the zen knitter

Always in my heart

2010-06-10T16:53:00.007-05:00

It has been a long time since my last post--almost 3 years! I am surprised this blog is still here and available! However, I have been thinking about how much I enjoyed doing this and, well, let's do it.

So much has happened.

Let me start with the event that most affected me. In October of 2008, my niece, Thistle, was taken by the complications of Castleman's, the disease she lived with for several years. Yesterday I was looking at the beautiful blue sky and listening to Iris DeMent and this thought took my breath away: "She's gone." I have moments like this, a kind of heart clenching ache I can't move beyond.

When Thistle died, I worked through my grief by helping to organize the memorial, keeping my sister and her remaining daughter company, making a slide show and just trying to be helpful to my loved ones. This helps me get through my grief. Now, after more than a year I am still stopped by the thought, "she's gone."

Knowing Thistle and her wonderful willingness to try new things has encouraged me to do the same in my remaining years. I think she had a way of looking at the world through "artist eyes" and I try to do that as well. I am a better, certainly more interesting, and kinder person for it.

Not your ordinary day at the office

2007-09-20T21:54:00.000-05:00

My sister paints does decorative painting, faux techniques and murals. I got to work on a large mural recently - a great experience. The finished piece is about 10" high by 18' long, painted along a walk way beside a large storage barn. The fellow who commissioned it is a semi-retired builder whose specialty is building bridges. Working outside in the wonderful weather we've had lately is too cool. I hope to do this again!

Tom the cat was on site everyday to check progress. He is now immortalized in the mural!!

This little guy is awesome.
He crawled over to the paper
towels for a cushy nap, then
crawled up the mural.

He is above the dog and slightly
to the right. He was still there
when we left around 7 p.m.
I guess he digs art!

Old Fashion Fun

2007-09-17T01:20:00.000-05:00

Last week I had a little workshop at my local branch of the library, We made simple clothespin dolls and gave them painted apple heads. The class was originally to be ages 12 and up, but as these things often go, the class ended up consisting of 7 children between the ages of 8 and 13. It was a little chaotic but fun. These were my samples:

It's a little hard to see, but the dolls have hinged legs and arms.

Each doll uses 3 clothes pins, either the flat or round type (not the spring hinges ones!). I chose to paint the dolls like apple fairies, but two off the kids painted theirs to be pumpkin heads which looked really cool. I need to get a camera for these classes!

Some people knit, some build houses!

2007-09-05T03:40:00.000-05:00

Here is my brother's current project - he's renovating a little house for his son, Randy. The whole family is involved with Dad acting as contractor, Mom as coordinator, sister Jenn and her hub Mike providing labor along with all of Randy's buddies and main squeeze, Kelly.The grandparents have been down several times to help. The girls and I stopped by last week to check out the progress and to visit the guard kitties, Oreo and Snowflake, who are staying at the house. It's very exciting to see this sweet house take shape. It's about 900 sq. ft. now. It's going to be a comfortable place! When they took off the roof you could see the first roof and where the front half of the current house had been added. Soon a big front porch will be added - perfect for fall rocking'.

Here are the girls
trying out the tractor
used to grade the
front yard.

It's wonderful to know the history of a place, and this one is close to the heart. The house reno was started by Bob's best friend, Chris. There is a lot of history here.

Chris's grandmother used to live in the house, back when it was just a little bitty 2 room cabin. Someone added 2 more rooms and a back porch. Chris passed away earlier this year, so I guess it's a little bittersweet, but an act of love is never wasted.

Who would I be ...

2007-08-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

I scored as Elizabeth Swann, Good evening Ms. Swann.
You're Elizabeth Swann!!! You fall in love with Will Turner while at the same time managing to get drunk and fall off a cliff. Good for you!! :D:D:D

What Pirates of the Caribbean Character are you????
created with QuizFarm.com

At Hogwarts ...
I scored in Griffindor

You would belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring nerve nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart.
You Join other famous wizards such as Dumbledore. Griffindor sets itself high standards, and as such you are expected to try your hardest and pull your way through with your bravery and daring.

In sexy fiction ...
I score as Stephanie Plum!

"My body was designed to sit in a Porsche and drive."

