susan hahn

2012-01-20T12:23:00.001-05:00

post Christmas selfish knitting :

rag wool tall socks

2012-01-16T23:14:00.001-05:00

these things are crazy easy!

Alice Walker's apple galette recipe

2012-01-03T09:33:00.002-05:00

newly relegated to the baby museum:

Emma's first tee 1988

Carnaby Street cords and red shoes that haven't had a day off in 19 years

2012-01-03T09:06:00.003-05:00

after 20+ years of putting away doll things, i folded them for the last time, at least for now.

clothes made from production remnants and bits of left over trims, hats and sweaters and scarves knit from extra balls of yarn from the workroom, and blankets pieced together from knit downs and mock ups. things made by my seamstresses from scraps on their lunch breaks for Emma when she spent her days at my Sheridan Road studio; outfits made in the desperate evenings before Christmas. all quietly tucked away on a high shelf for another time.

2012-01-03T08:55:00.003-05:00

Margaretville Mountain December 23

2012-01-02T10:43:00.002-05:00

unearthed:

pajama bags made several years ago for Christmas

2011-12-31T14:15:00.001-05:00

Ottie and Oti beehive on Ashlyn

2011-12-31T13:57:00.001-05:00

Christmas cardis on Christmas eve

2011-12-28T11:12:00.006-05:00

little gifts

2011-12-20T13:29:00.001-05:00

2011-12-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas baking

2011-12-11T15:02:00.004-05:00

knitting in bed at the Hotel Shahibaugh

2011-11-06T16:33:00.001-05:00

new merino deep v neck in the front yard leaf pile. last of the personal projects-on to Christmas knitting!

2011-10-09T14:44:00.007-04:00

Dad and his words of wisdom regarding pumpkin growing

in the Press Democrat today

2011-10-04T10:00:00.004-04:00

fall

2011-09-22T16:13:00.007-04:00

farewell, summer.

some of the last projects done by the girls before going back to school :

little gnome houses made of things from the woods

and fabric wallets

Frances

Mary

2011-09-13T12:20:00.001-04:00

Mary's Christmas sweater (2010) is finally finished. Hudson valley mohair and antique French flea market buttons.

2011-09-10T12:03:00.002-04:00

enough wild blackberries this year for jam and two of these-Sam Sifton's blackberry cobbler recipe in the NY Times

2011-09-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

the woods are EXPLODING with fungi!

2011-08-31T18:10:00.004-04:00

a simple mock neck in chunky merino. i treated myself to a ready-made pattern; this one from Classic Knits by Erika Knight. picked as an easy project to make while traveling in India. highly impractical because of the bulky yarn and how much space it took up in my baggage, but so fun and quick to knit. finished on long walks here in Bovina.

2011-08-12T16:44:00.006-04:00

Oti Co. makes it's debut tomorrow at the New York Gift Show. What began as an idea last Thanksgiving that was too difficult to explain, has grown into two collections : Ottie and Oti for children, and Auntie Oti for home.

both collections celebrate the handmade and the humble, often over looked items that are magical in their simplicity and integrity.

thank you to all that have helped this idea become reality. See you at the Javits!

2011-08-10T18:31:00.004-04:00

namaste to the Bangalore crew:

hand beading and embroidery karigars

pattern master

machine embroiderers

Madhu and Karthi

Shruthi

Gowrishankar

2011-08-10T18:23:00.003-04:00

Auntie Oti

purveying the everyday of India

New York Gift Show

August 13-17 Javits Center

booth 5641

2011-08-10T18:03:00.004-04:00

Ottie and Oti Spring 2012

for boys and girls

New York Gift Show

August 13-17 Javits Center

Baby and Child

booth 5641

2011-08-05T13:16:00.000-04:00

backseat taxi knitting, Bangalore

2011-07-07T08:12:00.003-04:00

rhubarb pie

on the 4th of July

2011-05-27T10:36:00.003-04:00

my first massed produced t shirt design- PS 372 3rd graders wore this for their field day.

