Everything Fibery & Crafty Except My Beading

Silhouette Blog $50 Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:07:00 +0000

The Silhouette is one of those electronic craft cutters, and there is now a blog for it, and they are celebrating that fact with a giveaway of a $50 Silhouette cash card for downloading files for the cutter, I believe.

Here's the link: Giveaway

Follow their rules to be entered in the giveaway by the date they say, and good luck!

A Dr. Who Stripe a Week, Except . . ..

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:59:00 +0000

for the massive ones! And, like this week's stripe of 6 rows of the yellow, I've got half of next week's required 20 tan done already, which is one of the benefits of a small stripe week . . . .

It's a very small goal, but it gives me room to work on a 12" crocheted squares afghan project that needs working on, although at the moment the crochet feels agonizingly slow (I'm a knitter first, but no prejudices against crochet; I just need to loosen up a little so I'm not fighting so much when I come 'round again and need to get the hook through the top of those crochet stitches, lol!!!). Yeah, I'm a tight knitter, relatively.

The overwhelming length left to go on this scarf has left me to leave it sit for 6 or 7 weeks between picking it up for a few rows - now, with this very modest goal, including splitting anything over 30 rows into two week allotments, goal-wise anyway (although I'm free to speed ahead, if desired), I feel free of the "weight" of the many feet of the rest of the scarf that has yet to be knit, and I can proceed with joy once again.

It's no longer the "Scarf of Doom", or the 13 more feet to go, or what-have-you. It's the squishily loveliness that garter stitch especially is, in Cascade 220 Solids, Heathers, and Tweeds. Perhaps one Cascade 220 Quattro in there as well, I quite forget.

I do, however, regret that the . . . hue? of the yellow should be a bit brighter, and that the . . . value or intensity of the brown should be . . . not darker, exactly, but something. It IS in the warm tones, as I wanted, and goes well with the almost-not-green khaki, as I also wanted. Still, it was hard to pick when some colors were just strands in a sample book, as the brown was.

The colors do all feel well together, despite the yellow and brown blending together too much when next to each other. So I'm happy, overall!

Alpaca Farm Girl's Fiber Arts Friday has once again gotten me to blog, and off my duff so to speak, so go visit some of the other participants to see the fibery goodness!

Dr. Who Scarf of Doom

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:21:00 +0000

Here's how far I am . . . . . . . . (it's going to end up being about 14 feet long, so this is a drop in the bucket! I tend to work on it in spurts . . . it's been awhile.)

It's a gift for my younger brother having gotten his master's degree in a brainy area.

I'm using mostly Cascade 220, with some Cascade 220 Heather, and two Cascade Tweeds in 220 as well, which isn't keeping strictly to the source but I really wanted a warm brown and found that most were on the cool side, like my very light beige-ish tan, and really needed the brown and semi but almost not green to go nicely together and so the green came from the tweeds as well (as of yet, though, the green has not been knit into the scarf - I believe the only color to not yet have touched the needles).

I am working in worsted instead of sport weight, though the original was in sport, because that would take freaking forever. Sometime I'll post the link to where I'm following directions for how many rows to do in each color, for worsted weight, that a lady worked out, as she did not want to do sport weight either, and after several tries and some math, she figured out how many rows of the worsted to take up the same amount of space that the thinner rows of sport weight yarn do.

This scan of the scarf filled the width of the scanner bed, and most of the length, to give you a rough idea of how long it is. I don't have my graphics programs reinstalled (I recently wiped the C: drive and reinstalled the operating system, and while I know there are online apps that I could lighten, straighten, etc. the graphic/picture with, I'd rather just get it done and up on the blog for now). So please forgive - the colors are not quite accurate, and definitely darker than real life; this is a quick and dirty post (well, I've rambled now, so not so quick lol).

It's about time I posted! Hurrah for Fiber Arts Fridays!

Creating From Visuals

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0000

You may remember that awhile back I had a rather ambitious idea of a design challenge involving artists, artisans, crafters, creative types, media, materials, and such of many fields, varieties, types, bents, leanings, and visions to participate in this project/challenge of mine posted about HERE.

What you may not know is that I had contacted a tatting artist who seemed to be behind the 25 Motifs Challenge in the tatting community, and asked if she was interested or knew of anyone who might be - I think she assumed I knew "WHO" she was in the tatting community; I really had no idea at all, even though I'd seen her websites - one has no sense of a person's "stature" in any community just from websites!

Or even, really, just from being told so. Regardless, I thanked her for her time in replying, as I appreciated it, (and do not believe that she understood the concept of the project, although I suppose some may not) and I moved on. I believe since everything comes down to being based on basic geometric shapes anyway, you can make anything out of anything into anything, or at least you can form or attempt to form a shape or pattern in a variety of media and combination of techniques and arts. Why not try? That's the fun of an experiment.

Today I was browsing some blogs which I had not in quite some time, and ran across a link to a Design Challenge for tatting - granted these seem to be put together with tatting specifically in mind, whereas mine would be not necessarily with any particular craft or art or technique in mind, but I thought, cool, this is a beginning of a type of what I was talking about, anyway . . . . Tatting Design Challenge.

I've seen the same thing develop on Ravelry, where there's a couple of groups (such as Design Inspiration Challenge, link good only if you have free Ravelry account) that start with a design inspiration and then go from there, no matter whether they crochet, knit, or whatever. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one with wild ideas, although I suppose mine is rather more broad in concept, in order to compare how the inspiration would translate across and into various media and by various artists/artisans etc.

Although I do think my original time frame proposal of one month might be a little optimistic, lol. 6 weeks to 2 months might work better, depending on what arts and media were involved . . . . . lol!!!

Especially weaving, as an example of which I discovered and talked about here.

As Anakin Skywalker Would Say, "Spinning Is A Good Trick!"

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:33:00 +0000

Here, finally, is the fiber I've been spinning. The first fiber, that I bought for a challenge in a Ravelry spinning forum, for last September's theme (yes, that's September 2007!!!)..

Anyway, more of the fiber has been spun than you see here. It's actually down to one of those lengths you see there, about the length of my forearm, not the couple of lengths there. Just one of them, and less than a foot. The chaos that erupted earlier this year (see my main blog) what with deaths in the family, medical stuff slowly finding out about, and then all of a sudden they're poking around in my knee and then WHOA life-changing medical news!! (Another reason this blog, and all others, as well as even email, I'd stopped reading even that of late, which had never happened before, has been neglected).

