Knitamazoo Fiber Arts

Crazy DIY Project . . . The Red-Headed Stepchild of Perceived Necessity

2012-01-10T15:21:00.000-05:00

I am the daughter of a carpenter. I grew up around power tools and lots of lumber. I love the smell of freshly cut lumber! It always makes me think of home. I hung around my Dad's workshop and watched him cut wood and make wonderful things with it. My brother and I had our own workbench with a few tools, some nails and screws, and access to a pile of scrap wood to do with what we wanted. You would think that some of those carpentry skills would have rubbed off on me. (I like to think that they did but I could be extremely delusional.)

I mentioned that one of my Christmas gifts from Santa was the book/DVD combo, Spin Art. After watching the video, I decided that I needed a lazy kate that I could sit on the floor and would hold my bobbins vertical. Now I have a perfectly good lazy kate that holds 3 bobbins albeit horizontally. Why I thought that I absolutely NEEDED this kind of lazy kate escapes the rational part of my mind. (I think this part gets smaller every year.) So I started the great internet search to find what I was looking for. I did find several kates that met my criteria but they were soooooooo expensive. The crazy side of my brain took over at this point and told me that all I needed was a few materials and I could make what I wanted for so much less.

Off to the hardware store I went. All I know is that I wanted a board and some metal rod. Sir Lancelot was so patient with me as I tried to explain to him what I was looking for. He actually found the metal rod for me. Check one item off the list at $2.50. Now for the board. I found a really nice stud (too bad he wouldn't come home with me . . . oh wait . . .wrong kind of stud), 2x4 and 96" long for about $2.46. Purchases made I headed home and started the cutting.

I need to figure out how to convince Sir Lancelot that I need a circular saw. I had to cut my stud by hand using my miter box and good old fashioned hand saw. Took FOREVER (well not really but it sure seemed that way)! I also cut two triangular pieces to attach to the bottom of my kate so that it sits at an angle. I sanded all the wood, drilled holes in the stud, cut the metal rod (not an easy task) and pounded the rods into the holes in the stud. I glued and screwed the little feet to the bottom and there it was. My new lazy kate. A bit primitive but it works! Not bad for around $5.

Yeah, I know the foot on the right is crooked but it works.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2012-01-01T17:35:00.000-05:00

Did I scare you? I'm sorry. I know I've been absent from this blog for quite awhile now and my yelling probably startled you. I'm not going to make any excuses for my absence, but I am going to say that I am glad the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is OVER. I'm waiting for the Christmas Fairy to show up and take down all my decorations and store them for me. She's really late this year and I'm going to have to dock her pay.

Well 2012 has come in like a lion here in the Midwest. It has gotten rather cold and blustery out there. Snow has been falling for the last hour or so and has started to accumulate. They are predicting several inches (could be close to a foot) of snow by the time all is said and done. If it wasn't so windy, it would be rather pretty with the snow falling.

Core spun yarn - click for larger photo

I still have been crafting up a storm. Santa dropped off an early present for me and I just couldn't bear to wrap it and put it under the tree. He delivered a copy of the new book Spin Art by Jacey Boggs, which also comes with a DVD. I immediately popped in the DVD and watched it all the way through. I have begun trying my hand at some core spinning and have been surprised at how quickly I seemed to get the hang of it. I still need practice but it gets easier every time I sit down and spin.

Basic mitten using
Brown Sheep Chunky

My knitting needles have been moving fast and furious as well. I knit up a pair of socks for my Dad. I neglected to get a photo of them but they turned out great. It was my first attempt at doing 2 socks at once using the magic loop method. I must say that I was able to manage the 2 balls of yarn without creating much of a mess or getting utterly frustrated. I have also been working on a new pair of mittens for Sir Lancelot. The first one is done and I need to get the second one going. These will be for when he snow blows and since the snow is flying, I need to get knitting.

Close up of sweater back

I have also started a sweater for myself. It's a Ribbed Kimono (Ravelry link) with Garter Stitch Border by Plymouth yarn. It's a very soothing pattern. All the "work" is done on the wrong side of the fabric and the right side is just the knit stitch. Very zen.

I missed having Christmas with my nephews this year. I still haven't met the youngest one. We got to Skype with them on Christmas morning. My parents were at my home and we all got to watch them open their gifts. I am so glad that my SIL posted some pictures from Christmas on her facebook page. They just keep getting cuter all the time!

B & J, Christmas 2011

I have some yarn that I spun that I will be listing in my etsy shop hopefully in the next few days. I need to get some pictures taken. If that Christmas Fairy ever shows up I could get some stuff done. LOL! So keep your eyes open for that. And if you are in the area, the class list for Stitching Memories will be up on the website soon. I will be listing my classes here as well. If you're local, I hope to see you in one of my classes this year.

That about wraps things up for now. I want to wish everyone a very healthy and prosperous New Year!!

Cosmo is hoping the Christmas Fairy does not show up

Knitamazoo Featured on Knit 1 for the Road

2011-11-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

Knit 1 for the Road, a book, a blog, a lifestyle.: Tada Tuesday: While watching the Ghost Hunters Live Event last night, I was able to finish sock two! You may have seen the previous recent bloggie on ...

I Must Be Warped

2011-10-24T14:00:00.001-04:00

My obsession with weaving continues. I finished weaving the towel on my Ashford loom and really wanted to begin the kitchen towel kit I bought at the Michigan Fiber Festival in August. The directions call for a 5 yard warp. Now I live in a small house. I have no place (unless I go outside) to set up to do a direct warp that long. I suppose I could clamp the post to the top stair and put the loom at the end of the hall, but with my phobia of falling down my stairs (long story) I figured that was not a good idea. Outside would have been great except that it has been quite cool and windy. So what is a weaver with no warping board or warping mill who is dying to warp her loom to do?? Make her own ghetto warping mill!

Click for larger photo

I cannot take credit for this idea. I saw it on youtube and since I had all the components, I figured why not. My box was a bit small so I taped two together. I then taped dowels on and taped the whole contraption to a lazy susan. Easy peasy. Here is the ghetto mill with the warp on it.

The "cross"

I have my warp all prepped and tied. The all important "cross" is preserved. The choke has been tied and I loosely tied the warp in several places since it is a long warp and this is my first time trying this. I wanted to keep this as easy as possible. Removing the warp from the mill was a scary thought for me, but it was actually quite easy. I have made my warp chain and am ready to start sleying the loom. Now that is a scary proposition. I'm so afraid that I'm going to mess it all up and with 212 ends that would be one BIG mess.

Warp chain

Wish me luck!

Tied warp before removing from mill

Getting My Weave On

2011-10-02T18:04:00.001-04:00

I'm beginning to think that this fiber arts addiction is out of control. If I see it and it's fiber related, I want to try it. Case in point. A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a video on youtube about weaving. I can't even remember what it was that I was looking for anymore. All I know is that I followed a couple of suggested links and watched videos on a couple of weaving techniques I had never seen before. That was my first mistake. The first video showed how to make a twined rug. (You can view the video here if you desire.) As I watched, I started to think, "Hmmmm . . . I could make a frame loom to do that. Bet I could do it out of pvc pipe and some cup hooks." And there was my second mistake . . . thinking.

I formulated a plan in my head and a couple days later I was in Lowe's asking a clerk to cut pvc pipe for me. I had the cup hooks, so all I needed was the pipe cut to length and 4 - 90 degree elbows. I wanted to be able to dismantle the loom when not in use and this should work. So, if you have watched the video and think you might want to try it, here is how I made my loom which cost under $10.

Materials Needed

PVC pipe - I bought 2 - 10 ft lengths of schedule 40 pipe, 3/4" in diameter. I had it cut down to 2 pieces approx. 32" and 2 pieces 46". You can have it cut to any dimensions you'd like.
4 PVC corners for the 3/4" pipe - 90 degrees
Cup hooks (I used a total of 58)
Power drill with bit slightly smaller than cup hooks

Ready for pilot holes

Take the two shorter pieces and put the corner pieces on each end. If you want to be able to dismantle your loom or use shorter side posts, do not glue it. They will hold together just fine. Using a ruler and sharpie, mark off 1" increments (I originally marked off 1/2" increments but they were too close together). PUT YOUR GLOVES AND SAFETY GLASSES ON! Using your power drill, drill pilot holes in each of the tick marks on both pipes. They don't have to be perfectly lined up, just get them close.

Correct position of cup hooks

WITH YOUR GLOVES STILL ON (to avoid nasty blood blisters - ask me how I figured that one out), screw a cup hook into each hole. You may need to take frequent breaks, use pliers, whatever it takes. The hooks should be facing the outside of your frame. Once they are all screwed in, attach the side poles (again, no glue if you want to dismantle for storage or change the size) and TA-DA you now have a weaving frame. Time to take a step back, admire your work and give yourself props for a job well done! Go on, raise the roof or do a happy dance, I'll wait.

Finished frame

Warping the frame

Now you are ready to warp the frame. You can't weave until you warp, but this is quick and easy. I used natural colored 3/2 cotton rug warp. Tie your warp to the bottom left cup hook. Run it to the hook on the opposite end. Come back around the second hook on the bottom and then up to the second hook on the top. Continue until the entire frame is warped. I then went back to where I started and tightened up the warp across the frame. Once you have the warp tightened, tie it off to the last hook on the top where you ended. You are now ready to weave. I am not going to try to explain how to do the twined weaving. Watch the video for instruction on how to do it. You could even take a small picture frame, put nails in it and try it that way. I wanted to make a small rag rug so I needed a larger frame. It's going to take me awhile, but I'm loving the end result. I also saw another weaving technique and I have all the pieces I need to make the loom for that as well. Sir Lancelot thinks I've completely lost my marbles. Who knows . . . he may be right.

The beginnings of my rag rug

I've got a long way to go

Weaving Resources

2011-09-21T11:24:00.002-04:00

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you know full well that I have taken up weaving. When I started knitting and spinning, I scoured the internet in search of resources and tried to soak up as much information as I could. I, by all means, do not know everything there is about either activity but I have managed to absorb a great wealth of information. Weaving is no different. I have been eagerly searching the internet for information, videos, resources, anything I can find about weaving. When I find a "gem," I am adding it to my Weaving tab above. This is not only for my reference, but anyone who is weaving or is interested in weaving.

If you have caught the weaving bug, please check out that tab. Feel free to send me sites/videos on weaving that you have found helpful and I will add them to my list. I'm always looking for input from others.

I have been doing a little weaving lately. I am almost done with my first dish towel and I have enough warp to weave a second one. I really need to get cracking on it as I am anxious to warp a dishtowel kit that I bought at Fiber Fest. I also need to warp my Cricket again. I'm not sure what I want to weave on it so I'm holding back warping until I make a decision.

I have also been busy working on making a couple of "looms" to weave rugs. I have one finished and I just need to drill a bunch of holes for the other one. Pictures will be coming soon as well as a tutorial on how I made them.

Fiber Arts Friday: What Haven't I Been Up To??

2011-09-16T14:31:00.000-04:00

Here it is, another Fiber Arts Friday and I have lots to share with you. I have been a busy little fiber artist despite teaching three classes this week. So without further ado, here are my fiber arts adventures for the past week or so. (Click on photos for larger view.)

First up, spinning. I spun up this merino/tusseh silk blend over the Labor Day weekend. I've had this in my stash for quite awhile and I decided that I needed to spin it up. After plying, it will probably be a DK or light worsted weight. I had already spun up some of the bump so we'll see if this matches. LOL!

I also spun and plied some BFL or Targhee. I lost the label so I'm not sure. Anyway, I still have half of the braid to spin and ply. I love the autumn colors. Fall is one of my favorite times of year and when I look at this yarn I can feel the crispness in the air and hear the crunching of the leaves. Makes me want to take the spinning wheel into the backyard and spin under the changing trees.

I have also been spinning up the Yarn Hollow fiber I bought at Fiber Fest. I'm torn between plying it on itself or possibly plying it with some alpaca that I have. I have some time to think about it as I haven't finished spinning up the braid yet. It's so beautiful and I want to get the most out of it. Decision, decisions . . .

And just in case you thought all I've been doing is spinnng, here is a photo of the progress I've made on my weaving. I am working on a couple of dishtowels and already have 16" of one done. I have about another 10" on it and then I'll weave another one before removing it from the loom.

And last but not least, I have been knitting too. I am almost done with a pair of thick socks for Sir Lancelot. He calls them his "football socks" as he wears them while he watches football on Sundays. I also have dug out my mitered square sock yarn blanket. Or as I like to call it, the "I Must Be Out of My Everloving Mind" blanket. There is progress.

Now head on over to WonderWhyGal's blog and see what other fiber artists are up to this Fiber Arts Friday.

Brand New Sock Pattern - Stroll By the Sea

2011-08-29T12:07:00.000-04:00

Announcing my brand new sock pattern - Stroll By the Sea. Designed as an ankle sock, the length of the leg can simply be adjusted to the knitter's preference by knitting more pattern repeats. The easily memorized lace pattern is presented in both chart and written form. This sock features my favorite band heel. No gusset decreases here! These are a quick knit and perfect for the end of summer/beginning of fall.

You may purchase the pattern here on my blog, through Ravelry or on my Etsy shop.

Fiber Arts Friday: 2011 Michigan Fiber Festival

2011-08-26T09:12:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the Michigan Fiber Festival and I had the distinct pleasure of helping my awesome friend Andrea (the WonderWhy Gal) with her booth. She had a successful festival and I even had time to spin, shop and visit the animals. Here are some of my fantastic finds and views of the festival.

Handmade pick up sticks for weaving

Cotton Chenille towel weaving kit

1100 yds Jagerspun Merino/Silk lace weight

4 oz soy silk and 2 oz dyed inego

Almost 1 lb of Blue Faced Leicester

2 oz Pygora

1/2 lb of gorgeous merino

Lovely Yarn Hollow merino/bamboo/nylon

Merino from MacKintosh Yarns

Some gorgeous alpaca/merino/silk blend from Wonder Why Alpaca Farm

More Wonder Why alpaca that I plied yesterday

Since I already overloaded this post with pictures, if you are interested in seeing the animals and sights around the Fiber Festival, please visit my Picasa album.

Make sure to check out all the other wonderful fiber artists on Fiber Arts Friday, hosted by the lovely Andrea, aka the Wonder Why Gal.

Yummy, yummy . . . in my tummy!

2011-08-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

It's blueberry season here in the Midwest. I am not huge blueberry fan but I do like them. I found this recipe that uses blueberries and I waited until I could get fresh blueberries to make it. It's called Blueberry Pretzel Clusters and they couldn't be simpler to make! You can find the recipe on the Keep It Sweet blog.

You start out by melting some lovely dark chocolate and then you add the pretzel pieces and blueberries.

Fresh blueberries!

Then you spoon the mixture out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and chill in the refrigerator until solid. Easy peasy! And they are totally YUMMY!

Ready for the fridge

Wordless Wednesday: Night Shots

2011-08-17T12:23:00.000-04:00

Just a few pictures I took this past weekend while playing around with the night settings on my camera.

A Tale of Two Dinners

2011-08-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning Sir Lancelot wanted to go out for breakfast. We have a new favorite place here in town called Derk's. They have a great breakfast menu. We absolutely LOVE the American fries. Yummy! So we had a nice big breakfast which meant we really didn't want much for lunch.

By dinner time we were both fairly hungry. We tossed around some ideas of what to have and finally settled on pancakes. We seem to have an affinity for breakfast. So, Sir Lancelot got out the electric griddle, I grabbed the pancake mix and got mixing. Sir L asked me what temp to set the griddle for and I told him 375. I finished mixing the batter and decided to give the griddle time to heat up. I came back a few minutes later and poured 3 pancakes on the griddle. I stood there waiting for the bubbles to appear but they never did. I finally looked down at the dial and it turns out that Sir L had put the griddle on WARM instead of 375. Fabulous! So I turned the griddle up and waited. The bubbles appeared and I went to flip the first pancake. The stupid thing was stuck to the griddle. Pancake 2 and 3 followed suit. Now I was resigned to scraping half cooked pancakes off the griddle.

Pancake disaster

Poor Sir L felt bad that he had messed up the temperature and he was sure that I was going to throw something if he laughed at the situation. Well I opened up the cupboard, grabbed the Pam, told him to stand back and sprayed the griddle. I then proceeded to make a tiny "tester" pancake while I added more milk and mix to the batter. I was hungry and losing 3 pancakes was not an option.

Stuck to the spatula . . . nice!

