tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24382494859575586262024-03-13T15:48:52.235-03:00Keswick Arts And CraftsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-76750821922707778782015-06-18T12:16:00.001-03:002015-06-18T12:16:18.867-03:00An Alternative to Water Balloons! Sponge Balls!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been a long time since the last post, but loads of things have happened. Today, I'm showing you the BEST EVER alternative to water balloons. What I love about them is that they are super cheap to make, they are reusable, and they are not harmful to birds (I hate scrounging for all the popped water balloon pieces on the lawn).<br />
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So my handsome little man turned 7 on June 15... (insert Mommy bawling here. Where has the time gone?) He wanted a "Guys Only" birthday party to get back at his big sister who had a girls only Tween sleep over party that he was not invited to. In fact, he was shipped off to Gram's housed. Never mind that he had a blast at Gram's, it was the principle of the matter. So, in order for Tressa and his female cousins to attend, they had to be targets for the water balloon fights and where fake mustaches. (HUH?) Anyway, here was the invitation I sent out:<br />
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So, hyped up on TONS of sugary junk, hot dogs and hamburgers, the games began. I had several organized games planned with small prizes, but honestly, as soon as the hose was turned on, pandemonium broke loose. Water balloons went first and were done in less than 6 minutes with 12 glucose crazed kids firing them everywhere. Good thing I had made the sponge balls the night before. Everyone was soaked, including me, with ice cold water from our well. I was a sopping mess when the parents arrived to pick up their little monsters. Gram said my eyes were so bloodshot, I looked like I hadn't slept in weeks. That's just a side effect of getting so many sponge splats right in the kisser. Rotten little buggers, they have terrific aim.<br />
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Oh well, it was all great fun. If you want to make these awesome summer OUTSIDE toys, go to the tutorial <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Whats-better-than-water-Balloons-Sponge-Balls/" target="_blank">here</a> and be ready for some excellent wet hot weather fun!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-29917843275253814602014-03-25T08:51:00.000-03:002014-03-25T08:52:52.055-03:00Look At What I Found... Vintage Viking 537 Sewing Machine With A Mystery AttachedEvery walk into a junk shop, not really knowing why you are there and find something that seemed like it was fate was guiding you? Well, that's what happened to me the other day. I spotted a filthy carrying cabinet case that sorta looked like there was a sewing machine in it. Hmmm. I opened it and fell in love!<br />
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A Viking 537 made circa 1960's with a purring motor and a few accessories. Of course, being my sister's sister, (Michelle has been known to bargain to the point were she gets the deal she wants with a promise that she will never darken the vendor's store again) I managed to get the machine for $18.00 CND. Sweet!!!! And I can still come back to the store! :) LOL<br />
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Now, some might wonder (yes Gram, I'm referring to you) why I'd want such an old machine while I have a Phaff modernish sewing machine already. Problem is, my Pfaff is more than ready for a tune up, and the only person that can do this lives almost 200KM away from me and he cost $75.00 just to look at it. I will take it to him, but only when I'm heading in that direction for something else because the cost of gas here is so expensive. Plus, this guy is so back logged, average wait for a simple tune up and repair is over 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS without sewing. Blows my mind. So, that is why I bought this very straight forward, FUNCTIONING machine. And I love it!<br />
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Here is the strange part. I wanted the servicing manual so I can tinker with it and fix issues as they pop up. I cannot find a Viking 537 ANYWHERE on the internet. But I did find the exact same machine listed as a New Home / Janome 537...<br />
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AND I also found an image of a vintage Necchi machine (that I can't find now, of course) that looks IDENTICAL to my Viking. Huh??? What is that all about?<br />
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As far as I can tell, it is a Japanese made machine, possibly by Toyota. New Home was bought out by Janome (Janome, by the way is Japanese for "snake eyes," because the new metal bobbins have the little holes all around them that is reminiscent of snake eyes.) and they made several brands under their company for a while, including Necchi. Could this Viking been born in Japan? <br />
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Anyway, it sews a beautiful straight and ziz zag stitch. And will be great for Tressa to learn on. I also want to use it to manufacture some knitting project bags to sell in our Etsy shop. I've got something big coming in late August that I need to make some extra cash for... Something mind blowingly cool. Something totally fun and will be a BLAST to blog about. And there will be super fun give aways! Yay!<br />
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Plus, there is Vogue Knitting Live NY 2015 that I want to go to. I went to VKL NY 2014 and blogged about it over on my personal knitting design site <a href="http://www.nindesigns.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">NiNDesigns</a>. It was an incredible experience!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-47521788303853558152013-11-15T16:18:00.000-04:002013-11-17T23:37:04.254-04:00"Roses For Margaery" - Finished Object Fridays a.k.a. FO In Knit LingoHas it really been that long since I've had a finished object to share? Oh my!<br />
Does finishing the write up of a new pattern count? Let's say that it does... 'cos man, this was hard work!<br />
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As we all know, I love the <i>Song of Ice And Fire</i> book, and HBO's original mini series bases on them call <i>Game of Thrones</i>. These socks took a long time to come into fruition, with little <a href="http://keswickartsandcrafts.blogspot.ca/2013/06/roses-for-margaery-another-game-of.html#.UodawI2RSac" target="_blank">hiccups</a> along the way and loads of <a href="http://keswickartsandcrafts.blogspot.ca/2013/08/my-roses-for-margaery-sock-sadness.html#.UoddT42RSac" target="_blank">designing challenges</a>. Those hair pulling moments were worth it, because I'm very proud of the finished product. My most prettiest socks so far, if I may so bold to say!<br />
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These socks are based on the character Margaery Tyrell, a very pretty <br />
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and very determined young woman who wants to be the queen of all of Westeros. Without giving spoilers, I can tell you Margaery is a woman that seems to do what she is supposed to do, confined to the wishes and rules of family and state. But is she really? Margaery intrigued me. I thought it interesting that her House sigil is a golden rose on a field of green. "Growing Strong" is their words, and interestingly enough, so is Margaery. Roses are beautiful, but can overtake a garden if left unchecked. The undulating strong lines confining the rose bunches represent her set role, but notice how these lines don't meet. They are really guidelines. I also took the roses down into a very common heel flap. Margaery is all about making the commoners love her. I think she knows this is the real source of a rulers' power.<br />
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So here it is! <br />
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<span style="color: rgb(77.254000%, 0.000000%, 4.313000%); font-family: 'AvenirNextCondensed'; font-size: 20.000000pt;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/roses-for-margaery" target="_blank">Roses For Margaery</a> </span><span style="font-family: 'AvenirNextCondensed'; font-size: 14.000000pt;">by Nin Leavitt<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">an original sock pattern inspired by R. R. Martin's </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Song Of Ice And Fire
