Summer Updates

Well, we are mid-way through summer, and I am sad that I have abandoned my blog once again.  But with summer here I am going to try and update a little more often, just to share a few things happening in my life and on my needles.

The biggest update for me is last week's fiber festival. I have been planning and preparing for several months now and now that it's over, I'm sad that I don't have that anticipation anymore, is that normal?

The Houston Fiber Festival had it's fourth year and I was one of the vendors this time around.  I spent a good deal of May and June dying yarn, ordering and matting prints and getting my fixtures together to take.  I love that I am able to share my yarnie art with people on top of my lovely yarn colors.

Having both payed off! The large art was able to draw in visitors that wanted to hear my story and having prints of my paintings meant that I was able to sell and share my art with people who wanted a little pop of color in their homes and offices!  And the yarn did well too! I quickly learned which colors - speckle-ish (go figure) and cool tones - and bases - fingering/sock wins out over worsted - were the most popular and what to focus on going forward.

The event was a week ago and I spent the following Monday updating my shop with the leftover inventory.  Take a peek if you are wanting a lovely art print or some beautifully painted yarn!

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In other life news, I will be moving to a new apartment/studio in a week, so sadly not much dying or painting will get to happen for a period of time as I adjust.  But moving is for the best sometimes.  It allows you to purge and clean as well as start fresh in a new place.  I am excited to make this transition and see lots of amazing things to come.

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On my needles I have been working on a few things lately, finishing many since summer started.  While that is a post for another day, I will share my latest finished project.  The "Mini Madness Shawl" was started about three weeks ago when I found that I had a fair amount of sock yarn scraps that could fade into each other.  I purchased this pattern and went to town.  The last section I even decided needed some weight and bling, and added beads to make it sparkle! I am very happy with this huge shawl and know that it will get worn a lot when the school year starts up again.

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How are your summers going? Too fast, not fast enough? What's on the needles right now?  Leave a comment and let me know, I always love hearing from readers.

Until next time!

~Lisa

On My Needles and In My Studio

Well, 2018 hasn't been a fantastic year for blogging, but that doesn't mean I don't at least think about it.  I will try and get better, but when there is little progress from week to week it's hard to think of topics to discuss.

Luckily I have some things going on right now that I can share!

First up is a FO in the form of socks for my friend Jayde.  Finished the week of March 26th, they have reached their recipient safely and fit well.  I love the pattern - Hermoine's Everyday Socks - as it is just subtle enough to show off the stripes but also add interest, and the yarn is definitely a favorite.  I wish I had more (time to stash hunt on Ravelry!)

Shown with original artwork by Jayde Archebold. 
Check out her site and shop if you like what you see :)

As soon as the socks went off, a new project went on.  This lovely shawl is for a friend who is moving to London at the end of the summer.  I think the weight and size will work well for her over there, and the pattern - Madeleine Shawl from Vintage Modern Knits - is knitting up so quick that I am already on the decreases!

The yarn is worsted, single ply from the UK titled Mapuche.  I don't really have any other info, as it was a gift and the tag was bare bones. 

The other knit project currently consuming my mind is this fantastically interesting knitted sculpture project.  I came up with the idea a few months ago and have been obsessed since.  I am creating ball sculptures that, to me, represent fallen memories and dreams, and are completely hollow (thanks to balloons and glue) and have a light inside! They started out as standing, table top pieces, but I recently acquired some hanging fixtures and have been playing with hanging them.  I can't decide which I like more, but I do know that I am going to keep making these!

Shown with a yellow "bug light" bulb inside.

Finally, I have been developing a few new colors of yarn! Although I haven't been able to dedicate a good chunk of time to dying full skeins, I do have a few minis I created as tests for color.  My plan right now is to roll out a new "series" of colorways based off my EnchantKnit Forest paintings, with the first two being in the purple family.  

Frozen Summer Harvest is on the pale purple and blue side with pops of pink and green, while Sleeping Moon Ice is on the darker side, with indigo and navy showing through.  When I finally get full skeins I bet they would knit together really well!

