New adventures

So begins the new adventures.

I am thinking about starting a new blog. One that refocuses my energy into something that works a bit more for me. I want something that can encompass my career path as a crafter, my dreams as an eventual mother and loving wife, and my crazy quirkiness of being a bit of a geek. I will still post here, just not as often as I had hoped. I hate that I never feel the motivation to actually make a post. I feel that every post needs to be crafty, and that every post needs to have a tutorial, or something of that nature. I don't feel the love anymore of this blog.

I am not giving up blogging, just giving up on this one for a bit. It'll still be here for reference, and it'll still have some new posts every once in a while, but keep your eyes open for a link to my new blog.

Thanks for all the fun!

So, new years resolutions already a bust...

One of my resolutions has already been slashed.. nope, make that 2.. but it is for a good reason!

I have gotten so much business in my baby shower boutique with custom orders, I have not had the chance to post a blog update, or to knit/crochet any charity hats.

Remember this?

I am making 2 of these sets for boys this week, is that a good reason to have NOT kept my end of the blogger resolutions?

Guess I'll need to do a few extras this week... or maybe next week, because.... drum-roll...............................



I am moving!

Again...

This time it is for the better, though I had to find homes for my feline friends and one of my super fluffy adorable puppies..... but it is for the best, and when I move again to a larger house, I can get them back, a very good friend from high school is fostering them until hubby gets into National Guard, and/or gets hired soon by ANY Oregon police department.

As for the crafty side... I love being able to multi-task.

Tonight, our Criminal Justice Club hosted a "Cop Movie Night" where we watched The Expendables.

Not as bad as I expected, in fact, much better than I expected. But seeing as I had budgeted for that time to be spent making a hat to match a blanket I have already finished, I still chose to crochet through the movie... while watching it most of the time. It is rather difficult to rip out a project with boucle yarn in the dark and pick back up to finish it......

That is a rant for another time though. Here is what I got finished at the movie:

Okay, so the blanket I finished while waiting for a yarn store to open up so I could get some yarn for a charity hat drive they were hosting... do those hats count toward my charity work?

Now, these are Sensations Boucle, and don't really follow ANY sort of official pattern. The blanket is crocheted with a J hook, in a basic granny square, the tonal yarn self stripes, and the hat closest to the blanket is made the same way, it is a 3 round granny square, then I started doing the rounds without the increases at the corners. So rather than "3dbl, ch 1, 3 dbl in corner space", it is just a "3 dbl in corner space."

The second hat, which is still a work in progress, is just a plain circle, worked in dbl then once I got to 4 rounds, I stopped increasing. This is a basic bucket hat but because of the drape of the hat, it will form better to the baby head.

Tomorrow I am doing feather hair extensions at the local Indoor Market, and then the rest of the weekend and into the week I am packing for the big move. While we may need to commute 4 days a week, the money we are saving in rent and laundry will MORE than pay for cost of gas.

I am also working through my scraps to get a decent stock of baby goods to toss up on my Etsy.. I have neglected it so much... whoops.

Do you ever get so bogged down that you have to prioritize your obligations?

A moment to reflect...

While I have been on blog hiatus, I have come to some rather alarming conclusions, and a question.

I am running out of steam on this blog, I feel no one is following and am starting to get discouraged. If you find the information I write about useful, or have a friend who would enjoy this blog, please let them know about it. There is no sense in writing if no one is reading, I have a diary for that writing and a husband for that whining.

Please leave comments, I love to hear advice, opinions, and ideas...it helps me stay on track. It has been nearly 3 months since I seriously blogged, and I fear it is because of the lack of correspondence.

Secondly, the concerns:

1. I am crazy to have taken a summer term at school.
2. I lose track of time WAY too easy when the weather is hot...
3. I have 2 baby shower gifts to make, and shower is in 1 1/2 weeks...
4. The economy is way too far in the hole to make ANY money at local craft markets...
5. I really want to knit, but the feeling of yarn in my hands with this humidity is making it really unpleasant.
6. I have finally gotten a decent start on my book.
7. I miss blogging, and having time for inspiration
8. A glass...or 3... of wine makes getting things done nearly impossible.
9. Putting together a desk when it is so hot out you can see heat wave coming off your car is miserable.
10. A hail storm with 93*F temps makes floating the river to cool down all but impossible...