In Disneyland ... No surprise, I scored as Belle

In the Buffyverse ...
I am Willow
Smart. Resourceful. Understanding. Full of Self-Doubt. Shy. Unstable. Your live has mostly been about relying on your smarts. You parents mostly ignored you, so you had to learn to be resourceful. Magic came along as a boundless frontier that had a unique set of chalanges and rewards. The mystical is one of most compelling things for you. Only love can surmount that. You emotions are a whirlwind of either strength or destruction. The combination of Brains, Magic & Overwhelming Emotions makes you a dangerous, but very interesting person.

I love all of Joss Whedon's shows. I especially love the idea of heros in everyday life. It's important we know why we choose our path.

In the Firefly universe I am Derrial Book (Shepherd) - Even though you are holy you have a mysterious past.

You scored as a Fred
You're Fred! The clever one of the group, people often turn to you for help. You're stronger than most people would give you credit for.

Which Angel Character Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
You scored as a English/Journalism/Comm
You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in Communication, English, Film, Journalism, Literature, or Writing.

It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories
English/Journalism/Comm - 94%
Physics/Engineering/Computer - 81%
Psychology/Sociology - 81%
Education/Counseling - 75%
HR/BusinessManagement - 75%
Please post your results in your blog

WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
created with QuizFarm.com

And that's what an evening at QuizFarm can get you.

WARNING: RANT IN PROGRESS

2007-08-02T03:18:00.000-05:00

Normally I would not choose such a public forum for a rant, but this particular rant deserves to be public.

My "gift" is to see the pattern of workflow and the little changes that can be made to improve flow. My area of expertise is digital printing and I work as a little satellite in a company producing large silk-screen decals. A new supervisor was brought in last year to make things better for the company. He has no print experience but is a good number guy was what I was told.

I'm all for good numbers but being diplomatic to a short sighted, narrow minded, chauvinistic man who seems determined to reinvent the wheel is irritating. Watching him try to make employee hand puppets is painful - micromanaging is NEVER successful. All of this behavior was outside of my small segment of production until a few weeks ago. Large format printing is becoming a lucrative branch of the print industry ... now his hand-puppet management philosophy has been draw to my room (think eye of Sauron...) To improve my production, my supervisor has decided to hold back information on jobs I handle until just before they go into production so I will not be "confused" or "overwhelmed." Some jobs I do not see at all, nor do I have the specs for future reference as he has decided to hold the entire information jacket in his office. Those jobs are "too complicated" for me to handle "on my own." Gosh, I find this attitude offensive and I am more than a little shocked by the idea that anyone could be fooled by this crap.

I have spent all of my adult life knowing I am equal to any and every task that comes my way. In the three departments I managed, production went up, errors went down and we were able to streamline our processes which let us be more creative. Synergy is my favorite and most used model and I have had great results. I have never been overwhelmed or confused for more than a few minutes. I took this job 3 years ago so I could relax into retirement, however, at this rate I expect this business to fail in 2 to 3 years. Lets be realistic, competition is stiff. Paring production costs and finding new markets for our products are important. Our employees are our biggest expense and our biggest asset, tapping into their expertise and loyalty is key! Until this dude realizes he is surrounded by experts with years of valuable experience in their heads he will continue to cause this disruption that has infected my entire department. To a person we've had to sit back in amazement and "dumb" down our jobs to accommodate his ego.

Okay, I'm finished and I feel much clearer. Thanks for your patience.

It is what it is.

2007-08-01T02:45:00.000-05:00

I am really different from the people I work with. It's not like I have 2 heads or suck blood - it's a priority thing, I guess. I would rather make art than anything. My house gets a half-hearted cleaning twice a year when my sister comes to visit, I do the dishes every week, I never dust really, and I hate lawn work. I bought the house because my mom lived with me and she thought it would be economical and she was right. She loved lawn work and I did it to please her. She died 4 years ago and that lawn knows the boss is gone. Those damn Mulberry trees are taking over! The people I work with would be horrified to walk in, their houses are spotless. Of course, they all have husbands and children which makes a person accountable. I have a cat and a dog. They haven't learned to run the sweeper yet so I guess they are good with the dust.

