My Knitted Life

Lately it seems like I have been (even more) obsessed with my yarn and needles.  It's like if I am not working, I am knitting.  Maybe it's because I need a bit of control in my life.  Things always seem out of control lately, but when I pick up my needles, all of my control comes back. Do you ever experience that?

I started this hat a few weeks back with the intent of using a woven motif (here) for the body portion.  The yarn had other ideas and I changed it to a slipped stitch checkerboard.  The yarn is a couple of 150yd mill end skeins from a local alpaca ranch, and the hat ended up a bit tight.  It's still warm and still fits, but I would definitely add about ten stitches next time.

Pouting because it's tight :( 

Oddly enough, those skeins lasted through the whole thing and I even had extra! Enough to cast on a pair of mitts.  The first mitt is already done and I know I will have more than enough to make it's mate.

Because my life revolves around all things knitted, I finished another knitted landscape. This one is only 9x6 - I'm enjoying this size!  My current theme within the landscapes is "Lollipops and Gumdrops".  The idea came to me randomly one night and I am running with it.  I am hoping to do lots of Lollipop Trees and floating "Gumdrops" (Knitted balls). I have a show in September and I want this to be the show title. 

If you've read any of my previous posts you may remember that I am involved with a local poetry group.  While I am not nearly as impressive as many of the others, I am excited to say that I finally got up on stage and read FROM MEMORY. And the poem? It's about knitting! haha! Even my poetry life has yarn in it!

Listen here if you don't mind a crappy recording!

Weekly Inspirations:

Knitting: One of the ladies in my knit group mentioned she likes to get on the top 20 trending for Ravelry, which tends to include a lot of patterns that are limited time on sale. What a genius idea!
Art: You should see what Scotty Gorham is doing! He was in the last group for the residency I did last year.  He just finished installing one of the largest neon installations in the country!
Food:  I made this coconut curry yesterday and it was fantastic.  Although I overcooked the vegetables, it turned out super delicious!
Life: A friend recommended the book "A Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp.I'm two chapters in and already seeing some major inspiration. 

Yup, that's my life.  How is your's these days? 

~Lisa

amen...

Short, Busy Weeks

It's been one of those weeks.  The kind that seem super busy yet nothing really gets done.  Yea, those.

This week should have been more eventful, what with all the Halloween/Work/Life things going on. But alas, it was not so much. And thus a quickie update.

The best place to start is by letting everyone know that I FINALLY updated my Etsy shop with the abstract watercolors I made last month for a local art fair.  While not knitting themed, they were fun to do and experiment with.  Check them out if you want a cheap, original piece of art!

On the topic of art fairs, I am doing a holiday market in two weeks. I have decided not to focus so much on art as on knitting stuff for this one and am busily preparing lots of winter headbands, hats and such.  It may be Texas, but people still need these things for the (brief) cold snap we will get later. 

I decided to give the cute wooden lap loom a try and have begun playing with color and design.  I am also learning how tight to pull to keep things from sinking in.  I have no idea what I will actually make with these besides random squares, but it's still fun!

Our local poetry group, Mic Check, started a workshop at a local high school this past Monday, while not a stellar poet like many of the others, I decided to volunteer some time. Man, the kids were amazing! We gave them the prompt of writing about being misunderstood or ignored.  The above was my response.

Weekly Inspirations:

Art: The (former) President of Mic Check, the amazing Madi Mae Parker is currently touring the lower states.  Her show, One Thousand Promises, is amazing, She and her partner, Franchesca, performed at Mic Check last week and blew the lid off it!
Food: I am planning to get back into the less sugar diet again this week. Sugar makes me depressed.  First plan of attack! Stop eating this amazing gelato - Talenti. 
Knitting: A fellow member of my knitting group has some real talent for designing simple, FREE patterns.  You should check them out!
Life: Halloween came and went. I went to a party last night, that was fun.  I also traveled to Austin recently for a school tour - I'll talk on that next week.  Seems like there is inspiration everywhere these days, I just need to find it.

Hope everyone has a great start to a new month!

~Lisa