Warm 'N Fuzzy

Party's Really Over...

2007-03-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry, folks.....after the end of March, I will be shutting down this particular blog, and using my main site, Warm 'N Fuzzy Fiber Arts to do my blogging on; just go to the home page, and click the link for 'Studio Notes', and until I get some sort of tag board installed or some other kind of commenting feature or forum or smoke signals set up, anyone that would like to comment or say howdy can do so by e-mailing me (e-mail hyperlinks are all over my site). And any one that wants to see what I've got for purchase in the way of finished goods, I now have an Etsy store chock full of Happy Bags and hand painted roving. Other types of stuff are still available through the main site. My writing blog, Handspun Threads of Thought will still be up and going, and as always I'll post there when the Muse thumps some resemblence of sense into my head. So come on over and say hi.....don't be a stranger.

Namaste

KNITTING, INTERUPTED.....

2006-12-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

. . . . For this, my first, real, finished piece of tatted lace. When I was a little girl first testing the waters of the world of fiber work, I had a copy of Coats n Clark's 'How To' book---which encompassed knitting, crocheting, embroidery, tatting and amazingly enough, tunisian crocheting, which they called the afgan stitch. I was so intrigued by all of it so much that I wanted to do it all. Now, I knit fairly well, crochet fairly well, embroider mostly when I have to. But the two arts out of that book that were, to me and any one I asked, the most obscure of the lot was tunisian crocheting and tatting--neither of which I really got the hang of at that time (I was about 11 at the time, I think); but all this time, they were both hanging in the back of my mind as something that someday I would learn to do, and to do as well as I could. Earlier this year, the tunisian crocheting forced it's way to the front of my subconscious and demanded to be learned, and learned well. I searched for and found the bible of tunisian crocheting, an amazing body of work called The Encyclopedia of Tunisian Crocheting, which I can't highly recommend to anyone gung-ho to learn---and I will post about my experiences learning tunisian crocheting another time. Over 500 stitches are found in it's pages, and I believe there is a part two in the works.

For the past two weeks, which should have been mostly devoted to holiday gift making and such, lo and behold, my muse has decided that I need to finally come to grips with tatting. I have searched for tutorials, perused web sites--some so old they didn't exist except as entries on a keyword search, some that hadn't been updated since mostly forever. Nevertheless, I have found that the tatting community does still exist and is still going quite strong--women and men still producing beautiful lace, writing patterns and teaching. I have spent quite alot of time working at it lately, my head buzzing late at night with how-to's on one-shuttle tatting, two shuttle tatting, one shuttle and one ball of thread tatting, the continuous threaded method, picots long and short, chaining, half rings, whole rings, split rings done with two shuttles and the awesome trick of split rings with only one shuttle, split chains, mock picots and the shoelace trick....I've waded through shuttle collections of others, went and bought five of my own-- two Clover, two Susan Bates of plastic with hard to remove bobbins but with lovely long and skinny hooks, one Susan Bates of aluminum with a not so great hook, but with a bobbin that moves like silk (which looks amazingly like the Coats n Clarks one I had years ago as an 11 year old).....I feel like I've squashed all the things I might have spent several years learning into less than two weeks! And I love it....

First photo is of a bookmark I made after the technique of working with two shuttles and split rings made sense, but before I really understood neither written patterns or charts, so I guess I designed it myself. It's actually a wonderful pink color, made of six strand embroidery floss. The next is a close-up

This is the start of a snowflake, using two shuttles, but unfortunately before I grasped the continuous threading method. Still, I'm rather excited by how it's turning out. I have other little practise pieces, and two motifs I've tried my hand at, neither of which I can show because they are going to end up in some cards I'm giving to people that read this blog and I don't want to spoil the surprize....soon, I will also add a section to this blog listing all the sites I found to be the most helpful.

So do I like tatting? Ohhh, I love it. I told my husband I was adding another art/hobby to my arsenal, he threw me a long, suffering look and asked "Can it be contained in a box about this big, please????" marking out in the air an area of an imaginary box with about a one foot dimension. Oh, yes indeed.....it's even an inexpensive one.....but then, I didn't tell him about the handcrafted shuttles that cost around $22 to $50 a pop I've been checking out.......a fiber artist's life is nice.....

~Blessings always

The Party's Over....Sigh...

2006-11-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

My one day on the big artsy-craftsy show merry-go round is over......did I do well? Hmmm--if we are talking about the 'hand out cards, flyers and talk to people to get my name out there'type of success, then yes, I did well. Did I do well selling lots and lots of stuff? I did sell a small amount and made a tiny tiny tiny profit on a seven-hour day. Am I going to ask the show coordinator next time (if there is a next time) if she's going to allow people to sell pre-assembled 'gift baskets' filled with stuff they bought in a store and put in a basket, also purchased , then threw some plastic wrap and a bow on at a extreme cut-throat price, thereby severely compromising the real artisans and crafters that made their items from raw materials and parts mixed with much sweat and tears, even though, even though the vender requirements very clearly and emphatically states that items sold by vendors have to be entirely hand-crafted or homemade, and that there will be NO EXCEPTIONS made, in supposed fairness to the artisans and crafters. Okay, at the end of that rant there is an answer---yes, I bloody well will ask first.....provided I ever do that crafts fair again. A Tony the tiger stuffie (small, store-bought) and a box of Frosted Flakes (that came out of Kellogg's oven and not the vendor's) was part of the contents of one of these wonderful 'gift baskets'.....oh, original and hand-crafted for sure.....

On the flip side of that rant, it was good to go....I used to work for Philips for 11 years (laid off after the Sept. 11th attacks) and I had lost touch with a lot of dear friends, so it was rather like a big family reunion for me....and that I enjoyed very very much. And now, I have lots of lovely new stock for my webstore---things that I had been planning for months to create, but made in three weeks due to the pressure of a deadline.
So, on that note, let me leave you with a completely non-fiber related photo of someone that always manages to make me feel better no matter what happens.....

......Cap'n Zack Sparrow (click photo to better see the Cap'n in 'happy pirate' dance mode).....
~Blessings

Calm Before The Show....

2006-11-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

So here we are, the night of the setting-up pre-show photos....took these while my table still looked nice--before the 'we're gonna buy all your stuff' frenzy sets in tomorrow. Well, that's my fantasy...although one lady from the show commitee took a good look-see at my hand bags and went away saying 'Well, I already know where I'm spending my money tomorrow'. A good sign? I shall take it as such. Any way, photo time of the arts fair I am in as a fiber artist for the first time--yayy me....

Happy Bags.....large variety....

Still Happy Bags.....

One end of the table of such good 'stuff'....and my two helpers.....

Happy bags of the smaller sort.....and a bunch of Hair Fobs to the left.....

So, the show is tomorrow, everything is in place, more or less.

I've also had five sales on my CafePress store in the last two months, so I'm taking that as a sign of good things more to come, business-wise. Even if I don't do wonderful things, sales-wise, I'm certainly taking this opportunity to get my name out there as a teacher and supplier, so I have flyers & business cards to hand out and a free pattern to lure in the customers.

Wish me luck and much fun! And I wish you many blessings...

Not That I'm Narcisstic In Any Way....

2006-11-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

.....and not that this have anything to do with fiber arts, but I thought this was interesting:

http://www.myheritage.com

Of course, I'm not going to show you the guys that I matched up with....oh, noooo indeed!

Blessings

The Knit Chicks Are In Da House!

2006-10-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

Well, at Tully's at any rate! Yes, through the machinations and manipulations of my friend Tina and myself, our long-lost knitting group has gotten back together and had our first get-together last Sunday! And an awesome time it was, too.....This is Tina, my knitting partner in crime...thanks to her ability to get and actually keep phone numbers, she pratically single-handedly got the word out that we were planning an afternoon of knitting, gossip and coffee drinking.

Here we have Tina's terrific sister, Robin....great big smile on her face due to the fact she just finished a lovely pair of socks through some timely assistance with the mystery of the kitchener stitch. Two pretty great sisters, wouldn't you say? And two great stitchers as well.

...the awesome socks in question. See how we just moved right in at Tully's and made ourselves at home? And they were totally lovely to us and gave us the best seats in the house next to a cozy fireplace....or maybe they just wanted us out of the way of their non-fiber customers? Nahhhhh....everybody loves a pack of yarn-crazed latte-fueled knitters.....

This is Cher, yarn afficionato (owns Yarnies, yummy yarns of all kinds, and lots of other wondrous things).....another knitting goddess is she, and a kindred spirit! She had the best stories, hands down....

This gal in blue with the great smile is Lisa, trying very hard to convince me that she isn't photogenic....not true, Lisa--this is a great photo....

And this beee-ooo-tiful person in the amazing pink and red outfit is Berniece, a terrific lady with a one-of-a-kind fashion sense--and a wonderful sense of humor to match. Pretty wonderful group, aren't we? And I am soooo glad that we got back together....and we meet yet again next week, with the possibility of more knitters joining us....more stitching, more mirth, more caffeine......and lots and lots of love and fun!

Think you'd like to join us????

Blessings

FELTMANIA CONTINUED....

2006-08-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

And so I continue on my knitting felting binge....lots of drudgery-type work involved (all that machine washing), but wow, I like the results.....these two lovely felted bowls are earmarked as Christmas presents for my sister-in-law and her daughter. They will be filled up with handmade washcloths, soaps and anything else I can think of to pamper them.

So much more goings-on lately, that I'm having to work hard to keep up with it all! I have a unique pattern book for beginners in the works that I will most likely be publishing through Lulu.com, a self-publishing website....very terrific concept, I recommend checking them out; I hope to have that out by Christmas. I have commissions for gifts for my mum to complete, and I will be having a table at a local crafts fair, offering up for people's purchasing pleasure, Happy Bags of my own design, hair fobs, felted tree ornaments, brand spankin' new Warm 'n Fuzzy spindle kits (they're not on the site yet) that I've put together with help from my DH, and maybe perhaps a few select yarns, plus free pattern handouts and info on classes I can give, and stitch markers that my friend makes....I'm sure there's more on the list I made, but can't think of them all at the moment.

