Clicking Needles

Vacation Anyone?

2008-07-30T19:33:00.003-04:00

I'm back from a vacation in sunny, not humid, California. I went to visit family and help my mom out with her sewing room. She promised me she'd take pictures, but the room is huge. Absolutely huge!

Now, my mother owns several sewing machines, including 4 Pfaff sewing machines (2 embroidery machines, including the new Creative Vision, 1 quilting machine, and 1 serger), 1 Brother embroidery machine (with Disney characters, which is probably why it's still in the room), and 1 class sewing machine/granddaughter sewing machine that is small and light. What she actually has in the room and set up are the 2 embroidery Pfaff machines (2170 and Creative Vision), the Brother, and the serger. The Creative Vision sits on a desk that is about 59 inches or so wide as it is huge when completely set up. Unfortunately, we were busy busy busy and I didn't get a chance to try it, but next time I will. We played with desk positions and where best to put her three desks with all the machines on them. We figured on a sort of U-shape that looks like it will work well for her. In this room is also a huge Koala brand cutting table, fully extended. She has enough room beside this cutting table to walk near her design wall. Oh, the room is wonderfully huge and now nicely set up.

While out there, I also participated in the 10th Annual Southern California Quilt Run and got to see lots of quilt shops and buy lots of fabric. I went to over 20 something quilt stores and saw lots of different quilts. We did all of the San Diego run, which was lovely. They have some really awesome quilt stores over there. I especially liked Quilter's Cottage in Fallbrook, Quilter's Coop in Temeculah, where I purchased tons of contemporary fabric for a picnic blanket, and Cozy Quilt Shop in El Cajon, which gave away tons of freebies and had a great collection of fabric.

And of course, after all this traveling around to quilt stores, we still went to another major quilt event. And yes, the timing of my trip was set to coincide with these events. We went to the new annual International Quilt Show in Long Beach. The line to get in was over an hour long on Friday, which is the day we went, of course. I have no idea what it was like on Saturday. And no, we didn't have to wait an hour, we had exact change and a new line opened up while we were in line. So, we got in very fast. Oh boy, that was fun. There are other reviews out there of this event.

Needless to say, I didn't buy much at this show, since I went to all those quilt shows, but I did buy some pretty neat things and saw some neat things. I bought a Carol's Zoo kit, to make a giraffe family. So cute! They were so soft, in a different fur than on the pattern. I'm such a sucker for toys.

Happy fibering, whatever you are doing!

Canada Trip

2008-07-03T02:25:00.004-04:00

I've been back since the end of the first week of June, but haven't had a chance to post yet. However, seeing as how Canada recently celebrated Canada Day, and the US is celebrating the Fourth of July, I thought it appropriate to mention my little trip to our neighboring country. I went to Mississauga for a biology teaching conference and had a great time. It's not far from Toronto, so I got to see a bit of downtown Toronto too. In fact, I joined the group heading into Toronto for a taste (literally and figuratively) of downtown Toronto with a really great tour guide, Bruce Bell. I also went there with friends during the week, and they tried to get me to the yarn store before it closed, but that didn't happen. Oh well, I wasn't there for yarn.

Back to the tour of Toronto. If you are ever up there wanting a tour, I recommend Bruce Bell. He was wonderful. We started in St. Lawrence Market, where we got to taste some of the samplings from the vendors. Then he took us around the city and showed us many of the historical landmarks. It was great. He talked about the history of the city and the buildings, and I learned a lot about Canada during the tour. It was only 2 hours, but it really was worth it.

We got a little bonus on our tour as Woofstock was occurring at the same time as our visit, so we got to see lots of doggies and a few competitions. It was pretty cool.

After lunching near the market, we headed over to the Royal Ontario Museum, where we got a behind the scenes look at the dinosaur exhibits and the work that takes place to get those bones out of the rock and earth that they are taken from. That was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I developed a massive headache and just wanted some water to take an advil. I felt bad about that as the bones really were impressive and the graduate student was giving us a great look at an area I wouldn't normally ever see.

After the tour behind the scenes, and getting water for the headache, we headed back out to see what all of us were excited to see -- Darwin: The Evolution Revolution. That's right, the Darwin exhibit was there, with real herbarium specimens Darwin made and lots of information, including some interesting personal information about Darwin and his family life. No pictures were allowed and I wasn't impressed with the souvenirs -- no pictures of the displays or anything like that, but lots of great books.

After touring the museum for a while, we wrapped up our visit by heading over to Chinatown for dinner. Don't ask me which one as apparently there are four within the city itself.

No yarn, but it was a wonderful trip. However, I have to admit, downtown Toronto reminded me a lot of downtown Los Angeles, especially Chinatown. The number of homeless also reminded me of that area.

Alright, I'm off to visit Robin tomorrow and hope to take a picture of her with one of two rugs off the loom, and maybe her at the loom. We'll see.

Happy fibering!

Off to Canada

2008-06-03T00:08:00.002-04:00

I'm off to a conference in Canada this week. I can't wait. The big question for a fiber enthusiast is, will I get to one of the yarn shops up there or not? I'm going to Mississauga, which is near Toronto where the famous Lettuce Knit is located, as well as several other lovely looking yarn/fiber places.

