City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York.

I'd like to thank everyone who left such kind comments on my Valentine's Day post. It's fun to visit back and forth and find out how many things we have in common.

Since last fall's Christmas gift-making activities, I have continued to pursue various craft projects as a way to relax after my long days at the shop. Somehow, crocheting or knitting seems to be more playful that painting or drawing. I may soon have to do some extensive doodling just to begin to get the feeling for holding a pen or pencil in a playful way. Somehow I treat making pictures a a much more serious pursuit than I do fiddling around with yarn.

Let me return to the theme of generosity amongst bloggers. There are so many sites on the web that offer craft inspiration and some also actually offer instructions. A favorite of mine is Vanessa's blog do you mind if I knit. If you have never visited this creative artist's place, please give yourself a treat.

The following picture shows a pair of house slippers I have finally finished ... adding the pom poms this afternoon. I followed Vanessa's expert instructions, and found the slippers really easy to make. I think that I will be making more of the slippers for gifts.

Another interesting site is Kristin's getting stitched on the farm. Kristin is firm advocate of vivid colors, and I have made use of one of her patterns to make the colorful slippers in the next picture. They were also very simple to make, and I look forward to trying lots more colorways.

What is great about each of these two patterns is that a knitter can vary them, change the sizes, experiment with various weights of yarn, and combine colors at will. All this provides a relaxing way to spend an hour or two.

I am still working on some socks and some fingerless mitts. Each of those projects demands much more attention than the either slipper design.

Perhaps this posting will encourage more of you all to visit some new sites, and try some new projects. The days are getting longer, as we stretch towards springtime, but this is still very much a time for indoor projects.

Why is it that another classic indoor project, housecleaning, never interests me as much as knitting?

Best wishes to you all.