The "tester" bubbled up nicely and it flipped beautifully. Hooray! Dinner will be ready soon. For some reason before taking pancakes off the griddle I always push down on them with the spatula. I don't know why I feel the need to flatten out my pancakes even more, it's just something that I have always done. I'm weird. I know it, I admit it and I embrace it. This little "tester" did not escape my need to squish my pancakes. I pressed down with the spatula and lifted it up in preparation for taking if off the griddle. When I looked down to slip the spatula under the pancake, there was no pancake. I looked at the bottom of my spatula and there is my little "tester" pancake stuck to the spatula. This sent both Sir L and I into a fit of hysterics. I don't know how long we laughed but I thought I was going to pee my pants.

After we finally stopped laughing enough to talk we decided to head through a drive-thru as we were not destined to cook dinner that night. We finally did get to eat thanks to Wendy's!

Yes, that is my Frosty

WIP Wednesday: A Day Late

2011-08-11T09:47:00.000-04:00

Well I'm a day late (and several dollars short!) for Work In Progress Wednesday. But I guess better late than never.

The heavy humidity that has been the norm has finally moved on and we are now enjoying more comfortable temperatures. Yesterday it only got up to 72 and today's high should hit 80. There is no humidity in the air and the windows have been open wide! Yesterday felt like late September. I really need to get a hammock for the backyard.

More comfortable temperatures mean more comfortable knitting and crocheting. (See . . . I had a reason to talk about the weather!) Now that it is cooler I have been able to work once again on the crochet baby blankie I am making for my 2nd cousin's little one due in September. (Wow! I better get busy so I can get it to her before the baby is born.) It is coming a long nicely and I will post a picture once it is finished and been received. I don't want to spoil the surprise. :)

Mmmmm . . . coffee & knitting - the perfect combo!

I also went diving in my hibernation pile. I'm a bit sad to think of all these once-loved projects now languishing in bags and baskets all over my house. I came across the Casino Shawl by Anne Hanson or as I like the call it "The Cast On of Death." I cast on back in January 2010, worked the set up row and one full repeat of the chart. Then it got put aside and forgotten about. I don't know if it was the provisional cast on of 305 stitches or if another project caught my attention. Whatever the reason, this poor project needs to see the light of day again. So I rescued it, figured out where I left off (I was so smart and had marked the chart with a pencil where I left off.) This shawl has been my go-to project the last couple of days and if it continues, I should be finished in a couple of weeks.

So what have you been up to? What WIP's are you working on? Please share. Cosmo Kitty really wants to know.

Tell me what you're working on & no one gets shed on.

I've Taken the Plunge

2011-08-07T17:02:00.000-04:00

Well I finally did it. I have opened a shop on Etsy. Right now I only have my patterns listed, but I will be listing hand spun yarn and hand woven items in the coming months. So check it out and keep checking back for new items being added.

In other news, I am working on a new sock pattern. I am almost finished knitting my sample and will be having the pattern test knit over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for the latest addition to the Knitmazoo collection of knitting patterns!

Fiber Arts Friday: I'm Back in Action!

2011-08-05T05:00:00.002-04:00

I know it has been awhile since I've posted, let alone did a post for Fiber Arts Friday. But I'm back baby! I've had some ups and downs with my depression lately (more ups than downs though) and I haven't felt much like posting. But I've been busy at my wheel and want to share my excitement with my fiber-lovin friends!

Yummy alpaca

It all began about a year and a half ago. I purchased a GORGEOUS alpaca-wool blend roving from the totally awesome WonderWhyGal. (Go visit her etsy shop! But not until you're done reading & commenting on this post.) She has beautiful alpacas on her farm and they have the softest, most gorgeous fleeces. I choose an amazing burgundy/black roving and it sat in my stash for awhile before I dared try to spin it.

Will this ever end?

As I started to spin the roving it began to speak to me. It kept whispering, "I want to be lace. I want to be lace." So I embarked on my first lace spinning experiment. I spun and I spun. I spun some more. I walked away for some time. I came back and spun again. Spinning, spinning, spinning. Was I ever going to get through all 8oz of roving? I kept on spinning, taking breaks so I wouldn't lose my mind. I don't have any idea how many months I worked on this. I don't even want to know. I just know that when I finally did finish I let out a whoop and did a fist pump. (I'm a dork, I know.)

Full bobbin

I finally had a full bobbin of luscious alpaca! Now I needed to ply it. Sigh. It sat on the bobbin for a long time before I got the courage up to wind it into a center pull ball so I could ply it. Then it sat and waited until I got my Ashford Traveller wheel working smoothly. I have a jumbo bobbin/flyer that I use for plying and I was having issues with it. I didn't want to try plying it when the bobbin wasn't drawing in smoothly. So I messed around with it, oiled it and plied up some other wool. I finally got it working where I thought I could ply the alpaca lace weight. So into a center pull ball it went, I sat down at the wheel, attached the singles to the leader and started plying.

Plied alpaca lace weight

I plied and I plied. I plied some more. I walked away as my legs started hurting. I came back a couple of days later and plied some more. Will I ever be able to ply all of this alpaca? I was beginning to think this whole lace yarn thing was a horrible idea. I don't know how many times I had to stop and untangle some very energized singles. There was some gnashing of teeth and threats to rip the mess off the wheel and throw it against the wall were made. Tangles were undone and more plying ensued. Then the tangles would appear again. So after several hours of this ply, stop, untangle, ply routine, I ultimately had a bobbin of fabulous, lace weight, alpaca/wool yarn!

All skeined up!

It was all worth it . . . right???

Now get yourself over to WonderWhyGal's blog to see the rest of Fiber Arts Friday and make sure you visit her etsy shop so you can spin up your own yummy alpaca! (Her roving is fantastic! Very little VM!!)

And the Heat Is On . . .

2011-07-20T12:10:00.000-04:00

Well Summer has arrived. We are sweltering here in the mid-west. They are saying that today could reach 105 degrees plus the humidity. When it gets hot I don't feel like doing much at all. Maybe that is why this blog has been so silent. I haven't really been doing too much lately.

I have been spinning for this year's Tour de Fleece though. Not every day, but I have done a lot more spinning this year than I did for last year's tour. I'm not only feeling the heat from outside, but I'm feeling the heat to update this blog. So without further ado, here is what I have been spinning for this year's tour.

Gorgeous, soft, fawn colored alpaca

Squishy merino

The alpaca & merino plied together

Pretty black llama (lot's of vm in this roving though)

A wool/mohair mix - I have one bobbin full and am starting my 2nd

Crafty Monday - July 4th Door Wreath

2011-06-20T14:41:00.000-04:00

I know it's been quite awhile since I last updated this blog. Live has been a little crazy and last week I could hardly walk as I pulled some muscles along my lower back. But I am doing much better and have been a crafting like crazy. In fact I am going to share with you the cute door wreath that I made (in about 2 hours) that works for 4th of July or any other patriotic holiday.

Patriotic Wreath

Supplies

12" styrofoam wreath (I used one that was flat on the back and rounded on the front) - $4.99 at Michaels
craft felt - 6 sheets white, 6 sheets red, 5 sheets blue, 1 sheet stiff white - $0.29 per sheet at Michaels
coordinating ribbon - $1.99 a roll at Michaels
craft glue
glitter
skewer, awl or some blunt poker type object
scissors or rotary cutter & self-healing mat

The first thing you want to do is cut up your craft felt (not the stiff white piece) into approximately 2" squares. The rotary cutter and mat make this very easy, but scissors will work. Don't worry about getting all your squares all the same size and shape. "Close enough" is just fine here. You may want to just cut up 4 sheets of each color to get started, that way if you don't need all of the felt you have full pieces. (I used 4 sheets of blue and red but 5 sheets of the white. Your mileage may vary and that is why I suggest getting extra.)

After you have cut your squares, you will want to mark your wreath into sections. I used colored sharpies but a black marker will work. Section off about 1/3 of the wreath for the blue and the remaining 2/3 should be marked off in white/red sections all the way around.

Once you have it marked, take one of the felt squares and wrap it around the tip of your "pokey tool" (yes, that is the technical term) and poke it into the wreath. It doesn't matter what color you start with. I started by going along the outside edge and along one of the lines I had drawn. You don't need to pack the felt extremely close together. I think mine were about 1/8-1/4" apart. Keep poking until you completely fill each section in with felt. Make sure the edges are covered.

Next, take the stiff white felt and cut out 3 stars that are about 2 inches wide and high. I did a quick google search and found an image of a plain star that I pasted into MS Word and then resized it how I wanted it to make a template. I also cut out a slightly larger star (around 3") to hang in the center. My stiff white felt had glitter on it but I didn't think it sparkled enough. I spread some glue on each star and added silver glitter. I also added some blue glitter to the large star. Glue the 3 smaller stars on the blue section of felt.

Cut a 4" piece of ribbon and make a loop. Poke the ends into the back of the wreath making sure that your blue starfield is off to the left. Since the whole enchilada is going to hang from this, I added some craft glue to the ribbon ends before poking them into the foam. I then cut another 4" length of ribbon and glued the large star to it. When the glue had dried, I centered the star in the middle of the wreath and poked the end of the ribbon into the back of it.

That's it. You're done. Now go hang your wreath on your door and have a Happy July 4th!

Long Time, No Post

2011-06-01T10:49:00.000-04:00

Well here I am, playing catch-up again. What a crazy weekend! Sir Lancelot asked me if I wanted to go shop the outlets in Birch Run and then hit Frankenmuth. Are you kidding? You actually had to ask? So we spent a day shopping the outlets and Frankenmuth culminating in a wonderful dinner at the Bavarian Inn.

And then the migraine hit. I got up on Memorial Day with a bit of a headache. I quickly took my meds and went on with my day. The sun was finally out and I had big plans to spend the day in my 4-season room spinning and crocheting. But it was not to be. By lunchtime my head was rockin'. I curled up on the couch in the basement with ice packs and kitty. It was nice and dark and I took a bit of a nap. I was able to eat dinner, but by 9:00 pm I was headed to bed. Sir Lancelot massaged my head and neck which helped relax me a bit. I spent a horrible restless night. I got up around 3am and got the icepack again. Sir L was getting me pills and I thought I may just end up in the ER. I woke up on Tuesday feeling better but I still had a bit of a headache. I should have known then to call into work but I went in anyway. I made it until about noon and then spent the afternoon back on the couch with the ice and cat. I think I need a Memorial Day weekend do-over!

I had a couple of posts planned for this weekend including a tribute to those in my family who were/are veterans. All that went out the window when the headache hit. I do have some projects to catch you all up on and I will be posting about them over the next few days.

It's good to be back in the land of the living!

Crazy Cat Thursday

2011-05-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

My cat is a creature of habit. I swear that he can actually tell time. If I haven't fed him by 7:30 am, he lets me know. (And daylight savings time really messes him up!) Every evening he puts up a fuss if I am not in the basement on the couch watching tv. He wants to lay on my legs or better yet my stomach as I try to knit or crochet. He knows what time I usually go to bed and he gets upset if I'm not heading upstairs to bed at the right time. He has his favorite napping spots; usually on our bed, the love seat in front of the picture window, my computer chair or his kitty bed. He loves to lay on the floor in the 4-season room when the sun is streaming through the windows. This is where I found him the other evening. Though he had found a "new" place to relax and nap. Crazy cat!

Tuesday Tutorial: Personalized Picture Frame

2011-05-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

My home desk is constantly in a state of disarray. It looks like a bomb went off. I don't know why I can't keep a neat desk but that's just how I roll. When it gets so bad that I can't stand it, I sit down and clean it up. Thus was the case on Sunday. I probably spent the better part of an hour throwing out out-dated mail and catalogs, filing and dusting. In the midst of all this cleaning, I came across a picture of my father in-law in his VFW uniform at his local post in Florida.

When I saw the picture, I knew immediately that I had to do something special with it for Sir Lancelot. My father in-law lost his battle with cancer back in 2006. He was a veteran of Vietnam and very active in his local VFW post. As I looked at the picture and thought about my father in-law, an idea started to form in my head. A quick trip to Michaels yesterday and I was all set to create a special display for this picture.

Basic wooden picture frame

I started with a wooden frame. I had a pack of 3 that we picked up at Ikea. I am going to start trolling the dollar stores in search of frames as I have tons of ideas for creating more of these. I didn't think about it when I did this last night, but next time I may take a fine grain sandpaper and sand the frame before painting..

Paint and stickers

Next, I applied some acrylic paint and let it dry. I didn't think to take pictures at each step, but I'm sure you all know how to paint. I used a small sponge brush to apply the paint and then I let it dry. After it dried, I added the picture to the frame and started to apply these fantastic pop-up scrap booking stickers that I found. My original idea was to decoupage the frame but I couldn't find armed forces or patriotic paper that I liked, so I opted for painting and stickers.

When I presented it to Sir Lancelot it brought tears to his eyes. I am so pleased with how it turned out and I am especially happy that Sir Lancelot likes it. It now has a special place on his computer desk so he can see it every day.

Finished frame

The creative ideas for more frames like this just keep flowing through my head. With all the fantastic scrap booking supplies out there, I see a lot more of these in my future. Charms, stickers, jewels, decoupage . . . the possibilities are endless!

I have also poured more soy candles. I tried out 3 new scents . . . stargazer lily, cappuccino hazelnut and honeysuckle. I also poured into new hexagon shaped jars. I really like these jars.

Monday Musings: A Little Landscaping

2011-05-23T16:09:00.000-04:00

For years Sir Lancelot and I have been talking about doing something with the landscaping in the front of the house. The previous owners had planted spirea and azalea bushes but they never did well because the soil is so bad. They also had two small flower beds at the base of the front steps, but nothing I planted there did well because of the soil. I've been dying to rip out the scraggly bushes, amend the soil and plant something new.

Last week we were at Home Depot and were looking for some kind of edging. We've had plastic and wood but they never lasted too long. We were looking for some type of brick edging to use. We had our measurements in hand and were ready to buy. Almost immediately we came across some cute brick edging that was on clearance. Regularly $1.98 a block, it had been reduced down to $.46 a block! Yes, you read that right . . . 46 cents per block! (Makes you wonder how much they mark it up in the first place.) So 15 minutes later we had 90 blocks loaded into the back of our SUV and we were on our way home.

We tore out the spirea and azalea bushes, removed the old edging and put in the new. We were able to build up the beds and put in 2 1/2 bags of new soil plus 1 bag of composted cow manure each. I got some perennials planted and now all we have to do is replace the bushes. I'm thinking maybe a couple of dwarf burning bushes and butterfly bushes, but I'm not sure yet. So here are the before and after photos . . .

3 Beeutiful Things Tuesday

2011-05-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

I decided to do something different today. I have been seeing people post on their blogs 3 Beeutiful Things in their lives. There is even a group on The Hive dedicated to 3 Beeutiful Things. (Which I of course joined because I think we all need to recognize the beautiful things in our lives.) So without further ado, here are 3 Beeutiful Things in my life . . .

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

Cosmo Kitty

My nephews - Jared & Brandon

Monday Musings: A Little Spinning

2011-05-16T11:43:00.000-04:00

I went awol from my blog last week. I had my Fiber Arts Friday post all planned out but I never got it written. I apologize for my absence. No excuses, no explanations . . . it is what it is.

Lace yarn of Wonder

So what have I been up to you ask? I have set down the knitting needles (not entirely mind you) for a bit of spinning and crochet. I realized Mother's Day weekend that I had neglected my spinning wheels for a long, long time. It was before Christmas when I last spun and I could have sworn I heard my Ashford Joy sobbing. So I brought the wheels into the sunlight, oiled them up, dusted them off and set to spinning. I was working on some lovely alpaca/merino blend from the WonderWhy Alpaca Farm, spinning it up in my first attempt at a 2-ply lace weight. I had 4oz of this fabulous roving and I didn't have much left to spin. I started right in on that and before I knew it, my bobbin was full and the roving was gone. I have not plied this yarn yet. It is sitting next to my spinning chair where I can admire it. I am anxious to ply it but I need to make some adjustments to my Ashford Traveler and the large bobbin attachment. Something is rubbing and it makes a squeaking noise. It is also difficult to treadle. I don't want any issues that might cause this lovely thin single to snap while plying. (As always, click on pictures for larger images.)

Dude's fluff all spun up

Yummy, soft alpaca/merino!

After I finished spinning the alpaca, I went stash diving for more fluff. I came across another WonderWhy roving that I picked up last fall. It is a lovely gray alpaca with some soft lilac purple merino blended in. I immediately recognized the alpaca fiber as being from Dude (and this was without reading the tag) and decided that I needed to spin this . . . NOW! I thought about doing another lace weight but decided that I didn't want to concentrate that much on my spinning. I chose to let my spinning be organic and see where the fiber led me. I did have to concentrate a bit at first so I wasn't spinning lace weight, but I ended up with 93 yards of a thick/thin worsted weight yarn.

