Procrastination

Procrastination and knitting go well together. I can be productive as I procrastinate. I am avoiding what I should be doing but look! I am making socks! (or a scarf or whatever) Other ways I procrastinate are by shopping - sometimes I spend an hour examining everything at Target, more often I shop on the web. I also procrastinate by reading people's blogs and by writing in my own.

Cleaning and sorting the workroom are great ways to procrastinate. Very productive. I very rarely procrastinate by just wasting time.

So today, I am feeling guilty about not doing what I need to do (preparing photos for my new website) so I am posting in my blog! The very thing I was putting off by starting a new scarf earlier in the week! Re: the scarf. It is a fabulous one by Candace Eisner Strick, called Merging Colors Incredible Rectangular Mitered Scarf.

I am using the colorway called Capecod. There are 8 different shades of blues and greens. The yarn is fine, laceweight merino wool, so soft you would swear it's cashmere. You use 3 strands at a time, changing one strand to the next color each round. The only thing I don't like about it is that since it is knit in the round, starting with the outside edge, you need to purl every other row in order to get garter stitch.

FO Report
I finished the Lotus Shawl!!! I finished it in time to meet the submission deadline for the Vogue Crocheted Shawls on the Go Book, but due to computer error, was unable to e-mail the submission till the day after the deadline. I have decided to publish the pattern myself, anyway. Here it is, all complete:


It just so happened that my garage wall is the same color as the tiny flowers between the motifs! Yes, coming home is a cheerful experience when you have coral walls in your garage!

And the thing I am the most excited about is that my new website is almost ready to go live. I've been working with a great web-designer and together we have come up with a new design that I feel represents me better than the little knitting fairies I have currently. She is just finishing up the shopping cart and what I am supposed to be doing right now is formatting all the photos.

I'll let you know when the website is ready for visitors!

What I Knit and Crocheted on My Summer Vacation

This is a crocheted shawl pattern from Karabella (#309). I went into A Mano one day and Annette was working on this pattern. I fell in love with the photo and bought her only copy (sorry). I've been looking all over online to find a place to point anyone who falls as hard as I did, but to no avail. Maybe Annette could order more if you ask her.
The yarn I used is from Elann, called Peruvian Baby Silk. It is made of 15 crocheted hexagons that are then sewn together and the ruffle is crocheted last. I still have a few rows to go on the ruffle, and haven't blocked the ruffle yet. It took about 18 balls, but at $2.50/ball, it was quite a good value. I've been working on it mostly while waiting at vocal therapy for Reese three times a week.

Here is a close up of the pattern. If you look carefully, you can see the seams where the motifs join.


Last week at Lake Arrowhead, I only brought 2 projects. This one, a pair of Jaywalker socks by Grumperina from magknits, is for a dear friend who shall remain nameless because he might read the blog and I want him to be surprised. The yarn is from A Mano by Socks That Rock in a colorway called Smoky Topaz that isn't on their website.

Now here is what drives me nuts about Socks That Rock yarn:
This is how far you get with one ($20) skein. I know I could have made the cuffs, heels and toes from something else and maybe it would have stretched enough to complete one pair with one skein, but I thought it would detract from the beautiful pattern. so I'm going back to A Mano today and hoping they have another skein. They had quite a few when I bought this and the popular colors are the bright ones, so I feel pretty confident.

Now about that pattern: I would have finished these socks (if I'd had enough yarn) but I had to frog the first one TWICE after knitting halfway down the leg each time. First I started with the larger size. WAAYY tooo Large. Would have fit a bear. The smaller size was also too large. So I had to devise my own adjustment, casting on only 68 sts and it was very easy to adjust the pattern. I am not a loose knitter! These are size 1 needles! I didn't want to come down to zero because I only had these size 1's with me! I didn't want to wait till I got home and the only yarn store in the area didn't have 0's. As an aside, it was a cute yarn store, called "The Yarn Store", in Skyforest, about 10 minutes from where we were staying, but I was strong and refrained from purchasing.