It's about time I showed my spinning! What prompted this you may ask? Well, I finally did start browsing a few blogs yesterday, and today caught up on some Lime & Violet's Daily Chum blog. The particular post that prompted me to get off my tushie and edit some piccies that have been languishing on my hard drive, waiting for some processing was this one, entitled "What's On Your Bobbin?". Of course, you see that my "bobbins" are toilet paper rolls, but this IS my first spinning - I don't know if I can do it ok yet or not - you do with what you have! They work fine at the mo, anyhow, although one is a little squished (who squeezed my Charmin . . . . (the handspun IS very smooshy, sproingy, and squeezable!!! Can't blame you . . .).

The bobbin on the far right is the first spun (actually, I think I may have spun one before that, and lost it - I'm not sure), the middle is the next spun, and the one closest to the spindle, is the most recently spun save what is on the spindle itself.

You can probably also see that my spinning has become more consistent. For those who don't know, yarns that vary from thin to thick and back to thin are called "slubby"; the thicker parts are the "slubs". Beginner spinners are pretty much make slubby yarns right off the batt (ha, couldn't resist that pun, batt, hee hee). Some people call them artisan yarns, novelty yarns . . . . some spinners make them on purpose . . . . some patterns benefit from a slubby yarn - there's a yarn for every purpose and pattern, and a pattern for every purpose and yarn (usually, on that last!).

I was very pleased to see my improvement, but by the third bobbin you see there, I was becoming so consistent to my eye, that I was thinking the skein of yarn I'd end up with would just be . . . . unbalanced and odd. I was fairly certain when I started that I'd end up with slubs, as a newbie, and so I did, as I started, as you can see there are definitely slubs, especially in the first two "bobbins".

So, on the spindle, I began to slub on purpose. It took me a minute to break my consistency. But for the pattern I have already picked out for my first spun skein (going to ply it once with itself, so it'll be two-ply, but many parts of it are very thin so no worries of it being an inch thick unless two horrible slubs happen to meet, and I can fix that), it would look weird to have slubs at the first quarter of it and the rest mostly all at a fairly similar gauge/weight of yarn. That'd look odd in almost anything, unless you were spinning it that way purposefully with something specifically in mind, like say you wanted some slubbiness on the edge of a scarf, say, in the fringe or something, but not in the body. Or on the flap of a purse, but not the body, or whatever else you decided or dreamt up.

Anyway, here's some more gratuitous fiber and spinning pictures. The fiber and learn to spin kit (including spindle, and instructional DVD-ROM, created by the vendor, and a bag of some undyed fiber to spin, included in the price of the learn to spin kit (the dyed fiber was an additional purchase beyond the kit)) was purchased from a very nice lady, and someone whom I will definitely do business with again, especially since her prices are excellent, her service is excellent, her instruction on the DVD was really great (hard for me to judge, being a beginner, which is why I'm not continuing w/the excellents because how would I know yet!!! Woobies Wool is the vendor, and she can be found at the Tiny Lady Cooperative, one of a group of sellers. Seems so far so good though!!!), and she's not a "big name" in the wooly world, so she needs all the business she can get, not that I'd not shop with some of the more well knowns just because they are well known! Supporting the less known is good too though!

The Family Who Weaves Together . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:39:00 +0000

I apologize for the lack of the giveaway and answerage to the memes and tagging. I am still flattered and so pleased to have been so tagged and awarded. It's just been a rough beginning to the year, with genetic osteoarthritis popping up and several deaths in the family and a very close call a few weeks ago soon after the other deaths.

Very maudlin, I know!

One day, my daughter came home from school with the weaving I've seen called "God's Eye" but that she referred to as something else (naturally, the schools would call it something else, and I am glad, because I am not comfortable with casual use of Heavenly Father's name). She explained to me that she had some frustration with it until a boy sitting next to her or near her in class showed her a different way to wrap and go over and under, and then she "got it" and did it with this adjustment or adaptation and really enjoyed the project.

She was so pleased with it, and herself! I was the proud mama, of course, as well as being tickled that one of the "art mothers" who comes in and helps by having projects for the children to do, chose a weaving one!

I have several weaving ideas I've got to settle on before I warp up the inkle loom, but I've got a vintage Bakelite Weave-It 4" loom that I've woven up some plain weave on, in sparkly blue Patons Brilliance yarn. I guess I'm just afraid to weave in the ends, that I won't be able to make sure they are in good enough before I take the square off the loom! I figure with this yarn I need to go the extra mile (er, figuratively) with fixing in the ends, since it's not a "sticky" yarn like natural wool. It's pretty though, and I have specific plans for it, in various colors. Coupons and clearance prices come in handy for it . . . . .

That Giveaway Soon - If you Scrapbook, You'll Like It This Time 'Round!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:38:00 +0000

Well, ok, so I didn't make that giveaway by the end of January like I had said. But, it's coming!

Anyway, I don't have any pictures of the Toilet Paper Casting that we did, but I DO have some Decoupageing pictures to share! Wa-la!

These pictures are rather unflattering of me but it's not like I knew my pic was gonna be taken that day lol. We were messy, and we were having fun.

Ah, and my new word(s) for the month (I started this last month along with Jessica Sprague (too tired to insert link right now, will do so tomorrow, with the same word she chose for January - Focus) is inspired by LivE (again, ditto on the link), and is "Go Play". Now, that could mean different things to different people, but what it means to me, is a good thing. Thanks for the inspiration, LivE!

I just made this digital scrapbooking background paper to put behind the photos, although I reduced it in scale roughly average of 50% for each photo. I'll include a pic of the paper at the end; it's a grungy thing that looks like a graffittied wall, to me.

If anyone wants to give me an opinion, especially digiscrappers, what do you think?

On closer inspection (because I really only threw the paper up here as an afterthought, so I hadn't "inspected it") I see in the upper right corner and near the bottom left corner, areas easily adjusted; the layer(s) in question aren't shifted into position quite correctly, methinks. Still, you get the idea!

Fold Your Way to His or Her Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Small Folded Heart Box Found via the MOO blog.

I have Nancy's tag for a meme I promised to post, and that was the first time I'd been tagged ever!

I am also really flattered and tickled that Jen tagged me with the You Make My Day blog award, which I will be posting about in further detail soon in it's own post.

Thanks, Ro, for the kind comment on that layout!

I thought I'd put up this link to this nifty little origami heart box (and if you follow the Moo link, there's a link to a cute skull printed and cut n'fold box, with articulated jaw. Would be cute to put a Hershey's kiss or three in there!

I'll leave you with this extracted from a picture I took, image of my first print and cut'n fold (and tape, where necessary) papercrafting project I did awhile back; again, my friend Crafting Jen was in my thoughts when I tried this, as I know she enjoys things like that; I've got the website around somewhere, it's mentioned on the blog where the skull pdf is. This extracted image is for a scrapbooking page that is a very deep subject for me (don't laugh, when I eventually tell you!).

I have the perfect digital paper from Scrap Girls for the layout; took me awhile to find the right font. Now I just have to get the words right, since it means so much to me.

