Friday Finishings

Well, not totally.  Some of it is finishing parts of work started last week before the power outage.  And some of it isn’t mine (we mailed off Izzy’s final test for 3rd grade today).  But finishings nonetheless.

The fishtail scarf, still needs washed and blocked, and ends woven in, but I cast off on it today.  I’m really happy with how easy it was once I got started and have plans for making a large component using the hole technique now (thank you Lucy Neatby for the wonderful pattern!).

And what I started last week, strips of neutrals, old barkcloth, contemporary cottons, and upholstery samples.  Instead of pressing the seams flat, I decided to do something different and stitch them down.  I’m liking the way it looks so far.

If you look very carefully, you can see some of the topstitching at the seams.

This piece is approximately 100 strips and measures about 60” long.  I am unsure whether I am going to make 14 more of them, or if I am going to use this to make filler strips.

The ball is from these wonderful cones of boucle cotton that my friend Regina gave me several years ago “to see what you come up with”.  I probably won’t use the alpaca in the foreground, and the blue strips in the back are from another piece in progress, started late last year.

I’ll post more when I figure out what I’m doing next!  We are going to see Coraline in 3D tomorrow, it’s time for a bit of a break.  Hope you have a great weekend.

Fishing

On a Wednesday afternoon.  :)

I found this wonderful pattern while browsing on Ravelry a few weeks ago, and was able to send away for it.  I also signed on for the Lime & Violet Sock Marathon, so saved the project for February 1st, when the marathon started.  I cast on Monday night, and after a false start, I have this much complete:

I bought this pattern because the color and the idea of deliberately making holes in a knitted piece really intrigued me.  I’m finding the process very fun and am already seeing how to apply it to larger pieces.

This is a strip of the holes at one end of the piece.  I am using Noro Kureyon sock in a blue/purple colorway, and am very happy with how the colors are knitting up.  My son is already asking me to make him one! 

Vincent’s Apron

I have been knitting and listening to the inspirational broadcasts on Hay House Radio since Sunday morning.  This piece is the “Tilting Ladder Pattern” from A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker (page 210).  I used a skein of Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn in color #163, Vincent’s Apron.  This pattern looks like torah scrolls or mezzuzah covers to me, and so I am working on a large mixed media piece of quilting and knitting to express this feeling.  I just loved the color and softness of this yarn as I worked with it.  It was kind of overspun in spots and sometimes stitches would just pop off the needles, but it was a fairly easy problem to fix and I am sorry the piece is done.  I still need to block it and plan out the rest of the work. 

And, as life is often wont to do, several prior commitments have cropped back up, and I need to confirm whether I am participating in a workshop at the local Hillel in less than two weeks, and pound the pavement to secure the sponsors for the SAQA conference that is here in town this May.  I’d say something about when it rains, it pours, but after last week’s ice storm, I’d rather not. :)

Drive By Update

Our power came back on at 6:30pm yesterday, and the water was back to full pressure later last night. For now, I am playing with my new book, shown above "A Second Treasure of Knitting Patterns" by Barbara Walker.

Tomorrow, I think I will brave the studio. If I'm not back by Tuesday, send coffee. :)

Day Two, Send PortaJohn

Apparently our water supply is reliant on electricity, and yesterday the tanks went dry.  I am writing this from Athens, where the power is still on and homes are blazing with artificial light, inside and out.  Meanwhile at home, we carry on with a kerosene heater and candles, coming out for heat, light, and of course the all important functional indoor plumbing.

The storm that started on Tuesday left the area looking something like this (photos by Marty and my son Ben):

This is our back fence.  See the big tangle of vines?  That’s my jumbo wisteria.  Note the ice coating the cable and electric lines leading to our house.

This is the tree in our front yard, and the neighbor’s house across the street.  You can see the approximately 1/2” of ice we received overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.  I am grateful it wasn’t the 1” we could have received.  Today the wind kicked up while we were scraping the overnight accumulation off the car, and you could hear the branches creaking like arthritic knees.

This is the field at the end of our street.  The trees are all frosted and the corn is barely a memory.

This is the field by the county home.  The hills are beautiful in their frosty coat.  It’s a Currier and Ives landscape, to be sure.

You can see how the ice weighed down this tree near the Route 33 interchange.

This is the intersection of Routes 13 and 550.  Look at the piles of snow.

More trees on the side of Route 33.  Some of the lower branches are broken, hard to see in this photo.

Finally in town, the East State Street exit.  More traffic than there was on Wednesday night, and they have power!

As beautiful as it is (and it is beautiful, like being on the set of Narnia when the Queen is still in charge), I will be very grateful when our power and water are back.

Check Out This Site!

There is a profile of me and my work today at Layers Upon Layers . We have been hit by the big snow/ice storm that travelled through the midwest, and I have not had electricity at home since 5:30pm yesterday. Days like this I am glad I am a mixed media artist, because I can knit even without power! (My poor Pfaff, I had just started sewing something new on Tuesday, too). I hope to post again soon with pictures of the fairyland the area has become. It is really beautiful, but you don't realize how many trees there are until they become dangerous.

PhatFiber Phun

I was lucky enough to score one of the new sampler boxes from PhatFiber, a box packed with samples from indie crafters of all stripes, with a yarn/spinning theme. I chose the “Wintry Mix” box, and was so thrilled when it arrived today.

Inside I found:

Carded merino from Sweet Pea Fibers in a lovely blue/lavender/pale seafoam colorway

Sparkly merino, silk, firestar “Ice and Snow” from Artemisia Ink (this one looks like angel cotton candy, so yummy)

Soft soft softsoftsoft angora fiber from Tracy Rios

Deep blue “Chilled Forest” roving from A Sleeping Spindle

A mixed sampling of rich blue roving, and earthy green and brown handspun yarns from Moonlight and Laughter

Very tasty (too tasty for my own good) “Slap Yore Grandma” spicy pralines from Buttermilk and Honey

Decadently rich perfumes from Happy Housewife (a cupcake of each vanilla-musk “Knit” and tea and chocolate “Purl”)

Fun postcards from Knotes for Knitters

Moisturizing luxury lip balm from The Lote Tree

Smoothly polished pointy handmade wooden needles from Baa Hurrah

Braided cable sock pattern from Avalon Fiber Arts, and a wonderful bunny pattern from Heather Sebastian.

A needle gauge tool from 7 Yaks Design (which is really timely as I am entering my needles into my notebook at Ravelry and eyeballing the needles just isn’t working

A funky knitted object from Pretty Knitty Lady (I am not sure what it is, but it is really pretty and funky)

And that’s not all! There was also yarn from several vendors, including some nice blue from Sneaky Pig Yarns, a pastel pink, green and blue mix (the colors of a winter sunset) from From Ewe to You, soft camel from Hedgehog Fibres and “Pond Ice” a mix of merino, novelty and angelina from Island Sweet Fibre Arts.

Even more! “Cozy Winter Quilt” merino wool in the blues of lake Huron in winter from WhirlyGig Yarns, some handpainted laceweight from Stash Up Yarns in the color of bare trees, and a skein of hot pink and magenta merino blend? from Actual Size Creations.

The rest of the box was filled out with different discount coupons from various online vendors (Yarn Seriously, p2tog, Designs by Tami, Andey Originals, and Moonwood Farm , and a cool button from Wooden Treasures

All that, delivered directly to my door, for only $33 (including shipping!). There is also a “Stitches Only” box which is similar, but does not include the rovings and batts. February’s theme is “Romance and Chocolate”, I can only imagine what fun goodies will be in that box.