Knitting Dragonflies

I’ve been playing around just a little bit with some watercolors. Here are some Iris .In Japan, the iris is used as a decoration for the “Feast of the Boy” in May.  The upright shape and strong growth are thought to symbolize the ideal of the samurai. And in about 30 min, I tried to make a simple plum blossom branch, with magic markers and crayons. The plum blossom is a symbol of longevity in China. Its delicate bloom emerges in the winter months and signifies life and hope while other plants and trees remain dormant. Have a great New Years Eve!!

  The Featured Etsy Seller this month has three Etsy Shops! Whew… Pruitt Supply This shop has all kinds of supplies for the crafts we need to do. Fat Quarters, fabric, findings etc…. Pruitt Design Which is having a sale and has jewelry and paper/cards and bags. Pruitt Creations That has handmade fabric items . . . . . custom orders too! . . .  She will accept custom orders and make one just the way you like it! Need an apron for a gift? How about a special zipper pouch in a special fabric? Agate Hook USD $8.00 Market Tote with Zipper Coin Purse $ 18.00 Jelly Roll Quilt   $85.00 She blogs at Pruitt Creations !

Made you own Holiday Ice Lanterns , very beautiful and different  from ….from Polwig.com Want to make an Ice Sculpture for your party ? You can make this one easy enough, give your gathering a little icy bling from The Inspired Room Make your party a blast with you own disco ball to drop at the stick of midnight! From Backstichbaby Get the kids involved in creating and busy with this great tutorial on how to make Flower Fairies from the Magic Onions   Have a great time!

How many times have you bought all of the supplies for a project to knit, and then changed your mind about the yarn, or pattern? This seems to happen to me all too often. The above was a purchase several years ago. Somewhere along the line I decided I didn’t want to use the pattern I bought. I think it was due to the fact that I detest knitting a sweater in separate pieces and putting it together. I love to knit in the round. I discovered this after finding my first Elizabeth Zimmerman book, Knitting without Tears ! Her techniques and insistence on swatching for your gauge, turned me into a super sweater knitter. Her patterns were the first I could actually wear! Usually I would have to gift my knitted sweater to someone, anyone that was the size the sweater was. And while this had a certain excitement, and drama, I actually wanted a sweater for myself. Elizabeth's in depth explanation of gauge and how to calculate your size, finally made me realize how important gauge was, and...

I was looking for a small gift to give a large number of people. After quite a bit of shopping and thinking I decided to “make” something. I had one ornament that was an angel made out of clothespins. That was the inspiration for this toy solider! It was easy and fun to make, once I got started I kept adding details, but you could make it very simple and I think it would be a fun project for children. Materials needed: Clip clothespins (one for each ornament, I found these at the Dollar Store) Craft glue (white, I did use a glue gun to attach the ribbon to hang it with) Pompoms, a small bag of assorted colors or black, seems to run about 99 cents (again Dollar Store) Acrylic paint (red, black and blue, and gold) and small brushes, I experimented with markers and that worked well also, (this might be a better option for children?) Toothpicks Popsicle sticks Sharpie markers (in black and red) Sequins (I also picked up a small package of these at the Dollar Store 99 cents Very...

Ice storm here last night, and I’m sitting here with my coffee, and list of things to get done. Before I start, I’ll share some great Etsy items that I found, enjoy! This is so cute! A knitted cocoon for the baby from 4aSong’sShop This knitted tea cozy full of mice is adorable from PeriwinkleParksShop From BitsyBlossoms a knitted head warmer , I especially like the two buttons for size adjustment.   These personalized yarn labels are great, from MountainStreetArts And for those  needles you get for Christmas try this knitting needle organizer for interchangeable needles from SarahKincheloe’sshop Enjoy your shopping!

The snow is blowing and the schools are already closing. I have been spinning, almost totally done now with my dark brown BFL, and I have been eyeing the stash to see what I want to spin next. I’m fully committed to my sweater now, Iced from Knitty . I’m knitting it with Colinette Point Five, I have located a number of people on Ravelry that have some to sell in case I run out. It is a top down sweater, knitted in the round, (well technically from side to side), I’ve just gotten to below the arms. Had to go outside and play with the dogs in the snow, Penny rolled and had fun. Syd is the speed demon! I couldn’t get a clear photo. Keep warm this week!

