Category Archives: Fiber Arts

Personal projects and news

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Week Nine – Hello Sock Madness // Goodbye Hair

This week was packed.  We went to Birmingham on Wednesday so I could have a MRI.  Never had one before, quite an experience.  I can’t imagine being claustrophobic and having to endure one of those.  Good thing I don’t scare easily.  Official results are not in yet, but doc said it looks cancer free.

Round one of Sock Madness V (2011) began March 4th this year.  I am amazed that I am going to be able to finish a complete pair of socks in under a week.  Here is my progress thus far.

We have two weeks to finish the pair.  Those who finish the pair in time will be put into one of four teams, who will then compete in brackets making additional pairs from patterns we have not even seen yet.  The patterns are all different techniques and the time to make the pairs gets shorter.  There is no way I will win this competition, but it is fun to try.  The consolation is that I end up with several new pairs of socks!  Yay!

On the tatting front, I finished this lovely piece just minutes before the Sock Madness pattern was released. Whew.

Just like the motif from last week, I love the design, but do not like the colors.  The pattern is “Small Cross” from Tatting with Visual Patterns (Mary Konior) and the thread is Lizbeth (size 20, color 147).  On the spool, this thread is deceiving.  This one looked red and black on the spool, but tatted up red and burgandy.  I think ordering directly from Handy Hands is a good way to go, since I can see the tatted example of the thread colors on their website.  This spool I bought at Hobby Lobby.  I am going to make this one again in black, perhaps with silver around the outside edge.

Finally, there is the subject of my hair.  I was unaware of how sensitive your hair is to changes, like illness and surgery.  My hair has been falling out in handfuls for a month or two now and it was getting so thin and stringy that I had to take action.  Here is the result.

Some people have told me that I am so “brave” to have my long hair just cut completely off.  But I really see it as doing what I have to do.  It is either going to fall out or be cut off and since I would like to think that I am still in some control, it had to be cut.

Those are the highlights of my week.  What was yours like?

Quote of the week: “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” J.R.R. Tolkien

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Week Eight – Angels in the Snow and Auburn Basketball

This week I present to you my rendition of Angels in the Snow, a tatting pattern by Miranda Rensberger, aka Tatting Fool.

This pattern is very easy to follow and I completed it in under a week.  The thread is Lizbeth, but I don’t know the colourway.  The thread was sent to me in the mail as a sample spool from Barbara at Handy Hands Tatting.  I like the thread a lot, but am not too keen on this colourway.

This week we also attended our last Auburn basketball game of the season.  In many respects, I am glad that this season is in the books.  The team was less than stellar this year and even though I have come to expect that, albeit almost enjoy it for the lower turnout it produces, it would have been nice to see them win a few more games.  One of the highlights of the season was Scott finally winning the Chik-fil-a chicken strips giveaway.  He tried every game to text for the win and finally did it.  However, the thing I will probably remember the most about the games is the faithful devotion of Goggle Guy.

Yes, we dubbed him Goggle Guy early in the season and he made it to all the games, save one or two.  Always front and center with his goggles on and his awesome pompom ready for action, he was a sight to look forward to.  If you know him or see him next year, tell him there are folks in the scholarship section that look forward to seeing him support the team.  I’m no expert, but I truly believe if Auburn Basketball had more student fans like Goggle Guy they would probably be contenders for the SEC title.  The lack of student fervor for basketball at Auburn is pathetic.  The new arena deserves better.

Quote for the week:

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you fail to focus on your goals. (Anonymous)

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Week Seven – A Tender Touch From The Past

It has been said of Scott’s great great aunt Dotie that “she would tat around anything that sat still long enough.”  This week we were blessed to be given a box of her tatting that had been saved by Scott’s great aunt Lynn who passed away last year.  In the box were yards and yards of edging that she had tatted, as well as, about 25 motifs.  I came home with the motifs and will be using them on the Christmas tree this year.  They are all in need of a good washing and stiffening, but they are all so intricate and beautiful even as they are.  She was very good at it, indeed!

This week I also managed to get the Corset cross stitch framed.  I bought a black frame and spray painted it silver along with another frame holding another cross stitch from the past that was gold.  Now both pieces match and I think they look awesome!

While I am still waiting for Sock Madness 2011 to begin, I started my next tatted motif, twice.  Yes, attaching to the wrong picot seems to be a problem of mine…  It should be completed next week, so photos will have to wait until then.

