Check out Marie's badass bag over at knitti me. Gorgeous!!

Baby steps to finish the SNS: I did 6 rows waiting for the car wash. More room cleaning, I guess my apartment is going to be published somewhere and the photographers will be here Saturday morning so I'm freaking. I live in a one room studio that is far from show room quality (and by "far," I mean "the opposite of"), I'm starting to get really nervous!

And more dying, I did the rest of the bed sheets in Amethyst and Rust Orange. They look great in the tub. I want to do a new duvet cover before the photographers show up. What could be more fitting for a fiber artist than a hand dyed duvet cover, right? And Kim did promise she'd call me a "fiber artist" in the article. I love being called a "fiber artist!"

Last night I worked on my most difficult creative project to date: cleaning my room!

Last night I worked on my most difficult creative project to date: cleaning my room!

Well the bed sheets got dyed again. Once again, they're in the tub. I've actually been pretty productive this weekend. Got a bunch of blocks knocked out with my friend Kim for our friend's wedding quilt. I got the new yarn and stuff I've been waiting for so I guess I don't have any more excuses I'd better get to gettin on the SNS.

Pictures someday :)

today is bring your kitties to work day. Oh what a wonderful day!

today is bring your kitties to work day. Oh what a wonderful day!

Look! I'm dying bed sheets! Here they are relaxing in the tub. I think they're getting another dose. I want them to be more of a deep violet but this is a good start.

tip to young dumb people everywhere: Check your credit before you want to use it. It could be erroneously screwed like mine. I'm on a mission to clear my name! (at least of the stuff I didn't do)

I guess I lost a post.


Here's Simon with the special dyed yarn for my cleo someday when I get the right needles. I'm stalled on projects and waiting for orders to come in. Here's the scoop on the .BNS. I think I'll call it the SNS instead of the previous options in honor of the silly little sweetheart neckline. And I'm out of yarn to finish the back and waiting for that too. I'm afraid the only thing for it is a chickami. I think tomorrow I'm going to look for yarn. Hee hee!!

You know what saying seems to be coming back into common usage lately: when you say "something is th

You know what saying seems to be coming back into common usage lately: when you say "something is the poor man's something better."

As in, my vet today: "A laser pointer is the poor man's walking the dog." But I have a cat.

I'd never even heard that expression before and now I've heard it four times in a week.

Ok, I'm at the armhole/neckline shaping on my v-neck version BNS. The v-neck is going to be a giant gaping sweetheart neckline to try to squeek by with the yarn I have left. So here goes! Did I mention I've never done any type of neckline? on anything?

In non-knitting news I'm going camping this weekend: our 4th annual trip to Lake Berryessa! It's freakin' hot here and I am glad to be getting out of town to spend some quality time in the lake, well marinated in beer and barbecue sauce. Thank the good lord!

I'm at the fourth set of increases on my BNS! I'm coming up on the part where I'm going to be making it up for the v-neck, very scary. Plus the yarn will be tight since I highjacked most of it for Cleo (the dyed yarn turned out awesome, I'm not going to post until I get a picture that can do it justice). So I ordered one more skein of Breeze in a "robin's egg blue" color. I'm going to do the crochet edging in the light blue and try to do a little fluttery cap sleeve thingy maybe.

Also, when I ordered the extra skein I ordered a Crystal Palace Circular needle. According to Megan, they're awesome, so now I can't wait to get them.

Up there with Simon is my BNS, still at the waist shaping. I think I've accomplished everything on my weekend list so far. When the cotton dries I'll shoot the poor tortured stuff so you can see what some bleach and procion dye will do to perfectly good yarn.

Here's a picture of the pillow top I'm doing for Shawn for my grandma's birthday present to her. I still have to do the quilting and put a back on it. I'm really happy with it so far. Shawn's a hippie type, very in to mysticism and nature and she's loved unicorns since she was a little girl. I got copper colored thread to do the quilting. You know that feeling when you're making something for someone that you think they'll really love? that's how I feel about this. And grandma liked it.

to do this weekend:

to do this weekend:

sell beaucoup crapola for beaucoup moola at garage sale

make breif appearance at book club to share the fact that I do not enjoy non-fiction, even if it is Barbara Kingsolver

consult with grandma regarding free motion quilting for her commissioned projects

stew estimated leftover Breeze into a new and different colorway for Cleo(!) swatch


guess I'd better get busy

How much do I love this! Can you believe how adorable! I'm hoping I can use my Crystal Palace Breeze leftovers, once I torture them into a fabulous new variegated color, double stranded to knit this.