Sometimes I wish I could retrain my brain to feel the same excitement about a clean and shiny house I do for a new art technique or a finished project. It seems doable, doesn't it? But really, it's like saying it's just as easy to fall for a rich man as a poor one... It is what it is. Our dance with life is capricious and not a little amusing. That seductive excitment of creativity obscures my (small) embarrassment over dust bunny herds and peeling paint on the back porch and I'm swept away. Madeline L'Engle wrote something about being in the moment and being truly who we are when we forget ourselves in the creative process and time passes without notice. (I think it was in A Circle of Quiet - well worth the reading). More and more I live in that timeless place, coming up for air to socialize and recharge. Do you think it is a function of age that the balance between inner and outer life begins to swing toward the inner? Maybe it isn't even all that different timewise. Maybe the difference it that I am consciously choosing what I want over what I should.

Have you heard about Artist Trading Cards and Art Cards, Editions and Originals? They are mini (2.5" by 3.5") pieces of art. ATC are actually traded and not sold. ACEO can be sold. Etsy, where I have my knitting shop, and Ebay both do a good trade in ACEO. I am really intrigued and have to start making some. My niece and nephew are visiting from Iowa this week and it's on our project list. Of course it's 4H Fair week so I'm not sure how much art is getting made ,, altho' we could combine the two and incorporate their wristband and all the commercial building handouts into something. Hmmm.

I taught a small class on glass painting last week and as soon as my photographer friend, Melanie, gets back I'll post some pics of my samples. Very satisfying. Next class is wooden doll Apple Fairies, that's in September.

My newest yarn project may have to be the Molly Weasley sweater. I purchased the pattern from Shelle Cain, who is listed on etsy and has her own website:
www.crochetcabin.
bravehost.com

Wild Wild Life

2007-07-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

Here I sit, typing away, Talking Heads whirling like a dervish all around me. Head bobbing, toes tapping (on air because I have this ridiculously high work table...), one just has to move to Life During Wartime, Girlfriend Is Better, etc.

I am totally unmotivated to knit or crochet. Hot weather maybe. All I want to do is sit on the porch and read. I just finished "Standing in the Rainbow" and am now reading "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" both by Fannie Flagg. Although there is no quilting in the books, my best description is that they are beautiful quilt of a story!

Over the 4th, E and I visited the new Farmer's Market in Elkhart. It is a very nice place, beautiful and reasonably priced crafts and veggies. The building itself is just lovely and the restrooms are perfect!! It seems silly to get excited about restrooms, but let me tell you, it is a real treat to be in a place with roomy stalls, a shelf for your purchases and obvious attention to design details.

I still love my South Bend Farmer's Market which was founded in 1917. One of my favorite booths is this one (left, The Bootery) has been around for easily 15 years and she always has the coolest baby booties and the best handknit cotton washcloths!

I remember visiting the market all through my childhood, the big treat being a chance to have a fountain soda in the little restaurant with it's 3 "u" shaped counters. My family and I still head over most Saturdays to pick up veggies, plants and breakfast. The BEST B&G I have ever had!

There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
— A. Einstein

HP hats for Charity

2007-04-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

I just downloaded a pattern for a charming hat and beanie using house colors from Hogwarts. I know these hats will be a big hit in my family come winter. Information for Warm Woolies is also found on this great blog Charmed Knits (see button under links). It sounds just wonderful!

I also visited Knitsmiths blog ( at knitsmith.us) and am very inspired. I have taken a little time away from knitting, but I may have to pull out the needles again.

I did pick up a set of knifty knitter looms, the rectangular ones. I already have a set of round looms. I made a lovely shrug using chenille yarn and the largest cirle loom. I'll get a pic up soon. I'll have to experiment with the long looms. Use up some of that stash!!

Just Hangin' Out

2007-03-15T04:35:00.000-05:00

I haven't been very creative lately, just hanging out, getting over a little flu. I did finish a couple of circle afghans like this one but in different colors. They will be birthday gifts. I'm still working on my flag afghan but that doesn't need to be finished until August.

Kitty's dog, Lucky, has been doing pretty good without her. She found him on a cold, rainy October night and convinced me to keep him. We put ads in the lost and found as well as fliers, but no one claimed him. That was in 1999. He's been my good buddy, especially in the last year as Kitty's health went.
Merry has been very affectionate lately, and the two of them ave actually noticed each other, something new. It will be interesting to see what happens next!