Here's the deal. I have no car, the schedule is pretty packed for the conference, but I am participating in a tour on Saturday to downtown Toronto. We end by being in Chinatown, which is not far, at least on the map, from the store. So, will I get there before it closes, or will I miss it entirely? Guess I'll find out this week.

Happy fibering.

Pegboard Revisited

2008-04-27T00:53:00.002-04:00

I promised pics of the craft room, but the only one I have taken is of the sewing wall, with pegboard and thread up. So, below is almost the whole sewing wall with the pegboard up. In the left corner is my SewEzi with my serger on it, barely visible. On the right, is my craft bookcase and you can see the door to a closet. My sewing table is just a foldable table that is height adjustable. Thank goodness, because I am short and other tables are often too high. I'd like to get a table like my computer is on, but Ikea isn't down here yet. So, I'll wait. Besides, my table has worked for me so far. Now that the serger is on the SewEzi, I have room for a cutting board on the left side of my table which comes in really handy.

I had to rehang the curtains after our new kitten Ebony took them done. The rod was nailed into the window frame. Now, it's screwed into 30 lb drywall holders, so I doubt she'll be able to take it down again.

Below is a closeup of my slightly empty pegboard. I love the hammer holders, they make really great scissor holders! As I mentioned, I tried to use a paintbrush to paint the pegboard with disastrous results, so don't try that. I sanded my pegboard, but I think you can get away with only priming the pegboard. I used regular spray paint in thin layers and it worked like a champ.

Alright, that's it from me. I am finishing up the semester, which means writing finals, and grading papers. I have done some spinning, but not much else around here. I'm working on a sewing project, but I'll have to post about that in about a month or so.

I'm hoping to paint the house soon. The hallway downstairs needs the wallpaper removed very badly (peeling), and I already know what color it will be, so that's probably the first area to be painted. Should be interesting.

Happy fibering!

Things we do

2008-03-15T02:37:00.003-04:00

Does anyone else ever do this? I try to stay up as late as possible and do as much as possible on my last day of vacation. I did this on my birthday too. Sigh, Robin starts her spring break today, mine ends on Sunday. I feel like I have to pack as much in as I can get. Oh well.

I will have more pics soon, I hope. My parents bought me some lovely thread from Pacesetter (now made by Robison Anton). It's 61 spools of color. They had me purchase it so I got what I wanted. I purchased it here at I Can Help Sew. I arranged my thread in a much more pleasing manner, at least to me. I finally have color on my very white walls in my office/craft room. Okay, my craft room is the room above the right-side of our house (see picture in this post). I have dormer windows in that room, you'll see them soon, and slanted ceilings. I love my room. It's so artsy shaped. Anyways, here's the corner where my white bookcase is with my thread. Sorry about the shadows, but I took the photo late at night.

The colors are so inspiring. Maybe I'll even do some sewing or something this weekend. Or, maybe I'll just work on lectures and try to get ahead for the week. Sigh, yeah, that's probably what will happen since I went in to work today and out in the field yesterday. Plants aren't blooming, so I'm good for another week or so.

On my birthday, my husband took me to buy a pegboard to hang my sewing supplies on. I bought a white one and tried painting it with acrylic paint. That was a hopeless cause, even with the sanding I did on the white finish. So my husband took me out after my birthday dinner, and I bought spray paint. Today, I finally primed it, then sprayed on the blue, wildflower blue, I think. Very appropriate. Love the color too. So, hopefully this weekend my husband will help me put it up on the wall. I can't wait. More color on my walls. And I get to hang my plastic rulers that I keep worrying will get broken in all the hustle and bustle over here. Oooh, and I have jars to put on there too. Very fun and cool. Yes, I am very weird.

Alright, happy fibering, whoever reads this.

new things

2008-03-12T15:21:00.002-04:00

I mentioned we've been busy over here. My husband and I purchased our first house, shown below:

So, we packed and moved within two months. I've also started teaching a new lecture series and lab, which means time is limited, to say the least.

With our new house, we found this little one:

She was about 4-5 months old and sleeping under our side stoop. She's the sweetest little cat. Apparently we are collecting black kitties, because she's our third. We checked the neighbors before taking her in. She fits so well in the family. She's so lovable.

It's my birthday today and I'm off for spring break, so I took a few days to myself. Tomorrow I head out to do some research and will have to work on some grading, but today it's all about me. And spending some quality time with my hubby. Earlier in the week though, I did some sewing. I made "The Jenny Bag".

It's a wonderfully simple pattern. Sewing it was easy, except for the topstitching on the top part of the bag -- it's a bit tight on the sides. I made the first one on the right and found it was a tad too small for me. I could fit my wallet, keys, and phone, but not much else. My wallet is a tad fat, but this was just too tiny for me. So, I increased the pattern by 125% and changed the sides a bit to suit my taste a bit more. I made the inside pocket a bit bigger (125% bigger), but kept the outside pocket the same (adding a velcro tab). It stands up so nice because of the flat bottom. I may keep the other one for something, just not sure. And yes, the larger version does have handles (I had to use the ones from the smaller bag), but no pictures yet of the handled ones. Oh yeah, the handles I made were 30" long instead of the size on the pattern. I like shoulder length straps and not elbow length ones.