Works in progress, pictures will come, I promise:

BNS (v-neck version) - finished with decreases haven't started increases yet.

Pretty pillow for Shawn from Grandma - top pieced and sandwiched, not quilted yet.

weekend highlight:

weekend highlight:

dancing to Bob Dillon with my god son's arms wrapped around my neck.

Woo hoo! Blogger trouble all week, but I'm in now.

I've reached the second set of decreases on my BNS. I'm using a very short 24" circular so I can't really tell if it's even going to fit but I think it will.

Made soap last weekend with Julie and Janette. The stuff she had premade that we milled does not seem to be turning out the best. We added 2 oz. of extra smelly stuff and oil to 7 oz. of basic soap. Now it's liquidy inside and I wonder if curing will help it set up to a usable consistency?

I haven't felt like home crafting lately. We finally decided I'm "pre-nesting:" I'm hoping to move later this year and I'm trying to divest crap I may have to move. I don't feel like spreading out and digging in on anything and I can't concentrate on anything non-portable. I guess my knitting will have to serve all of my crafty needs until I feel like I'm home.

The Crystal Palace Breeze came out to about 5/7 per inch on #5 needles so I can use either Chicknits' Boat Neck Shell or the Curvy Tank from White Lies Designs. I think I'm going to go with the BNS so I don't have to deal with that curvy hem which I'm sure is really cool, but way over my first timer's head. I guess I'll start this weekend after I pick up a circular #5 needle. That way I won't have to purl or turn or seam so hopefully it will go very quickly. I'm also planning on doing a v-neck.

I don't know how to do any of the things I'm planning to accomplish on this shell, so if you have any tips or things I should watch out for please leave comments!

At long last, here's a picture of my fancy pillows in our booth. So lovely, but nothing sold. Too bad, so sad. I'm still out of the quilting biz and ready for new and greener crafty pastures. Of course I'm taking the week to decompress. I'll be swatching some of the avocado Crystal Palace Breeze tonight. I'm trying to figure out if I can get in on some of this shell/tank top frenzy without having to pay for more yarn.

And look what I did while no one was buying anything. It's really a sock, and Simon's trying to party while I take the picture.

this article thrilled me!
I've been known to play some pretty mean air guitar while driving the Bay Bridge. I am constantly inspired by Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All."

The Story of the Schmoogle and the Beene:

Once upon a time there was a Beene who lived all alone in a tower with only a single caretaker to talk to and play with. She was happy enough in her way, but she was very lonely with only the caretaker for company. The caretaker did her very best but after all she was just a caretaker and not much for conversation or diversion. After going on together for many years in this way, the caretaker and the Beene received a visitor. The visitor was a Schmoogle and he had come to stay. Now when Beene met the Schmoogle, she was not at all sure that a Schmoogle was right for her. For although the Beene had been very lonely she did not take well to change. The Beene booed and hissed at the Schmoogle and tried her best to frighten him from the tower.

And here's how I hope it will end: The Schmoogle would not be deterred and over a season the Beene became accustomed to the Schmoogle. She let him into her heart and she wasn't lonely anymore. The Schmoogle and the Beene lived happily ever after and they let the caretaker hang out too.


Schmoogle and the Beene

I've been having the worst spring fever/weather got way too hot way too fast/kitten's keeping me up at night time lately. Really, I just feel like a zombie. Now that I'm done whining I'll also disclose that very little has gotten done around here.

The good news is that the last batch of pillows for the show is almost done. I was sewing together completely finished fronts to completely finished backs when my needle hit a pin (yes, I sew over my pins with only occasionally disastrous results) and broke. I decided to call it a night. So that's everything for the show, the grand finale of my professional quilting carreer. Oh, I am so excited to start the next phase of my crafty presence.

Just in case anyone's going to be in Trinity County, California this weekend, I'll be showing at the Peddler's Faire in Lewiston.

On a personal note, last weekend, I received very clear signals that I should tone down my hippie side and this weekend I got very clear signals that I should really get back into that side of my self. I wonder which it is?