Here is the French School Girl Cardigan modeled by Devan who is sitting on the deck off the kitchen.  Why the title?  I wanted a cardigan that was sturdy, warm and practical which this is.  I would like to call your attention to the pockets.  I have almost decided that I will only make clothing with pockets from now on because they are so intensely useful -- well maybe not everything -- I'm not sure how useful they would be in socks for example -- but for nearly everything.  School Girl Cardigan seemed to me to imply a certain utilitarian quality, a kind of everyday wearability.  Which is a quality that this sweater certainly has.  This is the second version for me.  The first version has been worn so continuously that it has begun to show signs of wearing out which is why I created and recorded the making of this second version.  I need another one as backup and since I found it so comfortable and useful I thought you might want to make one for yourself.

If you look at the picture below you will see why I threw French into the title.  While I was willing to have a certain frumpy quality to the front of the sweater in the interest of comfort and practicality I also wanted a kind of flirtatious feminine walking away aspect.  That is why I incorporated the pleats and the set in waist band. This is a very feminine sweater and the adaptations that you can make to the back of the sweater allow you to make it as flattering as possible to your own.....aspect.

I just finished up a Doll Making class at Breakwater school here in Portland.  I had some reservations about the ability of 7 - 9 year olds to do this kind of hand sewing.  These are dolls based on the classic Waldorf doll, and in that curriculum are usually done by 8th graders.  I am very happy to report that my reservations were completely unfounded.  These three girls did a remarkable job over the course of this 8 week project.  They had great committment and very good focus, even after the weather turned beautiful and the spring breezes were wafting seductively through the open windows.

This lovely little face belongs to Lily.  You can't see it in the photograph but Lily has gorgeous green eyes, and so does her doll.  We tried to make each doll look like her maker.  Lily made the pants and shirt and we got them done just in the nick of time.

This is Nami and her doll.  Nami came into class one day late, and missed another session because of a school commitment.  The fact that she was able to complete her doll and get her dressed made me very proud of her.  We finished the dress and popped it on her doll with no minutes to spare, but we did get it done.  I love this picture of them.  They both share that beautiful, serene expression that is so Nami.

I'm really looking forward to doing another Doll Making class at Breakwater in the fall session.  Maybe we'll do a doll dressmaking class as well.

For company I have my friend Beatrice Gilbert who is there in the background spinning and selling her pottery.  She quilts, spins, cooks and throws pots, and I'm sure that she is extremely talented at others things that I don't know about yet.  But on Wednesdays she is at the Farmer's Market selling her pottery.  Up above you can see me holding my Beatrice Gilbert cup which is filled with coffee from the Public Market.  The coffee is good, the atmosphere is wonderful, the company is great and, I can assure you, the coffee cup enhances the entire experience.

I started making dolls for my daughter, Devan, when we were living on the Big Island in Hawaii.  I wanted to make her a soft, natural doll that she could tell her stories to.  My dolls usually have hand dyed cotton skin, wool/alpaca/mohair hair styles and are stuffed with wool so that when a child holds them their body warmth is reflected back -- which makes the doll feel alive.  The faces are embroidered on.  The clothes are made from my scrap bag which is made up both new and recycled fabrics with natural fibers.

In Hawaii the people are almost all mixed ethnicity....and the children are beautiful.  So the dolls were always multi cultural and usually reflected the appearance of the children around me.  The doll on the right is based on a fuzzy haired blonde child I taught at Malamalama Waldorf School in Keaau.  She was a quiet, mild mannered girl for the most part but her crazy hair hinted at hidden energies that would occasionally erupt in spinning, flying dances.

My son Blake and I go to breakfast at Bintliff's in Portland, across the street from the Post Office, on Park Street.  We go there every week to talk about family, politics, the economy, my work, his work, the latest and best movie (Avatar), book, TV show.  We have determined, after a little bit of shopping around, that we are completely committed to Bintliff's as the best breakfast place in Portland, in Maine, and possibly even in the entire USA.  The food is wonderful, the service is warm and friendly and the coffee is great.  But as you can see from this picture it may very well be the conversation that is the real draw for me.

The only connections I can make with my fiber in this entry is the sweater, which is made from Peacefleece and designed by me, and the expression on my face when I am listening to my boy Blake, who is one of the most fun things I have made.

I have been invited to do an exhibit of my quilts at The Salt Exchange at 245 Commercial Street in Portland.  The opening will be Friday evening, January 15 and if you haven't been to The Salt Exchange yet now is your perfect excuse to check it out.  If you have been to The Salt Exchange you don't need an excuse over and above the seductive food and the amazing wines.  But possibly the quilts will enhance the experience for you.  The Salt Exchange hours are 12:00-2:30 for lunch and 5:30-9:00 Tues-Thursday, 5:30-10:00 Friday and Saturday. February 5 we will be part of the First Friday Art Walk with wine and canapes for the Artist Reception from 5:30-8:00.  You can also have Dinner with the Artist (me!) from 8:00-10:00.  We recommend reservations for dinner, but the reception is free and everyone's welcome.

These are sneak peeks  of some of what you will be seeing.  The one above is called Conversation and is 10 feet square.  The birch trees are life sized.

And here is Le'ia which is the Hawaiian word for Abundance.  Again Le'ia is 10 feet square and the leaves and fruit of the Ulu (breadfruit) are life sized.  Ulu is the symbol of plentiful food, family and happiness in Hawaiian culture

And here is a close up of Cotton, again a 7 foot square quilt.  You can read more about Cotton on this site.

The show Threads of Meaning will be running through April 3.   I hope that you will find an opportunity to come by and see it and to enjoy the wonderful experience that The Salt Exchange has created for us in Portland.

And here is a close up of leaves and nupps stretched out in all their glory.

Those who know me have heard me say that I keep two kinds of knitting going at all times.  Oatmeal knitting which can be done while watching a movie and Thinking Woman's knitting which requires close attention, a quiet room and lots of thinking.  This shawl was a bit of both.  It required close attention, a quiet room and lots of thinking for the beginning 10 inches or so whilst I learned the pattern.  After that I could do it while watching movies but I kept the book with me at all times for reassurance (which I usually don't do).  Also, when Joe (my husband) came over during commercial breaks to get some attention I sometimes yelled out desperately "Lace! Lace! Lace!" to give myself a few seconds to get the knitting out of the way so affection could ensue without dropping stitches.  Dropping stitches while making lace is a disaster.....although I have heard of these things called Life Lines.  I'll have to look into that.

I have used garter stitch in this sweater for three reasons.  1) Garter stitch is simple and soothing to work since you knit every row.

2) Garter stitch lies perfectly flat so you donʼt
have to fuss with a curling edge on your sweater.

3) Garter stitch makes a ridge or horizontal line of bumps every other row on both sides.  So you can use the ridges to
keep count of where you are in the pattern.

I recommend sock yarn for baby sweaters because it is

1) washable,

2) has wool content for warmth and

3) comes in better colors than typical baby yarn.  I recommend a hand dyed yarn for this sweater since the garter stitch is most beautiful when the yarn has some subtle color changes.

The pattern is available on Ravelry

I have some hand dyed sock yarns available on my Etsy site