No more cravings!

My fiance bought me this today!! It should be here in about two weeks at the latest! This is a good deal if everything functions well, which I think it will. I am so very excited. It seems very similar to the ones we have at the college so there shouldn't be too much of a learning curve. It is going to be my new craft addiction. I am definitely going to have to go to the library and look up some weaving books!

WIPS Update

Still working on a few things.

Justice's Gloves:
I have one completed and the cuff on the second one.







Dad's Gloves:
Still haven't worked much past the first few rows of the cuff since ripping it all out.






Rhoni's Phoenix Rising Gloves:
One glove finished and the second is almost to the fingers, just a couple more rows. Will take more pictures of second one soon.












A pair of gloves for myself:
No picture yet, but I am just barely past the cuff on the first glove, will get pics and put up info soon.

Second Trial of Joseph Hat:
No pictures yet, but will get some up soon.

Weaving third scarf at school. This one is going to be for Echo probably. Will get some pics this week at school.

**I am in sure in reality, I have many more WIPs right now, but I think their status is more like UFOs until the New Year**


P.S. Anyone on Ravelry, I have been working on updating my account (walden121) there now that you can use other things to upload pictures. Not that I don't care for Flickr, but I am a Photobucket junkie and it was a bother to have to upload pictures in two places, just to be able to post them to one more location. Any who, maybe I will be more active there now.

FO's

Echo's gloves were a nice change from the very small needles of my dad and Rhoni's gloves, which is why I am sure I finished them first. However, it also might have been the fear of running out of yarn and leaving enough time to potentially have to buy more. This was a yarn I got off of Yarn Cycle on Live Journal, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to find it easily or not.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool
Content: 100% wool
Color: Sage
Needles: US 3(knitting) US 5(for bind off)
Gauge: 6 stitches per inch
Size: 7.5"
Pattern:Gloves from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns

Modifications: The cuff is approximately 5.5 inches and they are fingerless. Where to end on the fingers was approximated. For the future though I would take into consideration negative ease on the hand, if not the fingers.

This was how much yarn I had left when I was done.


















This is my finished adult version of the Joseph Hat. The next one I am making a little shorter, as it is about an inch or so too long. It kind of reminds me of vintage women's hats. I am enjoying working out this pattern of mine though.

I look a little too ridiculously happy, don't I?





This kind of leads into my New Year's Resolution for 2009, which will turn the focus a little more on me and my ideas. You'll have to wait until New Year's Eve to find it out though.

And ending question, do you prefer large pictures like this or would you prefer that I put little thumbnails for you to click on instead? I would love anyone's opinion on this who is willing to give it.

Art - Down the Rabbit Hole

Well, I am posting this because I think it is okay work. Is it my best? no. Could I have done better? You betcha. Why didn't I do better? Deadline for assignment was long and my interests change quickly! I should have completed it quickly and moved on, but hey, hindsight is twenty-twenty!

This one is mine, it's an underwater theme changing into objects of violence. It's suppose to be a statement how as humans we tend to turn the world around us into something violent and bleak:







These thumbnails are the classes drawings. Unfortunately, not all my pics are good, but click on them if you'd like to see larger images.



























Enjoy!

The Weaving Experience

I have thoroughly enjoyed my fibers class (except for some whiny classmates), but the weaving has been the most enjoyable so far and makes me crave a loom. Here is the first scarf I made, this one is mine and it closely matches my Tychus hat I made quite some time ago.

I love how this scarf turned out, even if it is a beginner scarf with a few errors. It is a random twill pattern. The warp is a cotton yarn that the teacher required we use on our first scarf. I used white, olive green, and black. For the weft I used a black wool(Lana Grossa Joker-80%wool and 20%Polyamide) I had bought back in Ithaca before we moved here.









This next scarf was made for my mother. I used Red Heart Soft Yarn in Leaf, Dark Leaf, and Honey. I think it turned out wonderful, even if it was only the second thing I have woven. I made up the pattern myself. There is a couple tension problems at one end, where I began weaving and had to work on my tension, but I hope she will overlook that. *smile* I will admit to being a fan of Red Heart Soft Yarn, I think wool is warmer, but for those who don't like wool, this is a very soft acrylic. One of my mother's favorite colors, is a lime green color, so I hope these colors work well for her.

A detail pic of the weaving pattern.


A full picture.


Another close-up.


A modeled shot, of course. :)


A pic of the fringe.