I have been knitting, but no pictures on that yet. I also joined revelry -- knittinganet. I have the project up there, but again no pictures. Sigh, I'm so slow. I've been relaxing and enjoying my time off.

Alright, off to find hubby and head down to Home Depot. I'm getting a pegboard for my sewing room/office. Too cool. Oh yeah, I organized a bit too this week. My floor is almost entirely clear. It's never going to be entirely clear, me being me, but it's getting. Pictures soon of the lovely sewing room/office I now own. Too cool!

busy busy busy

2008-02-21T00:17:00.001-05:00

We're very busy over here. Okay, so I'm swamped. I'm teaching a new lecture and lab and we just moved into a beautiful house. We bought the house, so things are really crazy over here right now. I'll post soon. Oh yeah, the new house came with a new kitten, living under our stoop. So, new kitten, new house (to us at least), new lecture, new lab prep, means crazy Annette.

Hope your fiber world is more peaceful than mine right now.

Sock Toys 2

2007-12-07T14:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, about a week or so ago I finished the cool tiger here for another little girl. I can't tell if this should be a girl or a boy tiger. The little one can decide gender.

Another project that I finished a while back for a birthday gift was this set of triangle boxes. They next inside each other. The little spool of thread is all the thread I had left at the end. I was close to running out and having to go buy more. Phew.

That's it from here. Happy fibering and happy holidays!

Sock Toys 1

2007-11-12T00:07:00.001-05:00

Alright, I've started Christmas gifts already. I'm trying to do better and finish more now so that I don't have to rush at the end. I recently purchased Toys to Sew: Dozens of Patterns for Dolls, Animals, Doll Clothes, and Accessories by Claire Garland. I love this book. I will warn that I don't feel this is a beginner's book. If you are not used to sewing, some of the instructions are a bit too brief and more information would be needed, such as how to sew knit fabric, where eyes, nose, and mouth are placed, etc. I'm used to placement diagrams and there was less in this book than I expected. But, I do love the toy I made. Check her out below. She's a gift for a little girl I know, but she's not for a family member.

When she doesn't have clothes on, she doesn't sit well. So, apparently the only way this little doggy is going to sit is with her dress on. The next project in the book is the Tiger, or at least my version of the tiger.

While sewing this little one, I kept giggling. I'd put an eye on and giggle. I'd put her nose on and giggle. My husband was in the room with me laughing about how happy this little project made me. And it did. Making this little dog made me smile. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to see toys come to "life". Needless to say, there will be more of these projects in the future.

Whatever you do, I hope you get to giggle now and then too!

SAFF 2007

2007-11-11T23:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know I'm slow, but things are busy over here. Robin and I headed over to Fletcher, NC for the 2007 Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. She headed up on Thursday evening and joined our friends up there at a cabin very close to SAFF. I headed up on Friday to join them at the show.

However, on the way up, I made a detour and went to Black Mountain, NC and picked up a Christmas gift for my mom (a small purse/wallet; she knows about it) at Black Mountain Quilts. I ended up buying me a wallet one and a small one that I used immediately. Sigh, I thought I was buying a wonderfully handmade item that was locally produced. Um, no, I was buying a Chinese made item, designed by a US company. I still like the items, but what a big disappointment. Why couldn't the company make them here? I know there are people out there that can make these.

Anyways, enough said about that. I had a hard time finding parking on Friday, which was great. This meant the fair was full of people and indeed it was. I headed into the show and dropped off patterns at Avillion Farms. I met up with my friends at the skein & garment competition, which we were in charge of again this year. We're still learning, but we're doing better. What we lack are volunteers to help keep an eye on the items so we can go shop. There were five of us that were mainly volunteering to watch the booth, one of which taught courses. We need more people next year to help out and hopefully we'll have help. Many people did stop by to help though and hung out with us, but not on Friday when we probably needed people more than on Saturday. Oh well, no use complaining about that right now.

There were many beautiful items entered in the competition, so competition was tough. Judging occurred on Saturday. We had three judges this year, unlike last year where we had a single judge who was overwhelmed by all the entries (over 160 I think last year). This year we had over 100. Judging went much faster, and judges were able to leave helpful comments on all entries. A vast improvement over last year. We also had three helpers down there to help the judges, some even modeled items for the judges. Very interesting process. I was up in the booth helping to set things up with Robin. I was her guru. She points, I place items. I also recorded winners in our booklet.

On Friday night, I took a few people back to the cabin where we stayed and Robin and I made dinner. Okay, so really Robin made dinner as I was working on determining where and how prizes were to be distributed across the 20 some odd categories. Some of our gift donors wanted their prize to go to certain categories, so the whole project was a huge logic puzzle. How to fit in the smaller prizes, how to even out prices so no one complains, etc. It took over 3 hours and thank goodness Robin made dinner and was fine with that. Isn't she great? Anyways, here's a pic of Robin relaxing before making dinner on the deck of the cabin. She's doing one of her favorite things -- reading. I'm not sure she even knows I took the shot. I think she read two books or something like that while she was there two nights. She's a fast reader.

