fun with color

After creating the first two scarflettes last week I decided to keep going. I went to a conference at the end of the week where there happened to be an informal artist's market that I was able to participate in. I've never done anything like that before but it was a lot of fun, I did not have a huge inventory...probably only 15 scarves, but it was fun and has inspired me to set up an etsy shop. The scarves above are examples of what I have been making, simple crocheted scarflettes with a button hole, but my favorite part is the button. I have been wet felting organic discs of fiber and stitching and beading them into little works of art...so much fun. I have attached pin backs to the "buttons" so that they can be used as a brooch or a button. Everyone seems to really like them, and I really like making them!
So my goal this week is to make a few more scarves/buttons and set up shop. There. I said it. So now I have to do it, right?
Have a wonderful week!

Another One...

Bloom

Long time no post:) Fall is actually my favorite season but it is quickly escaping me. I have been continuing to make progress on two hexagon throws that must be completed before Christmas, but I got the itch to make something of the instant gratification variety and this is what happened. I used yarn from my stash and buttons that I had bought a few weeks ago which were actually meant for hanging dishtowels....the green yarn is either cascade 220 or lambs pride. I am thinking that it is probably lambs pride because it doesn't have quite the twist that 22o does and the funky fuzzy yarn is something I grabbed out of a clearance bin probably two years ago:)

Pattern: (if you can call it that)
size 15 needles
cast on 20 stitches
knit 4 or 5 rows
knit 1 (yo, knit 2tog)to end,and k1 (this makes holes for buttons to go through)
knit every row until it is long enough to go around your neck!

I used three buttons, but you could use two or even just one. I needed something warm and colorful to take me into the grayness of Ohio winters and this should do nicely.

savoring summer

Well, this is it. Exactly two weeks before we all go back to school. There are things that I do love about the start to a new year, but really nothing beats all of us being home together all the time. This is my little porch tomato plant that my husband assured me would not live when I bought it from a local big chain store (it did look pretty miserable at the time) and look at it now! It probably should be bigger by now and turning red, but it looks healthy and is growing so I am holding out hope.

It has three tomatoes growing and this is papa, and there is a mama, and a teeny tiny baby. The ominous leggy character below was on the car a few days ago when we were leaving the house. His head is slightly out of focus because I was a big chicken and wouldn't get up under it to get my shot, so I had my husband do it, and really he must have been a little scared because he didn't put his face down there or anything. He just held the camera down there and clicked, but I really like this photo, good job honey.

Time Check

This past week I have been busy finishing up my application to graduate school. I am the perpetual procrastinator so I had a lot to finish including my portfolio. It was an experience that was a mixture of stress and inspiration. I love taking photographs, trying to see the details that most people don't ever notice, hidden treasures of color, form, texture....I like that when I take pictures on a regular basis my mind starts seeing pictures even when I don't have my camera. My sons football helmet lying in the grass...click...my daughter wearing cowboy boots to eat at Chipoltle...click...

We are in the last few weeks of summer vacation here and as usual it is moving from a leisurely slow moving time to a super busy fast paced one. My little guy has begun football (oh dear), and my little lady is beginning dance and soccer. We are soaking up all the free time we can in these few weeks because once school starts I'm afraid there won't be any to be found. It is amazing how fast the summer is going, I'm afraid if I blink it will be time to bake Christmas cookies:). Hope everyone out there has a wonderful week!

kitchen accessories

Since I am currently on hold with my hexagon blanket (the closest yarn shop is an hour from where I live), I decided to play with some quick kitchen accessorizing. I have an assortment of peaches and creme cotton yarn on hand, so that is what I used. It met the criteria of being washable, sturdy, and cheap. The color inspiration came from one of my bags, I like the orange/blue combination a lot.

The pattern for the bobble scrubby came from Crochet Today (March/April '09). It was really quick and fun to make, I mean really fast. It consists of two crocheted discs that are then crocheted together. The double thickness makes it act almost like a sponge when you are using it, really sturdy. The pattern called for two strands of yarn held together, I only used one strand for the entire thing and it turned out perfectly well.

The circle stripes one I just made up based on the bobble one, it is slightly larger and has no bobbles. It also is double thickness and if I had thought to make it a little bigger it would make a nice hot pad.

I think that they would make great gifts, especially paired with some Mrs. Meyers dish washing liquid.

marble magnets

I love marble magnets. They are so fast and easy to make, there are so many possibilities to play with....These were a little set that I made for an art teacher friend of mine.