Lastly, I though you guys might like to see what some of my other classmates are doing for their first scarf. Click the thumbnail to see it larger.





















These last two pics aren't from my class, but one of the fiber majors that I know. She is doing this wonderful Shibori technique with her woven scarf. I saw her sample piece after it had been dyed, absolutely beautiful. The warp and weft in this are merino, the brown is where she will tie it off to dye it.

Life

I usually try to keep this blog mostly about my arts & crafts. That is the focus of this blog and that is what I want it to be about. I haven't been keeping up with it lately like I want to. I am telling my blog this, because in all honesty, most people don't like hearing about things like this. You can choose to read it or skip it if you want, but sometimes you just need to let things out. When I was younger I had a lot of trouble with depression, eventually some things clicked(some not so good things occurred to make it click) and I have figured out ways to deal with it and be mostly depression free since I was about 23. Unfortunately, there are some times when I forget the things I know I need to keep in mind to stay out of depression, sometimes life just seems to be going so nice that I get the misguided impression that I don't need those rules or guidelines to keep me okay. Then, it all slowly creeps back up and me and I realize I am not in a place I want to be with certain things and some people I don't really want around me. The last few weeks have been just that. I am working on getting myself out of that place and I think it is going well, so I hope to blog more regularly like I want to and am going to try to catch up some over this Thanksgiving break.

Friday's Featured Blog

Friday's Featured Blog:

From The Back Yard


Things I enjoy about this blog:
~She seems very down to earth.
~I love the fact that she admits when she doesn't understand something.
~Her finished knitting always looks well crafted.
~Interesting links!
~I find her quite humorous.


Arts & Crafts I found at this blog:
~Knitting
~Drawing
~Gardening
~Felting


I really like this blog because it has a nice homey feel, if it were a real place on the physical plane, it would be one of those places that you know you are always welcome. Any who, this one was meant to be last Friday's post(11/21) but I am late, more on that in the next post.

Nerd, Dork, or Geek

Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test...

Pure Nerd

70 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 39% Dork

Not too surprising. :)

Interweave Knits

Interweave Knits

I actually got this a couple days ago, but in all honesty, I have just been a bad blogger lately. Too many projects midway and not much to talk about. Kind of blah place of end of the semester, a little stressful and annoying. Any who, here is my review of Interweave Knits Winter 2008.

Articles:
~Norah Gaughan article seems a little off to me. It makes her out to be some kind of knitting god or something. Now don't get me wrong, I think she is a great knitter and pattern-maker, but it just really seems a little too glorified, a little too worship like, like she does no wrong and never could.

~Slip-Stitch Texturing Techniques: Eh, somewhat informational. But I don't think it had enough examples or sample stitches to convey what they are talking about. A lot of talk.


Projects:

~Herringbone Rib Socks(Book Excerpt from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn) - - A nice looking knitted sock. Only two sizes to choose from. It appears well written and easy to understand.

~Manchester Jacket - - I think it looks rather matronly or something that would look good on maybe a pregnant woman. Of course, I love the trim, Seed Stitch, but I don't think it is flattering on the model and highly doubt it would work on most body types. Maybe a really busty gal.

~Blooming Cardigan - - I can't quite tell what I think of this. First, it looks too big on the model. It looks like they bunched it around her sides to make the back and the front look a little more fitted. Maybe it would look better without the tie as it seems to make it look more frumpy on her.

~ Harvard Square Caps - - It looks okay. I kind of like the one with two colors.

~Stenton Garden Pillows - - I like the cabling detail in the pillows and think they would make great shorter projects. Something like this would be similar to making washcloths in the fact that it would give you a chance to try out some new stitches or combination of stitches.

~Pfeiffer Falls Hooded Scarf - -I like this idea, but I think there is some flaws in it. Such as the little pockets on the end that can double as mittens, this is unrealistic if the scarf us actually in use and wrapped around the neck as the scarf is not long enough to reach back around to put one's hands in there. The back of the hat has a very odd shape that doesn't seem to fit the head very well. I do like the theory of a hood and scarf all in one though.

~Climbing Vines Pullover - - I do not think the cropped sleeves look good, which may be the fault of the shirt under the sweater that the model is wearing. I can't quite tell if the sweater is at fault or if it was put on a model that it doesn't really look good one. The sweater doesn't look very shapely and kind of makes the model look boxy and unflattering.