I worked on another project while I was there but I am not ready to share the photos yet. I will drop a few hints, though. It is from Koigu, it is crocheted, it has beads, it is modular, and I will publish the pattern myself if it doesn't get accepted by the place where I will be submitting it. Here is a little photo tease:



And a final note. Please leave a comment if you are reading this blog, because I feel terribly guilty about taking time away from my work and if no one is out there being entertained, then what am I doing this for?

Sexy Knitter's Club KAL Finished

My Tempting 2 Sweater for the Sexy Knitter's Club KAL was completed last weekend. This is what it was supposed to look like:
I planned to do flowers around the neckline instead of a band but ended up not doing the flowers because I didn't have enough yarn so I just did a simple scallop. Instead of k2tog, k1 for the last row, I took the live sts and did sc, sc dec around the neckline, then *ch5, skip 3sc, sc, rep from * around. Next row: [sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc] in each ch-5 sp; join and end off.

Another Version of Seraphina

I was inspired by Ellen Bloom to make the Seraphina Shawl . She brought one into Stitches From the Heart that she had made from Mexican Wave. "Hey, I have some Mexican Wave," I thought, and made this. Of course, I changed it by sewing the sides together and adding some dichroic glass buttons I had purchased at The Fiber Fest, turning it into a shrug, which I think actually looks better on me than on Dolly.

Photo Session Tuesday

On Tuesday, I had the sense of coming full circle and emerging on a new plane. I had a photo session with my old friend, Harry Langdon
The last time we worked together was probably the end of 1987, so it's been nearly 20 years! Harry was one of my 'guardian angels' in my past life as 'Designer to the Stars'. Here is the story of how I met Harry:

I had a store on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, before it had gone completely gay and was an interesting collage of unique boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants and hip businesses. Within one block of my store was a popular health food restaurant called Lost on Larabee, Larabee Sound Studios, a hard core alkie bar called Duke's, Mr. Franks (women's boutique), the Santa Palm Car Wash, the famous Orange Julius stand, and me, at first called Palace Museum and then changed to my name. My next door neighbor was Fred Slatten's Shoes (the most far out platform shoes worn by everyone from Elton John to Cher to Saudia Arabian Princesses)

I had a wonderful time creating every fashion fantasy that came into my imagination, and the wilder I got, the more successful I became. Every day was like a huge present, waiting to be opened. You never knew who might walk through my door - Prince, Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac! Someday I will write a memoir of those years.

But to get back to How I Met Harry:
I was often asked to loan clothes to photographers who loved the color and drama of my wild and sexy creations. Several times a month, I would be asked to look through their books, but I never wanted to loan my clothes, knowing that people shopped in my store to find something unique they had never seen anywhere else, and I didn't want my designs to become over exposed.
One day a soft-spoken, extremely gentle man came in my store and, after looking around, asked to meet me. My assistant brought him to my workroom in the back and he introduced himself to me, complimenting me on my creativity and saying something like, "My name is Harry Langdon. I'm a photographer, and sometimes the women I shoot bring in such boring clothes. Maybe you'd be interested in loaning me some clothes sometimes. I work with other designers like that, and then I give them some pictures in return. It might really be helpful to your business."
I explained to him why I didn't loan clothes and he was really nice and understanding. I'd heard the same thing so many times, I thought, and pictures of my clothes don't pay the rent. He bought a blouse for a "girl's birthday who probably wasn't going to be getting many presents".

The very next day, Harry called me. "I have an actress coming in tomorrow for a reshoot. She didn't like the pictures I took of her last week, but she brought such boring clothes. I was just thinking that your clothes might bring out a different side of her."







That actress was Raquel Welch and this is one of the photos Harry gave me in return for me loaning him a rack full of clothes.

And that was how our relationship, which spanned about 12 years, got started. Thanks to the genius and generosity of Harry Langdon, I met and dressed many of his celebrated clients and accumulated a beautiful portfolio that helps preserve wonderful memories.
I'll let you know as soon as my new website is ready, so you can see what Harry shot for me on Tuesday.

