hello, sunshine.

It's no secret that I love yellow. Canary, lemon, goldenrod, mustard, and butter are all shades that make me smile. So, I wanted to celebrate the sunshine and upcoming summer with a series of yellow vignettes around my apartment. 

The first vignette I created is on one of my living room end tables. It features a bowl of yarn, initial blocks, a mustard tin, a memory jar, a glove mold that is just the size of my hands (extra small), and Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." The memory jar, in case you're wondering, is the jar that I chuck all of my event tickets into--tickets from movies, plays, concerts, ballgames, etc. I'm a saver, but not a scrapbooker. This easy storage arrangement works for me because it keeps all my tickets together and on display, but requires no effort on my part. 

The second vignette is in my phone nook. Yellow books, a button jar, a crocheted stone, and scrabble letters. These are a few of my favorite things!

I couldn't resist posting another photo of the yellow yarn bowl. It holds so many wonderful possibilities...

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What's making you happy today?

this moment: three beers full

a moment from this week that i'd like to savor.

find more moments on soulemama's blog.

heidi braids

playing around with my suddenly (realized) long hair. this is what a year without a haircut looks like--not too bad when it's all tucked up in heidi braids (via cup of jo).

before i grew out my hair, i rocked a bob for quite a few years. my hair was so short!

there is a salon appointment in my near future, but just for a trim because i like having long hair.

i see loads more braids for me this summer. take a look at the other lovely looks joanna has rounded up.

doesn't it make you want to wear a braid more often?

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ps i had to repost this because the original disappeared when blogger was down. sorry if you tried to comment before and couldn't. the comment section should be working now.

can't stop starting

A sweater in its infancy

The call of new projects keeps beckoning. I keep relenting. Or rather embracing. The beginning of projects, that time when individual supplies (yarn + needle) become something more than they are, is my absolute favorite part of crafting. It's magic.

This past week I've been knitting a red Rusted Root sweater for summer. The yarn is a cotton/wool blend that stays cool in my hands even in the hot humid weather that signals summer in the Ohio River valley is fast-approaching. This is the first time I've tried knitted lace. It's not nearly as intimidating as I expected it to be. Nothing really is if you take things one step (or stitch) at a time.

I am still working on my monkey socks and my Noro scarf, but I wouldn't let myself start a second sweater until I had finished the first. And I did finish it! I've been holding out on you, though, waiting until I get some photos that do it justice. If you're on ravelry, you can get a sneak peek.

The last of the knitting news is that my friend Jennifer is coming over tomorrow for her first knitting lesson. I taught her how to crochet earlier this year; she's a quick learner. I'm excited to share the knitting love.

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In the past week I've started no less than five books. My attention is everywhere these days and nowhere. I read a cumulative 14 pages before I finally picked up one that I plan on finishing--Annie Dillard's The Maytrees. I'm surprised it took me so long to start this novel because Dillard is one of my favorite authors. I love Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, An American Childhood, and Teaching a Stone to Talk. She knows how to describe nature, noticing small details and recalling natural histories that I've never heard. I'm not so far into The Maytrees yet (see my earlier note about lack of attention), but I'll let you know how it goes. The blurb describes it as the optimistic story of long-lasting love. I think I'm going to like it.

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I'm participating in Ginny's yarn along today. Check out her blog to see what others are up to.

weekend snippets: kentucky in may

derby drink

I am having trouble getting back into the swing of blogging. I thought it would be no problem. School would end, and I'd immediately kick up my blogging frequency. Instead I've been dragging my feet. Of course blogging has been on my mind. Anyone who blogs can probably tell you that the question "Should I blog this?" crosses her mind like ten times a day. But my answer to that question lately has been, "No, too boring for the blog." All the things I've been doing have meaning to me--lunches, dinners, and teas with friends, derby parties, coffee dates, hours of knitting--but I'm having a hard time coming up with things to share here. I'm starting small. Scenes from my Kentucky Derby/Mother's Day weekend (a very good weekend indeed!):

my sister and my hat on derby day

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lettuce in mom's garden. we spent time on mother's day looking at all the new sprouts in her garden.

i found these prints in the mud. is that one near the top a raccoon?

glad to see my old wagon is being put to use carting firewood.

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I hope you all had a great weekend and are having a wonderful week. If you've got any tips for getting back my blogging pizazz, please let me know. 

How do you keep your blogging spirits up? And what would you like to see more of on Field Wonderful?

yarn along: noro striped scarf

*yarning along with Ginny today*

I needed something soothing. Big yarn. No fiddly bits. Two needles, preferably straight. The Noro Striped scarf fit the bill. I found a ball of Noro silk garden and half a skein of melon-colored Cascade 220 cozying up together in a bowl. The colors looked great together--pinks, greens, and purples. So I tucked the supplies in my bag yesterday and got to work. The emerging stripes make me so happy. This will be a great project to have in my basket for times when I need to relax.

The book, well, I just can't get enough knitting these days so I picked up At Knit's End from the library. It's a quick read and mildly entertaining. My brain wanted a vacation, so I gave in. I also just finished Gathering Blue, a young adult novel that has some wonderful descriptions of using plants to dye thread. It reminded me of Margie's art. I'd love to try out natural dyeing on fabric or yarn sometime. Have any of you tried it? What was it like?

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I also wanted to mention the Knit for Japan project that Ginny has going on. She's collecting knitted AND crocheted hats (don't be fooled by the name of the project) to send to people living in areas of Japan where the tsunami hit. I do hope you'll consider making a hat to show your support. She's hoping to collect 400 hats by August. Head on over to her blog for more information.

the start of something good

Monday again, huh? Well, I just spent my first weekend as a graduate, and I really think the non-student life agrees with me. It felt great not to have homework hanging over my head. There was plenty of time for knitting, eating at new restaurants, playing games, thrifting, listening to records, drinking beer, and catching up with friends and family that I haven't seen in what feels like years. I managed to get a few photos of the past several days. 

Soft and squishy Madelinetosh sock yarn from my new blog friend, Andi. Andi's knitting productivity inspires me to get my needles out even more. I've been wanting to try out Madelinetosh's yarn, so I was over the moon when this green skein arrived. Thanks, Andi!

So far I've made a yarn house with the Madelinetosh. I'm hoping that someday the house will look like these socks. I think it will be slow going. I've already had to rip back once--not that I'm complaining. Even with setbacks, knitting with this lovely yarn makes it worth it.

K's parents came in for a visit. My mother-in-law brought this turtle cake. Yes, it tasted as good as it looks! The candied pecans are my favorite part. Thanks, Phyllis!

I knitted this Sprout hat for someone new in the world. Now I've just got to get it to him before he gets much bigger! I actually made this hat on Friday, starting with the royal wedding and then working on it throughout the day as I awaited my big meeting with my professors. Busy hands kept my nerves calm. Well, as calm as they were going to be. The yarn is Cascade Sierra, which is a washable cotton/wool blend that seems great for a baby. The pattern is a very basic newborn hat.

We squeezed in some game time. This one is Stone Age, which has been a big hit with the family. K has this amazing ability to find cool new board games. I'm looking forward to playing them more now that I've got more free time.

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What's going on with you this week? 

The Kentucky Derby is this coming Saturday, which means lots of family time and parties. This week promises to be a very good one indeed.