Wool blend

I still wasn't done spinning (and yes, I spun all of this in one day). I drug out some roving that was marked as a wool blend. Again, I let my spinning be organic and I ended up with 123 yards of a DK weight yarn. I couldn't believe that I spun up over 8oz of roving in one sitting. I think that is the most I have ever spun at one time. I really enjoyed myself as it was a beautiful day and I was able to spin on my 4-season porch with the windows open watching the birds at the feeders. A perfect day!

After this marathon spin session, I have not abandoned my wheels. Just the other night, I started spinning up some bamboo/merino blend from my stash. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

A Letter to Mom

2011-05-08T14:18:00.000-04:00

Dear Mom,

Here it is Mother's Day again. An entire day for us to celebrate our mothers and all that they mean to us. But I don't think that one day is enough. A mere 24 hours to express our love and thanks just isn't long enough. It would take a lifetime to fully express how grateful I am for you.

You carried me in your womb for nine months and spent several hours in labor to give me birth. You became a mother that day and I couldn't ask for a better mom!

You held me, fed me and changed me. You read to me, sang to me and rocked me. You scolded me and disciplined me when needed. You were always there to bandage my wounds and give me a kiss to make it all better. You soothed me back to sleep after nightmares. You played games with me and constantly encouraged my creativity.

As I grew and started to assert my independence, we had our fights. There were times when I thought I "hated" you but deep down inside, I knew it wasn't true. You persevered and we made it through the teen years. (I'm sorry if I made to rough on you. I know how stubborn I can be.)

Then it was time for me to go off to college. I was both scared and excited. You were both proud and sad. It was over these years that you went from being my mother to being my best friend. You let me spread my wings to fly but were always there to pick me up if I fell. You were always there to listen (still are!) and you transitioned from telling me what to do, to giving me advice and letting me make my own choices. You gave me all the tools and the chance to become my own person.

Now I'm much older, married and living far away. I don't get to talk to you every day and I only get to see you a couple of times each year. But I want you to know that I love you very much and I think about you every day. It is because of you, that I am the woman I am today. Thank you just doesn't seem like enough.

I love you!

My Mom & me, Christmas 2010

Fiber Arts Friday: Precious Baby

2011-05-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

I have been posting little tidbits about some super secret projects that I have been working on. They were all finished this past weekend, mailed out on Tuesday and were delivered today. All just in time for little Jared William's arrival! My newest nephew was born this afternoon weighing in at 7lbs 5oz and measuring 19 1/2" long. I can't wait for the pictures to start arriving in email. I really wish I lived closer, but such is life.

Anyway, onto the photos of the finished projects. First off, since I have this new obsession with weaving, I wove a baby blanket for the new arrival. We knew it was a boy, so I choose some really soft blue and white yarn to weave with. I am really happy with how it turned out and it is totally washable which is a must for baby items. This was my first real weaving project. It's not perfect, but it will keep baby Jared warm and cozy. I'm sure he won't mind any imperfections that I may see.

As soon as I saw this stuffed elephant pattern, I knew I had to make one for Jared. My LYS had the pattern as well as a kit to make it. All I had to do was provide needles (which I have tons of!). The pattern is called Elijah and is by Ysolda Teague. I called it Horton Held His Breath and Turned Blue. I have a feeling that I will be making another one with some orange yarn for Brandon (Jared's older brother). And that is okay with me. It was a quick, fun knit and I'd be happy to make one if Brandon wants one.

Now Brandon is only 2 1/2 yrs old and I'm sure with all the excitement over the new baby he may feel a bit left out and possibly ignored. So Auntie decided to make something special just for him. I saw directions for a magnetic fishing game online and thought that would be perfect. So I gathered up all the materials and started sewing. Here are some pictures of the finished game.

I made this bag to keep everything in. After I had finished it, I really didn't like the orange fish on it. Actually, my meager sewing skills are what kept me from liking it. So I took it off and put on a piece of green felt and wrote GO FISH on it. I painted two dowels orange (his favorite color) and added white ribbon with magnets on the end. There is a piece of blue felt for the pond and 8 fish to catch. I hope he has lots of fun fishing in his living room.

I am still working on my French shawl and I bought some lovely fingering weight bamboo yarn in a gorgeous periwinkle. I'm thinking this will be my next woven scarf project.

That's all for Fiber Arts Friday from my little corner of the interwebs. Drop by Andrea's blog, WonderWhy Alpaca Farm, to see what other fiber artists have been up to this week.

Thursday Thoughts, Tips & Techniques: Unraveling Patterns Via the Internet

2011-05-04T21:38:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Knitamazoo and I am a Ravaholic. There I have admitted it. I am addicted to the knitting/crocheting/fibery community that is Ravelry. If you are a knitter, crocheter, spinner, weaver, or fiber artist and you are not a part of the Ravelry community, you are missing out on a very valuable resource.

I am not going to list out the 150+ reasons why I love Ravelry. The only reason I mention it, is that it was the starting place for a fantastic journey that showed me just how much one can learn on the internet. This is a journey of perseverance and self discovery. So let's begin at the beginning, shall we?

Click for larger image

As I have mentioned many times before, I love to browse the pattern database on Ravelry. I find all kinds of inspiration there and my queue is overflowing. I am always drawn to anything lace, especially shawls. One day while browsing newly added patterns, I ran across a gorgeous lace shawl called Hiver Australien. (The link will take you to the Ravelry pattern page - account needed to view.) I was very excited to see that the pattern was available for FREE! I had plenty of yarn and I had the correct needles. I wouldn't have to purchase a thing!

I immediately clicked on the link provided to download the pattern and discovered the entire pattern was written in French. There were charts but all the directions for how to start, how many times to knit each chart and finish the shawl were in French. My bubble was burst. I don't speak a lick of French. I can't read French. The only French I know is French fries, French toast and French kiss. Not one iota of that limited knowledge was going to help me with this pattern. I don't even know anyone who speaks French, let alone who could translate a knitting pattern. What was I to do? I really, really, really wanted to knit this shawl.

As I sat and thought about it, I started to think of the resources I did have at my disposal. My computer and access to the wealth of knowledge that is the internet. Babel Fish is the first thing that popped into my head. That helped for some words but it really wasn't helpful for knitting terms. I did a simple Google search for French knitting terms and was presented with a link to a French Knitting Dictionary. This resource was invaluable! Between using online translators and the dictionary, I was able to figure out the English instructions for the shawl. It took several hours and I did the translation over a couple of days. But I was able to completely translate the directions and the key for the charts. It took a lot of back and forth between the pattern, the dictionary and the translators. I had to do some deductive reasoning to figure out what some words meant from a knitting perspective.

The bind off was the hardest part to figure out. It involves the use of a crochet hook and the directions were really hard to translate. Through much investigating, I finally did translate the bind off directions. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming when I was through.

As crafters, the internet holds a vast array of inspiration, knowledge and tools to assist us. If we are willing to invest a little time and effort, there is no limit to what we can do. I am no longer afraid of knitting patterns written in a foreign language. I know that with my knowledge of knitting and some help from the internet, I can probably figure out any pattern I want to knit.

I discovered something about myself during all of this, if I put my mind to something there is no stopping me! I was bound and determined to knit this shawl despite the language barrier. I used some creative thinking and tools from the internet to do it. Don't sell yourself short! If I can translate a French knitting pattern, you can do whatever it is you want to do!

I have started this shawl and am calling it "Parlez vous francais?". If you want to knit this pattern, I am happy to help you with the translation. I suggest trying to translate it yourself. You will learn a lot about yourself and about how much you know about knitting.

(If you are unable to translate the pattern or do not want to go through the hassle, I am more than happy to provide the translation to you.)

Wordless Wednesday: Like Father Like Son

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

These are 3 recent photos of my nephew (who will become a "big brother" on Thursday). The last photo is my brother around the same age. No wonder my SIL feels like a copy machine! Hopefully his little brother will look more like her. :)

Finally Finished . . . Now I Need A Long Nap

2011-05-03T19:56:00.000-04:00

I had such high hopes of finishing several projects by last Friday. But it was not to be. I did finish them up this weekend (even with a migraine) and got them out in the mail today (again due to the migraine which lasted 2 days). I will be posting photos on Friday as the recipient will have received them. It feels good to be finished!

This weekend was a little crazy. I had a couple of things on my workbench in the basement for one of my projects. Saturday evening I went to check on them to see if the paint had dried and I noticed a rather large puddle of water on my workbench. I picked up the wooden spoon which was in the middle of said puddle and the underside was covered in a beautiful green mold. That went straight into the trash. I next mopped up the water with some towels but as I was doing that I was getting dripped on. I looked up and noticed water dripping off a pipe. It wasn't a fast drip or even a large drip, but it was dripping just the same. I told Sir Lancelot that we had a problem and he traced it back upstairs and under the kitchen sink. Last year we removed an osmosis system from under the sink and my dad plugged the hole that was in the pipe for us. Well the rubber gasket was failing and water was dripping all the way down the pipe into the basement. So Sunday morning it was off to Lowe's to find something to repair it with. We bought some Magic Wrap and a metal clamp pipe repair kit. Sir Lancelot crawled under the sink and removed the old gasket. This allowed water to spew forth from the hole in the pipe like a fountain. By the time I got my laughter under control and shoved a cup under it, the water stopped. I sanded down the pipe and he wrapped it with the magic wrap. He then put on the clamp and proceeded to the basement to turn the water back on. It was then my job to watch the patch and see if it continued to leak. He turned on the water and wouldn't you know it, drops of water were escaping out of the top of the wrap. I yelled down that we needed to do some more wrapping. Off goes the water and I started wrapping the pipe. I finally decided that I had wrapped the pipe enough and Sir Lancelot once again went to turn on the water. This time, I was lying on my stomach with my head and shoulders under the sink. On goes the water. No drips this time. Just a glorious geyser shooting forth from the top of the wrap. In between laughs, I started yelling, "TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!" When Sir Lancelot got back upstairs, I was literally rolling on the floor laughing! He got under the sink and used the rest of the roll of the wrap on the pipe. Now there is no leak or geyser. Dad will probably be replacing the pipe when they come to visit July 4th weekend.

After all of this, I do know one thing . . . Zoloft really works for me!

A Springtime Stroll Through the Garden

2011-04-30T17:51:00.000-04:00

I took a short stroll though my perennial garden today and look what I found.

Forsynthia

The hostas have poked their heads up

The bleeding hearts have bloomed

A female downy woodpecker stopped by to say hello

The red twig dogwood bush has started to leaf

Fiber Arts Friday: Shear Wonder

2011-04-29T10:01:00.000-04:00

I love fiber! It doesn't matter what form the fiber is in, I love it! On the animal, freshly sheared, processed for spinning or the finished hank of yarn . . . I love it all! My good friend, the WonderWhyGal (our lovely hostess for Fiber Arts Friday) owns 17 beautiful alpacas and she invited me to help with the shearing this year. All I can say is if you are a fiber animal lover and you have the chance to help with a shearing . . . TAKE IT!! It is not easy work but it is exciting to watch the fiber come off the animal. I learned so much about the animals and their fiber that day.

Waiting for their spring haircuts

The day before shearing was dull and rainy. The poor alpacas were herded into the barn so that they would be dry for the shearing. I think some of them knew what was coming and rolled around in the straw just to add more vegetable matter to their fiber. Little stinkers! Shear Day dawned dry but a bit cloudy. Not too hot or too cold. I arrived at the farm early so that I could mingle with the alpacas and let them get to know me. I watched WonderWhyGal scoop paca poo. (I probably should have helped, but I was too busy making new friends.)

First alpaca being sheared while the others look on

Soon the shearer and the rest of the hired help arrived. The shearer was great to work with. He was patient with everyone and gave great instructions. I watched several animals be sheared before I decided to jump in and help. At first I helped gather the fiber as it came off the animal. The first cut is the blanket. This is the fiber from the base of the neck down to the back legs, but usually doesn't include the belly fiber. The seconds cut comes from the neck of the animal. This fiber isn't as good as the blanket, but it is still very usable fiber. Everything else is "garbage." We would sweep up the "garbage" and put it into bins. There is technically nothing wrong with this fiber. It is just too coarse to be used for soft, yummy yarn. This fiber can be used to make rugs, duvets, and many other items.

Alpaca wrangling

After helping gather up the fluff as I like to call it, I decided it was finally time to get my hands dirty. I jumped in and started holding the alpaca's head. After the alpaca has had the ropes slipped around each ankle and has been spread out on its side, someone needs to hold the head still while the shearer does his job. I would hold the ears and keep the alpaca's head as still as I could. When it was time for the shearer to do the front of the neck, he would say "Up" and I would lift the animal's head off the ground so he could make one long continuous cut. I would also help roll the animal over and try to keep it calm. Some of the alpacas were fine. They just laid there and allowed us to shear them without incident. Others were big babies! I think poor Sweet Petunia was the biggest baby of them all. Though Kaboom did his fair share of crying too. Some were spitters (they got a sock over their snout). Just like humans, each alpaca has their own personality.

I was so sore when all was said and done. I was tired, dirty and smelled like a barn. I was covered in fluff and had stepped in paca poo. But you know what? I wouldn't trade that experience for anything and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! I'm already looking forward to next year's shearing!


Dude says, "Not me!"


Sweet Petunia's fabulous fiber


Sexy Rexy's first shearing


Friend, the barn cat, supervises the shearing

Buddy and his gorgeous fluff

All ready for summer

Beautiful Suri alpacas freshly sheared

See you again next year!

Thursday Progress

2011-04-28T12:40:00.000-04:00

My crafting has been on overdrive lately. I am a procrastinator by nature and over the years I have really fine tuned that talent. I could tell countless tales of sewing afghan motifs together late into the night on Christmas Eve (I would have caught a glimpse of Santa if I hadn't been furiously sewing) and other tales of finishing things at the last minute. Through the years I have tried in vain to figure out why I am this way. I am lazy? Do I work better under pressure? Am I distracted too easily by other things? Whatever the answer may be, all I know is that I am the Queen of Procrastination. (Yes, we are a small island nation in the middle of the ocean. I'll draw you a map . . . someday.)

So here I am again dealing with the consequences of my procrastination. I will admit that I did do a little better this time and didn't leave EVERYTHING to the last minute. I don't have a hard and fast deadline (since the recipient doesn't even know I'm sending it) but I have imposed a deadline on myself. So here I am the night before the deadline and I still have a mountain of crafting to do before the projects are finished. Sir Lancelot will be at a friend's house tonight for the NFL Draft, so I will have the entire evening to craft like a crazy woman.

I can't share complete photos yet, but here are a couple of teaser photos anyway . . .

Wordless Wednesday: Northern Michigan/Tahquamenon Falls

2011-04-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

Lots of Progress . . . No Pictures

2011-04-26T10:20:00.000-04:00

I have really been busy lately working on a couple of projects that I need to have finished by the end of the week. I have been furiously knitting and tonight will be a sewing night. I really want to share pictures with you, but these items are gifts and the recipient does see my blog from time to time. I really don't want to spoil the surprise, but I do promise you that once all is complete and the package has been received, I will post plenty of pictures.

I am planning a very special post for Fiber Arts Friday this week. I recently had a fabulous experience and I will share it with copious amounts of photos. I will leave you with a little tease . . .

Wordless Wednesday: Furry Kitty Belly

2011-04-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Someone rub my furry kitty belly . . . PLEASE!!

Ah . . . to live a cat's life.

Tasty Tuesday: Tater Tot Casserole

2011-04-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is a really easy to make side dish that is super yummy! Sir Lancelot thought there was "too much" sour cream, but that's just because he isn't crazy about sour cream. We will probably play around with this recipe and see if we can find a version we BOTH love, but until then I give you . . .

Tater Tot Casserole

1 - 32oz package frozen tater tots

1 - 16oz container sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 small can french fried onions

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread the tater tots evenly in the bottom of the dish. Mix together the sour cream, cream of mushroom soup & cheese. Spread over the potatoes. Top with the french fried onions. Bake for 45-60 mins.

That's it! Easy to fix and kids will love it!

Bon apetit!

I've Been a Busy Bee . . . BUZZ!

2011-04-17T16:36:00.000-04:00

OK, I know I haven't been blogging much lately but don't take that as a sign that I've quit creating. Oh the contrary, I have been quite busy lately. It seems that the Creativity Bee has stung me and got those creative juices flowing.

