Magic Fibers

New Year, New Outlook!

2009-01-04T10:23:00.002-05:00

Life isn't about finding yourself...
Lfe is about CREATING yourself.
'George Bernard Shaw'

Christmas

2008-12-19T06:32:00.003-05:00

Christmas is here and nice things can happen to good people.
Merry Chirstmas to all!

Fiber Nook

2008-11-02T08:00:00.007-05:00

Wow! Where did my time go? I have been so busy that Fall has flown by and I set up the Christmas tree at the Gallery yesterday All the artist design ornaments to put on the tree and our customers purchase. It's a fun project.

I really need to slow things down. How many times am I going to say that before I actually do it. I have been knitting but have not posted any of my projects. I don't know if I posted that we now have a Fiber Nook at the Gallery. Our LYS closed and I decided to go ahead an start the beginning of what could be a LYS. We will know for sure by next year. We carry Cascade, Malabrigo, some odds and ends from the old LYS. I plan on adding Crystal Palace in January. I am going to wait and see how the economy is before I take the big plung. I have created a FiberWorks group on Ravelry. Stop by and visit.

Ravelympics

2008-07-27T13:03:00.003-04:00

I decided to participate in the 2008 Ravelympics. The challenge is to start and finish a project during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. Should be interesting considering that I go back to work on the 11th of August. But if I organize myself, I should be ok. I want to make fingerless mitts for myself and a hat/mitten for each of my grandchildren. I think I can do it. I just need to have everything planned out. More info to come later.

Coptic Journals

2008-07-11T09:32:00.004-04:00

Another one of my obsessions is making these small Coptic Journals. I carry one with me to sketch ideas and make notes. I love them because they lay flat when opened. I bring this up because I have to temporarily stop knitting and prepare to teach a how to class on the 15th at ArtWorks Gallery. Letting go of my needles is hard for me even though I love making handmade books. Since it is a two hour workshop I have alot of prep work to be able to use my time wisely; so besided making a detailed handout, I will cut, sand and cover the boards for them. I use my own painted paper and then once in a while I find handmade or marbled paper that I just must have so I buy it and convince myself I will use it on a special project. Needless to say I have as much paper as I do yarn. They will spend most of the two hours preparing their signatures and sewing the book together. Patience is a virtue with this project.
For me, it has to be a fiber thing. I also have my advanced students make their own journals. It's the first project I do with them upon our return to school in August. Concentration is a pre-requisite to get the stitch down. Once they get it they take off. One of two things will happen, they will hate doing it or love it so much they become addicted and can't stop making them. For me, it has to be the size just of the project. just like I am currently obsessed with baby hats. There is something intimate about these two obsessions of mine.

4th of July Baby

2008-07-08T10:13:00.003-04:00

Our little princess is a 4th of July Baby. She is a doll and both Mom and baby are doing well. Maria Deneice weighed 7lbs and 6oz. Grandpa will always have fireworks for her birthday. Last week was a whirlwind of activities and it's finally catching up with me.

I am having a great time with my first little girl. Of course my grandsons are fascinated with her.

Charity Knitting

2008-06-29T09:39:00.004-04:00

Itty-Bitty Raverly Group Charity for June is the Preemie Project for the University of Iowa Children's Hospital.
Any time I have a second I try to knit a preemie hat. I plan on mailing them to our Hostess by Tuesday. This project is dear to me since I have used the services of the Hospital for my grandson who was born with Club Feet. My family and I drove to Iowa for my his treatments. His first visit to Dr. Ponseti was when he was 10 days old,and he will be 7 years old in August. It was a difficult time and now I can barely remember the stress. Yesterday I went to his last tee-ball game. I've watched him play soccer, run the bases, and he has speed and even though it was a great sacrifice to make these trips weekly, it is worth it.

Cotton Swap

2008-06-26T07:51:00.003-04:00

Sandra and I met yesterday in Indy and swapped. We had a really nice time. We went to Mass Ave. Knits and Broadripple Knits and then had lunch. It was great to meet her. Here is a picture of my loot. I love it! My own Ravelry Bag, and 10 skeins of Garn Studio Muskat soft yarn. Love it! And souvenirs from Sweeden: Chocolate(um um good, Sweedish Moose Keychain, Sheep Keychain, A really neat stitch holder, knitting marking pins, and point protectors. I've already been looking at patterns to figure out what I wanted to make. Thanks Sandra, it was great to meet you!

