praying mantis

look what anthony spotted on his way to work this morning on our back porch. knowing that these guys are carnivores (did you know this includes humming birds, mice and tree frogs?) we must be the perfect home for him.

now i must watch my dogs if they get too near...

tartan top

lucky me- i seem to be on a roll today. after much study of the japanese pattern #15 in 'every day' and with a bit-o-help from my learn to sew book i was able to complete the top just in time for austin city limits.

here are some of the bits and pieces spread out on my fancy sewing table (the floor)
not long after that i had halter top.
to the right is the completed top from the back side. and below is the top from the front.

book reviews cont.

another addition to my book collection is a much needed sewing for idiots book. i have, in the past, attempted sewing and learned simple techniques by mistakes or obvious instructions to most people, i botched and realized after the fact (too far after the fact). given i have been working patterns from japanese sewing books (no- i don’t understand anything other than the simplest of drawings) i thought it was time to invest in a simple how-to book on sewing. sew u is the book for me. it even includes adaptable full size patters for a skirt, top and pants. it remains to be seen if my sewing will improve but my next attempt from ‘every day’ will be this cute halter top in a tartan light wool.

book reviews

first i want to thank my husband for ordering me this wonderful book ‘wool rug hooking’

this summer i took a rug hooking class. i enjoyed it so much. the primitive designs and coloring and textures really appealed to me. if this is what you love about rug hooking then this is the book for you. full of traditional designs and practical advice- i could be where i am with my project without ever having taken a class with the advice from this book. the book has easy to follow step by step instructions for beginners, designs complete with full size patterns and thoughtful advice on designing your own piece. for what it is worth this is where i stand with my project- it has yet to be defined as what it will be when it grows up, if anyone has ideas (besides a drinks coaster) let me know.

meet my new friend

i took a break from knitting to meet some new friends.

i have to say that it was love at first sight.
i am not sure we could ever be apart now.
happy, happy girl.

snowball

after finishing the purple vest i am feeling a little braver and have decided to experiment with other yarns for this pattern. this will be the largest size i have knit in this pattern- for a two year old. i chose a white yarn that feels wonderfully soft and reminds me of a plush toy. the gauge is different from the pattern i am working with so i have had to make some alterations to get the dimensions right. for the substitute i chose caron bliss in snow. i cant believe how easy it is to work with given it is a boucle and the strand varies in size from quite thick to almost so thin you feels as if by knitting a stitch you will tear it off the needle. the result is a soft and textured knit. i have experimented with this yarn before thinking its texture would be perfect for home textiles. the problem was to make a relatively small pillow you need 5+ skeins of yarn so if frogged it pretty quickly- even for me.
this morning i completed the back. it is hard to see the texture in the picture but i will post the finished sweater when it is done.

back to work?

well now that our guests have gone- it is time to get back to work. we really enjoyed the visit of anthony’s parents so now i am feeling a little lost without them.

time to focus…
getting my priorities straight here:
number 1 (& most important) find a job
number 2 (& so exciting) i have been entered into a holiday craft fair. this makes me a little bit nervous because the things i make have always been gifts- never for $. so i am hoping that people would actually pay for what i make. that is the hard part with knitting yarn. the cost of the finished project has to at least cover the cost of the yarn!

now the project also needs to be quick enough to make so that i have time to do other things such as priority number 1, eat and sleep. sadly, i live in texas- so nice big thick wooly yarn is out. (so are the traditional mittens, hats and scarves) i think i am left with children’s clothing. after some searching i found a vest pattern that might be weather appropriate for a texas winter.




i test knit one and kind of like it. i am working on another size of the pattern to see how it comes out. i also want to try it using other yarns to see the result.

stocks

lynne & peter brighten my day!