ABC's of Creative Pursuits Blog

Polymer Lessons

2012-05-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

We had a blast learning about polymer clay last weekend with Lisa. From conditioning it, to skinner blends, making a leaf cane and contemplating all the items that can be made with it, all the possibilities left me a little breathless and anxious to put some of the ideas into play. To the left is a beautiful Natasha bead Lisa made, a slice of the leaf cane that we made in class is on the right and at the top is an extremely simple cross cane I made that will make a perfectly matched shawl pin for the New Tower Shawl I'm making.

These are some tins that Lisa has created with clay

and here is a needle/stitch marker/tin set I made using a faux abalone technique.

So many ways to use this medium!! I don't see an end to the ideas that will be rolling out from this. Come in and join us for the fun!!!

Some More Charity Goodness

2012-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

WWKIPD is approaching rapidly and we have had a good response to the raffle to benefit the SPCA but let's continue to show our 4 legged friends that we support them wholeheartedly!

The donations continue to come in so there is no telling what awesomeness we will be giving away but at $2 a ticket, you can't go wrong. Oh, and did I mention that you don't need to be present to win? Even better!!! Lisa has also donated WWKIPD buttons which you can purchase for $2 that will also go to the SPCA. Great way to raise awareness for our event.

Another charity that we are currently working towards are for the Native American Lakota Sioux residents of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation which is the poorest spot in the US. You can learn more about it here and here. Later in the year we will be working on helmet liners for the ski patrols as well as hats, scarves and gloves. Right now squares are a great item to be working on, whether they be dishcloths or blocks for assembling into afghans. I finished this one last night using left over hand dyeds and Encore.

This was a really fun free crochet block pattern utilizing some different techniques. Anyone interested in learning how to make it? Come on in and learn something new while you contribute to a marvelous cause!

And please don't forget about Project Linus. One of my all time favorite labors of luv, I will be making several projects for them over the next few months including another version or 2 of petaghans. Stay tuned!

A' Stash Busting We Shall Go!!!

2012-05-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

I often hear people say "I (can't, won't, shouldn't) buy any more yarn because I already have too much". Personally, I will never have enough yarn because it is something that sparks my imagination and it doesn't have an expiration date. But I thought it might be a good exercise to see what one might do to work on that overabundance of stash.

I don't know about anybody else but I tend to sort my stash by color. Not very scientific, I know, but it is what appeals to my inner child. When I want to take things out to play with them, I always go by color first, then I fine tune it (gauge, fiber content, etc....). So in planning a stash buster project the first thing I did was to pull out a storage bin in a color that was calling me-namely pinks/fuchsias/purples and, of course, greens.

Green is a basic to me, it goes with everything. First I found several skeins of the solid lavender then I added four partial skeins of coordinating novelties (sorry, guys, but I still like my texture and bling!).

These are all on the bulky side and I found I had around 600 yds combined total so next I needed to decide what kind of project I wanted to make with them. Something quick and Summery since the fibers are all cotton and synthetic blends and, well, it is that time of year, so I searched my ever growing queue of favs on Ravelry and came up with the Ribbed Lace Bolero.

Perfect! It called for a bulky weight, is a basic adaptable shape, a warm weather project and although I had more yarn than it called for, I knew I would be upsizing it so that was all to the good. I swatched (yes, I do that!) and decided that I wanted to go up on the needle sizes so settled on #9 & #11. I did the ribbing in the smooth yarn then began the lace pattern st using the remainder of the first skein from the ribbing and incorporating the novelties. The big question here was how to use them. I could have made a Magic Ball but didn't really want to put that much work into it. I could do random stripes, Fibonacci stripes or.......??? but finally decided to just work 1 row stripes using 3 different yarns. The beauty of this technique is that once you have all 3 joined, you don't have to think about it; when you get to the end of the row, the next color is sitting there waiting to be used. It blends the fibers and makes a very eclectic fabric. I also decided that when I ran out of one yarn, I was just going to tie the next one on and keep going even if it was in the middle of the row. No reason to wait to the end, do you think?

I don't really see that in the overall scheme of things

that it made much difference and how liberating is it to be able to use every last morsel of a skein up? I luv, luv, luv it!! And, since it is a bulky knit, before I knew it, Presto, Chango and Bob's Your Uncle!! I had a lovely, drapey shrug that used up 6 skeins of stash yarn.

Now, that is what I call prime stash busting !! Anyone want to try it?

WWKIPD Raffle Prizes- the Beginning.