Off I go to knit......

Blessings & Peace

CATCHING UP ON BLOGGING....

2006-08-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

....after this extremely loooong hiatus would just about be impossible; wayy too many issues to work through lately have made it hard to want to blog. To try and bring it all up to speed would take some time, so rather than tell you all about all the knitting, weaving, crocheting, spinning and dyeing projects either started or completed during all those non-blogging hours would take quite a bit of time, so I will just talk about this....

This somewhat shapeless thingie is made from yarn handspun & dyed by me, of course. I have pulled all the yarn I had for sale from my webstore; after a year of being up for sale, I hadn't even sold one skein; the focus for my store will be on fiber only....so now, I have all these marvelous yarns to play with.

So, now that you're wondering what the hoo ha I'm going to do with a thingie such as this, well, of course I dump it in the washing machine, add dishwashing detergent, two pairs of my DH's old jeans, very hot water, and wash the bejeebers out of it about a half a dozen times.....or at least until it looks like this:

Now that is a clutch that in my opinion is worth, well, clutching......almost (but not quite) makes me glad the yarns didn't sell; but then the part of me that thinks too much of herself really wonders why they didn't.

The pattern is from the Book, One Skein (Barnes & Noble link on the right, hint, hint), and it's one of the few patterns lately that I haven't had the urge to mangle up into something different.

One can never have too many handbags.....

Blessings.....

COMFORT....

2006-03-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

.....comes in many forms. When my dad died last month, I wanted comfort, my son wanted comfort, my mom definately wanted comfort -- heck, we all wanted and needed a little comfort. Noreen, my dear and great friend, had the answer. When her father passed away just this last December, she, being the talented designer and loving daughter that she is, designed a wonderful little thing that is a comfort -- and a blessing to make: Memory Bears. Made from cutting a shirt of the person that you want to keep the memory of into strips and using a big beautiful spool knitter, they are.......well, see for yourself:

I almost cried when I finished him; he's just so precious. I tell you, it was hard to cut into one of Dad's shirts...but as I did, it came to me that Dad would of absolutely approved of it and would have been pleased that one of his old, soft flannel shirts was being re-born into this bit of snuggle.

And does he do the job? Oh, yes.....most definately....

Namaste....may you all find just a little bit of snuggle & comfort in your lives......

IN LOVING MEMORY....

2006-02-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

Mr. Esley Brooks, My Father

Feb. 13, 1931 ~ Feb. 6th, 2006

Who Taught Me The Beauty Of Making Things With Your Own Two Hands

I Like Sock Yarn...I Love Shawls...

2006-01-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

Sigh, okay....I guess socks don't really have to be made out of thick or chunky yarn to be 'real' socks. I like sock yarn, really and truly I do. For something that thin being worked on size 2 sticks, it knits up faster than I thought it would. I've got the first one past the heel.....and if I don't suddenly get a case of 'one lonely sock' (where you never seem to be able to make the second sock), it shouldn't be too long before I can wear them. Both DH and SS have asked if they can have them....nosiree was the answer....pattern is a free one from Yarn Boy, a blog I'm finding to be a facinating gateway into the mind of a man who knits....

Yayy, my shawl is finished....the first one I have made since I was about 11 years old. The two I had made at that tender age were both crocheted, which at that impatient age I was convinced was the only way to make something quickly. This pattern goes very speedy fast. Here's a cute story involving my son, the fella that is modeling the shawl for the photos: On the day I finished it, I had just spread it out on my bed so as to contemplate how to block it (which has still to be done). Zack came full speed into the bedroom all teary-eyed because he'd bumped himself somewhere on his person (I'm still not exactly sure where the booboo was two days later). He jumped up into my lap---thankfully, I was sitting on the bed so I actually had a 'lap' at the time--for hugs and kisses to melt the booboo.....not thinking, I reached over, grab the shawl and pulled it over him....he snuggled right into the shawl, sighed and smiled. I asked if the shawl made him feel all cozy and better, to which he replied with a little grin, "It's very cozy and soft, Momma.....can I have it?" (?!). Well, I explained it was to keep Mommy's shoulders warm, but he would not give it up until I had promised to make him a blanket out of the same yarn, same color, and the very same snuggliness. He may be a big boy, who's even sporting his first loose tooth (!), but he stills loves the importance of a good blankie.......

Never knew how to miter a corner until I made this shawl....no matter how simple it seems, I always learn something new from a pattern.

Next big project to hit the needles will also be a sweater for me...nope, not being selfish at all....after all, while I'm completing these bigger projects, I'm also making scarves, stuffed toys, and other little thingies for the masses......besides, I want a sweater for me that for once doesn't look like I borrowed it from Dan, which is where most of the sweaters I wear come from.....

Blessings....

Found Another Photo....

2006-01-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

Hurray! Found pictures of the lady bug I needle-felted for my son's teacher as a Christmas present:

I think it turned out rather cute! She loves lady bugs, and I wanted a chance to try needle-felting something other than a flat picture. The directions came from Mielke's Fiber Arts....I did make the head slightly bigger, gave it more spots (Zack wanted exactly six) and hot-glued some plastic eyes.....

Another view.....I think I'll like doing critters, they are a very pleasing thing to do---I love doing landscapes the best, though; I don't paint, although I wish I could, so I guess it's a replacement for me and allows me to produce that type of visual art. Added to the list of goals for this year: needle felting....alot.....

Shawl for me is nearing completion, about 7-8 inches left to knit before I do the edging. More yarn purchases, of course: Austermann Step sock yarn in an interesting colorway of blues, browns, white, a little dark yellow, and burnt orange...have even started one cuff---thought I was going to make myself crazy knitting on size 2 needles, I'm usually a mid-range needle size gal, but I bought some Bryspun doublepoints...they are excellent once I got used to how flexible they are, which for a person like me with massive hand & wrist issues is a big plus. Also a first time for me is using a sock yarn, a self-striping one at that---it's pretty dang cool. Other yarn purchase was some more Berocco novelty for, you guessed it, another dang boa scarf.....so what?! I'm enjoying myself, the yarn is yummy to a fiber-fondler such as myself (a person that can't pass by a bin of yarn without squeezing a skein or three) , calorie-free and not damaging to my complexion like my other obsession, chocolate.

Now off for my other favorite obsession......coffeeeeeeeee.......and fiber, of course.....

Blessings.....

More Photo Catch-Up....

2005-12-31T19:05:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd use this lull to catch up on photo posting. Dad is home (yayy) and he and Mom are adjusting to all the new routines and ways of living. All is quiet here on New Year's Eve, stick-in-the-mud fuddy-duddys that we are. We'll pull some crackers, play with the Zackster, and probably turn in early with a good book and sparkling cider...so exciting, LOL...

I said I wasn't gonna do it...I was NOT going to fall prey to the boa scarf thingie, after that one I made last year with the Fizz Sidar yarn (memory still has a bad odor); but, you see, I was reading a knitting murder mystery (yes, there are such things), and the main character is going on about all the yummy novelty yarns in her LYS, and how wonderful a time she's having making one---and then whilst in my LYS picking out yarn to make myself a shawl, and thinking with a long project I need to have a break in the middle and have a short instant gradification project and I saw this amazingly soft fucia Berocco......and it did go so fast.....and yeah, I'm gonna make another one...sheesh....

Here we have a little something I whipped up tonight, a barrett with a knitted cover of ribbon yarn....partly because of my hair needing something to keep it out of my way, and partly because I'm thinking of new things to make and sell in my webstore. I'm test-wearing this one for a bit, and if it likes it's new look and job, I'll be making lots to put up for sale....Gee, what a rotten photo--I don't take pics of the back of my head very well. But the barrett is cute....

This the the beginning of the shawl for me, done in Plymouth Encore in a wonderful raspberry/dark copper color. I've noticed that Plymouth doesn't really name their yarns---they just use color lot numbers. It's amazingly soft and light for a wool/acrylic blend. I'm finding I very much like knitting with it, and the price is very right (under $6 a 204 yd skein at my LYS), so I believe the first sweater of the year will also be made of it.....

Next post will be more photo-type posts....I'm sifting through all the Christmas photos and finding more that I've taken of projects and presents that I made. I'm hitting the wheel often these days, so more yarn to work with....which also means more processing and dyeing and carding to keep up with the spinning.....hey, I wouldn't do all of that if I didn't love it.....

Blessings for a Joyful, Loving, Peaceful New Year......

Wowiewow wow....Almost Christmas??!!

2005-12-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

....and soooo overdue to post! We've had a tough couple of months at our house...my dad being in and out of the hospital, and now at the care center to get better to come home. I won't go into a ton of detail---just suffice it to say that for someone having had a stroke, angioplasty and onset of some Alzheimer's issues, my dad is hanging in there. Special thanks to the wonderful sisters of my on-line group....your well wishes and good energy were unsurpassed in excellence and so very incredibly precious to me. We're still needing posistive wishes sent out to him and my mom....Dad's body is healing, but Alzheimer's and the stroke have been rough on him emotionally. We will continue to visit as much as we can....

Okay, as far as fiber work goes, I do believe....and I say this with the utmost hope that "Mr. Murphy" and his dumb law aren't listening....that I am, for the most part, finished with my list of presents to make. Fameous last words? Let's hope not...

Although I don't have pictures of all of the pressies I've made, here are some....

Here we have a dolly I made for a, ahem, friend of Zack's...actually, she's the older sister of one of his best buddies from school. He says he has a crush on her, but you didn't hear it from me.....

Next, here is a pair of fingerless mitts I designed and wrote a pattern for...these are for one of my older brothers. I got his name in our family gift exchange drawing. I really didn't know what I was going to make him, until he just happened to see the ones I'd made for me out of a pattern from Bev's Country Cottage....he told me he liked them and thought they'd be really cool for fishing and hunting....I thought "that was an easy score". They're crocheted from wool, and my husband is modeling them for the picture.

Next, we have a throw pillow for my mum-in-law....the front is four woven pieces that were woven on a potholder loom, and the back is a square piece made on my knitting machine. Yarn is good ol' Wool Ease, which I think should cause no itching problems. Husband took one look at it and says he wants a bunch for our house too.....and hopefully, I have one or two to sell....

I did also make a bunch of jewelry for my niece and sister-in-law which I will try to get pictures of them modeling them for me--thanks for the inspiration for those pressies goes to you, Noreen, with your truly amazing ideas on your blog on spool knitting, presents for Zack's buddy (the one with the older sister) and their parents of whom I'm happy to have a friendship with, Zack's other very cool buddy and gifts for my parents: knee warmers for Mom, scarf and hat for my Dad.....geez, I even have one present leftover, a small backpack....that will probably never happen again in my lifetime. I guess I just got carried away making presents.....does that mean I actually one up for next year?!

On the yarn and fiber on line store front, all is quiet presently....after the first of the year, I'm hoping to have finished items and an occational pattern to sell---Pillows, Happy Bags, and of course...more fiber!

Happy Yule to all who will celebrate with me.....Merry Christmas to everyone...

Love and Blessings....

Another UFO Down, And One To Go....

2005-09-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

I love making bags, especially when I make them up out of my own head....especially making it up out of my own head, and it comes out so very just right. Here today I have another 'Happy Bag', knitted with two strands of yarn, each a different shade of blue and each a different texture. They are ***gasp*** both acrylic yarn....some yarn purists would so not like this, but I have two bags made from wool, neither of which are very washable and I wanted a bag that was but still had some omph to it. I believe acrylic yarns have their place and some I've seen are very nice indeed. I wouldn't dream of making a sweater for my six year old son that wasn't completely machine washable, and since we aren't rich, it's also important to save money where I can. The darker blue is a mohair-like yarn and the lighter blue is a sport-weight yarn. Bag was knitted in the round, with the lining knitted in. Lining is finished with a kitchener stitch for a smooth, invisible seam (sorry the picture doesn't let you see all the way to the bottom of the bag), and the outside shell is stitched together at the bottom using a false graft, which makes the bottom slightly flat, giving a bit of a shape to it. Strap is an I-cord made on a wonderful tool called a Dancing Heart Cord Maker, developed and made by Noreen Crone-Findlay. I hate making I-cords with needles, and this is by far the best tool I have ever used to make them. It is amazingly simple to use, and makes a great cord very fast, and it is beautiful to look at. She also makes the most wonderful spool knitters, each a work of art and a joy to use. The two pictures of the commissioned knitters on her site is two that she made for me and my son, Zack, who absolutely squealed when he saw the picture of his duckie Squeaker and himself on them. Back to the bag - the closure is a button and loop; the button was made by making a knitted cover for a large glass bead, a technique you can find on Glampyre Knits, a wonderful blog where you will also find patterns for some very inovative and unique knitted garments.

The next UFO on the list, a scarf for Zack's buddy....

Blessings & prayers are two-fold today, for those who lost their homes & lives through an act of nature, and those who lost their lives through the evil of man....

~Namaste

Oh, Yeah...I Promised You A Picture...

2005-09-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, better late than not at all, I suppose...Here's the poncho I made for my mom, a Martha Look-Alike no less. And yes, before I got 'poncho-ing' out of my mind, I also made one for me in green, and one for my sister-in-law in grey, white, and blue. I now have ponchos out of my system...at least until I make one for my little two year old niece for Christmas! Bottom picture of course is a close-up of the edge which I did goof up and left one row out, but Mom neither noticed or cared when I pointed it out to her.

Christmas! ***Sudden gasp*** Did I say Christmas??!! Oh, bother....here comes the mile-long list of presents to make. And NEITHER of our families is going to draw names anymore! Sheesh....
On the store front, I now have a Paypal generated shopping cart for the convience of my customers....transactions and shipping will go very much smoother. I'll have more dyed roving up by middle of this week, hopefully; just got a pound of Corridale Cross and it is just begging for tons of color...and I do live to dye.....courtesy laugh would be appreciated....

Many Blessings......my prayers and energy go out to the evacuees........

Happy Bags Revisted......

2005-09-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Yayy....I finally found the one thing I needed to get this UFO out of my studio and on to it's new owner, my dear friend and list owner of the Women Weaving Dreams Yahoo group...and all it took was a couple of charms off of a set of two key chains, and we have the 'Mingo Happy Bag....

I am just so pleased and my friend who loves flamingos loves it! There is a flamingo needle felted on the outside pocket and also a fabric lining in it as well with a pattern of, yep you didn't even have to guess this one, flamingos. I like to line bags, even felted ones with fabric because I hate reaching inside for my keys or my knitting needles if I'm toting those (and I usually am) only to find that they are poking thru the bottom or sides of my bag!

My website is working along just fine....I registered my domain name and that's a whole lot easier to type: warmnfuzzyfiberarts.com ---so much better! I'm glad it's all done and I have the satifaction of setting a huge goal like that and actually completing it all by the end of summer....I feel good about it.....

The switch to publishing with Blogspot was indeed a good one....still don't know why the pictures from previous posts disappeared....if anyone that reads my blog and wants to see any of the older pictures from previous posts, just e-mail me and I will be happy either to send you the picture you want to see, or re-post it.

Warmest of Blessings, especially to the evacuees that need it the most......

I Did It, It's Done....

2005-08-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

....New on-line store is up and running, yayy! It's out there and working and cool and great.....well, it's out there. Trade name is registered, Pay Pal account upgraded, tax goobla is done---I'm in business, more or less, LOL....

Presenting for your entertainment and approval, ha....

Warm 'N Fuzzy Fiber Arts

It's a work in progress, but then aren't all web sites.....I'm just glad to be able to get back to the real fun---spinning, knitting, crocheting, needle-felting, weaving, dyeing...and on....and on....

Now that I'm publishing on Blogspot and not Comcast (thank you, Blogger, for making that a no-brainer, easy thing to accomplish), pictures in the future should no longer be a concern....one of the main reasons to blog for me was to be able to share lots of pictures. I'm sorry to say that I've seemed to have lost previous pictures on past posts, and I'm not sure how to get them back, but rather than start a whole new blog from scratch, I shall shrug my shoulders, chalk it up to experience, and just make a new starting point from here on.

I have many things to catch up on; they will keep until the next post....of course, this one will be with pictures......

Many Blessings!

TOO BUSY TO BLOG? ALMOST.....

2005-07-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

My trusty calendar tells me that it's wayy past high time for a blog entry....and since my calendar has never steered me wrong before--except for that somewhat twisted anniversary incident of a couple of years ago, but I'm not pointing fingers.....

Here's pictures of the poncho I made for Mom a couple of months back but didn't get into my blog until now.....I'm still confounded by my mother's request for a poncho as she very rarely asks me to make anything for her, and a Martha Stewart-style one at that:

Well, now.....isn't that interesting. Seems Blogger.com has changed the way they are handling pictures on blogs.....even with using their 'adjustment' to my settings, I still am unable to post pictures. Sorry, but until I can figure out what to do about it, the pictures for this post will have to wait.....and if they continue to be too complicated for me to use, I may have to start another blog. What an incredible pain. Never fear, I will continue to blog in some fashion or another!

Just to keep to fiber topics, the implimentation of my online yarn and fiber store is going steadily along, building web pages, dyeing and spinning my heart out and learning all the ends and outs of PayPal......it's just so exciting, can't wait until fall when I start up for real!

Blessings......and Happy 4th!

Rather Spin Than Work...

2005-05-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

My goodness, such a spring it has been.....spring showers, thunder storms and, believe it or not, an honest to goodness heat wave for almost 4 days! Made me want to check the map to make sure this was Washington state, north of Seattle! And now, of course, it's raining cats and dogs, kittens and puppies......

On the fiber side, I have some pictures of some yarns I have been creating with the idea to start selling this fall....

Top is romney roving two-ply in a bright fuchia color, not dyed by me....bottom is from a corridale cross batt, three-ply (navajo plied), also not my dyeing efforts.....

These two are both singles made of my hand-painted corridale roving....

These are both from romney fleece, done by me from 'square one', by which I mean starting with raw 'right off the sheep's back' fleece--scoured, cleaned, carded, spun and dyed....the red on top is a two-ply bulky yarn, the violet on the bottom is a three-ply, more of a worsted weight...I'll know for sure what to catagorize my yarns after I check the WPI.....

....And the last two are singles spun from the batts I made and dyed earlier (two posts ago on 'blog time'), they are also from the romney I processed....

I have a whole lot more yarns I've been making, but these are the most recent. I'm shooting for a fall opening of an on-line yarn store, so I'm going to be spinning all summer! Hopefully, with two internet stores going, a yarn-fiber one and my Cafe Press store, and any students I can pick up along the way, I can happily work at home and forget about getting a not so great part-time job that would only serve to irritate the bajeebers out of me......and who needs that....

Blessings!

INTRODUCING...MY CAFE PRESS STORE!

2005-05-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, indeed....after thinking it over for some time, and getting feedback about it from other people with Cafe Press stores, I am so proud to announce the opening of my very first on-line store, WARM 'N FUZZY! It is courtesy of Cafe Press.com....still working on it a bit, but there's a little of most every product they provide, from t-shirts to teddy bears to mousepads!

On the fiber art front, here's a picture of a project done by needle-felting, a new fiber art technique I'm just learning...