Handspun

First up, I made myself a lightbox for photographing FO's (finished objects) and products for a possible up and coming etsy or Artfire store. Making the lightbox was quite easy and I had most of the materials already on hand. I played around with taking some pictures using it (see picture of some of my handspun), but I need to play around with a light source as well. You will see some of my pictures in this post taken using the lightbox. If you want to make your very own, you can find the simple instructions that I used on this website. I'm excited to play around with it and take my photography to a whole new level.

8oz mason jar candles

Next up, candles. I haven't been pouring candles, but I have been working on label designs for them. I decided that putting candles under my Knitamazoo name was a bit confusing. Sir Lancelot and I started brain storming. I wanted something to do with Michigan since I love it here. After many mediocre ideas were bounced around, Sir Lancelot had a stroke of genius. We have decided to call our candle business Sleeping Bear Candle Company. I am working on a website and more candles. Here are a couple of pictures of the labels that I have come up with. Let me know what you think. (Click for a larger picture.)

8oz jelly jar candles

Sir Lancelot thinks that the labels on the jelly jars are a bit big. He suggested that I use the same oval labels on both jars. I really like the picture of Sleeping Bear Dunes on these labels, but I do sorta agree with him. What do you think? Too big? Fine the way they are? Same design but smaller? So many decisions to make. LOL! I also have some hexagon shaped jars that I haven't used yet. He suggested the larger labels for those. I guess I'll have to pour and see what I like. Any excuse to pour more candles!

Sock yarn scarf woven on Cricket

I have also been weaving. It so rhythmic and relaxing. I warped my Cricket loom with some sock yarn using a 10 dent heddle. I did plain old tabby weave (for non-weavers that's the over-under-over-under weave we all learned in grade school). It only took me a few hours and I had a scarf. I washed it and blocked it and now I have to figure out how I want to finish the fringe. I loved it so much that I immediately warped the Cricket with some more sock yarn and started weaving another scarf.

2nd sock yarn scarf

I have also warped my Ashford loom with some 3/2 cotton to make dish towels. I am using 2 - 10 dent heddles to double my epi (ends per inch) for the finer yarn. I am not sure I like how the weaving is turning out. I'm worried that it is too "open" for towels. I've been told that once I take it off the loom and wash it and dry it things will tighten up. I really hope so. Here are some pictures.

1st attempt at towels

Is the weaving too "open"?

The Shoebox

2011-04-13T08:43:00.001-04:00

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents.

'When we were to be married,' she said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?' 'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

A Prayer........Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him; And Patience for his moods; Because Lord, if I pray for Strength, I'll beat him to death, Because I don't have time to crochet.

Squares of Love

2011-03-24T13:10:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, not that long ago, in a land not that far away, a beautiful little girl was born. Everyone who saw her admired her beauty and thought she was absolutely perfect. But she wasn't as perfect as she appeared. The precious little girl had been born with five heart defects.

This sweet little girl has spent a good portion of her blossoming young life in the hospital. When she was 4 months old, during one of her hospital stays, she received a square that had ribbons attached to it. In this square, lovingly made by a local crafter, the little girl found comfort. Her daughter's reaction to this square deeply impressed the mother. She began to think of ways that she could give back and comfort other sick children. It is from this experience that Squares of Love was born.

This crafty mom decided to crochet 12" squares to be joined into blankets that she would donate to the new children's hospital which will be opening at the University of Michigan. She has a local group of crocheters that will be assembling the blankets. After I saw this posted on Ravelry, I knew I had to join in.

I have completed two squares so far and am close to finishing up a third. I love crochet for how fast it works up! Since I have found that most knitters/crocheters are generous people, I want to invite all of my crafty friends to make at least one square for this cause. I am posting the information below so that you can join in. Let me know when you have a square or squares to send in and I will get you the mailing information.

WHAT SIZE DO YOU NEED THE SQUARES?
12 inches. Remember if you are knittine squares to leave a allowance for one row of single crochet to finish the square. It make it easier to stitch together.

WHAT SIZE DO YOU WANT THE BLANKETS?
Finished size of the blankets are crib size. Which is approximately 3-12” squares by 4-12” squares.

WHY OUT OF SYNTHETIC?
We are asking for synthetic because the blankets need to be able to be washed and dried. It is strictly for sanitation purposes and the fact the hospital won't be felting them :D.

CAN I DONATE THIS … ?
Many have asked this so far. I will accept any donation people want to give. So far I have been told I am receiving; fleece blankets, animals (crochet & knitted), and completed blankets. I welcome anything anyone wishes to donate to Mott’s for the children.

WHEN IS EVERYTHING NEEDED BY?
As of now it looks like the hospital is due to open March 2012. I know this is a long time but I wanted to make sure to have a good number to donate.

WHEN IS THE CUT OFF DATE FOR SENDING SQUARES?
The final cut off date for sending squares for the inital drive is January 1, 2012. I will still accept squares after this and keep making the blankest to donate for those who want to keep making them.

Let's wrap sick children up in a soft,

warm blanket made with love!

There Is No "Fun" In FUNK

2011-03-13T17:57:00.000-04:00

Depression. We hear this word a lot these days. You can't turn on the tv without seeing numerous commercials for anti-depressants. When I would see those commercials I would think to myself, "Suck it up and get over it. Everyone gets down." Maybe I tempted fate with those thoughts. I did not realize how bad clinical depression could be until I started going through it.

It started a few years ago. It came with night sweats, hot flashes, moodiness and other symptoms. I was diagnosed as peri-menopausal (which I still believe to be the case) and was put on citalopram to help with the depression. It helped. For awhile.

I seemed to be doing fairly well on it and then I took a turn for the worse. I started becoming depressed for longer periods of time. I stopped doing the activities that I enjoyed the most and started to withdraw from life. I made an appointment with my doctor and we decided to add welbutin to the mix. What a difference! I was full of energy, bubbly and feeling great! Until the hives came. Two weeks into taking it and I broke out in the worst case of hives I have ever had. Off the welbutin and back to the drawing board.

After talking with my doctor again, we decided to increase the dosage of the citalopram. It wasn't as good as the welbutin, but I was doing better and life was getting back to normal.

Things were going well until I was hit with a depression unlike any I had experienced up to this point. I wasn't suicidal, but part of me wanted to crawl into a deep, dark hole and die. I was extremely withdrawn, wanted to sleep all the time, ceased to function both at work and home, quit knitting and all the other activities that I love, and became extremely irritable and angry. I would cry at the drop of a hat. I would rip Sir Lancelot's head off for no reason. Every little thing set me off. I could see no way out. I didn't think I could ever be happy again and part of me didn't want to be. That scared me. I refused to call the doctor. I became even more stubborn than I already am. Then one night after having a really bad meltdown, I saw the frightened and worried look in Sir Lancelot's eyes. It was then that I knew I had to call the doctor.

Sir Lancelot drove me to the appointment. He went in with me to offer support and input. My doctor was quite impressed. After discussing what I had been going through with my doctor, we decided to change everything up. I am now taking zoloft and I have a low dose of xanax "just in case." I have been on it for a month now and seem to be doing well with it. At least I'm not allergic to it! I have only had to take the xanax a couple of times as the zoloft seems to be balancing me out. I see my doctor again this week and she wants to discuss the big B word with me. Bipolar. That could explain a lot.

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset

2011-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

As beautiful as sunrises can be, I am just not a morning person. I always enjoy sunset much more. Maybe that is because I am awake. LOL! One of my favorite things to do is sit on the shore of Lake Michigan and watch the sun set. I have spent countless evenings enjoying watching God sweep his paintbrush across the sky. I would like to share with you a few of the sunsets I have witnessed along the shore of Lake Michigan.

And Thus It Begins . . . Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-02-01T17:59:00.000-05:00

It has begun snowing here in Michigan. We are hunkering down for the blizzard of the century. I'm not sure if what they are forecasting will come to fruition, but here is a current look at the radar . . .

They just may be right this time. Everyone who is in the path of this storm, please stay safe. I am so glad that I canceled my knitting class tonight. Class should be starting now but the snow is really coming down and the wind is horrible. I'm safe and warm in my pj's and am looking forward to a quiet evening with my hubby and weaving. Bring on the snow!

Tasty Tuesday: Homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole

2011-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

They have finally used the "B" word here in Michigan. It seems like just about everywhere else in the county has had a blizzard but us. Now they are calling for a snowpocalypse. Sounds like a great time to whip up some tuna noodle casserole and curl up with my knitting. I have been making this recipe for years and I have tweaked it until both Sir Lancelot and I love it.

Homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 box bow tie pasta

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 can condensed cream of celery soup

3/4 cup milk

1 can water packed tuna, drained

1 cup Kraft 4 Cheese Shredded Cheese

Reheat the oven to 375. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, reducing cooking time slightly. Drain.

In a medium saucepan, saute the onions in about a tbsp of butter until tender. Stir in the condensed soup and milk. Gently stir in the pasta and tuna. Add the cheese until melted.

Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the mixture to the casserole. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through.

Bon appetit!

The Shortest (and busiest month yet) of the Year . . . February

2011-01-30T16:45:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that January is leaving us. I love January with the beginning of the new year and a fresh start. The possibilities for the year are innumerable and that excitement draws me in each January. A lot of people will tell you they hate January because it can be extremely cold and snowy, but I try to drown that negativity in cup after cup of hot cocoa and the promise of a whole year of new possibilities.

But now that February is upon us, it's time to start focusing on those possibilities and opportunities. I have had the opportunity to pick up a few extra classes at my LYS as one of the teachers has had surgery. This month I will be teaching twice a week all month long. It all starts with a beginner class this Tuesday which already has 5 students in it. My limit for beginners is 6 so that is a pretty full class. I will be teaching socks on 2 circs starting on Thursday and I believe that there are 5 students in that class. Since I will accept up to 10, that class still has some openings. When I spoke with the store owner last, she also told me that my fair isle fingerless mitts class is FULL! I have 10 students for that class! So between teaching and creating, this is going to be one busy month!

Today I had the pleasure of having a couple of friends over for our rigid heddle study group. This was our first meeting so we spent most of the time deciding what we wanted to work on and how we wanted to do things. I'm really excited about this group! It is going to be fun to try new techniques and help each other along the way. Now I just need to get some extra cash (good thing I have lots of classes!) so I can get some different heddles and join the weaver's guild. Oy vey! So many hobbies, so little time!

Fiber Arts Friday: Time to Get Your Weave On

2011-01-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

Most of you know that I am a lover of all things fiber. I love knitting, spinning, felting and now I have added weaving to that list. I have been weaving like crazy this past week and I do have something to show for it. I have really come to enjoy the meditative rhythm of weaving. Working a plain or tabby weave can be quite soothing. I am anxious to begin playing with lace patterns, pick up sticks, double heddles and other ways to create fabulous fabrics on a rigid heddle loom. But I need to slow down and take it one step at a time. Right now I am working on my selvage edges to make them neat. They have greatly improved and soon I'll be ready to try other things.

Scarf turned kitty blanket

My first weaving project was supposed to be a scarf, but I beat the weft (horizontal strands of yarn) too much and it was too stiff to be a scarf. I have since turned it into a kitty cuddle blankie, but he could pretty much care less for it. It was a learning experience and I'm glad I did it. The warp (vertical strands) is some black acrylic I had in my stash. The weft is some old Lion Brand Homespun I had left over from a crocheted afghan. I thought the bumpy texture of the yarn would make a soft scarf, but I just really beat the weft down and there isn't much give to fold and wrap the scarf. Typical beginner mistake and now I know.

Weaving a bag on my Cricket

My next project was a couple of washcloths that I whipped up on my Cricket loom. They came out pretty well and I need to hem them up and take some pictures. I love the Cricket loom for it's size and portability. It is currently warped with some cotton yarn to make a bag. Our rigid heddle study group chose a bag as our first project and we meet for the first time on Sunday at my home. I can't wait to see what everyone has done so far. I am using some Peaches 'n Cream cotton that I got on sale at Michael's. I am using two different colorways for the warp and so far have only been weaving with one of the colorways. I may change it up, we'll see. I love how it is making almost a plaid design.

Super Secret Project

My final weaving project is super secret so I can't post much about it. I will say that it takes up the entire width of my 32" loom and I ended up stating it all over again. I am much happier with it now. I will leave you with a closeup shot of the weave.

Thursday Thoughts, Tips & Techniques: Time Out

2011-01-27T13:04:00.000-05:00

I have been giving this blog a lot of thought lately and I have decided that I need to perk things up around here. I came up with an idea to offer my thoughts on the creative process or projects, tips and techniques on Thursdays. I have Tasty Tuesdays, Wordless Wednesdays and Fiber Arts Fridays. Now I will have a regular feature for Thursdays as well. I can't promise that there will be something every week but that is my high and lofty goal. So without further ado, I give you the first installment of Thursday Thoughts, Tips & Techniques . . . Time Out!

I have been knitting for 7-8 years and crafting in one way or another ever since I can remember. My mom was a crafter (as were my grandmother & great-grandmother) and she always had my brother and me doing some sort of craft around the holidays and on rainy summer days. In my many years of crafting I have learned the value of giving some projects a time out.

What do I mean by giving them a time out? I liken it to dealing with children. I don't have any of my own but I have worked in schools and with children at church to know that when they misbehave and become incorrigible, giving them a time out can help. Take them out of the situation that is causing the problem, remove all distractions and they usually calm down and you can work with them. I apply this same technique to projects that are "misbehaving." When I become so frustrated with a project or am at a loss of how to proceed, the project goes into time out. This is not always necessary when I become frustrated. You need to know where your limit of frustration is. Sometimes the frustration only fuels me onto solving the issue, but there is a point where I know that continuing to fight with it will not help the situation.

How long do I leave a project in time out? It depends. Sometimes I am so frustrated with something that I can't look at it for a long time. Some things just need a day or two or even a matter of hours. What happens when I put something in time out is that when I clear my mind of the frustration, I will gain an epiphany into how to fix the issue or proceed. Take for instance my Super Secret Polar Bear Project (I think I need a shorter name). I warped my 32" Ashford loom, adding two strips of white to contrast with the rest of the fabric. I got my warped spaced out and started weaving. I was at the point where I could do the hemstitching on the beginning edge when I walked away from it. I was having issues with tension and things were getting frustrating. I let that project sit for almost a month. I just recently purchased a DVD on weaving and after watching it, I decided to unweave what I had done, re-tie the warp and start again. Following the tips I learned from the DVD, I am now much happier with my project.

I have used this method with other crafts as well. Knitting is a good example. I don't know how many times I have messed up a knitting project and have been too frustrated to fix it. The project goes in time out and I come back to it later with a fresh outlook. It never ceases to amaze me how walking away from something and letting your head clear can make things not seem like a lost cause. Solutions can come from the most surprising places as well. I have sat straight up in bed with a sudden burst of inspiration on how to solve an issue I am having with a project. Sometimes I read or watch something that presents the solution to me. Maybe it is something that someone says that makes the solution clear. Even just coming back to it after a break can help your mind work through the problem and fix it.

So I encourage you to walk away from whatever you are working on if you become extremely frustrated or just can't seem to solve the problem you are having. Not only will you feel better, but most of the time those unruly projects decide to cooperate and behave after a time out.

Wordless Wednesday: Cricket

2011-01-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

My latest passion . . . weaving on my new Cricket loom.


It's here!!


Some assembly required.


Assembled and ready to warp.


Warp speed ahead!

Loopy spa cloth in progress.

Tasty Tuesday: Banana - Oatmeal Bread

2011-01-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

I know I have been absent from my blog lately. Life got a bit out of hand last week and I wasn't able to post. But I'm back with another Tasty Tuesday treat and I have plans for Fiber Arts Friday already. I may even get in a Wordless Wednesday as well.

I have been busy knitting washcloths and working with my Cricket loom. There has been some progress on the Secret Polar Bear Project but I think I am going to start that again. There will be a full report coming once the project is finished and has been given to the lucky recipient.

Let's get to the food! Today's treat is Banana - Oatmeal Bread. This is a Weight Watchers recipe, but you will never now the difference. In fact, Sir Lancelot begs me to make this bread all the time.

Banana - Oatmeal Bread

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 Tbsp. canola oil (I use vegetable oil)

1 large egg beaten

2 medium egg whites, beaten

3 large bananas, ripe

1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients (BUT NOT THE OATMEAL!). Add oil and eggs; mix thoroughly. In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas and oatmeal to batter. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45-55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out on a wire rack for another 10 minutes.

