Material Whirled

Random Chaos Hat!

2009-12-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

After only 3 froggings (rip outs)! argh.

The yarn finally decided to become a ribbed personality hat.

The coils demanded accentuation so I made the coiled stitches really (really) loose

and then pulled them to the front.

First few attempts were to make it a garter stitch edge, then just a stockinette stitch, similar to the Hippie Skull Hugger Hat, but the coils looked deflated and frustrated, so I kept trying.

I think the ribs help the colors changes to pop a bit more and the coils just glow, well, they glow because they are acid green, but you know what I mean.

I love it.

It is ob-nox-ious. This yarn was spun purely for the color combo.

No pics of the yarn before knitting (oops).

Well there is sort of a picture Here.

The yarn was originally called "Monster Mash" and was in a trunk show that was sent to some yarn shops around Halloween. BUT the colors are great for any time of the year and just make me so very happy.

"Random Chaos" is going with me to the Twilight Sale. (link) on Dec. 5th.

If it comes home with me I will put it in the Handmade Magic Gallery to sell.

King Rufus, Studio and Eve Photos~

2009-12-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

The other night the girls and I took some time to make a few paper houses for our holiday tree.

(We only made a few, I will post them once they are all finished.)

BUT... the cats decided to be ever-so-helpful.

Eve was shooting pics of them the entire time.

Rufus was especially hilarious, with this grand attitude. the turd.

Here is the flickr link, you can go see more of the cat images if you choose.

Right now poor Ann is trying to make pom-pom ornaments, and they will NOT leave her alone. They LOVE poms. I find them everywhere, in the food bowl, in the litter box! If I move the couch there is a crypt of them, along with misc. beads, missing crochet hooks and rubber bands.

Here are some shots of the back studio... already a few days old.

Shelves of yarn, journaling supplies and art supplies~

Main table top.. with piles of denim from Eve's bag sewing fit she had, knit items, a hat display form and paints~

Yarn and art journals~

I am so thankful for these shelves... imagine this stuff piled up in the corners! bah!

Here are Eve's shots of the moon over Mt. Adams~

and Mt. St. Helens~

A great shot of the trees at dusk~

Bohemian

2009-12-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Oh I love the Muppets so.

It's risky to say this where the world can read it, but....

this is what the inside of my head is like most of the time.

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality? Open your eyes, look up to the sky and seeeee...."

Thank you Jim Henson for just being YOU.

To see ALL of the new Muppet clips GO HERE.

My Podcast Interview~

2009-11-30T13:55:00.001-08:00

I did it.

Today I was honored to be interviewed by the sparkling and amazingly colorful Ricë Freeman-Zachery!

It was a blast and she so is easy to talk to... not that she had a chance to say much. (shocker)

She asks the best questions!

I actually did not sound like the rambling spaz I thought I did.

Still not a fan of hearing my recorded voice (shudder).

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE PODCAST

and to her Podcast notes.

It should be up in iTunes soon also, under "Notes from the VooDoo Lounge" podcast.

Look for a fun MW giveaway on her blog-- coming soon! ( I will let you know when it is up!)

So GO--- fix yourself your beverage of choice and grab your knitting!

Let me know what you think?

and Thanks Ricë!

Naughty Scarf~

2009-11-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's in time out.

I am angry with it.

First it broke my Denise 40" cable.

THEN it outgrew my cables I connected together with the one and only extender I can find. Wonder where they went? weird.

grump.

I think I may let the Bad Kitties have at it-- if I can rouse them from their naps.

All I can say is, it better be FABULOUS when it is done.

grumble (idiot scarf)

I must be slow-out-of-the-gate. I have had my fantasticly marvelous iMac for 3+ months now and just realized the built-in-camera-thingy has these really cool effects toys on it.

(giggle, hair toss)

LOVE this one. I may make it into a banner.

I think I look younger in it. maybe 30? (rather than 39?)

and this one is just creepy and wrong.... heehee

Awkward? Knit.

