Red Poppy | Pink Peony

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

XOXO

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

(Franklin P. Jones)

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day! Did you know that exchanging Valentine greetings dates back to the 1400s? V-Day is still for lovers, but it can also be a time to celebrate all the loves of our lives, including friends, family, and children. I miss those cute classroom cards, flowergrams, and candygrams.

This year, I made some sweet and simple little Valentines using plain cards, stickers, and stamps, and I would have made many more if I hadn't run out of supplies. Married or single, it feels nice to send or receive a heartfelt card of any kind... especially if your or your gal pal's 14th of February is "rotic," i.e. romantic without the man.

And what's Valentine's Day without chocolate? I had clear favor cones left over from a bridal shower, so I filled them with both milk and dark chocolate M&M's in a pretty color palette. I planned to bring them to church, but since I was feeling under the weather and stayed home on Sunday, I gave them to my coworkers instead.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Layered and glittered dahlias

Textured and beaded dogwoods

Individualized stamped expressions

Sweets For The Sweet

Pink, red, purple, and white M&M's

{Candy supplies: Beau-coup clear favor cones; M&M's milk chocolate and dark chocolate candies; Light pink curling ribbon / Card supplies: Recollections 3 1/2" x 4 7/8" off-white cards and envelopes; Martha Stewart Crafts dahlia and dogwood branch stickers; EK Success 12-in-1 rubber "Thinking of You" multi-stamp; ColorBox cocoa pigment stamp pad}

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Warm and Fuzzy

"I've always done things the hard way. I was born like a piece of tangled yarn. The job is trying to untangle it, and I'll probably go on doing it for the rest of my life."

(Karen Allen)

Brrr... What a snowy, icy, slushy winter it's been! Layering is key, and one of my go-to cold weather accessories this season is a dark grey lambswool scarf I made last year.

I started crocheting in 2004 and knitting followed. I haven't documented all of my projects, but I've made a good number, gifting items to family and friends or donating to local organizations for those less fortunate.

I still have a lot to learn and practice, but there's a sense of madness in my personal process: either I'm all in, or will go months, sometimes years, without. After a very long hiatus, last winter I knit and crocheted several basic scarves (photos below; last 3 from Lion Brand Yarn), but over the past year, I couldn't make a single thing. I hope the upcoming year will be a more prolific one for me in this area, as I already have yarn for specific projects at the ready.

Knitting and Crochet Projects

Skinny ribbed knit scarf with fringe, ribbed knit scarf, and garter stitch knit scarf

Mini crocheted dog scarf with pom poms, and long crocheted scarf

Ruffle crocheted scarves with pom poms

Ruffle crocheted scarf

To make: Eco bunny blankies
{I started a rose coral one, made of recycled cotton yarn}

To make: Garden baby coverlet
{I am varying the colors slightly with magenta and yellow}

To make: All-season baby throw
{Colors undecided}

If you don't know how to knit or crochet, take a lesson or ask someone to teach you. There are also lots of video tutorials available online. Yarncrafting is not only beautiful and rewarding, but it's so practical and will give your loved ones a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Suggested stores in NYC:
Knitty City
Lion Brand Yarn Studio
Michaels
Purl Soho
The Yarn Co.

Suggested books:
Good Housekeeping: The Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts
Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Happy New Year

It's still January, and Lunar New Year isn't until Thursday, February 3, 2011, so we can still say "Happy New Year!"

Welcome to my first blog post. I will try to keep it up, even though I only had time to start this today because it's a NYC snow day. Thank you for reading these words, but I'll use others' words to commemorate the year:

"Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth."
(Martin Luther)
"I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me."
(Anaïs Nin)

I like these quotes separately, but I especially like their juxtaposition. I doubt Martin Luther and Anaïs Nin would ever have been in the same company.

Regarding the site's name, it was a draw between Red Poppy and Pink Peony. I like red and the poppy is the August baby's birth flower (along with the gladiolus), and the peony is one of my favorite flowers, especially in pale pink. Though a little long, I decided to use both names together because I appreciate the contrast between the two and what they represent to me: bold simplicity | girlie softness.

By now it's supposed to be "out with the old and in with the new," but I feel like I have some catching up to do. Here are 4th quarter highlights, beginning with October, which seems to have become the unofficial start of the holiday season.

The Martha Stewart Show Taping