Fibers Nook Progress

2008-06-24T07:04:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been busy contacting wholesalers and have managed to get my fibers nook it's on it's way. I purchased two display cases and have set them up at the gallery. I am starting small but...you never know what could become of this. I will take a picture and post it later.

Fiber Nook!

2008-06-20T08:06:00.003-04:00

Oh My! oh My! The ArtWorks Gallery, of which I am a member, has approved to allow me to open a specialty corner. I am going to call it the Magic Fibers Nook or something like that. This was just something that was prompted by the closing of Danner's. I am also going to teach classes. Starting in July with a Coptic artist journal, beginner's scarf, a sampler of stitches in Sept., and needle felting in October Now it's time to stop, think and organize my ideas. What have I gotten myself into? Another Adventure...wherever it may lead.

Mural Progress...

2008-06-19T08:06:00.008-04:00

Tree Frog has gone up...

I blocked out cheetah and panther around the painted dresser. This dresser has birds on the sides so it really works great. I painted each one of my grandsons a dresser when they were born.

Progress is slow but I have all summer to finish.

Mural Started

2008-06-12T07:16:00.002-04:00

Grandson #1's forest mural is started. He saw the snake yesterday after camp and his eyes lit up. I love the color on macaws so they had to go up. I just don't know where the monkey is going to go. I drew a cheetah and a panther on the bottom and he will help me with that today. I still need to add details to the animals.

Baby Hats and Mural Design

2008-06-11T08:05:00.009-04:00

I am officially done at school. My classroom is packed and waiting for the construction workers to come in and do what they need to do. I was in on Monday and finished putting things away, turned off the lights, locked the door and decided not to worry or come back till August. It is not worth stressing over since I have no control over when they will be done.

So, it's time to rest and knit...

There seems to be an invasion of baby hats. I can't seem to stop making them.
I started with the regular beanie and have moved on to stripes.

Now they are growing into forms from nature...

It can is therapeutic to just knit stockinette forms but now...
inspiration and complicated designs.

But before I continue knitting I really need to go to my daughter's new house and paint two murals for my grandsons. I have already painted the walls, one room is green and one is blue, Off course we had to complicate things by asking them what color and what design they wanted. Her oldest(6 years old) wanted a bright blue room and he wants a forest on his mural wall. Interesting because when he was born I painted a dresser in an underwater scene. I guess that could be a pond in his forest. Her youngest son(3 years old) picked a bright green paint and he wants dinasours on his wall. I am just thankful he didn't pick star wars caracters, he loves them. So dinasours it is. The dresser I painted for him when he was born has an Alaskan animal scene. Polar bears, seals penguins etc... and how this all going to work I don't know. I am just going over to do the drawing this morning and let inspiration take over.

More changes...

2008-05-31T07:29:00.002-04:00

It's a sad sad day in my hometown. Our LYS is closing it's doors today. We have spent many many hours there since they started carrying yarn. They are going to have the knitting groups at their home but... no yarn to buy. I guess that will be better for my wallet. Change continues. School is out and I am taking a week off before going back to unpack the boxes that have been in trailers for the last two years. I can't even begin to discuss the water-mold damage to things that were only suppose to be there for 5-6 months and ended up being a years. But it's summer vacation and I have no intention of being miserable over it. Life must go on.

Changes....

2008-05-25T07:09:00.005-04:00

It's hard to believe that it is already the end of May, the end of the 2008 school year. Three school days left. I am unloading the trailers that have been packed up for two years. You have no idea what I have found. The older you get the faster the days go by. What is up with that? My advice is enjoy every minute. Life is starting to normalize around here. Our son and his girlfriend have moved to Arizona. They are doing well and he seems to be growing up. Daughters #3 bought a home and they have moved in. It's a nice starter home. The baby is due in July and she is big.

Daughter #2 bought a home and they move in June. They are so excited. Everyone is slowly finding their way in life. Knock on wood and we can keep it that way.