2009-11-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are

willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try
something new."
-- Brian Tracy

I love this quote, but he makes it sound like one makes a conscious choice to move out of their comfort zones. Am I really making a choice to do this? It seems more like an inherent trait of mine, to just cause trouble for myself. Not trouble... because that is a negative word. awkwardness. (using Mr. Tracy's word).

I have this constant, intense craving for a rut. a routine. predictability. But then when I fall into a rut, or a routine, I fight like hell to get out of it, to mix things up. I hate having to do the same thing over and over. contradiction? snort.

This is what I like about knitting, how it is repetitive, and comforting and rhythmic, but at the same time things are always changing. You have to pay attention to your pattern and project. You cannot just follow a knitting pattern without questioning or modifying or reinventing some part of it. No two people knit the same or are shaped the same, so a pattern or project needs to be approached like it is a recipe.

I knit when I am tired or weary or frightened (to comfort and heal) or happy or excited or squirrely (to calm myself down).

The past few weeks I have held this feeling of...? I want to call it impending doom, but it is not a negative, scary thing, but rather a feeling that something big is coming.
and I don't know what it is . and my control-issue psyche does NOT like not knowing.

So I walk around with this feeling of oh shit. Now what?
yo-yo-ing between oh shit and anticipation and excitement.

I exhaust myself.
I want to plan what this thing is or will be. I want to tackle it with my lists and agendas. I want to do it now. I do not to wait or marinate or see what life is going to bring.

So I have been knitting a lot. A LOT. It seems to tune out those voices that say... hang on... it's coming! Are you ready?

Ready? how can I be ready? sigh.

So the Journey is to just BE and to listen and to knit and try to be ready.
So when it all comes I know it and can soak it up and have fun.

ohm

I am crazy? Does anyone else do this?

Rainbow over Salmon Creek (taken by Eve).

Hats! The Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head Hat

2009-11-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

Hat #5~

The "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" hat.

Knit from a mutation of my Journey Hat pattern... not as many lace rows and I pretty much just knit and shaped as I went.

I was surprised how cute this yarn was once knit... I was not a big fan of it in skein-form.

Iridescent beads really look like raindrops. The perfect Portland Hat!

Here is the yarn before knitting... 100-ish yards.

Hats! "The Hippie Skull Hugger Hat"

2009-11-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

Hat #4...

This hat is knit a make-it-as-you-go pattern by ME.

Garter edge, then knit until it seems right, then decrease. simple.

It hugs your head, just as it's name says...

Knit from my Hippie Skull Hugger Skein~ 96 yards

Hats! " "The Chrysanthemum Hat"

2009-11-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hat #3...

I knit the hat with the beads intact, then decided the hat did not like the beads so I snipped them off. I used EZ's Pillbox Hat (rav link) as a base pattern, but adapted it for my yarn and for the shape I wanted.

It turned out really cute.. I love it, and it fits nice and tight.

The chrysanthemum is crocheted from malabrigo and has a pin back sewn to it so it can be moved around on the hat or removed and worn as a brooch.

This is my sarcastic child being all fake-cheeseball-cutesy for the shot.

The corals look pink-ish in these outside shots...

More accurate colors in the following studio shots...

Top of hat~

Made from my True Faith skein, 100-ish yards.

Hats! 2 "The Cyrille Pixie Bonnet"

2009-11-27T16:47:00.000-08:00

Hat #2

The "Cyrille Pixie Bonnet".

I chose a hood pattern, Spring Pixie Hood. (Rav link)

The gauge worked out exactly as the pattern, 144 ish yards on a size 11 needle.

I added handmade beads to the braided ties and the tassel as well as some strands of a coral hand dyed worsted.

Here is a pic of the yarn before knitting. 144 yards

Hats! "The Crazy Cat Lady Hat"

2009-11-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hat #1...

The Crazy Cat Lady Hat!

I did not take a pic of the yarn before knitting.... below is a photo of an older Cat Lady skein.

Made from my ribbed Personality Hat pattern... with a crochet scalloped border.

Crazy fun for a cat lover!

Splurge.

2009-11-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Spoiling myself. TO DIE FOR jewelry from SacredCake on etsy.

Mine... they are all mine... cackle.

