texas | Love Is All You Knit

Sep 30 2013

Insta September

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.)

Tagged denton, fall, harvest moon, knitting, midlake, texas, wool, yarn

Mar 28 2013

1 Comment

Antics, bunnies, wool

Bunny Love: A Wool Story

I’ve shared stories before about the cottontail rabbits that live in the area near our house. Joey and I are constantly seeing bunnies in our yard or in our neighbors’ yards, and we get such a kick out of all the bunny sightings. Earlier this week Henry, our disinterested rabbit dog/lazy basset hound was sniffing around out back and he snuffled upon a bunny nest!

About five or so teensy babies were cuddled together in a little burrow covered with dried leaves and grasses and bits of bunny fluff. It has still been pretty cold in our area the past few nights and my heart was melting thinking about these tiny little buns in their nest, when I came up with an idea. I remembered reading (and thoroughly enjoying) the Yarn Harlot’s stories about the wool-thieving squirrel that kept running off with bits of her freshly washed fleece any time she would leave it outside to dry in the sunshine. I thought that if a squirrel appreciated the warmth and comfort wool could provide, that perhaps this mama bun might appreciate a little wool on these chilly nights as well. After scouring my yarn cabinet for a colorful bit of wool roving, I quietly and carefully left it sitting near the nest. All day yesterday while at work I was thinking about the baby bunnies and wondering if mama bun would appreciate the little wooly gift I left for her. As soon as I got home, I snuck a peek:

The wool had been appreciatively snuggled down, insulating the entrance to the bunny burrow. I lifted a leaf that was laying on top and got a glimpse of warm snuggly baby buns and my heart melted again. Fellow wool-lovers, we’re on to something.

Tagged bunny, rabbit, spring, texas, wool, yarn

Mar 06 2013

2 Comments

Antics, Family, travel

Love and Coffee Mugs

Joey and I have amassed a collection of coffee mugs that tell a little story of our lives. It wasn’t an intentional collection, but every time he leaves for a tour he comes back with a little something from whatever fabulous country or city he has visited, and the souvenirs that see the most use are always the mugs. I have a few special ones in the collection too and I was noticing the other day how we tend to pick out certain mugs for each other, and that there may be little unspoken messages behind our selections.

When I’m pouring the coffee I always think something along the lines of “oh he gets the Union Jack cause he’s going to London soon and I’ll take the knitting one because I plan to do tons of knitting today” or “I feel like tea and I’m going to drink it out of my London tea cup and since that one is little, Joey gets the little one from Sweden. He loves Sweden.”

When he pours the coffee, he tends to make mine in the Love Is All You Knit mug and his in either the Amsterdam mug or maybe the Don’t Mess With Texas. Sometimes he’ll bring me coffee in the little mug from Holland with the Dutch girl and boy leaning in for a kiss. And when he is on tour, I tend to drink from a mug that is geographically close to wherever he is traveling. Yes, there has been an “oh he’s in Spain, so I’m drinking from Barcelona today,” and I’ve even drank from his J- initial cup to feel extra close while he was away.

Our subconscious mug-selection habits may be a little silly, but one thing is for sure: our cups are always filled with love.

Tagged amsterdam, barcelona, coffee, holland, london, love, mugs, spain, sweden, tea, texas, travel

Feb 05 2013

3 Comments

designing, Hats, knitting, Texas, travel, writing

Hill Country Hat

Image via Pom Pom

The article I wrote for Pom Pom Issue 4: Verdant Stitches chronicles a trip to Texas Hill Country, where Joey and I stayed in a big ranch house with some of our good friends while the guys were recording an album. The issue is available HERE and also contains a bonus pattern for my Hill Country Hat, which I knitted during the trip.

Image via Pom Pom

Be sure to check out the preview of the other lovely patterns in this issue of Pom Pom. They are so gorgeous, you will surely want to knit them all.

Tagged beanies, hats, hill country, knitting, pom pom quarterly, texas, yarn

Feb 01 2013

2 Comments

Antics, bags, designing, Dogs, Family, knitting, Music, NYC, shawls/wraps, Texas, travel, writing

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….

Tagged dogs, elizabeth zimmerman, knitting, music, NYC, texas

Dec 08 2012

A Walk in the Woods

Today Joey and I went for a walk at a nature preserve near our house. It was so amazing walking down a winding trail covered in fallen leaves while looking up at massive trees arching over our heads. It was just what I needed to make me feel centered again.

We also took advantage of our beautiful surroundings to take photos for my newest design. I’m working on the pattern now and having it test knitted. I can’t wait to share it with you. Here’s a sneak peek: