Long Time, No Blog

I think I have gone through at least four different hair colors since I last posted. Not sure what that says about me, but, hey, I finished some knitting! This is a pair if baby blue jeans; the pattern is fron Knitty.com and they were knit for my kids' new half brother. His name is Yonatan, which is Hebrew, and the "label" on the back of the jeans says "Yoni" in Hebrew. They are the cutest things in the world. They are knit in Rowan Denim Yarn, which I purchased from Karen of TwoSwansYarn.com. Well, here they are!


On the needles: teal alpaca gauntlets, also from knitty.com; bamboo tank top from cover of Interweave knits summer issue, lace socks.
I had an orgy at Mountain Colors in Montana last month and bought a small fortune's worth of yarn. Stay tuned for some gorgeous colors.....

I really am knitting

I started the cute baby "blue Jeans" from the current knitty.com; the name of the pattern is "blu". They are so cute! For my kids' new half-brother. I also met with Karen this week and got the new Nicky Epstein bags book. I'll be starting the frog bag for my daughter shortly.

the Beads

No, I haven't given up knitting, but the beads have seduced me. Here's what I made the first three sessions at the torch. Yes, they suck, but it's a steep learning curve, so I'm told.

I have also gone through quite a bit of oxygen! So much so that we are now shopping for an oxygen concentrator. Going to the welding store three times a week is less than thrilling.

Wonder if anyone has yet tried knitting with glass......

One Month Down...

Whew! It's been over a month since I posted. Not all my fault, somehow I forgot my password or username or something and couldn't get into blogger for a few weeks. Well, I'm baaaaaaack. What with wedding planning and trips to Tucson and all, I still managed to get some knitting done. Here's the lastest:

This is my first attempt at entrelac. I thought it would be very challenging, but I was wrong. It took about 2 minutes for me to teach myself to knit back backwards and the rest was just simple as could be. Here's the backpack on the needles. This was a kit from Knitability and I love that they included all the necessary hardware, grommets, etc. to finish the bag. It also came in a nice clear plastic messenger bag which I will reuse for other knitting projects. I bought this kit at "A Major Knitwork" down in California; they are somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. I can't remember exactly where, but they are a lovely family owned knitting shop which has been there for years. Long before the current knitting "craze" so I love to give them business when I am in California.

So, here's the finished bag!


In the past month that I've been unblogging, I was also a redhead for about a week. It was fun, but didn't feel like me. I guess I have developed an "inner blonde" over the last five years..... Here's the capelet from "Wrap Style".


And finally, I'm working on a pair of lovely socks. The pattern is "lace leaf" by Evenly Clark for Fiber Trends. I'm using some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn that I bought about a year ago. I'm making these slowly (not typical for me!) enjoying the pattern and the yarn.


The glass studio is supposed to be up and running by tomorrow. I don't believe it. I've been waiting to make lampworked beads for about 15 years, so what's another few days????!!!!! Expect to see some photos of really BAD beginner beads here shortly.

Malaise?

After reading Karen's latest blog entry (http://ideaphoria.prettyposies.com/) I realized that I have become....a slacker! I only have two projects on the needles right now and I am not very committed to one of them. Uh oh! Time for some new yarn, I think. Hey Karen! (www.twoswansyarns.com). I am craving Kid Silk Haze and a new lace project.

I also plan to do some charity knitting for New Orleans (see link on right). KnitPicks just published a nice free pattern for the "11th hour Hat". It has a nice sideways garter border on an otherwise plain cap. You could do a lot of different things with this pattern and I hope to get one or two going today.

My daughter Dalya received two knitted gifts from me for Chanukah. Here they are:


These slippers were in Stitch n Bitch Nation and they were HUGE (like 18 inches long) prior to felting. Dalya wears size 5 1/2 shoe, so you can imagine how strong and thick the felt is. She loves them.

Next, from the same book, I knitted Dalya one of her favorite musicians. Can you guess who it is? The photo is blurry because it was taken by my son and I cropped out all the mess in Dalya's room -- well, most of the mess.



Got it? No? Here's a hint:

Aha, you're now saying to yourself. Of course, it's Joey Ramone! I may have to change out those red buttons for something more sunglasses-like.

Excuse me while I "Beat on the Brat".

Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

I am still knitting! I do wonder, however, where my brain has gone. I've made some real "winners" lately and I've chosen to share them just in case you think I always make nice stuff :)

Take this lovely monstrosity. It was my first attempt at modular knitting. I was going to make the Ojo de Dios vest from "Dazzling Knits". Well, this color combo would "dazzle" even the blind! Please note, ladies and gentlemen, that I have been to ART SCHOOL! These colors somehow looked cool in the store (no I won't mention your name). At home, however, we seem to have been visited by the ghost of 70's afghans past. Yikes!



Now, if you think that is hideous, and I hope you do, please see the next not so hideous but utterly useless creation:



This yarn was at Ben Franklin. Nice New Zealand wool, with a big sign under it that said "I Felt". Well, I guess I don't know exactly WHAT the yarn was "feeling" but it sure didn't felt. Oh, yeah, I didn't notice the small words on the label that said "machine washable". Oh Well.

I redid the cell phone case with Noro and I really do love the results:



This clunky cell phone never had it so good.

I just finished the top down capelet from "Wrap Style". I will block it and photo it in the next day or so.

Carry on knitting...

A New One

Well, it has become 2006 while I wasn't looking. Well, I was looking, but I wasn't looking too closely. Lots of finished knitting! The kids have been here all week and yesterday we had a "craft day". Dalya knitted much of a monkey backpack she's been wanting to make since the summer, and, on a similar theme, Ben made a sock monkey for his girlfriend Rachel. Ben has never sewn before and I turned him loose (after a lesson) on my Bernina Artista.......he took to it like a pro. Check out this scene of domesticity.



It's been rainy all week, so we have really had a stay-in vacation together. I don't feel too bad about that since the kids live in LA where it is ALWAYS sunny (except for now!). Ben has gotten me hooked on the TV show "Veronica Mars" and we have 2 more episodes to finish out season 1, during which time I plan to finish a cell phone case for my new, cool but bulky new cell phone. It will be a felted color fest. Photo to follow.

Wishing you all a very happy and productive year full of creativity, joy and fabulous ideas!