Sock Wizard Beta Test

For the past 3 days I've been participating in a beta test for Sock Wizard for the Mac. It is awesome to have a sock pattern generator I don't have to use via Virtual PC. Kudos to Carole Wulster for venturing into Mac territory. And to all the dedicated Mac users who volunteered to help!
This is a tiny pair of socks I made as part of the test. I used some Opal I had left over in my stash.
When it's released, it will be available here.

Naomi's Art

My friend, Naomi, brought over her newly framed collection of Hamsa drawings. We brainstormed for a while about how she can market them.

This is Naomi.

Eden and Naomi, about 15 minutes before he had me cut off all his hair. He lost about 5 pounds in 10 minutes.

My favorite Hamsa. The photos don't show the beautiful gold handmade paper and the way it glows through the metallic inks.

Another Birthday For the Yarnartist

Would you believe 39?
We had a nice dinner on Sunday night with the local part of my family.

This arrived yesterday from Reese.

Back view.

Beaded Garden Party Scarf Knit Along

Mary at the Knitting Zone is sponsoring a knit along with my Beaded Garden Party
Scarf pattern! It starts the 24th and I'm excited to see how many people are going to be working on this together. You can read about it on her website and also you can purchase the pattern and supplies from her.












Here are the yarn and beads I chose. I have a page on my website that explains how to prepare for the project by stringing the beads onto the yarn here.


I will try posting photos of my progress on the scarf.

Workroom Cleanup

Before
After


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After

It doesn't look like much, but it took 7 hours and I went through Every Single Box! (note: they are 2 deep)
I filled the car with donations for Stitches From the Heart and put some things down in the storage room in the garage.
I know it will look the same as it did before in just a few days. I am dealing with less than 100 square feet here. It's funny that the room that I spend most of my time in is the smallest room in the house! But the skylights are wonderful and almost everything is in arm's reach, and I am very happy here.

Pimpin' Pooch Has Left the Building!!

I finally finished my design for the upcoming book, Pampered Pooches. The pattern could be explained verbally in about 2 minutes, but writing it took an excruciating number of days and the math and verbiage almost made my brain explode! Finally I approached it from a different angle and got it all out in 20 minutes.
Someone asked why designers sometimes just suggest changing needle sizes for different size garments. It doesn't always work, but if it does, it saves the designer's brain much wear and tear. (wouldn't have worked on this one)

Fruit Hats

The Yarn Harlot put out a call for baby fruit hats for a friend who is doing work to educate low income women about the advantages of breastfeeding. Read about it on her blog on July 3.
So I spent the entire 4th of July making these little hats from scraps of yarn in my stash, and got them in the mail on the 5th. I used a pattern I found here.

My Shawl Matches My Light Fixture

What a surprise when I finished blocking my shawl yesterday and realized it matches the Fortuny shade over our dining room table! Not only are the colors identical, the swirling segments echo each other. So although it's a shawl, it is temporarily a tablecloth.


Here is the light fixture viewed from underneath.




And here is the shawl. Another coincidence is that it blocked to 66", perfectly fitting our 60" table with the 3" border hanging down. I wish my sweaters fit me as well.

About the Shawl
More about the shawl. It was designed by Meg Swansen and is from the book, A Gathering of Lace.

I saw one in Amano, knit by Heather. Instead of using the recommended yarn, she had substituted Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted in this color, called Vera
I chose this color, Aslan