This image can also be found on some of my Cafe Press gear....yes, I know....it was a shameless plug for my new store....couldn't hurt, heehee!

Next post I'll be sharing some pictures of ponchos I've been making for my mom and myself....

Blessings!

Show...And Not Much To Tell...

2005-04-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

Spring is, well, springing all over the place....so are knitting projects, dyeing endeavors....even my son Zack seems to have sprung up another half inch in height! This post is actually more of a picture story than alot of actual talk....

Here's the latest Happy Bag.....

An adaptation of a pattern from Vogue Knitting On the Go book, " Bags & Backpacks"....the pattern actually makes a very large, square bag with big squarish plastic handles, but I made mine like this....patterns to me are a guideline; I use patterns as a spring board to making the item unique and special. The bottom didn't seem like it could hold up under much weight without bowing, so I made a stiffener to keep it square and add some 'inside interest'....

...just 2 sheets of thin cardboard and fabric, snugged down into the bottom of the bag.

Last Saturday was another dyeing day.....this time, I handpainted three batts I made from some really nice Romney wool. After dyeing and drying, I re-carded the batts to blend the colors---and ended up with one of this....

....and two of these...

The top one has just two of the three colors I blended--more green than red, and the bottom is a combination of all three. I was trying to blend the colors to have more of an earthy range of coloring....not the colors I was shooting for, but I love what I was surprised with!

Next picture is of a project for a nice gal I know who's presently an expectant mommy for the second time.....

....dang cute, wouldn't you say? Pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, believe it or not...they took about an hour to make.....

And last pictures are of a sunglasses/cell phone/pda case.....pattern designed and written by me!
Front...

Back....

And an 'actual size' comparison....

.....made from 3 ply wool (romney, I think), dyed a toffee color with a dye made from rhododendrum leaves (yes, rhodies).....I am so enjoying the quirks and physics involved with designing patterns....perhaps with enough practise, I might actually get really good at it, who knows?

Other than all of this, I'm still spinning yarn, knitting blankets, making whatever else comes to mind.....and drinking alot of coffee......

Blessings......

Small Or Big...All are Equally Happy Bags

2005-04-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Okay.....zipper installed, purse has been lined, tassle made.....Bags, purses, backbacks---love them all...

First thing I've made that was knitted without turning the piece and no purling---I am so very much liking knitting backwards....here's the lining....

The directions didn't call for a lining, but since I rarely follow a pattern exactly to the letter (to me, a pattern is more like a guideline...I need freedom to create and make it uniquely mine) , I put one in....I'd hate to have someone's car keys poking holes through it! A major part of my personality is being able to give things I've made to others, so this bag is going to find a home as soon as one of my friends or a family member says they just have to have it.....

I do have one other bag that's nearly finished as well; I'll post a picture of it as well....need to do a little creative color changing with the handles I bought for it. Like the handles when I bought them, got them home, and sure enough--as a dyer, you'd think I'd know better, hmmph--natural bamboo looks hideous with a black/gray tweed yarn. So after I've painted them black and get them in place, pictures will be forthcoming!

On the UFO front, I did recently do a little more work on the Forest Sun weaving (will it ever be finished??), and have a picture to share....

Someday it will be finished....I comfort myself with the thought that perhaps the Mona Lisa wasn't painted in a short amount of time either....Da Vinci I'm not, but it's certain though that I now have a more humble appreciation for the slow, but sure 'creative process'--although the quick fix of a short and sweet project (such as a happy bag lol) is definately good, and so very satisfying to the soul!

Ah, a latte in the afternoon is nice......blessings!

All Scarfed Up....

2005-04-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Sigh....just can't make enough scarves...among my excuses are: terrific fashion accessary, ease of making, one size really and truly fits all, blah, blah, yadda, yadda.....or maybe I just have a secret, fiendish obsession with scarves (token swell of scary background music).....nah, I just like them....

Yarn is wool, roving was handpainted in a collection of colors I like to call "Phantom of Woodstock"....pattern is from 'Stitch 'n Bitch Nation' by Debbie Stoller, a book I highly recommend (Barnes and Noble link is to the right if you're curious about this book). Easy-peasy pattern called a drop stitch which knits up super fast.

Another new thing for me is that I just learned the wonderful new (to me) trick of knitting backwards. I like to knit.....but I don't like to purl so much.....love the feel of stockinette pieces, but dislike having to turn my work, get my hands re-situated, wind the yarn back around my fingers for tension....yuk. Now, instead of doing all that, I just continue back and forth, and alot faster than I was before----rather just like my knitting machine. Here's where I learned: Knitting-and.com Knit Backwards.....and of course, there's also how to purl backwards too: Knitting-and.com Purl Backwards. This is a wonderful website with all kinds of great things on it....definately worth the time to peruse it. I've been using this backwards trick to make a small evening bag, also from 'Stitch 'n Bitch Nation'....finished all the knitting yesterday, now just need to get to the fabric store for a small zipper. Sometimes my severe lack of decent notions in this house dreadfully impedes my immediate progress....'for want of a zipper, she could not post a picture....' Rats....

More coffee, please....heavy on the blessings.....

Soap Bag Knitting Machine Pattern

2005-04-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

Have a free pattern on me.....this is my first attempt at actually writing out a pattern for something I made. I've made lots of things on the fly, but never actually wrote out directions on how to do it. I like to use my knitting machine alot, so anything I knit that has plain knitting in it, I use my machine when I can. I tried to write it with a beginner in mind (of which I'm certainly not much better than!) and teaches one simple technique.....

SOAP BAG
Degree of difficulty: easy-peasy
Featured technique: Machine knit spaces as in lace-knitting

Cotton yarn—any color; I use white
Darning needle
Knitting machine-I have a Brother KH 230, so these instructions were made for it…use your machine’s equivalent settings.

Set tension dial at 6. Co 32 Sts. (I use a chained e cast-on method)
Hang weights and K 36 rows…end with COR.

Starting with 3rd stitch on left, move every 3rd stitch to the needle to the left of it-every 3rd stitch will be decreased (like a full-fashion decrease). Set carriage to “Part”, and bring forward every needle that has a stitch on it, leave empty needles in WP. Note: Needles are arranged like this: iioiioiioiioiioiioiioiioiioiioii (i = full needle; o = empty needle).

K one row. Replace removed stitches by using the bar left over the empty needles (like the “making one” increase method in hand knitting), twisting once—this row makes spaces for threading a drawstring through. Set carriage back to “Plain”.

K one row. Change tension dial to 8, and K until row counter is at 40. Bind off using a backstitch bind-off method.

Sew up sides and bottom using a whip stitch; weave in ends. Thread a drawstring through spaces and tie.

Drawstring can be made by braiding a length of cotton yarn, or I made an I-cord by casting on 3 stitches on my knitting machine, set the tension at 6 and knitted 60 rows (pull down on the cord as you knit to provide tension). The drawstring can also be crocheted or made on a lucet…or just buy some commercial cording.

To use: slip in a bar of soap, pull drawstring tight and lather up. When finished, remove soap, rinse bag out completely and hang to dry. Once a week or so, throw bag in the washer along with your towels.

© Iris Morrison
March 3, 2005

~May be copied for personal use if copyright information is included - May also be used on the web, in print materials, or for teaching purposes if written permission is gained and full credit is given to author~

And the finished bag looks rather like this.....

Just a useful little do-hickey.....Next pattern I'll be posting is for a baby blanket, also written by me and designed for a knitting machine as well.....I'm really enjoying doing this......

Many Blessings.....

Happy Bags!

2005-03-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Every now and again, I have to stop and take time out from other projects and make something purely for myself....and finally use up some odd balls of yarn I've made over the years. After all, Zack has a happy bag; and now I have one too....

It's colorful, very roomy and took less than 3 days to make. Most all of it is wool, spun during my early years of spinning, so it's extra chunky, but I did use the mohair I handpainted last Saturday. The straps are a four-stitch I-cord I ran up on my knitting machine. The pattern is from the Fuzzy Galore website; although I did make mine about an inch shorter, and the measurement they gave for the shoulder straps were way too small for me--I nearly had to double it. I took it with me to the grocery store this morning, and got soooo many compliments from all kinds of ladies, some who mentioned they wanted to learn to make something like that....so I've decided that I'm going to start offering lessons in fiber arts to anyone that says something like that to me. I don't think I'll be doing large-scale classes anywhere, just one-on-one or very small groups out of my own studio....I'll just print up business cards, and give them out when anyone expresses interest.....gee, the clerk at the store hinted around about buying my happy bag! Maybe I'm on to something......

A close-up of the pattern....Very, very easy....Oh, I definately need a new camera!

Many Blessings!

Well, My Name Does Mean 'Rainbow', After All...

2005-02-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

Color, color everywhere...especially in my workroom! Here's the results from Saturday's dyeing session....Let there be Light? Nah, let there be Color!

This is the roving I painted....and let me say, those new bottles with the yorker tips are the bomb! Worked excellent..no refilling at all! Here's the yarn I also painted, same method....

On the left, two-ply mohair...on the right, wool--also two ply. Had some bleed-over between colors on the mohair....but I still love the results..

Here's some pictures of yarns spun from some of the painted rovings....

This is the yarn made from the very first roving I did, spun on Agnes, my Kiwi wheel...I think it looks best as singles, so I won't be plying it...

....and these two are from the second batch. Both are wool. I will be making two-ply out of the singles spun on Tasha, my big purpleheart wood spindle....but I haven't decided yet whether or not to ply the yarn on my lovely blue dogwood Halla spindle---it rather reminds me of cotton candy colors.

