Accidental Art

busy, busy, busy

I shop.  Thanks to my daughter, I now shop on "etsy".  It's a wonderful shopping place for all kinds of handmade stuff by artists.  And there's something for everyone.  Check it out here :  http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=93256&order=&section_id=&page=2   I got the pug markers, cause I am a pug grammy.  They are so cute, and petite.  My concern was that they might be too big, but they're PERFECT! 
Then, I shopped to try out the new Addi lace needles.  They're brass with a red cord, great tips:  and a terrific connector.  When you first get them, there feels like there's a funky finish on them, and it does grab the yarn and there's no slide off, but after a while, you either forget about it or it wears off, but the yarn doesn't slip off like on their turbos.  I like 'em fine!  And yes, that's the Swallow Tail shawl from Interweave Knits Fall '06 on the needles.  I know, it's hard to tell what it really is, but that's lace before ya block it! 
I haven't just been playing with lace.  I swatched some organic cotton   and just loved it, and I've been working on a Peace Fleece sport weight cardigan  and actually making loads of progress.  I've started the second front, and feel like I can see daylight.  Nothing fancy, but then I don't usually wear a lot of fancy.  Then, my thoughts turned to thoughts of spring.  If you didn't know it, I am a BAG SLUT.  Yes, if there's a purse out there and it costs under $400, I've probably looked at it.  I'm in constant search of the perfect purse and wallet.  I found a purse I like a good deal at The Container Store, of all places.  It has lots of pockets (a must) and it STAYS ON MY SHOULDER, yes, my rounded shoulder, and that's VERY good.  It's also very black.  Not springy at all.  So, I decided to get creative, changed a few pockets, changed the handles, and VOILA , a lovely Spring purse.  I know, I know, it's kind of sweet for me.  It's what I had in my stash.  I'm on the lookout for a really cool pillow ticking type fabric in a good color, and I'll probably have one more go at it.  I want to live with this one for a bit to see if there are any other changes I want to make.  I also want to get some  Scotchguard  to spray on it cause I'm not the cleanest purse user in town. 
So, that's what I've been up to.  We go see the accountant this afternoon, and I have a goodly number of questions, so I better write them down, cause my mind is like a good steel sieve. 
later.

teasing

Okay, so somehow I got a knitting category today.  Go figure.  It was nothing I did, I assure you. 
I promised you some pictures.  Bear in mind I don't have the most up to date digital camera, and trying to view these through the large viewer window  outside was next to impossible, and the view finder-well, let's just say we have issues.  But I needed to do it so you could see all the pretty little colors in the yarn.  Be sure you blow these pictures up so they show up!

AND the Addi lace needles I ordered so I could try them out came today.  Yippee skippee.  Tonight's gonna be fun.  And just so ya know that I really did enjoy the weather yesterday:

news

I know this says Religion for a catagory, but that's only because I can't get the stupid thing to list knitting as a catagory, and you know how we feel about knitting.  so.

No pictures today.  Tomorrow, I promise.  A bit of news.  I'm baaaaaaaack.  Well, almost.  I'm pretty sure in June I'll be opening a teeny tiny knitting boutique in a quilt shop in Grove City.  I'll keep you posted, but that's what's been consuming most of my time.  That, and the fact that Spring is trying to be here!!! I went for a walk, drove around with the car windows open, and have the patio doors wide open as I type.  Even gonna grill out tonite!  How exciting is that?! 

I'm off to enjoy the wonderfulness of the day.  (They're saying it could snow this weekend.) Ciao!

linda

phew!

First of all, my cold is gone!!  Well, 99%.  So, there are no more excuses this week for not getting on with things.  Especially since I found my cord to download the pictures for today (only 15 minutes doing that), AND I figured out why my insert buttons for photos wasn't working, all by myself, since nothing on the help page really helped (isn't that the way?).  Dan's computer got upgraded at work, so now he can work at home (is that a plot?), but in order to respond to his email, he has to disable the pop-up blocker.  Well, something he did messed with my buttons and so .......
So, now that I've disabled the pop-up button on here, we can get on with things.

Bunnies, I've got bunnies:

I love the little hopping away guy, and the one lying (laying?) on his back.  I've got about 6 more ready to start appliqueing.  Fun.  But can I just focus on the bunnies?  No, I can't.  I'd been seeing a number of punchneedle patterns in differ magazines and catalogs, and got to thinking about the one that I'd started about 2 years before we closed the shop (can it be that long ago?), dug it out, and finished it in 3 nites.  The needle punching goes fast, it's the thread separation and blending that takes so long.  And for something that's only 4"x4" when it's done, it seems like too much work, but, oh, my, the richness of the colors and depth of the finished piece.  I wish the photo did it justice, but it doesn't:   The pattern was from Hooked on Rugs in Mason, MI ( www.hooked-on-rugs.com ) the Wylie Primitive Collection, "4 Stars in Square" .  I used strands of Weeks Dyeworks, Crescent Colors Hand Dyed Floss, and Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art, all blended together, one strand at a time, in no particular order.  I wish you could see it.  I'd love a rug done this way!
Then, because I can, (yes, I know, even though you can doesn't mean you should) I'm still working on my Classic Elite Vest.  Photo included today. It's Classic Elite pattern 661, Mahatma Ghandi.  I'm doing the vest on the left.  Let's try for a closer photo: Well, a little bit better.  There are two cute little pockets just below the ribbing that's halfway up the front of the vest.  I'm almost to the armhole shaping on the back. I don't know who would have this pattern, it's from '96, but I'm sure there's a shop somewhere that has it in a folder.  Classic Elite might possibly be willing to send out a xerox of it from their files.  Especially if you found one of their cuttent yarns that knits up at 4sts/" in stockinette. 
Okay, that's what I've been up to.  I must admit that having to post something on here has at least made me do stuff.  I may be hopping all around, but I'm doing stuff!!