Sleeping Moon Ice

Frozen Summer Harvest

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Is it summer yet? I know spring just started, but I am really ready for a break from school! April has many many events happening and I am trying to take it one day at a time and also get some knitting in.  I hope I can make that happen!

~Lisa 

On the Needles - March

We're midway through March already, and it's Spring Break for many schools down here in Texas, mine included.  As for my plans, well there will be lots of knitting, spinning and painting happening in my downtime.  After all why not use the extra time to the fullest?

I figured it was about time for an "On the Needles" update, so today I am sharing with you all the projects I am currently working on.

First up is my March socks - which I am calling "Lucky Stripes".  March is for St.Patrick's Day and St. Patrick's is known for green.  So I found the most green yarn I had and decided to make my socks with it.  The yarn is called Rico Design Superba Poems and came from the UK via a traveling relative a few years back.  The stripes are long, even longer than Zauberball, so I decided to stripe it within itself by dividing up the yarn and switching between two balls every ten rows.

The second project is one that has been on my list for awhile, Sev[en] Circle, with is a simple necklace type project that involves stockinette stitch rolling upon itself to create coils.  I loved this when I saw a friend wearing one last fall and knew that I wanted to make it many many time, although this will be the first one for me.  The yarn is some leftover Vinni's color, which was (ironically) given to me by the same relative as the sock yarn, this time from Africa.  I'm pretty sure I don't have enough for all seven circles, but the patterns is written to where I can stop when needed.

The lunch ladies at the school found out I know how to knit and have asked me to make them some converse booties for their children.  While most of the patterns are crochet, I was lucky to find one for knitting that I think is working.  Once I finished the first, the rest will be smooth sailing, as it's a pretty easy pattern.  The yarn? My standby - Caron Simply Soft.

The final thing on my needles won't be done for awhile, as our knitting guild is doing a year long Mystery Knit Along.  With one part of the pattern being released each month, it's a slow go.  The pattern is one that is already on Ravelry and I had the honor of picking it as and dividing it up.  So technically I know what it is, but I'm not going to tell.  And if you recognize it ever, don't tell either! ;) ;)

The yarn I chose was given to me in a swap - Merino Cashmere Fingering by Skein. It is so soft and scrumptious, that I knew it had to be something other than socks. 

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Any new projects on the needles for March? Any knit alongs happening? Any major projects you fear will never be complete? Share away my friends and have a great week!

~Lisa

Selfish Designing

I consider myself a pretty good designer.  Not that I've been in any publications or want to give up my day job, but sometimes the bug just bites and I'm able to design something better than what I can find online. 

After finishing my latest "self-design" (see bottom of post), I realized that I have a lot of things on Ravelry that I designed and never published a pattern for.  Some of them I swore I would, others I just didn't have time to write up.  And then deciding if you want to get it tested and proofed.  It all just takes so much time! And so today's post is dedicated to projects from the last 2-3 years that were designed by me but never published as patterns. 

Starting with the oldest is Stricken Socks, "Stricken" meaning "knit" in German. The design came about when I found a triangle motif that I adapted to look like enlarged knitted V's.  The yarn used was Blue Ridge Yarns, Subtle Shades in a violet color.  Sadly these socks came out a bit tight (the yarn was really thin) and also the color has since become patchy-faded from washing.  I do like the motif though and may re-work it into a pair this year. 

Next up on the list is my Woven Colors Shawl, made with two skeins of Ella Rae Lace Merino Worsted that I bought on a road trip. I love these two colors together and wanted a way to play with them.  I love my woven design, but the overall shawl didn't really work out. It's heavy and I attempted this weird sleeve thing.  I keep saying I'll rip it out and try something else but I haven't yet.  

More colorwork, this time with some local alpaca, the Alpaca Weave hat and mitts set was fun to do. I wanted to play again with the idea of the colors interacting and chose to use a mosaic technique to create the squares. I don't actually remember the exact way I did this, but I would love to publish it someday (Guess I need to be looking back through my journals for the chart!)  And see the ribbon? The ranch that made the yarn took a bunch of projects from our knit group to an event and I won a ribbon. 

