into the teens and everything was covered in six inches of solid ice, Henry and I cozied ourselves up as much as possible. I made giant pots of soup and drank lots of tea and knitted while Henry would snooze on my lap. We ventured out on the ice for a few walks to try to combat cabin fever, and even decorated the house for the upcoming Christmas holiday. (Yes, I covered everything in yarn pom poms!) As things finally started to thaw out, I wrapped a few small gifts to put under our tree and waited impatiently for Joey’s tour to wrap up. As it turns out, I couldn’t take the full three weeks away from Joey so I drove down to Austin to catch the band’s show one Friday night after work. I also got to visit with lots of friends that I haven’t seen in a while, which was really nice. We spent a few nice days with both of our families for the holidays and are now gearing up to head out for a couple of New Year’s shows in Aspen. (Thank goodness I get to tag along this time!) Now I’m trying to decide which handknit hat I should bring for the cold Colorado weather….
Happy New Year to you and thank you for reading!
you can find me on Instagram as Kimidawn24
This is the week when everyone can finally reveal what crafty things they’ve been making for Christmas gifts, right?
I only have one small handcrafted Christmas gift to show, but I was really pleased with the way it came out. I made my parents a set of coffee mugs emblazoned with their Sandybrook Ranch cattle brand. I created the brand in Illustrator and then printed it out and traced it onto the mugs using graphite paper and then filled in the design with black porcelain pen. I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes to set the ink and that was it!
My parents really liked the gift and I’m sure next time we go to visit they’ll be sipping their morning coffee out of their new Sandybrook Ranch mugs.
November started out with Joey still out on tour and me adjusting back to home life after my trip to visit him. The band played the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik and Joey brought me back some lopi wool as a souvenir. This leg of the tour ended with the guys playing two shows opening for Pearl Jam in Dallas and Oklahoma City and I went along for those shows. It was a good time and it was really fun to get to watch the guys play in front of such large crowds. I spent a little time working on charts for a cabled knitting pattern I’ve been working on, and decided I wanted to make a few tweaks to the cables I have been using. The design is going to be a really good one and I’m glad I went back and made the changes, but that also means I have to reknit an entire piece of the design and with the small amounts of knitting time I’ve had lately, it seems to be very slow going at the moment. I’ve also been enjoying having Joey back home for a few days before he heads out again until Christmas. Henry sure hates it when he leaves, so we make sure to spend lots of time snuggling and watching movies in bed when he’s away. We also got to spend a couple of nice days with family for Thanksgiving, which is always a good way to move into the month of December.
I arrived in London while Joey and the band were at the BBC recording an interview. I made my way to the venue for that night’s show, where the tour bus was parked and unloaded my bags. I decided to venture down Upper Street, knowing that Loop wasn’t too far away. While I was window shopping, I got a text from Joey saying that he was just a couple of blocks away so I headed back in his direction and spotted him quickly. We must have love-radar because he spotted me at almost the exact same moment. We had one of those movie-scene greetings, where time stands still and you’re hugging and kissing in the middle of a busy street in a fabulous city- it was pretty magical. Hand in hand, we strolled down towards Loop and popped in. I got to finally meet Meghan Fernandes and Lydia Gluck of the wonderful Pom Pom Quarterly, and Meghan helped me pick out a British yarn. (I snagged that gorgeous skein of hand-dyed BFL sock yarn from The Uncommon Thread shown above). Meghan also told me that Stephen West was knitting in their upstairs room, so we headed up to meet him as well. Stephen was very nice, knitting away as we all talked about music- it turned out he would be attending the Iceland Airwaves festival that Joey would be playing soon. We left the shop with my skein of beautiful British yarn and, sadly no pics with Meghan and Lydia or Stephen. (I blame the jet lag for not thinking to snap an iphone pic at least). Meghan and Lydia came to the show that night and I had a great time hanging out with them. It was so lovely to meet them both and I hope to work with them again soon.
It’s-a-small-knitterly-world-post-script:
Since I was unable to stay on tour with the band through their Iceland show, I sent Joey with the sole purpose of making sure to snag me some Lopi yarn while he was there. This morning he popped into a coffee shop to ask where he could buy some yarn, and who else was there but Stephen West, knitting away with the WestKnits Fun Squad? I now have a sweater’s worth of Lopi on its way home to the states with my wonderful knitwear-loving husband.
October was a really great month. I always love it because the change in seasons feels fresh and exhilarating but also because its my wedding anniversary month. I was feeling a little sad when I first realized months ago that Joey would be out on tour during our anniversary, but what better excuse for me to go on a trip to Europe than to celebrate 12 years of marriage with my love? I spent 7 days traveling with the band on the tour bus and had the most amazing time. Some of my favorite parts of the trip were just watching the guys doing their thing and playing some really wonderful music. I squeezed in a bit of knitting backstage and on the bus (the knitting pic above was taken while sitting in the artist’s lounge at the BBC!), but I mostly just soaked up all the sights and enjoyed some quality time with Joey.
Wow. I can’t believe it’s almost OCTOBER. Looking back at some of my Instagram snaps from September, I can see why the month passed by so quickly. Joey and Midlake are gearing up for the release of their new album* and just completed a mini-tour of the Southwest which ended with a two-night-stand of performances in our hometown. We also received a test vinyl pressing of the album and sat down with a glass of wine and listened to it in its entirety. It was a nice way to celebrate the end results of a lot of hard work. The band also has a feature article in the October issue of MOJO Magazine and proud wife that I am, I kept harassing the poor people at Barnes and Noble by calling them almost every day to ask if they’d gotten it in stock yet. It has finally arrived and I snagged a copy this week.
Knitting and design-wise I’ve been squeezing in a bit of stitching whenever I can, during my lunches at work and early on Saturday mornings with my coffee. I’m working on the Rekaviður hat pattern by Bristol Ivy and its coming out really nice. I also spent a day knitting with a couple of my lady friends, getting them both up and running on some fun fall knitting projects. I’m looking forward to a couple of calm days where I can work on a new design using some lovely Quince and Co Owl and all I can say is that THERE WILL BE CABLES.
I’ve really been enjoying the change of the seasons lately, even though its a rather slight change here in Texas. The skies are darker and darker every morning as I’m leaving for work and the evenings have a bit of a cool breeze wafting about. I’m very excited for fall to get here, and I’ll be clicking my needles making something warm and wooly when it arrives.
(*Antiphon is out in the US via ATO Records on November 5th and in the UK via BellaUnion on November 4th. You can pre-order it here and I highly recommend you check it out. It’s AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL.)
Love Is All You Knit 