Anyway, have fun folding boxes, post links in the comments here if you make them and blog about it or upload pictures!

Things to Come

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:46:00 +0000

I've recently had some surprising and unpleasant health news (wasn't pregnant, and it's not deadly). As you guys should know by now, I'm always around, just not on a rigid schedule.

That said, I strive to be a bit less irregular.

You'll most likely see an updated post on the perfect (for me) storage solution for Cuttlebug embossing foldiers that I've blogged about, with pictures from a variety of angles and positions, as I have more folders than I had then, and I'd like to show how this solution has grown with the collection! (Don'tcha just love 40% off coupons, and 50% off sales?) Originally posted about in early February of '07.

Another post coming in the paper-crafting category is a tutorial on a background technique I mentioned quite awhile back.

I'll be adding post tags that will be listed in a sidebar here so you can click on the subject that interests you to pull up all associated content. This will take awhile, as I'm overhauling my life/& mental health issues blog slowly.

Another giveaway is coming up before the end of January.

As far as knitting goes, better pictures of the Chick Knits cabled headband, even modeled! will be forthcoming, as will pictures in the same vein of Crafting Jen's headband pattern that I made. A travel knitting project, the felted pillow(s) you see referenced in the sidebar, will actually be blogged with PICTURES, and seamed up soon, with some bead embroidery to follow on this first of two pillows. I haven't blogged about this project at all, methinks, so it's about dang time . . . !

As far as my spinning goes, my goal in December was to finish my first colourway of fiber that I had purchased, which came in my learn to drop spindle kit. I didn't quite make it (although there was quite a bit of Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day spinning, but I'm very close to being done. Pictures will accompany, of course!

Regarding my beautiful inkle loom made for me at my request by my father, I had used getting to start to weave on this puppy as an incentive to get our living room in order (a difficult task, although not so bad broken down into small steps). Anyone who lives with a parent or spouse or other loved one with depression, bipolar disorder, or other mental illnesses can probably attest to the fact that this is one very challenging area for someone like me to tackle, but we did it. So, soon you'll be seeing some weaving going on around here, although not with my handspun yet; I'm a far cry from spinning suitably for an inkle loom, although it'd perhaps work on a Weave-it, Weavette, or Loomette type loom (sort of like the potholder looms we remember from childhood, but more versatile, and all sorts of squares, rectangles, triangles etc. can be made to be put together into all manner of things).

Oh, yes - the sock knitting. I've been temporarily defeated, but that will be set aside, to have another go at after I've gotten some higher priorities in the knit and crochet arena farther along or done, as the case(s) may be.

My beading generally stays over on my beading blog, not because it HAS to stay separate, but since I had that blog quite awhile before this one, that's where it's place is. There will be occasionally crossover though, such as when I felt the afore-mentioned travel knitting project, the pillow, and bead embroider upon a corner of it before stuffing it.

As well, there's my rather ambitious and possibly not understood by anyone but myself, artist/motif project I've mentioned and described before here on this blog; I've been trying to accept inside, that part of the nature of art, and/or part of the nature of an idea that really kindles a passion and curiosity inside us, may very well be in the realm of "WTH?" by much of the rest of the world, or may be approached in a mode of, "um, Why?" by others . . . . and that that's okay. It is okay to follow my muse, cliche though that may sound. My goal, then, since I am at the moment a one-woman show in this project, will be to finish four different pieces in four different arts/crafts/media/techniques, all springing from the same motif, but adapted and adjusted towards the method/material I've chosen for each of the first four pieces, as well as any artistic adjustments to color, as well as to matters of, "Does the motif fill the "canvas" or is it just one part of a larger "fabric", "surface", or scene . . . as long as what is present within each piece that begins from the initial motif, is recognizably inspired by that motif, my project goals will be satisfactorily met.

I've got a full Persian chain maille bracelet to do somewhere around here; there'll be more on that on my beading blog, after I've found the brass rings (for it).

I do have some old, relatively, and new, very, pages to show (off?) in the digital scrapbooking department! I also have a hybrid project (for those who don't know, hybrid combines traditional paper scrapbooking with some digital scrapbooking techniques) that's been in my mind for a while now.

Some decoupage has been reported around these parts within this last week; fun was had by all, and will be blogged in future.

I have been leery of having the knitting & spinning "take over" this blog completely, as I do enjoy other things and WANT to show other things too! This at times has led me to not post much at all, as some of my anxiety disorders and OCD kick in with wanting things to be "just so". I am telling myself that it is okay, if there's three fiber weeks before a papercrafting theme comes to the fore for a bit, or for whatever period; that it's okay if one thing is dominant for awhile, although it is still my intent to have this be a multi-craftual blog.

I also intend to highlight other multi-craftual blogs, loosely defined by me as generally within a 2 month period they talk/show at least two varied crafts/arts, with a smattering of other crafty pursuits or more.

I will also highlight my favorite bi-craftual blogs from time to time, these being those that quite primarily involve the blogger's creativity within their favorite two pasttimes.

With so many blog optimization blogs out there, and "how to make money" from your blog blogs out there, with many or most or even all of such that I've stumbled on (as I'm not looking to make a career out of my blogs, although I haven't been opposed to a few of the things I've seen, like amazon.com windows showing relevant books, etc.) recommending that you specialize and focus on one area, one thing . . . . there are some refreshingly GREAT bi- and multi-craftual blogs out there that definitely are inspiring to me, in many cases, very interesting to read, and show that you don't have to be focused on just one niche in order to have a great blog.

I've gone on QUITE enough for now, I think, but perhaps I'm off to go play with toilet paper castings and rubber stamps. See here & here & here & here & here & here & here for examples . . . .

A Variety of Wips, UFO's, and Projects In The Works

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:19:00 +0000

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted! Kristy, do let me know when you receive(d) the badgemaker . . . I did get it sent out a bit late, but I'd think you'd have it by now. Mail this time of year does tend to get bogged down though, and who knows how that will affect US to Canada shipping!

My crafting priorities right now are, well, let's see; they WERE to work on some small knit Christmas gifts, but I've been so down that not much knitting has been seen in these parts lately. I will though have pictures of the headband I knitted from Crafting Jen's pattern, pictures of the pillow ready to be seamed up mostly and felted, pictures of a practically complete fingerless glove (perhaps complete by the time I take the picture of it!) . . . .

I have some digital scrapbooking pages to post, from awhile back as well as from the last month or two! I've even created a few graphics and digiscrapping "paper" myself now, with more design ideas in mind of course; I'm definitely an idea person.