Maybe you saw an earlier post this year about the playfully titled Unicorn Farts that I made with some rainbow wool.  I have really gotten into the idea of using mosaic knitting when it comes to two colors and that showed up again in this one.  If I were to publish or write this one up, I'd do it with different yarn (maybe from the blue/yellow above??) just because both of these yarns were super random.

The main inspiration for today's post was Eagle's Wings, a two colored half-pi shawl I started last October with my school (I teach at) colors.  The purple is actually left over from those Stricken Socks, while the gold is a clearance skein of Shibui Staccato.  I started with stripes of purple stockinette and gold drop stitches, but because I had less purple I ended up running out and chose to do a gold feather/fan border with beads.  It's not as massive as I wish, but I also was in a hurry to finish it up.  My knitting group thinks I need to publish this one.  I'm not sure if I will. 

Anyone reading ever design? Do you publish your designs or keep them to yourself? Do you find yourself taking an already published design and changing things up? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have a fabulous week.

~Lisa

Mix-Tape of Emotions

Remember MixTapes? I barely do, having not been an 80's child.  I do remember mix CD's but that's not even the same.  I have fond memories of recording myself singing crappy stuff on my dad's tape player however.  Some days I even find myself wishing to go back to those days.  

I am rambling today because my life is pretty much at that point - a MixTape of emotions and events and really no clear definition.  Ever feel that way?

I guess it starts with these mitts, which I cast-on after finishing the hat, but have sadly reached a point where I am not going to have enough yarn.  My LYS has more BUT it's expensive....decisions need to be made, for I really do like these....

Back on the discussion of MixTapes, the above shawl is titled "Mixtape". It's a design from the Hill Country Yarn Crawl last fall and I have been wanting to knit it for awhile. It finally felt like time and I cast on a few weeks back.  I love the texture and feel of the Shibui yarns - a merino sock held with a lace mohair - as well as how fast this pattern is working up.  

Mixing is a pretty common theme right now.  I needed a mindless knit and finally got around to contributing to the Knitting Guild's charity project - knitting Twiddlemuffs for dementia patients. The idea is simple - using washable scrap yarn create a cuff that has pulls and bobble and texture so they have something to do with their hands.  It's so cleaver!

Back in my studio I'm also mixing things up.  Working big again AND trying new compositions.  This is the first of (hopefully) many painting involving floating forms.  In this case we have a cliff with the pink tree looking over the water.  It's going to be more obvious once I layer on some color to make the forms fall back into the water. 

Weekly Inspirations:

Knitting:  A member of my Guild brought some of these DPN Holders last week. How clever is that? I want to learn to sew just so I can make some!
Art: I visited Houston yesterday (and what an amazing day it was!) and saw this amazing artist - Janavi Folmsbee - at a local gallery.  Isn't it just SO PERFECT for what I am doing in my own art?!!
Food: I've been baking a bit more at work (so far I've struck out most times due to dry cakes).  Last week I decided to do a mint marble cake for St. Pat's day and used this recipe.  Replace the vanilla with mint in half and add green color. It's actually really good :)
Life:  The Gallery I mentioned above is the Samara Gallery in Houston, and it is amazing. AND I talked to the owner and gave him my card.  Fingers crossed something happens!

 Hope you all have a wonderful week!

~Lisa

WIP Wednesday: Halfsies!

This week's post is dedicated to halves. As in, every project I have is half done. 

Let's start with those socks. I finished sock number one over the weekend and have since started sock 2. Although I don't really know when it will get done, with school work, it's on the top of my list. Isn't the color just amazing? I love how it pools. I do wish you could see the pattern a bit more, but beggars can't be choosers. I can't wait to see how sock 2 comes out. 

The next halfsie is something I haven't talked about lately on my blog, but I really want to get done. My Dragonflies sweater that I started at the end of my school break. I just finished the 2nd repeat of the body pattern before I cast on those socks. I tried it on and it fit PERFECT. I really really want this bad boy done, I wish I would stop getting distracted by my other projects. And don't forget life. Life is important too. 