Kitty

2007-03-05T02:29:00.000-06:00

I lost my big dog, Kitty, this weekend. She was growing weaker, only seeing shapes and hearing very little, but it is hard to say goodbye.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

This and That

2007-02-08T22:45:00.000-06:00

Well, both the Block Kids event sponsored by NAWIC and the Science Alive! event at the SJCPL were a lot of fun. The weather was a concern Saturday as the temp was a very brisk -23 degrees with wind chill, so attendance was down a little. The young builders seemed enthusiastic and thoughtful about their constructions. Part of my duties as judge were to ask the kids questions such as what they wanted to be when they grew up and how they planned their project. I met a future art teacher, a designer, an architect and a veterinarian.

Science Alive! was incredible! There was a kind of trade show set up in the large meeting room and so many groups were represented I can't even hope to list them all. I do remember the Potawatomie Zoo booth, the Civil Engineers from Notre Dame and the Physics Club, also from Notre Dame.

Block Kids was held at the Boys and Girls Club here in South Bend. It was my first visit there and I am impressed. In addition to being spacious, clean, comfortable and welcoming, there are lovely original paintings in the hallways of children who use the facility. The artist, Kelly, works at the center. Good job, Kelly. I love the portraits, they are large canvases with a bright background, one child in each, and a real joyous atmosphere. I felt like I was actually meeting the child as I viewed the painting.

After the library it was home to blessed warmth, KFC and the entire 3rd season of Smallville. What a great day.

The intense cold didn't lessen it's grip on our town until Wednesday. It's hard to be cold all the time. I suppose that contributed to the grumpiness I felt this week more than anything. Now that the thermometer is up to 17 degrees life seems much better. I have been researching ways to improve my knowledge base, both to make it easier to find better employment and to challenge my brain. I picked up two "Classroom in a Book" volumes from Adobe, Illustrator CS and Photoshop CS. I am planning to take the Adobe Certified Expert tests in both. I am also planning to get certified as an expert in Microsoft Office and, possibly, become certified as a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician. I already use most of these programs so I'm halfway there. I would like to get back into desktop publishing, I'm kind of finished with the production printing end of things. It's not very challenging to me, and kind of smelly with the solvent inks we use.

On the hobby front I have taken the first steps to becoming a Master Knitter. It's pretty cool in an humbling way. Learning is fun, but not as easy as it once was!

All Kinds of Fun

2007-02-02T00:28:00.000-06:00

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) are sponsoring a Kid Event at the local Boys and Girls Club here in South Bend and I get to be a judge for part of the fun building competition! Each participant gets 100 interlocking type blocks and up to 3 of the following items: a small rock about 2" long, an 18" x 18" square of tin foil, a 12" long piece of string or a 12" x 12" piece of poster board. This promises to be very interesting. My sister will also be a judge.

After this event my nieces and I will head over to the Main library for the afternoon events of "Science Alive." The 2:30 program is Service Dogs on the Go presented by Paws with a Cause and we get to meet Magic and his trainer.

At 3:30 is the big one - Eye to Eye with Indiana's Creepy Crawlers, meeting with snakes, frogs and lizards. Even though the Science demos were in the morning there will still be science demos and projects happening in several rooms including a Dino dig, Stars and Stellar art projects, Kids Astro Camp and QuarkNet Physics activities.

Science Alive has been presented the first Saturday in Feb. for 15 years. It is always a good time! Since both girls want to go into some kind of work with science and animals (what kid doesn't want to be a vet?) this is very good for them. While we are there I'll get a movie for our pizza and movie night. I love it when a plan comes together!

Happy New Year!!

2007-02-01T21:26:00.000-06:00

We haven't had snow save for a sprinkling Christmas eve, very unusual for northern Indiana. This week is making up for it!! It began snowing Jan. 25 and has snowed at least an inch, often more, each day since. I now have about 9 inches on the ground at my house, and it snowing as I write. The 7 day forecast predicts snow 6 of the seven. It's good for the ground water level and it's really pretty but, my gosh, shoveling is a workout. Thank God it's all light powder. The weather people may call it lake effect but it's not the big wet flakes we usually get.

I'm embarrassed to realize how long it has been since I posted. I wish I could claim to have been on holiday in the islands or something exotic. Alas, no. Christmas has come and gone and January is over! I spent my holiday knitting and doing the bare minimum of cleaning around the house. I completed 4 purses and 2 skull scarves, all tucked into zippered pillowcases waiting to be felted. I have 2 more purses on the needles. I did a little embroidery on the finished purses, but I wasn't really inspired. I plan to add some buttons and brooches after felting. Oh, and my den is within 3 hours of being useful again!! The piles of yarn and various projects are tucked into storage drawers and the loose papers are filed away.

