Texas Happenings

I have been wanting to update for the past two weeks, but somehow time escaped me.  While you may not believe it, it actually takes a bit of time to update my blog.  Between taking photos, editing them and then figuring out what to say, it can consume a good chunk of time. Which is why, as much as I want to update on a weekly basis, that just may not happen.

A couple weeks ago some pretty scary weather hit my area of Texas, causing freezing temperatures, icy roads and a school day off.  I took advantage of the day off and was able to get quite a bit done.

The first thing was starting a pair of gloves for my mom.  The yarn, Mountain Colors Twizzle, was picked out by her for this project.  I was able to cast on the gloves the evening of the day off and have since finished them.  They will be in the mail this week and I know she will love them.

I was also able to finish the third pairing in my triptych, which has been on my easel for far too long.  When I took on the full time position at my school a few things got tossed aside, mainly  my studio time.  But I am slowly making time to work on my paintings again.

Working Title: "Red Sea"

Speaking of full time, this past week I did a little painting activity with some of my students that involved learning about color values.  We took a color, added white and black to make shades and tints and are making pretty skies for our pictures.  Look how much fun we had!

The dye studio also saw some time that day, as I dyed up several skeins of my "light" yarn - 100% sw merino fingering - in my two new colorways. I also reserved a couple of skeins to just splatter leftover dye on.  I'm calling these "paint water" and ironically I sold those 2 skeins before I even made labels! My knitting group just loved it.

Sometimes life just gets busy, but I always thrive on being busy so I really don't mind.  Maybe I am tired a lot, but somehow I get through the day pretty well.  Remembering that I have the drive and ability to create and share my creations is always something that keeps me going.  What about you?

~Lisa 

What's the Word?

Well, 2018 is here and it seems like everyone has the resolution mindset right now.  I know I don't really set resolutions, but I always try and look ahead to think about what I want to achieve.  And while some years I don't decide until mid-February, other years I break it mid- February, it's always nice to feel like I'm setting a goal.

I'm a member of the MySister'sKnitter group on Ravelry, and while I am not a frequent poster, I love the community of that group.  It's funny though, because the theme for the upcoming KAL actually fits perfectly with my knitting goals for 2018.

"What's the Word?" - choose a word that defines your goals for 2018. 

Even before Christmas, I had decided I wanted to cut back on the selfish knitting and knit more for others this year.  So many people have been good friends, mentors and role models in my life, and I need to repay them in some way, so why not knit?  At the same time, my life is beginning to get chaotic as I enter the territory of full time teaching.  So the moments I do have to create should be savored.

And thus, my word for 2018 is: Appreciate. 

Appreciate those who have helped me get where I am and appreciate the time I have to make things. 

The first on my list is someone who has known me my whole life, and honestly deserves so much more: My mom.

When I was home over the holiday we visited the shop there, Yarns: Sold and Told, and she picked out a skein of Mountain Colors Twizzle that she wants me to make into a pair of gloves.  I already found the pattern - Offhand Gloves - I am just waiting for the KAL to start so I may begin.  Hopefully the fingers will not mess me up, as they so often do.

Another person I need to knit for is someone I became friends with less than a year ago, but have found myself very attached too.  Jayde, an artist who moved here to participate in the residency I once did, has been an amazing influence in my art and friend in my life.  While I will not finish in time for when she moves, she has requested a pair of socks in a nice shade of purple.  I'm thinking this may work? But if not, I can always hit up my LYS. :)

Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka Mexiko Color

And on the subject of appreciation, I wanted to take a moment and appreciate this lovely gift I received from my Knitting Guild Secret Santa.  While we all always out do ourselves, this is over the top.  Hedgehog Fibres bought IN IRELAND with a bag designed to emulate the landscapes there, a unique book that is filled with murals in Houston, plus tapes, teas and sugar! What else can a girl want?  I truly appreciate when people take the time to think of me during the holidays.

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Do you have a plan for the new year? Are you defining it in a single word or with a goal? Any resolutions or do you usually break them? I'd love to hear more!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and let's make 2018 the best yet!

~Lisa

East Texas Fiber Festival

It's been too quiet lately, and for that I apologize.  Life just kinda hit me like a ton of bricks, with multiple milestones all happening at once.

The first, and most important for blogging sake, was the East Texas Fiber Festival that I attended as a vendor last weekend.

