Thursday, April 30, 2009

Providence Smiled

What you non-knitters may not know is that typically we knitters love to knit but hate to do the finishing work on our pieces. Ask the knitters you know:
"Do you have any knitting UFOs that only need to have the ends woven in or the
sides seamed up?"
If they look away or blush, you have your answer.
So you'll understand that I have to get in the mood for finishing up. I was just ramping up to weave in the ends of the first Griffindor Arm Warmer when providence smiled. Knitpicks Podcast did a whole episode on weaving in ends! Four different people weighed in on their techniques. I chose a new one: Swiss Darning. It's a stitch I learned while working on the Fish Cozy, so I was just rarin' to give it a go! Here's a picture, but if I did it right, you won't be able to tell a thing! Okay, I know there's still loose yarn sticking out. I'm not done, okay. But you can also see my start on arm #2.
The mail came and brought with it some fresh excitement: the Pride and Prejudice yarn and sock pattern. Yes, it's colorwork--kind of a basketweave pattern.It also came with this weird chain thing. I'll have to ask the artist about it. It must be of some use to the pattern. Or it was something just sitting around her studio and she threw it into the box to get rid of it... nah! Nobody would do that, would they?Oh, the Fish Cozy: I'm doin' the top now. Isn't this cording looking thing interesting? That's actually attached! I'd like it on cuffs, I think.
I've written so much about knitting, you'd think that's all I do. I actually got some progress on In a Garden, but I was one stitch off (insert the theme from Psycho here!) so I had to frog a buncha stitches. (It wasn't the kind of thing you can fiddle with and it'll look okay--it would have messed with the structure.) Really no point in adding a picture of that...And here's Molly. She's been a little lonely, so I thought I'd do some quilting today. We'll see how it goes.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Not in the Tiki Room

Chiloe asked who the designer of In the Garden was: Linda Gillum from Kooler Design Studio. She's got quite a body of work and seems to be a dedicated artist.I finished working on the parrot quilt. I've decided to call it Rain Forest Serenade. Turns out that's the name of a piece of music by The It. Who knew? It's kinda nice. Here's a link if you want to take a listen. (Actually, I thought it was the name of the music from the Tiki Room in Disneyland. Turns out that's "Tropical Serenade.")
Here's the Juice Purse. This Noro Kureyon is freaking me out, though. While the colors are, well, juicy, there's hay or something stuck in every now and then. I pull it out and keep knitting, but also there are a lot of knots: that doesn't make for easy knitting. Even with those oddities, I like the yarn. The color progressions rock. And the yarn spit-splices really easily. Yes, that's exactly what it sounds like. Don't think too long about it.
I found these blue sparky handles for it at my LYS. There were two other handle sets that looked good with it, but after putting some weight on them and holding 'em like a purse, the bamboo and the bead handles just didn't feel that comfortable to me and, after all, I plan to use the purse, not just leave it on the shelf!And Soylent Green sock numero dos is on its way. Yay! And remember, Soylent Green is made from the best stuff on Earth: people!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Some People Really Shouldn't Be Allowed Outside