What goodies did I buy? Well, first of all, let me say that I entered four items in the competition and won two firsts and one second, plus Judges Choice for my Soumak weaving bag (black bag with sunsets on it). I was stoked and had a gift certificate and some money to spend. I received some yummy socks as well from Creekwater Alpacas, but my feet are so small that I couldn't wear them (I often shop in the kids section for shoes, no joke; it's very embarassing). One pair of the socks already went to a loving home and the other will be going to my mom, where I'm sure she'll do what I did and sigh in luxury as she puts them on her feet -- they are that wonderful feeling. Unfortunately my feet slip inside them which means I'll get blisters if I wear them. :( Oh well, they were yummy feeling when I tried them on.

On Friday Robin and I got around to the different shops and Saturday and Sunday I finished my shopping. I'm a sucker for colored fiber. I bought some lovely fiber from Miss Babs. I've mentioned her store before and I love her stuff. In the image below is the batt I bought from her. In the image is also some sock yarn from Just Our Yarns, a purchase that was a result of a prize I won in the skein & garment competition.

The booth for the competition was below some very colorful fiber (from Gale's Art) that I eyed throughout Friday and Saturday morning's busy time. Finally I decided to take a look. The fiber was gorgeous and so yummy. I checked out my color choice with Robin, who was down below me, still in the competition booth. I'm sure the owner, Gale, probably had a heart stroke as I tossed the roving down to Robin (I asked if I could show, not toss; shame on me; of course in my defense we'd been down below for several hours). I bought a roving and coordinating color, to ply together.

Now, on Sunday, I just couldn't resist going to look again and buying one more roving and solidish color to ply together. Robin wasn't around to ask opinion as she had to leave on Saturday to be able to ring handbells on Sunday. Talented woman, isn't she? Anyways, when I told Robin that I stopped there again to buy another roving, she said she thought I would. Sigh, guess I really am a sucker for colorful things. Anyways, I also have an 8 oz roving she bought me that goes with the other two and some solid blue to ply with that roving. So, all together I have 1.5 lbs to make a luscious sweater, with an extra half pound kept in reserve. I think I'm going to like this. I just knew the rovings were meant to go home with me!

Left multicolor fiber is Deep Blue Sea, right multicolor roving is Potluck (one of a kind dyeing she does). Aren't they lovely together?

Okay, what else did I buy? Hmmm, some prints from Jane Voorhee. I bought two card ones and put them together in a frame. They look awesome on my mantle. I received a gift certificate to Lorien Alpacas, where I picked out some luxurious alpaca/nylon (85/15) roving that I plan to overdye and spin into sock yarn. Lovely stuff and nice people. She had other lovely blends, but once my hand encountered this stuff, I knew it had to come with me. I don't have a picture of that though.

What did Robin buy? Hmmm, not much. I'm forgetting right now, but she's on a fiber diet so to stay. I think silk bits, but maybe not. She found a bag pattern she liked at one place. She almost came home with a bunny. She tried to convince me that I needed a bunny to keep at her place. LOL. Sigh, I'm really forgetting what she purchased. I'll ask.

Okay, that's it for me on SAFF. Happy fibering!

SAFF anyone?

2007-10-16T01:46:00.001-04:00

It's that time of year again. Fiber festivals are occurring everywhere it seems.

Robin and I are heading up to our favorite local fiber festival, SAFF.

I know I'm looking forward to it. Lately I don't have a lot of time for fiber stuff. I start a list every year of items I want to buy at the fair, otherwise I forget. I'm horrible that way. Lately, my list of wants is pretty short as I have so much in stash. However, I never know when a goodie will tempt me, and I absolutely love looking at all the goodies people sell. I drool over all the drop spindles, pet all the fiber, and inhale the wonderful aroma of locally produced soap. I think I'm going for a soy candle this year and some dyes, but we'll see what I end up buying.

Our old guild (Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild) helps with the skein and garment competition, so we'll be helping set up the display again this year. If anyone is heading that way, stop on by and say hello.

I have been doing fiber related stuff, but not much to show right now. I'm working on a pattern for a friend to sell.

Happy fibering!

Sockpal 4 Coolness

2007-08-27T23:40:00.000-04:00

Okay, I had forgotten to take a pic of the socks and goodies before they headed out to my sockpal, Pericscope Knits. My sockpal recently put up several pics of the socks on her. They look awesome.

Robin recently got her socks in too. I haven't seen them yet. In fact, we haven't had a chance to get together for about 3-4 weeks. Her pal is from out of the country, if I remember correctly. So they took a bit to get to her.

That's it. Maybe I'll catch up with Robin this weekend.

Sockpal Coincidence!

2007-08-14T18:29:00.001-04:00

Great minds think a like on this pair! My sockpal, Abigail of 1870 Pearl, hinted that I would laugh when I saw the socks she knit me, but in a good way. I haven't posted about my socks because too many things happened. My socks arrived earlier than expected as Abigail was doing some packing and moving. Unfortunately, they arrived the day before I was off on a trip myself and my parents were visiting. After much squealing and drooling by myself, and I think my mom, I set them aside until the end of my parent's yearly visit.

Where does the coincidence come in? Well, my sockpal really figured me out. She knit me socks in the same pattern I was knitting my own sockpal, sockbug's River Rapids! I thought that was too cool. Before my sockpal's socks, I wanted to try knitting me some of these socks, but didn't have the time. Now, I have my very own River Rapids socks! And in a pretty Lorna's Laces colorway -- Tahoe. It's purple, it's green, it's blue. All the colors I love! Check them out below. The color is closer in this photo than in the goodies photo below.

