RIT-tastic!

Yesterday after work, I decided to dye a skein of brown sheep bulky. I've been craving rich dark brown colored bulky yarn. I had already dyed this same skein with variagated koolaid colors. I liked the coolaid colors

Mini Market shopping.

I got out and about this weekend. The weather was still too hot at one hundred degrees. I had lunch with a good friend on Friday, then went shopping. I did chores around the house all evening and went to bed early. Saturday morning I went to the downtown market. I bought a skein of beautiful yarn spun by Lisa Takata. She calls it Greenjeans. I don't know what it will be yet, but for now I'm just happy to have it.

I milled around the market talking to different craft vendors, mainly beaders. I can't wait to sell my own stuff. It looks nothing like what they were selling. I don't make lampwork beads or create jewelry with it. It's pretty, but usually too heavy for the stuff I like to make. Natural stones are nice in small beads, but they are expensive. Another seller at the market made novelty pieces. They were very creative. Anyone, would want to wear her stuff or buy it as a gift. She made dangle earrings from an old fashioned weight scale numbers. She snipped the tin in sections that displayed the metric markings. It was too cute.
I left the market and met the Hartley gang at City Market Bakery. We knitted and ate delicious food. I cheated on my diet and bought a large peanut butter cookie. After that we drove to Jessica's Knits to see Illanna and shop for yarn. It was her birthday. I think she had a good a pretty good one, because she walked around the store in a contented daze just smiling.
Sunday morning, I worked like a crazy person. After work I went to Michael's with my forty percent off coupon. I bought a frame for a photo print. Yep, I actually bought a brand new frame. I didn't "acquire" it away from a Goodwill customer or deconstruct a perfectly good framed print. I can't wait to hang it on the wall.

Cattle Drive

On the way home yesterday afternoon, I tried to get on I-10 at 7th st. Traffic was extremely heavy so I kept driving south on 7th st. I wanted to go east toward home, but I couldn't make a left turn. Traffic moved me south. I was able to go east on Washington or Jefferson. I decided to keep going and go to the bead store in Tempe. They moved. I'd forgotten that Beads International moved closer to Mills Mall. I went to another bead store in Scottsdale since I was so far south already. The store is in the shopping center on the west corner of McDowell and Scottsdale RD. It was closed. It was supposed to stay open until 6pm. They closed early. So I went home. I need eye pins and a few beads. I'm working on another bracelet and Jollygreen dangles. I'll try to find Beads International after work today. It will before the traffic rush, so I shouldn't be forced to detour with the flow of traffic.

Jolly Green Dangles

Well, this is my lastest creation. My creations and technique gets better with each project. I think of my earlier work and cringe. I gave a lot of bracelets to family, friends and coworkers as gifts. They probably thought I was being mean. I know they were just too happy while accepting my ugly bracelets. LOL!
I used pailettes, crystal, silver and glass.

Amazing find

I found the pailettes at SAS yesterday. They have a huge variety of sequins. They charge about 25 to 50 cents for a small bag. They also charge my the ounce. I bought as many large hole pailettes as I could find. I am most surprised by the silver trapezoid. I remember looking everywhere for them when I made that dumb granny hat in the SnB book. The buttons are wood and they were 10 cents each. I'm going back for more as soon as I hit the ATM. Cash works best at SAS.
I made these dangle earrings using sterling silver, Thai Silver, glass and crystal. I only had two glass beads. So I can't make another pair. I don't remember where I bought them.

Tears 4 Spheres

Here's another finished Tears 4 Spheres bag. Can you tell Steve's a product of the MTV era or what? Really? This time I casted-on 52sts and added more holes for the drawstring. I'm going to add a handle and carry it as a purse. I learned a few things while making this bag. It opened my mind up to the many ways this pattern formula can be applied to kettle shaped designs. Can you tell it's getting close to Halloween? YAY! "Kettle" Get it? Anyway, I'm frogging the whole Winhara Poncho. I'm going to make my niece a sweater with the yarn. The poncho turned out to be a disaster. Details will be forthcoming in the next post.

