Merry Christmas!

Some of our holiday favorites:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the animated version from 1966)
What a classic! I love everything about the Grinch, from his heart that is "two sizes two small" to the scene where he is carving the roast beast!

Fashion reference: Of course, who can forget the scene where the Grinch is sewing his own santa suit --- love it!

Image from www.animationusa.com

A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version)
Another classic that we just saw the night before --- I love the scene when Scrooge awakes after the ghostly visits and calls down to the little boy in the street to go purchase the prize turkey.

Fashion reference: The Victorian costumes are amazing.

The Bishop's Wife
This is my husband's favorite holiday movie. Cary Grant is striking, as usual. The best scene is at the outdoor ice skating rink, where Cary, Loretta Young and the taxi cab guy named Sylvester take the ice.

Fashion reference: Love those 1940's fashions!

Image from www.movieactors.com

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Everything about this classic is so cool --- the characters, the music, the dance moves...but especially the scene with the little tree...



Have a happy and joyous Christmas Day!

Holiday Baking

Filled with the fragrance of cranberry nut pound cake baking in the oven, the house smelled "very Christmas" last night!



I left out the nuts for this batch, but the loaves still turned out delicious --- rich and buttery with just the right amount of tartness from the cranberries to balance the flavors. I've used fresh strawberries instead of the cranberries during the summer, but the crans are the best!

Holiday Countdown

I can't believe the holidays are already here! We found a beautiful tree this year, which we decorated with all of the special ornaments we've collected together over the years --- the "first Christmas" ones; the polar bears (I was obsessed with them for several years, and in fact, still am); our lone chile pepper; and the annual Swarovski crystal ones that we've collected since 1999.



Just a couple of days left to make my loaves of cranberry nut pound cake and some thumbprint cookies, both favorites that I've made since high school days!

Bamboo Yarns

I was fortunate enough to have one of my knit designs accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of KnitSimple magazine, so I've been focused on finishing that project in the last few weeks. It feels great to be finished --- it turned out really cute, so I can't wait to see it in print!

I used Plymouth Yarn Co.'s Royal Bamboo for this project, which was the first time I had ever knit with bamboo yarn. In addition to being "green", it really yields a beautiful fabric, so light, soft and drapey with a gorgeous sheen to it. Drapey is definitely the key word here, as any design with fluidity will work nicely with this yarn. In terms of knitting with it, there was a tendency for the yarn to "split" easily, so you have to be careful when working the stitches.

I read that there is a tendency for bamboo projects to "grow" --- by nature, some fibers have less elasticity than others and can lose their shape. I took this into consideration when I made my swatch by letting the swatch hang vertically overnight before measuring the gauge. I added a bit of weight to the bottom of the swatch as well by threading one of my large metal stitch holders across the bottom, which helped to ensure that gravity + a little extra was taken into consideration before measuring the gauge.

Despite the splitting, the finished product was so beautiful that I will definitely knit with bamboo again. It is perfect for summer knits!

Ribbons and Trims

During my first trip to Paris a few years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting La Droguerie, a little shop that carries a huge assortment of trims, buttons, and other goodies to inspire creativity. I had actually heard that they were a yarn shop (hence my original interest), but at the time, they only carried really basic yarns -- solid colors and smooth textures. However, instead of disappointment, I was amazed, because the sweater samples they carried were the most beautifully embellished (without being over the top) that I had ever seen. I walked out of there with yards (or meters) of the most amazing trims and ribbons as well as a head full of inspiration.

I think the care that is taken to choose these kinds of details can really make something special, and to me, that's the difference between something that is store-bought and something that is handmade. I can be obsessive about finding the right button or choosing the right type of buttonhole, but in the end, perfection is a good thing!

So I recently ran across this article in the SF Chronicle about a shop in San Francisco --- The Ribbonerie. They carry a wide assortment of ribbons and trims (most from France!), so I am looking forward to checking it out.

The images below are from M&J Trimming, a good on-line source for every kind of trim you can imagine.

New York and Boston Again

I spent the last few days on the East Coast, just in time for a cold weather blast --- the weather guy said 19 degrees, but with the wind, it felt more like 6 degrees! Brrrr!

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do anything fashion- or craft-related on this trip, not even some airplane knitting. But I was able to go to an amazingly good steakhouse --- Wolfgang's Steakhouse in the Tribeca area. The filet was delicious, tender and flavorful with a nice sear on the outside, and the sides (particularly the fries) were delicious as well. The ambience was classic steakhouse --- a lot of wood!