"Zentangle" Inspired

Something a little different for a change.  I used to "doodle" at work when someone I was calling had to put me on hold.  One day when I was looking around online, I ran across the term "Zentangle" which was a specific type of "doodle."  I didn't take it literally but used an abstract method of filling up space with multiple patterns.  These take many hours since the details are very small and the paper is 11 x 14.  I would like to try a very large one but that is for another day.  Have a good weekend!

Find the Hidden Object!

Can you find the hidden object!  I used to like to do the hidden picture projects when I was a kid and that is what this reminded me of.  Little Olive's coloring blends so well with the boulder that she can sit there and not be noticed.  She is such a sweet cat with the most beautiful green eyes.  She does not like the camera so I grabbed this shot while she was not looking.

More etched copper lampwork!

No new beads lately because of the heat but I did make another pair of earrings from etched copper.  I have a new sheet of etched copper with a different design and I punched out shapes recently that I will make into something soon.   I checked the temperature in my studio one day this week and it was 106!  We have broken so many heat and drought records that I quit counting.   Pray for rain!

New etched copper lampwork earrings!

I am still here but not very productive.  I made these for a dear friend and she liked them.  The beads are made with a silver glass shard encased so they have a lot of different colors in them.  It has been way too hot here to even consider making beads.  We have had the hottest June on record and are still under extreme drought conditions.  No fireworks this 4th of July!  Have a good weekend!

New computer!

Technology is not my strong suit.  I didn't realize that buying a new computer would also entail buying new everything else to go with it.  I still have not purchased new photo editing software because of the confusing reviews that I have read.  So there won't be many photos uploaded until I can make up my mind which one to purchase.  I used the one that came with my computer but it does not give me the options that I am used to.  Let's see how this looks when I attempt to get one on this post.  I made this for my step-daughter and she loved it. 

Air Plant aka Tallandisia

The miracles that surround us never cease to amaze me.  This plant is not planted in soil but thrives on air and water.  I didn't think it was even growing and then these  funny little blooms started appearing!  I looked up "air plant" and there are hundred of varieties.  Now I want more!

Etching Copper Experiment

Collage

I have made collages before but not exactly like this one.  Most of the papers I used are painted by me.  I enjoy the layering and moving paint around to see what colors and textures will show through in the process.  I discovered what Citrasolv does to National Geographic photos and this includes some of those papers as well.  That was a fun experiment except for all of the honey bees that it attracted.  I have lots of other things stashed away to play with including a paper making kit that a friend found at a garage sale.  All I need is a old blender to start making my own papers.  There are not enough hours in the day.

New Chalcedony Beads!

These look much better in person and I can't seem to capture the depth or the color with my camera.  I didn't make these all in on session and I plan on making more.  This is only two colors of glass and one in particular gives all the colors under the clear encasing.  It is a process of lots of oxygen and heating and cooling over and over. My concentrator only puts off so much oxygen and it would be interesting to see what I could get if I used tanked oxy instead of a concentrator.  It is fun to see the difference in each bead and I could not make them exactly the same even if I wanted to.

My last post had a glitch in the photo upload and I can't seem to figure out why there is a white space at the bottom of the photo because that only appeared when I uploaded it to this blog.  Any ideas?

Making stuff.

I don't seem to be able to focus on one medium but at least I am back to making things again.  I made this little mixed media piece and the first person that I showed it to wanted it.  That inspires me to keep going!  It is only 12" x 12" and I think it looks bigger in the photo.  After making tiny art pieces in beads for so long, it is difficult for me to adjust to working bigger.  I actually made beads yesterday but have not photographed them yet.  We have had smoke in this area all day from a "controlled burn" somewhere North of where I live.  It makes it hard to breathe outside and I hope it clears up quickly.  That can't be healthy for those who have to work outside.  It has also made driving hazardous.  More soon!

Happy New Year 2011!

It has been so long since I posted but Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to sneak up on me and take all my spare time.  I managed to make a few disc beads specifically with this project in mind.  It was an experiment that I think actually works quite well.  What do you think?

