a few creative things

Now that I gave it a bit of thought, I realized I have done some "creative things". If you scroll down, you'll see the shabby chic slipcovers. Y'know, they were not chic. They were just shabby. I replaced them last week with new ones. And that in turn inspired me to start painting the walls of my living room. When I'm done, I'll post a pic. I'm painting a few different shades of light green and yellow, hopefully blending them together well enough to look like the sun is shining in through the windows.

Speaking of the sun, I haven't seen it in days. And today it is snowing. It's the first snow of the season!

I used to be very happy when the first snow arrived. Now, I can't help thinking about bad driving conditions, shovelling. . .ah, this is one of the lost happy moments of childhood. I'd be out there jumping up and down if I was still a kid!

when was the last time I knit anything?

It's been quite a while since I've knit anything. I have no pictures to post. I've been totally uncreative. Click on the link "Medical Assistance Anyone?" and you'll find out why. Studying is taking up all my crafts time!

posting for the sake of posting

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. I'm having a bit of a dry spell. I've given up on Monsieur Proust. Sorry, but I just didn't enjoy him enough to concentrate that hard. I bet I'll try again in another five or ten years. I will never learn my lesson with him.

There's a bunch of knitting and beading projects that are awaiting completion. What have I been doing lately?
I'm not really sure!

Ms. Know Nothing is a better conversationalist that she was last time I posted about her. Have a chat with her if you please. It'll help me make her more interesting.

off on yet another tangent

My chatbot, Ms. Know Nothing, is a bit of a mess and I haven't had the time to continue working on "her". Meanwhile, I have still yet to pick up any knitting or work on any number of my craft projects. I haven't been in my craft room for who knows how long. It may be covered with dust, for all I know.

I've got yet another new obsession and his name is Marcel Proust. What have I gotten myself into? I've picked up "In Search of Lost Time" many times, back to when it was still called "Remembrance of Things Past" and given up in humiliation. This is the longest book ever written in which there is the longest sentence ever written. And with my memory, this is a big problem, for with those really long sentences, well, I forget what they are about somewhere halfway through (or even less). Still, I'm intrigued. I always have been.

I just finished reading Alain De Botton's "How Proust Can Change Your Life".What a wonderful introduction to the world of Proust. De Botton himself is an excellent and very funny writer.

off on a tangent

I haven't knit anything for a week. I have a room full of unfinished projects. A friend brought over some felt because she said I asked for a small piece for something I was working on. I don't even know what it was!

What's happening here?

I'm off on a tangent. That tangent is called "Ms. Know Nothing". She's a web bot, a chat bot, a virtual character. You can talk to her if you don't mind her limited ability to converse and have a high tolerance for frustration.

I must give a lot of credit to a friend of mine who has way more knowledge of this stuff than I'll ever have. Please visit her blog, The Websafe Times, for great conversation, interactive drawing, and artwork that you'll see nowhere else. Some days, I am in awe. Yes, I know it sounds like hyperbole, but trust me, it isn't!

I'm in a hurry right now and I can't seem to set up the links outside of the posting area, so here's the link so you can have your frustrating talk with Ms. Know Nothing!

rocks

No, I didn't make these! I just wanted to share the new additions to my gray rock w/ quartz lines collection.

i ought to clean up before I take a picture

My living room is a work in progress at the moment. Well, it's been a work in progress for almost two years, to tell you the truth. When I moved into my present house, I had a hankering for a more modern feel than I had in the interior of my last house. We have two living rooms, one with a woodstove for winter and the other with huge windows to look out onto the garden for summer. Big change from my last place, a barely one bedroom glorified cottage!

Anyway, in the spirit of letting you know what I'm making, today I made some more pillows for my "shabby chic" sofa. It's most definately more shabby than chic! After painting the winter living room different hues of gray and getting a most modern sofa and coffee table, I had a yearning for something of the old house.

I didn't clean up and there's still things waiting to find their rightful home behind the sofa, so here's a sliver of a picture:

no crafts for four days!