Forgive the blurry picture. The auto focus was disabled and I couldn't keep my hand steady. I was going though cheese withdrawal.
Also below is an old picture of me. I can't remember how old I am in this picture. Can you guess? Obviously I was taken by surprise. I recall someone wanted to finish of a roll of film. If that picture was taken today, I could've been a boy with long braids. Let me explain a little more about this picture. The day this was taken, is very important to me. It captured a day I remember being happy. Of course I was happy to be at my grandparents house. I'm sitting at their kitchen table working on puzzles from the kids section of the Saturday paper. I remember it took awhile to get settled, because I had a hard time finding a pencil. Some things never change. I'm wearing a t-shirt my granny brought me from her Vegas vacation. It said,"My grandma went to Vegas and all I................." You know the rest of it. I didn't really like that t-shirt but I am wearing my favorite belt. That belt never needed to be adjusted because by this time, I was growing straight up. I'm wearing new jeans. This was the beginning of my love and appreciation for them. My mom had just started buying them for me. I don't know where the candy cane tube came from. It was nowhere near Christmas. Do you see the voter ID card? I remember being fascinated by it. I've been strangely fascinating with them ever since. So If I ever visit, just leave your voter ID card around and you'll make me instantly happy. To my knowledge "Normal" has never been an adjective used to describe me.

Mini me

Here's my finished Tears 4 Spheres bag. I cast-on 44sts. It's kinda small so I'm making a bigger one using the same yarn. It's easy and fun to knit.

Shout OUT!

I was reading the new issue of "The REP", when I came across an old picture of Illanna, Kim and Brooke knitting at Mama Java's. The caption gives info about SnB and our Yahoo link. Don't be surprised if thrill seekers show up to watch us knit or join us.

What! What?

Why didn't anyone tell me that Knitty reveled its suprise knitters. Congrats Steve on a fantastic presentation. I enjoy reading the Numbers pattern very much. I hope everyone else feels the same way.

Oh HORROR!

Sock Monkey Slippers
I have this thing about sock monkeys. They scare me. I don't know the reason but they freak me out! The red lips and red butt makes me shiver from my head to my elbows. My reaction to viewing these slippers doesn't require a martini. Maybe because it's a knitted garment. What's a phobia of sock monkeys called? Sock monkey phobia?

Nice Karaoke

Saturday, I finished sewing in the lining for my pencil case. It turned out as planned and I'm happy with it. I used Karaoke Yarn and Brown Sheep. I knitted it in the round, closed the bottom with three needle BO and felted it twice. Now I don't have to hunt for a pen when I need it. On the flight from Kansas City to Phoenix, I started experimenting with fair isle. This is my first attempt at it. I'm using the same Karaoke Yarn from my pencil case, Brown Sheep, Cascade and forest green Serendipity. I don't know what it'll be yet, but I'm leaning towards a bag. Some sort of bag. I'm unraveling the white part to add the forest green. I'm just having fun playing with it.

Sidebar

Sidebar reorganization time. This will probably take me two days, at least.

Marble Magnets

I got the marble magnet idea from a coworker who emailed me the link to NotMartha.ORG. I've been making them ever since. I made some of these last year and I just started making more last month. I cut out images from mostly magazines. I recenly bought scrapbooking tags and used a few of them for marble images.The big marbles are about 2in in length and 1 1/2in in width. I'd like to experiment with small acrylic cabochons(last page), but they are expensive every place I look. I use Goop 2000 Craft Glue. You have to wear a mask to filter out the fumes. It dries clear and has a strong bond. The hard part is smoothing out the bubbles, but I've had a lot of practice.
I rarely print images from my computer. I don't like them. The last time I printed pictures, they were for a special custom request. I made a set of Clay Aiken marbles for a fellow crafter. She loved them.
The dangles were created mostly for gifts. I will make them available for purchase as soon as I've enough made. They are made with recycled beads from a thrift store necklace, crystal, glass and silver. I sprayed a thin layer of polyeurythane so they don't have to be cleaned too often. I need to buy more beading supplies to make more earrings. I'm also trying out a list names to call my creations. I've narrowed them down to seven. I am giving the names to my friends for a vote. It's fun to find out what everyone thinks. Most seem to like any name that's part French.