A small festival in Lindale, TX, in it's third year, I enjoyed myself.  The venue was semi-outdoors, which wasn't ideal, but wasn't awful.  I went with the mindset that this was my first outting and that I really just wanted to feel the waters.

As you can see, taking photos without some sort of glare was a challenge, but I was able to snap a few good ones.  My setup was pretty basic, with yarn and paintings in the back, art prints on one side and shoe samples on another.

The highlight was supposed to be the shoes, but sadly I didn't take any orders as planned.  Several people seemed interested, so maybe this week?

My top seller was actually art prints! Maybe because it was unique among all the yarn vendors, or maybe because people want art for their craft rooms.  I just know that at my next show I will be highlighting those a bit more.

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Somehow I managed to walk away with only a couple purchases.  A project bag as a gift (not shown), a skein of yarn, and some beads to match my own yarn.

I made lots of new fiber friends as well!  The yarn above is from Kimarie's Knit Knacks and the beads are from Gilding Lillies (who specializes in matching beads to yarn).  Other new friends included The Ewe Hues (a co-op of several friends who all dye), Four Hens Fibers, McKnittey and DJ's Alpacas.  All gave me great feedback and advice for my future in the industry. 

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And in other, life important news, and likely to affect my art/knitting time, I wanted to share that I recently got offered a promotion at my school.  Previously I was only teaching the secondary classes for art on a part time gig.  Well the elementary teacher decided to leave and they offered me her job as well.  Starting next week I am officially the ONLY art teacher for the entire school of St. Joseph's and I could not be more thrilled!  All my hard work is finally paying off!

And that, my friends, is an excuse to party hard and eat harder on Thanksgiving.  I hope you all have a wonderful one (for those who celebrate).

~Lisa

July Projects

And here's August.  I say it every month and mean it every time: Where did the time go?  At this time next week I'll be in teacher in-service for another school year.  Really....

I wanted to just take a moment and discuss the things I've finished this month, which has been plenty despite how fast it went. 

On the knitting front, I have a couple projects off the needles. The first was "Gray Gardens", a cowl/shawl hybrid that I really enjoyed making and enjoy wearing.  The shape is nice because you get the drape of a cowl without having to deal with it falling off or trying to find a place for those ends.  My only complaint is that I wish I had bound it off looser, so the lace edging wouldn't curl in so much.

The other project off my needles for July is my pair of socks - "Striped Panda Socks" - with some left over panda sock yarn I dyed to stripe a bit.  I thought I would enjoy these more, but somewhere around sock two I got anxious.  So much that I ended up making the foot too long and binding off too loose.  Soooo instead of ripping out I tucked the toe in and sewed it.  That's how much I wanted to be done with these.  Can you even tell in the photo? (Hint, it's the sock on the right)

Probably the biggest accomplishment of the month is the completion of my latest oil painting, thus completing the series.  The "Glowing Tide Pool" Series is officially complete! And I love all three together so much.  The are definitely my strongest works to date and I plan to play with this concept more coming soon. 

PS: You can buy prints on my Etsy if you want!

And finally! I dyed more yarn this month and settled on a Launch Date for my yarn selling.  This Friday, August 4th, I will be officially listing my handpainted yarns on Etsy.  Word of warning though: It will only be available to those near me for the first weekend or so, so that I may give those who have been supporting me the most a first pick and so that I may hand deliver it.  Whatever is left after that launch will be made available to the whole internet community.  And after that I'll be dying more!

(2 of the 4 colorways I'll have)

Starting a small business has been an adventure so far, and based on reception among friends and followers, I can tell I'm in for a ride!

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How was your July? Did anything exciting happen? Any great FOs?? Do share!

~Lisa

Time Flies...

... when you're having fun.  And fun we have had! Eighteen years of it.  What am I talking about? Well this past weekend I made a quickie trip home to Kansas for a very momentous event - my baby sister's high school graduation.

Eighteen years ago my little sister, Miranda, came into the world, and it has been a journey ever since.  Some days we'd do nothing but fight, other days we'd love each other to no end.  But regardless, we have always had each other's back.  Watching her walk the stage on Sunday as she enters a new phase of her life was definitely a bit surreal. 

She has accomplished so much in the last four years of High School, including major roles in several plays, school honor rolls, being a part of the top choir group and being the leader for her school's marching band. 