It doesn't call for cinnamon, but I add about a tbsp to the mixture just before baking. I just turn the bottle upside down and tap the bottom 3-4 times. If you like cinnamon, add it. I have also added a few chocolate chips. When I say "a few," I really mean "a few." Put in less than you think you want as they tend to melt in the bread and you get more of a chocolate oatmeal bread than banana bread.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday: Spinach and Egg Noodle Casserole

2011-01-11T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! I have another Tasty Tuesday delight for you. Sir Lancelot happened to catch Rachel Ray on tv several months ago and she was making this dish. After he told me about it, I went right out and got the magazine just so I could make this recipe. I made a couple of changes to it because I didn't have the cheeses called for, but I will give you the original and my substitutions. If you want to watch Rachel make this recipe, click here. Sorry I don't have a photo of it.

Spinach-and-Egg Noodle Casserole

Two 10-12 oz packages frozen chopped organic spinach (I only use one package)

Salt & pepper

1 lb extra-wide egg noodles

1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I minced mine)

3 tbsp butter

2 rounded tbsp flour

2 cups whole milk (I used 1/2% and it came out fine)

freshly grated nutmeg (I used ground from my spice rack)

2 egg yolks

1 cup panko or whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (I used Kraft Italian blend as a sub)

1/2 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese (I used regular parmesean cheese the first time.)

In a microwave, defrost the spinach then wring dry in a clean kitchen towel (I used paper towels). Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and return to pot.

While pasta is cooking, in a medium skillet, heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add onion & garlic and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Add the spinach breaking it apart, to heat through. Season with salt & pepper. Remove pan from heat.

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler. While the onion cooks, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute then whisk in the milk. Season with salt, pepper & nutmeg. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. In a bowl, whisk a little of the sauce into the egg yolks, then whisk the egg yolk mixture into the sauce in the pan and turn the heat to the lowest setting. In a bowl, mix together the panko and cheeses.

Stir the spinach and sauce into the noodles to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish. Top with the panko mixture. Broil in the middle of the oven until bubbly and brown, 3-5 minutes.

Yummy! Enjoy!

More Candles

2011-01-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

Here I am blogging twice in one day. Crazy, I know! I have just been having too much fun pouring candles today that I couldn't wait to share. I did the second pours on both the Fudge Brownie and Cranberry Apple Marmalade. I whipped up some Georgia Peach and Spring Rain this afternoon. I have to wait a few more hours before I can do the second pour on them. Here they are . . .


Spring Rain


Georgia Peach

Fudge Brownie - yummy!

UPS: Better Than Santa

2011-01-09T10:27:00.000-05:00

I am very excited! Super-duper excited! The UPS man stopped at my house on Friday about 5 minutes before I got home from work and dropped off 2 boxes for me. (I think the UPS man is even better than Santa Claus! Shhh! Don't tell Santa!)

Melting soy wax

The first one was the single electric burner that I had ordered to use for melting soy wax for candles. I pulled it out of the box and was immediately in love. I couldn't wait to try it out. I wanted to wait for the entire unit to get to room temp first, since it had just spent several days on a cold truck. When I finally got to try it, I couldn't have been more pleased. It worked beautifully!

Here you can see my makeshift double boiler. I am using an old pot that has a metal cookie cutter in the bottom. I then add the water and heat it until it just starts to boil. Then you reduce the heat and add the pour pot with wax and a thermometer. It works great for me.

Cranberry Apple Marmalade

The second box that was delivered contained my latest candle making supplies. I have been ordering scent samples so that I can decide which fragrances I want to carry. What I love about the company I am ordering from is that with every order they send you a free 1oz scent sample. So far I have loved every free sample they have sent me. This time it was Cranberry Apple Marmalade. Wow! I never would have chosen this scent from its name but it is incredible! I poured a few candles with this scent and some with the Fudge Brownie scent. They are both awesome!

This is also the first time that I have used my new area to pour candles. I loved it! Even though it is in the basement, there is a window to let in some light and I have plenty of room to melt wax, prep containers and pour. I am anxious to get my core scent list together and start building up some inventory. I have to do the second pour on the candles I made last night and then I'm going to play with more scents. And before you ask, yes I have been writing down my "recipes" so that I can duplicate what I have done. I started a card file so I can remember what I did and keep notes on what I want to change. Sometimes my brain works towards the practical. LOL!

And so I leave you with a few pictures of my new space. I will be spending some time there today as well as weaving on the super secret Project Polar Bear and spending some time with Joy (one of my spinning wheels).
As always, click on the picture for a larger image.

Happy Creative Sunday!

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-08T10:17:00.000-05:00

The snow has returned to Michigan! We have gotten several inches over the last few days and we are supposed to get several more over the weekend. Right now the sun is shining so that is a bit hard to believe, but if you have lived in Michigan you know the saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." I'm sure there will be more snow before this weekend is over.

Last night was so beautiful as the snow was coming down. I was hanging out on the couch in front of our picture window with MoMo Kitty just watching it come down. I became enamored by the way the porch light lit up the bushes along the front of the house. I grabbed my camera to take a few pictures. The only thing I changed on the camera was turning off the flash.

The Snow Fairy by Claude McKay

Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air,
Contending fierce for space supremacy.
And they flew down a mightier force at night,
As though in heaven there was revolt and riot,
And they, frail things had taken panic flight
Down to the calm earth seeking peace and quiet.
I went to bed and rose at early dawn
To see them huddled together in a heap,
Each merged into the other upon the lawn,
Worn out by the sharp struggle, fast asleep.
The sun shone brightly on them half the day,
By night they stealthily had stol'n away.

Fiber Arts Friday: When I Got My Groove Back

2011-01-07T07:50:00.001-05:00

Howdy y'all and welcome to Fiber Arts Friday here in the Zoo! I don't know where that came from but I'm going with it. It's Friday and I'm ready for a weekend of crafting and creating!

Here in the Zoo the crafting and fiber arts have been on hiatus through the holidays as I ~~crammed~~ entertained 6 adults and 1 toddler in my teeny tiny house. All of the spinning wheels had to be hidden as my nephew has a fascination with wheels of all kinds. I could just see him grabbing the wheel part and spinning it and all my lovely fiber flying off the bobbin. Now that the house is empty and all the decorations are put away, the spinning wheels are starting to appear again and they are practically begging me to play with them. I have set up a play date with my Joy this weekend to finish up the lace weight yarn I am spinning from some Wonderful WonderWhy Alpaca roving.

My loom (which really needs a name since I have named all my spinning wheels) has sat idle as well. I have big plans for my rigid heddle loom. I can't really talk about them right now as it will be a gift and the recipient does read my blog. But I will be warping it this weekend and starting a new super secret project. Let's call it Project Polar Bear. (No particular reason, I just think polar bears are incredibly cute!)

I placed a couple of orders the beginning of this week for more supplies for candle making. I ordered a single electric burner which will allow me to use my new workspace to make candles and not clutter up my itsy bitsy kitchen. I checked the tracking and both packages that I ordered are on the truck for delivery today. I will be pouring candles this weekend as well. Yippee!

As far as knitting is concerned, I have found my groove again. I hadn't touched the needles since before Christmas and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I picked it up again this week. My poor fair isle mitt has stalled a little but my goal is to have it done this weekend so I can display it in the LYS to advertise the class. I already have 4 people signed up, yay! I had a gift certificate to my LYS so I did a little shopping yesterday. I purchased the book Beginner's Guide to Needle Felting so I can practice some more. I also purchased two hanks of 2nd Time Around Cotton to make spa cloths. Each hank has 180 yds so I will get at least 2 cloths out of each hank. I have never used this yarn before and so far I like it. It is made from recycled cotton and a bit of acrylic. I really like that it is made from textile waste from the fashion industry. Anything to reduce, reuse and recycle . . . but that's another post.

Look out world, I've got my groove back! Make sure to check out all the Fiber Arts Friday fun over at the blog of our hostess with the mostess . . . Wonder Why Alpaca Farm.

Tasty Tuesday: Cheesy Potato Soup

2011-01-04T06:00:00.005-05:00

I would like to start a new themed post. I a thinking it will be at least monthly if not weekly or bi-weekly. I would like to share some of my favorite recipes with you. I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try and I am sure there are many of you who do the same. So without further adieu, I give you . . .

Cheesy Potato Soup

6 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth

olive oil

peeled & diced potatoes (I usually cut up 5-6 medium russets)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1-2 carrots finely shredded

1 12oz can evaporated milk

3 tablespoons cornstarch or flour

1/2 cup Kraft 4 Cheese shredded cheese

1/2 cup Kraft Classic Melts shredded cheese

salt & pepper to taste

In a non-stick stock pot, add olive oil to the bottom (2 turns of the pot). Saute the onion and celery until tender. Add broth, potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In a custard cup, stir together 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch until smooth. Stir this into the broth mixture. Add the remaining milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Slowly stir in the cheeses. Cook and stir until melted. Serve with fresh homemade bread. Yum!

Enjoy!

My Word for 2011

2011-01-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have seen a lot of posting around the blogosphere and on craft communities about people's choice of a word for the year. I am not usually one to hop on every bandwagon to come a long, but I really liked the idea of having a word that sums up your expectations for the coming year. I gave it a lot of thought the last couple of days and it finally hit me last night like a ton of bricks. My word for 2011 is . . . FOCUS. A lot of words came to mind; words like creativity, success, persistence. But last night the word focus popped into my head and I couldn't shake it. The word was there when I arose this morning. It has been on my mind all day. This has got to be my word.

Here are the reasons why FOCUS is my choice for 2011.

I will FOCUS on the positive this year. (I spent too much time focusing on negative things last year.)
I will FOCUS on the important things in life; family, friendships, etc.
I will FOCUS on helping others and not dwell on my own problems.
I will FOCUS on building my craft business over this next year.
I will FOCUS on becoming more of the person I desire to be.

2011 will be the year that I adjust my FOCUS and make it clearer than ever!

Christmas Through the Eyes of a 2 Year Old

2011-01-02T13:24:00.002-05:00

This was a very special Christmas for me. I had the pleasure of having my whole family jammed into my little house for the holidays. The best part for me was experiencing Christmas through the eyes of my 2 year old nephew. To see how much he is developing both physically and mentally was astounding. I hope I was able to capture in my photos just a fraction of the wonder and delight I am sure he experienced this Christmas season.

It took me 9 hours in a car to get here. Now I just wanna play!


I love all the Christmas lights!


I think this nose looked better on Poppy!


I'm helping Auntie Elf hand out Christmas presents (most of which are for me!)

Oooooooh! A hockeycopter! My favorite thing!

Now I don't have to steal DaDa's giraffe. Auntie & Uncle gave me one all my own!

I love that Grammy gets down on the floor to play with me!

Auntie even played the piano with me. Soon I'll be playing as well as Mama, Grammy & Auntie.

I got to pet Momo Kitty. He's really soft!

I got to go sledding! I even went down a "big" hill with Mama & DaDa.

We went to the AirZoo where I got to be a fighter pilot & ride in a balloon with DaDa & Auntie.

I got to see giant candy canes at Bronson Park.

Grammy & Poppy gave me a race track with cars. I love anything with wheels!

I had to take a nap with DaDa because all the fun tired me out. Zzzzzz . . .

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family and next year I'll have a new baby brother to share Christmas with!

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

2011-01-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

I guess I really should be asking what you DID on New Year's Eve since it is already New Year's Day and we're 16+ hours into 2011 already. Here is how I rang in the New Year.

Christmas gifts - click for a larger view

When I arrived home from work, Sir Lancelot had brought some of the Christmas decoration boxes up from the basement (just like I had asked him) and I went into a flurry of undecking the halls. I usually leave the decorations up until the day after New Years but there was a reason for my madness. (Before you get too excited, this is only the reason for my Removal of Christmas Madness. Sorry, my Everyday Madness still persists and the cause is unknown.) Anyway, we packed up all the little villages we had set up all over, took the lights down from around the windows and outside, put away the stockings and mistletoe and finally stripped the tree of its glitter and bling. I was impressed that what had taken many hours to put up was taken down, boxed up and stored under the basement stairs in record time. Just under 2 hours! (Told you I was a Mad Woman!) The reason for all of this is that I can't set up my new hand poured soy candle making area until all the Christmas stuff is stored under the stairs again.

Dinner was next on the agenda. A simple baked potato and salad satisfied our appetites. It felt good not to over-indulge on the food. All the Christmas sweets are gone except for a few rogue candy canes that were hanging on the tree. I'm probably going to have sugar withdrawal!

After dinner, we curled up at our computers and either played games or online until midnight. We then wished each other a Happy New Year, shared a New Year's kiss, brushed our teeth and promptly headed off to bed.

We may sound like a couple of old fuddy-duddies, but I for one enjoyed the quiet evening at home with Sir Lancelot. No crowds, no loud crazy people, just time spent in the company of the one I love!

So what did you do New Year's Eve?

Fiber Arts Friday: Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T08:42:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that is New Year's Eve Day. Where has this year gone? I have yet to figure out why time goes faster the older you get. Whatever the explanation, I do not like it. Be that as it may, I am rather happy to see 2010 go. It has been a pretty rough year with some bright spots in it. I am ready to put the bad behind me and start fresh in 2011.

As 2010 draws to a close, I want to focus on the positive things of this past year. It is so easy to get caught up in all the struggles and I for one am tired of that. So here are some positive things about this past year and some of my goals for 2011.

We were able to have my entire family at our home for Christmas. I so enjoyed playing with my 2yo nephew! He is so much fun! And he will have a new playmate this May. I can't wait to meet his little brother.
Even though Sir Lancelot is still unemployed, he has made sure that all the bills were covered and the house was taken care of. He cleaned, ran errands, did laundry...I'm going to miss my maid when he finally gets a job. :)
I enjoyed knitting with my friends throughout the year. I got to know some of them a lot better and I value their friendship immensely!
I took a giant leap and started laying the groundwork to get Knitamazoo Fiber Arts & Crafts off the ground. Sir Lancelot has been nothing but supportive and has been a fount of ideas. He is doing everything he can to help me make this a success and I am so grateful for his enthusiasm and help. I have a lot of ideas rolling around in my head for 2011 and even though this is just a hobby at this point, I hope to build it into something more.

I have a lot of goals for this year, many which are specific to my business venture. It's exciting and frightening at the same time. But I think I am up for the challenge. I hope that this time next year I can look back at this post and say I accomplished most if not all of these goals.

Make Knitamazoo Fiber Arts & Crafts a success. And by success, I mean turn a profit, even it is only a few dollars. I don't think I will be able to quit my day job this year, but that is the ultimate goal! I've got my to-do list mapped out for the 1st quarter this year and I am eager to get started.
I want to add 5 new patterns to my pattern line. I think 5 is a reasonable number and an achievable goal. If I manage to get more than 5 done, all the better.
I want to spend more time with family and friends. I bowed out of several knitting meet-ups because I was depressed. This year I want to break that cycle. Getting together with friends will only help me feel better. I need to get up and get out!
I want to knit more for charity this year. Maybe I can combine goal #2 with this one. Hmmm...
I want to spend more time spinning, dying & felting this year. I have so many ideas of items I want to add to my craft business. I just need to get busy and get crafting!
To post more to my blog.
To participate in more crafting communities and get to know other crafters like me.

So what fibery crafting have I been up to lately? Not a whole lot. I took a break to spend Christmas with my family. I wanted to give them 100% of my attention and I enjoyed every minute of it. I am planning a post to share all the love and fun that was my Christmas. Here is a sneak peek... Bubby and me playing the piano together. But now that the house is quiet again, I have picked up my needles and started working on a couple of things. I am planning on teaching a class in fair isle knitting this February and I started knitting the sample fingerless mitt to display at the LYS and I started a pair of little socks for Bubby. The socks he wore at Christmas time were so tight around his little legs that I thought they would cut off his circulation. So I am trying my hand at toddler size socks and wow do they knit up fast!

So what plans and goals do you have for the New Year? I invite you to share them in the comments even if they are not fiber related. I am hoping that we all can encourage each other and root each other on to reach our goals in 2011!

Happy New Year!

Time keeps on slippin' . . . into the future . . .

2010-12-20T08:20:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that that Christmas is only 5 days away! Where has the time gone? I have been so busy with all my Christmas preparations that I have sorely neglected this blog. Grab a cup of coffee, hot cocoa, or whatever and your knitting and I'll catch you up.