Fall Knitting

Living in Texas, we have warm (understatement) weather.  Yesterday, the high was 91!  Knitting with wool and actually getting to wear  wool has a very short season.  I now have two new garments to add to my collection and am looking forward to cooler weather so I can actually put them on.
The Cedar Leaf Shawlette was one of those "have to" knit items.  The yarn is absolutely luscious and I wish you could feel how soft it is.  It is Madelinetosh Pashmina and is my all time favorite yarn so far.  I have worked on this off and on for several months when I needed something mindless to knit.  The leaves took concentration but the rest of the shawl was easy.
The other project is my second Ishbel.  It is knit from Madelinetosh Tosh Sock yarn which is also very soft but not quite as soft as the above mentioned yarn.  I ran out of yarn on the last lace section because I was trying to knit the larger of the lace patterns.  Searching online for the same yarn was not getting me anywhere.  I found a sweet person on Ravelry that had one skein to spare and thanks to her,  I was able to finally finish it.  I am still amazed what blocking does to lace and it is fun to see the finished results.

I have actually made a few beads lately and will show those soon so this blog doesn't turn into a total knitting blog. 

Knitting Everywhere!

We spent part of Saturday at the Bayou City Art Festival and when I came across this talented artist,  this is what was standing proudly guarding her booth.  My husband stopped traffic for me long enough to get a quick shot.  Having knitting on the brain,  I related to her immediately.  I would have fallen over if I had spotted a glass bead maker in the mix.   I couldn't even get into the booth because of all the people milling around but I had to have a photo of her to share with other knitters.

Multnomah

Another word that I didn't know what it meant so I looked it up and it is the name of a County in Oregon.  I admire the creativity of people when it comes to naming things.  I for one always had a hard time coming up with names for my glass beads.

The Multnomah shawl is another pattern that I found on Ravelry and the yarn was a gift from a dear friend.  It is Crazy Zauberball made in Germany.  It has all my favorite colors in one ball!  The dark red in the photos is actually more brown in real life. The self striping is very pretty and it doesn't pool unattractively like some other variegated yarns that I have used.  I blocked this fairly aggressively and pulled out the feather and fan patterns into sharp points.  I like it that way.  I promised myself that I would get back to making beads when it cooled off and there is a slight chance that will happen this weekend.  I am ready for cooler weather so I can wear my new shawl!

Ishbel

This has been finished for a while and I thought I would share this wonderful pattern.   I saw this shawl knitted in person and it was absolutely beautiful.  Ysolda Teague is the designer and it is in her first book, Whimsical Little Knits 1.  It is a top down shawl and can be made in different sizes or different yarn weights.  If you look on Ravelry, it has been listed as a project 7,743 times!  This one is the smaller size out of Colinette Jitterbug which is a rather squishy sock weight.  I left off 2 rows on the border because I was afraid I was going to run out of yarn.  I am pleased with this one and will probably make it again.

Phoncible

I am not sure what that word actually means, but that is the name of my latest hat.  I found the pattern on Ravelry.  What did I ever do before discovering Ravelry?  This one is going to my daughter because she picked out the pattern and the yarn.  The yarn is Noro Kureyon which is rather scratchy to knit with but it should keep her head warm.  I learned how to knit jogless stripes with this pattern and I think I finally got it down.  The hat is not quite a slouchy as it looks because the wig stand has a tiny head.  When I blocked it, I soaked it in hair condition after using Sweater Soak and I think it helped to make it a bit softer.  I hope she likes it!

Side Slip Cloche

Laura Irwin is an incredible designer.  In her book Boutique Knits, she has some beautiful patterns.  This one is the Side Slip Cloche knit with Berroco Vintage.  I am not sure who will get this one as a gift but I know it will be adorable on someone.  It would be cute with a variety of brooches or buttons added to the brim above the ruffle.  You could even change the look by changing out the accessories.  I have been uploading my photos so look for more projects soon.

Lotus Hat

 

I thought that this pattern (Lotus Hat on Ravelry) might be a little difficult but it was really easy.  This hat was made for a sweet family friend who has lost most of her hair due to chemo.  It is 100% cotton and very soft.  I have been stalking Ebay for an antique hat mold that wasn't completely out of my price range.  Looking at the Styrofoam wig stand, I am thinking that there must be a more attractive way to display my hats but  I haven't found one yet.  Let me know if anyone has any suggestions.

First Real Lace

There are a lot of firsts in my latest project.  First time using lace weight yarn, first nupps ( that is a story within itself), first twisted loop backward cast on, first short rows, and first purl 2 tog bind off.  The pattern is Annis from Knitty and the yarn is Miss Babs Yet.  There is a sad story on Miss Babs blog about her unfortunate smoke incident but happily, she is dying fiber again.  Don't you just love the name of her company?   I will be ordering from her again.  Back to the nupps - which I considered leaving out but I am always up for a good challenge and a challenge they were.  These are basically 7 stitches in 1 stitch and the tricky part is purling 7 together on the back row..  Luckily I found a video on Utube that uses a crochet hook otherwise I would have given up.  Even with the crochet hook, those rows took me a long time.   Not to mention the initial cast on of a whopping 363 stitches.  It was worth the effort and I will probably make another one which should go faster the second time around.  I love to watch the stitches open up with wet blocking but get impatient waiting for the project to dry.  The left part of the bottom photo is the curling mess that it looks like before blocking.  I am ready for Fall and a break from this 99 degree heat!