Now that I have put those thoughts down...on to the fun stuff.

I have figured out how to repackage my stitch markers to protect them better when they ship out. They are now nice and neat in these cool little tins, great for gift giving! (You can find them on my Etsy, link to the left)


Also, the baby shower gifts...about those...

First, I am crocheting a park blanket, this will not get immediate attention or use, as I know that it will be a short while before baby can go to the park, but eventually. It is designed as a granny hexagon, and will have blue ribbon strung around the edges to that it can be pulled like a drawstring, and used to carry toys. Since this is Jamie's 3rd little boy, there are plenty of toys.

Here is what I have so far!



The second gift is another blanket, but a crib or stroller blanket. Jamie hasn't got a theme, so I went with something that every little boy is sure to love, for years...turtles, frogs, and lizards!

Not so far on the construction side yet...working on that soon, need to get my studio sorted so I have table space...


This is the layout I plan on using. The green tone is the fabric with the animals, and blue is the fabric with the swirls...


As for my spinning, I planned on doing Tour de Fleece, but with classes, and Saturday market, I barely had time to keep up with my homework, let alone spend any time spinning, but this week I will MAKE time.

As for my previous post about Beau, he is still parked...but we figured out what was wrong with him! YAY...just need a mechanic we can afford, and he will be ready to hit the road!

Also, I am working on a diet, not any special diet, just replacing some of my cooking ingredients with healthier ones, and replacing at least 2 dinners a week with vegetarian meals. While I have not been working on this diet long enough to see results, I will try to keep you updated. I am starting at 185 lbs. I have not been this heavy since middle school, and hope to never be this big again.

Ignorance about Terroists

I have a friend, she is a fellow Phat Fiber contributor. She is a wonderful artist, and a very supportive business friend. This week she has been the target of ignorance, accusations, and insult. All because of where she was born and raised. Galia of Galia Spindle Designs was the target of hateful behavior today because of what the Israeli Government and Military did yesterday with the raid on the Gaza Flotilla . Galia is neither involved in the government, or in the Military, she served her required time in the Military and has moved on to support her family. She is an independent artist who works hard to help support her loved crafts of spinning and knitting, and giving her family happiness. Today, she was banned from her forums on Ravlery because she posted a comment helping a knitter with a knitting problem. The moderator deleted her post, and banned her from the forum because of "her being a terrorist". Furthermore, there have been sale cancellations in her Etsy store because the customers "don't want to support" the terrorists.

This ignorance has left a bitter taste in my mouth. It is like telling a man who was born in a homeless shelter that he isn't allowed to buy a house or go to school because he was born poor. It doesn't sit well with me, and shouldn't with the rest of the world.

Do your part to help Galia, and other going through this situation because of their government.

You can find Galia's spindles and buttons here.

Let her and others like her know that the world isn't FULL of ignorance, stupidity and hate. Let her know that there are still some caring and intelligent people in this world left to support those of us who are just trying to make an honest living.

WIP Wednesday

So here it is, May 26, 2010...that leaves me with just under 7 months to get everything done for Christmas...I know...early to start thinking about that...but I don't want to be the knitting zombie I was last year...I won't face the formidable IT from the Yarn Harlot's life...

And, besides, I have a large family, and not enough needles to have several patterns on the needles at once, like most folks do. Nope, it will be just 1 or 2 projects at a time.

But I spent an insomniac's morning going through my family lists, figuring out who would want what kind of gifts. I have decided, looking from ravlery, that all of the adult women (with the exception of my mother) will be getting large-ish felted tote bags for their various goodies. My mom won't carry a purse or tote bag if her life depended on it, so she will be getting something different...not yet sure what... The adult guys will all be getting bulky wool slippers, as most of them have hard-wood floors in their homes. I will be lining the slippers with leather soles to make them slip resistant...

All of the young adult women (cousin, sister, and niece brackets of family tree) will be getting ear-warmer headbands, and fingerless gloves. All of the young adult men (cousin, nephew brackets) will be getting beanie caps and candy, they are so hard to craft for. For the little ones, (10 or younger) they will each be getting hats and fingerless cable gloves. The 2 littlest ones (under 4) will be getting sock monkeys.

I don't have pics yet, because I don't have yarn yet...but the projects can be found on my ravlery...

