Liesel

I've stopped with my felting projects long enough to begin a new knitting project. I'm still in stash busting mode, and I've had this one hank of Fiesta La Luz for at least a year. It's in a beautiful champagne colorway, with very subtle variations in the shades. I decided to try it with the Liesel pattern by Mary Joy Gumayagay. The original pattern calls for a thicker yarn, but similar yardage. I'm hoping I'll have enough of the La Luz for the pattern.

This is my first time working with 100% silk, and it takes some getting used to. It has no spring all all. I'm having to check myself from knitting too tightly, usually not a problem for me. The silk isn't really hard to work with, it just has it's own language. I've completed 4 repeats of the 10 row lace pattern:


Here's a closeup to show you how glossy and sweet this yarn is:

If anyone else has made this scarf (hint, hint Sandra), would you mind telling me how many repeats your finished scarf had? Thanks!

More Felting

Hi Everyone.

I have been really enjoying working with felt. I made another eyeglass case, and I think it turned out better than the first. The stitching is more even, and I think the buttons give it a kind of folk art feel. The green felt is thinner than the blue felt, so the leaves seem a little out of proportion to the whole thing. Next time, I'll take that into consideration:



I've begun another felted project. This time I'm making a small clutch decorated with shell buttons and embroidery. The example in the book is dark blue with bright orange buttons, but I had this light blue sweater and shell buttons, so I decided to make the whole thing kind of pearly. The colors of the embroidery threads echo the pearlized colors in the shell buttons. Here is the whole thing laid out. I still need to finish the embroidery, sew on the silk lining (still to be salvaged.), make a button hole and sew on the closing button:



When I finish the sewing and the embellishment, the clutch will look something like this:



Here's a close up so you can see the colors of the threads:



I'm having a blast with this!

Fake Isle & Felting

Hi Ya'll!

Life has been hectic lately. Between teaching, momming, (soccer practice, chess club, play dates, etc.), and taking care of the homefront, I haven't had much time to knit or blog. I have been trying to bust my stash. I made all those little baby socks and hats, then moved on to a simple 2x2 ribbed scarf using Knit Picks Wakashan Alpaca (left over from Cardi #19 VK). I keep having urges to order more yarn, but after listing it on Ravelry, I realized I have enough yarn for several projects and I need to use it up. My stash is by no means large. I just can't stand having stuff build up. I am NOT a hoarder.

One of the more enjoyable stash busting projects has been Fake Isle from Magknits November 2006 by Amy King. Elabeth had a couple of pictures on her blog of the same hat, and I fell in love. It's a great little knit, if anyone is considering making one. I used Elann Peruvian Highland Silk, a wool/silk blend that is great to work with. I bought 3 balls of the stuff on impulse and it sat in my basket for about a year before I knew what it should be. Here are the 2 results:




I must admit I've fallen in love with a new craft. It's knitting related, though. A couple of weeks ago the family went to Books A Million after dinner. The boys played with the Thomas set and read books. I sat in one of the parents' chairs watching, with a stack of books to entertain me. One of the books I picked up was this:



I enjoyed looking through it, but figured I'd come back and buy it later if it stuck with me. Well, it did. I couldn't stop thinking about the pictures and the projects. I went to the Salvation Army and found a few wool sweaters, and through my own wardrobe and found old sweaters with moth holds and other problems. I started trying to full them in my uber-gentle front loading washer. (Dang modern technology). MIxed results. I tried lots of things, but 2 pairs of Levi's + a tennis ball did the trick. Anyway, I ended up with a pile of fulled sweaters, and no book.

I went back to BAM looking for the book, but I couldn't remember the title or the author. I looked through their sadly disorganized needlecraft section, book by book, but couldn't find it. I was discouraged, so the sweaters had to wait. Yesterday I went back and lo and behold there it was just waiting for me. This time I bought that sucker.

Today after my classes were over, I went back to the Salvation Army and found a few more sweaters and put them through the wringer. I sat down with my book and chose a pattern. I figured since I have limited sewing skills, and even more limited embroidery skills, I'd start off small and simple. I chose the eyeglass case because it fit the bill, and my sunglasses are perpetually scarred from rattling around in my purse.

The pattern in the book has a big heart motif, but I decided to go a little more subdued and just put some leaves on it. Here's the project in progress:



And here is the finished product. It looks amateurish, but it'll protect my sunglasses. I think if I make a couple more, I'll get better at my stitching.



I'm looking forward to trying some of the other projects in the book. The photographs are truly inspirational, and the patterns have a lot of pictorial potential.

Ravelry

Hi Everyone!

Is anyone in Ravelry? I got my invite this morning, and I've been trying to set up a little. I've looked, but can't find ya'll. If you're there, find me. I'm easy-the only Hesira in town. I'll be your friend, if you'll be mine!

Ravelry is fun, but a little overwhelming. I'm slowly adding things, and learning my way around. It looks like it will be a great resource.

Gimme a Hollar!

Goodbye

Where Did August Go?

Did you think I fell off the face of the Earth? Does anyone even bother to peek here anymore? I was so busy that I didn't make a single post for August. Let's call it my hiatus. What did I do in August? Not much knitting really. I made some baby hats and baby socks, in an effort to use some of my bits and pieces up. Here's the hats.



#1 did some knitting too




I went on a canoe trip. Here's me paddling with my nefew:



Here's me & my boys:



My school started a week and a half ago. Classes are going well. I haven't worn my studio class down yet, and my lecture class hasn't had time to form an opinion. I'm trying to keep it fresh and change things up this semester. More work for me, but keeps me and hopefully my students interested.

I love the fall Vogue Knitting! I plan to make the Debbie Bliss Silver Bell cardi as soon as the VK website comes back online. It's a beautiful sweater. Anybody else into it? Wanna compare notes once we get the pattern? Let me know.

I'm joining a local crafters group next Tuesday. There's this really cool woman who just opened a sewing store in town and she's all about getting crafty folks together. She's also the mom of one of #1's friends. I'm looking forward to hanging out with folks in their real bodies. Not that I don't love you guys, I'd hang out with you if you lived closer.