We received the best news in the world last week Aunt Melba's Leukemia is in remission. She looks strong. She was in the hospital for a month and a week had to go through transfusions and chemo every day. I made her two Pi chemo Caps and an Odessa without the beads. She has worn them every time she goes out. She looks good in them.

She surprised us last weekend by showing up at the Baby Shower with her daughter. She couldn't pass up painting for Baby Maria. My daughter's best friend and I had the shower at The Artist Within. It's a paint your own pottery place. We had a great time, we preselected pieces for the baby and the guests painted them in the baby's room colors and wrote a message underneath. It was great!

Knitting for Baby

2008-04-19T07:53:00.003-04:00

It's a girl! I can't stop saying it. My three grandsons are going to turn her into a tomboy. Which is not bad. I was one and so were my daughters. Update on my aun, she is a strong woman, I hope our new baby is as strong as she is. She has had a rough couple of weeks with daily transfusions, chemo and all of the poking and proding that go along with this disease as well being inactive. The staff at the hospital have been good to her and her spirits are high. When we visit we have to wear masks because her defense is completely down. I've stayed away because I don't want to bring in all the germs from school. I finished her hat and will post a finished picture later. Her hair hasn't fallen out so that is good and the Doctors are very impressed with her strength.

I have been struggling with the flower pacifier from itty-bitty nursery. I can't seem to get the petals right. I don't mind the way they look but it's not what the patter calls for. I posted a message on the itty-bitty group on ravelry hoping someone will guide me.

In the meantime I just decided to make another type of daisy from nicky epstein's flower book and that is turning out great. I will post pictures of that later.

We are going to have a hectic weekend. I work at the gallery till 2:30 today.Our son is moving to Arizona with his girlfriend and we are meeting her family at 3:00 today. We are having a going away get together. We decided to do it at my in-laws because we feel it is hard to do it here with what my aunt is going through. Then I am helping with a papermaking workshop at the gallery so I have to get my tables down there after tonight. So maybe sometime in there I can find time to knit and do laundry. hum...maybe in my sleep tonight.

UFOs and progress

2008-04-06T19:05:00.006-04:00

This is an UFO that I really need to finish. It is the 1, 2, 3, Top Down sweater from Cabin Fever for my grandson. He's probably going to outgrow it before it's done since winter is over around here.

I am also working on the Gentle Breeze Tee from Fiber Trends in a red Wildflower mixed with Panda Cotton very nice results. I will post a picture soon.

I just received The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Ckara Parkes. What a wealth of knowledge! It is definitely a must have for anyone working with fibers, it's a great investment. It addresses just about any question one might have about different types of yarns in a language anyone can understand.

I've designed 4 baby hats inspired by Kristin Nicholas and Susan B. Anderson. Now I need to convert my notes to finished patterns. That is the part I don't like. But I will have them on Etsy soon.

Chemo Cap for Melba

2008-03-30T08:59:00.004-04:00

You go from the joy of baby caps to the hope of chemo caps. My aunt was diagnosed with leukemia this week. It's been a shock for everyone. It hit her in a couple of days. She had blood work done last week because she was exhausted, the Dr. came over to her house(next door) on Monday to tell her he wanted her to go to a specialist. She's had bone marrow test done and the pic line put in to start chemo tomorrow. She will be in the hospital for three weeks. She is still strong and asks that everyone keep her in their Prayers. We all feel helpless, all we can do is make her comfortable and hopefully she won't worry about my uncle while she is sick. She's a fighter and is taking things one day at a time. Mom and I have been cooking for her I started a chemo cap for last night. Orange is the support color for Leukemia. The pattern I thought would be more comfortable was Elann's Pi Topper Chemo Cap, knitted in a beautiful Karabella Aurora 8 in Orange. I want to finish it today so I an take it to the hospital tomorrow. One Day at a Time!

It's a Girl!

2008-03-28T07:49:00.002-04:00

Grandbaby # 4 is a little girl, according to the sonogram. I was invited to the sonogram visit when we found out. All I want is a healthy baby but you can imagine my excitement. my little girl is having our first little girl, and they are naming her after the me and her other grandmother. Boy is this baby going to be spoiled rotten. That's not new since I spoil the boys rotten too. And boy do they know that they are grandma's little angels. Knowing the men in my family and the boys they will turn her into a little tomboy. Now that I know this the baby items that I made are not good enough. Time to knit new items in girly colours. Which means time to buy new yarn colors. How fun!