I usually don't talk about my beading here, but I'll mention that finding the right tone and finish of red and green size 15 seed beads for the bead embroidery strawberry pendant I've been planning is a priority; the beads I purchased this summer I do not feel are quite right. It is SO hard to tell from online pics, but that's the best one can do when you don't have sample cards.

My other beading priority that IS in actual progress is a bracelet I started a year ago, from either Beadwork or Bead & Button. It's a GORGEOUS pattern that I've not seen creations made from on any of the beading blogs, at least, in the months after that issue came out; not like a certain bracelet that graced the cover of a Bead & Button issue last spring, of which many varieties cropped up on beading blogs 'round the web, if those beaders were bead-stitchers of any sort! This I feel is somewhat similar in feel to that popularized pattern, yet different in effect, especially as I've chosen to implement it; it is quite frankly stunning, if I say so myself! I hope to have it done by Christmas or New Year's; it is very appropriate in sparkle and color for those occasions as well.

On the weaving side of things, I told myself I wouldn't allow myself to begin on the inkle loom my father made me (which I need to photograph and post about!) until I had our livingroom clean, as an incentive to clean. Well, now I can weave! My first efforts will most likely grow up to be bookmarks; I'm tempted to put a binary or hexadecimal message into one of them!

As for spinning, I'd like to finish my first 4 oz. by Christmas! It's long past needing to be done; I've been so on and off with it that my learning has probably been delayed as consistently practicing is part of the learning process with spinning. I also think I need to experiment a bit more with making the divisions of the roving ropes that I pull apart, a little bit thicker or just not draft the fibers so thin, sometimes the coming apart drives me frustratedly nuts, and that's when to set it aside and walk away . . .

As far as any embroidery, which I haven't done for quite some time now (well, except for bead embroidery that I've yet to start), I've actually been intrigued recently by blackwork and goldwork; there are methods and techniques to these beyond just color, and they don't have to be just that color, although goldwork does tend to need to be at least somewhat metallic.

As well, I've been intrigued by tatting for awhile, although honestly not the stuff that used to be seen around ones' collar as a gift from ones' elders. I have my own eye and taste for what I'd like to do with it, that might be sometimes a bit unconventional. It'll be awhile before I get to this, though.

Crochet-wise I need to work on s'more blocks for the blanket I'm making, but I also want to learn how to work most of the ends in as I work as I've read among crochet blogs can be done and is a great time saver, before I proceed too far. There's also a headband or two I'd like to make, as well as crochet MIGHT play a role in a knit scarf I'm designing.

I have a few hand-stamped, hand-colored or hand-painted seasonal cards to finish for a few people, and some simpler yet nice cards for a few more people. That bead embroidery strawberry pendant is going to start with the stamping of a strawberry image on felt, as well.

As far as knitting goals and priorities, I'd say the fingerless gloves, for one; the socks, my first pair of socks that I attempted, defeated me upon the 6th or 7th row the first time 'round, and I had to frog. I tried to tink, but the mess just wouldn't allow it. I'll have to get back to that, but not right now.

For another, the lace shawl; it's been on hold for awhile only one repeat in of the 4 row pattern, as I've considered frogging and re-casting on (eeee, 540 or so stitches is a HUGE cast-on!) with a more flexible cast-on, to help the wavy edge stay and be easily wavy. I've finally decided that the only way to learn what I'd prefer is to keep going. This is a learning process; also, I tried an experiment with the stitch markers to make it easier going (I was recounting every 18 stitches far too many times; my OCD kept running with that one) and ended up with a bit of a mess with the stitch markers, but I think I've work out a way and spacing of them that will be really helpful for me, and help speed things along, once I've got the awkward mess of stitch-markering reset to the original way, first.

Anyway, that's just a little bit (lol) of an update on me.

OH, I forgot. I'd like to participate in eloomanator's Square Deal Weave-A-Long, which has been going for a while now, but I'd prefer to find the old brand of weavette type square loom thingie, that had bars one could add to make rectangular or smaller square motifs; nice and versatile and space-saving, too! It'll crop up used online somewhere or another, one of these times.

Yes, I have varied interests; variety is the spice of life!

The Badge Maker Giveaway Winner is . . . . (drum roll)

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 02:02:00 +0000

. . . . Kristine!!! The random number generator I used picked you (I numbered the entries from 1 through 5), like so:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2007-11-10 02:02:14 UTC

Congratulations Kristine! I'll have that out to you early next week. I bet your daycare children will enjoy this; creating artwork to turn into pins!

More goodies will be given away in the future, so check back if you like.

I thank everyone for posting, and was pleasantly surprised that people actually read me!

Badge A Minit Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:23:00 +0000

I've been meaning to give away some things for awhile now, but sometimes it takes me quite awhile to get around to things.

I received this from my mother when she was destashing, but I've never used it either (I discovered that there are mirror-backed applications of this, instead of pins, but I decided that a more practical size for carrying around would be the next size or two down. Heck, there's even keychain ones . . . .as far as the assembled badge-a-minit pin, mirror, etc. go . . .!

This kit is for the approximately 3" size I believe, and is a very manual, multi-step process. The colored plastic rings and disks you see go in-between various parts of the badge itself during different steps of the process. There is also the lever-action badge press. Around 20 pins with all their parts come in this kit (the pin bag is opened, but they are in good shape to my eye! I will put up an exact count and measurement later; if I wait for that right now, this post will get put off even longer.

Also, this kit is from quite a few years ago; the configuration of the kit has changed slightly from this recent Badge-A-Minit picture, but for the most part it seems to be pretty close!

Giveaway is for the USA & Canada only, as this is not a tiny product. It's not HUGE, but I just can't ship internationally with this one.

Instructions as given by the manufacturer are included; I apologize for the dark photos, but again, if I waited to fix them, like I have been, this would never get posted.

Again, I apologize for the photos, as well as for how long it has taken me to do this giveaway (which I mentioned quite awhile ago, on a friend's blog, that I'd be doing a giveaway semi-regularly, on the days in-between her Friday giveaway that runs through noon on Mondays.) I do have other things to give away as well, I just can't promise extreme regularity. It's one of my challenges in some health issues I'm dealing with.

Post a reply if you'd like to be entered for this; receive another entry for the drawing if you blog about this giveaway. This runs until Thursday, noon MTN time. I'm sure this will go to a good home!

Badge A Minit's web site

From One Media/Art to Another: An Example in Double Weave

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:54:00 +0000

HERE's one example of the kind of "translating" designs into various media/arts/crafts that demonstrates the concept I've been talking about - she's a weaver, and wanted to try for a certain patterning/coloring in a double weave, similar to the drawing at the top of the post.

She wonders -

Just how much can you play around with drawn or painted images and transfer them into a woven, loom controlled textile other than tapestry weaving?

Instantly, I knew I was reading a kindred spirit! I've been subscribed to her blog for a short while now, and am in awe at all the skill involved in her creations!