2012-05-02T16:17:00.001-07:00

Well, it is almost time for Worldwide Knit in Public Day again. It is actually observed for a week but we decided that we would organize a meetup on Saturday June 9th at Mill Creek Park in downtown Bakersfield. Here is the Facebook page if you are interested in signing up. In conjunction with the meetup we wanted to do something to give back to the community so we are raffling off an amazing collection of fibery goodness with 100% percent of the proceeds going to the local SPCA. To kick it off, take a gander at the awesomeness already donated.

Vickie of Tired Mommy Spinning has donated one of her hand spuns, a hand spun from Corgi Hill and one of the project bags from ruddawg with Brenda of ruddawg donating the other 2. Then there is a skein of Feza Alp Premier and 3 autographed books, 2 by Nicky Epstein and 1 by Cheryl Potter of Cherry Tree Hill. All raffle tickets are $2 and there will be many more prizes coming in, including handmade stitch markers, shawl pins and sticks, tools, kits, hand dyed yarns and rovings, a painting by local artist the Poet and so much more. Hope you can join us at this event and help support a local animal charity at the same time!

Karen

New workshop!

2012-03-20T19:29:00.002-07:00

Greetings, Happy Fiberholics!

I have a new workshop I'm developing this week and will offer the beginning of next week called the Bag Dyed T-Shirt Scarf/Necklace. Using a pre-made t-shirt circle scarf, you mix and apply dye to the scarf in a ziploc, allow it to sit overnite, rinse and Voila! a custom handdyed scarf. No knitting, crocheting, wool or fussing. The application of the dye takes all of about 10 minutes and it can be as solid or shaded as you chose to make it.

After it is dried, if you prefer the "necklace" look, just take a pair of scissors and make cuts toward the seam to create this look.

And there are so many ways it can be worn. There is no end to the possibilities!!

See you soon!
Karen

-- ABCs of Creative Pursuits
1416 17th St
Bakersfield, CA 93301
661.323.4450creativepursuits@gmail.com
http://abcsofcreativepursuits.blogspot.com/
Closed Sun & Mon. Tues, Wed & Fri 10-6, Thurs 10-7:30, Sat 10-5.

Events

2012-03-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings once more, Happy Fiberholics!

There are several fun events coming up in the next few months and I wanted to let you know about them.

April 12-15th: First Annual Los Angeles County Yarn Crawl: There are 26 stores in LA county that are participating in this and there will be lots of special activities as well as prizes, drawings, a Saturday night meet up and a stitch marker swap. Some of us are planning to meet at the shop early Saturday morning and drive down together to hit as many shops as we can Saturday, maybe stay overnight in the Glendale area, attend the meet up Saturday evening, then pile back in the car Sunday and finish up by shopping some more on Sunday. Thank you so much to Lisa for offering to drive! For details check here or call the shop. We would luv to have you along!

June 9th Kicks Off World Wide Knit in Public Week: This has been an annual event for since 2005 and you can read more about it here. In the past the local meeting place has been the Marketplace, but we decided that this year we would organize an alternate meet up at the Mill Creek Park downtown on Saturday June 9th from 10AM til about 4PM. This park has been refurbished in the last few years and offers a beautiful setting rather reminiscent of San Antonio's River Walk.

There are a number of yummy places to eat nearby and we are holding a raffle for fun prizes such as hand spun yarn, hand dyed yarn and fiber, glass knitting needles/crochet hooks, hand made stitch markers, lessons, kits and a special painting by local artist The Poet with all of the proceeds going to the SPCA and/or other local animal charities. I should have all of the prizes on display by the end of next month for your viewing pleasure and you will be able to designate your raffle tickets to specific prizes. Tickets will be $2 each or 12 for $10. We'll have other fun things happening that day so stay tuned for details!

See you soon! Karen
--
ABCs of Creative Pursuits
1416 17th St
Bakersfield, CA 93301
661.323.4450creativepursuits@gmail.com
http://abcsofcreativepursuits.blogspot.com/
Closed Sun & Mon. Tues, Wed & Fri 10-6, Thurs 10-7:30, Sat 10-5.

Knitting Quotations

2012-02-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

If I knit fast enough, does it count as aerobic exercise? ~Author Unknown

Updates

2012-02-23T19:39:00.003-08:00

Greetings, Happy Fiberholics!Hope everyone is enjoying the great weather. Would sure like to see a bit more rain before it gets too warm but I guess we shall see......Just wanted to let you know that the Handy Caddies and Totes will be in tomorrow or Friday. For those of you who prepaid to get the sale price, I'll call you as soon as they are here. Next week I'll have a shipment of Schaefer yarns in, including new colors of Anne and the new Linen Stitch Scarf kits.