  This sketch is the beginnings of my next painting. Next I add shadows. If you build each color onto the next, (instead of mixing them on your palate) the result will be a translucent painting with a glow about it. Well that is what I’m attempting anyway, thanks to Theresa at Blueberries, Art and Life , my watercolor mentor! 3 skeins of wool spun, and I still have more fiber to spin! I have high hopes of having enough for a sweater. Cold here and I’m ready to get the sweaters out! I also have a simple Iris and bamboo painting. In the Sumi-e style. Done in marker. I have to get back to my paints soon. In addition to some morning glories, done in marker and crayons. Go create!

A quick sketch of an Amaryllis that I have. I love these flowers, they give us a bit of color when the days are cold and grey. I did a fast sketch with some Crayola paint brush pens , which I bought on an impulse, thinking they would be good to pack and take (and the price was right). With basic primary colors they are fun, but don’t blend well. I used a standard office black marker to add some details, and then regular Crayola crayons to add depth to my colors. It was a fun project to play around with. Compact, cheap and fun. Find the child inside of you again.

A quick sketch of a tree in my backyard, now minus its leaves. Done with a office supply felt tip marker, a fairly fat one. And finally some fibery progress…. After dithering about after every two rows, I decided to forge ahead on my Iced Sweater from Knitty made with Colinette Point Five. Due to the flash, the colors look pinker than the actual yarn. This is a top down sweater pattern, and after sweating the gauge for a bit. I’ve decided to consider it as a suggestion as to how much “off” I’m going to be, and try to compensate from there. I have no idea if I’ll have enough yarn to complete the sweater. I have 10 skeins of 50 m each = 500 meters or 546 yds. of Cardinal, (it is fairly bulky, I’m not sure if it is considered super bulky). The recommended needle size on the label is 17 and I’m using a 10 to get close to the gauge needed. This resulted in most of my problems, the knit is turning out to be thick and rather stiff. But I’ve decided to think of it as a warm sweater/coat...

What is this turkey knitting? Strangely enough this picture was shown on The Colbert Report on 12/3/08 I also like the knitted turkey hats! In child or adult size! From     Going Crafty links to the knitted baby tukey hat pattern .see link below that works, http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jive-turkey-baby-hat , available as a free ravelry download. Mummble-Jummble2 has a free pattern for a felted knitted turkey with a pilgrim hat . Knit Fast, Dye Yarn "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass... it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

  Devine Designs Jewelry Her jewelry is one of a kind and perfect for a gift! Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/devinedesignsjewelry Blog http://www.devinedesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/DevineDesignsJewelry Below is from her Bio: Having always been crafty, and like working with my hands, I have made swimwear and dancer’s costumes in a previous “life”. Creativity runs in my family, as my mother does ceramics and crochets; my uncle is a woodworker. I am a mostly self-taught wire and cold forge metal jewelry artist. I have studied under local artist, Stacy Perry, as well as, learning from books and video tutorials. Other jewelry artists and instructors that I have learned from include, Sharilyn Miller and Lisa Niven Kelly, who are considered among the best wire jewelry artists. I try to take metal to the extreme; by bending and twisting to create unique designs. I use lots of wire to make twists, coils, and spirals that I add to my work. I stri...

In an effort to loosen up my paintings and brush strokes I became interested in the ancient Sumi-e Japanese (I have also seen it called Chinese) painting. Sumi_e roughly translates as ink painting It is an art form that strives to distill the essence of an object or scene in the fewest possible strokes. A few carefully placed broad strokes that fade off abruptly, a few thin lines and a dot, and a bird is clearly called into being on the paper. Sumi-e is sometimes confused with calligraphy, because the tools used are the same. Calligraphy is the graceful, artistic representation of written characters, using ink and brush, while sumi-e is painting a scene or object. In the West, sumi-e is often called Chinese Brush Painting , although it has been a major art form in Japan and Korea as well. To paint with ink requires the use of the Four Treasures . This refers to the must-haves of sumi-e: an ink stone , an ink stick , a brush , and the appropriate kind of paper . The ink stone is a...