As you can see, I have much to spin from! And lest I forget to mention, I have found a source for dog hair....friend of mine has a lovely doggie (I forget the breed) that has great undercoat hair, just right for spinning....tried a small bit of it a week ago, and it works lovely. Her owners keep her coat up so well, I didn't have to card or tease it! My friend will be saving up her doggie's hair from brushings, and says there be much, much more when she blows her coat this spring! It's a beautiful, camel color....can't wait to make something from it!

Life makes me happy....not half full or half empty; it's all good....

Let there be many blessings for everyone.....

Roving (pant, pant) Must..Paint..More..Roving

2005-02-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

Oh, my.....do I love to do this! Spent another lovely Saturday steaming up the kitchen and hand painting a whole bunch more wool roving. Rather a long process, but soooo worth the time you put into it.....

.....my husband says the one in the middle reminds him of a tequila sunrise drink. Don't misconstrue that this is a longish, hard process---there is alot of 'hurry up and wait' times with it, such as waiting for the roving to soak, and steaming the rolls. Perfect opportunity to knit while you wait as far as I'm concerned! It is true what is said about the learning process...each time you refine what you do, tweak methods and evolve better tools. The best thing I learned for me this time, after doing a dining room table full of roving, is that syringes bite....hard. Filling those dang things up each and every time you use them, especially if you are using quite a few different colors, is hard on the fingers...never mind how klutzy I am to begin with when I'm wearing rubber gloves. Good thing I'm obsessive about safety precautions when it comes to possible dye spills. The very minute I was done painting and had them rolled up and in the pot to steam, I ordered a box of 12 eight ounce bottles from the Dharma Trading Company with something called a yorker spout on them (narrow, tapered tip). Dye can also be stored in them, which is a plus for me since I don't throw out dye stock if I can help it. The next batch I plan to do will wait until their arrival. I will also be trying my hand at painting finished yarn.....more good fun in the works!

Next post I will put up pictures of the yarns I'm spinning from my painted rovings, and give an update on Zack's and my Project Linus blankeys....we are having some kind of awsome fun with those! And have had an opportunity to try spinning dog hair!

Many blessings!

Fun is....Learning Something New

2005-01-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

Dare to be different.....Try something out of the ordinary for yourself....Learn a new bend to your creative spark, and in the process have more fun than playing with playdough. Yesterday, I tried hand-painting wool roving. Without exaggerating too much, I'd say it's more fun than a barrel full of 68 million monkeys and free rides at a carnival.......Yes, it's that much fun! And without sounding to much like a egotist, I am proud of me and totally tickled. Pictures, please....

Here's the roving on my kitchen counter, painted and ready to be rolled up......

....And the roving rolled up in plastic wrap, ready to be steamed. Looks rather like two eggrolls Van Gogh might have painted after having some take-out......

....after steaming and sitting in rinse water....Zack says it looked like two chinese dragons in a tickle fight....

.....Ta-da! I was soooo happy I squeeked! Loved the process, definately loved the outcome. Saying I'm pleased is putting it so lightly. Lincoln wool is the roving, and I used Jacquard acid dyes for the colors.....process is found here at the Gleason's Fine Woolies Ranch website....directions were very, very easy to follow, with very clear pictures of the process. Now all I can say is....I want more, please!

Dare to be different....Try something out of the ordinary for yourself.....bend that creative spark like a balloon animal......Chances are you'll be tickled pink....and sky blue.....and teal....and pumpkin orange.....

Blessings!

(Note: Improvements to my use of html courtesy of "HTML for the World Wide Web" by Elizabeth Castro....I am grateful!)

Such A Wonderful Feeling....

2005-01-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

....to finish a project for my son! The "Just a Plain Blue Sweater, Mom" is finished---and before he grew out of it, too. So, here is Zack, modeling his latest mom-crafted creation....

Sorry, it's hard to make out details, but it's obvious he likes it. It is knitted top down on circular and double pointed needles, with no seams...my favorite part; grafting together all those pieces is so tedious to me, so when the knitting was finished, this sweater was done!

The first blanket for Project Linus is nearly complete....so much so that the second one is already in the works....it's made of a yarn called Baby Cloud, and it's as soft as a cloud; rather like knitting cotton candy--except it doesn't stick to my needles, thankfully! Next week I'll post an 'in progress' picture. Zack, my blankey inspector, assures me that it will make an exceptionally cuddly blanket. I think he's more excited about making blankets for babies and little kids than I am. Here's the first one, modeled by a silly ol' bear....

What can make a fiber artist a happy camper? Finding another yarn, fiber and supplies store in the neighborhood, of course (well, that and discovering one morning that elves had done all my carding the night before, but that's another daydream)....what a nice little shop it is! My plans are to make it a regular hang-out....luckily, the owner lady encourages it. After having a long comfy chat with her, and looking at all the goodies on the shelves, I left with a big bag of dyed mohair locks. Usually I like to do my own dyeing, but she gave me an awsome deal on the whole big bag (which included alot of undyed mohair, so I can still do some of it myself), I just had to bring it home.

Ah, such a huge basket full....been carding it with my hand carders (when I'm not smacking myself in the finger with them, ouch!) so as to preserve the different colors when I'm spinning it.

It's soft and lusterous...I'm going to use it as singles and make a bag out of it, unless of course it morphs into something else--sometimes my projects have a habit of doing that, sometimes right before my very eyes.

Along with the hat I made for my mom to give to my brother and a moebius scarf I made for a friend (neither of which I have pictures of...what was I thinking), that's the shape of my fiber stuff for the moment. UFOs are being done, slowly but surely...someday I might even be able to finish the Forest Sun wall hanging....now that would definately be something that would rate a huzzah....or two...or three....

Blessings!

Small Looms Revisited....

2005-01-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

I admit it. I have been infected by the small loom virus....and I am glad. Here's my recent Ebay purchase, a Wonder Weave loom. Been looking at them for some time, decided the time was right enough. This one is dated at 1964, and came in the original shipping package....

It's little, it's cute...and it actually has a device for opening and closing the sheds, plus the two metal bars that run down the sides act as weft stretchers to keep the side selvages even (removable after the weaving is done, of course). It makes a piece about 4" by 4"......

Awsome little loom...and just right for making baby blankeys for Project Linus, which is this year's long term project for me. Project Linus 'blanketeers' make and donate blankets to children and babies in hospitals...everyone knows blankeys give you a wonderful sense of security; even my own son tells me his makes him feel braver at night--imagine what one would do for a sick child in a scary hospital. http://www.projectlinus.org/home.htm will tell the whole story.

And speaking of 'Linus' blankeys, here's the one I have started....

It's made on the order of a diagonal washcloth, just knitted giant-sized! Made out of the varigated acrylic yarn I seem to have an inexhaustable amount of, sigh. I believe I will be crocheting a white border in a shell stitch pattern....nothing with loops, of course, as these can get tangled in IVs and other equipment at hospitals.

Other updates: The 'just a plain blue sweater, Mom' is finally nearing completion...just one more sleeve to go and it's done. All of our snowy weather we've had recently has really made me want to finish it for Zack. Completed sweater picture will be posted soon. Also made another pair of socks for myself and one of those headband/earwarmer tied-behind-your-head items...I'll post a picture of it next time, as I don't exactly know what they are called. It keeps your head warm, but doesn't give you hat hair like a hat does.

Time to make lunch for Zack and get him off to school....many blessings!

...hanging out by the duck pond.....

Small Looms CAN Do Great Things....

2004-12-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

"Bigger is better"? Not too necessarily so. Even with weaving looms, dynamite comes in the smaller packages too. Just finished up a UFO that I started a few months back on a small vintage loom I got from an Ebay seller a while ago. Circa at about 1950s or so, it seems to be simular to a loom made by Good Wood Loom; their 'Magic Heddle' is nearly identical to the tool used to operate the heddles on my little loom. Since the awsome, warm and loving lady that is the list owner of the e-group I belong to--Women Weaving Dreams-- was curious to see mine and the little mug rug I was weaving on it (a request that came about from a thread on, of all things, flamingos and the lovely color pink....you had to be there), I thought a little 'show and tell' on the small looms I am currently owned by. Here's the vintage one, and the projects done on it....

It makes a piece about 4 inches by 7 1/2 inches; a little long for a mug rug that sits one cup...just right if you like to share! And yes, indeedy, the heddle stick and shuttle are pink, glorious pink! I know of one lady that would completely approve! This is a closer look at the woven pieces......

The red one on the left is made of 3 plied wool spun on my Kiwi wheel (who's name is Agnes...another story) dyed with kool-aid...the one on the right is made of a charkha-spun cotton, also 3 ply navajo-fashion (a rather mean feat if you know the nature of cotton singles, but I got a method that actually seems to do that successfully enough). I had tried, in my inexperienced foolishness, to dye it red with kool-aid.....I can laugh at these sort of things now, and actually the outcome didn't seem to be all that bad, a sort of a pink over white. Close enough to be called 'flamingo pink'? Or does the wool one look more like that?

Small loom number two: remember those potholder looms that used the small loops? Well, one day some time ago, I got a little bitty wild hair.....

How 'bout that? On the left, a piece made from 3 ply wool. I wove it in a manner that is a little like what I think is used for weaving on tri looms (?) , and the grey is just an acrylic yarn I have for doing the odd thing with...I used the methods decribed on the Weave-its website; it made a very loose weave and I had to fudge it a bit here and there because my potholder loom pegs are not spaced the same way as a Weave-it....I think it would work well if I need to felt small squares for a project. The other method is a much denser weave. Here's a little project for Zack I made a while back from more squares of the same wool....

Zack calls it his 'Happy Bag' because, and I quote, "I can carry things in it that make me happy!" Mostly it was first used to carry around the infamous teddy bear, Huggy, but now it is used for a myriad of stuff. Here's just the bag....

I think I shall do more 'Happy Bags' this year, just for fun! And last and latest small loom (well, the last I shall be 'showing and telling' about right now) is a stick loom I bought to finish my dad's gun strap.....