In 3 days my home will be invaded. We will be cramming a total of 6 adults and one 2 year old into our small cape cod home. My parents, brother, SIL & nephew will be here. I have been busy getting the house ready (childproofing is not easy!) and trying to bake, finish gifts and have a little time for myself. All the decorations are up (finally!) and the baking has started. I have 2 more gifts to wrap. Sir Lancelot has been working on the cleaning and doing small projects that need to be done. I should be ready by the time my parents arrive on Thursday morning. I am thankful that we aren't driving anywhere this year but hosting is a lot of work.

I have also been busy crafting. Sir Lancelot has dubbed this a "Crafty Christmas." Which is great for him (no shopping!) but very stressful for me since I am the crafty one in this relationship. All the gifts are made and have been shipped off to his side of the family. The gifts for my family have been made and I just need to put the finishing touches on them. I can't share them here yet as some of the recipients do read my posts and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Let's just say after a small mishap with some dye yesterday, I thought I would be having a very Shrek Christmas!

I really wish I could share my latest projects as I am really excited about them. Stay tuned after the holidays for a full report and pictures!

In the meantime (in case I don't get another chance to post before the invasion), I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May you be surrounded by those you love and share in the joy of this marvelous season!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas . . . Inside & Out

2010-12-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

Right after Thanksgiving things got really crazy. I can't believe how much things have picked up at work. The stress levels at work are off the scale. I had a big meltdown today and really hope that someday I'll be able to do what I love full time.

But enough of that. I have decided for the time being I am not going to whine (at least not on my blog) about it. So what have I been up to in my spare time you ask . . . Christmas decorating of course!

Here are a few pictures of my holiday decorations (including a shot of the tree with my crocheted snowflake garland). Right now it's snowing outside, but I am warm and cozy inside enjoying my decorations and some hot cocoa. Just right for putting one in the Christmas Spirit!

I've also been busy working on container candles, votives and felted soaps. I need to take some pictures to share.

Cherry Jubilee Cheesecake Bars . . . YUM!!

2010-11-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

Today I spent the afternoon knitting with a wonderful bunch of ladies. We gathered around noon and all brought a dish to pass. There was wonderful conversation, knitting, laughing and of course delicious food. One of my friends brought these Cherry Jubilee Cheesecake Bars that were to die for!! I'm sure I added about 10 lbs to my butt. LOL! They were so delicious that I thought I would share the recipe. So without further ado, here is the recipe for Cherry Jubilee Cheesecake Bars . . .

1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® cherry chip cake mix
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1	container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cherry frosting
3	eggs

Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat dry cake mix and butter with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly; reserve 1 cup. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press remaining crumbly mixture.
In same bowl, beat cream cheese and frosting with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs until blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumbly mixture.
Bake about 45 minutes (about 42 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until set; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

She used plain yellow cake mix with the cherry frosting and they were delicious! According to the Betty Crocker website, you can use just about any flavor of cake mix. Enjoy!!

Black Friday - How Appropriate

2010-11-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Black Friday . . . those words strike terror within me. I have nightmares of my mom dragging us out of bed early (on a non-school day no less) to drag us around to all these stores that opened at the God-forsaken hour of 7am! I don't know how much money she actually saved but I'm not sure it was worth it having to haul around two grumpy kids.

As I have grown older my passionate hatred of Black Friday has only increased. It seems like no one knows or cares what Thanksgiving is all about anymore. Everyone is just interested in eating way too much and then taking a nap or watching football. There is no giving thanks (except maybe a quick prayer before the meal) and even though the family is together, family seems to take a back seat. No one is connecting with each other. This holiday should be about spending quality time as a family, teaching our children what it means to be thankful, talking about tolerance and all the other lessons that Thanksgiving can teach us. I think the adults need to learn these lessons again.

I think what I hate most about Black Friday is the greed. It's all about making money, getting the "best" gift so the recipient will love you more and most of all selfishness. Our society has become so self-centered over the years. I can't find words to describe how hopeless this makes me feel. I know that I am making a generalization and that not everyone has become this way. But I dare say that the majority of our society is this way. Black Friday is the epitome of selfishness. It's all about being first in line so that you get the "best" deals. So many people get injured in the crush of the crowds. It saddens me to think that people get trampled and no one stops to help them up or ensure that they are okay.

I saw a tweet this morning that the news is calling this Black Friday weekend instead of Thanksgiving weekend. Media has jumped on the bandwagon and pretty soon our country will forget about Thanksgiving all together. I was seeing Christmas displays in stores, commercials on tv and radio before Halloween. I have heard that Halloween is the new Thanksgiving in regards to when retail starts pushing Christmas. I am disheartened that our children are being robbed of holidays that should be an integral part of their childhood. Especially Thanksgiving. There were people who were camping out at our local Best Buy starting Wednesday night to be the first ones in today. Wednesday night! They missed Thanksgiving. Their children did not get to spend the day with them and all they are learning is selfishness. It's all about being first and getting the best deal for themselves. No one else matters. Personally I would call this parental neglect.

So I believe that Black Friday has been appropriately named. And maybe the mainstream media have it almost right. The should really call it Black Weekend. It is a dark and black time in this country when we have forgotten what our forefathers endured so that we could live in this land that we love so much. We need to remember.

So in protest of Black Friday, I will be joining my knitting group, the Zombie Prom Date Knitters, for an afternoon of socializing and connecting. No crazed mobs, "fantastic" sales (really, how fantastic can they be?) or selfishness for us. It's all about creating for others and connecting as people. I encourage you to skip the sales and craziness. Spend some time with people you love and really connect.

Let Us Give Thanks

2010-11-25T11:58:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is a special holiday for me. While growing up we always got together with our grandparents and had a big meal together. It was a time for family togetherness. Nowadays, my grandparents have passed and my family is far away. Sure we call each other and yell Gobble! Gobble! Gobble! into the phone, a left over ritual of childhood. But it is just not the same as having the entire family gathered around the table. Sir Lancelot and I will enjoy a pretty traditional Thanksgiving feast later today, there will be football and quality time spent together. As I sit here thinking about family both here and gone, here is my list of things I am thankful for.

Sir Lancelot - I have been so blessed to have you as my husband and best friend. Your love and support mean more to me than words can express. I look forward to the future with you by my side. I can't think of anyone else that I would want to go through this adventure called life with.
Family - Even though we can't be together, know that I am thankful for each and every one of you. You have all had an influence on my life and have helped mold me into the person I am today.
Friends - Those far and near. Again, I wouldn't be the person I am today without all of you. The support and friendship I have in each of you I cherish.
Employment - Those who know me well, know that I complain about my job. A lot. But I am thankful that I have a job and have remained employed. It has been a rough year being the only bread winner in the family but I am thankful that I have been able to do it.
On the lighter side of things, I'm thankful today that I am not a turkey! LOL!

May your stuffing be tasty; May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Joys of Teaching

2010-11-24T10:42:00.000-05:00

I have been teaching knitting classes at my LYS (local yarn store) for several years now. When I first started it was all about sharing my love of the craft with others (of course the store discount didn't hurt). And while I still enjoy sharing my love of knitting with others, teaching has become so much more to me. The following are my top 5 favorite things about teaching.

Watching beginners go from fumbling with the yarn and needles to actually knitting by the time the first class is over.
The "aha" moment when a technique or concept sinks in.
Liberating knitters from following patterns word for word, letter by letter.
Helping knitters improve their skills and learn tricks to make knitting easier and more enjoyable.
Building each individual's confidence in their own abilities to learn new techniques. My students don't want to utter the words, "That's too hard" or "I can't do that."

There are days when I would rather go home after my day job, get in my jammies and forget all about teaching. It always amazes me that those are the nights that I have my best classes. There is something about getting a room full of knitters learning, laughing and connecting that energizes me.

I encourage anyone who has any desire to teach a craft to give it a try. Start small. Invite a couple of friends over, teach a co-worker or two over lunch or break. You don't have to walk into a class of 10+ students and teach. Share your passion for your craft. I guarantee your passion will be contagious and you may start an epidemic!

My woven dreams . . .

2010-11-21T17:46:00.000-05:00

I did it. I finally took the plunge. I can now be called a weaver. I have purchased an Ashford 32" rigid heddle weaving loom. It is assembled, warped and I have begun weaving a scarf. I LOVE IT!! Once the warping is done the weaving part is so relaxing. It is meditative and rhythmic. I am really looking forward to weaving with my handspun. For now, I've found a great way to use up some old Lion Brand Homespun that was lying around. :)

We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning." ~Henry Ward Beecher

Fiber Arts Friday: Knitting, Felting & Sewing . . . OH MY!!

2010-11-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

It has been a very busy week for me. Not only have I been crafting but I have been teaching knitting classes in the evenings as well. All this activity has kept my from blogging, but I am going to play catch-up here.

First off, knitting. I finished a cute hat last Thursday. It was a quick, fun knit and I'm waiting for the temperatures to drop a bit more so I can wear it. I guess I should be careful what I wish for though. We were spoiled this fall with rather warm temperatures for Michigan. Winter is coming and I have a feeling it will be with a vengance. Anyhoo, back to the hat. The pattern is Ballard Slouch Hat by Felicia Ho. It is a free pattern available on Ravelry. I used Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted in the Navy Nite colorway on US size 8 and 9 needles. I love it!

Sunday afternoon I spent at WonderWhyGal's home learning how to wet felt. There were 12 of us and we had a choice of either making a small purse or a stocking. I did not give in to peer pressure. Even though 11 ladies choose to make a small purse, I opted for the stocking. I'm really glad I did. I love how it turned out and I'm looking forward to making another one. I'm thinking I could even make smaller ones as ornaments. They would be adorable hanging on the tree holding a candy cane. Stay tuned. I'll probably experiment with that idea this weekend. Everyone did a great job with their projects and we even got to play with WonderWhyGal's alpaca. It was a perfect afternoon!

Finally, sewing. I found a really easy pattern for a Sock Sack by Terri Atkinson. And when I say really easy pattern, I mean EASY. I can barely sew a straight seam, but this pattern walks you through putting in a zipper. If I can do it, anyone can. I've made 2 now and I have the fat quarters and zipper for a third. This one will be going to WonderWhyGal as I will be helping her learn how to knit socks after the holidays.

So that has been my adventure in fiber arts this past week. What have you been up to?

What a Wonderful Surprise!

2010-11-15T10:21:00.003-05:00

I have been playing around with designing knitting patterns for a couple of years and I finally took the plunge this year and started offering some of my patterns for sale. My business is slowly growing and I wish that I could invest all my time into designing and other fiber arts, but I still need my day job to pay the bills (especially since Sir Lancelot is still unemployed). I have done some guerrilla marketing using popular social media (ie. Facebook, Twitter, TheHive, etc.) and I am looking into getting my patterns into a few local yarn shops in my area after the new year.

As I sat checking my email on Saturday, I saw an email newsletter from one of my favorite yarn shops up north in Sutton's Bay, MI. Thistledown Shoppe is a cozy shop that offers a wonderful variety of yarns, books and knitting supplies. When we vacation up north, I make it a point to stop by and do a little shopping. They are so friendly and inviting that I would sit and knit all day with them. But Sir Lancelot would probably get grumpy if I ignored him for that long, but he is ok with sitting in one of the chairs outside and watching people walking through the town.

So, back to the newsletter. I always enjoy seeing what they are up to and I love checking out the free patterns they provide links for. Just imagine my surprise when I saw this:

Free Patterns

Dawn, from Knitamazoo, has a pattern for those of us who want to make socks from worsted weight yarn. Her Easy Boot Socks is a quick knit with thicker yarn. What a great present to give for the holidays! And don't forget to check out her other patterns.

WOW! I almost fell out of my chair! I was so surprised and shocked. I had to get in touch with Kathy right away so I sent her a message on Ravelry and added her to my friends list. I was giddy all day long! After some of the giddiness wore off, I was able to settle down and I did some sewing this weekend. I also worked on tying a Christmas quilt that I sewed last year and did some wet felting with friends. I will be sharing those stories and pictures all this week. Stay tuned . . .

Thank You to All Military Personnel, Past and Present!

2010-11-11T11:04:00.001-05:00

Today is Veterans Day here in the US. A day set aside to honor those among us who have fought or are currently fighting to protect our freedom. I have so many veterans in my family and I am grateful for the service of each one. Today I am remembering my grandfather in a special way. He served during World War II, married my grandmother while on leave, was stationed in India and came home to his family when the war was over. He didn't talk much about his service or the war, even when we looked at pictures he had taken while stationed overseas. He was a humble man, a loyal man and a patriotic man. Though he was on the winning side of WWII, he lost his war with cancer in 1984. I miss him every day but am proud to know that he did his part to defend and protect the freedoms that we enjoy in this country.

The Noble and the Brave:
A Veteran's Day Tribute When America had an urgent need,
These brave ones raised a hand;
No hesitation held them back;
They were proud to take a stand. They left their friends and family;
They gave up normal life;
To serve their country and their God,
They plowed into the strife. They fought for freedom and for peace
On strange and foreign shores;
Some lost new friends; some lost their lives
In long and brutal wars. Other veterans answered a call
To support the ones who fought;
Their country had requirements for
The essential skills they brought. We salute every one of them,
The noble and the brave,
The ones still with us here today,
And those who rest in a grave. So here’s to our country’s heroes;
They’re a cut above the rest;
Let’s give the honor that is due
To our country’s very best. By Joanna Fuchs

Networking

2010-11-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

Network and networking is a term that I hear on a daily basis. To pay the bills I work as a computer technician at a large company and these terms come up every day. But I don't want to talk about networking from a technology perspective. I want to talk about networking to promote our art, crafts and our personal business.

Since I was in college, I have heard the phrase, "It's not what you know, but who you know." The older I have become and the more exposed I have been to the business world, the truer this statement rings. In my day job for instance, if you know the right people to contact you can get a problem solved fairly quickly. I have also seen how getting to know managers outside of your business unit can be beneficial as well. The same holds true when you are trying to promote your craft or business.

The more people you can connect with, the more potential customers you can gain. I just started getting serious about my business this summer. I finally took the plunge and started offering knitting patterns for sale. I found that being a member of the knitting/crocheting/spinning/weaving online community at Ravelry to be a great starting point for me. I am able to offer my patterns as a pdf download through the Ravelry website to knitters and crocheters around the world. I started a group on Ravelry where people can discuss my patterns, get news about upcoming patterns/products, hear about shows that I will be doing and get pattern support. This was a great jumping off point for me.

I had my blog with a few followers, but I needed to increase the traffic. I already had a personal Facebook page, so I took the plunge and created one for my business as well. (Knitamazoo on Facebook.) I have 64 fans as of this post which is a pretty good start I think. In addition to Facebook, I also use Twitter to stay in touch with those who are interested in my business as well. These are both great tools for reaching out and networking.

By far the greatest networking site I have found for the arts and crafts community is The Hive. This is a wonderful place to promote your products and network with other artists and crafters around the world. I have made some wonderful friends and have gained a decent following. The more you are active on The Hive, the more exposure you have. I have been inspired beyond words by the artists on this site. Everyone is so positive and helpful. I have read some informative blog posts with tips about running a crafting business. I have seen artwork and crafts done by some amazing people. And the sense of community is what keeps me coming back. There are many great websites to help you network with others and I invite you to follow me on all of them. But I highly encourage those of you who are artists/crafters (whether you sell your product or not) to head on over to The Hive and join a community where you will find a wealth of information, friendship and inspiration!

Inspiration and illness abound . . .

2010-11-08T21:57:00.000-05:00

It has been over a week since I last updated my blog. The night of my last update I came down with a horrible stomach virus and didn't move far from the couch for four days. I finally started feeling better and got back to work, both crafting and my day job. I jumped right back into my classes and have been going strong ever since.

I have had so much inspiration lately. The creative ideas have been flowing and I really wish I could quit my day job and concentrate on my crafting full time. I have had to start jotting down my ideas as it seems that no matter what craft I attempt, it is not turning out well. I tried to do some sewing and ended up losing an argument with my sewing machine. I cast on a cute slouchy hat that turned out cute, but not slouchy (unless you have a really small head). I did crock pot candles which actually turned out fine except the scent is really weak. It seems that I have the opposite of the Midas touch lately.

But I can say one thing . . . each one of these setbacks has taught me something about crafting and myself. The sewing machine taught me that when things keep getting worse, to just walk away for awhile. It is only thread and fabric, I am not sewing someone's major organs together. The cute hat taught me that I am not as loose a knitter as I thought I was. Gauge, gauge, gauge! And don't ignore your instincts. I knew the hat was too small. Did I stop and adjust my needle size? Nope. I kept on knitting. I am very good at denying things. But I know that the hat will fit my co-worker's 9yr old grand-daughter so my knitting was not in vane. And finally the candles. It was my first attempt. I now know that I need to add more scent. It may even be the wax I am using. I know I am still in the experimental phase with candle making.

