From the book Red & White American Redwork Quilts by Deborah Harding

My hubby gave me a boxed set of redwork books for Valentine’s Day a few years back. I’ve been interested in embroidery and redwork since I was little. I  remember a nice neighbor lady teaching me how to do the basic stitches on a pre-printed pillowcase with a delicate lace trim. I was mesmerized by how she could take something so plain and turn it into something so beautiful.  My aunt Bobbie showed me how to do cross stitch and how to knit around the same time. I was probably about 12. Later I got hooked on doing embroidery and cross stitch on French linen, and at one point spent my evenings working a complicated petit point that took me close to a year to complete.

During the warmer months I don’t work on my knitting and crocheting as diligently as I do in the winter and I’m always looking for new ways to express myself creatively.

Today I was walking down the hallway to our bedroom and happened to glance over at the book case. I noticed my redwork books…

I decided to unearth a “life” quilt I had started working on for my daughter Andrea when she was still in junior high.

‘Baby Andie’ redwork design by Melissa Placzek

This is the basic pattern I’m going for. Each of the redwork squares will represent a different milestone in my daughter’s life.

Next to the books I found a folder full of redwork designs by me! I think I’ll be publishing an ebook soon

How are you expressing your creativity today?

XO

~Melissa

Animal Crackers in My Soup by Melissa Placzek

I spent a leisurely day at the park with my daughter and decided bring along my crocheting. Pictured: Peaches and Creme 100% cotton yarn in Fiesta, Daisy, Lilac and Orange Sherbet. I used a 6.50 MM Boye crochet hook. Because Boye crochet hooks are awesome

~Melissa

The Steampunk style makes me happy and a little bit giddy.

What is Steampunk? LOVE this definition.

As defined by Wikipedia…

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era Britain^{[citation needed]} — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of “the path not taken” of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage‘s Analytical engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical “steampunk” style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.

(source)

This is my favorite steampunk site. I would love to own a steampunk greenhouse!

An awesome book about the steampunk style.

Steampunk Decorating.

Steampunk fashion…

Steampunk crafts and fun projects!

Steampunk Treehouse…

Steampunk WALLPAPER

Beautifully decorated steampunk house.

Sci-Fi novels turned into steampunk movies !

Another interesting site on the subject… and another…

And a list of steampunk links…

and even more steampunk here!

I LOVE Steampunk Magazine!

and who wouldn’t want a…

steampunk iPod?

~Melissa

The first time we saw our house was a day much like today. It was early June and the garden was in bloom. We guessed the previous owners of our house must be rose lovers because they were growing everywhere. About 10 to 15 climbing rose bushes.

My Rose Arbor

Because I’d never owned or taken care of a garden before, I was a little worried that the roses would die once I took over in this ‘new-to-me’ garden. Luckily I got to meet and speak with the previous owner when we signed all of our house papers. I asked her how she possibly took care of all the roses? She laughed and assured me that the roses growing in the garden, William Baffin climbing roses, were the heartiest sort. Her exact words, “You could mow those roses down in the autumn, and they’d come back next summer!” I immediately liked this woman. I was so relieved that I wouldn’t have to babysit plants…which has never really appealed to me. If you have to divide, and mulch, find out the soil’s ph, and ‘put the plants to bed’ for the winter, they are not the plants for me. It’s amazing I can keep my annuals (mostly geraniums, petunias, and impatiens) alive for the three months we have summer. The one exception I make is for my herb garden. I like cooking with fresh herbs that I can grow just outside my kitchen door, so the hassle of watering and fertilizing with Miracle Grow is worth it.

“It was roses, roses, all the way,
With myrtle mixed in my path like mad.”

