Category Archives: Music

Feb 28 2013
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Antics, designing, Dogs, Family, knitting, Music, Texas, writing

Insta February

Insta february

 

February was a month where Joey and I both found ourselves working hard.  He has spent lots of time working at Redwood Studio- recording music and in the down time finishing some of their last bits of studio construction.  They are putting the final touches on the “apartment” side of the studio, so that out of town musicians can have a place to stay when they record an album there.  They held a grand opening event, with two of the artists they have been working with performing live for a small crowd.  The night had a magical energy about it and it was so good to get to finally share the fruits of our labor with others and see them enjoy it so much.

I’ve been working on drafting patterns for a few of my latest designs and also making a big office move that has sapped lots of my nightly knitting energy.  (Hello, exhausted 9pm bedtimes and doggie snuggles!)  I celebrated a birthday and also celebrated the release of my pattern and article in Pom Pom.  We’ve had some house guests the past week- a good friend from our NYC days who has since moved to CA, and a new friend from England, who are both in town to record at Redwood.

Things are good.  Things are good.

Feb 01 2013
2 Comments
Antics, bags, designing, Dogs, Family, knitting, Music, NYC, shawls/wraps, Texas, travel, writing

Insta-January

Insta january

January was a bit of a whirlwind for me. Knit-wise, I started off by photographing and releasing my hat pattern, Borlänge, and I made some nice progress on a few upcoming designs. Travel-wise, there was a super quick weekend trip to Texas Hill Country to visit with some dear friends and Joey took a weeklong music trip to NYC during the coldest week ever. In our downtime, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner party with good friends that ended with lots of laughs and even a bit of singing and dancing. There was also a nice long Saturday afternoon spent at Redwood studio: me knitting, Joey working on guitar parts for a friend’s record, and Henry lounging around on the cozy shag rug. Unfortunately, January ended on a sad note with the loss of our sweet, sweet Daisy and my parents’ gentle dog Fly. We’ve all been a bit broken hearted this week as we had to unexpectedly say goodbye to these wonderful dogs that brought so much love and happiness to our lives. But as Elizabeth Zimmerman says, “properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit, either.”

and I’ve got some knitting to do….

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Jan 09 2013
3 Comments
Antics, designing, Family, Hats, knitting, Music, travel

New Pattern: Borlänge

Borlänge is a fitted beanie knitted with three sea-inspired shades of Rowan Felted Tweed DK and embellished with a pom pom and an anchor motif.


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Borlänge was inspired by Joey’s travels through Sweden and Norway. During his time there, he was struck by the prevalence of anchors in Scandinavian culture.  The anchor is a strong symbol of hope, stability, and steadfastness, and it was in Borlänge, Sweden where he played the Peace & Love Music Festival that he got a tattoo of an anchor to memorialize his travels and to celebrate the stable and anchored feeling that our love gives him when we are apart.  I knitted my love into this hat, with an anchor of my own to keep us connected when he is away.

Borlange 3

Materials

Three shades of DK or sport weight yarn (Rowan Felted Tweed DK suggested; 191 yards of Clay, 50 yards of Camel, and 2 yards of Seasalter)

1 set of US 4 (3.5 mm) 40″ circular needles for magic loop method

1 set of US 5 (3.75 mm) double pointed needles or

1 set of US 5 (3.75 mm) 40″ circular needles for magic loop method

tapestry needle

6 stitch markers

Finished Size

One Size; to comfortably fit an adult head of 19-23 inch circumference.  Finished hat has a circumference of 19 inches and a depth of 8.75 inches

BUY NOW or view the pattern page on Ravelry

2 closeup

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Jan 01 2013
1 Comment
Antics, designing, Dogs, Family, knitting, Music, Texas, Yarn

Insta-December

Insta december

December was a great way to finish off the year.  There were piano serenades, scooter rides with my love, fancy cocktails, dog snuggles, walks in the woods, more music, “fireside” cuddles with Henry, warm chunky-knit sweaters, family time at the ranch, SNOW, a trip to a cabin in the woods with some good friends, a little bit of knitting, and a toast to good things to come.

Happy New Year- 2013 is going to be a good one!

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Nov 18 2012
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Antics, Books, Cooking, crochet, Embroidery, knitting, Music, Other Crafty Things, Yarn

Pom Pom Quarterly

Have you heard of the new knitting/craft/food/drink/music/art magazine Pom Pom Quarterly yet?

I came across Pom Pom on Ravelry and was instantly smitten with what these lovely London ladies are doing; this is a beautifully designed/laid out/photographed and printed magazine that is so different than your typical knitting mag.

The patterns are interesting and ones that you’d actually want to knit AND wear and they are photographed and styled so beautifully.  Plus, there are food and cocktail recipes, a bit of music love and some great articles that you want to read while snuggled under your favorite knitted throw.  (That’s what I did!)