She also packed in a few extra goodies, like a beautiful little bag that stands up really well (flat-bottomed), At Knit's End by the Yarn Harlot, The Healing Garden lotion and spray mist in lavender (yummy), needle gauge and ruler, Sock It To Me shoe size to sock length conversion guide (which looks like it will come in real handy in the future), some very cute black sheep and angel row counters (the angel ones are in the bag -- I didn't want to lose them), and a stitch marker from the Loopy Ewe.

Did my sockpal pack some stuff in there or what? I couldn't believe what was in my package. I think my mom must have heard "awesome" and "cool" several times, poor woman. Okay, I'll stop before I start saying too cool again.

Happy fibering!

Vacation

2007-08-13T21:34:00.000-04:00

Gone, gone, gone! But it was fun while it lasted. My parents were out visiting and we headed out on a couple of trips. We went to Fort Moultrie down on Sullivan's Island, near to Charleston, SC. It is such a historically rich area.

After visiting Fort Moultrie, we checked into our hotel and headed to downtown Charleston for some dinner. Dad had spied an ad for Hyman's Seafood, so we checked it out. I'm not a fish eater, but I love shrimp. The food was excellent.

After dinner, our plan was to go on a ghost tour, but unfortunately for us it rained. And I do mean rain. Not just a light drizzle, but pouring down rain. The streets flooded. We waited the rain out for a bit down in Hyman's General Store. The rain just kept coming. Living in the south, I have become used to afternoon and early evening rain, but this seemed more. We decided to buy a few hats and run through the rain. It was interesting running through the rain, stopping under overhangs, giggling with your parents as you got soaking wet and stepped in above ankle deep water. I had a blast! Some streets were flooded, some blocked off. We got to our parking area sopping wet, but smiling. Wouldn't you know it though, the rain let up about 5 minutes after we got to our parking deck. Figures! We called the tour place and cancelled our tour. They had already cancelled the first ghost tour, but they were planning on going out on the second one. We had it with water though. Off to the hotel we went.

The next day was my husband's birthday, so we were off to home. His birthday was a beautiful sunny day too. No rain predicted for that evening. Oh well, next time we'll go on the tour and see more of the area.

Our next trip included Robin and was to a quilt show up in Asheville, NC. I love that area. We headed up early and went to Black Mountain, a lovely crafty area. The next day we headed over to the show, which was held at the NC Arboretum. It was a lovely show and a lovely place to have it. I took some pictures of plants for my photograph collection. There were 13 vendors, a high for the quilt show, and over 200 quilts on display. My mom has gone to many quilt shows in CA, so she is used to a much larger show, but she enjoyed it. We spent a great deal of time at Batiks Etc. And we spent the afternoon listening and asking questions at the demonstrations. The demonstrations were really great. They had a few well-known quilters giving demonstrations. The Warm Company was there and they gave out a great sampler bag of their products. I wasn't planning on spending much and was doing great, until I saw this table. Sigh, one is due in at my house this week. Mom already received hers. I just hope it is worth the money.

Robin bought a cute pattern to make a rainbow mobile for her classroom. She bought some fabric to make it. I received a "help" email from her as the technique is new, but it sounds like she's done with it. I can't wait to see it. She's working on getting her new art classroom set up before school starts for her, so she's busy busy.

Mom and I also tried a method that we learned in a demonstration at the quilt show, but I won't show that. While at the show, I bought a DVD, Fast and Free, volume 2 by Patsy Thomspon. The video is excellent. Mom ended up buying the two volumes she thought it was so interesting herself. So you think we're enablers? Maybe.

While my parents were here, my mom and I did some sewing. We worked on similar "Who's In My Garden" projects, mine shown below. We purchased the fabric from Bunney Hutch, while I was out visting last Christmas or last year (time flies). Somehow mom's work managed to escape my camera.

I also taught mom how to paint on fabric and use thread painting to enhance the painting. Mom had fun with that and has plans to buy the book I showed her, Coloring with Thread by Ann Fahl. I like the book and think it has some really nice ideas and exercises in it.

My parent's visit always goes so fast, but we have so much fun while they are here. We pack a lot in though. I just hope Dad wasn't too bored during the trip. That's it for now. I'll have another post with my sockpal socks!

Sewing Projects

2007-07-21T19:44:00.000-04:00

For my mom's birthday I did some sewing. Her birthday was early June, so this is one of the things I have been up to. The pattern is by Creative Thimble, called Janet's Jewelry Case. The theme fabric and the inspiration for the colors is a Laurel Burch fabric, called "Felines & Canines", although there are no canines on this fabric. I altered the pattern slightly since I thought the case could be used as a really nice sewing kit, with places to put thread, thimbles, needles, pins, and scissors. I think my mom will get better use of it that way.

The white blob is where my label is located. My plan is to make me a case out of the same fabric. My parents are coming for a visit, so maybe that will be in the plan while they are here.