2011-05-27T10:19:00.001-04:00

tablecloth washing day

2011-05-06T09:27:00.002-04:00

homemade Charlie Brown and Snoopy Easter eggs, inspired by a trip to the Charles M. Shultz museum in Santa Rosa.

2011-03-29T10:25:00.006-04:00

a few snaps from-Infinite Variety:Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts-on display at the Park Avenue Armory.

detail from a flour sack quilt

2011-03-23T10:42:00.004-04:00

another hand me down that found its way back home, knit from a simple but sweet vintage 1920's children's pattern.

2011-03-23T10:22:00.006-04:00

this sweet little Ruby Bohannon hat came back today to take its place in the Baby Museum.

2011-03-23T10:19:00.002-04:00

some of Mary's wool loop pot holders

2011-02-28T09:35:00.003-05:00

Pebble the koala, another little guy from "tiny yarn animals".

2011-02-24T15:03:00.004-05:00

Mary's get well octopus. the pattern is from "tiny yarn animals" by Tamie Snow.

2011-02-21T15:35:00.002-05:00

Harris tweed roving from the Yarn Tree in Brooklyn

2011-02-18T16:43:00.000-05:00

tweed elephant

2011-02-15T11:50:00.003-05:00

what can i say about a sweater that took me 9 months to finish? you would never guess the original inspiration was a Gaultier floor length knitted tank dress, but nothing about this poor baby went as planned. parts of it spent 7 weeks inside a suitcase somewhere in the Delhi International airport. it used to be long, have two different gauges of yarn, and seven different sleeves. there was a failed attempt to match the original dye lot, several different fancy stitches and lace trims, and a tall turtleneck. it was flung into a dark corner where it spent the holiday knitting season. finally pulled out and hacked into pieces, and put back together as a seemingly simple cropped cardigan that would have taken about a month to knit.

2011-02-15T11:48:00.001-05:00

some fun vintage novelty buttons

2011-02-14T10:09:00.000-05:00

happy Valentine's day

2011-02-04T12:04:00.000-05:00

a wisp of a cardigan in lace weight merino

2011-02-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

a quick little birthday cap

2011-02-01T09:22:00.002-05:00

late Christmas scarf in chunky red cashmere blend

2011-01-01T12:44:00.001-05:00

a lovely combination of green and bright pink make this somewhat motley afghan charming

2011-01-01T12:33:00.004-05:00

Frances got the idea for this from a Christmas craft, but it took a slightly dark twist when she made me a metro card holder that looks like a subway rat.

2010-11-09T17:55:00.002-05:00

two amazing samples of the work of Olek as seen in downtown New York

2010-09-11T07:42:00.001-04:00

a pillow for Merrill and Robert to celebrate their marriage

2010-09-06T18:02:00.001-04:00

2010-09-06T13:36:00.003-04:00

little birds made from scraps of vintage and new fabrics. the pattern in from a site called Spool. the girls and i cut, stuffed, and sewed these together. we took the machine outside when the weather was nice and worked on the picnic table.

2010-09-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

best knitting spot summer 2010

2010-09-06T13:13:00.005-04:00

this is where it all started--my Barbie and all of her amazing homemade clothes.

my grandmother made all of them for my older sister, presumably from her stash of fabulous scraps. one day it was all passed down to me. my obsessive love of cotton prints stems from this particular yellow dress. i just couldn't get enough of it and of spreading out the wonderfully wide sweep of the skirt. i spent hours folding and refolding the little knitted and crocheted blankets and making beds with home made corduroy pillows , stuffed and held together by straight pins.

there were a few precious store bought things as well: a white fur stole, a flight bag, and the one outfit i ever bought-a pink and sliver full length dress that Barbie would perform her night club numbers in. pictured are a few attempts of things i made myself: a corduroy bathrobe and a felt sleeveless top with a hideous giant plastic button for decoration.

2010-09-06T12:15:00.002-04:00

silly rainbow

2010-09-06T11:53:00.003-04:00

the ladies hiking in their new a-line skirts made from vegetable dyed cotton from Gujarat. Mary sewed her own.