Now I definately have plans for experimenting with this loom in the very near future! I've only used it to made the shoulder pad for Dad's gun strap with (there's a picture of the completed strap in an earlier post) , and am dying to try out a whole lot more projects on it.

I do have two other weaving contraptions I use: I have an inkle loom and I also do card weaving--I'll show those when I have some work-in-progress going on with them.

That's all I have to show for now.....Many blessings as always, and keep in the pink!

Why Is There A Grasshopper On Your Tree???

2004-12-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

Okay....so the next installment in my quest for originality and imaginative-ness (is that a word?) in the fiber world didn't exactly have much to do with fiber, but I'm going to let it will slide by. This is our first Christmas in our new house, and since we have tons of space now and cathedral ceilings, I wanted to have a very special Christmas tree this year. So off to the library I went for inspiration and directions for making some ornaments that, although not what I would term 'off the wall', would definately make the 'I've never seen those before, or even heard of that' catagory. After the storm of colored paper, pipe cleaners, ribbons, beads, various glues and whatever else I could think of to throw in there finally subsided, we have ourselves what I whimsically call 'The Bug Tree'........

Isn't that something? It's called a Christmas Spider, and it actually is a traditional ornament to make in the Ukraine....I think it evens adds a touch of the Spider Woman from Native American traditions, and that definately works for the tree of a fiber artist! The adorning of a Christmas tree with a spider has a lovely story behind it. One Christmas eve, a long time ago, a housewife and mother spent a hard day's work cleaning her house from top to bottom, putting up decorations, and especially trimming a very beautiful tree. The spiders that made their homes in the house fled to the attic to escape all the hustle and bustle. When at last the house was quiet and still with the coming of the night, the spiders crept back downstairs where they were totally enchanted with the beautiful sight of the decorated Christmas tree. Excitely, they climbed all over the tree in order to see more closely the beautiful ornaments....unfortunately leaving in their wake many, many cobwebs. At midnight, the house was of course visited by Santa Claus. Upon seeing the spiders so happy in the lovely tree, he smiled....but knowing how heartbroken the good wife of the house would be to see her tree covered in so many dusty cobwebs, he changed them all to gold and silver. This is where the tradition of putting winding trails of tinsel on our Christmas trees comes from, and to have lots of luck and happiness in the house a Christmas spider is placed among the branches. I have often thought of that story many times since I first heard it, so this is the year we are starting our own tradition of making spiders for our tree!

And of course, if we have spiders......

.....can grasshoppers be far behind? This little guy is checking out one of the other kinds of ornaments we made, a victorian fan. I also made some little woven baskets out of construction paper to hang on the tree with little goodies in them...can't recall what country they came from, but they were a challenge, as each side is a solid piece of paper with slits cut into them! Here's one....

I think the grasshopper is wondering if there's anything good for him to eat in it! Here's the web and spider Zack was largely responsible for....the fly stuck on the web was entirely his idea!

I guess if I was a spider, that would be what I would want for Christmas! He also made a free-form version of, of all things, a preying mantis! Sometimes I am just astonished at the amount of information that my 5 1/2 year old son has in his head.....

And, so this doesn't become too much like a tree blog and not a fiber blog, here is my niece modeling the boa scarf I made her as a Christmas present (we just hosted my family's holiday dinner yesterday; we draw names, so everybody got to open a present early). It is made of Fizz Sidar yarn, was a complete horror to knit....it will be awhile before I make anything with that stuff again!

....luckily, she just loved it! And on that note.....good night and many blessings!

Happy Yule to all the people known and not known who will be observing it with me....

There's A "Wormie" In The Fruits Of My Labors.....

2004-12-01T22:36:00.000-08:00

Oh, my....I am pooped. I am still getting used to the fact that in the world of stay-at-home moms a project that should conceivably take only about a couple of hours ends up taking all day....the reason: because you only get to spend a few minutes here, a few minutes there actually working on it, and over time, the short project ends up spread over a 12 hour (sometimes more) period. I shake my head in disbelief sometimes and just laugh. So, here's the two 'wormies' that had me up til 10 p.m. tonight....

I must admit, they were worth it! They will be finding new homes with Zack's two chums, his best friend, a great little boy, and his 'girlfriend' (girlfriend?! "Yah, Mom...she's a girl and she's my friend--girlfriend"....love that 5 year old logic!). Here's a kissy face close-up.....

Wow, my digital camera sure has it in for reds lately....and the browns you see are actually black. Artsy-craftsy wise, I think they're okay! Tomorrow, though, I believe I shall do nothing more time-consuming than dish cloths....well, I'll try not to.

On a more bloggy, technical note, I do now have a tagboard set up--so drop me a line, say hi, tell me what you're up to!

Many Blessings!

Is It December 26th Yet?!

2004-11-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

**Clicking heels together, chanting "....there's no place like home, there's no place....". Geepers...the lesson learned at this point is to start next year's gift list on December 26th. Sigh, I'm still reeling a bit from Thanksgiving. I console myself constantly with the warm, comforting feeling that any gifts I don't get to on my list can easily be replaced with a trip to the department stores, not one bit as nice as a handmade gift, but I do what I can....ho, ho, and phew! Anyhoo, I have gotten started on the manly scarf for my husband. Here's a bit of a sneak peek:

I must say, I do like the pattern.....it's from a book called "Scarf Style", a yummy collection of just scarf patterns--some are less scarf like than others, all are unique (if I didn't say so before in a previous post, there is a new Barnes and Noble link below the index on this blog). Yarn is wool, handspun and dyed with various methods and sources by me.

A bit of a closer look, no doubt.......got a long way to go! I do so like scarves---no seams to sew, no shaping to do...I just get to sit and do my favorite part: KNIT! And I'm still working on the shawl for me, unfortunately I have to sit on it a bit.....one of the more unlovely things that can happen to a fiber artist has happened to me.....I ran out of the yarn I was using! Bother! Now I gotta wait until I get another shipment from good ole' Mary Maxim. Sigh, that's what I get for not using my own!

Comments and e-mails about my blog are always welcome, of course! I usually post replies to comments by also using the commenting feature on this blog, and I can and will answer all e-mails (link can be found at bottom of index found on the right).....I would love to hear from other folks in the fiber art world---tell me about what you are working on!

Time for a refreshing cup of tea.....Many Blessings!

Ho, Ho, Ho...Only One More Thing On My List To Go..

2004-11-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

Man, oh man...the socks for my sister-in-law are done, done, done (Iris doing happy dance...well meant, but admittably not a pretty sight). Last thing on my list to do is hair scrunchies for a little school chum of my son's--a sweet little girl with pretty long hair....lucky for me, they are a no brainer---in fact, have one just about finished, just needs to be stitched together with a elastic hair band. And then I'll just about be done....except I just remembered I promised my son we would make some knitted 'wormies' as presents for some of his other friends (make a long knitted tube on a Mattel Knitting Machine, stuff with polyfil, put a long tassle on one end for a tail, make a little hat, use pieces of felt for the face, and ta-da...a 'wormie')----dang; well, at least they are easy to do!

A picture of the socks for 'Aunty'.....

Well, the heels look a little funny.....these were made on my knitting machine, and the heels are an 'afterthought' type heel, put in after the body of the sock was made....they look a whole lot better on. I'm certainly glad to be finished using these colors....after using them for two items, I'm ready to throw the remainder of it back in my stash.

I did start a project in the last couple of days that's just for me. It's going to be a shawl of sorts, made with four big triangular pieces....assembled, it will resemble a large square with one seam left open, and a rounded area in the middle which will drape around the neck when worn. It's made along the lines of a pattern I found in a book of scarf patterns, except I'm using a knitting machine and just a plain stockinette stitch instead of the pattern in the book. The shawl in the book drapes beautifully, and if mine works out, I'll be making more than one! Pictures will be posted when I've finished it. This will be a good Yule gift to myself. Oh, pooh....forgot about Yule!

Dang....just remembered something else to make---thank the Ancient Ones that it's not really a Christmas present. My husband has hinted that a scarf for his very own would be a good thing to have....so I'm also in the process of carding and blending dyed and undyed wool and spinning yarns for that too. Got a very nice, manly looking pattern all picked out.....huzzah and hoorah (yes, that was meant to be more than sorta sarcastic).

Well, since an end is no longer in sight anymore, now that I've thought of these other things to add to the list, time to knit and spin.......at least most of our outside Christmas lights are up.

Many Blessings!

No Fiber Work She Says..Yeah, Right..

2004-11-20T20:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, let me provide myself with a loophole.....I did say "No knitting"---I didn't say "No dyeing of yarn", sigh....I just had to do something fiber-related; besides, I had two skeins of wool that were begging to have some color. That's my story, ah... excuse, and I'm sticking to it. And on that very flimsy technicality, let me introduce you to this week's 'Name That Color!' entry.....

Hmmm....my husband says to call it "Burnt Pink" or "Toadstool", my son says "Brown!".....I'm thinking "Toasted Marshmallow". Because of the dye source, I'd say it has a slight magenta-ish base to it. Here's a slightly closer look.....

Here's the specifics: 3 ply white wool spun on my Halla blue dogwood spindle, then dyed with a dye made from black beans, using methods from a book I highly recommend, "Vegetable Dyeing" by Alma Lesch. If you want to try your hand at dyeing with veggies and plants, this is an awesome resource, with info on everything from havesting, preparing and dyeing fibers to what chemicals to use, and tons of recipes for all kinds of colors. I don't think it's in print anymore, but there are several used copies to be found at Barnes and Nobles' website (link can be found to the right of my posts), it's where I got mine. I got the idea for using black beans from a member of a Yahoo group I belong to called "Women Weaving Dreams", a group of beautiful, talented fiber art ladies that I'm soo thankful to belong to. If anyone wants more info on what I did that resulted in this color, just e-mail me and I'll do my best to describe it to you. I love the unpredictability factor of dyeing with natural dye sources...someone else could do exactly what I did, and get something like it...or completely different!