I've been busy quilting too. I did a very nice piece for my office or home. I'm still debating on where I want to put this piece. It would look nice above or near my sewing area, but my walls at work still could use some artwork. It's a very bright piece. Robin taught me how to paint on fabric. I then used a book I purchased earlier, Coloring with Thread by Ann Fahl and used thread to color on top of the ginkgo leaves. I really like the look and plan to use the technique elsewhere in my work. The picture is a tad out of focus and a bit dark as we have no sunlight right now, but you can still get the idea.

Okay, that's it for me.

Sockapalooza 4 socks

2007-07-21T19:18:00.000-04:00

Robin and I joined Sockapalooza 4. This is my second one and her third of fourth. I can't recall. I haven't been posting, although I have been busy crafting. I'll post the socks first, then post on the other items I have been making.

My sockpal socks are knit from Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Moody Blues colorway. The color is not exact in the photos -- it's a darker blue in person. My sockpal wanted anklets and I really wanted to knit the River Rapids sock pattern by sockbug. The pattern is well written and easy to follow. In fact, it was such a nice pattern that Robin decided to try it out too. She knit it up in a purple colorway. I can't recall if the yarn was also Cherry Tree Hill. We went together to Baskets of Yarn to get the yarn and she helped me choose the colorway for my pal.

Closeup of the River Rapids pattern.

And finally, I liked the pattern so much that I started my own socks, but not anklets. I'm knitting these up in some yarn I purchased at SAFF this past year from Three Waters Farm.

The socks have a bit more green than I want in them, so I'm going to dye up some yarn in river colors and knit another pair of these. I like these a lot.

Yarn Flash for Sockpal

2007-05-07T02:03:00.000-04:00

My Sockpal asked me to flash some of the sock yarn I like. I thought of my woefully pitiful stash of sock yarn (about 5 skeins or so) and what I like. Cough, most of my sock yarn is merino (superwash and not), with I think one skein being cotton blend. I have sensitive feet. Small though, so I don't need much yarn to knit socks for me.
Here's the list:

ThreeWatersFarm -- superwash merino, fingering weight. Lovely colors.
Lisa Souza -- lovely colors, but my sock yarn that came in wasn't so great with the colors. Maybe she had a bad dye lot or something. Instead of purple, I have this fuchsia section.
Lorna's Laces -- shepherd sock. Love the multicolored yarns.
Artyarns -- supermerino looks kind of neat, but haven't had a chance to play with this stuff yet.
Two Waters Fiberworks -- an Etsy shop that I've been dying to buy from.
Socks That Rock by Blue Moon Fiber Arts -- awesome colors and nice feel to yarn. At The Fold.
Henry's Attic -- handdyed by me, available in lots of places.
Others I'd love to try but haven't: Colinette Jitterbug (I think Robin has a skein of this and it is lovely stuff), Fleece Artist, Claudia's Handpainted (colors are yummy), Interlacements (also lovely colors, but sometimes a bit bold). The Loopy Ewe has some lovely yarns.

Okay, that's it for me. I guess after looking at this list, I'm not a one yarn brand kind of gal. The thing these yarns have in common is multi-colored (usually hand-dyed) and soft fibers (merino or blend).

SAFF 2006

2006-11-25T21:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm slow. Lately, I've been so busy with work that fiber stuff takes a back burner, rightly so too. I'm enjoying my new job, but I am definitely keeping busy.

SAFF, ahhh, a break from our everyday existence, and a wonderful one too. Robin and I headed up to SAFF on Friday afternoon to sign in our entries for the garment and skein competition, which was great by the way. Our guild took over the organizing of the event this year to help out. We expected an increase in the number of entries, but we had no idea how many we would get. We had well over 160 entries, and so many of them were beautiful. I don't know how the judge decided on the winners for some of the categories. And no, the judge is not affiliated with our guild, which is why we felt comfortable entering. Robin and I both helped set up the display on Saturday morning, after judging was done on each category. Our view was pretty cool from the booth:

Robin and I both entered some things, and we both won a ribbon, which made our weekend extra fun. I won a gift certificate to Buttons, Beads, Trinkets & Treasures where I chose two sheep pins (shown below) for me and one sheep head for Robin (didn't get a picture of it, but she proudly wore it all the rest of our trip). Unfortunately, I don't believe they have a website, but they do have an email address listed on SAFF's vendor list. Excuse the image the sheep are on -- my microbiology text for the course I teach.

What did Robin get? I think she got some cash to shop, if I recall rightly. What did we buy? Not much this year.

We each have our favorite vendors and had plans to hit them immediately upon arrival, if we had time. We did! So, on Friday evening, we both quickly stopped by Little Barn so I could buy some superwash merino and Robin could help me find it and um, oogle the dyed silk bits. I'm not going to show a picture of the bag though since it's just a bag of merino 64s. We'll revisit Little Barn at the end of the trip though.

Before heading over to the garment and skein competition area, Robin also indulged me and came with me to Miss Babs. Babs Ausherman is probably one of the nicest new vendors (2nd year) at SAFF -- she always answers my questions and responds to my emails. I also just plain love her stuff. Robin can tell you all about how she had to drag me out of the booth several times. That's right, several times. Sheesh, she has lovely stuff.