She changed the needles to Size 11. I just loved how soft the yarn felt. I also loved the feel of the shawl on my shoulders as the store was frigidly air conditioned that day.
It was very easy to knit, once I got past the double-pointed needles in the center. The pattern was a snap to memorize and it only took me about 5 days to finish it. I stopped after there were 54 sts between each marker. (432 sts)
Usually I block my knitting with my industrial steam iron, but because of the shape, that wasn't going to work, so I bought a steamer. I used my 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond and got a Conair steamer for about $61. including tax.
I covered the largest blank area of floor in the house with beach towels and used T-pins, starting at the center of the shawl. With a yard stick, I measured 33" from the center and pinned out each point, a few at a time, moving from side to side so everything stretched evenly. It took over an hour to pin it all out.
The steamer worked great. I was afraid it would drip, since the instructions said to hold the head upward or condensation would build up in the hose, but it worked out fine. I just stopped after a bit and held it upward in case there was condensation, so it could drain back.
I liked the steamer so much, I steamed some of Reese's t-shirts when I finished with the shawl.
I had never made a circular shawl before, but I plan on making more, plus I have an idea for an adaptation of this pattern for a skirt.

Willa's Famous Dump Cake

The following is the 'recipe' for Willa's famous dump cake, a dessert that couldn't be easier to make and has become quite popular with my Knitter's Night Out group.

Spread your fruit-filling of choice on the bottom of a baking pan. You can use pie filling, fruit cocktail, fresh fruit (need to add liquid) or whatever. This month's choice was Trader Joe's peach sauce.
Dump and spread the contents of one box of cake mix on top of the filling. Just the dry cake mix - do not prepare it in any way. This month's choice was Duncan Hines Yellow cake. Willa is particularly fond of French Vanilla. I just buy whatever is on sale and keep a few boxes on hand.
Melt one stick of butter. Drizzle it all over the cake mix. (You didn't think this was low calorie, did you?)
Bake at 350˚ for about an hour.

Sexy Knitters Club

Sexy Knitters Club

This is a picture of my yarn and swatch (actually, I just started knitting) for the Knit Along with Sexy Knitters Club. I wish I could figure out how to link text in this blog with other pages. Although I thought I copied the directions, it didn't work. Can anyone explain it to me?

Baby Bootie Pattern

Here is a free pattern for the pink baby booties in the previous picture. If you want to make them larger, use a bigger hook, thicker yarn, etc. If made in sport weight yarn, and a G hook, they will fit a new baby. The sole measures 3 1/4" long.

Baby Booties
©2006, Ellene Warren

Hook: G
Yarn: Art Yarns Handpaint Merino, sport weight
1 yd 1/2" ribbon

Sole
Rnd 1: Ch 15, 2dc in 3rd ch from hook, 11dc, 4dc in last ch, dc in bot of each ch, 2dc in bot of first ch, join. (30 sts) Rnd 2: Ch3, 2dc in next st, 12dc, 2dc in each of next 3 sts, 12dc, 2dc in each of next 2 sts, dc in base of ch 3, join. (39 sts)
Sides
Rnd 3: Ch1, sc in each st, join. (39 sts) Rnd 4: Ch1, sc dec, 13sc, (sc dec, 2sc) 2 times, sc dec, 13sc, sc dec, join. (36 sts) Rnd 5: Ch1, sc, sc dec, 11sc, sc dc, 4sc, sc dec, 11sc, sc dec, sc, join. (32 sts) Rnd 6: Ch1, 11sc, sc dec, (2sc, sc dec) twice, 11sc, join. (29 sts) Rnd 7: Ch1, 11sc, sc dec, 3sc, sc dec, 11sc, join. (27 sts) Rnd 8: Ch4, *sk next sc, dc, ch1. Rep from *, join with sl st to 3rd ch of ch 4. Rnd 9: Ch3, *dc in ch1 sp below, dc. Rep from *, end with dc in last ch 1 sp, join. Rnd 10: *Ch5, skip next st, sc. Rep from *, join, end off.

Beginning at center front, thread ribbon through ch 1 sps from Rnd 8. Tie in bow.

Four Sets of Foot Coverings

This week has been foot covering week. Starting with a couple of pairs of booties for Stitches From the Heart, which I will bring to Knitter's Night Out tonight.


I liked this yarn so much I made myself a pair of slippers with the remainder.


And a pair of socks for my friend, Naomi, from Cascade Fixation. I used a pattern from knitty.com called Broadripple Socks, which I would link to for anyone interested if I could figure out how.