This fall she will be attending my alma mater, Kansas State University, to major in Music Education, with hopes to go on and get a higher degree and work at a university level someday.  I have no doubts that she can pull that off - she is a PHENOMENAL french horn player. 

Between me, my brother and her, we've sure made our parents proud.  It's hard to believe that life is going by so fast. 

I mean, it's going REALLY fast!

~Lisa 

April FO's

I feel like April sped by, like a derailed train.  So many things happened this month that I've discussed here on this blog, I didn't even know what to talk about this week!

And then last weekend a small miracle happened: I finished THREE WIPs in THREE DAYS. It's like there was a knitting fairy looking over me, telling me to Just. Keep. Knitting.

"April Flowers" - my April socks, came off the needles on Friday and onto my feet on Monday :) They fit really well, despite being cuff down with a gusset. And the color is so much fun too! Perfect springy flowery happiness!  The pattern itself is Mercury Socks, which I had memorizes by the end of cuff one. 

I finished my Sev(en) Circle on Saturday, when I had dinner and coffee with a fellow knitting friend. This "necklace" has been on the needles for about two months now, on and off again. The bamboo yarn is pretty splitty and honestly didn't work out the way I wanted.  The strands are really curly, even after a block, and blocking kind of took the natural curl away and makes the "ropes" lay flat.  

However, I plan to make another one soon, with tighter yarn and gauge.

My first full-sized crochet garment came off the hook Sunday night during a binge-marathon of Arrow, Season 4.  After finishing the back side, I realized that my gauge had changed from the first side and as such the front was larger.  Upon sewing it up it ended up working out and I would definitely knit another one.  The Drops Design however, was a bit of a pain.  Luckily it's a pretty basic design.

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I feel so accomplished, having all these finished projects for a single month.  I'm hoping that May can be the same, but there's no guarantee.  Between finishing up my first year of teaching, Relay for Life on Friday, a quick flight home next week for my sister's graduation and trying to breath who knows what will happen!

~Lisa 

Sorry Guys, I just needed to ;)

Happiness is...

While last week seemed like a huge roller coaster of emotions, I somehow found myself coming out on top with a huge bout of happiness.  I think there are several things that contributed to this, so I would like to dedicate this post to happiness.

Happiness is...

Finishing the first of my April socks, with the second already at the toe.

Deciding to attempt a crochet garment and feeling successful after finishing the front side. 

Starting a new painting dedicated to the Moana series I mentioned last week
(yes, I use Snapchat...)

A bobbin full of super soft, super fluffy, super thin corredale yarn-to-be

Having a painting on display at my favorite Cafe...

and three figure drawings on display at a wine bar not too far off the road either!

But I think what makes me the happiest right now is the simple knowledge that someone out there, be it family or friends, is looking after me, making sure that I live my life to the fullest.  Maybe it sounds cheesy, but it's been on my mind a lot lately.

What makes you happy?

~Lisa

Street Art

What is art anyway? Can it really be defined in today's terms? 

This past weekend we had a street and art fair in Downtown Bryan, where artists and craftsman from all over the region gathered to promote and sell their art.  While I chose to not have a booth (a. I had to work and b. it's expensive) I was able to contribute through a little yarn bombing. 

If you're reading this blog, likely you're a knitter/crocheter/crafter and if you are such, well, I sure hope you've heard of Yarn Bombing.  

Yarn Bombing - when someone takes a knitted/crocheted piece and puts it in a public space.  It's been compared to graffiti and street art a lot, and I can understand why, but I honestly believe it has it's own category.

I wish I could say that I created all the pieces that were used in this project, which consisted of about 12-15 poles as well as some railings, but sadly I did not.   While I did learn how to make Granny Squares in the process, I was lucky enough to have some members of my guild contribute squares they had made long before this project.

I think my two favorite parts of this project were the railings that I decided to scatter with small pieces.  It was a fun way to add a pop of color in unexpected places.  I was also given some long stripes that I decided to weave between the poles. 

As it turns out, squares really aren't that hard to attach if you have the right material, and I ended up using flexible frame wire, which was able to create a nice, tight seam.  

The art fair seemed to be a success, although many artists I talked to didn't sell much. I still think it's a great tradition that our little downtown has and I always enjoy seeing our community come alive.  

I haven't decided if and when the bombs will come down, but as long as the city will allow it, they'll be here for awhile....