I bought some batts last year from her and decided to buy some this year too. Her website is still being worked on, but she says soon it will be up and running. I'm leaning towards ordering some merino superwash batts from her for someone special. What did I buy? Well, I bought these mixed merino, some other wool (can't recall what she said), and silk batts. The wool is more of a sage green with hints of purple and pink in it, while the silk is pinks, purples, and turquoise. Love the colors. I try to challenge myself to spin new fiber and things I don't normally spin. Fiber with slubs in them is one of those challenges for me.

After visiting the vendors I wanted to visit (I don't think Robin had any she specifically wanted to visit right away), we headed up to reassure the main organizer of the garment and skein competition that we were there and ready to work on Saturday. It was a good thing too since there were a few minor incidences that needed ironing out and an organizer that needed some reassurance. :) The judge never came for a visit, so we weren't sure what to expect on Saturday morning when it came time for judging.

One of the great things about SAFF is that there are some really nice restaurants over in that area. Robin and I headed over to Black Mountain for dinner at My Father's Pizza, a great pizza place. Back at the hotel, I had to grade, but Robin played -- well, actually I think she fell asleep pretty early.

On Saturday morning, Robin and I headed over bright and early. I think we made another pit stop at Miss Babs since she had more stock to unload -- see, told you Robin had to pull me away several times. We spent our morning setting up the display and switching off and on if one of us needed to head out to check something out.

We didn't buy much this year, but after one such foray, Robin came back with some needle felting information. We both ended up getting some felting needles and equipment from Delly's Delights Farm. We kept going back to visit Mr. Delamater and picking his brain for answers to questions we had. He was very nice in indulging our curiosity. The couple have some beautiful pieces of work. We bought fiber from them and needles. We also bought some needles from someone else, but I can't find their information or figure out who they were. We started some snowmen heads. Okay, I started one and Robin finished two, or was it three. . . but I had to grade each night!

One of my last purchases on Saturday was again at Little Barn. I purchased some lovely yak down. In the picture is some pumpkin fiber I picked up from Robin that I planned to use to make more pumpkins. It hasn't happened yet, but it will.

On Saturday night, we had dinner with some friends from our guild over in Hendersonville. And after dinner, we returned to their hotel, where I gave a mini-lesson on Navajo plying to Robin and our friends. We had a great time. And then we headed back to the hotel and I graded again. Are you seeing a trend here? LOL. Robin worked on snowmen heads, I think.

On Sunday, Robin and I worked the booth in the morning and then walked around. I can't remember when she brought me to Three Waters Farm's booth, but she was contemplating some sock yarn from Mary Ann Pagano, a friend of hers. She's expanded and has some lovely sock yarn that she dyes up. Both of us came away with sock yarn from her. I didn't snap a pic of Robin's, but it was lovely stuff.

Okay, that's it, I think. At least for me, that's it. I've got to go grade! No, honest, really! That was test two I was grading, now it's test three!

Happy fibering!

Swamped

2006-10-15T21:50:00.000-04:00

I'm swamped with work right now, so posting will be random and probably not very often. I will try to post about SAFF after we go there. I will also try to post about some things I've been working on and maybe I can get a photo of Robin's work. Robin is working on getting some items ready for a sale, so she's busy too.

Hope all of you get to do some fibery stuff,

What we're getting ready for . . .

2006-09-30T19:06:00.000-04:00

Is this: SAFF. That's right, every year Robin and I head over to Asheville and have some fiber fun. They moved it back this year. I was all set for it to be during my fall break. And now, it's not. :( Bummer on that.

Our guild is helping with the skein and garment competition this year, so Robin and I will be manning the booth at some point and helping to set up the display of the skein and garment competition. I'm her flunkie. My job is to pin wherever she tells me to. :)

In terms of fiber content, Robin has been way more productive than I have been, but sadly no pictures yet. I haven't been over her way to visit her lately. Me? I've been making tests and grading tests. I did have one night of hat pattern planning for a friend. Now, I just need to start the hat. I think that is tonight's project. :)

Alright, hope to have pictures soon.

Happy fibering.

2006-09-13T23:55:00.000-04:00

Ooooh, I have pictures. Although the project featured is not mine. It's Robin's! She's been busy. She had some extra triangles she wanted to use up, and we took a trip up to our favorite large fabric store to find some batik fabric. Here's her result. I think she did a great job. It's just haning on a design sheet right now, not sewn yet.

Me, what have I been doing? Um, working mostly. I did manage to get up to Quilter's Gallery again and purchased some more batiks and a book.

I haven't had a chance to try anything in this book yet, but the idea sounds pretty cool to me. I checked out another book from the library, entitled Machine Quilting With Decorative Threads by Maurine Noble and Elizabeth Hendricks. I checked this one out before I purchased the book above. After practicing some free-motion quilting, I am thinking that although I like the look decorative threads give quilts, I'd much rather stick with using non-decorative threads on the quilts, except for variegated cotton ones. I'm just no good right now with all those layers of fabric. But, maybe if I try decorating the fabric before putting the quilt together . . . well maybe I'll be happier with the look. We'll have to wait and see. I have projects in mind.

Now, if I can only find the time. . .

Happy fibering all!

Color Wheel of Fabric

2006-08-28T23:06:00.000-04:00

I've been pretty busy with work, but I'm loving it. The job, the people, the area. Love it!

Saturdays are my play day and snuck up to Charlotte's Quilting Gallery and picked up some fabric to make this really cool quilt I saw there,called Crzy Curves. There's an image of the quilt on their site.