Bad photo -- my camera hates this sweater!

Mom's Christmas gift is literally half way done. Exactly 40 out of the 80 inches it needs to be. I've been knitting on it at Wildflower knit nights, because it's my only "Wildflower yarn" project right now. She'll get it by next Christmas haha. It's practically a blanket, it keeps me really warm when I work on it. 

Finally, I should probably just classify this one as "in hibernation" because I haven't touched it since December. The Autumn shawl I started for a KAL with Evelyn at Project: Stash. I had been working on it before figure class last semester, but then the yarn got all tangled and I just have had nothing but grief with it. I wish I didn't have so many issues, because it's MALABRIGO! Ugh. But to prove that it fits today's theme, I pulled it out for this photo to find myself HALF WAY through a row. Wow...shows how much I care about this one.

I'm half way through a lot of other things right now. A collaborative spinning project with Ivy; a painting; an interesting drawing experiment. The list could go on and on. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I've been having trouble focusing lately. Oh the joys of being a senior.

~Lisa

And don't forget Tami's Amis :)

Fiber + Art Update

Man guys, I wish I could update more, but as busy as I am with school and life it's hard to find time to work on projects, let alone post about them. However, I do have some things that have made progress that I'd like to do a brief blog about today. 

Mom's Milanese Wrap is finally coming along and going smoothly. Just call me the stitch marker queen, because I could not do this without them. I tend to get that way with lacey projects, always having to put markers after every section. It sure does help though. Hopefully this will be done in time for Christmas. My mom asked me about making it last week again, but I just told her 'maybe...we'll see, I'm really busy'. She doesn't even know this is coming!

My finally fall shawl for Eveyln's KAL is coming along slowly but surely. I was keeping it strictly at studio, and I will probably take it back tomorrow. I have taken up to working on it during breaks in our figure class. I got quite a bit done last night actually, thanks to Ivy and our skype knit night! I hope that happens again, because it was so fun :)

Me and my Relay for Life team are doing a craft show around Thanksgiving, and I plan on selling handspun headbands as well as drawings. So far I have about 20 drawings! I have been really working on these a lot during the weekends. I'm really excited for this yarn too! The rainbow is stunning! I really wish I could remember what colors I used to make it that pretty :( . I plan to ply the rainbow with some pure undyed white, so it doesn't get so confusing, and so that I can maximize the rainbows!

Finally, we have to do full body self portraits in my figure class and we are only allowed to use a mirror. I knew I wanted to do myself knitting, but wasn't sure if I could pull that off with a mirror. But guess what! I think I did. My right hand needs a bit of work, but other than that, I think given the circumstances, this is pretty good and actually looks a bit like me. I am going to ink wash over this sometime soon.

I hope the weekend is treating you all great, I know it is me :)

~Lisa

WIP (and 1 FO) Wednesday.

Wow, it's Wednesday already? Where did the week go? It always seems like once Wednesday hits the rest just flies by!

I'm excited to share my latest FO with you all today. I've only worn them once but they are already keeping my wrists nice and toasty! Beribboned Wrists by my good blogger friend Alicia Landi. I fell in love with this pattern the instant I saw her publish it and when I died some dk yarn this summer with berries I knew it was the perfect match. To finish them off I had some pretty blue ribbon left over from a needle case my friend Ivy had made me!

Berry-boned Wrists

After completing these this weekend and still having a whole skein plus a little more of the berry yarn, I thought "Why not make a matching headband" and so (after asking for permission) I started my improv Beribboned Headband! It's coming along pretty nicely, but a little tedious with all the stockinette stitch.

Finally on my list of WIP's for the week I have the shawl I started last week as part of Evelyn's Project: Stash KAL. I worked on this the whole way to and from my Grandma's birthday get together last weekend and made significant progress. The plan is to just go until I run out of yarn; hopefully this will be enough to make it a decent size.