(These are her titles)

Azure

In Memory of Trees

My Little Obsession with Pink.

I die.

(that is me trying out Rachel Zoe's phrases....it really annoys my girls) >:)

LOVE RZ. She just kills me.

Come and see me!

2009-11-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

2nd Annual Juried Twilight Winter Art Sale

It's back!
Mark your calendar!
Saturday, December 5th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm

Support local artists!
Live music!
Beverages and treats!

Looking for unique gifts for the winter holidays? Look no further!

This magical evening will have many surprises in store!

An excellent date night event!

Artists Juried into the Show include
Amy Burgess
Swirly Girlie ~ Kerri Anderson-Linde
Reenie Hanlin
Serena Barton
Kablam Industries
Altered Treasures
Nikki McFerren
Amy Olson
Daniel Muir ~ Twisted Copper
Kurt Dahlke

Not to mention our Art Boutique full of local artisan creations and an amazing array of creations from our Interns and Volunteers!

The 100th Monkey Studio
Where creativity is contagious!
110 SE 16th Ave at Ankeny Street
www.the100thmonkeystudio.com/503-232-3457

Yarn Caddy!

2009-11-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Jackie, Liz and I took a day trip to Portland and hit some fantastic vintage retro thrift shops in the Hawthorne District.

Such a fun day.

I scored this amazing yarn caddy!

My Great Aunt Toot has one and she taught me to knit, so of course as soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it!

But NOT the fabric. The design and colors were fine, but gak, filthy.

Note the loverly stained-sateen lining with pockets!

There was no way to remove the fabric to wash it, not without taking the frame apart, so I cut it off!

I selected some delicious fabrics from my fabric stash.

For the outside, a Kaffe Fassett beauty with my favorite colors... called Cloisonne.

For the inside, a chartreuse and purple cotton I immersion dyed a few years ago in canning jars. hmmm... that was a lot of fun to dye I should do that again and SOON.

Anyway... the fabrics love one another.

The original caddy only had pockets on one side of the lining, I decided to put them on both sides.

So I did some sketches and math-ing in my Manifesto...

and cut the fabrics, and sewed it all up.

I decided to make the attaching edges with velcro so I can take it off and wash it if I choose.

Of course I have the constant help of the studio queen Ezmaralda and her flunky Rufus.

Here they are to my left while I assembled the new fabric...

Money shot of Rufus.

He is at that goofy-kitten stage where his legs are too long and his head too small...(he's about 7-8 mos. old)

Finished!

Here is Ezmaralda inspecting it (peeking through) while I took photos of the inside. See the awesome pockets?

Rufus took his turn as inspector...

and got in to test it's strength. SO helpful.

So now I can just grab my caddy and GO! (as demonstrated by Eve).

Watch out world!

My Wicked Girls~

2009-11-16T14:42:00.001-08:00

Photo by Paul... of an orchard in McMinnville, OR.

I just realized that while I am constantly knitting... I rarely post about the knitting.
It is such a huge part of who I am and how I keep myself sane.
Seriously.
It's funny when you see the buttons and shirts that say "I knit so I don't kill people", but it's really kind of true. haha... ahem.

Knitting connects me to tradition. It is meditative and wonderful and I just love it.

I love the math and the challenge and how it calms my neurotic brains and takes me to a calm place where my thoughts can just Be. and it is better for my body than vodka. :)

I am a person who counts everything all.the.time. OCD? not sure, but I do know that when you knit you can count and it is Ok. You are supposed to be perfect and compulsive about your stitches while still being creative. If I go a few days without knitting I find that I am a bit of a wreck...agitated, chewing the inside of my lips...

Enough talking...

I have been working on TWO sweaters at once. For Eve & Ann... same pattern, different color yarn.

Here are the latest knitting pics...

Ann's Wicked Sweater

Ravelry Link

Zephyr Website Link

My Ravelry notes on Ann's Wicked...

~ Been working at both this and Eve’s Wicked sweater pretty heavy the past month or so…

~ They both decided against the pocket, which was fine with me.