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</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Part of the “Game of Thrones” Sock Series By NinDesigns </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'AvenirNextCondensed'; font-size: 10.000000pt;">Doing the photo shoot was a lot of fun and I learned so much about my Olympus E500. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-25741531319334161722013-09-20T16:49:00.002-03:002013-11-17T23:45:40.587-04:00Finished Object Fridays a.k.a. FO In Knit LingoI normally do not knit from patterns written by other people. Not that I don't like design by others, oh no. I just seem to have one of my own designs on the brain or on the go that will not let me have the joy of just following a knitting pattern. Well, I took a well deserved time-out from designing (had a designer "how could I have made such a stupid mistake" moment, but I'll tell you about that latter when it is not so raw) and decided to participate in the Ravelry group Rocking Kitchen Knit-a-Long. The theme is Halloween. You had to knit one of <a href="http://joeliskitchen.com/" target="_blank">Joeli</a> or <a href="http://www.rockandpurl.com/" target="_blank">Ruth</a>'s special patterns for the KAL in a Fall/Halloween kind of color. So, here is my contribution!<br />
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This is Joeli's Candy Corn Mitts pattern. Very easy to follow top to cuff mitt and they knit up super fast. Of course, me being me, I did not <i>completely</i> follow the instructions; I chose to cast-on a cuff and Kitchener stitch it to my mitt. All 50 stitches per mitt. That's a lot of Kitchener stitching! Why did I do this? I love <a href="http://ysolda.com/tutorial/tubular-cast-on" target="_blank">Yslolda</a>'s version of the long-tail cast-on. It makes a very professional, very stretchy edge. I just had to have it for the cuff! Plus, I did not have access to the internet at the time I was about to do the cuff on the first mitt to find a bind off that mimics the attributes that I love so much with this type of cast on. Ah, the perfectionist in me! <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-88536823146041095662013-09-14T12:19:00.002-03:002013-09-14T12:19:30.520-03:00 Twist Fibre Festival 2013 Workshops with Natural Dyer Jackie Ottino Day 2Day one was such a blast, I couldn't wait until the next day for the Indigo dyeing class. I kept my still damp ring of coloured skeins in the mini van. As friendly as the hotel staff were, I didn't want to chance dripping dye on their floors. I had a really hard time getting to sleep, I was so keyed up about the day. At the end of the class, many of us were debating what we were going to do with our pretty mini skeins. Each is only 25 yards, so not a whole lot to make anything large. I thought about making some stripey fingerless gloves. I'm still thinking about it, but I do love the look of the ring on my studio space wall. To knit or not to knit, that is the big question! LOL<br />
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Day two I was up early and heading out the door. Had a little mishap with my iPhone gps; she wasn't talking to me. Which meant I had to go by memory from Montebello to St-André-Avellin. Good thing I had an early start, because by the time I got there, there was a huge line up waiting to get into the festival. Nothing like showing up late for a class to start the day off wrong. But, thankfully the festival people were super quick getting people through the doors and I made it right on time. :D<br />
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Here was one of the sights they had set up outside to entertain. A sheep merry-go-round! I'm not sure how merry the sheep were to be inside that pen, slowing spinning with a guy playing an accordion in the center on a stool, but it was quite the sight.<br />
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A shot of my desk spot. By the end of the class, these sheets were covered in splotches of blue! We all had a small canning jar so we could make a bit of an indigo dye vat to take home. Haven't cracked into mine yet, but let me tell you, it is very pretty.<br />
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This was Jackie's work space at the front of the class. She told us she had spent at least three months learning all she could about indigo for her job at Swan's Island Company. Testing and retesting to get the perfect percentage formula for the indigo extract that they buy. (What a fabulous job!) She shared with us the percentage that works best, and made a "master vat" in the large plastic container for us to use in the workshop. <br />
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Here is more of the beautiful merino wool that Swan's Island donated to us for the Indigo workshop. We had to soak it first in water, even though Jackie had soaked them earlier. It was so warm, they were getting dry spots on them. The stainless steel rings the hanks are on are called "funny eyes." They are what lobster fishermen use when weaving their lobster traps. Excellent dyeing tools, these funny eyes!</div>
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We were encouraged to bring in some wool or fabric that we wanted to dye with indigo. This is my extra large pickle jar, holding about 2000 yards of my sock wool I soaked. As you can see, most of it was pre-dyed. I had attempted to dye with black beans in February 2013, but my results were very icky in colour. I was hoping that the indigo would salvage these skeins. </div>
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Again, our trusty propane burner! Indigo dye vats are tempermental ph and heat wise. Since there was so many of us in the class, and so many of us brought <i><b>a lot</b></i> of our own stuff to dye, we had to have two vats going at once. Sadly, only one burner. We made do by shuffling pots from the burner and constantly checking the temperature. </div>
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I had brought my enamel pot and my little electric burner I got from a second hand store, but the burner would only heat a pot to a max temperature of 155 degrees F. Grrrrr! 180 degrees F is the magic number for most natural dyes. Good thing I did bring my pot. That's it on the burner in the photo. It turned into the second production vat for this class! Ah, the temptation of turning something blue. We workshop students went a little overboard. LOL! </div>
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After a while, and a ton of items going through the vat, Jackie would "revive" the vat with a top up from the master vat solution she made in the classroom. Ph was taken again, colour of water was checked, and onto the burner it went to get it up to temperature to activate it. Jackie could tell by the green shade of the vat if there was enough of a "glug" from the master solution to produce the optimal shade of indigo blue. They don't call this woman a master dyer for nothing! It was like watching magic. In fact, the whole process of dyeing with indigo is like magic. Watching the skeins go from a green to a rich blue when you pull them out of the vat was... incredible! If you ever get a chance to do an indigo workshop with Jackie, do it! </div>
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Funny thing, as we ladies were all laughing and talking excitedly around our fire and pots, stirring and pulling fiber out of them and exclaiming as they were turning blue in front of our eye, we had a lot of people walking past us laughing and asking if it was Halloween. I think this is something Jackie gets quite often, LOL. Didn't phase her a bit, she waved and laughed with them. One french fellow came up to watch and decided that our "brew" needed more onions. :D</div>
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It really was a shame that the festival could only give Jackie four hours for indigo, but I did learn so much and am very thankful for that. We had to reserve a chunk of time for rinsing the fiber because indigo is takes a lot of time to get it to a point where the color will not rub or bleed off (it's called crocking) onto your hands. I took all my yarn home and washed it at least five times. Guess what? The run off water is still as dark as the day in the workshop. I'm letting it "cure" for a few weeks before I attempt to rinse it again. That's another little tip Jackie taught us. And, you must be super careful not to agitate or your beautiful indigo yarn will felt. Remember:</div>
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"From cold to hot, worry not, but from hot to cold, cannot be sold!"</div>
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It is a balancing act, but when done right, indigo vat dyeing is so worth it! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-3148527964136677062013-09-09T18:47:00.003-03:002013-09-09T18:47:23.430-03:00Twist Fibre Festival 2013 Workshops with Natural Dyer Jackie Ottino<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I attended my first fiber festival ever! Yay! </span><br />
Gram didn't want to go, hubby and kids did not want to go, so I drove 8 hours and 45 minutes all by my lonesome to<br />
St-André-Avellin, QC, Canada. And man, was it totally worth it!<br />
