The Destiny Manifest

Happy 6th Birthday!

I love you muchly, my dear sweet 6 year old girl.

Fireworks!

We watched the fireworks downtown from atop my little blue car... the girls thought it was quite the grand adventure. Happy Fourth of July all!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I finished L's mini-Monkey socks last night and she tried them on today and pronounced them "perfect". :)

These socks are modified from the Monkey pattern by Cookie A. I made my own and L wanted a matching pair. I had enough yarn but knew that I'd have to change the pattern. The original Monkey chart is 16 stitches across and L's socks needed to be 48 stitches around, so I centered the charts on the front and back and added 8 knit stitches to the sides. Add in the picot top edge and I think they look pretty darn cool! :)

Pattern: modified Monkey by Cookie A (see above for details)
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Spring colorway
Needles: size 3 Addi Turbos

Benefit for Patsy's Family!

Midday Faire is hosting a benefit to raise money for the family of our dear friend Patsy Edwards, who died of cancer on May 20, 2007. (To read more about Patsy, see my earlier blog entry.) The benefit started today at noon EST and will run until June 29 at noon EST. Please come take a look and if you can, spend a little!

Just a sampling of the wonderful goodies on sale with 100% of proceeds going to the family of Patsy Edwards:

Hey monkey

Well I'm all messed up
That's nothing new
Hey monkey, when you open up your blue eyes,
I don't know if I'm wide awake or dreaming
But all I ever need is everything

from "Monkey" by Counting Crows

I finished my Monkey socks last night and I love them! Beautiful color, beautiful pattern, beautiful fit on my foot. I actually followed the pattern as written on these socks, because as much as I hate to say it, I don't think my toe-up/short row heel socks fit as well as top-down/turned-heel socks do. I might need to try Wendy's toe-up/turned-heel pattern... but I digress.

The Monkey socks rock! I memorized the pattern by the third repeat so I didn't have to keep referring to my printout. I did Cara's modifications -- a picot edge top (which I adore) and only 4 repeats of the chart before the heel. I wouldn't want them any taller and am 100% pleased with these socks.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Spring colorway
Needles: size 3 Addi Turbos

A Meme for Joyce

1. Is it about the finished item or about the process of knitting? Some of both?  Has your focus changed one direction or the other over time?

Most of the time, I'm just knitting to be knitting. I don't care if it fits, don't care if I have to frog it in the long run, don't care if I have no one to gift it to. I just want to be making, doing, creating, using a specific yarn, whatever. The process of knitting to stay sane has become much more important to me than having a perfect knitted item.

Of course there are other times, rarely, I have a project that I just really want to finish... a cardigan for my daughter, a pair of socks for myself, a Christmas present for someone. Example... at the moment I'm knitting Monkey socks for myself. I won't wear them until fall, but I want them done. I want to try them on, cross them off my list, finish them.

Now once that pair is done, there is a high likelihood that I will cast on for another pair in a different yarn and this time, take my time with them... enjoy the process.

2. How do you view mistakes?  Do you think they give your project character?  Is it important to have one, as my Aunt says, because only God is perfect?  Or would you rip all the way back to row 5 of your husband's finished sweater knit on size 3 needles to eradicate a mistake no one else would notice?

I don't like having glaring mistakes. I would and have ripped out an entire project over a flaw that I couldn't fix and couldn't get past. If I know it's there and it's obvious, it's going to annoy me to the point that I would never use said item. Now, if it's teeny tiny and in an inconspicuous spot, then eh, who cares?

3. Would you rather knit a project that is comfortable for your skill level, or do you prefer a challenge that requires you to figure out new things?

Both, depends on my mood, the yarn, the intended recipient... position of the moon. ;) Most of the time, I like things to be just outside of my comfort zone. Not so far as to induce a migraine but not so easy as to be boring.

4. What is something you really want to make but haven't yet?  What holds you back?  Is it money, skill level, time, fear of the unknown or something else?

I want to make Rogue but it wouldn't fit me and I have no one to gift it to, so I will likely never make it. I'd like to make a sweater for myself but I can't find a pattern that I think would flatter my body, and even if I did, egads would it take a lot of yarn. I want to make a mitered blanket for my bed, but I cannot possibly afford that much Takhi Cotton Classic. Money, for the most part, inhibits all of my dreams.

Rave for Ravelry!

So... Ravelry. I kept hearing how it was so fabulous, a great place to keep track of your knitting projects, yarn stash, patterns, needles, yada yada yada. So I went on over and added my name to the waiting list, figuring it couldn't possibly be as cool as everyone said, but what the heck. I'm nothing if not a follower, ya know?

Last week I received my invitation and guess what y'all? It's even more fabulous than everyone said it was. No seriously, it really is.

If you're a knitter and you haven't yet signed up for the Ravelry waiting list, get thyself over there and do it now. If you need further convincing, take a look at this collection of screenshots that Jessica & Casey put together. Eliz... Joyce... this means you. Go sign up. ;)

Here's me... http://www.ravelry.com/people/eatherhaelo

Shrinky Dinky

I was inspired by blog posts I read yesterday, so today L and I dragged out the pack of Shrinky Dink paper & magnets that I bought ages ago. So.much.fun. :)

There are actually more than this, but the girls took a bunch of them to Andy's house for his fridge. Here we have Gumball the cat (in many colors), the girls and I as South Park characters and a few Harry Potter fanart magnets.

 

Not pictured are Andy's SP character, Strawberry Shortcake, Chococat, Hello Kitty and a "Lost" magnet that I made for Andy. This little project was really a ton of fun... L was a big help in picking out what colors Gumball should be, supervising the cutting and gluing and in deciding which magnets we could keep and which ones should go to Daddy's house.

Bonus... we still have 3 sheets of paper left so A can make some of her own this weekend, since she was swimming today at school and missed the Shrinky Dinky party at home. :)

Simply lovely

 

Rich in demos...

Rothko demonstration by Eric Benjamin

Throughout the course of the school year, stacks of artwork pile up on the tables and shelves of Stone Academy's art room. Each new artist or theory or technique or medium that is taught must have a demonstration piece made, to show the children exactly how this or that is executed. Over the course of five days, 23 classes are held and each day a new demo is created during that day's classes. There are 36 weeks in a school year and while art class is skipped some days due to testing, snow days, field trips or the like, that's still a LOT of artwork being made.

I, having been lucky enough to become friends with Stone's art teacher, Eric Benjamin, and by virtue of working my tail off in the art room this year, hanging & displaying artwork, helping around the classroom, doing web design, and other assorted whatnot, have been able to bring home quite a few demonstration pieces for display in my house.

"Jackson Pollack" by Stone Academy students		Chalk pastel demonstration by Eric Benjamin

Kandinsky demonstration by Eric Benjamin

I tease Eric that one day he'll be as famous and sought after as Picasso, and when that day comes, I'll sell these art room cast-offs for a fortune at Sotheby's. It could happen... wouldn't that just be the cat's pajamas?