I brought some knitting but I didn't do any. No, that's not exactly true. I cast on 60 stitches to begin a new pair of socks. That's as far as I got.

I went on my camping trip to the Bay of Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, Canada. It was cold and dreary but we were lucky and the unsettled weather passed us by until after we had packed up our tent and all the gear one has to bring on a camping trip. We did leave a day early. The fog was as thick as it ever gets and there were intense downpours as we drove home.

I like that in Canada, when they tear down an old covered bridge, they put up a new one that looks just like the old one. Very quaint!

We also traveled up to Moncton to see the White Stripes. What a great concert! We felt very old. I dare say we were the oldest people there, hands down. Do we get a medal or an award for being crazy for standing in the front of a crowd of high school kids who have four billion times more energy and don't mind being crammed in like a bunch of sardines? I don't know, but get this: it was worth it. Great concert!

Afterwards, some boys asked us if we had jumper cables and they called Dick (my significant other) "sir".

knitting socks

It has been pointed out to me that I haven't posted in a while. I'm glad anyone wants to see what I've been doing!

What have I been doing? Well, I stopped knitting those bags 'cause I was developing a small mountain of them and I need to find a venue to sell them if I'm going to make so many.

So, I've been knitting socks. I don't think they're "worth" putting up pictures of. They're socks. Fairly plain socks.

I am suddenly crazy about knitting socks since I learned how to do it on two circular needles instead of four (or five) double pointed ones. I really found it annoying, trying to juggle all those needles. Now, it's pure mindless pleasure. And I get to watch bad television at the same time!

So, that's it for now. Maybe I'll post a photo of a pile of socks when I get back from the camping trip I'm going on. That'd make a nice picture.

yes. . .more purple

In an earlier entry, I mentioned that I used to abhor purple. I don't think I owned anything purple until a few years ago. I finally got over my prejudice. Because it's a secondary color it's got a zillion possibilities. Anyway, I am finally starting to do something besides crochet bags. Here's some yarn I dyed up this winter; purples, lilacs, blues and mauves. Oh, you can see that, can't you? Silly me!

I'm about to embark on using my knitting machine again. I spent a good part of today wrestling with the darned thing. My partner spent at least two hours on it himself. It just wouldn't knit. It was the crapola yarn that came with the machine that was the problem! URGGGHHH!!!! Anyhoo, the yarn:

iPod pouches

Of all the bags I've made thus far, these are the plainest, but I'm keeping the black one. It's got my iPod mini in it. The other one is made of chenille and a regular iPod would fit in it. They're not completely flat. The bottom is rounded, just like the others, so ones' ear buds can fit in it without distorting the bag.

I must stop crocheting these things until I get some beads but I just can't stop!

. . .and more bags

This egg shaped pouch became egg shaped because I ran out of yarn. I love how these bags evolve into something different each time, even though they all start out the same. Each one starts with a circle. Where it ends up. . .well, I hope they get more interesting each time. I've got to get some beads with big eyes so I can add more ephemera!



This one's just okay. I know it's time to take a break and do something else until I get those beads.

bag making frenzy

I've made five bags in the last two and a half days and I hope to make another one this afternoon.

Here's another rag bag. This is the only one that is flat:



More ribbons and beads:



I didn't think I was going to like this one as I was nearing its' completion. With the addition of the triangular flap, I suddenly fell in love with it.



I include a side view 'cause I was thinking about Weaver birds' nests as I was crocheting.

the way

The Great Way is not difficult

for those who have no preferences.

When love and hate are both absent

everything becomes clear and undisguised.

Make the smallest distinction, however,

and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.

- from the Faith in Mind Sutra

I was looking over my posts and noticed that I use the expressions "I hate" and "I love" an awful lot. It's interesting to notice it. One other thing I notice is that as some of my notions of what I "love and hate" fall away, I am getting more creative. For instance, there was a time I would have not, absolutely not, put glitz or fringe on anything. Period. I "hated that kind of thing". Well, now I just make stuff and see what happens. Funny what places one finds Zen. Everywhere, actually. Not just on the cushion, that's for sure. And lately for me, that's the last place I'm finding it!

ribbon bag

If you look carefully, there's a Swarovski crystal hanging from the top of the bag. I said I was getting into glitz: here's a bit of it. This pouch was made from ribbon, the same ribbon that holds together the necklace I posted a few days ago. Makiing these bags is a lot of fun!

It's funny about crocheting and me. I learned to crochet when I was VERY young. I don't know the names of the stitches or even if I'm doing them correctly. I don't know how to follow a crochet pattern. I've always loved to knit and "hated" to crochet. I'll be honest: I bet the reason I didn't like crocheting is because my mother did it. Yes, it's all psychological. Thankfully, I've gotten over it. For me, crocheting is quite a different experience than knitting: it's more "organic". It's about three dimensionality. I like just making it up as I go along and so, it's pretty relaxing. Not that I don't find knitting relaxing. Knitting is my true love, but right now I'm on a crochet kick.

rag bag crochet

Here's my first crocheted "rag bag". I tore about one yard of fabric into strips. Then, I crocheted this bag, which is definately a dark purple, quite unlike what one sees in the photo. I guess the flash washed it out. It looks sort of like a miniature fishing bag. I wish the photo captured that. I ought to learn to use my digital camera better!

my first bead weaving

First off, I gotta say that anyone who weaves size 11 or smaller beads is crazy. Since I'm doing it too, now, I'm not pointing any fingers. Here are my first three off loom woven beads, done in square stitch:


I wanted to dispense with a pattern, since it was hard enough to learn and see what I was doing. But I rather like the little squares. My idea was to make a necklace that had little flags on it, inspired by the miniature Tibetan prayer flags I have hanging on my kitchen door. Obviously, these are not the "right colors", for they're not primary. I have become infatuated with purples and greys.

I have actually loathed purple most of my life. I hated the silly connection between purple and eccentricity and the poem about growing old and wishing one had worn more purple in their life. Purple is just a color! A great color, but one that, unfortunately, carries a lot of baggage.

PS. I just looked at this page and realized: the photo is MUCH larger than real life. The background grid has one inch squares, so that should give you some idea how small everything is!

c'est fini

I don't know why the title is in French. C'est la vie. I don't know much French. Anyhoo, I finished the necklace. I'm not sure the tie is fancy or heavy enough for the rest of the piece. Perhaps it should have a clasp closure. I just love that ribbon and wanted to use it for something! It's a bit darker than in the photo.

getting into glitz

Yes indeed, I am getting into glitz.

I started knitting beaded I-Cord and discovered that it was decidedly NOT FUN. Kept splitting the thread on my 000 needles. I switched to 0's but those were Inox and I must say I dislike them too much to knit with them; ought to give them away. They feel like fingernails on chalk board to me. Yuck!

So, above is my first glitzy necklace. I don't show the ends 'cause I'm not sure how I'm going to finish it off yet. I'd like to put sterling silver endcaps on it if I can find some.

Here's how I made this (it's REALLY EASY!!!): First I strung all the beads (the hardest part!) Then I used a size E crochet hook and made a chain with a bead in every loop. I made about 4 yards. I then folded it in half, put one end on a nail, and twisted it until it started to twist back on itself. That's all.

Forget the I-Cord. With this "mess o' beads" who needs it? You can't see it anyway, so I figure one might as well do it as easily as possible.

Voila!

surprise ending

I had finished the folded over flap for the blue bag with violet beads. I was on row 9 of the bag body when I put down the project and started knitting some socks I have been working on. I kept looking at the finished piece of beaded knitting. I made a decision. Fifteen minutes later, here's what I had:

I unravelled the whole thing! And you know what? I felt a sense of relief. I didn't want this project to wind up in the orphan project closet! I had a bad feeling about this little project, a sense that I had put way too much curvature in it and that when I sewed it up it would just look messy. Maybe it would have looked interesting, but I was so unsure about it that I wasn't enjoying knitting it. That's when I know I should stop. Usually, at this point, a project will go into the aforementioned orphan closet and never come out again. But these beads are lovely and I want to use them. Unravelling it felt great. I think I'll make a fairly simple rectangular bag out of them, but first, I'll finish those socks.

lace knitting workshop

I'll be teaching a class on lace knitting at Heavenly Socks Yarns in Belfast, Maine on June 5th at 12:00. Please click on the link to register.

Originally, I was going to focus on Shetland Lace Knitting for this workshop. However, I gave it some thought and decided to make it a general lace "learning experience". I remember when I first wanted to knit lace and how frustrating it was. The thing that totally turned that around for me was understanding the structure of lace. So, in this workshop, we'll play around with yarn. We'll actually learn WHY lace knitting instructions are the way they are (and how to read them). When we play with the yarn, we'll see what the difference between a K2tog and a SSK is and how it affects the knitting, a few different ways of decreasing more than one stitch at a time and how they look and how to do an invisible cast-on and a cable cast-on. When we're finished, you'll be well prepared to tackle any lace project and, here's the thing, know what to do when you make a mistake. That last one's the kicker, I think. Unless you understand the structure of lace knitting, you're at the mercy of instructions and knitting absolutely perfectly. Check my old blog posts for stories of knitting with clenched teeth.

This sounds complicated, but I guarantee you, it's going to be fun! I wouldn't be doing it if it weren't!

Supplies needed for class: A light colored plain yarn and needles appropriate for its' weight in "regular knitting". For example: size 8 if you bring worsted. Please don't bring lace weight yarn; I want you to be able to easily see what you are doing!

If you don't have any leftovers, here's a recommendation: Silky Wool (which is sold at Heavenly Socks). For lace knitting, it's knit on 8's. For the class, a 6 would probably be better. I also HIGHLY recommend using circular needles if you're not doing so already.

beaded bags. . .my latest obsession

I haven't posted any, but I've been enjoying making beaded necklaces for the last few months. When I discovered that there was such a thing as beaded knitting, I just had to give it a try! Yes, I'm late to the game. I have come to find out it was quite last year's rage. Here's my first bag. It's unfinished. I haven't sewn it up yet, and I haven't embellished it. I'm not quite sure what I want to do with it to finish it off. Most of the examples I've seen of these types of little bags are just too glitzy for my taste.

Even though I hadn't finished the first bag, I went on to making my second bag. This one has a whole lot of curvature in it. Unlike the one above, I'm not making it in one piece. I made it up as I went along, which is something I rarely do when I knit, so it was particularly fun. HOWEVER, I learned a big lesson (which I'm sure to REPEAT): stop knitting when you're tired and there isn't enough light when you're using 0000 needles. I made a big mistake and tried to fix it and wound up ripping out the entire thing 'cause I couldn't see the stitches. Luckily, it wasn't a whole sweater. Well, if it was, the whole incident wouldn't have happened. Stay tuned for the end of these projects. I'm kinda getting into the glitz thing. Hmmm. Perhaps I should be worrying about myself. Compare sashiko embroidery to beaded Victoriana. I do see the connection: obsession with tiny stitches.

just because

We've had a flurry of fantastic birds at our feeders this week. It's been hopeless getting a good picture. Either the birds are moving, the feeders are moving or it's been raining. In this picture, we have all three! Yet, I like the picture. It's got a Monet like quality. I know this has nothing at all to do with crafts. But, I adore watching birds and this is my blog, so here's the pic of a Rose Breasted Grosbeak and a Baltimore Oriole, at the suet feeder, in the rain:

sashiko

I've been doing Sashiko on and off for years now. I mostly work on small projects. I've made many little drawstring bags as gifts. The largest ambitous project I've done was a large mat in the traditional fan design. Where all the threads come together, one leaves long tails that are braided together at the end. I wish I had a picture; it was beautiful. I gave this to the Abbott of Zen Mountain Monastery when I became a student there. Here's a few projects that I am planning on framing by sandwiching between two pieces of glass:




This last picture shows my chalk grid lines. They just come off with water.

old chair day

Yesterday was a weird weather day. When the wind was blowing and the clouds were blocking the sun, it was almost too cold to be outside. As the clouds blew away and the wind died down, it was almost too hot. I decided it was a good day to work on some chairs. Notice I didn't write "restore", for that is decidedly not what I'm planning on doing with them. Messing 'em up might be a better word for it, thus far. Anyway, getting the old paint, dirt and varnish off of them was fun, especially since the neighbor girls decided to join me.


I had already removed a lot of almost black grime from this chair.












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This chair was a much brighter pink than this picture shows.
















Ashley and Aleesha got pretty competitive about who could take off more paint!

I painted the pink chair's seat bright red at the end of the day. It looked beautiful outisde but my kichen's walls are red and it was just too much red, so as I'm writing this, the paint stripper is hopefully doing it's job getting off the new coat of paint.

process vs. product

Since I'm on a Buddhist Blog webring, I feel a bit of an obligation to write some about how my crafts relate to my Buddhist practice.

I've always noticed a palpable difference between times when I am working on something with the end product in mind versus times when I'm focused on the process. I am totally process oriented and always have been. Quite frankly, I'd be happy to knit swatches all day. However, there are times when I "need" to make something useful, like curtains. It is times like these, when I lose sight of the sheer pleasure of just making a thing, when I, quite frankly, do a lousy job.

Lace knitting is a great case in point. Many years ago, before there were many knitting charts, I tried knitting lace. I was sitting on my living room sofa with an open book in front of me. That book had written lace knitting patterns and lousy pictures. I didn't understand the essential structure of lace. I kept losing track of where I was in the pattern. Over and over again, I kept ripping out my knitting (on size 0 needles, as I remember). This went on for hours. I must have had an awful look on my face, for when my husband came into the room near the end of the day, he said sarcastically "Are you having fun yet?" No, I was NOT having fun. It was hellacious. I had spent an entire day struggling with something that could have been an adventure and I had given myself a headache.

Now, I make lace just for fun and, yes, I love just making swatches. Often, I rip them out after I've finished at least one pattern repeat. Lace knitting is very meditative. One must do a lot of counting. In my mind, I'm thinking things like "knit 3, yarn over, knit 5, yarn over, decrease two stitches left leaning, yarnover. . . ." It is much like beginner meditation. Count your out breaths up till, ten, repeat. . .

And it very much like the sewing of the Rakusu, the "bib" one sews when one decides to "officially" become a Zen Buddhist.

a plain shirt, transformed

I bought a few large button down shirts at the Salvation Army last fall. I had just gotten my new sewing machine and I had the idea to take the shirts apart, embellish them. . .just play around with them. I never got to it, like a lot of my projects.


Yesterday, after I couldn't take the heat in the garden any longer (it was 90 degrees in the sun here!)


I came inside and went a bit sewing crazy. I made two raw silk pillowcases. Those are quite elegant, but not interesting enough to post. I also did a bit of crocheting and some sock knitting yesterday. I had one heck of great day off!

The shirt project is great fun. It's not over yet, but I'd like to share my work in progress with you.

I'm going to slit the sides, for the shirt is quite unflattering and probably will hang better with open side seams. It also needs cuffs. I can't decide whether I want to put buttons on it or not. Perhaps I'll put ties on it if I think it needs something to close it with. I ripped a long piece of the same checked fabric for a head wrap: Wearing this shirt with a head wrap made me feel like Lucy Ricardo, and I wish I had these gingham checked espadrilles I saw on line to match the outfit!

working on the chambray shirt

First, I put pockets on the front. I just had to cover up the little logo.















Then, I cut off the cuffs.









I put a new collar right over the old one.