~Victoria Yoke Pullover - - I really like this. I think the color is nice and I love the texture of the waffle stitch. I am not sure this would look good one a larger person, like myself, but it would probably be worth the attempt.

~Lifted Twill Hats - - As a part of the population who is graced with a huge head size, I am not particularly a fan of this hat, because it makes the model's heads look a little large and I don't need that kind of further distortion to my head. Or maybe the hats also don't fit the models' heads very well. However, I do think the stitch pattern is nice.

~Woven Bands Pullover - - What?!?! A boat neck for a man, how the heck is that attractive? It really looks like he is wearing his girlfriend's sweater. The undershirt seems to have been chosen for its attempt to hide the boat neck. *shudder* Where is Interweave headed? Makes me almost regret my subscription renewal for two more years.

~Positano Tote - - I actually like this bag. Not sure if I would actually use something like this or not, but I am definitely attracted to it. I love the woven twill look that the herringbone makes. I reminds me of a bag my great grandma would have, but in a good way! Really like it.

~Handsome Mittens - - Well, definitely not handsome. Nothing really else to say.

~Murano Scarf - - Kind of nice, but I think the real lack of contrast makes me shy away from it. Maybe if one of the yarns was a darker yarn or brighter yarn.

~Ropes and Picots Cardigan - - Yet again, it seems to large for the model. I think this could actually be an attractive garment if it had some more shaping and actually fit the model.

~Marilyn's Bed Jacket - - I like some of the general structures of the jacket. I do not like the band around the closure. I like the neckline or the matching design on the sleeves. I think it would look better if the zig-zag pattern continued down, instead of the ribbing, which just flairs and doesn't seem too attractive. I think sometimes people try to add too many stitches or design elements into a garment and there is such a thing as too much. Overall though, I think it might be a worthy knit, with some key changes in the garment.

~Holly and Poinsettia Mittens - - I think these would make cute children's gloves. The color work is adorable as with the embroidery. I would definitely make a fiber change though since angora is a big no-no for me. Overall, quite adorable!

~Sandalwood Socks - - I am not so sure about the stitch on the top of the socks, but I really do love the stitch on the side of the socks. Don't much care for the back of the socks.

~Elaine's Blouse - - Buttons in the back??? Well, this is perfect for the person who has someone to dress them everyday, but who in the heck has that luxury? The sweater seems to fit the model well and has nice design elements in it, but seems quite impractical.

~Spectrum Tam and Scarf - - I like the color choices and patterns in both of these. The tam is cute and the simplicity of the ripple stitch on the scarf shows off the yarn well. A good example of how a simple pattern can really shine with the appropriate yarn and colors.

~Sweet Honey Beret - - I like the stitch pattern, but in general, not so much of a beret person.

~Fresco Herringbone Hat - - I think the patterning on the hat is cute. I even think the button on the band is cute, however, I do wonder why they chose a picture to put in the magazine, in which you couldn't see that there was this button on the band. I do not necessarily like much else in the hat though and sadly it would seem that Interweave didn't much care for it actually either from the photographs they chose to show it off.

~Dainty Pinstripes Pullover - - Conflicted. I think this could be a very nice looking piece, however, wrong model type, again, and I think the neckline is just way too wide. Why did they have the model wear something dark underneath it, both in top and skirt? Some actual shaping might have done some good too or maybe wear it with negative ease?

~Washington Square Vest - - I think this garment has real potential, but yet again, Interweave did a poor job of show casing it. I doesn't seem to fit the model, it seems a bit too large on the top and what kind of layering sense does that make? I have to say, if I was the designer, I would be highly disappointed with Interweave's choices. This would be a knit worth knitting up just to see how it ends up looking. I really like the look of it.

~Welt and Rib Raglan - - I think this knit looks nice, but I definitely think this is a skinny person knit. All those lines and how snug it is, not a bigger gal knit, but it is a nice pattern.

Overall, not too pleased with the magazine. A couple of good knits, but poorly done overall on Interweave's side. Quite disappointed, but glad there was a couple of good knits.

Friday's Featured Blog

Today's featured blog is Rosemary-go-round.


Things I enjoy about this blog:
~I absolutely love her quotes that she posts, it is odd how sometimes they seem so relevant to my life at that point.

~I like that she has a variety of things she does and posts about.

~It is interesting and often humorous to hear about her children.

~I love her bunny posts!