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Did I get bored driving it all in one day? Nope! My tweenie music obsessed and iphone obsessed little girl has 2 playlists she created on my phone. I learned how to attach my phone to the "aux" outlet on my van stereo and cranked the tunes! I even had Google gps thingy working so the voice would come through the stereo. So cool and VERY helpful. Had to laugh at some of the pronunciation of the female voice. <br />
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Driving from my Provence, New Brunswick to our neighbour Provence, Quebec was a very, um, different experience. I don't know if it was election year in their Provence, but I've NEVER seen so much road construction in my life. It was literally everywhere! Someone obviously didn't tell Google gps about all the traffic re-routes, 'cos my electronic guide was getting very frustrated with me. At one point in Montreal, she commanded me to do an immediate U-Turn on a diverted 4 lane highway. In rush hour traffic, no less. Command ignored. And I got lost, but only temperately. I'm sure gps-s can gloat. Hmph.<br />
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Quebec drivers were a pleasure to share the road with. No tail gating, no blocking the passing lanes, and very understanding about a mini van missing it's turn off, immediately swerving to the side of the road, backing up and driving over the pretty grass and flowers to make the turn. (Yeah, that happened a couple of times.) Thanks Quebec!<br />
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For my first fiber festival, I had decided to go all out and spend 3 nights in a motel. Originally, I had considered sleeping in the minivan, ('cos I'm so cheap, as my Tressa says) to save money to buy <b><i>glorious memento fibre</i></b>, but man, was I EVER glad I splurged for the motel. 8 hours and 45 minutes of soreness was very glad to have a proper bed to sprawl on. I chose the "Bel-Eau Inn" in<span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span>Montebello, a 15 minute drive away from St-André-Avellin because it was super cute and, well, cheap price-wise, in comparison to other hotels/motels in the area. I'm happy to say my room was cute, very clean and the staff were super friendly. I would and will stay there again. It is on the main road and has tons of sweet little bistros, cafes, and restaurants within walking distance. Which I ignored. Ah, maybe next year!<br />
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Day One: 8am wake up, clean up and a distress call up to the main desk due to being LOCKED UP in my room. Yup, me, the overly safe girl, had thrown the deadbolt the night before and it was stuck. Talk about panicking! I needed to get to class and hadn't made the drive yet so I wanted to be nice and early to find parking and get my bearings. So, that's when I discovered metal fingernail files are excellent impromptu tools for sticky deadbolts. Off to the festival!<br />
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Again, it was another no make-up day. Hot, glorious weather over steaming pots? I wanted to get down and dirty with dyes, not be wiping dripping mascara. So yes, I was "hobo stylin'" as my sister likes to call it. Faded, ripped clothes and all! LOL<br />
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Here is a dark shot of us ladies waiting to get in. I'm loving the yarn bombing on the posts! Some was even crochet and weavings. Very cool touch. Parking was easy and off to registration I went.<br />
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The lady in the grey and white sweater with the peach scarf was the one who organized the event. Sorry, I can't remember her name right now, but she was so sweet! She even let me sneak into an overfull class with the fabulous V. The lovely basket on the table was full of little Euculan gifts, which I LOVED. So nice! And once registered, off to the class I went.<br />
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Here is a shot of Jackie Ottino (she's the one with the black shirt) and her table of mysterious dyestuff and tools. Jackie is one of the two master dyers at <a href="https://www.swansislandcompany.com/" target="_blank">Swan's Island Company</a> in Maine, USA. She, by her own words, is a "detailed" dyer. Formulas and precise notes are her constant companions. Don't get me wrong, she is very into experimenting, but she likes to capture the details so it can be done again. That, I think, is fabulous. I'd go nuts if I found the perfect shade and had no clue how I did it. <br />
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Here is a sample ring of the colours Jackie created for Swan's Island. Gorgeous, huh?<br />
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And look at that fleece! Delicious.</div>
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And my favourite table... the sales table!!!! I really made a dent into my wallet here. In fact, this is where I blew my festival budget! Did I regret it? Heck no! I wish I had budgeted more to buy more dye extracts. :)</div>
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Here we used orange osage to dye some of the beautiful merino wool that Swan's Island donated to us for the class. <br />
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Look at that colour brewing!<br />
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One of the students wanted to experiment with a premixed indigo solution as an over dye on the orange osage yellow wool. Cool!<br />
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Due to the lack of burner space, Jackie fired up the propane burners outside the classroom in the parking lot. We got a lot of strange looks, but for the most part, people were really curious and impressed by our work.<br />
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Look at the amazing coloured skeins we created! Jackie is checking out the wool. One problem with excellent merino wool is its tendancy to felt. Coming out of the hot pots and hanging in the cool air was causing a little pinch of felting. Jackie gave us a really cool saying to help us when we are dyeing: <br />
"Cold to hot, worry not.<br />
Hot to cold, cannot be sold."<br />
Now that will come in handy!<br />
And so we finished the day with a ring of coloured skeins for each of us. If you ever get a chance to take a natural dyeing class with Jackie, DO IT!!! The woman is a wonderful teacher.<br />
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Up next, day 2 at the Twist Fibre Festival! <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-75809978076364042192013-08-13T11:34:00.000-03:002013-08-13T11:34:06.930-03:00My "Roses for Margaery" Sock Sadness... Running Out of Yarn While KnittingHas this ever happened to you? It's a first for me. Normally, my overly compulsive urge to hoard gorgeous yarn kicks in when I'm at the counter of my local yarn shop and I buy an extra ball or skein. Guess what I didn't do this time. Grrrrr. <br />
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I suppose the good thing about this is the fact that I'm knitting. I got a little carried away for a while with the natural dyeing. That's on hold until I recover from a massive sunburn. Ugh. The dangers of foraging. <br />
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And spinning! I'm hooked! Ever tried drop spindling? Very fun. You can take it on the go. Love drop spinning. But right now I'm using my LeClerc wheel. <br />
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Loving the colours! I bought this 4oz bag of roving from a Canadian Etsy shop owner <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Zenitude" target="_blank">Zenitude</a>. She vacuum seals the roving so it really cuts down on shipping costs. When you open the bag, the fiber puffs right up! This is the above spinning, called "Summer Days." Groovy!<br />
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So what are you spinning or knitting?<br />
~NinAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-9956474746210302052013-07-28T10:49:00.002-03:002013-07-28T11:08:37.106-03:00Natural Dyeing Class and such...Oh my! Has it really been more than a month since we chatted?! Yikes! Sorry!<br />
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This past month has been very busy, but in a pleasant sort of way. I'm taking an online Tech Editing course from <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/Joeli" target="_blank">Joeli</a>, of "<a href="http://joeliskitchen.com/" target="_blank">Joeli's Kitchen</a>," to learn what's involved in being a knitting pattern technical editor. Lots of math! Lucky for me, I adore math. Sick, I know.<br />