Finally Fall Shawl

My mom's wrap is currently going nowhere fast. I worked on it at Knit Night last week and ended up frogging out all I had completed. That lace, as easy as it is, is messing me up. So I'm putting in a life line and hopefully I'll get to it this weekend again!

I've spent quite a bit of time at studio this week so far and it's really paying off. I am very proud of where my painting is going that's for sure :) I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weeks and is as productive as I am!

~Lisa

For more WIP's check out Tami's Amis!

WIP Wednesday: Busy, Busy, Busy!

Ok, where did the week go? Seriously??! It's already Wednesday night, which means the tomorrow is Thursday (my last day of classes for the week) and then the weekend, in which I am going home for my Grandma's 90th birthday. WHOA.

As of yesterday I have not one, not two, but THREE WIP's on the knitting front, plus some more spindle drawing spinning, a painting, and a new drawing project.  How do I have time for this and stay sane? Really?

First on the list is my Berry-boned wrists, a pattern by a good friend and fellow blogger, Alicia at Woolen Diversions. I started these over the summer with yarn I dyed with berries, but got a bit bored. Well I picked them back up last week and finished the first and started the second! I can't wait to finish them. Looks like I will have lots of extra yarn too!

Then there is my Mom's Millanese Wrap.  This would be so much further if I'd stop casting on other stuff in the process.  Contrary to the shortness of the pattern and the repeats, this pattern likes to mess with me. It's not mindless, that is for sure! It has some issues with the YO's and decreases.  There are already a few mistakes. In fact the reason I haven't picked it up in awhile is cuz of a mistake.....

I didn't think I'd cast on anything new until I finished the Berry-boned Wrists, but then I saw the fall KAL for the High Plains Drifter Shawl on Eveyln's Project: Stash KAL and had to join in! This is such a simple project and I've been loving my shawls/light weight scarves a lot lately, so I can always use another! This is being made with some amazing Malabrigo Sock yarn that Ivy sent me for my birthday last year.  It took a bit of coaxing to use it but I am so glad I am!

I have finally found the motivation to work on my painting, so that is coming a long pretty nicely, but still very slow. I feel like I am playing paint by numbers with it or something.  On the drawing front, I started my new project today and had amazing success. I think the best part is that it will keep me active as well!

For more WIP's check out Tami's Amis!

~Lisa

Hey Look, an Update!

I don't know if it's school, lack of motivation, or that fact that I am just bored, but lately updating this blog for me just hasn't been all that fun, or on top of my priorities list. I LOVE hearing from all of you and reading and  commenting on your blogs, but for some reason updating is just a hassle lately. Finding things to talk about is SO HARD!

So even though it's supposed to be FO Friday, I am going to show you all of my WIP's.

First off are the socks you have seen who knows how many times. They probably have about 3 or 4 more pattern repeats before the cuff, just because I want them rather long. I am so slow working on these! I have so much else to do and they are just taking a back seat.

Next is my mom's wrap, which I have finished the first pattern repeat for. Luckily for me it's just 10 rows over and over and over. Unlucky for me it's just 10 rows over and over and over. This thing is going to get boring, I can tell.

Finally, I have been on the rocks with my painting class for the last 2 weeks, switching project ideas literally every class period.  My teacher has been a great help and together we decided that I am going to KNIT MY STILL LIFE! Basically, remember this painting from last year?

Zoomed in Corrugated Paper

I am going to be doing similar works, but with all white knitted objects instead of corrugated paper. This is what I have knit so far.  It's going alright, but knitting the still life is actually a bit dull. Like I always say, the second knitting become work I don't want to do it anymore. Anyone else feel that way?

Won't be arranged this way for the painting, just what I have.

I hope the week has been good to you all. It's been pretty good to me. I finally nailed down a studio schedule for my self and I really hope I am able to keep it.up.

 Finally, I am leaving you with the super doctor card I made the guy I like. He is taking his MCATs (Tests for med-school) tomorrow and I wanted to give him a gift from me and my friends. So they all signed this super awesome card I designed (and when I gave it to him, he said he'd have to get it framed lol).

Yes, I have it BAD for this guy....

Happy Friday!

~Lisa