Granted, weaving can be a more mechanically technical craft than some others, and, as such, is at the high end of difficulty as far as translating things to it; however, her end result looks well worth it to me! Beautiful fabric being woven there . . . .

Go have a look, if you like.

It seems I'm being a rather prolific poster, these last few days (I updated my beading blog too!), but when things are just so ME, how can I not?

Oh, and how cool is it that my discovery of the superhero costumes knitting post, was featured (sort of) on Craft magazine's blog? It was through my blog that they discovered the cool art created by this man, in that theme.

Cool.

For Anyone Who Likes Craft Books (or any books) . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:27:00 +0000

Here's a new extension for FireFox that will track and alert you when a book or product you want at Amazon.com has dropped in price. Also good for discovering if you qualify for getting the difference refunded, via seeing if their price drops lower on an item you purchased, within 30 days.

The extension will add a link to every Amazon listing you view that you can click to start tracking that item's price. The information is kept locally on your computer, so no third-party is viewing what items you are interested in (well, not because of this extension, anyway; of course Amazon tracks things like that, etc.).

Found via LifeHacker.

Knitted Superhero Costumes

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:04:00 +0000

THIS is just too cool. I love superheroes. I love knitting. This guy knits superhero costumes! Do you think he's knitting his shadow back on, ala Peter Pan?

Found via Simply Knitting via MocoLoco.com.

Scroll down his page and note the proportion of the Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic costume to the Iron Man costume to the right of it. Nice detail, especially given the extra work!

As far as the project just below this post, I guess I'm going to choose three different arts/crafts or media, and create a version of the inspiration design in each. Maybe I'll do more than three, but I don't know yet.

The World Wide Web jokes may now commence . . . .

Color Inspiration & Design Cross-Art/Craft Challenge Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 21:08:00 +0000

I'm cross-posting this to my beading blog, since this involves a beading contest, but since I believe inspiration can be used and cross-pollinate amongst all arts & crafts, I was delighted to see these results from a recent beading color challenge, and link them here for you.

A challenge it was, as the colors were violet and yellow. There are some beautiful creations at the link accessed above by clicking this post's title! Let me know what you think, and what your favorites are. I'm drawn to

I also have a project I'm starting that involves this concept of cross-pollination inspiration between arts, crafts, even techniques within a craft (filet crochet and broomstick crochet being two very different forms of crochet, for example), surfaces, dimensions (sculpture inspiring a painting, a polymer clay piece inspiring a knit piece, etc.), etc.!

Please email me (it's in my profile) if you might want to participate in such a project that will be a gathering of arts & crafts, all starting from the same visual pattern, motif, or visual design, and seeing how that translates across a multitude of media, techniques, surfaces, arts, and crafts; seeing how the individual artists interpret (though not wandering FAR afield, or that would defeat the major point of seeing how the same idea translates across fields of craft) the pattern, design, or motif, making changes as required by the materials and techniques of their craft/art, as well as beyond just those bare essential technical adjustments; seeing such differences from the original as far as color, proportion of "canvas" or worked piece, technique & method choices inspired by the artist's own creative and aesthetic senses, as well as a moderate shift/alteration/modification in or to the visual pattern, design, motif, et al that is also, at least in part, inspired by the artist themselves than purely a change made to satisfy the technical requirements of the craft/medium/art and/or the construction thereof.

Anything from tatting to creating POV Visuals ala some of the projects I've seen on Make Magazine's blog; from painting on canvas, fabric, etc. to woodworking, from knitting, crochet, blackwork embroidery, bead embroidery, to metalsmiths of sculpture, jewelry, or kinds I can't even imagine; from creating a drawbot ala, again, projects I've seen on Make Magazine's blog, and programming in whatever (recognizably inspired by) version of the starting design, to beading of all kinds, including peyote stitch and all other bead stitches, wirework, stringing even (although this one might be hard, but there are many indie fused glass, polymer clay, and other pendant and bead makers who create with patterns and motifs that might well fit, or could custom create to fit, with the style, motif, or pattern of the starting design, as well as nature has created a wide variety of materials that evoke certain moods and styles); from ascii art, to watercolors on a variety of types of surfaces; from quilting to the lapidary arts; from pate de verre to mosaics to precious metal clay; from cross-stitch to knitting to creating with food; from weaving to paper models/toys/constructions, from kumihimo to lampworking, from ceramics to paper mache, from scrapbooking to:

stenciling
fused glass & dichroics,
origami
rubber stamping
glass etching
nature printing
paper making
screen-printing
cardstock/paper embroidery
temari balls
punchneedle embroidery or rug-making
doll-making
stuffie-making
chain maille (jewelry or armor)
candle-making
crayon rubbings
paper castings
sewing
pergamano or similar vellum-craft
embellisher-izing
other fiber or textile arts
hardanger, pulled, or drawn threadwork or other embroideryes
locker hooking or any rug-makingfiber or
other mechanical arts
soap
other electronic arts
pottery
Swedish weaving
amigurumi
photography, as well as a photoshopped category (beyond usual exposure/sharpness etc. type adjustments)
wood-carving
needlepoint
scheerenschnitte or other intricate paper cutting
letter-press
macrame
decoupage
drawing, sketching, pastels, oils, & every other classical art medium, method, & technique
from creating your own ice cube mold (do a search on Instructables, especially for a Tetris ice cube mold) that is recognizably inspired by the starting design
to just about anything that takes some time, thought, creativity, and at least a bit of effort, as well as some kind of material, to bring forth
Any craft/art that I've forgotten, with the below exceptions:

*Now, on rare occasion Make magazine has covered a taxidermy project or two, and I know that there are some rather EXTREME crafts/arts/methods/techniques that exist in this world, but anything gross or cringe-worthy, or involves pain, harm of any kind to anyone, harm to property not your own; anything illegal, crude, profane, intolerant of race, religion, age, orientation, or of people or a group of people; anything dangerous or reckless; anything political or religious in nature or referring to a political party or religion, their practices, figures, associated persons, or symbology; anything promoting any kind of political, social, religious, cult, or other agenda or movement, as this is not a platform for that sort of thing (promoting the fun, creativity, stimulation, etc. of the arts & crafts excepted, as that is also a point of this experiment); anything controversial or deeply sensitive in nature (ie, an artistic rendering of a plane crash on Sept. 11 2008 would fall into that latter category, as well as possibly being political on that specific day or nearabouts); anything that a reasonable person would consider extreme or any of the above, will not be suitable for this project.

Obviously some crafts HAVE potential dangers in the process, including various fumes from a variety of paints, thinners, inks, chemicals used in photography should you have your own darkroom, the various sharp or heavy tools used in arts from wire-working, beading, and metal-smithing, to the lapidary arts and woodworking . . . . everyone takes responsibility for their own safety, and I am not liable for the actions or results of anyone participating.