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Tressa returned from Edmonton, and declared flying as "boring" in typical Tweenie fashion. She had a blast with her cousins and at one point, she wanted me to see about letting her stay until Christmas so she could go to school with her cousin, Angelina. They are both the same age and as thick as thieves. I, of course said no, with a HUGE lump in my throat. My baby, wanting to stay longer away from me? Inconceivable for me to imagine. Tressa, the master negotiator that she is, reminded me that Harry Potter went away to school when he was 10, and besides, she will be going to travel Europe after high school with Angie and their best friends, so it would be great practice for me. Hmmmm. I smelt a pot of mullarkey, and after talking to my sister, it seems it was a plan cooked up by my little Tressa and Angie. <br />
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And speaking of cooking, I took a natural dyeing course at my local Craft School. So much fun! It was from 9am to 4pm but honestly, the day flew by. I finally got to try my hand at dyeing with <a href="http://www.maiwa.com/home/supply/natural_dyes/cochineal/index.html" target="_blank">cochineal</a>, which are the bodies of female insects of the species <i>Dactylopius</i>. I managed to get one skein in the pot. It turned out a delicious colour! I bit the bullet and ordered some for my home studio. It's expensive, but worth it.<br />
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Here are the pots simmering on the stove. The back is madder and the front, marigolds! The marigolds were the only "raw" dyeing supplies we used due to time constraints. You wouldn't believe the rich yellow we got from them! Lovely! All the other colours were produced by dye extracts from <a href="http://www.maiwa.com/home/supply/natural_dyes/" target="_blank">Maiwa</a>, a natural dye supplier in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (As soon as I got home, I placed an order with them. Soooo much cheaper to purchase Alum and Cream of Tartar through a dyeing house than at the local grocer.)<br />
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Here, one of the students is adding the cochineal to the dye pot. I was very surprised at the method we used to dye. We mordanted the fabric/yarn/paper in the pot with the dye at the same time! From my previous readings, I knew this was possible, but in practice, I've always mordanted my skeins separatly and added them to a thoroughly mixed dye pot. I was sure my skein would end up with splotches of darker shades, but it did not. Huh. Who knew? Obviously, the instructor! LOL<br />
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It was freaking hot and raining very hard outside. Add in the heat of 4 burners running from 9am to 4pm in a small fiber studio, and you've got a group of very warm dyeing students! This is me, glowing with the simmering pots in the background. Totally not a make-up day! <br />
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And because I love the pots...<br />
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Here is my samples laying out. It was really neat to see how different fabrics and yarns would grab the dye. Wool and silk fabric and yarn are my favourite. <br />
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These are a few of the books the instructor brought with her that I don't own <i>yet</i>. :) I really liked these ones the best.<br />
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And now I find out why we mordanted the materials in the same pot as the dye. I gotta tell ya, my heart sank as I watched all that dye go down the drain. But the dye would not keep for long with the mordant in it. Dye can actually bond with the mordant, making the solution weak and give you less than vibrant colours. <br />
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Some samples drying on the racks...</div>
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It was a really fun class. In fact, I signed up for another natural dyeing class but this next one is dyeing with mushrooms and lichens. NOW that will be exciting!!! I also discovered another way to dye through fermentation. I'm researching that on the internet now. It might be a while before I give it a go.<br />
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So what is next for my home dye pots? Rudbeckia hirta, a.k.a., Black-eyed Susans! I've read that you can get some very pretty greens from them. That's a colour I've not reach yet. I'm gathering a huge amount of them and storing them plastic grocery bags in the freezer while I wait for my alum and powder iron mordant to arrive in the mail from Miawa. These are the two species I've been gathering.<br />
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I know this sounds shameful, but I've been sneaking into gardens and snipping a bloom or two. Now in my defense, it's only the ones that look like they've seen better days. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find these suckers in the wild! Most of what I've found are growing is small clusters by the roadside here in Keswick. I did find a humungous amount that the city of Fredericton planted to dress up a patch of land besides an off ramp. So I tip-toed through the Rudbeckia hirta, snipping the fading blooms here and there. <br />
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I really need a dyer's garden. <i>Sigh</i>.<br />
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The sewing bug bit me and I'm designing/sewing knitting project bags. I'm selling them our Etsy shop, <a href="http://keswickartsandcrafts.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Keswick Arts & Crafts</a>. Mom is an amazing sewer, but she <u><i><b>loathes</b></i></u> it. She will not even cut out the fabric pieces, she hates it so much, but she is able to give me her opinion/advice as I whip up the bags. Needless to say, I have a couple of bags for my own personal use due to them not being "shop worthy," as per Mom. <br />
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And as for knitting and designing, "Roses for Margaery" socks are still on the needles and being charted. I'm knitting the size large for my feet in a pretty shade of green. I feel these are taking a little too long to complete, but I'm resisting the urge to rush. Oh, remember the "second sock syndrome" I experienced while knitting the mediums? I took an idea from Joeli and I am knitting both socks at the same time but on two separate sets of needles. I'll knit so far on one and chart as I go. Then I'll stop, and knit from my new chart on the other sock, and make corrections as needed. <br />
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It's okay that I'm going slow with this design because I'm also reading a really great book to help me with my photography skills. <br />
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This book is truly fabulous! It inspired me to purchase a "new-to-me" lens off ebay for my old Olympus E-500 digital camera. A<span style="font-size: small;">n Olympus OM Zuiko MC Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 prime lens and an adapter ring. It will give me that lovely look the pears in the photo above are sporting... subject in focus while the background is artistically blurred. Yay! I can't wait for the adapter ring to arrive! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">What have you been up to lately?</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-22971320602286670522013-06-26T19:36:00.000-03:002013-06-26T19:36:36.808-03:00Natural Dyeing With Lupines<br />
I've loved lupines forever. Here in New Brunswick Canada they grow in a wide verity of colours. So guess what I did! You got it, I picked some for my dye pot!<br />
Ever try to find information online about how to dye wool with lupines? Very scarce. I did find some info about dyeing with them in Iceland, but no recipes. Grrr. Very frustrating as a new natural dyer. I have about four natural dyeing books and no mention of them in there. Rats! So, I decided to wing it.<br />
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I picked a HUGE amount of lupines, as in an "oh my gosh, I'm dropping some" armful. They literally covered the backseat. My husband's car never smelt so good! Once home, I went into the utility room and started "shucking" the blossoms off the stalks. A whole 1400g of blossoms! The dyepot was almost to bursting! Notice the colour that transferred to my skin.<br />
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Next time, gloves might be part of the process. (I kept the stalks; I've heard they make a lovely yellow colour.) Just as I was about to put the water in, I remembered to test the ph level of the water! New house and all, not sure about our well water. Lucky for me, it's a 7, which is pretty much neutral. Yay!<br />
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So, with just enough water to cover the blossoms, I let them come to a gentle boil then reduced to simmer for a couple of hours. I let them cool overnight in the water, hoping to get the maximum amount of colour out of them. Not sure if that was what to do, but hey, couldn't hurt, could it? Then I used a stainless steel sieve to scoop out the veggie matter because the pot was simply too heavy to pick up! The colour of the water was a pretty red colour. Fingers crossed that it transfers to the wool!<br />