~Robert Browning

About those roses…

So, after being in the house for 10 years, and lots of changes to our back yard I still have a few of the original rose bushes that were here when we moved in. One, just outside my kitchen door in the back yard is more like a rose WALL. It grows using a pine tree as a trellis. Some of the branches reach ten feet. I don’t do anything to it. It just grows! We have a few more shrub roses lining the side of our deck in lighter pink and white, but the William Baffin climbers are my favorite. We use to have one in the center of the yard that produced so many blooms you could barely see any foliage, but alas we had to sacrifice the rose bush for our big deck project. Our arbor in our front yard has two of the William Baffins climbing on it, and they’re so aggressive I fear that the arbor is going to be crushed under them. I call them ” the man eating rose bushes.” We’re planning on getting a few trellises to attach to the side of our old garage so we can grow more climbers…I just want to make sure that we have our landscaping plan in place before we plant anything new.

Rose Miel (rose honey) is a favorite topping for scones in our house. When the roses start to bloom I can be found gathering petals. I immediately take them in the kitchen and wash each individual petal carefully to remove any dirt or insects. To make this delicious pink syrup you’ll need:

1 cup packed rose petals, washed well

1 cup distilled water

Juice of  one lemon

1/2 cup of honey

1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

In the bowl of a blender, blend the rose petals, half of the water, and the lemon juice until smooth. Heat remaining water and honey in a sauce pan. When warm, add pectin and stir until mixed well. Add pectin/honey mix to the blender contents. Blend again until smooth. Place in jars immediately (about 5-4 oz. quilted jelly jars) If you want it to set up more like a jelly or jam, prepare accordingly. I like the syrup consistency, so I put mine in the refrigerator immediately. Freeze whatever you won’t eat or share.

The Perfect Devonshire Split

I’m still deciding whether or not to share my scone recipe. In the mean time…

Split your favorite scone

Fill with real Devonshire Cream or make this Devonshire, which is pretty darn good even if it’s not the real thing.( Real Devon is hard to come by in the U.S because you have to use unpasteurized cream to make it.)

Leisa’s Tearoom Devon Cream

Whip a pint of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form

Add 8 oz. softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Whip again.

Pile high onto scone. Top with your favorite lemon curd, preserves, or Rose Miel…

Enjoy with a cup of Harney & Sons Rose Tea.

How does your garden grow?

~Melissa

Buttermints Baby Blanket!

Boye Crochet Hooks ROCK!

XO,

Melissa

What a beautiful day in the Mississippi river valley! We started the day with a morning hike on the gorgeous Cannon Valley Trail . After lunch we decided to have a little bonfire in our back yard.

While sipping glasses of Inkberry Shiraz-Cabernet we noticed the many grapevines taking over our still dormant rose bushes, trees, and garage. I asked Gracie to help me make grapevine wreaths, something I hadn’t done in years. This got me thinking about an article I had read some time ago about the nuances that grapevines can impart to grilled fare. A lightbulb lit over my head. Wouldn’t it be nice to make up little baskets of grapevine wreaths for friends who frequently grill? A fun addition to a Christmas or birthday gift basket, or even a nice hostess gift when you’re invited to a summer party. You could add a pretty tag explaining their use and even describe the meats that would benefit most from the addition of grapevines.

GRAPEVINES – Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb.

Wine Tasting Notes: Inkberry Shiraz-Cabernet 2008

The ripe grapes take on notes of fresh cracked black peppercorn, leahter, black cherries, and plum on the palate. Voluptuous buttery vanilla mouthfeel.

“Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons.”  ~Al Hirschfeld

Gracie and I go through her room a couple times a year, and do a thorough cleaning. We usually find a half ton of broken crayons that we turn into these fun art crayons. It’s a great way to recycle, it’s a fun craft, and they also make a fun addition to a gift for children and adults alike.

To make-

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Chop crayons into pea size pieces. Fill muffin tins (or other cooking tins) about 1/4 full with crayon pieces. Bake 15 minutes, or just until melted. Shapes will pop out of tins easily when completely cool.

Have fun!