But most of all, I have learned that no matter how "badly" I think my crafting is going, I am not going to let it discourage me. I may need to walk away for a bit and come back to something, but it will not defeat me. I can do anything I set my mind to do. As long as the inspiration keeps coming . . . I will keep crafting!

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn in Michigan

2010-10-27T09:58:00.000-04:00

UFOs Spotted In Michigan! News at 11!

2010-10-23T10:19:00.001-04:00

No, there are no space aliens in Michigan. At least not in my neighborhood. Though I wish a few with knitting/crocheting skills would show up and help me with my UFOs. I just took a look at my project page on Ravelry and it is showing 10 projects in progress and I won't even tell you how many hibernating projects there are. I really need to knuckle down and get some of these finished. So it is my goal to finish at least one of those projects this weekend and hopefully a second one this week. That is a reasonable goal as I have a few projects that are 50% done or more. It's time to grab those hooks and needles and get stitching! Stay tuned to see what gets finished!

Experimentation Is a Good Thing

2010-10-19T14:30:00.000-04:00

Creativity has been coursing through my veins lately. My head is full of ideas to the point where I don't think I can fit anymore in it. Not only is my brain full of things I want to create, but it is full of new techniques that I want to try. So I decided this past weekend to don my Mad Scientist cap and do some experimenting.

First up, yarn dying. I posted a play-by-play account of my yarn dying experiment on Sunday. I am very pleased with how it all turned out and I will be playing around with this technique more in the future. I want to start mixing dyes to create new colors. I think there is another Mad Scientist weekend coming up. LOL! My yarn is finally dry and I twisted them into hanks. I can't wait to start knitting with it. The burgundy came out mottled (which is a common problem with red #3) but I like the effect and am anxious to see how it knits up.

Next up, felting. I saw a demonstration of wet felting last week and have been chomping at the bit to give it a try. I didn't exactly jump straight into wet felting though. I started with felting soap. I had a bar of handmade lavender soap that was perfect for my first soap felting experiment. It is a simple process and I love how it turned out. The potential for creativity with this one is phenomenal! I have already ordered up more handmade natural soaps to felt. This can be very addicting!

I also tried my hand at some needle felting. (I told you I was like a Mad Scientist this past weekend.) Last week I had bought a pattern/tutorial on how to needle felt a bear and it came with felting needles. I picked up a large sponge at my local grocery store to work on, grabbed some brown wool that I had in my spinning stash and started stabbing it with a needle. This can be great therapy of you are upset with someone or something but you need to be careful you don't stab yourself. (Ask me how I know. Ouch!) I need to do some touch ups on him/her (I guess it's a her since I put a pink bow on it) but I think it looks cute for a first try.

The last experiment I did was learn how to knit the brioche stitch. This is my new favorite stitch! It looks the same on both sides so it is perfect for a scarf. I learned the basic stitch so now I need to learn the variations (in the round, 2-color, etc.). To practice, I grabbed some organic cotton and made a washcloth. I call it "a swatch with a purpose."

I had a lot of fun experimenting with new crafts and techniques this past weekend. My next experiment will probably be some wet felting and some nuno felting. I think Sir Lancelot is going to flee the house screaming. Time to get out the apron and the goggles. Let the experiments begin!

A Lesson In Dying

2010-10-17T18:01:00.000-04:00

Fiber dying that is. I have played around in the past with hand painting hanks of yarn. I did the whole soak them in a mix of vinegar and water overnight, mix up a bit of Wilton's Cake Dye with some water and use sponges to dye the yarn. Then you roll it up and put it in the microwave to heat set the dye. It is a lot of fun but a lot of work, especially if you want a solid/semi-solid colored yarn. I sat down last night and began perusing the internet for instructions on using Wilton's in a dye pot. I found so many different instructions I was overwhelmed. I finally found some instructions that seemed easy enough to follow. Here is my journey through the experience of dying wool with Wilton's in a dye pot.

The first thing you need to do is get your hanks of yarn soaking in plain water. Do not add vinegar! Just lukewarm water. By some strange miracle, my kitchen sink was clean. (OK, the strange miracle was that I actually put the dishes into the dishwasher.) I filled my sink up 1/2 way and gently set my 2 hanks of yarn in the water. You will want to soak the yarn for at least 30 minutes. Now you have time to gather your supplies and contemplate what colors you want to dye.

I had 2 pots, so I decided to dye each 100 gr hank a different color. I didn't feel like getting all fancy and mixing dyes to get special colors. I will try that at a later date. Today I just wanted to find out how well this was going to work. I grabbed my 2 pots, my Wilton's Cake Dyes, a couple of juice glasses to mix the dyes in, vinegar, a candy thermometer, and a measuring spoon. You need to dissolve the dye in HOT water. I used hot tap water, some people swear by boiling water. The hot tap water worked fine for me. I choose a burgundy color and a teal. I wanted to use the burgundy because is contains Red #3 which a lot of people have had trouble with. So this was an experiment for me to see if I had issues with it. I used a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon and probably ended up using 1/2-3/4 tsp of dye. You don't need a whole lot but I wanted to see if it would make the colors darker or more vivid. You may want to wear latex gloves during this step. Once the dye dissolves in the hot water, fill your pot with tepid water and add the dye.

Now you are ready to add the yarn. Gently pick up a hank of yarn from its bath and gently squeeze it to remove excess water. Be careful not to squeeze too hard or agitate it too much if it is not superwash wool. You do not want felt. After removing the excess water, gently lower it into the dye pot. It will immediately start to take the dye. Place the pot on the stove and turn on the heat. You will want to bring to water up to near boiling (about 150-160 deg. F) and simmer there for 10 minutes. There will be a nice steam coming off the top of the pot now.

After adding vinegar

After it has simmered for 10 minutes, you now add about 1/4 cup of vinegar. Be careful not to pour the vinegar directly on the yarn. I used a plastic spoon to gently hold the yarn to one side of the pot while I slowly added the vinegar. The vinegar acts like a mordant and aids in uniformly coloring the yarn and with colorfastness.Once you have added the vinegar you will want to bring the water temperature up to 180 deg. F and simmer there for 30 minutes or until the color is exhausted. You can check the water with a soup spoon. If all the color is exhausted the water will be clear. I let my teal yarn go for almost an hour and never achieved clear water. I know I added quite a bit of dye to that pot so I'm wasn't too concerned about it. Once you have reached this point, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temp.


Cooling

Once the yarn has cooled to room temperature, you need to gently remove it from the dye pot and rinse it. You will want to rinse it thoroughly in water that is the same temperature as the water you removed it from. If it is too hot or too cold, you may shock the fibers and cause felting. After it is thoroughly rinsed, gently squeeze out excess water and hang to dry.

Fiber Arts Friday: Do I Really Need to Start Another Fiber Craft?

2010-10-15T06:00:00.002-04:00

Finally! I am making my first Fiber Arts Friday posting! I have been trying for weeks . . . no, months . . . to get a post up for FAF and I am finally doing it. This past week I have been exposed to some new fiber arts and I also worked on some that I haven't done much of lately. It's been a very "fibery" week for me. So let's get to it!

First up is spinning. I hadn't touched any of my wheels (I have 3) in a long time. Well last month when I participated in Alpaca Farm Days I did some spinning. And I continued spinning after I got home. I am working through 4 oz of a gorgeous alpaca/merino blend from WonderWhyGal. Her rovings are like buttah! They are so easy to spin and I love how it feels as it glides through your hands. I am spinning up a very thin single in order to get a 2-ply laceweight. I am very excited to see how this all turns out! (Sorry about the picture quality.)

Another craft that I haven't done in a long time is crochet. My mom taught me to crochet when I was in my late teens/early twenties and I enjoyed it for many years before I learned to knit. I got an itch to crochet recently and I found this great pattern for snowflake garland for your Christmas tree. Each snowflake works up quickly and I can already imagine it on our tree. It is a simple, 4 round pattern that is easily memorized. I can whip up several flakes while watching tv in the evenings and they are connected as you go so there is no sewing later.

Sick days can be very productive knitting days especially if you are not the one who is sick. I called into work on Wednesday because Sir Lancelot had some kind of stomach virus and he could barely stand up. I didn't want to leave him alone, so I stayed home to take care of him and of course I knit all day. As a result of my labors, I have a sassy beret to wear this fall and winter.

So when is she going to get to this new fiber craft you may ask? Right now! One of our local knitting groups had a KIP this past Tuesday evening and our special guest was Barb Marr from Marr Haven Farm in Allegan, MI. She gave us a demonstration (right there in the middle of the restaurant I might add) of wet felting. Yes, wet felting! First of all, I was mesmorised by the process but I couldn't believe that she was able to do it right there at our table. She is so gracious and answered all of our questions. She even brought "mystery" roving for us as well as felting patterns. Thursday, I went out and bought the supplies I will need to try my hand at wet felting. I even found this great website today with video demonstrations of wool felting, nuno felting and resist felting. Do I really need to start another fiber craft? You bet your knitting needles I do!

Don't forget to check out all the blogs on Fiber Arts Friday brought to you by our lovely hostess WonderWhyGal at WISDOM BEGINS IN WONDER!

Pay It Forward

2010-10-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

This year has been unusually tough on me. Sir Lancelot has been out of work since January 1. He has been a real trooper and is not only looking for work every day but also keeping up with a lot of the household chores. But money has been tough and our "get out of debt" plan has slowed to a crawl. In addition to this, I have had a lot of health issues this past year. Work has been extremely stressful and combined with the unemployment stress, my depression has been out of control. Not everything this year has been bad though, and I am trying to focus on the positive things. The biggest one being that instead of our marriage pulling apart, these trials have only brought us closer together as we work as a team to get through them.

In the midst of all of this I have been doing some soul searching. One of the big things I have discovered is that I have been wallowing in my own self pity for too long. I need to focus on others. The last few days have really brought this home to me. You see, Tuesday night Sir Lancelot woke me up in the middle of the night because he was violently ill. I spent the next hour and a half helping him. He kept apologizing for "making" me wait on him and I couldn't understand that. All I wanted to do was make him feel better and I wasn't thinking about my "problems" at all. After things settled down and I was back in bed with the adrenaline pumping, I laid there thinking about what all had just taken place. I began to realize that my perceived problems were so much smaller than what he was going through just then. I noticed that I wasn't feeling depressed at that moment and it hit me that it was because I was so focused on helping someone else.

My next "aha" moment came this morning when I read my friend Holly's blog. She is such a wonderful, generous, caring person who is insanely busy with work, school, raising 3 pigs and taking care of an Ogre. Yet she always finds time to help someone who is in need. She is looking into knitting hats for children at an elementary school near her new job. When I read that I almost jumped out of my chair. This is exactly what I need! I am in a crazy hat knitting mood (tomorrow you will see what I accomplished while taking care of Sir L. yesterday). Crazy hat knitting mood + children who need good warm hats = the BEST depression medicine EVER! So I am going to start knitting hats. If she is unable to set something up with the school, then the hats will go somewhere else where they are needed. I am tired of waiting for something good to happen to me. I am going to pay it forward. I may never meet the recipients of my hats and I may never get a thank you or compliment, but that is not why I am doing it. I want to make a difference in someone else's life in the hopes that they will "pay it forward" and do something for another person. Just think if everyone in this world did something to help out even just one other person, what a better place it would be. I am challenging anyone who reads my blog to go out and pay it forward. Do something nice for someone, anyone. It doesn't matter who. Do it without expecting any praise, thanks or recognition. Encourage that person then to go out and do something for someone else. Think of the ripple effect! Do it because you want the world to be a better place.

Wordless Wednesday: Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

2010-10-13T07:21:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday Sir Lancelot and I took a beautiful drive up to the Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. These are just a few pictures I took while we were there.

You can view all the pictures from the day here -Frederick Meijer Gardens Album

SALE! SALE! SALE!

2010-10-12T10:48:00.001-04:00

Just in time for your Christmas knitting, you can purchase BOTH the Luxury Spa Cloths & Luxury Spa Cloths II patterns for just $5!! These quick to knit washcloths make great last minute Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. You'll want to whip up a bunch of these to have on hand and don't forget to make some for yourself! I love these worked up in Plymouth Yarns Oceanside Organic Cotton yarn. Sale runs through Sunday, October 31.

Check the patterns page here on Knitamazoo or head on over to my Ravelry store to take advantage of this offer.

Wordless Wednesday: The Beauty of Alpacas

2010-09-29T09:36:00.000-04:00

Strike Up the Band - I've added a NEW PATTERN!

2010-09-27T08:29:00.000-04:00

Fall has arrived here in Southwest Michigan and I think it means to stay. The humidity has fled, not to rear its ugly head until summer makes its appearance next year. Fall means cooler temps, back to school, pumpkins, brightly colored leaves, apples, cider, chili, football games with marching bands and a host of other things that I love! Speaking of football games and marching bands, my latest pattern, Strike Up the Band, is a great way to keep your feet warm while rooting for the home team. These cuff down socks feature a band heel (which has become one of my favorites) and a French toe which requires no grafting at the end. The sock is worked on 60 stitches, so knitters can use these heel and toe directions on any sock pattern which is worked on a total of 60 stitches.

Meanwhile, back on the alpaca farm, I had a "Wonder"ful time at the WonderWhy Alpaca Farm this weekend. I was invited to set up a booth with my patterns and help demonstrate knitting and spinning to the farm visitors. It was chilly but I had a blast! It was so much fun to see the kids' reactions to the animals and the spinning wheels. I loved watching the little ones feed the alpacas and chickens. I even sold a few patterns. All in all a great time! Stay tuned this week as I will be sharing pictures and memories right here all week long.

Happy knitting!

Alpaca Shawl

2010-09-23T16:43:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit late for Wordless Wednesday and I'm early for Fiber Arts Friday. My timing stinks! Oh well. I finally got some pictures of my latest shawl and I wanted to share.

Watch for a new pattern coming in the next couple of days! I'll give you a hint: It starts with a "s" and ends with a "k" and it goes on your feet. :)

Wordless Wednesday: More Backyard Critters

2010-09-15T06:03:00.000-04:00

It always amazes me the variety of wildlife we can get in our backyard while living within city limits.

The Upside of Hives

2010-09-14T17:49:00.003-04:00

Today is a day of celebration for me. First and foremost it is my 14th Wedding Anniversary. I am so thankful for the 14 wonderful years I have had with Sir Lancelot. He has been a more wonderful husband than I could have ever asked for. We have stood by each other through thick and thin, better and worse, sickness and health. Today I celebrate my life with my best friend!

I am also celebrating the fact that my hives have left. They were so bad on Friday that when I saw my bottom lip I thought I might be turning into Angelina Jolie. One look at the rest of me in the mirror and that dream was shattered. But the hives have gone and have not returned for a few days. It has been hard being off the med that caused the hives but today was a bit better and I'm hopeful that we will find something else that will help me. I am trying to stay positive.

There was one really great upside to having hives for several days. I got to knit! And knit, and knit, and knit! It was pretty much either knit or scratch, so I chose to knit as much as possible. I finished up my Alpaca-Bison Shawl (aka The Heartland Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark). I knit it with 100% alpaca yarn that I bought last year up in Sutton's Bay Michigan in a little shop called The Thistledown Yarn Shoppe. I cast off last night and the shawl is now blocking. It's gorgeous! I can't wait for it to dry so I can get it off the floor.

Now that the shawl is done (only took 10 days!) I'm already looking for the next project. Even though there is a pile of UFOs staring me in the face. I feel a case of startitis coming on . . . do you think there is a medication for that?

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all . . .

2010-09-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

Well Labor Day has come and gone here in the United States. This weekend marks the official end of summer and means all the kidlets are back in school. (Please be extra careful when driving. Watch out for kids waiting for the bus or crossing the street.) Labor Day weekend for Sir Lancelot and me means traveling down to Peru, IN to visit his Mom and her husband. They have a permanent campsite near Lake Mississinewa and a pontoon boat as well. This year was no exception. Since Sir Lancelot is still unemployed, I decided to take Friday off so we could get an early start on the weekend. That's where the trouble began.