With the popularity of the Flowered Headband, I'm currently working on a crocheted version. I'll be sure to let everyone know when that goes live. In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying the knitted version.

Hope to see you all soon! Karen

2012-02-23T12:00:00.001-08:00

To practice any art, No matter how well or badly,
is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.

Kurt Vonnegut Writer

ABC's of Creative Pursuits Blog: Here We GOOOO

2012-02-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

ABC's of Creative Pursuits Blog: Here We GOOOO

Where we are

2012-02-23T11:38:00.003-08:00

Our location seems to have been omitted! We are at 1416 17th Street! Our phone number is 661-323-4450. Feel free to stop in and say hello.

Direct your friends to this site!

Here We GOOOO

2012-02-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

We are getting active on the blogsite to keep you informed about specials, new yarn, new projects and adventures. So, if you haven't come by for a while, check back as we get going.

OK, How Many Crafts Can You Combine at Once??

2011-03-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

Your creative juices continue to expand and inspire us to new heights. How many things are we doing now? 10? 12? A bazillion (as Sheldon might say)? And how many can you use together? Maybe we should have a contest...... Anyway, spinning continues to blast into the forefront of newly requested crafts here at the store. And, if having beautiful and handcrafted materials, is any motivation, it is no wonder.

Here is my most recent acquisition from Zebisis designs, a Fire Turquoise spindle and some fibery goodness. Now I just need to learn how to use it.....

And I have talked a lot about spinning arte yarnes. Here is one that Vicki spun up that she calls "Sweet Potato" and that I used to create another mobius, which I will post the pattern for shortly. Hey, Vicki, any idea what you are going to call your company?

And nothing new about dyeing with us but thought you might like to see some of the recent results. This is some superwash Kona that I dyed up for Laurel.

And here is the project that she has started. I really like the little pops of periwinkle that are showing.....

This is some alpaca lace that I dyed up for a swap project.

Here is the swap shawl underway.....

And something else that we are doing now is continuing to find ways to incorparate beads into our fiber projects. We have done bead knitting and crochet in the past, but I am now also teaching bead weaving classes and turning them into fasteners for wearables.

Here is a traingle peyote stitch project that will become a shawl pin for the alpaca lace project.

I think they will go really well together!

This is a beaded bead I worked on a few years ago that wasn't sure what it wanted to be. I think it wants to become a toggle fastener so I guess I need to dye something up for it to go with. Maybe some of the new alpaca/silk dk we just got in for a ruana.......

The top piece is a pin I made years ago and the second piece is Mary's first freeform piece. We'll have to come up with something for it to go with.

And we all know that organization isn't my forte so I hired 2 experts to help...

Aren't they doing a great job?

2011-02-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well, the spinning craze is continuing to grow. So, while I haven't picked it up yet, here are some things that will definitely keep me motivated!

These are just some of Sosae Caetano's beautiful hand dyed fibers.

This is a hand made spindle

from Zebisis Designs. It is sooo

beautiful that I have to learn

to use it when it gets here!

And here are the girls!!

They are just getting out of the trailer
(and all 6 of them fit in a 2 horse trailer!!)

Checking out their surroundings,

and going over to meet Peanuts, the burro next door. Aren't they darling?

And after getting them settled in, everyone was exhausted and decided to take naps, DH serving as "pet furniture". Wonder if I could bring one of the alpacas in as well? Hmmmm.......

Spinning Goes Wilde!!

2011-02-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, spinning has really become a passion. I'm trying to learn but it is going to take some practice. We have a group who are meeting every Saturday at the shoppe at 1PM for lessons or to just spin together. Join us if you are interested.

Here are some new some new, basic bottom whorl spindles that we just got in. Great for beginers!

And this is an arte yarne I just purchased from dreamfiber/Gerry who was just featured in Knitscene. It is called Koi Pond. Sosae and Vicki are creating some gorgeous custom yarns as well.

And I told Critter that he doesn't get these Koi, so he is hiding his eyes so he isn't tempted. Good Boy!

Arte Yarne Mobius Pattern Link

2011-02-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

OK, I seem to be brain dead today and can't figure how to download a pdf to the blog. So, instead, here is the link to the pattern and a bigger picture. I'll figure out how to get it on here sooner or later (probably later....):0)))

Wow, has it really been that long?

2011-02-02T20:51:00.001-08:00

Unbelievable. It has been almost a year since I last posted here.

I'm going to try to get rolling again with this and, to that end, the first

thing that is taking hold this year are producing your own arte yarns

and learning to spin. This is an original design for a mobius using Sosae's arte yarne. I'll have the free pattern up in a day or two.

