A French Mouse

The pattern for this little mouse came from 'Knit 2 Together' by Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark.  The patter for the mouse is basic and then there are many options for clothing.  I styled this little mouse with a Parisian theme as it is a gift for the daughter of friends who studied in France for a year.  I had a lot of fun with this project.  And it's all remnant yarn from past projects!  All except the red trimmings is Blue Sky organic cotton.  Because it is mostly constructed in small parts it was easier to complete with Liam around... as I might have time to sit and finish one ear and then set that piece aside to be assembled later.  I would love to have the time to construct one of these for all the new babies who are coming into the world!  

Ceramics at UCD Craft Center

Raku fired pieces during the spring quarter.

I know, I know, I've been terrible about updating this blog.  Is anyone still following out there?  I'm now a mother and that project has kept me quite busy.  It has not, however, prevented me from making things.  Though my projects move a little slower now there is always something in progress. 

Since Liam was about 3 months old I've been able to get back into ceramics.  I've been working at UC Davis Craft Center where they have a very nice open studio.  Kick and electric wheels, gas and electric kilns, and a nice variety of cone 10 glazes.  I try to get down to Davis (a 20 minute drive from Sac) about once a week.  I've found a pottery partner, Krysta, who graciously watches Liam while I work when Matthew isn't available.  

I'm not trying to be too ambitious with my work, just getting back into the swing of working with clay after a year-long break.  Here are some images of the pieces from the spring and summer quarters.  Most of these I've given away as gifts but I've learned from all of them.  

3 piece nesting serving pieces.  The largest makes a nice pie plate.

 Tea pot (whose lid broke on the way to the kiln), and a mixing bowl

Large plate and dome for keeping baked goods fresh.

Nesting mixing bowls

Honey comb and pot for Dad (who is now a beekeeper)

Meet Liam

William 'Liam' Keith Carlisle

born 1.20.2012  

7lbs 6.5 oz, 18.5 inches long

Liam is named for my great-grandfater, William F. Tietje who migrated from Germany to Louisiana, my grandfather, Billy Tietje, and my brother, Will Tietje.  Keith is for our dear friend Keith Moscrop of Witham, England.  

Baby Carlisle came a week early!  To say we were surprised is an understatement.  After a light workout contractions began at 1:30pm on Friday, January 20, but I thought it was false labor.  Very, very mild contractions about 8-10 minutes apart all afternoon, just felt like a small period cramp.  Not uncomfortable at all.  Then to my surprise my water broke at 8 pm!  I decided to try to labor in the shower.  Suddenly contractions were 2-3 min apart and a little more intense.  When we arrived at the hospital at 9:30, I was 6cm dilated.  About half an hour later I was at 9cm, shortly after I was fully dilated.  No time to even consider pain medication!  Only pushed for about 20 minutes.  Baby's heart rate began to drop too low; an episiotomy was performed to get him out in a timely manner.  Liam was born at 11:22pm.  

Everything happened so very fast!  I was so prepared for a long, slow labor (as this is my first child) but in the end I used very few of those techniques.  I'm pleased that it was a natural delivery and so quick!  So thankful for all the conditioning at Herself Moms - prenatal yoga prepared me for this unexpectedly quick labor.  The nurses and doctors at UC Davis were also amazing, we had a great experience delivering there.  Liam is healthy and feeding well and we're so in love with him!

40 weeks

Liam at 40 weeks, or, celebrating one week of life:)

Felted Diaper Bag

This project combines a couple of techniques.  You may remember earlier this year I attended a workshop and learned the process of wet felting.  At the shop I bought supplies to continue experimenting with the process of felting.  I had a vision of felting fabrics and then constructing a purse from the pieces.  Then I busied myself with other projects until now, remembering that the bag I intended to construct was a diaper bag, and the baby to go with the bag was due to make an appearance any day!  Quickly I went about reminding myself of the process and went about calculating the size and shape of the required pieces that would be needed to assemble my bag.  Below is a step-by-step story of how this came together.

Wet Felting Process

Materials gathered.  Bubble wrap, roving wool, soap, water, and tule. 

3 layers of roving wool (each layer in the opposite direction of the one adjacent to it).  Cover with tule on top.  Then water is sprinkled on top and allowed to penetrate through the layers.

Then using a mild bar soap rub the top of the tule.  Just a little soap is needed.  Then use your fingers to massage and agitate the layers of wet felt.  This action causes the layers to bind together.  Felt for as long as it takes for the pieces to hold together and the layers to bind.  Flip and agitate the opposite side as well.