As for right now, on my needles as we speak......................I have Wisp in baby blue mohair/acrylic for my birthday, I am hoping to have it finished by Saturday.

Fun Finds Friday

Have you ever wanted to feel like a princess? Draped in silk and lace? Or like a fairy, with magical clothing that was light and fair, and oh so soft?

Wisp, from Knitty is that kind of garment. So versatile, it can be worn as a wrap, a shawl, a hooded scarf, a cowl, or a normal dangle from your shoulders scarf. It is knit is a lightweight yarn that drapes like magic. And it is a simple lace pattern, no charts, no complicated numbers to remember, no beating yourself up when you forget your YO or you K2Tog...Just a simple and forgiving pattern. I started Wisp this afternoon in a gorgeous reclaimed mohair and acrylic blend. I found it on etsy for just a few dollars, and it arrived in the mail this morning.

Another thing to look forward to this week is the Get Spun book release. Symeon North will be at one of my favorite local fiber shops this Saturday doing demos and a book signing party for her new book.

In honor of this event, I shall show some of the fibers that have inspired my art yarns in the past...

(Found Here)

(Found Here)

Also, I received my May Phat Fiber Sampler box in the mail yesterday...OMG there is so much pretty in there I haven't wanted to touch any of it, cause I don't want to disturb the beauty. Or maybe it is just because I wanted my house clean first...any which way you look at it.....today is my fiber play day!



From the hand spun and hand dyed yarns

From left to right"

"Sakura" 50/10/10 Merino, Cashmere, Nylon from Play at Life Fiber
"Lublu" Superwash Wool from All for the Love of Yarn
"Early Spring Blooms" Mohair, Wool, Tencel, Bamboo, Fabric flowers from Cool Climates Handspun Yarns
"Roses of France" Merino, Wool from Bitsy Knits
"Botanica" Superwash Merino from Ambrosia and Bliss
"Cherry Blossom" Merino and Tencel from The Dyeing Arts
and "Tulip Blaze" Merino from Stricken Smitten

And there was more than just yarns in that box! From roving, to mini-batts, braids and locks...mmm....

In no particular order, we have:
"Pocket Posies" in Merino by Spindipity
"Spring Bouquet" by Desired Haven Farms
"Flower Power" in a (random) mix possibly containing Romney, BFL, Sari Silk, Milk Protein Fine wool, Wool nepps, Angora, Mohair and silk waste from Giffordables
"Blossoms and Bark" in Superwash Merino from CJ Delights
Mohair locks from Wonders Mohair
"Bougainville" in Milk Protein Fiber from BeesyBeeFibers
"Lady Slipper Orchid" in Wool and Mohair from Farmgirl Chic
"Coral Moon" in Merino and Tencel from Moonlight and Laughter
"Coral Gables" in 90/10 Wool Mohair from Natchwoolie
"Scallop" in Rambuillet from The Fuzzy Bunny

I also got a few patterns and some discount coupons for other shops...

I love my Phat Fiber boxes, you can get yours too, if you want, just check out the Phat Fiber blog for more information.

Neglect...for a cause?

I have neglected this blog, dismissing my reminders one after the other...

But I have been on a mission!

A few weeks ago, there was a blog post on the Oregonian knitting blog, where they took a day to explore organization techniques for the breed called "artist". I am usually one of the members of this breed that is scatter brained and my organization technique is called planned chaos. But those days have long passed, I have taken the last few weeks of blog silence to reorganize my life.

Not only have I started to ball my yarns, and sort them into boxes marked for plain acrylics, specialty acrylics, variegated acrylics, and non acrylics, but I have also been able to add a box for hand spun and hand painted yarns.

That is right, I am now spinning more and faster than ever because I bought...or am buying...or am trading services for a brand new Majacraft Pioneer double treadle spinning wheel.

Here is a picture of it, from the factory:


Being the creative type I am, I began working with Pam over at Wild 'N Wooly Farms to buy this baby off of her. Through photography, and web development and working for her at the local Saturday Market (She is a busy woman) we have come to an agreement for to get the wheel.

I couldn't have just a plain old spinning wheel, and the Pioneer lends itself for so much creativity with it''s solid and smooth wheel space. I got lost in my studio with my boxes of fabric, and my bottle of mod podge.