Okey-dokey-pokey. What's up in the studio? Well, I've been a little--okay, not a little, super--obsessed. I've been working on In a Garden. See how the backstitch makes things so different? I think the details really shine.
And like everyone else, we've had to tighten our belts. Luckily I have a HUGE stash of stuff to sew, knit, weave, crochet, quilt, so the whole shopping thing isn't necessary, albeit way fun... But that does mean that the finished frameables (i.e. cross-stitch that I want well-protected) will have to wait until there's cash. Eh, so what? In the meantime, I can still make beautiful things. And pretty things. And, um, things.And speaking of things... the Griffindor Arms have had significant progress. I must say that the pattern was not as helpful as I'd hoped. In fact, it appears to be unfinished. The designer says to slip a number of "live stitches" (that means they're still knittable, and vulnerable to being dropped) onto a holder, but she never says what to do with 'em later. It's not like I'm going to hand my kid a project with a buncha stitches slipped onto a safety pin! I'm sure that doesn't count as finished. But the good thing is that it's giving me leeway for creativity. I've made a thumb hole and am just finishing up a few more rows.I'm taking advantage again of living in a beautiful place. Monday I took a little hike around Cabrillo National Monument. I saw a cottontail, two fishing boats, a paddle surfer, and plenty of lizards. I didn't take this picture, but this was definitely the view. And I touched those rocks!And today, I went to Balboa Park for a walk. I toured the prado, looked at the Niki de St. Phalle statues, and settled down in the Zoro Gardens (once a nudist colony for the 1935 Panama Exhibition and now a butterfly garden). Not sure how long I was there, but I think it was 5 rows of the arm warmers. Oh, and I sang. Nope. Not sure what I sang, but I know I was singin'. And the only person that came near me had an odd look on his face. Huh.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Busy? What Do You Mean, Busy?

Yeah, okay, so it's a little busy. Just who do you think designed it? The queen of no-off-switch. But, hey, the Purple Circus is complete! All that time with Tiny moved the quilt within reach of the magical realm of Finished. So I'll turn it in on next Friday--yay!And speaking of finished... The Red Herring Purse is all done, including lining. It took about half an hour to make the lining and then I sewed up the sides, put in the handle doweling, and tacked in the lining this morning at Knitting with the Girls. Now we turn our attention to an item not yet finished, but well on its way: the infamous Fish Cozy. When I knit on it in public, people stop to ask what in the world I'm working on; funny they can't tell. But look! I've done Fair Isle knitting (that's the pattern-y looking thing near the top) and decreasing and striping and stuff. I've learned so much just working on this little bugger!

Monday, April 13, 2009

The Voices in My Head

A miracle happened today: Tiny came into my studio with quilt fabric she'd purchased six years ago--when she actually was tiny--and spent time with me, working on her quilt! Me, the mom. I can hardly take it in. And she stayed in a good mood the whole day. We must have been together six hours. She completed this strip quilt top and made a back.
Here's a close-up. See how it looks a bit like that Hi Cat cat? A friend of mine calls it Fello Fitty...
And then--and then!--we watched a movie (Yes Man) with the Man of the Place just like a real family and everything.
I wasn't planning on sewing much today but I didn't want to break the spell so I just sewed and sewed and sewed on a purple thing that I was using for leaders and enders when working on other quilts. I'll call it Purple Circus. It's a scrap quilt, but maybe you can tell..One block calls for 4 - 2.5" square white, 2 - 2.5" square scrap, 2 - 2.5" x 4.5" strips, and 2 - 2.5" x 6.5" strips. I just came up with it. Although maybe it's something some pioneer gal invented 150 years ago. You never know. Also, I had more mile-a-minute blocks leftover from Shout! so I made another quilt. I think I'll call it ECHO! Echo! echo!

Also, I've found myself acting a bit hermit-y lately: not posting blogs or tweets or even reading my favorite sites or wanting to talk on the phone. And I think I know why: input overload. Yes, I've been listening to podcasts almost all the time. My creative thoughts have been suppressed because I'm constantly listening to the voices in my head, well, my earbuds anyway. So I've made stuff but communication has been challenging. I guess I'll have to change my listening habits.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Words Not Good. Pictures Better.

Not communicate thing. Brain fuzz. No drugs. Just... fuzz. Mile-a-Minute blocks. Tiny liked it. Good. Named "Shout" when brain was working.Had one skein of this super-bulky yarn. Tried the Unoriginal Hat pattern.
Ran out of yarn. Looks like a brain.

Big needles got stuck. Unscrewed tips and pulled 'em out. Not completely dmub.
Score from stash party. (Not the bear.)

More score.

I think I already put this picture up. Griffindor arms.
Soy-Lent Green socks. Some progress.

Sweater Workshop sampler piece. Looks like a Fish Cozy. With elbow patches.