Well, my so-called 'break day' is over, and back to clacking my knitting needles I go.....Many Blessings!

And Down The Gift List I go.....

2004-11-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Ooph! And double arghh! Can't believe I'm almost done with another item on my 'Gifts to be Made' list....at this rate, I might be finished with it early, but at this pace I might wind up resembling something like hospital waste by mid December. So at the risk of losing momentum, I'm declaring tomorrow to be a day off from all this 'making stuff'. First real clue I had to knowing when I need a break from something like this, is when my 5 year old little boy asks me, "Mommy, why do you knit all the time?!" Hunched over my knitting machine, frogging a sock for the fourth time and getting mad for the fourth time, I give him my usual automatic answer, "Because I find it soothing to do".....looking down at the yarn mess in my hand, I realized that at that moment I certainly wasn't finding it very soothing at all, so on Saturday I will be taking a break from 'making stuff' mode, to just 'doing stuff' mode.

The sock blanks that will eventually be socks for my sister-in-law......I frogged the first one so many times, I thought it was going to hop away and look for flies.

This was a 'just to see if I could do it' thingie....it's a dish cloth or wash cloth or whatever cloth. Found the pattern for this at www.cardiknits.com (look at the freebies section) .....it's done in slipstitch, so the other side has a nice scrubby texture to it; it's really thick and takes just a little while to do on my knitting machine, so I'll be making more. Zack claimed this one as a wash cloth for bathtime, and I made one more as a little gift for my sister-in-law for babysitting Zack while I went to a parent-teacher conference.

Now off I go for a Saturday of no fiber work......Many Blessings!

UFO's, Christmas Projects, These Are A Few Of My Favorite Thingies...

2004-11-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it...here it is the middle of November, and not only did I actually sit down and write out a list of what I will make for who, but I even have a couple or so of them actually finished...astounding, but true (believe me, disorganization in the gift department is usually the order of the day at Christmas for this family); one of which was a UFO....in the crafter/fiber artist's lingo, UnFinished Object; usually a project that for whatever reason fell by the wayside and hasn't been finished...yet. One project/gift is a warm scarf for my mom. She is a very lively lady with strong opinions and a unique way of viewing the world (well, yah...I suppose a teeny bit rubbed off on me, right above my left ear LOL). She recently decided she has arrived at the "Now that I have reached this certain age, I shall wear purple" stage in her life. Now, I am definately all for that, although I don't think she's quite ready for the deep, shocking purples in the color spectrum of life, so I have compromised with this:

After all, gotta ease her into this purple thing slowly! Made on my knitting machine, it's just good ole' acrylic...wool gives mom the itchy heebie jeebies, so it's the man-made stuff for her. The other project, which was the actual bona-fide UFO that was started early in June this year, is a type of gun strap for my dad's muzzle-loading rife, called a sling strap. Yep, even I, a dyed in the wool (so to speak) anti-hunting and fishing vegetarian can be talked into making something to help with someone shooting a gun....but ya know, I do these kinds of things because darn it, I love my daddy. He and my mom are members of a blackpowder gun/mountain men/women club...sorta like a Ren faire or a SCA club, except it's early American frontier stuff. I make a lot of things of that nature for my dad, gotta make sure he's got the best beadwork and handspun, handwoven stuff at the rondevous (the word they use for their 'faires').....

It's made of flax, spun and navajo-plied into a linen thread.....the strap itself is a balanced weave made on an inkle loom...the shoulder pad (thick piece in the middle) is a tight weft-faced weaving made on weaving sticks, then folded and double-sewn together to make a pad that can be slid up and down the strap. The linen thread spun up very strong (had a little difficulty cutting it with scissors), and should soften with age, hopefully retaining it's strength. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and I think my dad will like it.

One other item I finished was a scarf for a school chum of my son....a very sweet little girl with an awsome mom that we think the world of. Not exactly sure if it qualifies as a Christmas gift, though.... It was so windy and cold today, real scarf weather; Zack and I couldn't wait another month to give it to her, so she got it this afternoon!

Sigh.....definately not a real snazzy digital picture.....it was made with a sort of a Fizz yarn, something with sort of a velvet-like feel to it (rats, can't remember what it's called), with varigated ocean blues and greens.....it has a slit worked into it about one third of the way up on one side, so the scarf can be hung round the neck and the one end slipped into the opening....that way, it can't fall off while she's playing at recess.

A little hard to see (actually pretty dang hard to see, sorry!), but if you look close, you can see one end is slipped through the opening in the scarf. I think I may have found my niche....scarfs are the perfect thing to make---the gauge doesn't have to be exactly right, there's no size to screw up, and it doesn't matter if the demensions are off by a bit either way...it will still fit anybody! And once you get the pattern down, it is very soothing to knit, in a very mindless sort of way.

Next on my list: socks for Zack's Aunty Lilly, my sister-in-law.......our mission at Christmas this year is to warm up her cold toes and make them nice and comfy! And of course, perhaps a scarf...........gee, I sure hope I can keep this streak of gift-making up---another round of egg nog, please?!

Many Blessings!

Green IS the Color of My Truelove's.....Fiber!

2004-11-10T23:11:00.000-08:00

Well, after this bit of dyeing I've been doing, different shades of green seems to dancing away in my subconcious....green, green.....sheesh, all I've been seeing lately is green! I think I'd better dye something pink or yellow so I can shake all this green out of my head! To top it all off, I still have tons of spruce dye liquor left over; and thrifty gal that I am, I just can't quite bring myself to throw it out yet! Oh, well....I always did want to try some tie-dyeing and I do have an old, used to be white shirt. When I told my husband that I wasn't ready to empty the dye out of my crockpot, and that I wanted to tie-dye a big spiral design on an old t-shirt, he looked at me and said, "Why does it have to be tie-dyed with some sort of design? Can't you just make it a plain shirt? Why does everything have to be so...artistic?!" Hmmph! Why does the wind blow, rain fall, and bears poop in the woods?! Because.

Here's some photos of how all that green turned out....

These are both wool....the one on the left was naturally a very light, almost cream colored batch...when I carded it out, it was a clear tone of spruce. The one on the right was some fiber that was a natural medium to dark grey. It has carded out to an awsome jewel-toned emerald green! It just absolutely glows when I hold it up to light! I'll post photos of the finished yarns when I'm finished with them. But I'm definately having such a great time playing with dyes.

This is a skein that went into the same dye bath, wrapped around my incredibly beautiful Halla spindle--if you look closely, you can just make out the frog on the lilly pad shaped whorl (sorry, my digital camera is balking at all this green stuff)....the yarn is made out of some too-short fibers and second cuts that usually I throw out when I'm using the drum carder to make batts; I was honestly trying to make a yarn that was slubby and bumpy and sort of 'designer' looking, but I don't think it was close....if you don't look too hard, it sorta looks a little like what I normally make. Never thought I might ever have such a hard time trying to deliberately mess up yarn while spinning it.

This is the start of spinning the dyed once cream-colored fiber....and of course, my other beautiful Halla spindle, the blue dogwood. If you ever want to treat yourself to a beautiful, unique drop spindle, I highly recommend a Halla spindle--and they spin as amazing as they look. Look at www.thebellwether.com for more of Halla's spindles....what an amazing artist she is!

Well, friends....time to go put in some more spinning, and contemplate....earth to heaven, sky to ground, and back again.

Many blessings!

Murphy Was a Three-Legged Man....

2004-11-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Well, gee....just as I thought I was done with the perverbial shoe-dropping when my car was made once again whole, I forgot all about the other ole saying 'troubles come in threes'. Old Greenie, our faithful over 30 year old washing machine, decided it was time to head on out to 'Silicone Heaven' (ya know...'where the frying pan shall lay down with the lamp'...Red Dwarf fans know what kind of crazy I'm talking). Old Greenie passed over Friday morning, right in the middle of a load of course, it's parting gift to me. It served it's purpose well, it did it's time....dang lucky for me we were able to get it replaced by this morning. Yay. Of course, I told Dan to try and get one suitable for scouring raw wool in....a gal's gotta have those priorities....and oh, yeah--it needs to be able to wash clothes too.

Updates on projects: 'Forest Sun' is currently in a small holding pattern...still working on obtaining more than one shade of green for the forest, and the mystery color is going to be for the trunks, although I'm tempted to try doing a little overdyeing with one of the skeins and see if I can make it a touch more green. If it don't work out, then hey....got next week's entry for 'Name That Color'! I never get bored with dyeing!

Speaking of scoured wool, just got in a lovely bunch from a wonderful gal that has an Ebay store...it's a mixed bag of fiber, and I love what I got!

Yummy, yummy! I'm going to use some of the grey for dyeing right away....usually I wait until it's yarn to dye it, but this time I'm doing it now, it should give me lots of heather-like tones. Can't wait to dive right in!

Today, my personal knitting machine pattern designer, otherwise known as my son Zack, struck again. 'Gee, Mommy...it would be great to have a hat that looked like a nightcap, that comes to a long point with a tassle thingie...make me one like that, please?' Gee, little man...dark blue or light blue? And so, couple of hours later:

The Nitecap Hat is born....

Hey!....It really works!! Shucks, wish I knew this when he was two months old lol.

The Nitecap Hat minus the little boy.......sigh, I'm getting this odd feeling that he's under the impression that I make anything----hmmph, can't imagine what's next....

Well, I've blogged enough for one night....time to get a nice cup of tea, an old Larry Niven novel to read, and find my husband so we can spend a little time talking about our day.

Many Blessings!

What The Heck Is That Color?!