The Walmart by me finally opened. I have been waiting since early last spring for this! It is built on the site of the business my Dad helped start. At various times all of my family has worked there, so it was sad to see the building go (the business closed it's doors about a year after 9-11). On the other hand just the rumor of Walmart coming to the south side caused a wonderful growth of restaurants, stores and services. I hope to see a lot more, the south side has been pretty run down.
Anyway, back to my story, I visited Walmart on my way home from work last week. It's great to have some businesses open on my schedule (being a night shift worker and all). Of course, I picked up some yarn and a pattern book called crochets afghans from A to Z. I'm starting with A. It's an American flag. I have made 2 flag afghans in the past, but this pattern is a little different, kind of based on granny squares. I chose a fairly dark blue and dark red and a winter white. This will be a birthday present for later this year. I haven't crocheted in quite some time and the muscles used are different than for knitting. It's good to keep my hands busy, the arthritis is kept at bay!

I spend a lot of time at the library. Our county library is 4th in the nation and it is a pip, let me tell you. I love it. Every branch has something special in the design and in the staff that makes each one a pleasure to visit. My branch is the Virginia Tutt. Mrs. Tutt was a educator back in the day. I have visited this branch once or twice a week all of my life. Just recently Kim, an old school chum and, now, librarian, asked if I would be interested in presenting a program for teens at the Tutt! How fun! We decided to do painting on rocks, something I have done for the past two years with the 4-H program my township as an introduction to painting. There are a series of wonderful books by Lin Wellford that are inspiring. The directions are clear and the photos are tremendously helpful. My program will be April 16 so I have plenty of time to make some samples (an excellent snowy day project by the way). What a great excuse to play with paint!! Just having the opportunity to teach something arty through the library is a great blessing for me. I would love to do a program each month if this works out, as I'm sure it will. I'd also like to develop a knitting class of maybe 4 weeks that could meet at the Tutt and cover beginning knitting and a simple project, possibly a felted purse. By the way, the web address for my library is www.sjcpl.org - visit and see if you don't fall in love with it!!

Skulls Galore

2006-12-20T03:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I am stuck on skulls. I guess it's a phase every artist goes through at some time. Of course, pirates are big as well.

I've been wanting to do this big, over the top skull from Enchanted Knitting. Perhaps I'm working up to that? I wanted to get these in before I wrap them up.

The hat has monkeys on it - it's for my monkey girl, Lily. Happy knitting...

This is a new style purse and I really like it. I'm working on a red, white and blue one today in the same style. This one is grey with very subtle coloring.

Merry Christmas to All!

2006-12-18T21:24:00.000-06:00

Like most of America, I am getting ready for Christmas. I love this time of year, finishing up my gifts and wrapping them up. This year I'm staying home. Since mom died, I've celebrated Christmas with my sister and her family in California. This year they moved to a small town in Iowa which I visited this summer. As much as I would love to travel, Kitty, my old dog, is failing and I'd like to stay with her for as long as I have her. So I think I'll have little gatherings over the week and just visit family and friends here. My workplace is closed from Christmas to New Year's - what a cool blessing!

Here a two of the ear flap hats I made last week. I used the medium Swell pattern from Knitty with wool and size 11 needles then felted them.

I added a few extra rows before the shaping for the top of the hat just to make sure it was long enough after felting. They turned out great, I'm really happy with the look and fit.

As I have said before, I work nights, which gives
me lots of time to think. The last few nights Melanie (my lovely hat model), and I have been discussing the insights from the Celestine Prophecy. It's been a pretty lively discussion ranging from dragons, magic, music, Lives of a Cell, Eragon, fairies, the after-life, the power of prayer and positive thinking to forgiveness, gratitude and healing. I can hardly wait to see what patterns turn up in my next hat with all these exciting ideas flying around!!

Kitten Purse Pic

2006-11-27T21:18:00.000-06:00

It was wonderful to get together with family for the Thanksgiving holiday. I like catching up with everyone.

It's also nice to be on my own again. There is a lot to be said for solitude.

Here is the kitten purse. I have knitted three so far, and that was in one evening, they go really quickly. Sorry, the photo is a little blurry.

Comments on the Simple Life

2006-11-13T19:20:00.000-06:00

No, not that Simple Life - mine. Not nearly as interesting or as trendy, but I'm not a cow-huggin' hottie, darn it.