I am currently out of the blue and the yellow/green yarn for my hexagon blanket so it is on hold until I can get more. I only bought a few balls of each color to begin with to make financing the throw a little easier since dye lot would not matter. Apparently I am using blue and yellow quite a bit more than the other colors, but that's OK, I like it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

vacationing...kinda

Today we began our long weekend house sitting for my in-laws who just happen to have a lovely pool. They live in the same town that we do, actually just up the hill, but to be in their backyard you would never guess that you are "in town". We visit all the time, but it is nice to have the house to ourselves and be away from our own house, it does feel like a little vacation, and not once did we here "are we there yet". Once we arrived little miss went strait to "her room" to lay out her precious cargo she packed to bring, and little man headed strait for his swimming trunks. This evening the kids enjoyed the pool while I sat working on the hexagon throw listening to a podcast from craftsanity. Very nice.

My little miss is very difficult to catch before she strikes a pose for the camera, my little man starts hiding as soon as he sees me pull it out of the bag:)

We decided to light the torches with citronella oil to ward off the pesky mosquitoes.

After a while I took a break from the hexagon throw and started playing with some embroidery thread I had. I don't really have a purpose for this little guy, maybe he will end up as an embellishment on something...it would be a really great scarf, but at the moment I don't have the kind of patience it would take to crochet a hundred hexagons with embroidery floss:) maybe another time.

rainy day

It rained all day long today. Personally I love a good rainy day, it is beautiful, soothing, and allows me to curl up inside with coffee and a project. The kids did get a little stir crazy this afternoon, but nothing too unbearable. I took this photo under the protection of my from porch today sitting on the swing, my impatiens were getting a good soak. To make the day even better it was chilly enough to put on a comfy sweatshirt, perfect. Hope everyone has had a lovely day as well.

my first hexagons

Let me start off by saying that I am a crochet newbie. I have knitted for several years and was very happy with my two or five pointy sticks. Until about the last year or so crochet had eluded me, which didn't really bother me because I had my knitting, but finally something clicked and now I love it. Actually at the moment I am preferring it to knitting. (gasp) I love the little medallions that begin the hexagon, and the colors.

I get immediate satisfaction from creating these colorful little circles, and I can dream about how they will all come together...I just love it. I know I am a little late on the hexagon bandwagon, but better late than never right? The pattern I am using is this one from Attic 24. I just recently discovered crocheted hexagons when I stumbled upon Moonstitches blog, amazingly beautiful. That then led me to Attic 24 and that was it. I love, love, love, her blog. The color and the cheeriness of her posts are completely inspiring. I just signed up today for the flickr group hexagon love!

So, a little more about this throw...I am using Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton yarn. It is lovely, rich, soft, and environmentally conscious. The only problem I have on occasion is that the twist is rather loose and catches on my hook, it can be a little tricky, but other than that I am very happy with it. I am hoping very much that the colors are working, I go back and forth. I am trying to space the colors visually, but I don't have any of it preplanned or in a pattern of any sort. Now I am off to watch Coraline for the very first time and crochet some more hexagons of course!

infinite beading

I have been making paper beads by the hundreds out of funnies from the Sunday paper. First I cut them into long skinny triangles and then wrap them around toothpicks, adding glue as I go. Once finished I stick the toothpick into a styrofoam block until they are dry.

This is the progress so far for a sculpture that I was creating for a local show with a "green" theme...however the beading is taking much longer than I had anticipated so I didn't make the deadline. I am going to finish it (hopefully) and use it for another show in the fall. My idea was to use the newspaper beads as a recycled element to the piece, and I chose to use comics because of the colors as well as the title of the sculpture. I don't usually title work before its complete, but in a way this piece began with the title.

It will be titled: "It's Not Funny"... I know it is entirely corny. I love it anyway. I will post some images of the entire sculpture in progress as soon as I can figure out how to take a decent picture of it. It is somewhat like this piece which I did last spring. Have a wonderful Monday!

Welcome to my new blog! I am so excited to have a spot to document all of my creative meanderings and special memories. I'm not sure what category this blog will fall under because I tend to be all over the place with my interests. I love photography, jewelry, knitting and crochet, dabble in a little sewing from time to time, create various art (currently have been working on some figurative art sculptures/dolls), and I enjoy cooking. So we will see what happens:) I am also famous for not finishing projects, and I am hoping that this blog will hold me more accountable for completing projects. Have a wonderful week!