Here are pics of our

first 2 classes and

some of the products

available, especially

now that we have connected

with Sosae Casetano,

a local fiber artisan.

Here is Moya's hand spun from Sosae's merino/tencel blend as a single.

Nancy's first attempt at hand spinning using a drop spindle and a braid of BLF in "Sweet Melon.

We will having another spinning class this Saturday, Feb 5th, at 1PM. Hope you can join us!

And the girls are all tuckered out from guarding the precious fibers. Poor things, it is a tuff life......

Traveling Woman & Wet Felting Class Projects

2010-04-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hasn't the weather been marvelous?!? Course, I luv the rain and the in between seasons, Spring & Fall. So it has been nice to have an actual Spring for a change.

So, Paige just finished the Traveling Woman Shawl from Ravelry using Sabrina's Anzula Wash My Lace. sn't it beautiful? Paige did an awesome job. It would also look fabulous in a fingering weight. And we had a lot of fun in the wet felting class today. The ladies made some beautiful flowers.

These are Barbara K's.

And these are Barbara M's.

They are all ready to be embellished and used for purses, hats, to adorn scarves, packages, as pins or barrettes. The uses are endless.

And I have to say, I have never seen a dog sleep like this but Meggie seems to do it all the time. I wonder if she will outgrow it..........

Wet Felting Examples

2010-04-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we are going to be doing a Wet Felting class. I had previously shown you pictures of projects that we will have the instructions for. Here are pictures of the samples I have done and are in the shop now. It is slightly trickier than they would have you believe, but I think I have many of the kinks worked out.

This is the one shown on the felted soaps in my previous post. It is partially needle felted and finished by wet felting.

That needle felting tool from Ashford is sharp-literally!! But it also made short work of the needle felting step in this project.

It has now been wet felted and is ready to be embellished.

And now it is shaped and embellished. It sort of looks more like a butterfly than a flower. Hm........

This is the project that we will actually be doing in the class. It is shown as the black flower in the previous post.

These are the layers ready for shaping and assembling.

They are now trimmed, shaped and stacked, ready to be sewn and embellished.

And Ta-Da!- finished. I discovered that this type of felting doesn't shrink anywhere near as much as knitted/crocheted felting does. So this sample is larger than I would have liked. One of the bugs that I have worked out.And I have never seen a dog whose ears move so far forward!

Wouldn't she look cute with one of these flowers tied on top of her head. Awwww........

Wet Felting Projects

2010-04-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Boy, what a day today was! We were evacuated for 3 hours while the police checked out an "incendiary" device, which they finally detonated, later saying there were no explosives in it. Yeah, right! And we had a jumper on 18th, I think on the Family Support building. I wondered if it was a full moon but was told by a friend "no, but Mercury is in retrograde". How many astronomical phenomenon do we have to worry about, anyway? Actually, I fear it has something to do with the volcano, which I understand has turned into a second one now erupting. Bless their hearts, let's all send them good thoughts and prayers.

Anyway, wanted to show ya'll the progress on the scrumbling project. Obviously, wasn't able to get much done today but I think it is still looking pretty good.

And remember the felted soaps we did in December? They are an example of wet felting. Easy, peasy. We are going to do a class in wet felting on Saturday, focusing on flowers.

These are some examples and I hope, barring any further unforseen excitment, that I will actually get some shop samples done tomorrow. They can be used as pins, embellishments for hats or purses, barrettes or even to decorate packages. Call the shop for times and details.

And, hmmmm..............I got nothing except.....cute puppy picture!

Scrumbling Again!

2010-04-17T03:24:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Jenny Dowde and her Ravelry group, Prudence Mapstone's newsletter and her "A Scrumble a Week" website, as well as the other multitudinous info on Ravelry, I decided to pick up my Felted Scrumbled Purse and work on finishing it.

First I picked out wool that had colors I liked (purple? Imagine that!) and designed the purse. The yarn used is Loft. This is it before felting, obviously.

And this is it after felting. Sorry a few of these pictures are so blurry. They were taken before I got the new camera that I can hardly use. But at least it stabilizes the image.

And yes, the flap was meant to be asymmetrical (she says!).

Then these are the scrap yarns I pulled to make my scrumbles. My intention is to just cover the flap with scrumbles.

And these are the scrumbles I have created thus far. Scrumbles can either be knitted or crocheted and I am using both techniques.

You can make them in small units then join them or you can create one large one, filling in the gaps as you go to fit the area you want it to cover. I am going to be making small ones, tacking them on as I go and creating whatever pieces I need to fill the gaps.

