other than grannies (but grannies, too)

I've been so obsessed with granny squares that I haven't talked about much else since I've been posting again. Welp, there's not too much going on, thankfully, and the biggest thing is the best -- my sisters live here in Houston now. Have I mentioned this? I don't think so, but in my granny square haze, everything is foggy. Anyway, they moved here in August, and for a while my youngest sister, her daughter, and one of my middle sister's sons lived with me. I love my family, but that was painful. Now they all live in a big house about 15 minutes from here, and that's where I'm going for Thanksgiving. I'm in charge of macaroni and cheese. This weekend my niece will be coming to spend the night. She's 10, and we have a ball together. I'm teaching her how to sew and knit, which I'll blog about later.

For now:

* More granny squares. I've made 80 so far. I figure another 40 should do it.

* A paint job. I got this set of metal drawers at the Rose Bowl swap meet a few years ago. I keep thread in it, separated by color. It's very handy, but I've always been iffy on the two-tone green. I love green, just not in this case. I thought silver and cream would be better.

* A great book that I'm reading and visually feeling up every chance I get.

Since I've been getting my place together, I've been taken in by the decor websites, and by books on decorating. This one is called Home: 50 Tastemakers Describe What It Is, Where It Is, What It Means. It's not what you'd call a decorating book, more like biographical snapshots of designers, decorators, and trend forecasters in their own words, accompanied by peeks inside their living spaces. There are some recognizable names, like Paul Smith, Eva Zeisel, and Jonathan Adler, whose space I love, especially his bedroom.

How can you beat a bust of MJ on the coffee table?

Here are some other favorites of mine (so far).

Don't get the impression that everything in the book has a vintage/'70s vibe. It's what appeals to me, but there's a wide range of decorating styles here, and many unexpected interpretations.

There are lots of other names that if I were more in the know I'm sure I'd recognize, but I don't. This in my favorite quote, from (heretofore unknown to me) Li Edelkoort:

I also believe that creativity is life's insurance, because if you instill creativity even in the smallest children, they will have no fear, because they can improvise. Creativity is not about a nice interior or a nice wardrobe, or a sense of design. It's about a very subtle way to think and to realize, if this doesn't work, then I can solve things in another way; confidence and flexibility.

With its gorgeous shots of beautiful spaces and fascinating personal narratives, I can't recommend Home enough. I mean, isn't the place featured on the cover delicious? It's not particularly my taste (if I have any), but it's fabulous. Sometimes I reach for Home and stop myself from picking it up. I don't want the experience to end too soon.

I think that's all I wanted to share with you. Oh, except this --Happy Thanksgiving!

stax

this is not the way I planned things

I was walking past my sofa, minding my own business, when I noticed that the granny squares have taken it over. I pictured myself inviting someone in to take a seat, then having to clear the squares out of the way. It'd be like "Monk," where I'd painstakingly and meticulously put the stacks together, counting them and trying to preserve the integrity of the colors. It'd be a sad sight to see.

I finished the pillow cover from last post.

This is what's underneath. I'm showing you in case you ever need to make the world's easiest pillowcase:

And so the pretty squares are for my afghan. I'm working them with all Lamb's Pride Worsted, and it's love, love, love. I was fortunate to purchase boucoup skeins for 2 bucks each at The Great Black Sheep Knittery Closing Sale of 2007. That sale is the reason I'm not independently wealthy today. I even bought Lamb's Pride colors I didn't love much, in anticipation of knitting an afghan, maybe modular style. It's turned into a granny afghan, thanks to my buddy Ellen's influence, and I couldn't be happier. I did supplement a few skeins. I wanted a redder red than what I had, and it's impossible to have too much Chocolate Souffle, so I ordered that and a couple other colors today. I so enjoy the process of making granny squares, but this time around I'm rushing to the finish because I can't wait to get them covering my bed. I'll probably never get up again.

Mira says afghan schmafghan. The squares are good to go as far as she's concerned.

Waiter, there's a cat in my yarn.