2010-08-11T13:21:00.001-04:00

trailer blanket washing day

2010-08-11T13:16:00.001-04:00

things you cannot bring on the airplane including soccer and tennis balls and champagne.

2010-08-06T07:53:00.001-04:00

Kathak dance performance-Kolkata

2010-08-06T07:49:00.001-04:00

street scene with rickshaw--Kolkata

2010-08-06T07:46:00.000-04:00

my hotel

2010-08-06T07:43:00.002-04:00

Indian Museum--Kolkata, India

2010-07-02T16:58:00.006-04:00

my first big project sewn on my Genie. the embroidered flowers are inspired by the clematis in my front yard.

2010-06-23T09:38:00.006-04:00

cushions made from fabrics bought in India.

2010-06-23T09:36:00.001-04:00

my first sewing project in years- new curtains for the girls

2010-06-23T09:35:00.001-04:00

2010-06-13T16:55:00.002-04:00

i am officially an honorary old lady after knitting this silly couch pillow.

2010-06-06T19:00:00.006-04:00

Frances has taught herself the art of shoemaking.

after a few sets of cardboard flip flops, she made this more durable pair. starting with some outgrown chinese slippers for the base, she cut away the top netting portion and braided the straps from some of my knitting yarn.

2010-06-01T14:11:00.002-04:00

my new Genie greets me with sunny orange and yellow flowers.

2010-05-20T09:32:00.003-04:00

i knit this sweater in panels with the stitches running horizontally. the top two rows were shaped by short rowing, which took several attempts to get the right amount of curve. i chose undyed wool for its humble appearance, yet it is also surprisingly soft and cozy. the"cement" buttons were leftovers from years ago.

2010-04-07T12:01:00.001-04:00

little neck scarf made form a vintage pattern in fine merino for my mom's 82nd birthday.

2010-03-14T12:06:00.005-04:00

a simple yet wonderful vest made of softest merino. this one was for Mary's birthday but i couldn't help but give it to her a little early.

and this one is made from super bulky merino for my friend Leigh's birthday, which is a little bit late.

2010-03-03T17:28:00.002-05:00

snowman wearing Mary's rainbow newsboy cap.

2010-02-24T17:16:00.001-05:00

Ian's super soft striped cap made from Frog Tree yarn.

2010-02-19T16:43:00.002-05:00

my Scandinavian inspired knitted pillow case to coordinate with Ikea duvet for Frances.

2010-02-18T21:26:00.002-05:00

image from the blog of l'alimentation general

2010-02-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

valentine's day hat for Ian

2010-02-18T21:03:00.004-05:00

variegated yarn was irresistible to me when i was a kid--it seemed like magic. Mary picked this yarn for her newsboy cap i crochet her over a year ago. she made half the scarf and i knit the rest for her Christmas present.

2010-02-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

my new red mittens in the perfect white snow

2010-02-05T16:50:00.001-05:00

fat felted wool stars with little silver stitches

2010-01-16T16:09:00.004-05:00

if you are a knitter, you know just how much ripping out can add to your total time working on a project. take this seemingly innocent looking cardigan i knit for Emma, for example. it was to be done in time to put under the tree, but you can see we are well into January as i write this. here you see only one sweater, but really, i made much more than that.

in total there were:

1 3/4 bodies

5 1/2 sleeves

5 front plackets

2 collars

2 1/2 pockets

2010-01-16T16:04:00.002-05:00

a pair of fingerless gloves i made for Mary are getting a second life

2010-01-14T12:50:00.006-05:00

these fingerless gloves have just come back into my life. i made them one Christmas for Emma, when she was in her "punk" phase. i sewed in little tufts of fringe yarn to make them look more scruffy. they have now been passed down to Mary who has worn them in her recent music videos filmed while home sick from school.

2010-01-13T14:41:00.007-05:00

garter stitch little man hoodie made from my favorite merino. the pattern is a modified version of a cardigan in La Drogerie's Babies, a book published by La Drogerie in Paris.