Thursday night was like any other night. I figured I wouldn't sleep in too much on Friday as I needed to have blood drawn and we had decided that Friday morning was the time to do it. I had to be fasting so I stopped eating around 7:30pm. I took my evening pills (yes, I have am & pm pills) and headed off to bed anticipating a nice long weekend. I slept like crap! Complete and total crap! I was up & down to the bathroom several times and every time I got back in bed I had trouble going back to sleep. Finally around 5:30 I gave up and played on the computer for awhile. I took a shower and then took my morning pills. At least that was the plan. The Friday slot in my am pill box (yes, I'm getting old) was empty. Strange. Why would that be empty? Then I picked up the pm pill box. Crap! Thursday's slot was not empty. So I took my morning pills, which includes a diuretic and a drug that one of the side effects is increased energy, and I realized why I was up all night. Not a good start.

I figured that things were only going to get better. Why shouldn't they? We were headed off to spend a relaxing weekend on a lake and I was looking forward to knitting on the boat. So after Sir Lancelot got up and took a quick shower, it was off to the lab to have my blood drawn. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes before I was called in. After the tech got all the info into the computer, I told her she may want to lay me down as I tend to pass out. Onto the cot I go, she puts on the tourniquet, pokes in the needle and says hmmmm. Not exactly what you want to hear your phlebotomist say. Next thing I know she starts wiggling the needle around in my arm! The longer that went on the more I wanted to slug her with my left fist. Finally she gives up and gets another phlebotomist to help. They now fix up my left arm and draw the 3 vials of blood they need. I laid there for a few minutes and then sat up very slowly. I didn't make it to a sitting position when things started to spin and go black. After laying down for quite awhile and sipping some orange juice, I was finally able to get up and leave. Sir Lancelot thought I had died. So now it was off for some breakfast because I hadn't eaten anything in around 14 hours!!

After a quick breakfast, we headed home and loaded up the SUV. We actually hit the road about 10:30 and it was a beautiful day for driving. That is until I became extremely car sick. I usually wear Sea Bands but they were not working. We finally had to pull over and I got behind the wheel. Once I was driving the car sickness lessened but was still there. At least it was only a 3 hour drive. We did eat a little lunch on the road and I was able to stop in a cute little quilt/yarn/spinning/weaving shop on our way down. If you are ever in the South Bend, IN area you should check out Heckaman's shop. The shop owner is a widowed lady who does it all. She was very friendly and I had a wonderful chat with her. I picked up some sock yarn while I was there and I'm already dreaming of what I will create with it.

We arrived at the campsite in the early afternoon and immediately set up the tent and got the anywhere bed blown up and all our ~~crap~~ stuff moved in. After dinner at Harvey Hinklemeyer's (great pizza btw) we had a campfire and retired early. When we went to bed it wasn't too cool so we just used the blankets we brought with us. Later in the night it got cooler so we threw on the comforter my MIL lent us. I was lying on my side as I am apt to do, sleeping pretty good (especially since I took the correct pills) when I rolled in my sleep and instantly hit the ground. I rolled right off the bed. I must have let out a yell as Sir Lancelot woke up in a panic. I only injured my pride and since it had gotten even cooler, we opted for our sleeping bags. It's a good thing we took them too because Saturday night was even colder. We couldn't get out on the boat on Saturday because it was too cold.

My Labor Day weekend didn't start out all that well but things began looking up on Sunday. We got to witness Drunken Redneck Croquet. But that will be another post.

Wordless Wednesday: Little Bunny Foo Foo

2010-09-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

The adorable little bunny who lives under our 4-season room. I really hope the neighbor's cats don't catch him.

KNITAMAZOO at Brewster's tonight!!

2010-08-31T12:57:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update to let everyone know I will be at Brewster's Fine Food & Spirits, 5135 Portage Road, Kalamazoo tonight, Tuesday, August 31st 6 pm. There will be a KIP event and all are welcome! I have been asked to give a short talk about Knitamazoo and I will have patterns available for sale along with samples of the knitted items. Make sure you come early so you are registered for door prizes (one of which is my latest pattern, Poppy Socks)!! Hope to see you there!

For the birds

2010-08-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was a rather quiet one for me. I was what I call a "fantasy football widow." As the NFL football season draws ever closer, the excitement starts building in our household. Sir Lancelot is in 2 fantasy football leagues. One he runs and the other is run by a friend of ours. Now I like football and I follow along with Lancelot's fantasy teams, but I absolutely hate draft weekend. He was gone the better part of both Saturday and Sunday. The house is too quiet. (Wait, maybe that's a good thing.) And I have all sorts of time on my hands. I can rock out in my jammies with a hairbrush for a microphone and no one is around to laugh at me. Oh forget it . . . I LOVE fantasy draft weekend!!

It does get a little lonely around the house, but I do manage to survive every year. This year I spent a lot of time knitting and watching the birds at our feeders. There was one little finch that kept trying to fly into our 4-season room. I don't know how many times he bounced off the screen until he finally managed to grab hold of it. He kept climbing up and down the screen looking for a way in. He was pretty persistent, but he did eventually give up. I wish I could have popped the screen so he could have flown in. I bet my cat would have liked that too.

Silly bird . . .

PS: I know I said something yesterday about Little Bunny Foo Foo. That will come for Wordless Wednesday.

I'm back . . . sorta

2010-08-30T10:45:00.007-04:00

My blogging activity has been less than stellar lately. Though that isn't all that difficult to achieve. Maybe I should say my blogging activity has been less than measly. I could go into a whole long story about stress, anxiety, my health (both physical & mental) but I don't want to bore anyone with all those details. Let's just say that I have been to see my doctor and I have come to accept that the phrase "better living through medication" will be a reality for me for some time. Hopefully as my body adjusts and responds to the medications I will have more energy, a better outlook and I'll feel more like sharing what I am up to here on the blog.

OK, enough of the whiney stuff, let's get down to business. First and foremost this is a knitting blog. Specifically a blog about my pattern business Knitamazoo. So let's get to the latest scoop! Last week I placed an order on the interwebs for some body parts. No, not real body parts. Mannequin type body parts. I didn't want to have to drag Sir Lancelot out to take pictures of my socks. I think they photograph so much better on a foot and unless it's a man-size sock, I have to be the model. But now I have 3 plastic feet to model my socks for me. I can take as many pictures as I want and Sir Lancelot doesn't have to take time out of his busy schedule of fighting dragons or managing civilizations to take pictures for me. They are very lightweight which is good and bad. Bad because they won't stand up by themselves. So, I need to get some play sand to funnel through the small hole in the top of each foot to weigh down the toe. Then they should stand on their own. I'm guessing that these were meant for some type of display that uses metal rods or something to hold them up. But they were cheap and cheap is good. Hmmm. . . maybe the word I want is inexpensive. Cheap has some bad connotations.

Oh well, let's move past cheap and move onto more Knitamazoo News. I am already working on another sock pattern as well as the lace scarf I am designing for my friend WonderWhyGal. My new sock is in honor of my knitting group (which I have been absent from way too long), the Zombie Prom Date Knitters. These will be a fun pair of socks that will take a zombie slayer from slaying right to the prom. Hopefully my design idea will work.

My personal knitting has picked up lately. This weekend I finished my Girly Girl Mitts. They came out so cute! In fact, these mitts sorta inspired me for the zombie socks. You'll just have to stay tuned to see how. The picture doesn't show the colors very well but I used Aisling Yarns superwash merino hand painted yarn in the Nightmare before Xmas colorway. These were knit on a size 2 needle and I used the magic loop method instead of 2 circs. They were a lot of fun to knit and each one can be completed in a day (if all you do is pretty much knit). I do love them and look forward to wearing them this fall.

I still seem to have the crochet bug. I started the Elegant Hat by Kim Guzman on Friday. I'm using Cascade Pastazza but I'm not sure if I like how it is turning out. I will forgo the bow in favor of a sassy button. If I don't like the finished hat it won't take long to find some other yarn and try again. This crochet thing goes pretty fast! Right now it looks like a really small rug because instead of joining each round with a slip stitch you just keep spiraling around.

Stay tuned for tomorrows installment . . . Little Bunny Foo Foo.

Poppy Socks are here!!

2010-08-22T13:58:00.004-04:00

Knitamazoo's latest pattern, Poppy Socks, has arrived! These toe-up socks are a quick, fun knit. The eyelet pattern is easily memorized and lots of fun to knit. Since they are worked in a DK/sport weight yarn, you can finish a pair in a weekend. It is easy to adjust the leg length and a different cuff can be substituted if you do not like the picot. All my test knitters raved about how much fun these were to knit. The pattern can be purchased from the Buy Now link to the right or off my pattern page.

This pattern has been consuming most of my time lately. It's been ready for awhile but I wanted the last of my test knitters to finish and I needed to get Sir Lancelot to help me get better photos. Maybe I need to invest in a mannequin foot so I can take my own photos. (I had to be the model.)

In other fiber related news, I started a crocheted ripple afghan last weekend. I had a lot of scraps of yarn lying around and the crochet bug bit me hard. It's been a nice break since my wrist has been bothering me a bit.

We got a nice bit of rain Friday night. We got up on Saturday morning to find one of our redbud trees leaning on the 4-season room. Whoever planted it let it grow with 3 main branches near the ground. We trimmed a lot of dead stuff out of this past spring and it really filled in. Guess the rain just made it all too heavy. So now we have cleanup to do. At least it has cooled off and the humidity is way down.

Creative weekend

2010-08-08T12:27:00.000-04:00

I was a little worried that this weekend was going to be a bust for me all around. You see, I ended up coming home from work on both Thursday and Friday early because I felt horrid. I figured I would be worthless for most of the weekend and wouldn't feel up to knitting or crafting in any way, shape or form. Well I guess all the extra rest I got prior to the weekend (I took a nice 2 hour nap on Friday) really helped.

My latest pattern is still being test knit and my testers are really enjoying the pattern. They have gotten several compliments from their knitting groups and that excites me. The deadline for the test knit is August 28, but if it is completed earlier, I will definitely have the pattern available then. So far there have been few corrections to be made.

My next pattern is already in the works and I am knitting up the prototype now. I am designing it for my awesome friend Andrea who owns WonderWhy Alpaca Farm. She gave me some of her lovely alpaca handspun to play with. It has been sitting here for a long time and I have been waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be. I thought it might want to be a lovely shoulder shawl. After several froggings (under which it held up beautifully I might add), I got the message that it did not want to be a shawl. I thought about a textured pattern for a scarf, but it kept whispering, "Lace. I want to be lace." It is a wonderful warm brown color and I found a gorgeous lace pattern that will work well with the color. I have started knitting the border for one end of the scarf and so far I am in love with it! I think I am finally on the same page as the yarn.

After messing around with that I needed something a bit mindless that would give me a break yet still be creative. So I picked up a crochet hook, some Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima that I had left from another project and started a hat. I have 3 more rounds to finish and it will be done. I have already dropped down 3 hook sizes to get the gauge but it still seems a little big for my head. So I am envisioning a ribbon woven through the double crochet stitches and a large button or flower to finish it off. When I get it done, there will be pictures.

So all in all, not a bad weekend so far in the crafting category. Actually it hasn't been all that bad in any other category either. The weather has been perfect to sit on the 4-season porch and knit away while watching the birds at the feeders. Too bad I have to go back to my day job tomorrow. Oh well . . . someday I will live my dream!

What's cooking in the Zoo?

2010-08-02T21:48:00.000-04:00

I've been a little lax lately in the posting department. I have no excuses or explanations to offer. So as an apology, I'll post a few pictures of our trip to the Air Zoo yesterday. I can't believe that we've never gone. Especially since they aren't charging an admission fee and it is so close to home. Well after the B-17 flew right over our house (twice) we decided to go check it out. It's a great place! We didn't ride any of the rides, but there is plenty to do and see there. So without further ado, a pictorial tour of the Air Zoo.

In other news, I am working on a new pattern. I'm really excited about it as it is turning out just like I wanted so far. I'm hoping that the model will be done tomorrow and I can start the test knitting process. Watch here and on Ravelry for the release of the new pattern!

Oh yeah, I got a mani/pedi on Friday. My feet feel and look like a million bucks!

Tour de Shame

2010-07-18T15:15:00.000-04:00

I got all excited this year about participating in the Tour de Fleece. That thing where spinners spin their hearts out while cyclists are trying to kill themselves somewhere in France. I thought that this would be a good excuse to get back to my wheel and spin up some of this fluff I have accumulated. I got both of my wheels ready. I picked out wonderful fluff to spin. I vowed to spin at least 5 minutes a day. Day 1 I spun. Day 2 . . . well let's just say that 5 minutes a day went to 0 minutes a day. I got distracted by other fibery stuffs. The siren call of designing beckoned me and I couldn't resist. So now I hang my head in total shame.

In an attempt to scrape up some bit of my dignity, I did spin yesterday and today. I managed to spin up 4 oz of Finn from Spunky Eclectic. It came out to about 94 yds. I haven't checked the WPI yet, but I'm guessing a thick & thin DK weight. I just spun without worrying about making it even. I had to be careful because I would fall into my habit of making thin even yarn.

And that is my story of my Tour de Shame. Tune in next time to see if I can salvage more dignity.

Wordless Wednesday: Thirsty?

2010-07-14T19:57:00.000-04:00

New pattern!!

2010-07-13T16:03:00.000-04:00

It's here!! The new Knitamazoo pattern!! Check out the sidebar or the Patterns page for more details and a link to purchase it. Enjoy!

Knitamazoo news!

2010-07-11T14:57:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know what I've been up to. I currently have a new pattern in the testing phase. I think that all of the "kinks" have been worked out and I am hoping to have it up for sale both here on my website and on Ravelry. I have more design ideas floating around my head. I just need to find more time to sit down, get them all down on paper and get to work swatching and working up a sample. Too bad my day job interferes with my knitting time!

Keep your eyes open here and on Ravelry for more Knitmazoo patterns!

Wordless Wednesday: The Contortionist

2010-07-07T07:07:00.000-04:00

I'll never understand some of the positions that cats sleep in. My back hurts just looking at him. Eep!

4th of July and Tour de Fleece update

2010-07-05T12:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in the US, we celebrated the birth of our nation. Whenever I think of 4th of July, I am transported back to my childhood. Large family gatherings at my great-grandma's house where all the aunts, uncles & cousins would come together for good food, good company and good fun. Fireworks displays at the army base. We would gather in a large field on blankets and chairs to listen to the army band play patriotic music, watch the troops march in and settle on the field, play with sparklers and then watch the fireworks. Some years more exploded on the ground than in the sky but we always had fun.

In recent years, Sir Lancelot and I have become more "homebodies." We have taken to steering clear of large crowds and having a nice quiet holiday with a couple of friends and neighbors. But this year I begged Sir Lancelot to go see fireworks. He balked. I persisted. He caved and bought tickets to our local baseball team's 4th of July game complete with fireworks. Our friends that usually come over for a cook-out went to the game with us. It was hot. It was humid. The sweat poured off us in buckets. The team has a losing record. I took my knitting. We ate hotdogs, cotton candy and nachos. Our team went down 3 runs in the top of the 2nd. They tied it up in the bottom of the 2nd. They even went on to score another 2 runs to seal their victory. The sun set. The breeze felt good. The sky grew dark. They turned out the lights and the night sky exploded in hues of blue, red, green and silver. I was happy!

Of course after the show, we sat in the car for 30 minutes before we moved. We got home around 11:45 and I had to hit the shower I was so hot and sweaty. But all in all it was a fantastic day!

The 2010 Tour de Fleece rolls on. I have done some spinning. Not as much as I would have liked, but I am spinning so I am accomplishing my goal. I've been a bit distracted by working on a couple of new patterns. Focus! I need focus!

Tour de Fleece 2010

2010-07-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

I'm jumping on the bandwagon this year. Or maybe it's the fast train to Loonyville. Either way, I joined up with the Team of Wonder for this year's Tour de Fleece. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, grab a chair and a snack so you're comfortable while I explain. I'll wait. Really. I'll wait. Want to move a little faster there? I don't have all day.

Ok, once upon a time in the beautiful Land of Ravelry (that's an online knitting/fiberarts community) someone had an incredibly insane idea. Said person decided to merge their love for spinning fiber into yarn with their love for the Tour de France. This person decided that they would set a challenge for her/himself that involved spinning and that they would attempt to complete this challenge during the Tour de France. The idea is to spin on the days when the race is happening and rest when the bikers do. Other spinners heard of this outlandish idea and decided to join in the torture. So many spinners were interested in this idea that teams developed. Now there are spinners all over the world who will be trying to complete their spinning challenge during the 2010 Tour de France.

Being a person who is one white coat shy of a padded cell myself, I of course signed up for this insanity. I am on my friend WonderWhyGal's Team of Wonder. I am challenging myself to spin at least 15 minutes every day during the Tour. Joining is easy . . . now let's see if I can follow through.

GO TEAM OF WONDER!!