~ Need to add more to the length. Which means I have to rip out the cabled edge and put back on the needles and knit some more then redo the cabled edge. I think I will add about 2.5 more inches. I figured she will continue to sprout and this will give her some growing room.

~ I am almost finished with sleeve #2 (still on needles... she is holding the yarn ball in her hand).

Eve's wicked Sweater (see links above)

My Ravelry Notes on Eve's Wicked~

~ I ended up ripping out the bottom cabled edge and adding 3 more inches to the length!
~ I did not do any shaping, one because she is still a kid and the figure does not need enhanced, plus she is still growing and this will give her room.
It is also a bit long for her right now, but the she is 5’7 and only 13!
I figured she will continue to sprout.
~ I have one more sleeve to go and DONE.

Both sweaters are being knit from Miss Babs ~ Yowza! What a skein!

Superwash Merino Ann's in Verdigris and Eve's in French Marigold.

It is delicious yarn. Highly recommended.

Ignore it.

2009-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

Stealing a moment to post between breakfast and leaving for mom duties.
Other than the guitar lessons I need to take the girls to (they are pre-paid), I am ignoring all other obligations and having Studio Time.

Time to get some commission yarns completed.
Time to get a magazine submission finished --- that I have been stewing over for weeks...
Time to just make some mess with paints with no end goals. To just create because I can.

Ignore the vacuuming.
Ignore the scary kitchen.
Ignore the hungry people in my home who know how to cook or find food for themselves.
Ignore Mt. Fold Me. (what I call that pile of clean laundry on my bedroom floor)

I love my life.