I took the wheel off the body of the Pioneer, and found a plate that fit within one of the sets of circles on it. I traced the plate onto the fabric (purchased at Walmart) and cut out 2 circles of fabric. I folded the fabric into quarters and cut a small section of the center off. This fit over the bolt that holds the wheel on the body. once in place, I began slathering mod podge on the wheel, and pressing the fabric over it, once I had the fabric stuck to the wheel with mod podge, I took an old library card and "squeegied" from the bolt in the middle toward the outside edge to get out any wrinkles, then I slathered a layer of mod podge on top of the fabric to seal it in.

I did this on both sides. Don't worry about the holes for the treadle cords, you can feel them under the fabric when it is dry.

Then once both sides were finished drying, I poured a bit of mod podge out onto a glass plate, and added a drop or two of concentrated water color paint, when mixed and applied to the edges of the wheel this makes a transparent but colored glaze, giving this wheel a finished look, you can still see the color differences under the glaze that occur naturally on the wood of the wheel, but now they are coated with a protective and colorful layer of glaze. I have been told that it looks ceramic.

Check out Majacraft to get your own Pioneer!

Now, remember me saying something about that whole planned chaos theory?

Here is my method for planning non-chaos!

BOXES!

I took a set of plain bankers boxes and a couple of $15 Walmart press board shelves, a little rearranging, and voila! Organization...now over the next few weeks, I will be prettying the boxes themselves with mod podge, glue and scrapbook paper, but until then, this functions!

I have a box for raw fiber, weather too little quantities to spin, or enough to make a few hundred yards of fine fingering weight yarn (yeah right...) I put it all in here, seperated by plastic bags.

Then I have a box for my "cheap" acrylic plain colors, and my "cheap" acrylic variegated. And another for specialty acrylics, such as boucles, thick and thins, and blends.

And another box for my hand spun and or hand dyed.

Then on the other side of the shelf, I have a box for fabric scraps, and another for large pieces of fabric, each chunk of fabric that is destined for a project is kept in a bag with its project specs so I can remember what I am working on.



On the wall above the shelves I have thumb tacked my looms in some sort of order from the round looms, across the wall to my long looms.

These are a few of the projects that I have been working on that have been keeping me away from this blog. Other activities include school, work, and running errands, and overall, being a distractable artistic type.

OOOH Pretties!

I have been spinning away like crazy.

Here is my work so far!


This is Turquoise Sea on my hand-made spindle Serenity, this is Merino and Firestar

This is Mother earth, my 3rd ever spun yarn, in mixed fibers from a mini/sample batt from March's Phat Fiber Box. It is a 2 ply, single spun with a recycled cashmere for the ply. I can not (right now) recall who sent in the roving, but the plying cashmere is salvaged from a sweater by Jags of Jags Funky Fibers

This is Cloudy, my second spun, also from the phat fiber box. Mixed fibers, from Cozy Cove Farm. It is plied on itself, and I have about
And my first spun yarn (ever) is called Phoenix, also from the sample box, but I can't think what it is or who sent it in...I know, bad artist...need to write these things down.
Here she is again.


Maybe next months I'll try my hand at hand painting and other dyeing techniques. I have found myself a great resource out at Pam's place, Baabaara's Wild & Wooly.


More later in the week, back to spinning!

another great givaway!!!

FARM FRESH FIBERS!!!

I found this dreamy Silky purple Merino, and silk blend on the etsy store, and fell in love!!!



Again, from the sponsorship of Phatfibers and counting sheep farm, we have the chance to get some great project pieces for our addiction, check them out to see all of their products!

Also, Phatfibers.blogspot.com has all of the entry information for your chance to win!

Knit it up tag givaway!

So, as a new member of the Phatfiber Sampler Box, I was perusing their blog and found this wonderful little competition...now granted, I do not spin...yet...this was very incising, as the store they reference (the sponsoring store, which it giving away the prize) has SOOOOOOO many wonderful roving (both naked and dyed) and batts for spinning and already handspun yarns...and charming, if but a bit sarcastic, gift tags for those Christmas gifts this year.

So please check it out... you won't regret it...


PhatFiber's Knit it up giveaway!

again, even if you do not participate in the contest, at least check out the fibers on this etsy store and the blog site.

Thanks!

Have a good day!