~Melissa

“… Even though there are no knitting police and we could start 20,000 projects a day (if we wanted to) we try to ‘do better’ or work on being a monogamous ‘one project at a time’ knitter…as though there was some sort of moral victory in resisting the urge to do more of what we love.” ~Stephanie Pearl-McPhee author of Things I Learned from Knitting (Whether I Wanted to or Not)

One of my readers asked me to post some of my knitted projects, and unfortunately I haven’t taken pictures of many things I’ve knitted. Jeff just happened to take this picture of Gracie in a hat and scarf I had made for her. Now that I’m blogging, I’m more mindful of photo opportunities as they arise.

If you’d like to make this hat and scarf, they’re very easy. The hat was actually knitted flat, gathered, and then carefully sewn together with a yarn needle to create a seam up the back. The scarf was knitted from the same wool yarn and made in the classic, knit 2 purl 2 ribbing pattern.

To create the hat:

Size 8 knitting needles

medium (4) weight yarn of your choosing

Cast on 100 stitches (for a child’s size medium)

Pattern-

Row 1: knit across

Row 2: purl across

Row 3: K1, P1 across

Row 4: purl across

Repeat these 4 rows until the knitted piece measures 8 inches, ending with a purl row

Next row: K1, K2 together (to decrease) together across until last stitch (51 sts.)

Next Row: purl across

Repeat these two rows one more time.

Cut yarn leaving a 12 to 15 inch length tail; weave this back through the remaining stitches pulling tightly together. Sew a side seam using a yarn needle, and make a pom-pom for the top if you wish. The hat makes it’s own roll-up brim. Adorable!

Best,

Melissa

“How could it be that any knitter could have anything of value to say to crocheters? Didn’t I know that knitters and crocheters are like Sharks and Jets- They don’t get along, they keep off each other’s turf, they break into fights on the playground? Yes, I know, I know.  But have Tony and Maria taught you nothing? Can’t we see that we’re all sisters (and brothers) under the stitch? Sure, I’m a knitter. But I also crochet.” ~Debbie Stoller

Sorry it took me so long to post my last ‘Valentine Treat’….My sweet husband took me on a date…dinner and a movie! He gave me a dozen of my favorite Karen Roses. The same roses I carried along with English ivy, button mums, and freesia in a 30 lb bouquet of flowers on our wedding day. What a romantic boy.

Well, anyhoo,  I knit and I crochet too. I also sew, do needlepoint, redwork, and weave on a loom. I love almost all of the fiber arts. When I was little you could find me doing macrame, cross stitch and hideous latch hook rugs! I know. Silly. But I learned a lot. I’ve been knitting since I was fourteen when my aunt Bobbie taught me. (So, over twenty years.)  I’ve only been crocheting for a few years. Funny story, I learned from instructional videos on YouTube. What an amazing resource. I find crocheting to be much easier than knitting even though I’ve only been doing it a short time. If you’re a knitter, give it a try. The pretty, frilly stitches are almost instant gratification.

I found this beeeeaaauuuutiful scarf pattern on page 96 in my favorite crocheting book, The Happy Hooker, by Debbie Stoller. She writes the BEST instructional knitting and crocheting books. Her book, Stitch ‘n Bitch, is what I refer to as the knitting ‘bible’ and where I direct my many friends who are new knitters. Innocent, unsuspecting friends who I slyly reel in by giving them a skein of  thick-n-quick, Wool Ease yarn and a set of size 15 knitting needles as part of a gift… hee hee… Hi Dana! Dana is knitting her first scarf! I’m so proud of her.

Gracie is modeling the flower garden scarf which was crocheted from a partial cashmere blend yarn (Jade Sapphire) in ‘hot pink,’ ‘light pink,’ and ‘ brown.’ This would be the perfect scarf to make for your best girlfriends for Valentine’s Day. I made this in about 3 hours. Grace is also wearing a beanie hat I made out of simple, flecked, worsted-weight yarn (I think it’s called ‘Black Fleck’ by Red Heart). Please send me pictures of your knitting and crocheting creations! I’m always looking for inspiration. Love you yarn goddesses!

XO,

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~Melissa