loving today

handknitvwristwarmers
Originally uploaded by nancy cook.

I am loving these handknit wristwarmers I made last year from the Voodoo pattern on Knitty.com. I went with a black merino wool and a different gauge then recommended but, they came out perfect. I have been wearing them all winter. The pattern is very easy to follow.

wintergarden handbag

I'm about to embark on this project
Isn't this yarn dreamy.....



but, as I said I really am making efforts to only use yarn I have so mine will be with this yarn. The weight is bit off but, I think it should still be fine since it is a handbag.

Other than that, I'm going to try to make book club this afternoon but, we are off schedule today so it may not happen. I still need to finish the book but, I only have 35 pages left to read which is doable. The book is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie which isn't bad but, not wonderful either.

a letter box

I started this and forgot about it and then finished it yesterday. My mother-in-law Julia gave me two cigar boxes as well as some fabric last time I saw her. She knew I would put them to good use.

I thought a little about what to do with them.

One I made into what I called a birthday box for Matty's 1st birthday and covered with plaid fabric and made a collage from cut out letters from an old magazine (I'll add it to flickr at some point) to house his birthday cards.
I decided the other should be a letter box. I thought if I made a pretty box perhaps it will inspire me to write a letter, send a note. Many of us send holiday cards and thank you notes but the occasional just because note or letter is rare for me. As I said in my first post, I used to write a lot and had penpals all over the world.

Some details..

On the inside cover I collaged:

-an old postcard
-a butterfly postcard
-a russian vocabulary card showing the english side
-a fabric maple leaf I cut out from the fabric Julia gave me
- a tag from Papered Together with two deers... also responsible for the beautiful stationary that is tied with black yarn inside the box(hard to see)
-a Fashioned by Nancy Cook sew-in-tag


Inside the box
-the stationary mentioned above has a thank you note (included for free) personalized staionary with a spinning wheel and a look what I made you card
-my fleur-de-lys stamp and stamp pad
-some pens including my Father's ink well pen from grade school that he just gave me
-a box with some felt flowers I made and paper flowers I bought
-animal block print cards I used for thank you notes for Matty's 1st birthday
-and of course some stamps.


Now get writing...

happy valentine's day

Happy Valentine's Day chicks and chickies! I hope you all have a sweet day with your love(s)!

Can you resist these sweet cheeks?



Here are the goodies all pretty on the table (most are from Grammie who came to visit yesterday):



I couldn't resist a closeup of the beautiful dark chocolate covered strawberries and dark chocolate heart pops.




Mick says I also have these Frozen Charlottes on the way!

stripes and strawberries

Last night I made this. I've been wanting to try a zipped pouch for some time. I get a little freaked out sometimes for no apparent reason with certain new projects. If I am nervous I get a little mental block with directions so the first few steps I did wrong and had to tear out and start over with a new zipper. In the end I got this cute red and white striped pouch with blue gingham lining.

It actually was quite easy so I can see myself making this again.

I made a little felt strawberry as well but, I think I will try a new method with that next time.

Here is a shot of the inside. I followed a tutorial I found on this site

corners of my home-kitchen

I've seen a lot of blogs talk about corners of their home and I think it is kind of neat to peek into people's houses and get a glimse of their private spaces.



So, I thought I would begin to share some pictures around the house. Today, I've decided to show you one of my kitchen walls. I've grouped a bunch of little things together:
-a retro cookbook cover with a cherry pie graphic
-a collage piece I did a few years ago of cake candles and a actress holding a cake (guess which actress...),
-a vintage chalkboard which currently reads, Tea Time and 2 lokolo cherries hanging on top
-2 vintage postcards
1) 3 black cats: which reads- 2 little girls loved one little boy
2) a early 1900's scene of a man overlooking a couple kissing which reads: Peek-A Boo
-a cigarette paper graphic with the evolution of an apple saw fly
-a asian inspired notecard with ladies and paper lanterns
-a hand holding a heart which reads: when this you see remember me
-then there is the odd spanish lady that changes into different people depending how you fold her she can become a mexican man with a hat or another lady
-a french graphic with a girl holding Maxime products- thes, cafes, cacaos, chocolats

P.S. the handkerchiefs hang above this and I forgot to mention the light switch cover which if you are interested is images of fruit, flowers and chickens

-Oh, and the yellow capelet I made a little different- a bit longer and a shorter collar with a pink ribbon.

mini - mini capelet

The capelet/shrug has revealed itself as a mini - mini capelet. It worked out great for a little one... 1-3 maybe 4 year old. I tested it out on Matty (almost 15 months) but I just couldn't take a picture of him in it. I think that might come back to haunt me when he is older. So, you need to imagine this on a little girl until I get a model. I'm telling you it is super cute. I added the little felted berries which I sewed to a wool branch and leaves I made and attached. The green ribbon tie finishes it off so nice but maybe I should cut it shorter? I'm already at work on another one in yellow right now.