Lastly, I put on strip of fabric over the button placket and put a big circle on the back.

finishing the shirt renovation

I sewed on one cuff. I was undecided about it. It seemed too heavy. I went and slit the sides of the shirt and put binding on them, creating more of the smock look I was aiming for. Meanwhile, the one cuff stayed on. . .



. . .but today I cut it right off. I found a few scraps of another handspun blue plaid and I got all excited!



I put the half circles over the remainder of the original shirt's sleeve button placket. Then I put binding over the raw edge.

A few more finishing touches and the shirt is done. I might put a big button at the neckline but I'm not sure yet. If I do, it'll be a button made from the blue and white checked fabric. Here's the shirt:

look ma! no cable needles!

As promised, here are instructions for knitting cables without cable needles. I'll show you the basics. You can figure out all the other permutations. I sometimes use the needles to move the stitches from one needle to the other. Other times I just use my fingers. It depends on the yarn and it depends on my mood. It doesn't make one bit of difference how you do it. Find what way works best for you and if it works out, if the stitches look nice and even, you're doing it correctly. There is no one "right way"!

Please leave a comment if you want more pictures or explanations.

right twist

Okay. Here we go! Just a simple four stitch cable to start out with. Let the stitches you want to manipulate come off the needles. I guarantee you, they're not going anywhere. This is NOT as scary as the first time you cut a steek! So, go ahead and let them stitches hang!



Transfer the first two stiches to the left hand needle. This is the same as "hold two stitches in back".












Transfer the remaining two stiches to the left hand needle and knit them off.












All done!

left twist

Take all the stitches for the cable off the needle.











Next, put the the last two stitches on the right hand needle. Then, put the first two stitches on the left hand needle. This is the same as "hold two sts in front".Lastly, transfer the stitches from the right hand needle to the left hand needle and you're. . .


. . . ready to knit the stitches off!














You've made a left leaning cable without a cable needle!

a well loved sweater

This is a Classic Elite Pattern I made years ago. I used to not wear it much 'cause it is NOT flattering on my body, but this year I decided "so what?" and started wearing it. . .too much. The original pattern calls for white cotton, but I was afraid of getting it dirty, which is reasonable enough; I folded over one sleeve to cover a stain I can't get out. . .

This was a blast to knit. I usually alter patterns, but I couldn't find one fault with this one.

i'm just not sure

I haven't crocheted something since I was around TEN years old! I'm just not sure, as the title says, if I like it. I'm enjoyingcrocheting but. . .the results? Hmmm. What do you think? Be honest.

I believe that I need to dye the yarn in longer spaces for granny squares. Or not. Perhaps I won't make the cardigan I was planning to, but will make instead make a pre-worn looking lap blanket. The single ply lace weight looks rather dull. It has absolutely no sheen.

I wish I could afford some wool/silk!

I can't really believe I'm crocheting. I used to have a serious prejudice against it! Knitting was good. Crocheting was bad. My mother was a crocheter. Perhaps there's a connection, Dr. Freud?

two balls of yarn

Here's the last two balls of yarn I've dyed stacked upon each other. But you can see that, can't you?

ball of yarn

Oops! I forgot to take a picture of my second microwave dyed skein while it was hanging up. I just adore how they look when they're still in a skein!

I'm having a craving for green, the color of leaves, lichen, moss. . .

spring is almost here

This pic doesn't quite capture it 'cause the room looks way brighter in person. Check out how strongly the light shines on the carpet. It was almost fifty degrees at 7:30am! But one look outside the windows shows the truth about Maine: it's ugly before the beginning of May. I was glad for all the snow we've had because it covered the end of winter bleakness.

On a crafts note: the pillows in the corner were made for this crazy sofa I had in my last house. I bought a Roccoco headboard at a thrift shop and nailed it to a platform. Then I covered the platform with the same fabric as the ones on those pillows. The headboard was almost the same green with a floral design. It was wackier than heck. I never took a picture of it! It was great in theory, lousy in practice.

Note the paint swatches in the other corner. One other thing that doesn't show in the photo is that the room needs a paint job!