2004-11-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well, in a way, it's nice to be able to note that today certainly ran in it's more usual groove: usual morning, Zack did his time at kindergarten, even managed to vacume the main floor of the house (visitors don't usually go upstairs, so I can ignore the dustbunnies up there for now). I'm happy to be able to say that my car seems to be over it's fit....a new battery in an older car, like massive doses of Geritol for elderly folk, certainly perked up it's engine. Happy I am that it at last is functioning, yes indeed!

On to the story behind the title. Now that I am again actively pursuing work on the 'Forest Sun' weaving, one of the things I am trying to learn how to accomplish with it is depth with color variations, to hopefully make it look a little more like a painting and less flat. So I in my extremely finite wisdom, have decided that I need at least a couple or three more shades of green...something definately more verdant and woodsy looking. With that in mind, and a recent purchase of some Wilton icing tints (not as familiar with using these as I am dyeing with Koolaid, although I'm told the method is the same) and crockpot in place, I mix up a batch of dye liquor in the formula of one whole bottle of moss green and about half a bottle of copper (a shade or so lighter than a new penny). Since this is more experiment than a no-fail method, I dyed two small skeins of off-white wool and one of grey...sometimes you get varying shades with grey wool as opposed to just white. After four hours of cooking away in a crockpot and cooling for almost two hours, I rinsed them out. What I was hoping for was darkish green with some coppery hints....what I got, was this: (grey skein is on the far left, the other two are the white ones..picture is actually pretty close to how they look; I got lucky with the camera)

What the hey?! Not verdant at all....hmmmm, sorta woodsy, I suppose.....geez, I don't know what in the world to call that color! Funnily enough, the dye liquor still looks predominately dark green--I can see some tiny hint at green in the yarn...and I might add, the dye liquor still looks as dark as it was when I started, so I could conceivably use it again. Dark red? Nah, too cliche'. Brick-like Brown? Nope, not light enough....not to mention too hard to say. Blood Red? Ewww, too icky. Hmmmm....maybe I need to have a 'Name That Color' contest---winner to recieve a big chunk of my undying gratitude and thanks....(I know, I'm cheap).

That's the amazing thing about do-it-yourself fiber dyeing...most the time, I'm never quite sure how it might (or might not) turn out. That's why I like doing it myself....the surprise, delight, and yes...downright mystery of the results never ceases to thrill me. And absolutely one the more fun parts of my day. Even if I didn't get various shades of green, I may have actually hit upon the right color to use for the tree trunks. And yes, I did go out and buy some other shades of green to continue the fun another day.

A parting shot (courtesy laugh, please).....

Slowly but surely, it creeps towards the finish...and now I'm creeping off to bed....Goodnight, Moon....

Many Blessings!

Of Internets and Automobiles.....

2004-11-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I really felt the day had started out with the best of intentions.....beautiful fall weather, a nice mellow morning ahead of me....Heck, I'd even managed to get a shower in before my husband left for work this morning (usually I'm still in my jammies after 9:30, not lazy--just a busy mom). Zack was even up, clothed and breakfasted, and playing so very contentedly in his room. I was working away on my current weaving project, and the thought came to me, what an opportune time to sit down at my computer and start on today's post for my blog. It was quiet....too quiet for something not to go wrong. Looking at my monitor, I could see the telltale signs that told the story of a small power-outage during the night. No biggie, just a matter of restarting the system. Unfortunately, the server was also experiencing an 'outage' of it's own. Dang, no internet, no e-mail, no blogging...no kidding. So putting it out of my mind for time being since there was nothing to do but wait for the server to return to it's senses, I resumed the more happier endeavors of weaving, making lunch for Zack and getting him ready for a rousing afternoon of kindergarten.

But of course, the other shoe had to drop...and it did just like a pair of mismatched wedgies. At the appointed time, I bundled Zack up in his coat, scuttled him, backpack and his teddy bear chum, Huggie (who constantly recieves comments on how much he looks like Mr. Bean's bear, but that's another story) into my car, inserted key, turned.....nothing, of course. No motor starting up, no engine turning over....in short, next to nada is happening. So, out of the car with Zack, backpack, and Huggie, and a quick call to my ever trustworthy husband ...luckily, he's able to leave work right away, pick us up and help me get Zack to school on time. So after carefully entrusting Zack to the public school system, Dan gets me back home, puts the charger on my battery and runs back to work, with instructions to call him at no later than 2:15 pm with news as to whether the charger won, lost or to call it a draw. Of course it didn't work. And back my hubby came, to help with the picking up of the Zackster sans teddy bear (Huggie's too young to go to kindergarten....again, another story), delivering us back to the house, and again running back to work!

So here I sit, at just almost 7 pm, dinner over with, blogging away, and waiting to see if my husband's machinations and manipulations on my car battery holds true. A just and fair man, he is giving the charger a chance at redemption (so certain he is that that is what's up...I know nothing about cars). Sigh, I wonder if it's too late to have the second cup of coffee I didn't get at breakfast....at least the internet is working.

Pictures I got, at least.....

Starting to get a little more like a forest (I rotated the picture so no one would have to turn their monitor upside down)...I'm thinking I need one, maybe two other shades of green...Koolaid, any one?

The 'Plain Blue Sweater Only, Mom' sweater...finished with the body of it, and am now on to the arms....then eureka I'm done....

And my weaving work basket nicely overstuffed with a not too shabby assortment of yarns to choose from while weaving away....it's good to be able to have a good 'yarn palette' for once...

So, as I mumble car-repairing chants under my breath, many blessings to all.

Is There Life after Weaving?

2004-11-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

Well, here I sit again....the house is temporarily quiet as Zack is off to Kindergarten, at least until I leave to pick him up at 2:45 p.m. Time for reflection, some deep thinking, and time for folding more laundry. I don't mind doing the laundry, by which I mean putting the clothes into the washer followed by a tumble in the dryer---I just don't like the folding, folding, and more folding...and since the local laundry elves union went on strike, it takes forever to do it.

On a much more nicer note....last night, I actually picked up my shuttles and began working on the Sun wall hanging....amazingly the work went quite well that night. I kept telling myself that it was okay what ever I did on it, as long as it was something--after all, if I didn't like it, I could always take it out and start that part over (a horrible thought). I have managed to get the very tippy-top of some of the trees I had planned to weave; admittably not a huge amount of work done....I think I could almost hear my Muse sigh with relief, though!

Not a real great picture...but you can just see the tops of the trees Keep in mind that I am weaving this upside down...not exactly sure how that happened; probably partially to do with the top edge of the weaving is a card-woven strip that had the warp for the main body of the weaving inserted while I was weaving it, and partially to do with the fact that I'm still a little awkward at warping. It's currently rolled up under the front beam of my ridged heddle loom.

Well, off I go to my purgatory of unfolded laundry!

Here's a few other photos of weavings.....

Detail of Green Cresent Moon....in case anyone wonders where it is in the hanging!

So what do you do when you have an rather huge, odd shelf over the door to your master bedroom? You make a wall hanging for it, of course! This one is called 'Firelight', because the color variations reminded me of flames dancing in a fireplace.

Closer shot of 'Firelight'.....

Many Blessings!

Day after Halloween-Bwaa ha ha...sigh

2004-11-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

I sit, think, and sip on my first cup of coffee on this fine November morning and ponder the mystery of Daylight Savings Time....and I've come to the realization that no matter what time I have to haul out of bed in the morning, it takes just the same amount of caffeine as it would any other morning, and no matter how it was brewed, the first cup tastes like a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Zack seems to have faired well from the slight candy overload from his trick or treating efforts. Fortunately, he knows when to say enough is enough and actually stop when he is full. I, on the other hand, wouldn't have known when to quit...especially when it comes to anything chocolate, fudgey or gooey! But I have been good so far; no candy has touched these lips. My husband says all the more for him!

Well, off to pull myself together and make breakfast for my little guy. Laundry to fold, knitting and spinning to do, and I'm actually think I will start to work again on the wall hanging that has been plaguing me for a couple of months now...got some sort of artistic block on that one; you'd think weaving trees wouldn't be that hard after taking so long to find the right shade of green!

A peek at my workroom on the landing at the top of the stairs.....

...And the weaving that's been giving me fits.....

This is the companion piece with the green cresent moon; the other will have a sun rising over a forest (someday, sheesh)....neither are terribly spectacular, but I like them...

Many Blessings!

The First of Many! (I hope...)

2004-10-31T15:54:00.000-08:00

Hello to all:

This of course is my first day on the 'blog', so to speak. Happy Samhain, or Halloween if you prefer, to everyone I know. Spent the day in my usual way for a Sunday...some chores, lots of knitting. I've finally made some real significant progress on the "Just a plain, blue sweater only, Mom" for Zack; I've gotten to the bottom of the body of the sweater and am knitting the ribbing. It's been a really nice pattern...it's one wonderful feature being there are NO SEAMS! It's made using circular needles and double points. Knitting from the neck down has made it lots easier to fit. The pattern is a version of an EZ pattern I found on about.com for knitting. The only hard part has been getting a 5 year old boy to stand still while I got his measurements! And thank goodness for calculators, and big kudos to the person who figured out all the formulas for the pattern....certainly couldn't have done it myself, mathematically impaired person that I am! The other project that I worked on today was a scarf for my little boy. He wanted a 'lion-tailed scarf just like the one on his Kipper the Dog video (the story: Kipper and his friend, Tiger mistakenly think Pig's yellowish brown-fringed scarf is a lion's tail in the bushes). So with a lot of help from my knitting machine and artistic direction from Zack, he now has his one-of-a-kind lion-tailed scarf. Nothing like a quickie project that takes just one afternoon!

Proud owner of a 'Lion-Tailed Scarf'

Scarf Detail

Well, that's it for now.....time to get ready for Tricks or Treats!! I will be posting more pics once I get this blog stuff figured out......

Many Blessings!