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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

De-Stash De-Tox

Pink Orient is finished! I changed the name to Fan Girl, as it's for my fan girl. Here's a closeup of the border fabric. I just pulled it out of the stash and it seemed to have a place right there. Yay--no extra shopping!
Here's a closeup of the quilting: it's a color-change thread that I had a big spool of just hanging around, wanting nothing more than to be a part of something greater, much like the rest of us.
And the back. I just hosted a De-Stash party with some of the knitters I know. One was moving out of the country and wanted to clear stuff out. So I went through my yarn and separated it into the stuff that could go... ...and the stuff that wanted to stay.But not everything that I was willing to part with was ready to leave the house that night. I have to go through and decide what to reabsorb and what to send to charity.My Nonsense and Sensibility Socks got done: hoop-de-doo! I had to block the cuffs because they're lace. Worked just fine but looks a little creepy in process. Here they are, all done! Am I standing on a book, you ask? Um. Maybe.

A Real Buckeye!

So, Applecheeks got a request for a quilt for a fellah who's a real Buckeye fan. (That's the team from Ohio State University for them's that don't know) She found this panel on eBay and dug out some coordinating fabrics. Then I took over. It struck me that there is a quilt block called Buckeye Beauty. Here it is: It's gonna work great.
But what is a buckeye? I went to the web. According to wordnet.princeton.edu, the inedible nutlike seed of the horse chestnut. Really? Horse Chestnut?Really? A nut? One that you can't even eat? And they named the team after a nut? Huh. I mean, if it was up to me to name a team, I'd probaby pick something like a funnel cake. Yeah. The New Orleans Funnel Cakes. That'd get people to cheer.

Just About Perfect

The Dream Dancer is moving along, albeit at a snail's pace. But the shield is done (well, it looks done because I haven't sewn in the white yet, but let's just humor the nice blogger) and the outside of the cloak is done (really). I've decided that she needs a name. What do you think of Running Water?
And here's the back for Cowboy Christmas. I was going to piece it from stash fabrics because I didn't have enough of anything that would work nicely, but something wonderful happened: at Prayer Quilt Ministry, Applecheeks held up this cloth--3 yards! and said,

"This was donated to the ministry but we can't use it because* it's Christmassy
and it seems to be a shame to cut it up. Can anyone use it? Anyone? Really, I
was hoping someone would be able to put it to some use..."

Now go back and see where I put the *. It was at that point that I ran up and wrapped myself in the fabric, but she wouldn't let go and just kept talking and talking. Boy, that woman is strong!And here's a nice little close-up. I think it's just about perfect!

The Rest of the Story

This was lunch today. Do not fear the Spam.
I had some fun yarn shopping yesterday and decided to get creative with the pictures, so, I present to you my new acquisitions:

Tiny wants arm warmers in Griffindor colors--that's gold and red to you non-Harry Potter fans--so I think these will do handily. (The worsted weight we picked up earlier was just too thick for the pattern.) Besides, the gold is shiny. Ooh, look, shiny!

Also, Tiny got seduced by these luscious glittery purples and wants a hat. I will comply.

Knit Pix is so cool! They have a very good return policy. While I was knitting the Sense sock, I experienced a horrible knitting-related accident: the end pulled off of the needle! Instead of calling the insurance company, I called the seller direct. They will replace my needles, no problem. As long as I wasn't skydiving or shark-baiting, they are very cool. And since they were sending needles, I ordered a book. This one.Because... there's a new baby coming! Yay! My cuz is all preggers. I started a new set of booties, too.

The Non-Sense & Sensibility Socks:

Sense is done. So glad to say I'm halfway there. As to the pattern: I've never done a triple decrease for a toe. It looks pretty, but we'll see how it feels under a shoe. On to Sensibility.

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. (the beginning of the story is here.) I got an email back from my pet TV star: David H. Lawrence, XVII. Here's what the man himself had to say: "Yeah, that's the story of my life - a chick stalks me, and then is distracted by something shinier... than my head." He's got a point. It is shiny.

Is this a Bad Idea?

I've been twittering and decided to follow one of the actors from Heroes: David H. Lawrence XVII. Shortly after, I received this message:

Thanks for following me! Please let me know why u did at (insert email addy here) (and yes this is really me, not a bot)

So, here's what I'm sending him:

Okay. Why am I following you? Um. I'm not. I was just... going to the same Starbucks, Barnes and Noble and Gee, That Was a Really Expensive Gadget store as you. The tracking device on the right wheel-well of your car has nothing to do with it. (No, don't go looking for it.) It's just a weird co-inkidink that I happen to have enjoyed your interview on 10th Wonder and your views on popular culture, not to mention (except that I am) your bizarre sense of humor. I'm not following you. I'm just, um... ooh, look, shiny!

Um
He's smart. He'll know I'm kidding, right? Right?