I've blogged the progress of the quilt some, and here it is, actually done. I started it when Eva was only 9 months old, and I was very new to quilting. I just fell in love with the folksy, yet detailed red stitching. When I was a stay-at-home mom during Eva's first couple years I used to watch Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson—I really think she taught me how to quilt—and I know she did an episode on redwork and I remember seeing some way back in a Country Living too, but, these were both after I had already started the quilt, so I'm not sure exactly why I decided to do a redwork quilt. I just did.

Here it is in situ.

It's a double Irish chain pattern and I hand quilted it all, but first I did the embroideries—thirty-one of them to be exact. Many came from this book (as did the pattern), but I started to get bored with them and some of them were just too old-fashioned and weird, so I started doing animals from a Dover book, plus a few literary characters (Little Bear and Mother Bear, Frances), and some random other animals. It's mostly animals, plus a nameplate and a lily of the valley. Oh, there's also the square that lists all the cats we know. I call that square The Becats.

It's odd. The quilt is already so old, even though it's just been finished, that it already has history in it. The pug dog has "Rosie" embroidered under it after my stepsister's dog who was alive then, but has gone now. Half of the Cats We Know are also gone, and we know a lot of new ones. I held off doing the signature block for a long time before I finally embroidered my name on it. Then, Elie and I got married and now my name is a bit different. It all makes me smile a little and maybe cry a little.

I had thought that there would be a moment of elation when I finished it and that I would put it on Eva's bed with great pomp and pageantry. But no. When it was done I left it on the couch for a while, until we had an extra chilly night and I used it to cover Eva up in bed. It had been living along with us that whole time I was making it. It has so many bits in it—all the years of my baby's life, all our progress. I like it a lot, and in the end, I'm surprised to say it was about the process.

Another month, another one quilt. Gosh, I had fun this round. Leah (the hyena) wanted bright scrappy blocks based on somewhat traditional patterns. She sent out four color groups of scraps (red, orange, green, blue) and I was lucky enough to get red. I love quilting with red!

Most of these fabrics are from Leah, but there are a couple from my stash. The star pattern is both incredibly graphic and traditional, and I liked it more after I had completed the block. I could really see doing a whole quilt of these. Instructions at http://www.quilterscache.com/, but darned if I can remember which one. Not so useful with all those patterns, hmmm.

On a totally different note, Mo is auctioning off the most luxe doll bed for Nie Nie. Go see it. It's awesome. She's helping and being all too generous in the process.

golden delicious from colleague's tree, root stock pear from CSA, granny smith from our tree.

These are my mitts (being used as a fruit rest). Soooo easy and quick to make. They're from Weekend Knitting (Falick), and in my mind they'll be the Labyrinth mitts because that what we were watching when I made the first one. When I made the second one I was Commuting, which does not merit a special name for mitts.

You know, it's hard to take a picture of mitts on yourself, hence the fruit photo.

and a sweet new year to you too.

I went out early to get milk. When I got back this note was on the table. I will keep it forever because it is just so sweet and so Eva at age eight. I know I can't keep her where she is right now, and I wouldn't want to—she just keeps getting better—but responsible little notes about doing storybook childhood things? I could keep that forever.

First off, I am so glad you guys all like the smocking tutorial! I still have to make the actual pillow out of my smocking, but once I do, I'll show you. It's pretty nifty.

This is the yarn I've been knitting with. It's handspun in a really cool overspun-underspun way by Faun of hands + notions. I've admired her yarn for a long time, and when I saw these colors, I had to invest. It's funny to knit with—both entertaining and strange. I think I almost would have left it all wound up and pretty in the hank—it looked so good that way—but what's the point of that?

Faun draws too. Clearly, I am trying to be the lady on the tag.

It's High Holy Day Mantis Season, and can I tell you that this is the worst mantis year yet? In past years I've kept a tally, but this year I can't even keep count. They are everywhere. Today I saw one in the alley next to Barnes and Noble. Why? That is not your habitat. It was grayish. I guess that means it's a concrete-dwelling mantis.

I think you could also call it Honeycomb Pleating.

I made this tutorial, because there really weren't too many others out there, and I really like my method. The thought of pleating an entire piece of cloth back-and-forth and back-and-forth makes my hands feel all full and frustrated. My way is not that way. I would like to introduce you to the recycled Cheerios box method, in which a cardboard strip does most of the thinking work and the whole thing is laid flat rather than folded up in your hands.

Materials:

• fabric: your desired height x 3 times your desired width. I'm making a fourteen inch pillow, and I decided to play it safe by cutting a 18 x 54 in. piece of fabric. Your fabric should be cotton or something else that can stand up to a good bit on ironing. No melty fabrics.
• embroidery floss
• quilting ruler or yardstick
• disappearing ink marking pen or light pencil
• thin cardboard, like from a cereal box
• iron and ironing board
• spray starch
• straight pins

Step 1: cut your cardboard strip

Cut your cardboard into a long, thin strip. I made mine 3/4 inches wide by 20 inches long. Ideally you want your strip to be longer than your fabric, but this is not a necessity. If you want wider pleats, make your strip wider than 3/4 inches.

Step 2: the first press

Use light starch for all pressing.

Lay your fabric on your ironing board so that the short edge is parallel with the sides of the board the long edge falls down in front of you. Place the cardboard strip across your fabric, about 3 inches from the short edge. Fold the 3 inches over the cardboard strip. Press, using the strip as a straight edge for a nice, crisp pleat.

Step 3: the second press

Remove cardboard and flip your work over. Now the extra fabric falls over the far side of the ironing board. Slide the edge of the cardboard onto the fold line made by the first press. Fold the long side of your fabric halfway onto the cardboard strip and then back on itself. Press.

Step 4: the pleat press

Remove the cardboard and flip your work over (again!). Tuck the cardboard into the little fold you just made. Your cardboard should be halfway covered by the fabric. Fold fabric up around the other side and back on itself. Press. Turn your fabric over to see that you have made a full pleat! Cool.

Keep making pleats until you are 3 inches from the far edge or pleating reaches your desired width. Remember to use starch—it's your friend. Once you have a few pleats, you'll probably want to put some straight pins in your work to keep it from unfolding as you flip it over and over.

Step 5: mark it

Lay your ruler across your work, about 2 inches from the top, perpendicular to the pleats. Using the disappearing ink marking pen or the pencil, make a little mark on each place where two pleats meet. Then mark the next row. The length between rows should be double the width of your pleat. My pleats were 3/4 in. so I made 1.5 inches between rows. If you're using a pencil, make really light, tiny marks so they don't show later. If you're using a disappearing ink pen, just make a couple rows at a time so they don't disappear before you can sew them!

Step 6: sew flat pleats

Thread a needle with two strands of embroidery floss. On the top row, on the first mark of the row, sew up through all layers on one pleat and down through all layers of the touching side of the adjacent pleat. Repeat stitch in the same place in order to tack the pleat in place. Continue across the row, then for all rows until the smocked portion of the work is the desired size (in my case, about 13 inches).

Step 7: sew pinch pleats

Start at one corner of your smocking. From the back, wiggle your threaded needle up through one of the flat folds of your pleat, centering your needle between two stitched rows. Pinch the pleat so that the sides come up and make an X. Make a tiny, stitch right in the center of the X. Stitch through it again to tack it down. Wiggle your needle down into the flat fold opposite where it came up. Repeat, pinching all pleats in your work.

Taa-daa! You've done honeycomb smocking.