Then move toward the sink.  Roll the felted piece between the bubble wrap and a bamboo sushi screen (I used a placemat), then wrap that with a towel, and roll the whole thing several times.  This is just additional felting and binds the fibers together further.  Repeat 10 times, rotating the direction of the felted piece each time.  Then rinse the piece to remove soap and allow to dry.  It can be stretched to desired shape and sized throughout this process.

I repeated this process several times and ended up with 4 felted pieces.  The 2 sections that were about 15"x18" of the main turquoise color, 1 multicolored accent piece, and one small pale aqua accent square.

Bag Construction

The hardest part of all this was cutting into these pieces of felt that took hours to construct!  But it had to be done.  I drew up the pattern pieces to utilize the majority of the felt I had made - very little was wasted.  Working with this new material meant experimenting with a couple of new methods of construction to make sure this bag would be sturdy enough to hold all the different items that a diaper bag needs to carry.  The first method was using exposed, tight zig-zag seams on the felt (I used the button hole setting).  This just seemed like a stronger stitch with such a potentially fragile exterior material.  Man I went through a ton of thread!  The second thing was that I spent a lot of time reinforcing the lining of the bag.  I used a rather stiff fusible interfacing on all of the interior lining pieces to give the bag shape.  So essentially the interior of the bag is supporting the felted exterior.  My first time using the fusible interfacing and I really like it... this may become an essential component to all of my bag construction in the future.  I also really like the fabric I found for the interior lining:  a mint faux suede.  The lighter color keeps things from getting lost at the bottom of the bag.

The bag features two exterior side pockets for waterbottles/bottles.  3 interior pockets for storage of smaller items which require quick access like cellphones, keys, sunglasses, wallet.  Then a much larger central interior large enough for books, ipads, diapers, toys, wipes, and this great changing station from Skip Hop.  There is a magnetic closure at the top (that works best when the bag is less full).  We'll see how well this functions.  I'm concerned because it is mainly a shoulder bag without adjustable straps... it should work well for daily routines, but I may find myself needing more room or something more comfortable to carry for long periods of time (I prefer a bag with a longer strap that can be worn across the body in that situation).  In which case I'll just invent something new to meet those needs :).  Looking forward to giving this a try in the short term.

Checking the Levees

These two photos were taken in December 2009 during a trip home for the holidays.  We were walking the farm roads with dad and he needed to go check a patch along the levee between cuts in the crawfish pond.  I took these photos with Dad's old Nikromat.  I love the color and the atmosphere in the photos and I like the simple story it tells... a farmer never rests, always worries.  I thought it would make a great painting.  Remember the huge, empty walls of Matthew and I's loft here in Sacramento?  I thought this painting project would be a great way to fill some of that empty wall space and get some more practice working with oils.

I couldn't decide which photo to work from... I like the composition of the one above, but I like the colors in the image to the right.  As an artist this is mostly about my interpretation of the scene so I gave myself liberty to dabble and grab what I liked best from each scene.  You can see influence from both photos in the final composition below.  The painting is ok, but not quite what I intended.  It's been at this point for a few weeks now (I wanted it done before the baby came!) and I keep thinking about taking it off the wall and fixing all the little things that aren't working like I wanted.  At the very least I need to add a crawfish trap in the foreground :).  Expect this painted to be edited and reposted with revisions.  But for the time being this 30"x40" painting is definitely helping to fill the endless wall space we have in the living room.  And it speaks to the people and places that are closest to my heart.

Weeks 34-38

Do I look a bit more pregnant?  Because I sure do feel a lot more pregnant!  38 weeks today... our big day (you know, the one where you meet your offspring and everything changes forever?) is just around the corner!  We're very scared... and very excited!!!  Any predictions on whether we're having a boy or girl?

Knit Cocoon and Baby Hat

Fair Isle Hat

Baby Cocoon

To occupy my time and nervous energy here are a few quick baby knits that I've been working on.  The larger piece is a newborn 'cocoon', quite a popular project among baby knitting patterns lately.  I can't see how any kid would stay put or warm in this for very long, but it sure is cute and is sure to make some sweet photos.  I found this free pattern online here.  I used a 100% organic cotton yarn by 'Sprout' on size 7 needles.  It measures approximately 18" in length.

The baby hat is my first attempt at Fair Isle Knitting, which is knitting with intricate color change patterns.  I've been meaning to try a project like this for a while and when I came across this pattern I thought it was the perfect opportunity.  I adapted the pattern and hat size to be appropriate for a newborn and use the yarn I had on hand.  I'm so pleased with this little winter hat!  And I completed it in an afternoon.  It is made of a combination of cotton yarns on size 7 needles, about 14 inches in circumference.  Both projects ready for my newborn, expected to arrive in a couple of weeks!