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Today, I mordanted 568g of sock wool, which is 75% superwash and 25% nylon. I used 8% alum and 7% cream of tartar. After the bath cooled down and was done, I rinsed the yarn thoroughly and put it in my cool lupine dye. What did I see? Red wool? Nope. (Grrr) This kind of blueish green. As per one of my dye books, I brought it to an almost boil and let it simmer for a couple of hours, stirring very carefully every once in a while. The plan is to let it sit in the cooling dye bath overnight and see what happens... <br />
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While that is going on, I'm going to make a dye bath with the stalks. And I'm going to see if I can mordant some more sock skeins. And I think I'm kinda procrastinating on the "Roses for Margaery" socks. Second sock syndrome? While designing? Killer. Blah.<br />
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ETA: Here is the lupine blossom skeins... What do you think? I kinda like them, but they are not very exciting. Sort of a dove blue/grey. <br />
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I did make a huge mash of the lupine stalks and let them sit for about 2 days after simmering them. Yeesh, I was a bit hesitant to lift the lid, figuring it would smell to the high heavens, but nope, it actually smelt kinda good! Weird, I know. After scooping out all the veggie matter with my stainless steel sieve, I put the 3 extra mortanted skeins into the cool dyepot and let it simmer for about 1 hour. It sat overnight to cool. I wasn't crazy about the intensity of the colour, so I simmered it for another 1hour. Later, I added a couple of "glugs" of white vinegar to a gallon glass jar of water, and draped half of the skein in it for 30 minutes. <br />
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I did 2 this way. I rinsed, washed with ph neutral dish soap (Dawn), rinsed some more, then spun in the washer. Not a whole lot of colour rinsed out of the skein. That was surprising. Anyway, they are now drying. The vinegar made the yellow softer. I'm liking the look of them! <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-44267723873360866822013-06-14T15:27:00.000-03:002013-06-14T15:27:03.993-03:00Roses For Margaery: Another Game Of Thrones Inspired Sock<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Speaking of roses, I was over at mom's house yesterday late in the afternoon. Mom was hanging another load of laundry out on the line. There was a gentle wind blowing and I literally froze on the deck steps. Roses! The air was perfumed with roses! "Mom, what laundry detergent is that!?!" Well, it turns out that it wasn't the detergent but the wild rose bushes Dad had planted decades ago in the sandy soil around the corner of the house. They are a hardy breed with deep pink petals and a sharp candy scent. Last year, during a fit of a "man-o-pause" moment, Dad had trimmed them back to almost nothing with a chainsaw. I thought that was pretty much it for the roses, but low and behold, they are back with a vengeance. Good thing too. My dye pots are waiting!<br />
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Yesterday was a great day for knitting! I had to drop my little guy off at preschool in the city and as a treat to myself, I spent several hours at my local yarn shop knitting. Trish, the coolest yarn shop owner <i>EVER</i>, has comfy couches in the back where knitters can come and knit when you feel like it. Heaven! <br />
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The day before yesterday, I discovered a glaring mistake in my "Roses For Margaery" sock. Right on the top of foot, I forgot to knit through the back of the loop in a section of the pattern. At first, I thought I could just forget about it, keep knitting because they are the prototype. Nope. That one row was bugging me so bad, I had to rip the sucker back. It was A LOT to rip. <i>Sigh</i>. Ever had to do that? Make the decision to forge on or rip waaaaayyyy back because it was just bugging you? <br />
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As painful as it was to rip, I was glad I had those golden hours at the yarn shop to knit. I actually made it back up to where I was before and then sum. Yes! <br />
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But I noticed another problem that I think I was trying to ignore. I tried the sock on and it was too tight. Yup, all 80 stitches worth was tight on my supposed "large" version of the pattern. What a totally sinking feeling that was. That is my foot in the picture left. <br />
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Trish came back to sit with me because there was a lull in customers. I noticed her pretty, dainty feet. With slim ankles. Hmmmm. Trish agreed to try them on and OH my gosh, the leg and arch fit her perfect size medium foot fantastically! Yay! But the foot, which was 79 stitches in circumference was a pinch too big. She suggested to decrease to about 72 stitches for the foot. <br />
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Trish knows her socks. And her perfectly pretty medium foot. So what's that I hear? The sound of ripping coming my way. Grrrrr. Totally grumping about when will these (insert swear word of your choice) socks EVER be done!??? However, now I have some valuable insight on the medium and a strong idea about what to do for the large. Yay!<br />
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Designing. Ah, ya gotta love it. Or go crazy. :P<br />
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~Nin Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-20596220625257081232013-06-03T16:36:00.001-03:002013-06-03T16:37:45.225-03:00Celebrate With Tressa! Free Pattern Code For NinDesign Patterns!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AuhoFx55Vko/UazwIefCQKI/AAAAAAAAALQ/1Qi2gkO3cWE/s1600/birthdayCake.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AuhoFx55Vko/UazwIefCQKI/AAAAAAAAALQ/1Qi2gkO3cWE/s1600/birthdayCake.png" /></a>I love June! Especially June 5th! Tressa, my beautiful baby (well, she will always be my baby) girl's birthday, is coming up and to celebrate I'm gifting to <i><b>everyone</b></i> one of my patterns during June 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th on Ravelry.com. If you are not a member, you can register for free.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/designers/nin-leavitt" target="_blank">http://www.ravelry.com/designers/nin-leavitt </a><br />
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The coupon code is Tressa05. Happy Birthday, my darling daughter, and happy knitting to everyone!<br />
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Nin :)<br />
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PS... If you have a Ravelry account and post images of your finished objects, I'd love to see your finished project of one of my patterns!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-21838853930663097602013-05-28T21:50:00.000-03:002013-05-30T15:57:42.017-03:00Trying something new... Video blogging about my sock designs<div style="text-align: center;">
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Thought I'd try something new! My Mac has a nice little video cam... fun :)</div>
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Talking about designing new Game of Thrones inspired socks for the Hound and Margaery Tyrell.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-90150497834143961492013-05-18T00:36:00.000-03:002013-05-18T00:36:16.738-03:00Hunting For Inspiration For The HoundNow that "Melisandre's Flames" socks are officially out for test knitting, I'm getting that "designing something new" itch <i>big time</i>. Why? Well, because I love to design, and because of Season 3, Episode 7 of HBO's fantastic original series "Game Of Thrones." What an awesome episode it was! And it was written by R. R. Martin himself. Love that!<br />
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Who has captured my attention? The Hound. I loved his character in the books and his character on <br />
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the small screen is excellent. And again, I want to do a sock. Socks have me smitten right now. :)<br />
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So, what kind of sock would the Hound wear? I'm thinking he'd be like Stannis. Something straight forward and sorta no non-sense stitch pattern. And something sharp, reminiscent of fangs. I think I've found the right stitch pattern, but, as usual, I think I'll modify it a bit. As for the colorway, I don't see him as a grey sock. I see murky colors of the forest because that is where he has been hiding. Plus, hounds are meant to hunt, and the forests are usually where the best game are.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3d7fBBWZvuM/UZb1vUihR9I/AAAAAAAAAKU/GJUiXfjj6rs/s1600/hound2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3d7fBBWZvuM/UZb1vUihR9I/AAAAAAAAAKU/GJUiXfjj6rs/s1600/hound2.png" /></a>With this all in mind, I went stash diving and I think I've found the perfect sock yarn for the Hound. Originally I bought it at my local yarn shop thinking of Arya, but it wasn't ringing true for her, so I put it away. <br />