I am not a lawyer, but assert that what any reasonable person would assume to pertain to being responsible for one's own self, safety, and all other matters would be applicable here. Common sense.

Yep. I've got anxiety disorders. Officially, even. Can you tell? Lol.

I know it seems like a big project (I don't like the title "Cross-Pollination Project", I have a thing about bees, but at the moment that explains part of the concept . . .), but why not think big?

Anyway, for all I know I'll be crafting by my little bitty (I wish!) 'ole self.

I'll be putting a liberal Creative Commons license on any motif, pattern, or design I create as the starting point, including using whatever you create inspired by my starting design/pattern, etc., may be used in any way by you, sold, etc., with attribution for inspiration credit given to me, only if you'd like to. For, say, something like, Burnt Umber irregular circles both solid and hollow splashed across a striped background (this might be ugly, just a quick throw it out as an example concept on the spur of the second), well, this pattern has probably been done in textiles and other media for decades, centuries, or longer. To make things absolutely CLEAR, though, so there's no hurt feelings, arguments, or disagreements down the line, I'll be providing that liberal CC license to keep the atmosphere friendly and free from potential problems of this sort.

I envision a possibly once a month schedule, of showing the gallery of work, with details, as well as launching the motif/design/visual pattern what-have-you for the next month. Then again, every other month might work better, so it's definitely not set in stone! Ooo, stone carvers (in a way different than lapidaries . . .there's another!)

Also, all the shoot-from-the-hip "rules" above, are really just that, and what has come off the top of my head as being prudent (yup, my mind races and races around and around on stuff, so I may as well set it to use on thinking up ideas . . .), but with further thought on my part, as well as input from you (hopefully!) and ensuing discussion(s), there are likely to be changes to this framework of rules or guidelines.

Well, now that y'all are ready to shoot me for all the parentheticals, commas, semicolons, and slashes, as well as for being . . .um, nervous? retentive? lol . . . . . . thanks for reading so far, and have fun perusing the Violet & Yellow Beading Color Challenge.

Sorry to go on so long, I just think this would be a FASCINATING project. Let me know what you think! Since I don't think I have a high readership here, I'll be contacting various artisans whose blogs I read, some of whom I've interacted with online, or on Ravelry or other forums, and some of whom I've been subscribed to their RSS feeds for a length of time, but commented little or none as of yet. Let anyone know about this project that you'd like to!

* Edited Saturday morning to add:

Here is a little from a comment I just made,
please see the rest of the comment! -

But of course I'm open to discussing & changing or possibly deleting much of those caveats, since I'm kind of naive in this area.

The gross or obscene, crude, or lewd thing is probably more firm, though. As is the being respectful of people's gender, age, orientation, religion, etc.

I'm also thinking now, more, that on the religious, causes, social movements, groups, etc., that altering it to something like, respectful treatment of (see comment) . . .

Old Navy Knit Gorgeousness (Especially Plus Sizes!) & IW Kimono Knits Book

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:01:00 +0000

Mmm, I love that Old Navy has plus sizes. And the prices!! Most excellent (excepting the cashmere, naturally)!!

Recently, I saw a commercial for their new winter line, and I was dumbstruck; fair isle, in modern stylings, and cables, and cashmere, and knits, knits, knits. A variety of different types of kimono-type silhouettes & constructions, especially combined with cables or fair isle or or or!!!

Mouth-watering knit fashion-y goodness.

I eventually hope to knit myself some tops and sweaters and cardigans, some in similar silhouettes or with neat types of details as some of these in Old Navy's new winter '07-'08 collection. That will be a ways off, though, and since I'm rather in HUGE need of tops that fit, let alone FLATTER like it looks like many of these will . . . I know what is on my upcoming occasion gift lists.

Oh. My. Goodness. Lookit the cable-knit ballet flats -

Look at the awesome details on this sweater -

Just to show that Old Navy also can colossally blunder, I present the following -

Edited to add info & thoughts on a new Kimono Knits book: This has me really wanting to take a look through the upcoming or just-out InterWeave Press book, Knit Kimonos - (here's a flip-through preview at Interweave Press) I surely hope some knitter does a thorough review of this book! Here's a link to it at Amazon.com, and here's a link to it at Interweave Press.

I must say I was hoping for at least a couple or more rather modern stylings, in the same feel or mood as the above offerings from Old Navy, but from what I see in the preview, they are more voluminous, closer to traditional shaping (ie, not alot in some cases, which isn't always a bad thing, especially in styles that are traditionally that shape anyway, depending on the cut and your body shape and other details), with a variety in some cases of surprisingly untraditional patterns and colorwork "applied" to this general kimono shape category of clothing style. "Applied" as in, it IS knit in colorwork or whatever technique, but the designer really used pattern in creative application of pattern shape, color, pattern style, mood, etc. and kimono shape. I'm intrigued to see what knitters think of this; there were several I could see translated to elegant wall-hangings or throws, and I mean this in a GOOD way, except for one where I think the pattern the pattern's size as used on the kimono "canvas" is much better suited to a throw than a boxy top.

I see some I like, and more that I'm unsure of, as well as some I don't, so I guess we'll see.

Edited One (final, I hope) time, to add: I just discovered THIS link, which is the Table of Contents of the book. I was expecting a more traditional TOC, but this describes various styles and periods of the kimono in Japan, as it developed through the ages. I feel this is VERY interesting, although possibly resulting in some garments that might be somewhat unpractical; it may also result, in some beautiful and beautifully unexpected garments as well - the basic kimono shape IS an easy construction & method for design, at least as I've read, anyway, and as the TOC here says.

I May Be Warped, But That's A Cutting Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 09:07:00 +0000

Edit: I certainly didn't mean to say she's not providing tutorial fast enough; it's a marvelous, generous thing that Phiala is providing this instruction for anyone wishing to learn! I just thought it not inappropriate to mention things pertaining to my situation. Also, I hope the part about my anxiety disorders shows what I mean by what could be taken as bitching and criticizing above that. Also, she's kindly revised the instruction to address my issues that I probably should have asked about, but was, well, as you can see below, in a particularly anxious mood.

Okay, so awhile back I linked to Phiala's blog, String Notes? She's teaching us to weave. I read a recent post of Phiala's that I printed, thoroughly, and set to warping. When I got to the part with the pencils, I went, DOH!

What I was using, is soldered to other metal, and there aren't open ends to slip the loop of the warp off, as instructed HERE.

So, I cut the warp. Mine is in silver and blue size 10 crochet thread. Or, was.

