AfricanKelli

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I left a few of these on neighbor’s doors and handed out a couple others to those I could catch in person; my parents are still friends with neighbors they had in their very first home after getting married. There is something endearing about knowing who lives near you, and not just so I can borrow their tools or take care of their dogs when on vacation.

My last home had a constant stream of changing neighbors; I hope to plant some new seeds of friendship on this street.

~K

Are you a Simon and Garfunkel fan? I grew up in a home that worshiped the likes of Prince, George Clinton and some lady named Apollonia. We never, ever listened to hair bands (which is why to this day I don’t understand the Bon Jovi fascination of many of my friends), or folk.  My mother was both the keeper of the family stereo and the car radio. Funny, today when I put together mixed CDs and am rocking out during my commute, I regularly have Prince leading into something folksy. And both make me scream at the top of my lungs.

“Cecilia! You are breaking my heart!”

“She wore a raspberry beret! The kind you find at a second-hand store.”

{You’re signing along, aren’t you? You’re welcome.}

Most of my mixes make absolutely no sense; they are simply songs of a dozen genres that I love. Often they include Yo Yo Ma, who I swear is divinely talented, Ani DiFranco — a college favorite, Vampire Weekend, Andrew Bird, Griffin House, GirlTalk (new album out!) and Simon and Garfunkle. I had a friend tease me once that every single CD I ever made had a song from Paul Simon’s Graceland included. Well, of course. I’m pretty sure music doesn’t come in a finer model than Paul Simon signing along about Arizona in Africa, with an African choir. (Not a stretch to see why I love this album, is it?)

Really, I have Mini to thank for opening my eyes in high school to Mr. Simon and Mr. Garfunkel. She choreographed a dance for our church youth group set to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and I thought, “huh. That tune is pretty good. And it doesn’t include a man humping a purple piano, wearing heels. I should give this folk thing a shot.” The song, “The Sound of Silence” is one I’ve spent some time thinking of lately. I was reminded of it when I read this quote by Mother Teresa, “Be still. It is in silence we are able to touch souls.”

Still. I am not still often enough. Nor am I silent. But when I can steal a moment to knit, simply listening to the click of the needles, I can find an internal silence that is my true source for creativity and happiness. It is usually then I turn the radio back on and find my groove.

~K

*Scarf knit for a coworker’s boyfriend, by request. Malabrigo yarn, size 9 needles, 3 stitch rib.

What to do with those handmade cards you buy at the local coffee shop? Or order from Paper Source? Or buy in bulk from Etsy? (Or perhaps my favorite new local shop: See SawDesigns. Hello, adorable letterpress creations!)

How about a fabric correspondence envelope, with space for both your cards, stamps and your favorite pen? You could use this to clean up your stationery drawer, or throw it in your suitcase when you travel to keep postcards and an address book handy.

{Yes, I actually travel like this. And yes, if you are in my address book, you’ve more than likely received your fair dose of correspondence over the years.}

Let’s start with fabric selection. Pick two pieces of fabric that are decor weight to give this some heft.

Supplies:

- 2 pieces of decor weight fabric, interior 10 ” x 14 ”

- 2 pieces of decor weight fabric, exterior 10 ” x 7″

- 2 pieces of lightweight fusible interfacing,  one, 10″ x 14″; the other 10″ x 7″

- 1 fabulous button, with needle and thread to attach

- general sewing notions: scissors, machine, ruler, pencil, etc.

Directions:

All seams are 1/2 inch.

Cut your exterior and interior pieces, along with your interfacing. Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of your exterior pieces. Place the exteriors (with interfacing now attached) and interior right sides together. You’ll have two stacks. The 10″ side is the bottom. The 14″/7″ side is the height.

Now, we are going to cut the larger set of pieces  to make the point of the envelope. Pin the 10″ x 14″ exterior and interior piece together.  Use a ruler and a dull pencil and measure 7″ from the bottom of the sandwiched pieces. The wrong side of the either the exterior or the interior should be facing up. Draw a line across the 10″ width at the 7″ (from the bottom up) mark. Now, draw a line from top to bottom at the 5″ mark. You should have two lightly drawn lines across one piece of your fabric.