There is a lot more to this great new publication, but I don’t want to show you everything here, because I think you should hop on over and buy an issue or subscribe and support what these fabulous ladies are making.  Something this great doesn’t come along too often, but I’m very glad to see that it has.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nov 13 2012
2 Comments
Family, Music, Texas, Uncategorized

Redwood Studio

In May, my husband Joey and our good friend McKenzie started renovating an old garage workshop with the plan to turn it into a recording studio. It was the ultimate DIY job- an insane amount of hard work done on a shoestring budget. So much time and work went into the construction of this studio and with the help of some amazing friends and family, Redwood Studio has finally come to be.  I’m excited to share these pics of it with you.

Sep 06 2012
1 Comment
Antics, Dogs, Family, Hats, knitting, Music, Texas

Hill Country Holiday

Joey is recording the new Israel Nash Gripka album so we are out in Texas Hill Country for the week.  There are eight of us holed up in a big ranch house surrounded by tree-covered hills and cacti for miles.

The cathedral-ceilinged living area has been turned into a recording studio, where the music goes late into the night.  Last night I sat in a hammock on the patio and listened to the sounds and watched the moon rise.

I have some knitting- a simple slouchy hat- but like me, this knit is taking it easy this week.  There are good times to be had, pools to swim in, trails to explore, and music to be made.

 

Aug 28 2011
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Antics, Crewel, Embroidery, Family, Music

Sneak Peek

Every last stitch has been stitched, and the frame has been purchased.  All that’s left is to acquire some additional framing supplies and my Daisychain ABC’s sampler will be complete!

Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait to see the finished product for just a little while. You see, I just don’t have time to pick up those additional supplies and frame this puppy because later this week I am flying to Dublin and then traveling by TOUR BUS (!!) with Joey as he plays guitar with Midlake at festivals in both Ireland and England.  I am so excited to finally get to join him during some of his travels.  I guarantee there will be lots of pictures when I get back and a fully-framed ABC sampler.  Until then, please enjoy a little sneak peek:

 

Jul 04 2011
1 Comment
Antics, Dogs, Music

Weekend Getaway

Joey and I were invited up to a friend’s place in East Burke, Vermont for the holiday weekend and we had an absolutely wonderful time.  It was so relaxing to enjoy the beautiful mountains, fresh air, and a sunny day around the pool with good friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.  I needed that.

Oct 03 2010
1 Comment
Antics, cardigans, designing, Dogs, Family, knitting, Music, NYC

Life As of Late

Fall is in the air in NYC today- crisp weather that just begs for a hand-knit cardigan.  Unfortunately, my cardigan has been languishing around looking like this for over two weeks now:

I knew that my needles weren’t long enough to pick up stitches all the way up one side, across the back neckline, and back down the other side.  So I put it aside and considered my options.  I considered buying the little metal connector piece that KnitPicks sells to combine two cables and create a long cable, but then I didn’t want to pay shipping for something that only costs $1.99.  Of course, I could always buy some more yarn…. but I am really trying to not buy yarn unless I have a specific project in mind.  I considered dropping by a couple of yarn shops to pick up a long circular needle, but again, talked myself out of buying another pair of needles that I don’t really need.  So I started picking up stitches one night just to see how crowded it would get.  Well, you can see where I stopped.  The cardigan has since lay dormant while I await my KnitPicks order (yes, I finally decided that the connector was still the least expensive way to go.)

In the mean time, this fall weather still has me itching to knit things.  I made another Ripley hat, this time in black for Joey:

And speaking of Joey, he’s been out on tour since the end of August, playing guitar for Midlake.  He’s having a wonderful time and playing some beautiful music.  They played in NYC last week and I was so proud of my talented husband.

Joey, in center, standing

In other fun husband-music-related news, his primary project, The Fieros just recently signed a deal with a Japanese record label and their album is now being sold in stores in Japan and on Amazon Japan.

He still has a lot more touring to do- they’re in North Carolina now, heading down through Tennessee and will play the Austin City Limits festival next weekend.  He’ll be back in NYC for a week (which happens to be our anniversary week!) and then he’ll head out again for another three weeks in the UK.  He’s going to get to go to some amazing places that I can’t even imagine getting to see- London, Paris, Dublin, Holland, Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, Turkey… its just completely unimaginable.

Back to the knitting….  I’ve also started a Wurstwarmer for Henry.  I’m having to size this one up since Henry isn’t a tiny dachshund, but I think this one will come out pretty cute.  I’m using a heathered charcoal color of Peace Fleece.  I think it will be classy and sophisticated.  Cause we all know Henry is one sophisticated hound.

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