What else can I ignore?

~~~~~~~~

Here are some random studio shots-- this is my back studio room... where the fiber and art supplies live. Where I paint or prep batts or do shipping.... it's my favorite room in the house.

It's actually pretty clean in these shots...

This shot Eve took for her photography class. LOVE IT.

It is some random cat on it's porch steps. They took a walk during class to shoot photos.

Eve is a kitty whisperer... they seem to come from afar towards her.

It's 11/11

2009-11-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

It's 11/11/2009.
If you add up the numbers in the year you get 11.
Love that.
Happy 11/11!

MIA Reenie

2009-11-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

Good morning!
wow-- I have not been posting as much as I would like.
Life just keeps moving... I have been trying to focus more time on the girls and my art, less time on computer tune-out. Hence the lack of blog posts.

Been having fun though....
1. Working on my art journal.
2. I signed up for LK Ludwig's photo journaling class. Haven't done anything for it yet, but plan to...
3. Spinning orders.
4. Working on a magazine submission.
5. Running the girls all over creation.

I commissioned Eve to take shots for me of my latest creations, etc. I will post them when she is finished.
OH!
Eve now has her own Photography Blog, called Eve's Adventures.
She is a budding photographer and her mamma is proud.
Go see!

Unflattering Studio Shots

2009-11-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

My favorite days are my studio days.

They are jammie days, low maintenance, stretchy pants, hair in pookie-clip (a name I gave my hair clip- it reminds me of those pookie-the-pekinese dog ponytails)... no makeup, sports bra.

You know what I mean.... not the days you want your picture taken.

So when I uploaded the camera to my computer I realized my charming and hilarious husband had been shooting pics of myself and Jackie while we were working and gabbing away.

I was not going to share them, but I just looked through them again and it cracked me up.

Who cares? This is it-- true grit reality here in the Material Whirled.

Me in all of my pookie-clip glory.

Notice the "rainbow wall of fiber" behind me and the coffee carafe on the table? I seem to be cutting paper for something...

Wrastling~

2009-10-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was spent wrastling with my light tent and photographing a pile of spectacular new skeins from Arabella, Therese of Jump Sheep and some new Reenie skeins!

Here is some eye candy~
Grab them while you can!

Crone

Some yarns seem to design themselves and this is one that definitely did!
It gives me chills really. I have piles and bins of doodads and beads and such that inspire me. Sometimes I have an idea of a theme or plan, and I knew this skein was to be a Dark Princess or Witch themed yarn. The orangey/blue novelty ply found me first, at a craft thrift shop in Portland. It paired perfectly with my Donna batt. Next came the skulls....... then the feathers and then voila! The hippie-crone earrings....
As I spun the base I could see her personality develop, a strong, magical lady.
She would make an amazing scarf or cowl. (at least that's what she told me).

Evergreen Frost

Eve wanted to create a few batts for me to spin so I let her just go with it. She is my earthy girl. This is a literal interpretation of her creation. The browns and greens represent an evergreen tree and the iridescent glitz (a choice that would never have occurred to me!) represents the frost. In honor of the stately trees that surround our home.
Will make a great snuggly and warm hat or scarf.

Nevertheless

This batt was designed and carded by Ann. She seemed drawn to the colors and at first I thought the skein may take an oceany/sea inspired directon, but as I plied it I kept thinking of the three small novelty skeins from France I had set aside to design a yarn around. Not a color pairing I would usually make, but it works, nevertheless!
Very Paris/chic.
This skein will make an amazing scarf or cowl, the novelty strands are balanced throughout.

Sycophant

This batt was designed by Eve (my earthy girl) in her favorite colors. They are really very autumnal, but will work any time of the year. Will make a beautiful scarf or cowl. The name?

Inspired by a character in her latest book obsession....Leven Thumps

Visit the Handspun Shop~

I Needed Glue~

2009-10-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

So Jackie and I took a quick trip to Michael's while our girls were in guitar class.

ALL of my glue was used or dried up. Not sure how they all decided to do it at the exact same time...maybe I don't want to know. haha.

Glue~

After class we headed down to Portland to Alberta and Bolt Fabric Boutique.

They were having a sale.

dangerous.

Here is some eye candy that now lives within my stash:

After Bolt we stopped in quick to see Sally of Close Knit. I refrained from a massive yarn purchase that I could not justify with any specific project and only got a new magazine.

Next was a trip to Land in Albina. Here is their online shop, Buy Olympia.

Oh my.

Graphic art heaven.

We got a raccoon print for Ann's room~

by Ryan Berkley

Eve chose this beauty by Jill Bliss.... still need to get a frame.

I have been collaging in the big 'ole scrapbook. Just glueing first layers of collage down for now.

Not sure where this is heading, but I suppose that is the point.

Later!

Vintage Scrapbook

2009-10-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

The other day Paul was driving through Portland and came upon a shop called Vintage Pink in the Hawthorne District.

Apparently the pink exterior reminded him of me so much that when he got home he insisted on taking me.

LOVED the place. Retro heaven. Silly me did not get a shot of the outside of the building.

I had to try reaallly hard to contain myself and not fill the car to the brim.

All we left with were 4 oven proof mugs and this beauty...

12x15 inches with leather covers and intact pages!