Starting at the left corner of the 7″ mark and the left-side of the fabric, gently draw a line to the top 5″ mark, creating one side of the envelope point. Repeat on the other side of the fabric, creating the other side. You’ve now drawn a perfect triangle. Trim your envelope pieces accordingly:

You started with rectangles.

Now you have four pieces, two with a triangle top.

Let’s sew these pieces together. As per most sewing patterns, the key is to always sew things right sides together and leave a hole so you can turn it right-side out when you are done. Starting with the smaller 10″ x & 7″ pieces, place right sides together and sew only the top edge closed. (see the above photo) Press with your iron, turn right-side out, repeat seam with a top stitch.

Now, leaving a 3″ hole along the bottom 10″ piece — we are going sew the envelope portion together. Place the 10″ x 14″ (pointy envelope) exterior piece and interior pieces right-sides together. Sew along the outer edge, leaving the 3″ hole along the bottom. Place the other two pieces (10″ x 7″) right-sides together and repeat, leaving the same hole. Clip the corners. Turn both sets right sides out. Using your iron, push out your seams as far as you can. Match up both sets of fabric along the bottom edge (both with 3″ holes). Carefully turn these in and pin. Pin around the entire outer edge of the envelope and top stitch, enclosing your 3″ turning holes. You should now have one giant envelope.

To create pockets for the pen and cards, measure in 2″ from the left-hand edge of your fabric. Run a seam from the bottom to the top of the pocket section (only 7″ tall, not the entire 14″ triangle point!). You’ve now got one large pocket — on the right — for cards and stamps, and one little pocket — on the left, for your pen.

Now, pick a coordinating button to sew on the front of the flap. This is simply for decoration, and to provide a bit of weight to keep the flap down. You won’t create a button hole, so your button doesn’t need to be practical. Go wild!

Add a personal label if you’d like, fill with stationery and a pen and enjoy!

Yay! Letters! Who doesn’t love letters (especially love letters)!

-k

Come to find out, I didn’t have nearly as many tomatoes for a canning day as I had planned. Also? I didn’t have any more canning jars or the energy to start an extensive project. I was sidelined late last week with an inner ear infection that was by far the most painful experience I’ve had in a very long time. So, instead of laboring in a hot kitchen this weekend, I used my tomatoes for a much quicker project and used my time curled up on the couch with Netflix and a certain furry friend.

Kili (Kilimanjaro) is just about the sweetest dog you can imagine. We spent most of the weekend together while her parents were away. She did not like the sound of the blender, but did enjoy the copious amounts of cuddle and snuggle time afterward.

As for the salsa? It was fresh, easy and I threw in whatever I could find, including those tomatoes and some cilantro from the garden. I’ve decided life is just better with copious amounts of home grown condiments and boisterous puppies. And antibiotics. And Advil. And Diet Coke.

I’d better stop there.

~K

There was a knitting frenzy underway the last couple of days. A knitting frenzy that makes me blush a bit with confusion. I simply don’t understand why people stare like I’m crazy for knitting in public. It’s KNITTING. Not porn. Not flossing my teeth. Not clipping my toe nails. We are talking about two innocent needles and a ball of yarn. It’s a silly hobby and certainly not that archaic. I’m not carving wood, staining glass or weaving a basket. (Although, to be honest, those do sound fun.) Knitting in a bowling alley, at a stop light, waiting between yoga classes, before church starts? This makes as much social sense as everyone on a smart phone in the same settings. But I end up with a cute hat.

I went to a fun baby shower yesterday and have several more I’m looking forward to. I mentioned a few days ago that I wanted to replicate a cupcake hat I’d seen online. Here is my take — complete with a cherry on top. (Cupcake Baby Hat pattern pdf, for those interested.)

And this adult bell hat is another reproduction from an REI find for my friend Tiffany. She found a hat at the store she really liked, but it was stupidly priced. She took a camera photo and asked if I could make something similar. I don’t know how to crochet, so I called my mom in Texas and we agreed to work on it together. I knit the cap, mailed it to my mama and she added the crochet edge. It is one of my favorite colors and I hope it will serve Tiff well in the cold Midwest. I’m hoping she sends a photo!

~K