Unfufu

I made these bracelets last night. They are being modeled by Unfufu my new doll. I used a necklace that I bought from a thrift store. I disassembled it and used the lavender, blue and vermilion beads. The silver beads are round spacers. The brown beads are from Ghana. They are made from recycled glass. I like the rough look but I can't understand why they are so expensive. They cost me about $13 a strand. Maybe it's the import fee. I find it interesting that they are made from crushed glass fired in ant mounds.

Ed-Dee!

Update

Well, I'm back on the A.M. shift now. It's killing me. I set the alarm clock for an 0400 wakeup. I don't actually get up until 0445 or something. I know it will take some adjustment. It's better to be at work on the A.M. shift. I'll get to blog and knit more often. Speaking of knitting, I haven't been doing much of it. I've been making other stuff like earrings and toe rings. I am currently working on knitting a dress for my doll. I'll post a pic of her later. I still have two t-shirts to reconstruct and a skirt to sew. Well, back to work for me. Blog ya later!

Hit Me Baby!

Yes Baby! I've finished the cut-out turtle neck sweater. The yarn is Knit Picks Palisades. I can't remember the color, but that doesn't matter. KnitPicks doesn't sell Palisades or any other super bulky yarn anymore. It's a shame. Palisades was a joy to work with. It feels soft against my skin and responds well to three different needles sizes. It'll keep me warm this winter also. I used the pattern from The Leisure Arts Trendy Tops book. I like it and I'm going to make another one, as soon as I finish the edges on this one. [Deja Vu'?]
And yes, I got sheered. My hair is cut way short. *SIGH*

This is Leigh. He's been getting a lot of my attention lately. I can't blame myself. I like him, but not only because he respects me as a knitter. What more can a girl ask for? Plenty, but he has other admirable qualities too. He's wearing a beanie I made for him. He likes it a lot. I used Lorna's laces Shepard Bulky in Cami print #708. It's the softest beanie that I've ever constructed. Too bad Lorna's is so expensive. Here is another beanie made with Lamb's Pride Superwash Bulky. It's a prototype of my own design. I will publish the pattern for free as soon as I make a few changes.

I just received this in the mail. It's Noro Blossom. It's fabulous darling!

Finally!

My Knitdiva halter is done. Surprise! Kiki and Illanna, I love your halters. I hope you like mine too. I used Berroco Quest in white. It only took three balls. The pattern came from The Leisure Arts Trendy Tops book. I like it and I'm going to make another one, as soon as I finish the edges on this one. I think I should give myself a few more millimeters tho'. Look what the mailman brought me today. It's so soft! I'm going to knit something for my new guy friend and it's not a sweater. He's partial to army green and cami print. I can handle that.

Tah Dah!

Here's the finished rose tote. I felted it twice in my top loader with a pair of jeans. It felted nicely. I would like to felt another bag and use grommets in place of tabs. Maybe leather straps too!

Project Pics

Here are pictures of my current projects. The turtleneck sweater is made from Knitpicks bulky weight 100% wool. I like knitting with it because you don't get a large degree of difference when switching needle sizes. The waistband was done using size 9 needles. My t-shirt was a size too small for me when I bought it. I pulled out my sewing machine and got to work. I added side panels and lace around the collar and armholes. I'm pleased with the results. I'll work on two more t-shirts this weekend. The tote bag is a test knit for SWTC. I'm using their new Karaoke 50% soy silk, 50% wool and worsted weight. It self stripes. They don't have a color card on the website yet. I've managed to get an idea from two other test knitters Allison and Stephanie . I love this stuff. It felts wonderfully. I will post another pic when it's completed.

Temporary Entry

I've been knitting a lot of stuff lately. I temporarily put down the washcloths. I will knit more later. I'm test knitting a felted tote bag. I'm almost finished with it. I am almost done with a sleeveless turtleneck sweater, and I started my halter top with secret yarn. I have two other sweaters still on the needles and another scarf.
Nothing much else going on except work, and it's you know. Work!
I will add several pictures tomorrow. One picture will include my new reconstructed t-shirt. So come back tomorrow and see it.