2010-01-06T14:30:00.001-05:00

Frances looking sassy in her new leg warmers and my old cap

2009-12-16T18:06:00.005-05:00

Frances has gotten me to organize formal craft afternoons. this week's activity was making felt beads to use for necklaces. we had so much fun yesterday, the girls called an extra session today without me.

2009-11-11T20:24:00.004-05:00

i just finished Mary's long cardigan. It was unclear how long it would end up being, since i wasn't sure i had enough yarn in the first place. luckily i just made it, with a teeny tiny ball left over for any future repairs. knit in nice chunky brown hand dyed merino with traditional woven leather menswear buttons.

2009-10-30T13:06:00.003-04:00

i wish i had designed these, but they are simply Frances' slippers inside of Mary's tap shoes.

2009-10-05T22:33:00.002-04:00

My father and his giant pumpkin weighing in at 834 lbs.

2009-10-03T14:19:00.004-04:00

the house is being slowly overtaken by Ball jars. canning is much faster than knitting, and almost as satisfying. no blackberry jam this year due to the wet summer, but i have added pickles to my list of things my family loves that i can make myself.

2009-09-29T11:08:00.006-04:00

poncho weather! Frances gets to wear her new poncho to school this morning. knit from hand dyed merino from the Catskills. Frances picked the colors and designed the stripes herself.

a pair of baby booties made from some of the left over yarn

2009-09-29T11:00:00.001-04:00

places to knit summer 2009

2009-09-10T10:52:00.003-04:00

making citronella candles is easy- just melt paraffin and add a few drops of citronella oil. nice on a picnic table or summer gift.

2009-09-10T10:41:00.004-04:00

one of the highlights of my summer was seeing the felt exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt with my friend Laura. above is a detail from the contemporary yurt installation there. it inspired me and the girls to get out our wool. we decided to make pin cushions. simply layer colors of wool and wet felt, then cut in half.

2009-09-10T10:28:00.001-04:00

a pillow for Michelle McDonald with her very graphic initials

2009-09-10T10:05:00.006-04:00

my version of the perfect pullover. when i was considering what this would mean, i pictured myself in my 60's, carrying a bucket somewhere on a cold morning in the catskills. this is what i would want to be wearing, by then with fraying cuffs and stains down the front. i constructed it by knitting the cable section in long panels that are turned horizontally and then joined to the main body of the sweater. so far i have been able to wear it a few times, and it immediately felt like my best friend.

2009-09-10T10:02:00.003-04:00

last view of Brooklyn before leaving for August

2009-08-01T16:25:00.001-04:00

Merce Cunningham 1919 - 2009

2009-07-27T23:05:00.003-04:00

pictures from Bovina day old-time baseball game between the Bovina Dairymen and the Mountain Athletic Club. final score MAC 12 - BD 11. the game was played in a large field behind the post office on Main Street. the men played without gloves, except the catcher, whose mitt resembled a leather pillow. it was breathtaking to watch high flies to left field being caught bare handed. the uniforms were mighty smart for both teams, with Bovina sporting sharp black suspender trousers, billowy white shirts with front plackets, black ties and caps. the Athletics wore a different sort of look with pullovers that laced up the front and blousey pants tucked into bumblebee yellow and black knee socks. the Dairymen drank their water out of glass milk bottles kept cold in two old milk crates. the backstop was made of hay bales topped with an American flag. the sky was bright blue and the day was pure magic for our family, eating peanuts out of a small paper bag sold to us by a pint sized girl in high top lace up leather boots and a calico dress.

2009-07-27T22:52:00.001-04:00

one of this summer's many pleasures -- hanging laundry in the backyard.

2009-07-27T22:36:00.002-04:00

some of the rusty barbed wire pulled from the tiny stream Ian and the kids are digging out.

2009-04-28T21:59:00.004-04:00

my love of felt has been life long. Frances holds the troll that models the very first dress i ever made at the tender age of 5. you can see that my taste in clothes has not changed much over the years.

2009-04-28T21:53:00.002-04:00

my pink dogwood burst into bloom yesterday