Arts & Crafts I found at this blog:
Shawl Pins
Knitted Jewelry
More Knitted Jewelry
Knitting
Jewelry
Photography
Spinning


Free Patterns:
Venezia Redux
Ice Queen on Knitty
Liquid Silver on Elann.com
Muir on Knitty
Waves of Grain on Knitty


Tutorials:
Knitting with beads tutorial
Russian Join

As always, go have a look for yourself and hopefully you'll enjoy it just as much as I do.

Drawing and more cheating

Here is the drawing from my class on Thursday. This one only partially looks like the model, we had a plaster head and the models head and we were suppose to morph the two together to make the most aesthetically pleasing, sculptural looking head. It mostly looks like the model, but the lips and the eye is from the plaster head.





I really like how this turned out. Even though, in my free time I tend to draw women's faces more (it is far easier to find reference material for women), I really prefer to draw the male faces in class. Or maybe it was just because the female model was so young compared to the male models and there is just not as many interesting things to draw on a younger person. No character, no lines, blah.

Any who, going along with my inability to stay even slightly monogamous, I started Justice's gloves last night. I think this will be nice because a five year old has such smaller hands and her gloves are in a thicker yarn with size two needles. I never though size two would seem all that large, but compared to the US 00 that are used for Rhoni's, they seem huge. *smile*






I have been working on this for the past couple days on and off. An adult size of the Joseph Preemie Hat Pattern. I think it is coming out well so far. I really enjoy this pattern making stuff, it absolutely thrills the mathematically side of me.







Lastly, here are a couple of nifty links:
Check out THIS lovely link for amigirumi hair styles. THIS one is also neat.

Housekeeping

Well, there was no Feature Friday Blog this week. Instead I took this time to do a little housekeeping for the blog. I have updated blog links and all on the side of the blog. The general blog list is now mostly behind cover, if you want to see the enormously long list, all you have to do is click the really small words at the end that say "show all". The other Link Lists do not give you this function if you limit how many they show, so these will always show all the links provided, which means I had to do it with the blog list, otherwise my sidebar would be WAY too long. That is all for now.

And the affairs continued . . .

Ah, another affair, this one was short and sweet . . . my sister, Rhoni, asked for a specific type of head band, so this was created:








This was a simple moss stitch over five stitches. That was the only annoying problem, k1,p1,k1,p1,k1, turn . . . over and over. But she loves it and would like some more in the future, so that is good!


I am sure you may not remember this beauty . . . this has been a VERY rocky affair. One of way too many frustrations to perfection, but we have definitely worked together recently and we are working to complete our relationship so that it may move on to one who will hopefully love it unconditionally. It is almost done, a few more clay tiles and some final sealing. Honestly, I am quite proud of how it is turning out, some ideas were changed. Somethings, just work out.











I have also done a little spinning, but on the spindle it looks like I have done nothing, so I won't bother you with a pic of that.

*hides* I also bought more clearance Red Heart Sport to knit some more hats - - half off some of the colors at my Michaels.

That ends my cheating behavior for now, but I can guarantee nothing for the future.

The love affair

Okie, dokie, Wips . . .

Well, lately I have had some trouble sticking to a monogamous relationship in my knitting. So even though I am half way done with the second Phoenix Rising Gloves, I have slipped out during the dead of night while it was asleep about a week ago and have not come home to it yet.





First I decided what I needed was a project with some larger needles, so I started on Echo's moss colored fingerless gloves . . . unfortunately that is a rocky affair and we haven't seen each other since the day I started them.




Then I did a bunch of charity knitting, shown in the earlier post. I also finished this one the other night. I adore these hats so much. It is a new whirlwind affair and it is hard to keep myself on somewhat of a track for holiday knitting.




I decided if I wanted to get presents done in time, I was going to have to get back to work, but decided not to return to the first two affairs, but start a new one. My dads gloves.




And let me tell you, all those affairs were sending bad mojo my way. I had done my gauge swatch back when I was still working on the first Phoenix Rising Glove, and had nine stitches per inch. It seemed a little big once I started knitting past the ribbing and at half way, I had to admit that I needed to remeasure the gauge on this, because it just looked too large . . . Go figure, my gauge has changed to eight stitches per inch. That makes this glove a whole inch larger than it needed to be . . . so rip, rip, rip.





And start again.





Does this sway me from my cheating ways . . . no unfortunately not, once a cheater, always a cheater. *smile*