<br />
ETA: Since I started writing this post, I'm now wrestling with my sock yarn choice. The yarn appears to be a bit "stripy" and I just cannot see The Hound in stripes. So, I'm back to trying to find a colorway that rings true to my vision. Another problem. Do I have to use the colors of his House? Some GoT fans get really riled when House colors are not respected. The Hound's House colors are gold and black. Grrrr. Maybe a nice charcoal? Hmmm.<br />
<br />
I also was struck by inspiration to do a Tyrell sock for <span class="st">Margaery. I can see it so easily in pink, or that pretty shade of blue she usually wears on the show. BUT, the Tyrell House colors are green and gold. Blah. Gold I could do, but green is way off for the very feminine design I have in mind. Oh well, we'll see.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-84984422315033765622013-05-13T12:48:00.000-03:002013-05-13T12:48:03.343-03:00Who Taught You To Knit Or Crochet?So who taught you how to knit or crochet? <br />
<br />
Mother's Day has come and gone, (BTW, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!) and it got me thinking how thankful I am for my mom. Among all the very cool and wonderful things my mom has taught me, how to knit was one of them. Knitting and designing knitwear is a huge part of my life that I love. It relaxes me, stresses me out and challenges me in fantastic ways. I love it! Would I have learned to knit without my mom teaching me? I'm not sure. Maybe. But I'm glad momma did! :) Thanks Mom!<br />
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I've got a poll going over on my facebook page collecting data for a future post here with a contest attached on the blog. If you all would be so kind, I'd love for you to add your vote. <br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/KeswickArtsAndCrafts">http://www.facebook.com/KeswickArtsAndCrafts</a><br />
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Oh, I got the knitting for Melisandre's Flames finished! Sneak peek:<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-13660892530930087342013-05-10T20:19:00.000-03:002013-05-14T11:27:31.854-03:00Update: Melisandre's Flames Socks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">to get this sock pattern done and released!!!</span></span></div>
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One sock done, and half way through the second sock. To get this pattern published in the <i><b>Keswick Arts and Crafts</b></i> Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy stores, I've got to:<br />
<ol>
<li><strike>Finish knitting the socks</strike></li>
<li><strike>Plan photo shoot</strike> and take pictures</li>
<li><strike>Chart out stitch pattern used</strike></li>
<li><strike>Write up pattern final charted pattern</strike></li>
<li>Write up pattern with final written instructions</li>
<li>Send it out to test knitters and wait for any mistakes I missed to be caught</li>
<li>Update pattern</li>
<li>Create pdf of final pattern</li>
<li>Upload to Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy</li>
<li>Tell the world through blog, facebook, ravelry and etsy forums </li>
</ol>
Yikes! I better get my needles a-clack'!<br />
<br />
And as a side note, I was wondering, who taught you to knit or crochet? Visit my facebook page to answer this poll question at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/KeswickArtsAndCrafts">http://www.facebook.com/KeswickArtsAndCrafts</a> ... I've got a blog post brewing in the back of my mind about this... <br />
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By the way, hubby totally loved Troll Hunter. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-69191917828718549502013-05-09T19:50:00.000-03:002013-05-09T20:21:10.058-03:00New Favorite Film... Troll Hunter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/r9dgeYkYOZA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
I'm nuts about this film. My sisters think this is nuts, but seriously, it's really great! I love how they pull you in and use such everyday things to make you believe. Crazy good!<br />
<br />
I must admit, I am a little troll crazy anyway. I had bought my kids a vintage children's book on Norse Trolls and they loved it. The illustrations were excellent, not too scary, but something that would tingle a kid's excitement bone. Sadly, during the move, it has disappeared. :(<br />
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Tonight is movie date night for hubby and me and it is my turn to pick the film. I'm totally introducing him to Troll Hunter! Most times he usually hates my foreign films with subtitles, but I think he will enjoy this one. Plus he owes me... Last few after-the-kids-are-in-bed date nights have been hockey games. Being Canadian and all, I love me some good hockey games, but a girl has gotta to have a break. <br />
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What do you like to do for in house date night?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-51904180511616122512013-04-07T18:35:00.003-03:002013-04-07T18:35:52.221-03:00Melisandre's Flames -- New sock pattern design!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"The night is dark, and full of terrors."<br />
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Melisandre, the Red Priestess from Asshai, is Stannis' sorceress adviser. She claims to see the prophecies of the Lord Of Light in flames, and has converted the stoic Stannis to her religion. She gives him information to help his cause, to claim his rightful seat on the throne in Westros.<br />
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Since I did the socks for Stannis, I couldn't get the idea of doing a sock pattern for Melisandre, out of my head. But what stitch, or combinations of stitches to use?<br />
<br />
Melisandre reminds me of a beautiful snake. Her body language from the R.R. Martin books is very sensual, slinky. She has an almost hypnotic power over those that come in contact with her, or she inspires fear and distrust in those who worship the old gods or the gods of the Seven. So, with this in mind, and the fact that Melisandre burns with an inner fire, I wanted a stitch pattern that is reminiscent of flickering, twisting flames, yet a little bit lacy hinting at her seductiveness. And I think I have found it! <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cndykvkvz-c/UWHk07WhsJI/AAAAAAAAAJA/JQ7CpYtNO0w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-04-07+at+6.23.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cndykvkvz-c/UWHk07WhsJI/AAAAAAAAAJA/JQ7CpYtNO0w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-04-07+at+6.23.22+PM.png" /></a>But what about the yarn? I looked at A LOT of different shades of red and orange, you know, to evoke that whole fire thing. I wasn't really satisfied until I got an email sale alert from Webs. And low and behold, I have found the perfect yarn colorway that totally reminds me of Melisandre! Oddly enough, it is a Cascade Heritage Paints which was the yarn that captivated me for Socks For Stannis. The colorway is 9928 "Dark Sunset." I love how the different colors bleed into each other. <br />
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"Game of Thrones" Season 3, episode 2 is on tonight. And guess what? <br />
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The night is dark, and full of knitting.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-43724047309530123802013-03-30T23:27:00.000-03:002013-03-30T23:27:53.444-03:00Socks for Stannis Are Published!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TYMUCDFOB0/UVeehMtICLI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/HPGEVnadASQ/s1600/Stannis4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TYMUCDFOB0/UVeehMtICLI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/HPGEVnadASQ/s200/Stannis4.JPG" width="194" /></a></div>
Yay, the pattern is finally live on Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy! I'm grinning from ear to ear because I really love this pattern. It's my first ever sock pattern and it is Game of Thrones related. LOVE it! My testers did a lovely job and were invaluable in making the pattern go live. Thank you! If you've got a moment, check out my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/designers/nin-leavitt" target="_blank">designs page on Ravelry</a>. You can see the socks the testers knit too. It's so neat to see something that was just an idea floating around in my head made by knitters from around the world. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-64728795316354165982013-03-27T23:27:00.001-03:002013-04-03T07:57:49.119-03:00Donating to Save The Polar Bear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm so proud of my kid!</span><br />
