I’ve decided to knit myself a sweater. This is a big deal. For a few reasons. First, I don’t generally knit things that have to “fit.” I knit hats, scarves, half of a sock, that sort of thing. I DID knit sweaters for the kids when they were small, but that is easy stuff - little kids don’t care if a sweater hangs a little crookedy. OH, I have knit some tiny sweaters for friends who are having babies too - and they come out fine. Again, it’s the “kid” thing - they don’t have to be perfect because you know the baby will just puke on them, and they’ll have to go into the wash.
So, for me to knit myself a sweater, well, that’s an adventure. I was inspired by a sale. There’s a great yarn site, Elann, and they had a sale on yarn so I got some. Here’s the yarn swatches I knit:
I just scanned them, didn’t feel like getting the camera out. So, after I bought the yarn, I went looking for a sweater pattern. THAT was an adventure. I pored over the free patterns on Knitty, looked at Berrocco, Bernat, all different sites. NOTHING caught my eye that used yarn in the same weight as this one. SO, on the way to the gallery last weekend to work, I stopped in a yarn shop in Charlestown, RI near Rt. 1, where Rt. 2 hits Rt. 1.
Got a book:
AND found a great little raglan pattern:
So, I’m good to go! Did my swatches last night to check my gauge, and now I know I have to go out and buy bamboo needles in size 10 and size 8 since I only have metal needles in that size (and I hate knitting on metal needles cuz my stitches always slide right off!)
We’ll see how long this takes me - how often do i make anything for myself anyways?
I promised to post this as S and J created the most adorable animation for Valentine’s Day. Make sure you watch in “high quality” otherwise it’s a bit “pixel-y.”
I worked all day and into the night - I did make sure and spend some time enjoying lunch and dinner today though! First, I had a wonderful lunch at the cafe right across from my hotel. I SHOULD take some pictures of the food, but then, that is just WEIRD to do. I enjoyed the most luscious piece of cheesecake I have ever had - so light, and so creamy, omg!
Then, paused work long enough to shop at Stockmann’s and go to Memphis. Memphis? It’s right around the corner, and while I was in there eating my cheeseburger and drinking some kind of Finnish alcohol with lime, it started snowing. Now, the cool thing about that is, the street near my hotel is HEATED (according to my friend Jeff who was here for a long time working) so, here are some pics from today. First, you can see Memphis, and then, for Sam, there’s a shot of the McDonald’s sign. After that, pay close attention to where the snow STOPS - the sidewalks are always clear there.
Still working, wanting to finish stuff up so that I can have a REAL weekend here and be outdoors and sightsee, shop, all the touristy things! FUN!
Oh man! I came across some fabric I liked, and followed it to the designer’s blog - her name is tula pink and she is just the coolest! Here are some of her newest line, Neptune, for Moda fabrics:
I love the hidden surprises - like the sea turtle.
Then, tula mentioned a really cool site (for crafty sewing people like myself) where you can design and print your own fabric! Spoonflowerlooks like a blast, I am going to have to play around and print up some fun. Got to run and pick S up from art class right now, but had to share some of my internet discoveries today.
We took Sam and his friend Joe over to the high school to shoot off some rockets. It’s really cool to do it at dusk when you can really see the flame light up. I took the camera and hoped to get a few shots - these are a couple of the best. It was getting dark, and the last one we sent up was so high and so small we lost it coming down. So Sam, Joe and I fanned out around the field and Sam found it!
I took Friday off from work, and Mark and I went to the Chihuly exhibit at the RISD Museum. Here are some photos - the lighting on the glass was incredibly effective. I loved how the varied colors and shapes of the glass were enhanced by the directed lights.
On Saturday, we went back up to RISD and Benefit St. - it was the Alumni and Student sale. Alumni and current students had tables all along the street in front of the museum. We bought some ceramics (pics to be posted later) since you know I’m a fool for pottery…. the best part for me was afterwards, as we went and had lunch at Seven Stars. Mark commented that most of the jewelry we saw at that sale had been simple stuff, plain earrings, strung necklaces, and such. He actually said my stuff was “more artistic and unique” than the stuff made by the students and alums. Now, if you know me, you would know I’m not saying this to bolster my ego about my work. I’m just really grandly happy that Mark understands that the work that I do in glass, even though I’m primarily self taught through experimentation and exploration, can stand equal to the work done by people who studied art in college - a prestigious school as RISD. On the way home, the colors of autumn pulled at me, and I’m planning on working those into one of the pulled necklaces soon. My approach to my work shifted over these last months to making fewer but grander pieces. I’m finding I’m happier when focused on singular work from the beginnings in choosing the rods of glass to the end where I’m stringing beads to create individual necklaces and bracelets. I’ll never make lots of repetitive work - because I only get to work on the weekends, I don’t like to spend the time at the torch churning out more of the same. It’s much more fulfilling for me to flow and create singular inspired work - and I’m glad to be able to continue on this creative path.
Sam and I went to the park for a test geocaching run before his upcoming bd on Sunday…. we had a good time struggling with understanding what the heck the GPS meant during our search; and found the two caches we went looking for.
I went to “Atonement” yesterday afternoon, and the staccato typewriter clicking punctuating the film made me come home and dig out my dad’s old Smith Corona. He was a sports writer for the Orlando Sentinel around the time of WW II -and while writing for that paper, he met my mom. I’ve hung onto this old machine for many years, and haven’t tried to type anything for at least 30 years on it. After I placed it on the kitchen table, the kids just had to have a chance typing - and it actually worked! The ribbon held enough ink to be legible!
Tonight was the regular gallery stroll from 5-8. The back gallery is filled with children’s art, and our work is up in the front. The back is bright and cheerful - it’s a really great show.
Then, just two doors down, there was a Raptor demonstration. Here are a couple of shots from that - a screech owl and a red tail hawk. There is a raptor rehab in Bradford, RI, and they brought some of their raptors and gave a talk about them in the Old Stone Bank building. What a great space there.
I haven’t been out torching as it’s been just too darn cold for me. So, I’ve been reading a TON, and knitting stuff too. Just finished a book about “the Loomis Gang” that may be about my husband’s ancestors in upstate New York. Here’s a pic of the cover:
After I finished the book this morning, I got online to see how far back I could trace my husband’s lineage. He went downstairs and got out all kinds of old photos and fun stuff. I sat at the computer for about six hours on & off doing research on ancestry.com (they have a free 14 day trial, and we decided to give it a shot. GREAT site - if you know certain things about relatives, you search on their name, birthdate, etc, and you see if they were written into early census documents, and can print the original pages) We traced him back to relatives born around the late 1860’s. But there the trail is cold. That was right around the time of the most notorious gang activity…. we plan on more searching, and maybe even a trip out to NY at some point. If you’ve never looked into your genealogy, let me tell you it can be addicting! I hardly noticed the time fly by.
On a different note, I finished the anti-stress scarf I have been knitting since Christmas. Here’s the scarf - the really cool yarn is “Tundra” by Traveling Rhinos. It was a blend of fibers that mixed all kinds of colors of the north - and it inspired the color choices for the rest of the scarf. It’s a wide scarf done in garter stitch (no stress cuz there’s no pattern to remember!) I wore it yesterday doubled over and tucked into my fleece jacket. It’s nice, wide, and warm too.