In other news…my diagnosis is finally in and we have found out that it is not cirrhosis after all.  Apparently, I have a 1/1,000,000 rare disease of the liver called Caroli disease.  To most doctors, other than liver specialists, it looks like cirrhosis.  This explains why the doctors were so perplexed at first and kept asking me if I was a heavy drinker or drug user.  My family keeps reminding me that this means that I am one in a million.  Hahaha…  So, now that we have a diagnosis and a prescription regimen, we will just monitor things from here on out.  If things go downhill in the future the “cure” is a liver transplant.  I don’t know what the future holds, but I have a feeling that a transplant is a long way off.

See ya next week!

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Week Six – My Valentine

Why do companies today still portray women as airheads in their commercials?  I am so happy for this “holiday” to be over and done with because I am so tired of being told that, as a woman, all I need to feel special is a stuffed teddy bear with my name on it, a set of PINK pajamas, a heart shaped box of chocolates (that, if eaten, will result in only being able to fit into said pajamas), and perhaps a heart shaped piece of jewelry for under $100 (less than one trip to the grocery store).  Ugh!

My valentine created a one of a kind gift for me this year, as he does every year.  This year he blogged about the origins of the “holiday” and drew me a really nifty “card” on his iPad.  All of which you can see here.  He is the only person I could ever think to call my valentine.  He loves me in spite of me and that is really something that no one else has ever managed to do.  I love ya, Sparky!

This week’s creative venture included crafting some hand made chocolates for some of my friends.

I made these by using several different candy molds.  Painting the insides with various types of chocolates and then filling them with caramel, coconut, cashews, or raspberry jelly.  Then covering the backs of the pieces with chocolate again.  Once hardened, I popped them out of the molds and let my valentine taste test each one.  One of the things about not tasting your own cooking is that you don’t always know what goes with what.  The last batch I made was white chocolate roses filled with a coconut mixture.  I forgot that coconut goes better with dark or milk chocolate.  Oh well.  It is still chocolate and he said it would pass.  :-)

Until next week…D (who is very much looking forward to St. Patrick’s and April Fool’s Days!)

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Week Five – Framed

This week’s post is all about my crafting, specifically cross-stitch.  I was working on my latest cross-stitch this week when I realized just how cumbersome and awkward my frame was.  I have used my lap frame, like this one, for years and it is wonderful if it is set on a table in front of me, but it doesn’t work so well when sitting on the sofa or other chairs.

Then there is the problem of it constantly getting loose and rotating down while you are working on it.  Since I paid big bucks for this frame many years ago, I had used it as long as possible.  This week it was time for a change.

I searched the internet to see what kind of frames were out there now and stumbled upon this one.

Immediately, I thought “wow, what a great solution!”  Then I looked at the price.  I do not have $85 spare change lying around right now, so it was off to Home Depot and the garage to do some wood working.  After spending $10 at Home Depot and about 30 minutes quality time with my bandsaw, I created my own version of this frame.

It has not been sanded down yet, but it works beautifully!

In addition to starting a new, much needed pair of socks and joining up for Sock Madness 2001, that is what I did this week for fun.  What did you do?

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Week Four // Somebody Likes My Cooking

This week was a fairly busy one, filled with doctors appointments and travel to Birmingham and back.  I did manage to squeeze in a little time for cooking and cross stitch though.  Cooking is not something I do well.  Since I don’t eat anything, no seriously, vegetables and fruit are not even on the radar, I don’t taste or invest time in what I cook.  Therefore, the best things for me to cook are the things that don’t require a lot of attention, and that come pre-measured in a box.  However, for some reason, I still like to collect recipes.  Here is proof:

Now I just have to consolidate these into my iPad with this handy little App so I can use at least a few of them.  The one individual who doesn’t complain or run screaming from my cooking (except for me) is Ebby.  So, this week I made her a batch of Gourmet Doggie Biscuits.  I used Chicken Noodle flavor baby food because she loves chicken.  The next batch will probably be carrots, her second favorite.

She is more of a picky eater than I am and she actually liked them.  Awesome!

On the crafting front, I put the final stitches in the Gorset (Corset) cross stitch pattern I have been working on last night.  I am just tickled with how it turned out!  It is just so adorable.  Now I have to stretch, block and frame it.

This week will be consumed by school, work and the beginnings of a new pair of socks.  Yesterday, I gave my first pair of hand knit socks to Ebby for a toy as I could no longer stand how itchy they had become.  It is a little difficult watching the dog try to tear apart something you spent at least a month creating.  But, they served a purpose and now they serve another.