Also, I was/am confused on the parts about tying the end of the last string to the warp; if you just tie it to a previous pass of thread, won't that "slide" along the warp length and loosen things up?

So I literally tied it around the warp, at the back. Across the whole width and then to itself (that, though, could "slide" down the warp too and loosen things up?

Essentially, when you are tying the end of the last string to any previous part of the warp, it's basically tying AROUND that previous part of the warp, and being a slip knot?

I feel like an idiot, but tying things has never been my strong point; I was never a Girl Scout (if they even DO knots) or anything, anyway!

I don't have two chairs I can leave upside down for the length of time it has been since Phiala gave the start of the warping tutorial, or even for much of a length of time at all. Being in an apartment, there's not that many options around for open-ended posts or peg-type things that won't shift around whilst warping around them.

AND, um, if we're then basically lengthening the space the warp takes by having the pencil/utility string thing/combo coming from each end of the warp, to the posts that the warp itself started out around, won't it be really slack?

It's the middle of the night, and I know I sound annoyed. Phiala has done a great job on the instructions, photos, etc; turning it into a great tutorial. I'm just frustrated with MYSELF, and with not knowing the answers to these things.

On another note, though (a string note! Lol!), my dad is making me an inkle loom. Woohoo!!! It's part of my anxiety disorders that this TYPE of uncertainty about the warp extended w/utility string/pencils rig being slack if it's put back on the same thing the warp started on, that that sort of uncertainty in the process, is like fingernails on a chalkboard, or screeching chalk; it makes my nervous system buzz, and I'm on edge (as you can probably tell from this post), and I don't mean to imply that I'm upset with Phiala. I just can't turn off this screech in my whole nervous system that I'm feeling (I'm not literally hearing a screech, or feeling a scraping or anything, but that's the closest analogy I could think of, PLUS there is a bit of SOMETHING physical to it that is hard to pin down.)

I apologize for being so . . . agitated/irritable right now.

When I can look at the thing again without self-disgust, I'll figure out a way to take another stab at it (geez, lots of stabbing, screeching, and scraping going on in this post; I guess my subconscious is trying to get across that the nerves are a'firin!)

Warp Speed, Scotty, and no complaints about 'me wee bairns'; if your bairns are so wee that they bother you, you might need some enhancement surgery . . . .

Pet Peeve: Truncated Blog Feeds

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:23:00 +0000

With the exception of 5 or fewer blogs, of people I've come to know, or their blog is far and away outstanding head and shoulders above others in their subject matter, I am going to pluck truncated blog feeds from my feed reader, like autumn's leaves that have held on too long to the past and have turned brown while still on the tree.

Well, now it is recognized by those who discuss and hash out what the general feeling and consensus is on "best practices" for various types of things, that "best practice" for providing rss/etc. feeds is to provide full feeds. People will just drop you if it adds up to too much time vs. the other blogs they enjoy that do not put an extra step in the reader's path. I quote from Google:

There's a steady debate on the issue of full-content feeds vs. partial-content feeds. While there are good reasons to choose either option, the user experience is generally better with full-content feeds, as the user no longer needs to click through to read an article. Be aware that some users choose not to subscribe to partial-content feeds because of the extra effort involved in reading them.

I know for some, with Google Ads, alot of the advice out there on "make money blogging" type sites which I've stumbled on, is to use truncated feeds so the person has to click through to actually come to your site. Besides, these ads can be put in feeds now too (even though that annoys me, but my eyes flick past it anyway.) That program also recommends full posts in feeds as best practice.

Also, current and cutting-edge feed readers have options, plugins, or scripts available that allow or are designed to preview/show the whole post within the reader, regardless of the truncated setting by the blog's owner. Still, this requires a bit different treatment in the feed reader's behavior, and as such, the truncated feeds are still . . . a pet peeve, a . . . thorn in the side, or some such, that eventually may become bothersome enough for the reader to dump that particular feed.

My feelings are strong on this, but that's how I feel. For blogs that I do enjoy, that do not make me jump through hoops (excepting those of online friends or places/people I've come to interact with online, or said outstanding head-and-shoulders above their field kind of blogs), I generally end up at their site for one reason or another from time to time, anyway. Not because of an artificial block put in my way, though.

I'm going to cross-post this to all my blogs, so I apologize in advance for that.

Thomas Kinkade Licensed Rubber Stamps!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:00:00 +0000

I just discovered that Thomas Kinkade has licensed a rubber stamp company to produce his images in rubber stamps; Cornish Heritage Farms, which also has a line of Christian-themed stamps, among other types and themes of stamps (EXCELLENT Backgrounders, too) seems like the perfect fit for the beautiful and inspiring images from the Painter of Light (tm).

Cornish Heritage Farms is privileged to have been given this wonderful opportunity to partnership with the Thomas Kinkade Company and to introduce Thom's fantastic art to the rubber stamping & scrapbooking world.

The images that you see are just the beginning. More are in the works & will be released approximately every 3 months.

Converting Thomas Kinkade's paintings into a format suitable for rubber stamps was not an easy process. In fact each image took about 3 days to complete. At times we had to work pixel by pixel. The final stamped image had to be clear enough to stamp well but detailed enough so that it still contained a lot of the finer details that Thom puts into his paintings. We had many a trial & error along the way!

Our thanks to all those people that made this possible!

Richard & Liz.

This is VERY exciting! They've had two releases of a variety of images, and the next release, due in September, will have a lighthouse image. You KNOW that's a MUST for me, especially with two family members who love lighthouses. If one of those family members wanted to buy me the lighthouse stamp(s), as well as coordinating &/or other Thomas Kinkade phrase stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms (yes, they make licensed Kinkade phrases stamps, too!), I'd happily make them a stack of 20 lighthouse cards, in a variety of stamping & coloring techniques. Some would be watercoloured, some using artist-grade pencils, some monotone, some with a photo-tinted look, some perhaps embossed with a superfine metallic embossing powder, some stamped in black or brown on a colored background, or any variety of techniques.

I am just tickled that his beautiful images are available in this way; I'm pleasantly surprised, because most traditional media artists, ie, painters, etc., would probably not want their images in a reproducible form for people.

In addition, according to an answer in CHF's forums their Angel policy applies to this line of stamps, too, for those interested in that information.

I'm not affiliated with CHF, I'm just a Thomas Kinkade fan, in some ways, even though I believe he is over-marketed and over-licensed in some types of products. This, though, is perfect! These would work extremely well with his licensed scrapbooking products, if so desired. Of course, these wood-mounted rubber stamps, with fully colored index image*, would make beautiful collectibles in and of themselves. I wouldn't let that keep ME from stamping with them, though!

Manufacturing details:

The stamps are manufactured right here on the farm using:

* High quality hard MAPLE wooden blocks
* Thick rubber which is deeply etched & closely trimmed to give you a cleaner stamped image
* 1/8" gray foam mounting cushion
* The wood mount is labeled with the image, name and number.