I did spend several minutes (seems like hours) tossing trash, organizing yarns and putting away items that really don't belong in that room. Then I drew up a few designs for little projects like a fancy set of shelves to go under the window and hold pattern books. I bought 4 more stackable drawers to complete the yarn storage area and got a pretty big bag of Goodwill items gathered.

Of course I was distracted by a little bit of variegated brown yarn I found and had to make something out of it. Here is the little pattern I wrote. I'll get pictures of the finished purse soon. It's adorable!!

Sunday I participated in an open house, sold 3 purses and have an order for at least one more. That's pretty nice. Of course I forgot my pretty cards!! A fellow artist at the open house wants to trade some of her jewelry for a skull scarf and a skull purse. I'm going to be busy - better get that den done pretty quick!!

KISS

2006-11-10T00:30:00.000-06:00

Keeping it simple, sweetie! Knitting and painting projects are on "semi-hold" (yeah, sounds good) until I have simplified my house. My life is good - it's pretty much what it is, what you see is what you get. My house on the other hand is full of "possibilities" and "I may need thats." I'm not complaining so much as drawing the sketch. I like having plenty of "raw" materials on hand. I just want all this stuff to be organized so I can see what's here and get rid of the true dreck. My second goal is to streamline the rooms so I can clean them easily. I've let too much stuff drift into piles and kind of stopped cleaning because there was too much stuff in the way! Thanksgiving will soon be here and I have family coming to stay. The bedrooms need the least work - thank goodness!! Mostly it's my "rooms of shame" formerly known as the den, the back porch and the garage.

The den is where I'm starting TODAY! The den has bags of yarn and nearly finished projects knee deep across the floor. My computer counter is stacked with papers and whatever else I clear off the dining room table and dump there. I've made my visit to flylady.com and I am armed with a strategy. When I get home from work I promise to spend at least 45 minutes clearing the counter. I also promise to do a fast round with the trash bag! Over the weekend I intend to finish this task and have an organized and clean space. I may even be able to bring in this fabulous retro recliner I found for free!!! It is going to be the perfect reading chair once it's recovered. The recliner makeover will be next week's project, I already have the fabric. Pics to follow next blog.

OTN (I know, this is the semi-hold part...) Some skull scarves inspired by Yorick from Knitty.com. Here are the prefelted pictures. I have an earflap Jane Cobb hat to felt as well, so I'll do them all together. Once the den is finished!!

Apples and Kitty

2006-11-06T00:17:00.000-06:00

I finished a little apple hat and am now working on a little cardigan to go with it. Here is the hat. The cardi is finished up to the shoulders. Just need the sleeves and little apple pockets. Pics to follow.

This weekend I noticed my old dog, Kitty, was having more trouble walking than usual. She's about 14, a husky / shepherd mix, and a sweetheart. I realized it is no longer a matter of years for our time together, but months, possible weeks. She still enjoys her food, a good brushing, and treats. The hearing is gone and some of the sight but there doesn't seem to be any pain. She is such a sweetie.

Painted Dollies

2006-11-01T22:57:00.000-06:00

Here are two of the latest painted dolls. I am sending the cat girl to my niece for her birthday. She is the Princess of Kitties - having 6 herself! I used a What's Her Face doll for both catgirl, Bloody Mary, (based on my cat, a great hunter) and Raggedy Annie.

Raggedy Annie has painted stocking and shoes (which you can't see because I was having a senior moment with the camera)! I have plans for a monkey girl, a cheetah girl and a lizard boy, all to be Christmas gifts.

This is CoCoNut, my monkey. I used a pattern from a great book called The World of Knitted Toys by Kath Dalmeny. I have a snake knitted just waiting to be stuffed. I really like this book, the patterns are straight forward, easy to understand and very clever.

Have a great day!

2006-11-01T03:22:00.000-06:00

Well, this is pretty darned exciting - I finally got a camera and took a few pictures. Here is a chic little felted purse I love and 3 little party purses made with fun fur and worsted acrylic.

I think the furry purses are great fun to use every day, especially the one here with the cuffed top. I will post a pic of my felted skellyton bag tomorrow. It's been a real conversation starter!!

All of them are listed at Zen Knitting on Etsy by the way.

Happy Halloween!!!