<br />
Tressa joined Earth Rangers and is trying to raise money to save the polar bear. As global warming continues, the ice in the Arctic is melting faster and breaking up. Polar bears walk on the ice to hunt for seals. There is a rise in drowned polar bears due to the bears becoming exhausted while swimming for ice to hunt on.<br />
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It was cool to watch Tressa head the "polar bear rescue" meeting at our table. She officially invited us all to come up with creative ideas to help her reach her goal. Lila pointed out that $1000 will not be enough to get Tressa to the Arctic to save a bear, let alone feed it. (oh how the 7yr old mind works!) Tressa said, "Not me, silly. My research and rescue team will." Can't beat that logic!<br />
<br />
Tressa:<br />
"Mama, you can sell some of your jewelry. You never go anywhere." <i>Say <b>what</b>????!!!???</i><br />
<br />
"How about you sell your books, you know Mama, that big pile of knitting and romance books you've got in the storage area." <i>WHAT???!!?? </i><br />
<br />
(First off, that area is <i>not</i> a storage area, it is my office. True, with all the boxes from the move and the sparatic setting up my office space does kinda make it look more storage-y than creative office-y. Which makes me realize I gotta do something about that or the hubby might start sneaking hockey gear in there. grrrrr)<br />
<br />
I had to admit, I might be able to part with some of my romance books. But knitting books? KNITTING BOOKS??? <span style="font-size: large;"><b>NEVER</b>! <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tressa came up with the ide<span style="font-size: small;">a of a family yard<span style="font-size: small;"> sale as soon as the weather warms up. She also wants <span style="font-size: small;">to give flyers about her mission to all the kids at her school for th<span style="font-size: small;">eir</span> parents to see and <span style="font-size: small;">donate.</span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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So in the spirit of activism, I suggested that we put a link here to her Earth Ranger page. She was thrilled with this and promptly forgot my jewelry box and knitting books. If you feel inclined to help, please click on the avatar of Tressa and donate to save a polar bear. You can also see how much money she has raised. It would really make a kid with a big heart and a polar bear happy! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-51345243576729562422013-03-25T11:31:00.002-03:002013-03-25T11:31:12.509-03:00"Sock For Stannis" Is Out For Test Knitting<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-frOVT1U5q0I/UU78vy1eKVI/AAAAAAAAAG4/5QLrc8SWUTE/s1600/Stannis6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-frOVT1U5q0I/UU78vy1eKVI/AAAAAAAAAG4/5QLrc8SWUTE/s320/Stannis6.jpg" width="240" /></a>Oy, this is always a painful part for me. It's like having someone critique your baby. And the waiting... always so hard!<br />
<br />
Some designers don't use test knitters, but I like to have fresh eyes take a look to catch mistakes before I launch a new pattern. Plus it is a great way to hone my writing skills. All good.<br />
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I did a photo shoot of Stannis in early March but unfortunately my model (my hubby) was a no-show. I have pardoned him; he was at training for his job. So I had to model and take the pics myself. Yikes!<br />
<br />
Ever test your flexibility? This is a great/painful way to do so. The camera had to be held above and level, the slightest tilt distorts the leg. I tried to use my Olympus 3/4 camera because it has a nifty remote. Waaayyy to heavy to hold still. I do have a tripod but as to where it is? No clue. There is still quite a few packing boxes I have to go through. They are marked, but a huge wall of them are marked as "crafting supplies." I'm pretty sure my tripod is in one of them. Grrrr.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N3K7DOT-bqQ/UU78yB065yI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Kn-nHlZcXJk/s1600/Stannis5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N3K7DOT-bqQ/UU78yB065yI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Kn-nHlZcXJk/s320/Stannis5.JPG" width="320" /></a>So, I grabbed my iPhone 4 and set to work. It was difficult go hold it and press the picture capture button at the same time, but I managed.<br />
<br />
Photo shoots are something I love to do. Craftsy has a fantastic video class on the subject. Deciding what light, backdrop, accessories, positions and themes is really fun. Originally, I was thinking of shooting my husband's feet near a stone hearth. I had an antique chair with very beautiful dark, scarred legs to use as a prop. Lighting was key; the morning sunlight is the best because it really makes colors pop. Plus, I needed lighting that was natural and would make the stitches pop. I wanted to give a kind of medieval feel/flare to the shoot, since the socks are based on the Stannis character from "A Song Of Ice And Fire" by R.R. Martin. Well, that became a wash due to scheduling conflicts. And I moped. Meh.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SeC8hHyZcpM/UU78-5Oi72I/AAAAAAAAAHI/Me7ARuaVZAE/s1600/Stannis4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SeC8hHyZcpM/UU78-5Oi72I/AAAAAAAAAHI/Me7ARuaVZAE/s320/Stannis4.JPG" width="311" /></a>After a few days, I came up with the idea of resting the sock against a tapestry cushion. Yay! No hubby needed for that. Problem. How to make the sock look its best? I don't own any sock blockers. Rats! And the nature of the fabric does not look pleasing laying without being stretched. Double rats! Oh Stannis, why must you be so difficult? <br />
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The solution? I model socks that were not knit for my foot. Lucky for me I have size 10 ladies feet. <br />
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Not too bad for an iphone 4. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-30725270747073114592013-02-18T10:08:00.001-04:002013-02-18T10:08:37.514-04:00Wool Dryer Balls and the cost of saving money...Okay, I'm cheep. I love to save money. Not a bad thing, I think. I also want to become eco friendly in 2013. And since I live in a household of 5, the dryer seemed like the first candidate for eco-ness. <br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k2Xcnm7lWPE/USIyVKfjFHI/AAAAAAAAAGA/LCzxhHyPmJo/s1600/IMG_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k2Xcnm7lWPE/USIyVKfjFHI/AAAAAAAAAGA/LCzxhHyPmJo/s400/IMG_0607.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
Since it is freeze your @rse off cold here, and there is 2 to 3 feet of snow outside, I'm not using my clothesline which I LOVE. So what's an eco fledgling to do? Enter the dryer balls.<br />
<br />
Pintrest has many pics of these homemade and store bought woolen balls that you pop in the dryer. The theroy is that they bounce merrily amung your cloths, sucking up extra moisture and creating space that leaves your clothing fresh smelling, static free, and WRINKLE free. Best of all, they cut your drying time almost in half! Money in the bank. Yay!<br />
<br />
Enter the making of the dryer balls. I scrounged through my yarn stash and found some wool that promises to felt up nicely. Perfect! I start winding the balls. Not so perfect. Painful is more like it. Now I remember why I sprung for a cake winder. GRRR. <br />
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Enter the pre-tweenie that is obsessed with getting an ipod touch, which I <b>won't</b> spring for. "Mama, if you pay me 1 MomBuck for each ball, I'll help you." Well, after some heated haggling, a bit of guilting which did not work, I agreed on Tressa's price. <br />
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4 balls for $4 bucks. These suckers better work. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-41010000371869691372013-02-01T13:55:00.000-04:002013-02-01T13:55:30.677-04:00Designing Socks for Stannis in Game of Thrones...I love the books. I love the tv show. I love the cookbook. I think I might have a problem. But it's a good one!<br />
<br />
Ok, I'm nuts about <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i>, George R. R. Martin's brilliant fantasy book series. It's so bad, that I seem to be designing lately by characters from the books.<br />
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Enter my first sock design ever, "Stannis." Stannis Baratheon is the very serious, very hard brother of the "usurper" king. He is bitter, he cannot suffer fools, and is tired of being the butt of every courtly joke. He was key in helping his brother ascend to the throne but feels he wasn't compensated properly for his suffering. He is a very hard, very unbending man.<br />