Oh wait, it's supposed to rain all week!

Have you ever yarn bombed? Thought about it? I don't see myself taking it "professionally",but some people do. Just watch the video below and you'll see!

~Lisa

How she puts up with that much acrylic yarn is a mystery to me...

The Art of Journaling

Notebooks. Diaries. Journals.  No matter what you call them, we probably all have some form of physical paper that we write our thoughts on.  Whether it be personal secrets or quick notes, sometimes it's fun to have something to write and doodle in. 

My topic this week is inspired by the art of journaling, specifically when it comes to my knitting.  I was recently inspired by MySistersKnitter to start a knitting journal for the year, chronicling each project I do in it's pages with stats, photos, doodles and yarn. The hope is that at the end of the year I can look back and remember everything I did with a smile.

The timing seemed right to try out this endeavor, as my good friend Laura made me this lovely felted journal for Christmas, equipped with enough blank pages to fulfill my mission. 

And fulfill I will, as I have already added to four pages, two of which are my 12 in 12 sock challenges.  I had to make a couple pages after projects had already been completed, but now that I have started I plan to write notes as I work.

Above are two more fabulous journals that I have, both gifted by my wonderful friend Ivy. The first is especially nice because it is loaded with sturdy grid pages as well as helpful knitting tips and tricks in the back. The second is also gridded and was even bound by her.  Both tend to get used when I'm working on design ideas and need a place to keep my thoughts. 

I taught myself how to bind books about a year ago, and began designing my own covers to go with them.  The one below is a good example. I've had it for about two years, using it as a calendar/day planner, although I gave up on that last November because I couldn't be consistent with my planning.  So now it sits on a shelf.  The nice thing though is that, if I want, I can take apart the book and rebound the covers for another purpose.

Do you keep a journal? For knitting, crafting, writing or planning? What sort of pages do you prefer?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have a fabulous week :)

~Lisa

2017: [Another] New Start

I said this last year when I switched the layout and name of my blog to The Knitting Artist, but I want to start fresh. Blogging has always been an important way for me to share my feelings and ideas about art, knitting and life. It's just that there have been so many other means to do so lately that somehow the blog got pushed aside.

Hopefully this is no more, as I am going to try and update weekly with my thoughts and ideas, sharing with you what is on my needles and on my easel.

I wanted to start with a look back at the year that was.

Knitting:

This year I logged 20 FO's on Ravelry, and I am sure that I completed at least 5 or more that were not logged (yet).  Oddly enough, most of them were fast, 'instant gratification' projects, started and completed after I started my two new jobs.  That is also around the same time that I stopped painting for a bit. I definitely see a connection.

In case you're wandering, a few of my favorites were the "Purple Mountains Socks" and the "Texas Sea Glass".

Art:

I cannot believe I did not share on here the biggest thing to happen this year: My first actual gallery solo show!  Taking place at a space in Downtown Bryan, TX, "Lollipops & Gumdrops" featured a whole new body of work along with a mural and installation.  The whole thing went by without a hitch and gathered much praise.

The gallery space was a very long space, thus getting a full on photo was really hard. I was able to pull off this mural in approx 8 hours over two evenings. I am very pleased with it and have sense booked a second show with the same idea for this coming month.

Above are all of the paintings featured in the show, so maybe that explains the title?  If you are curious to see more, check out my artist website, which was recently completely revamped!


Life:

Many other things are happening in my life right now, including the completion of my first semester teaching High School Art at our local Catholic school. It's been whirlwind, but in a good way. I think I have found my path for awhile.  Not saying that art making won't still be happening.

At the same time as my show last September I also self-published a book with most of my paintings paired with their poems. I am really proud that I was able to pull it off and have received a lot of good feedback.  Interested in a copy? Stitch Stories on Amazon

I also have a new show opening in less than two weeks, at a new space in San Antonio - Mantle Art Space. If you are in the area, you should come by on Saturday, Jan 14th from 7-10. I always love meeting fellow knitters.

I have four different WIPS right now, two of which are pretty much on hiatus due to lazy-ness. The other two I have been bouncing back and forth between. I'm sure I am not the only one to do that.  Factor in the rarely worked on wrap for my mom and my laceweight sweater and that's technically six WIPS. Wow oh wow.

As always, I will leave you with a nice little LOLcat :)

~Lisa