Figs

Being raised in Houston, we always had fresh figs in the summer that I took for granted.  My Grandmother, Aunt and Mom made preserves every year.  At one point, my little brother would not touch a piece of bread unless it was covered with fig preserves.  Who would have thought that they would become a delicacy served in only the finest restaurants.  These are from my Dad's tree that he managed to pick before the deer and the birds munched on them.  Aren't they pretty?

Malabrigo

Malabrigo yarn  is so soft and a pleasure to knit with.   The hat pattern is Amanda on Ravelry ( my latest obsession) and the fingerless mitts are The Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers also on Ravelry.  There is a generous amount of yardage in each skein so I was able to make the hat and the mitts out of one with plenty to spare. They are the same color but for some reason, my monitor is showing them a tad different.  This is the worsted weight and I have another skein of sock weight on the needles for another project.

I am starting early on Christmas gifts because as we know, it gets closer every year.

More knitting

I am still knitting because it is portable, I have tangible results, I can stop and start whenever I need to, I love the fibers running through my finger, I have something tangible to show when I am finished, and I can totally escape from reality by having to count every stitch.  My poor little studio is being neglected but I will get back to it someday when it gets cooler and my life gets back to somewhat normal.  We have more medical issues to deal with and this one will take us through October.  
This is my first real lace project, first triangle shawl and it won't be the last.  Blocking it was an experience but it completely made the stitches come to life.  I used weed eater string because I don't have any real blocking wires.  I don't have blocking mats either but my old trusty fabric cutting board did the job and it even has diagonal lines on it.  There will be more lace knitting in the near future now that I have conquered my fear.  I used sock yarn weight merino instead of lace weight.  It  has more "umph" and I haven't graduated to lace weight yet (don't tell anyone but I ordered some luscious merino silk lace weight yesterday.)   I got a notice today that it has been shipped.  Don't you love online purchases?  It is so much fun when the UPS man pulls up in front of my house!  I am easily excited.

I have a few more projects to photograph but I was so proud of myself  for finishing this one that I had to show it first.

More Chalcedony

This glass is still amazing to me. The variations in colors has kept my interest and lately, it is all the glass that I want to play with. I am still making beads for Beads of Courage but I didn't photograph them before they were shipped off. Our bead group, The Houston Society of Glass Beadmakers (aka Houston Hotties) has sent over 2,000 beads so for this year and that was only three months worth. Keep it up!

Luscious Yarn

Here is a photo of my latest project and the yarn before I started. I am rather proud of myself for knitting this since I am still a novice knitter. Thanks to Ravelry, I have a whole new world of knitting that is at my fingertips. When I saw this pattern for the first time, I knew that I wanted to knit it but had to wait a while since I had no idea what I was doing. It is the Cedar Leaf Shawlette, by Alana Dakos and it is a beautiful pattern. Her site is Never Not Knitting if you want to see more of her work. The yarn I chose is Madelinetosh Sock yarn in the colorway Copper Penny. It wasn't my first color choice my first choice (Cove) was sold out. I am happy with my shawlette and will do another one soon. Blocking made a huge difference in the final outcome. I will be blocking everything from now on. I have more beads too but that will be in the next post.

Still knitting

I do have some new beads but the knitting seems to be taking my focus at the moment. I started a rather ambitious project (ambitious for me) and it is taking longer than I had planned. My goal is to finish everything that I start before casting on another project. If I am not happy with the direction it is going, I just rip it out instead of letting it sit unfinished. Yarn is too precious to waste! Here are a few of the things I have completed lately. Some of the hats went to my daughter who lives where it is cold and others to a family friend who is going through chemo. The little fingerless gloves will go to my daughter if she will wear them and if not, they are mine. I was very proud of myself knitting a thumb! When I first started trying something besides straight scarfs, I didn't know what I was doing but with the help of books and gracious knitters who write tutorials, I am slowly adding to my stitch repertoire. My studio is beginning to feel lonely and I have promised myself that I will start making beads on a regular basis soon. But for now, the knitting needles are still calling.