The front cover had a grody wool fluff batting that was fluffing out at the corner so I peeled back the leather, removed the fluffoos and glued it back down.

I then took it apart to see how it is put together and contemplated replacing the pages with Fabriano Artistico and then decided the pages are just too awesome to remove.

Not acid free, all yellowing and cruddy...

...and with corner sticky things still attached!

I put a thing layer of gel medium all around the edges of the leather cover since it was deteriorating and making a mess.... I figured it would help it to last longer and not make a mess in my art.

Here are some shots of inside Vintage Pink.

Eve & Ann looking at old movie reels~

A Gianormous lamp that I still think we should buy. The base is some sort of clay? but lightweight and the shade is HUGE... the whole thing was at least 4 feet high.

Gnome display! Too cute and I of course wanted them ALL...

I will be returning soon with my tribe of ladies in tow.

Bookmaking- The Next Day

2009-10-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

This morning I was very excited to see how the spine of my pages dried and how strong the bond is... (see yesterday's gluing follies here)

I think it is strong enough to give it a test run, but not completely convinced it will hold up to the vigors of Reenie.

Here is the spine with 5 coats of PVA glue with two layers of cheesecloth in them.

It dried nicely and seems strong enough.

I checked between the pages, there was a tiny bit of glue seepage on the pages, but I don't care.

They all seem intact when pulled on except for some of the CT copies, which are printed on regular copy paper. If pulled it seems they will come out like pages on a tablet.

Do I need stronger glue? not sure....

More shots of pages...

Edges of the pages...

The plan for now is to art and collage the pages and see how they hold together.

I will not attach to the cover until I decide if I am happy with the glue layer or not.

Cover closed...

Inconspicuous, isn't it?

Update (11-10-09)...

The PVA glue did not hold, so I peeled the glue off the edges and tried some epoxy. The epoxy seemed to hold ok.

Just ok, and maybe great for a thinner book made from thinner paper that would only occasionally get used. NOT for what I intend to do to this journal. >:)

So onward and upward. It is shelved for now... I am onto the next 11 things I have my hands in.

I will post when my A.D.D. travels come around to it again.

The Falls~ and bookmaking!

2009-10-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a spontaneous road trip to Multnomah Falls.

This is by far one of my favorite places on the planet.

The falls are ethereal and spiritual, plus there are so few places one can watch such a beautiful array of people. All different cultures and types and styles and shapes and colors.

I saw a crew of Buddhist monks in robes and knit beanies (you can see them in this shot of the bridge).

Then there was "The Warrior" (what I called him) with his pony-tail on the top, shaved underneath hairdo and his big wooden walking stick. He just stood and stared at the falls, then at the view behind him, etc. He was amusing. You can see him really teeny tiny in the shot Paul took off the bridge.... see below.

There were many many more characters, wish I had the guts to snap all of their photos.

I was the invisible almost-40 mom sitting on a bench knitting.

See me waaaayy down there? Next to the teen-angst-girl on her ipod. (she was not my teen-she belonged to someone else).

Close-up... HiYA!

Paul took the girls up the trail to take pics. He got a fancy new camera for his birthday. You can see the album of his shots HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~

Today I spent time in the studio. Jackie came over and we planned and brainstormed over bookmaking ideas.

I decided to just jump in and make a trial book by gluing the pages together, rather than sewing them into signatures, which just thinking about makes me want to cry for some reason.

So I selected my pages, which are a combination of Fabriano Artistico nummy artist paper, prints of my CT scan and some artist papers I bought at Michael's and have been hoarding.

The book cover is a score from Scrap Action that I have had for some time.

The spine says "Cunning, Wile and all that Beguiles" hilarious.

I put the pages in order and put card stock on the top and bottom for cover pages. I plan to use fabric for my endpapers, so I figured the card stock would give it some support. (more on that later when I actually do it).

I clamped all of the pages together using binding clips, you are supposed to use a board and a clamp jig thingy that goes the length of the book, but I wanted to try the lazy way first.

This is the edge I want to glue.

Here is the edge with the first layer of glue. I used "Twice as Tacky" PVA.

Two layers of cheese cloth.... with layers of glue in between.

I then added short pieces of binding tape to the ends, as that is what will show on the ends once the cover is attached. Ths is how a book I dissected was made, so I copied that.

Now it is drying.... until tomorrow.

I will see how well it glued and decide if it will hold, etc. More later!

Press~

2009-10-15T09:54:00.001-07:00

The following mentions and articles are from the past few years.
I wanted to post here to archive them.
~~~~~~

Our Vertigo yarn featured in the Editor's Picks Section of

Knit.1 Magazine Spring/Summer 2008 p.9

close-up

Ocean Wonder

Stitch 'n Bitch Page-a-Day Calender 2008
Kismet Bag~
Fiber Buzz
Vogue Knitting Fall 2008 p. 37

Craft Trends Magazine
Jan./Feb. 2008 p. 16-18
(click images to read article)
Tree Hat Kit
Fiber Buzz
Vogue Knitting Holiday 2007

Craft Trends Magazine October 2007

Needlearts Products Page

Vogue Knitting Fall 2007
Silver Anniversary Issue
Fiber Buzz p. 47

Knit.1 Magazine
Spring 2007
Editor's Picks Section p. 10

Interweave Crochet
Fiber Buzz
Spring 2007

Yarn Market News
January 2006
"X-treme Spinning" by Leslie Petrovski