Sunday, October 24, 2004

Straps, gifts and a hand felted swatch

This is the Oli tank with the right strap done, being modeled by my daughter, Olivia...



I tried to get her to smile but she says that models do not smile! Children are keenly observant aren't they?

And these are gifts from my friend, Jen. She visited Oregon and brought these goodies for me. She is so great for surprising me and making me feel special. It's eerie how she knows me so well, or maybe I'm just that obvious. She told me that they weren't much, only small things. I told her that giving is always large...



I love the Bush gum. Very funny! And the wire art bookmarker will come in handy. The pin will be added to my huge collection. It says...Life, liberty and the pursuit of a good woman for president. My favorite part of her gift is this crochet hook made from ebony. It is made by Jim Langsather, a marquetry craftsman. It is very beautiful. I can't wait to use it...




One more thing I crossed off my list of knitting to-do's. I hand felted the Peace Fleece swatch for the tea cozy. Here it is pre-felting...



And with Olivia's help, it took about twenty minutes to get it felted. We did a hot water and soap bath and after kneading it for a few minutes, did a cold water dunking. It was really neat because I could actually feel the fiber pull tight when it hit the cold water. I even broke a sweat from all the kneading and rubbing. Yes, I am out of shape...you know it's time to hit the gym when your craft projects wear you out!



Here is the felted swatch, aka gift pouch, blocking. Once dry, I will add a handle and try the silk-ribbon embroidery on it.



Once again going against my very own Knitter's Creed, I did not take any notes on this swatch. So I can't give you any specifics, except that I used Peace Fleece. By the photos, it looks as if it felted down about half its original size. What an amazing process! And so much fun.

The corporate guys are in town for work the next week and a half. But hopefully the Oli tank will prevail and I will have a finished object for you this week. Wish me luck...these guys can be so intimidating!

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Actual knitting and a little bit of shopping...

So I finally decided to buckle down and try to finish the Oli tank. Truth is, I've sort of lost interest in most of the projects I had been working on. But my daughter would give me a look everytime she spied her unfinished top(sad, sad face)...I just could not stand the guilt. I finished the back and am happy to report that I should be done with the front and straps this week...



Here is a close-up of the decreases. Ughhh, not very pretty. Because the pattern I was using confused me, I decided to do my own thing once I had reached the separation point for the front and back. The backside was done without any problems.



Different story for the front. The pattern called for using a p3tbl for a left slanting decrease. Is there such a thing? I looked through most of my resources and could not find it. I was confused on how this was done, so I tried a ssp(slip, slip, purl). It seems to have worked out okay. I'm sure there are some of you out there cringing at my technique...and if anyone has any advice on how I could have done this better and easier, please let me know! I am open to suggestions. I usually like to do things my own way and learn from my mistakes. I also do not like to ask for directions when lost...

A friend asked me to put together a Halloween costume for her today. We went to Savers and found some really hip 70's clothing for her. It was so much fun picking things out, I thought of how much fun it must be to be a costume designer or one of those people who does this for movies. She had to drag me away from anything that was crocheted or knitted. Until I found the aisle of heads, I did a dance and almost screamed when I saw a whole aisle of these styrofoam beauties. How could I pass this up? She was mine for $3.00!



I even did some online shopping this past week. I love zines. And found these over at Cut & Paste. There is one on how to screen print and another on crafts and DIY. It's fun to read these little creations. The photo on the right is of Ralph, a zine that a friend and I created when we were both taking our first Women's Studies courses. If I had the time I would love to do one about knitting.



It's back to work for me tomorrow. I will try to have a finished Oli tank for you by the next post...

Friday, October 15, 2004

The Yarn Mystic Is A...

Knitting Guru
You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Found this little quiz at Sit and Knit and couldn't resist. See...this is why I can't get any actual knitting done...distractions, distractions!

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

My Vacation Itinerary

After working a whopping 56 hours last week, I started my vacation. Here is how I intended on spending it...

Sunday-Relax and knit
Monday-Relax, knit and celebrate daughter's birthday
Tuesday-Relax, meet with knitting group which would include a trip to our LYS and knitting together
Wednesday-Relax and knit
Thursday-Relax and knit
Friday-Relax and knit

You get the idea...

Well, instead I got to work yesterday and today. It's crazy, but that is life in retail management. I still have a few days left. Alas, all is not lost. My sister-in-law called and we are going to a huge craft fair this Friday morning. I am so excited. I won't even need to drive. I can sit back, relax, and knit. I wonder if there will be yarn and knitting with knitters? Maybe spinning with spinners? I will try to take pictures of the crafting by crafters. There is always unusual and fun Hawaii-type crafts going on at these events.

I have managed to get a wee-bit of knitting related activities going on. I received this package from ImagiKnit's Yarn of the Month Club.



It includes four different yarns, a pattern for a shrug using one of the current month's yarns, and an informational flyer about using natural dyes. Very interesting for me, as I am trying to learn more about dyeing my own fiber. I'm looking forward to swatching the samples.

Speaking of swatches, here is a picture of my first spinning attempt knitted up. I believe it is angora. I am thinking of felting it and making a keychain out of it.



Just this small amount of yarn has me craving to learn more about spinning. I enjoy visiting here and here for some major creative inspiration.

And a big thank you to Becky for the wonderful, surprise-filled package! Beads and postcards all the way from France, I love being gifted...



Mulling over ideas on what to create from the beautiful beads she sent...

Well, I had better finish this post quickly. We have been having blackouts because of higher electricity usage due to the heat(people cranking up the a/c and fans). It would be quite upsetting if I lost this post to a power outage!

Friday, October 01, 2004

Adventures in Yarnland...

In attempts to navigate my way through the knitting doldrums, I've been trying several different tricks to get my slacking self motivated.

I have borrowed a dropspindle and some roving from a couple of knitters from the Honolulu SNB...thanks to Carol and Opal. I was given a quick lesson by Opal a few months back and have been itching to try my hand at it again.


So after a few false starts, I think I've got the hang of spinning.
With the help of Robert Sabuda's Alice, here is the finished product...



Not much yarn...but I like it. It was fun using the handspindle. And I've been drooling over the latest Halcyon Yarn equipment catalog. The spinning wheels are so beautiful. Do I dare treat myself to one?

But first I think I should get through some of my stash...



In that pile of yarn, there is going to be a Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille baby blanket, a Noro Kureyon French Market bag, another bag of my own design using the Red Hill yarn, a tank out the Patons Fun, and a Mission Falls 1824 cotton cardigan.

Will I ever finish what I already have on my needles? Will my daughter outgrow the tank before it's ever done? Will I go insane? Stay tuned...
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