Till next week…Fair Winds.

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Week Three // We’re Expecting

Well, ok, technically, “WE” are not expecting, but our kids are!  We found out this week that our son and his wife are expecting their second child (cough, cough…girl) in September.  William is going to have a baby brother or SISTER to take care of soon.  They will find out the sex of the baby at approximately 15 weeks or so.  Until then we just wait…

Today’s basketball game is Auburn vs. Alabama.  We pretty much make every home game, as it is a great venue for knitting and we both enjoy watching the game.  This particular game is extra sweet because Alabama will be handing over the Iron Bowl trophy and singing the Auburn Fight Song at half time.  Did I mention that we won the Iron Bowl?  War Eagle!  Oh yes, and the BCS National Championship Trophy will also be in the house for all to admire (ogle/covet).  I suppose I should mention, for those who don’t know, we won that too!  War Damn Eagle!!

On the crafting front this week, I finished my Remembrance Ring and made great progress on the cross stitch I started when I got home from the hospital.  Hopefully, the cross stitch will be completed next week.  Here are some photos of the ring.  I just love it and it was so easy!  What do you think?

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Week One // Off To A Good Start

First Snowflake

Week one of 2011 was a good one.  On the home front, Scott and I both got more hours and more $$ in our jobs for the new year.  My health situation is improving daily (more about that in the next post) and the time off from school has been nice.  I figured out this week that I have enough hours to apply for my MAR (Master of Arts in Religion) and I can incorporate the hours for that degree into the MDiv, which is great.

Crafting has taken a slight turn for me this new year also.  The scare I had in November really made me think about what I have done in my life and what I have put off.  Many years ago I used to enjoy shuttle tatting.  A couple of years ago I bought a book that came with a DVD on how to do this craft.  My idea was that I would go through the book, watch the DVD and “re-learn” how to do it again.  Every time I came across that book on the shelf I thought “someday I will have to do that.”  Well, the past two weeks have been someday!  The book and the DVD were excellent, with one exception: the written patterns don’t match the line drawings, or the photos.  All three are correct, however, the written pattern may contain an extra picot, where the picot is not shown in the photo of the finished piece, etc.  The DVD was well worth the price of the book though.  Here is what I have accomplished this week.

This is my first attempt at a bookmark.  My picots, along with everything else, need a little work, but it turned out ok for a first try.

This is “Tatted Motif #12” from Free Tatting Patterns.  This shows some improvement in my technique, however, I need to make my picots larger.  This one will be part of a collection of snowflake motifs that adorn our Christmas tree at the end of 2011.  To better pursue this goal, I have added to my collection “Tatted Snowflakes Collection” by Jon Yusoff and “Tatted Flurries” by Sharon Briggs.  Those will do nicely for starters.

Until next week…

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How to read a knitting chart – video revisited

I did a post back in 2008 showing how to read an EOR (every other row) knitting chart.  If you are interested you can see the video on Youtube.  The PDF file that goes along with the video can be downloaded here: Knitting from Charts.  I hope you find the video useful, whether you already know how to read a knitting chart or not.

Nautical Knitter Designs

Fair Winds

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Auburn Tigers Football Season (is just around the corner)

…and so, I have finally added two new dresses to the collection on my Etsy shop. One is another adorable Auburn dress. It is navy blue and has Auburn across the front. The other dress is probably the most classy and detailed dress I have made to date. The detail on this second dress is awesome. These two dresses have been finished for a while, but had to wait for life to calm down and photos to be taken.

Now that I am back from teaching Hand Quilting at the Estes Park Fiber Festival (which was enormously gratifying) and I now have one graduate class, instead of three, on my plate, hopefully, I can get back to smocking, knitting, sewing….etc. It felt really good to get back into the teaching mode at the festival. I really love it when I can see students actually understanding and improving their skills throughout the duration of the class. Thanks to my minor afternoon contribution, I can say that there are 20 more people out there who have a better understanding of the art of hand quilting. Fabulous!

Now, on to the dresses. I have the fabric in the stash for an Alabama Roll Tide dress, but have yet to put a needle to it. Also in the works is an Auburn toddler bubble outfit that is just adorable, complete with paw prints. So, if you haven’t yet visited my Etsy site, please, please, please do. I would really appreciate it!

As always, comments are welcome and appreciated!

Fair Winds