2006-10-31T02:09:00.000-06:00

I just love Sesame Street. I remember when the Electric Company, Zoom and Sesame Street started on PBS. I was in college studying to be a teacher, an Art teacher. I thought these shows were incredibly creative and progressive teaching tools. PBS reached millions of people, young and old, and entertained while teaching. Along with whatever lesson came the concepts 1) learning is fun, 2) you can do it (creative problem solving), and 3) you can think for yourself (critical thinking). Sprinkled throughout was the seasoning of wild creativity. I still giggle when I hear today's show brought to you by the number 6 and the letter G.

I picked up a little digital camera tonight and should have some pics to post tomorrow.

The Graveyard Shift

2006-10-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

I work nights, the graveyard shift, and I like it. My days are free, except for the pesky sleeping part, and I have lots of time for crafting. The plant where I work is quieter at night and I am far more productive than I was working first shift. I run several large format printers. I also organize paper work and schedule my printing, etc., but mostly I watch the printers, make sure the color stays true and the media runs smoothly. It's pretty conducive to reflection - I spend a lot of time planning projects, writing knit patterns and solving the world's problems. Sometimes I can knit. How great is that!

Yes, we Painted Barbie

2006-10-15T11:44:00.000-05:00

Check out these works of art! The kids did an outstanding job. We had a wonderful time and even the youngest artist (5 years) did well.

His is the free spirit in the middle back.

I think everyone understood the method of layering paint, taking time to dry each layer and building their design. I love the wealth of color and texture on the "What's her Face doll.She actually has purple hair to compliment the purple and red "socks" her mama artist gave her. Tammy - the doll on the right, has a lovely flower detail along her leg.

I'll have more pictures later, we had some not really technical problems earlier (our battery died :-). We used acrylic craft paints and a semi-gloss, water-based varnish. I'd like to add decopage to the mix next time, and possibly some simple fabric embellishments. I still want to make some sugar plum fairies and the skeleton girl. The painted black barbie actually ended up being "Constellation Girl," with silver and gold dots drifting along her left shoulder and leg.

Just a note: Even though the dolls are sealed with 2 coats of varnish they are easily scratched so they are more to display than to play with if you want them to stay in pristine condition. I have found that the kids really like to paint and play. The scratches don't matter so much to them.

2006-10-13T02:42:00.000-05:00

Here is the new and improved version of my card. I'm pretty happy with it. People are always asking for one when I go to the market, so I finally got it done.

Tonight my little kiddos are coming to dinner and a craft. We're going to paint Barbies. I have about 50 naked dolls just waiting to be created on! Shiny yarn and a few ideas for Sugar Plum Fairies are dancing in my head so that's what I'm going to make. One of the dolls has already been painted black. I think the little dude and I will have to paint a skeleton on her - for Halloween. This will be fun!

Currently OTN I have an apple hat for our family's newest baby. She's going to look so very cute! I may have to make up a little cardi in the leaf green with apple pockets to go with it. Have a great weekend!

2006-10-11T02:42:00.000-05:00

This evening I'm experimenting a little more with the whole blog thing. Tomorrow my friend Melanie has volunteered to take pics of my work in progress and help me post them. I have several things on the needles currently - some have been lingering longer than others LOL! I started two projects out of the Double Trouble book from Twisted Sisters. I love their patterns and the way they manipulate stitches to form the pieces. Sadly, both these sweaters are on hold while I prepare for Christmas knitting.

I am setting up a store on etsy.com called Zen Knitting. With Melanie's help I will have some pics posted there by the end of the week. Right now I have nearly all my finished projects in the back of the van as I had 3 craft shows and a couple of market days through September. I really enjoyed the Garwood Orchard Craft Festival which was September 16 and 17 in LaPorte, Indiana. Phyllis Garwood, the "orchardess" is a wonderful character full of laughter and good cheer. The orchard itself is very pretty and the Ginger Gold apples are my favorite. There were several talented crafters at the Festival including Sid and Renee of Gourdatious Gourds. Their gourds are just beautiful. I'll have to get a few pics from Renee and post them here, you just won't believe your eyes!

2006-10-10T03:36:00.000-05:00

I am "in process". Soon I will be blogging with the best of 'em but tonight I am struggling to learn how to navigate these directions! I have added a photo (yeah) and almost figured out how to change my template. Once I get these challenges mastered I can actually post some knitting stuff. How cool is all of this!?