Please note that the Thomas Kinkade series is only available wood mounted.

As these ARE highly detailed stamps, those who have not used such detailed rubber stamps before may wish to read a couple of very informative threads in the CHF forums, regarding best cardstocks/papers and best inks to use with these stamps.

*Regarding the index image on the front of Thomas Kinkade rubber stamps, the following is from Cornish Heritage Farms:

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please be aware that the image on the front of the stamp is NOT the same as the rubber stamp image. The label on the stamp is an exact replica of the Thomas Kinkade painting. In order to supply you, the stamper, with a clear stamped image we had to compromise with some of the detail, thus allowing you to recreate and color it in your own way. For example, in each image we have "cleaned out" all the windows and door panes so that that stamped area is crisp and well defined. Paths, flowers, and skies have also been cleaned out. Without this the stamped image would be very dull and mostly black (trust us we tried it!) leaving you with very little to color and a very unimpressive finished product.

Win Your Choice of a Knitting Book or Stitch Markers . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 09:49:00 +0000

At my friend Jen's blog, she recently reviewed a knitting book she had been sent for review. Like myself, she is also plus size, so from that point of view the review is not so positive. There are some other areas the publisher could improve in, but there are attractive patterns, in classic designs, especially for those in the more "standard" clothing sizes.

The winner of the drawing for the prize will get to choose either the book, or some marvelous stitch markers my friend Jen creates!

Amazon Review Information:

3 customer reviews (3 customer reviews)
3 Reviews
5 star: (0)
4 star: 66% (2)
3 star: 33% (1)
2 star: (0)
1 star: (0)

To enter, post a comment on either the post reviewing the book, or on the next post, which offers the choice of either stitch markers or The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Knits for All Seasons, which is the book that she reviewed.

A partial description of the book, from Amazon.com:

Yarn girls, whose easy, stylish knitting projects helped kick off the current craze, are back to show knitters-who-can’t-get-enough how to knit all year round. While the Yarn Girls still love wool sweaters as much as the next knitter, they want designs that work for the beach as well as the ski slopes. In their fifth book, Knits for All Seasons, they offer projects for every month of the year.

The book's current Amazon.com price (I have no affiliation) is $19.80, and it is also part of a series by the Yarn Girls. If you are an advanced knitter, this book may not be for you.

The drawing is on Monday, so head over to Jen's blog and post a comment!

Swatch Me, I'm Waving at You!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:40:00 +0000

Here's my Pacific Waves shawl swatch in Elann Sonata Print Incan Clay; this stuff knits up beautifully! The deep rust color has more deep red/deep rust in it; the lighter colors on the side aren't that over-bright, either. In fact, they're really only about that color deep into the grey, and a bit less saturated; they then lighten up nicely from there! I wanted to show the richness and depth of the deep colors, though, so in order to do that everything else ended up a bit too intense. (Sorry, I just LOVE how this really looks! This gives a good approximation of it, though!)

Also, I don't think the color will pool like this, in these stripes basically, as the shawl is alot wider than this; it'll look more like the bottom couple of rows you see here.

I'm now calling the project, Incan Waves. The actual shawl won't look like much for awhile, but I thought I'd post this. I have a post in the works about the ECOOD. You may or may not be able to figure out what that stands for.

An Intro to Weaving, by Phiala of String Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:57:00 +0000

I discovered the blog of a fiber artist today, that I'm really glad I found. Her name is Phiala, and her blog is String Notes.

She has a STELLAR resources page called, naturally, Phiala's String Page. Here you will find a treasure trove of information regarding various fiber arts, such as Tablet (Card) Weaving, Loom Weaving, Sprang Braiding, Ply-split Braiding, Naalbinding, Lucet, and some other things; go have a look-see!

I've been digging up info on learning how to weave for the last month or two, and this last week I've been googling various aspects of it. As well, I've checked out some books from the library. Eventually, if I enjoy it, it'd be fun to have what most people think of as a loom, you know, one of those great big monsters. Barring alot of money and being in a house, rather than an apartment, I'd probably go for a folding jack or one of the other small styles that have parts that fold into it, while yet allowing you to keep your warped work in progress, on the loom. Long before that, though, I'd probably get a tabletop style, or the Kromski Harp, an innovatively-designed folding (with warped work in progress) tabletop or stand-affixable loom.

BUT. The thing is, there are some types of weaving, that are easier for beginners to learn; most move on from those forms, to the more known types of looming. The smallest is the Inkle loom. This creates a band, such as a belt-width, or hair-band size band. From narrower than that, up to about 3 inches wide maybe, for most of the tabletop-size inkle looms I've seen (there's larger ones that are or can be used for setting up warps for much larger looms, that can also be used for inkle looming).

After reading through the first book today, one on Inkle Looming, I thought, Okay, I'll learn that, and then move on to something else. In quickly flipping through some of the other books, the bands you can make with tablet-weaving REALLY caught my eye; the increased detail for figural depictions, braided designs, and intersting usage of color that I saw in these (possibly online; many of these books are majority black & white.) really tickled my fancy. I want to design a dolphin one . . . .

I surfed for awhile and looked through various inkle and tablet weaving galleries and saw some beautiful things! I also some some inkle woven bands that had a braided motif depicted on them; I had thought inkle limited to simpler designs, but when I considered what I had learned from the first book, I saw how one might accomplish this braided motif, and confirmed the gist of it was in line with the gallery artist's information regarding that piece. I was pleasantly delighted to see a broader range of designs possible in inkle than I had thought, although I think tablet weaving might have more (it's also a bit more involved, I think.)

The first book I've read through that I checked out from the library was Inkle Loom Weaving by Frances B Smith, in the Little Craft Book Series. Of course, there’s always the giggle factor at the 70’s fashions, if they can be called that, but I found it fascinating! I re-read the how-to and explanatory parts over until I understood each aspect of how it worked; sometimes I thought, “Doh!” when a particular aspect would click.

I never thought I could learn to knit, but then an online friend who’s knitting I admired told me one day, “It’s just sticks and string.” And what do you know, she was right! That was earlier this year.

I really enjoy a variety of activities, and I REALLY enjoy discovering I can learn new things. I look forward to more installments of this informative and illustrative series by Phiala on her blog, as each part comes out.

Really Cranking out the Layouts Now . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:35:00 +0000

I apologize for four large layouts in one post, but I just had to!

More Red Rock DigiScrap Layouts!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarebear) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:39:00 +0000

Woohoo! This is fun. My husband took these pictures, aren't they GORGEOUS! Click pic for a closeup. I also posted a different layout over on my main blog, with an essay, HERE.