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So what stitch pattern comes to mind for me when I think of Stannis? Diamonds, of course. Not for there beauty or pizazz. Nope. It's for their sharp edges and hardness. The beauty of this stitch pattern is that after studying the diamonds for a few minutes, you can see that the sharp lines don't actually meet; the diamonds are not complete. Like Stannis and the personal/political goals that drive him. He's just not <i>there</i> yet.<br />
<br />
The fabric is frustrating me. It has very little give to it. Grrr. I've had to frog and start anew, but I a determined to get this sock out of my sketchbook/mind and into reality. Wish me luck!<br />
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UPDATE<br />
After 2 froggings and a grumpy hubby testing gauge on the foot, I THINK (crossing fingers here) I've got it. I'm halfway through the 2nd repeat of the pattern and I'm liking the results.<br />
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~nin~Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-53382535544323247092013-01-20T23:40:00.000-04:002013-01-20T23:40:10.586-04:00Fernly knitting hat pattern is now added to our shop<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mUq9NueaV44/UPy2JVQPP8I/AAAAAAAAAE8/lxzmMwokTC4/s1600/titlePage2_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mUq9NueaV44/UPy2JVQPP8I/AAAAAAAAAE8/lxzmMwokTC4/s1600/titlePage2_medium2.jpg" height="400" width="277" /></a>I'm s l o w l y adding my pattern designs to the shop. I'd like to say that it's taking so long due to kids, school, renoing old house for sale, getting documents and stuff needed for purchase of new house ready, loosing the dog then finding her and going out of my mind with purging stuff. But really, it's me procrastinating when I do have the time. Meh.<br />
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But I did get my Fernly pattern pdf updated and it is now listed in the <a href="http://www.keswickartsandcrafts.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Keswick Arts and Crafts</a> Etsy shop! <br />
Hurray!<br />
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Now the not so good part. I'm getting the designing itchy fingers and brain thing again. <br />
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Socks. Yup. Socks are getting me all fired up. This isn't such a bad thing if you've got the time to design. Which I don't. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sigh</i></span>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-13843020651413490212013-01-10T23:04:00.001-04:002013-01-10T23:04:43.323-04:00Getting ready for the dyepot... 10 5yard skeins!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bGolIk7GuT8/UO93wvnLtmI/AAAAAAAAAEU/15ghciLi9Nk/s1600/woolSkein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bGolIk7GuT8/UO93wvnLtmI/AAAAAAAAAEU/15ghciLi9Nk/s320/woolSkein.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
And boy, am I aching. Seriously. <br />
But I am so excited about FINALLY getting to the point of dyeing! I'm new at it, so I think I'm going to try something a little simple (or supposedly so) like red cabbage and onion skins. I really want to see what colour I can create with the two. Yay!<br />
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I wound these sock yarns into 5 yard skeins because I wanted to see if I could control the dye absorbing and colour transition if I had more "room." It might end up being too much for me, the novice dyer, to handle and end up with one unholy mess. Ah, that is where little hands and bribes of "mom bucks" come in. Tressa is very fascinated with growing her bank account, so I'm sure she will be up to helping Mommy try to dip these monster skeins into pots while standing on chairs. (Gosh, I hope it won't end up like that!!!!) <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fndIMDr5Zg0/UO97r2M_aqI/AAAAAAAAAEk/IfzVTKsM9Z0/s1600/HandDyeingYarnAndFleece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fndIMDr5Zg0/UO97r2M_aqI/AAAAAAAAAEk/IfzVTKsM9Z0/s1600/HandDyeingYarnAndFleece.jpg" /></a></div>
Speaking of ways to dye, I picked up another great book on Amazon.ca called <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="btAsinTitle">Hand Dyeing Yarn and
Fleece: Custom-Color Your Favorite Fibers with Dip-Dyeing,
Hand-Painting, Tie-Dyeing, and Other Creative Techniques<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">by</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gail Callahan. I'm really loving how she goes into great detail <span style="font-size: small;">with the various methods <span style="font-size: small;">that she mentions and <span style="font-size: small;">gives us <span style="font-size: small;">some great pictures to illustrate <span style="font-size: small;">what she me<span style="font-size: small;">ans. She <span style="font-size: small;">talk<span style="font-size: small;">s <span style="font-size: small;">a little about natural dyeing, which is what I r<span style="font-size: small;">eal<span style="font-size: small;">ly want to get into, but she does <span style="font-size: small;">state that she is a<span style="font-size: small;">n avid acid dye advocate. Meh, I'm not convinced that's the way I'<span style="font-size: small;">ll go, but <span style="font-size: small;">those parts are</span> definat<span style="font-size: small;">ly in<span style="font-size: small;">teresting to read.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh, did I mention my goal for 2013? I would like to get back into designing kn<span style="font-size: small;">itwear, c<span style="font-size: small;">os I'm <span style="font-size: small;">getting that i<span style="font-size: small;">tch again <span style="font-size: small;">AND <span style="font-size: small;">I finally was able to snag a copy of "A Second Treasury o<span style="font-size: small;">f <span style="font-size: small;">Knitting Patterns" by Barbara G. Walker. <span style="font-size: small;">I also want to dye yarn for my<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">designs. Colour really resonates with me, and sometimes it <span style="font-size: small;">is w<span style="font-size: small;">hat will spark a design. Or, a design will hit me<span style="font-size: small;">, and I'll have a total<span style="font-size: small;">ly clear con<span style="font-size: small;">cept o<span style="font-size: small;">f what colour i<span style="font-size: small;">t must be in for my photo<span style="font-size: small;"> shoot, BUT <span style="font-size: small;">I cannot find it at my local yarn shop or my favorite <span style="font-size: small;">yarn suppliers online. So very frustrating<span style="font-size: small;"> to have to settle with a differ<span style="font-size: small;">ent color<span style="font-size: small;">way.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I<span style="font-size: small;">'d like to<span style="font-size: small;"> use more indie dye<span style="font-size: small;">rs on <span style="font-size: small;">Etsy and I'm sure I will<span style="font-size: small;"> this year. But I kin<span style="font-size: small;">da like the idea of selling a kit, you know?<span style="font-size: small;"> Design<span style="font-size: small;"> and colourway <span style="font-size: small;">created my me. :)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">~Nin~</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2438249485957558626.post-38473826665174309702013-01-04T00:30:00.002-04:002013-01-04T00:30:50.600-04:00Lilies for love and luckWhy Lily of the Valley for our avatar? <br />
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When Dad built our house over 40 years ago, Mama's Aunt Annie came for a visit and brought with her a little clipping of Lilies of the Valley from her garden. "Plant them around your front door step, dear. They will bring you love and luck to your new home," she said. I like to think she was right. <br />
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I remember being 4yrs old and playing outside with my dollies on that step, surrounded by the scent of lilies. As the years went by, that delicate perfume remained as I left home for college, marriage and motherhood, and like my parents, always greeted me when I returned. <br />
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So why the lilies? Because they make me think of home and how lucky we are to have a big family that fights, respects, gathers together, laughs together and loves one another fiercely. <br />
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Love and luck. What could be better for our new blog? <br />
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Plus Mama, aka Judy or Gram, said "What the hell is an avatar? That's why I got to choose. :)<br />
<br />-Nin-Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07960802081484711830noreply@blogger.com0