Only, even though I love the pattern, I didn't like the fabric they used and the ones available in kit form. So, what's a girl to do? Well, the store is pretty cool. They had batiks by the bunches in packs of 16, 24, or 36 batik fat quarters. I bought 36 fat quarter batik color wheel. I love it. Here's an image of the batik fabric wheel with the 8" Rainbow Block Template (by Elisa's Backporch) at the right. That's what will allow me to do the blocks I want.

I didn't have much chance for anything other than shopping and relaxing on Saturday, and Sunday was spent working, so not much fiber stuff going on right now still. However, this weekend is Labor Day weekend, so maybe I'll have two days of play. And even though I haven't done any fiber things, I did get something fibery in the mail. I got the dyes I won from Selling Dye 2 You in the mail. I requested the Permabril ones, which are fiber reactive. I haven't ever used any fiber reactive ones, so this should be fun. Now, I just need to find a blend of fiber. Hmmm. I'll look in my stash.

I'll be visiting with Robin and her hubby this weekend, so maybe I will remember to take photos of her items that she has finished and actually post them.

That's it, happy fibering!

Quick Post

2006-08-19T23:56:00.000-04:00

Okay, this is a very short and quick post. Yes, we still exist. No, I haven't done anything fiber related. Oh wait, I have done some spinning, but it's the same old stuff right now. I was going to Navajo ply it up today, but I didn't get a chance. I was playing on the computer all day. I've also been busy with work and getting things unpacked still.

Robin? Well, yes she has done some fiber things. She's off from school right now. Well, sort of. She's got internship things and work. But, she still managed to plan a quilt and lay it out as well as take a class. Who knows what else she has done. She is much more prolific than I am!

I'll share one quick thing I know Robin did. She took a class today at that quilt store I mentioned: Quilt Gallery. She took the "Flower Doodles" class. I'm cursing myself now for not taking it with her. I can't wait to see what she did. I'm hoping they will offer it again some time.

That's it. Hopefully I'll have an actual fiber-oriented post soon with pictures. I'll try to remember to take my camera and take a picture of Robin's work.

Till then, happy fibering!

Not Quite Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

2006-08-09T02:22:00.000-04:00

I have one more oddball item worth mentioning. Our new rental house is great. It's old and has a few quirks, but is pretty nice otherwise. Except we have horrible pantries in the kitchen and there's about 8 feet or so in the middle of our kitchen with nothing in it. We were using my craft table as a sort of workbench in the middle of the kitchen. Well, that is until Gilligan came to live with us. This is Gilligan:

My husband nicknamed our cuisine cart Gilligan, as in Gilligan's Island. My hubby is the creative writer in the family, definitely not me. My mom helped us find it on-line, and we ordered it from KitchenSource (under accessories, the mix and match cart) during my parents visit. I had food in boxes still as the pantry shelves are about 2 feet high (no other shelf in there) and 2 feet deep. I can fit some things, but I can't stack things that high and I can't find things that deep! So, my mom suggested an island. It was a great idea too! We love Gilligan!

The company was pretty fast. The cart even came during my parents' visit. They only stayed with us for 2 weeks, so that was a pretty fast delivery. My mom helped me put it together with the guys watching on. We did a good job putting it together, but we did have some minor problems. First, I tried to install the drawer upside down. But that wasn't my fault! Honest! I followed the darned image and the sides, which were numbered, were in the wrong place in the image. We were also missing some holes for the shelf on one of the sides. My dad came to the rescue on that one, getting the drill out.

Alright, enough non-fiber things. I'll post soon about fiber things, honest!

Oh wait, I do have one fiber thing. I won something from the Dye-o-Rama swap! How cool is that? I won 5 dye pots from Selling Dye 2 You. I haven't worked with Permalon/Permabril dyes before, so this will be interesting.

That's it for me. Happy fibering!

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program for. . . Bugs?!

2006-08-09T00:31:00.000-04:00

That's right, I'm going to briefly mention and show some insects. Okay, only one type of insect, but it is a pretty cool species. Or at least I think so. My parents came over for a visit and recently left. I miss them already. On their last day here, we went up to see the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden (DSBG) in Belmont, NC. It's pretty nice.

But what caught our eyes was not just the flowers or plants (cough, grin), but a species of hummingbird moth, the hummingbird clearwing. We tried capturing the moths on film, but you have to be fast as these moths flit from flower to flower so fast. See, I told you I was diverging from our regular content. I love these moths. The species we were looking at was diurnal (coming out during the day). The moths look like small hummingbirds but have antennae. We saw two different morphotypes out in the field, shown below. The photo on the left was taken by me, the one on the right by my dad. Other than cropping the initial photos, I left them in the slightly blurry condition. Like I said, they are hard to photograph as they hoover just like hummingbirds do.

I found the sighting of this insect fascinating as the plant I did my PhD work on was pollinated by nocturnal hawkmoths, similar to the moth we saw at DSBG. However, I never saw a single nocturnal moth during my thesis work. I even used infrared videotape and still never saw the moth. I did however see a diurnal species of hawkmoth. So, it was great that my parents got to see some of the types of organisms I worked with during graduate school, or tried to work with anyways.

Happy fibering and insect watching!