And we're off!

New Merisock and Projects

2010-04-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Look at our new shipment of Merisock! Whoo hoo! This stuff is addicting. And in high demand. It took us 4 weeks to get this shipment in. Evidently, there are about 20 retailers in California that carry Punta but only about 6 of them stock the Merisock. Silly them!!

Now I realize that it isn't everyone's forte, but take a look at these beaded socks that I started 2-at-a-time top down out of the same hank (until the dog ate my needle).

Isn't the color variation interesting? I am anxious to do a garment out of it to see the shading that develops.
Another new project that we started is a variation of the Blooming Buds Shawl. This is also a Jojoland pattern called Floating Flowers and, while she calls it a wrap, I would call it more of a scarf as the finished measurements are 10' X 60'. It uses her Rhythm and any worsted weight solid. I'm using Cloud Nine but I think next time I would use Aurora 8 as I find the halo of the Cloud somewhat distracts from the pattern. Another pattern we will start soon is called Rhythm Hidden Squares. She really does some lovely patterns and also writes some nice sock patterns.And this was our last weaving warped up. Love the colors!

However, the Nikki, the outer multicolor, was a little thick for the 7.5 dpi reed and shredded rather quickly. It really should have been warped on a 5 dpi reed.

This was about as far as we got so I think we will either make it a pillow or maybe full it slightly and make a cool clutch. Maybe with a little needle felting thrown in?

But if you want to go finer, versus the 5 dpi, Ashford now has a Second Heddle Kit that allows you to make very fine weaves or create more intricate patterns. Haven't gone there yet but am looking forward to trying it.

And here is Meggie, shop-puppysitter-in-training. She doesn't look horribly thrilled, does she?

Notice her handiwork on my Birki's in the back? Oh, yes, so very talented!!

New Stuff

2010-03-19T15:18:00.001-07:00

We have been working on a lot of new projects lately and most of them seem to be out of some of the recent magazine issues.
This is our version of the Fiery Ruche Scarf from IK Winter 09.

I chose to use Indulgence which gives it a softer, brushed look. It would also be beautiful in DK Merino Silk, giving it a richer appearance with more sheen. And it gives me an idea for our next woven project, a Ruched Scarf. Hm............

This is the Diagonal Lace Scarf from Knit 'n Style Feb 2010 that Jamie is working on using Anne.Obviously, any fingering weight yarn would work, either bright or more neutral. Can you see this in some of the shaded tones of Merisock or Melody? We are also doing ours on a slightly more open gauge to make it more appropriate for Spring, maybe a lovely Easter gift for someone?

This is minimally structured top from Knit 'n Style April 2010 using Prism yarns in Laura Bryant's signature 1 row stripes of 3 different colors.

These are the colors I chose

and this is another possible color combination.

It is done in the round from the bottom up, the cap sleeves are knit separately and the finishing is minimal. One of the beauties of combining 3 yarns is it creates a unique texture and keeps the weight light. Whether done in shiny, Prism type yarns or more matte cottons, this is going to be a fun knit.

Never leave a DH unattended- they tend to get into trouble. We hadn't decided whether to replace our sorely missed Dotty, but sent DH to Albertsons the other day and he came home with the groceries-and this!

We have decided on Megan for a name, so I guess we are keeping her!

Three Tams Calss

2010-02-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun during the Three Tams class on Monday. The 3 Js (Jan, Jane and Judy) and Bev all took to the stranded work really well and picked some delightful colors.

Here is Judy's first one. She is going to make 2.

Here is Jane's. I luv the greens!

Bev is allergic to wool, bless her heart, so she is using Lana Grossa Organica for her solid and Twisted Sisters Mirage for her varigated.

Jan working on the corregated rib.

Fun was had by all! I can't wait to see them all finished.

And, of course, everyone is aware of how much I am enjoying this weather. Mandy is also enjoying it and takes the time to play jungle cat, stalking game in the tall grass.
Hope she doesn't bring it in the house!

Woven Ruffled Felted Scarf Completed

2010-02-22T23:38:00.000-08:00

We have been doing a lot of weaving recently and the latest design, as promised, is a Woven Ruffled Felted Scarf. Here Jaime is warping with Indulgence, using a 5 dpi heddle.

After warping, we will be weaving with some more Oceania and Kureyon

again using the clasped weft technique.

The finished woven piece is 80" X 9".

Here all the ends are woven in and it has been gathered to 60". Critter gives it his approval.

And here it is after felting.The finished measurements are 55" X 5".

Angus obviously approves also.