Spring Break and Knitting for Baby

2008-03-25T07:57:00.004-04:00

The question you here the most this time of year is regarding your Spring Break plans. I don't like to go anywhere. First, it's too short of a time for the expense. When I go on vacation I want more than a week and I don't want to come back to work exhausted with the most stressful two months of the year coming up. After this break the students think they are done and they are just putting their time in because they have no choice. So my answer to that question is whatever i feel like doing when I get up.

Let's see; on Friday I went for a haircut, on Saturday I worked at the gallery, and Sunday was family time. Yesterday I decided to drive to Indy and hit 3 yarn stores with my best friend. I bought yarn for baby projects. It was a good time! Today I am getting a manicure and pedicure. Tonight our LYS has a Christmas Knit. They do this every 25th of the month. The goal is to get our Christmas projects started early. It's fun. So I would say I am having a great Spring Break. And tomorrow, Yes, we find out the sex of our new grandbaby.

I have to admit that knitting for this grandbaby is an obsession, even thought we don't know the sex. I've just been playing with different yarns and making lots of baby hats. I am also making a basketweave blanket using Dreambaby DK, it is so soft. As always I look at a pattern and then just go off to what I want. I've even designed my own pieces which I hope to share later.
I've done the Florida Spring break and let me tell you this is the life. It is what Spring Break is all about. Doing what you want, when you want and how you want for a week. He! He! He!

Grandbaby #4 On The Way!

2008-02-23T11:22:00.005-05:00

Daughter #3 is 5 months pregnant with Grand baby #4. We still don't know if it's a boy or girl but as sick as she has been, I tell her it's a girl because I have earned the right to have a granddaughter, I already have 3 grandsons.
It's an old tale from the Caribbean that girls give you a hard time during the pregnancy. She has been in the hospital 3 times for pregnancy related emergencies. And this has not been a first timers overreaction, it's been serious. She can't hold anything done without the help of a very expensive drug used for cancer patients. Her insurance won't pay for more than 24 pills a month because it's not meant for pregnancy but for chemo patients, and it order to keep food down she has to take 2-3 pills a day. When she doesn't have any left she is totally dehydrated and ends up passed out and in the hospital for dehydration. She was home and was able to call me before she passed out in her bathroom. Her Dr. contacted the insurance company and they won't budge. He wrote a letter to the insurance with his medical concerns for her and the baby.
So they prefer to pay for her hospital stay or 3-4 days to stabilize her. I don't get it, but Hubby and I are very frustrated and angry. We've actually paid full price for several of her prescriptions $343.99 for 12 pills to help her.
This is her first baby so it's been extremely hard to focus on the joy of her pregnancy. I have been knitting neutral color hats and booties and scratch mitts to get her inspired. When we go to the hospital or emergency room I take my knitting just to pick her up. I taught her to knit and got her a blanket pattern but unfortunately she hasn't been inspired and I understand. Every time she comes over she looks at what I have made. She showed the wash cloths to the big Football Player and he wanted to know if I was going to rub his child's skin off. He didn't realize how soft it was.So I know deep down it's working for her because she looks to see what is new.

I haven't used pink yet, because I know that if it's a boy the football player will not allow us to use anything pink on a baby boy, but teal and yellow will be OK for a girl or boy.

KAL

2008-02-05T20:09:00.000-05:00

I've joined Kristin Knits KAL and Knitting New Scarves KAL. I don't join often but these are tow artists that whose work I admire. I am enjoying them very much. Teaching takes up alot of time and it's a nice break to follow someone else's pattern. I've designed a new pair of fingerless gloves for my mother and knitted a few baby hats for daughter #2 but I have not had the time to write the patterns. I better get on it.

Where did January Go?

2008-01-27T08:08:00.000-05:00

Where do I start? I just wonder over and over where time goes. How did it pass me by?

I have just got to get a grip on it. After my last post, my grandmother passed away so I went home (overseas) and returned a week ago. It was a sad, and difficult time but it was nice to have alone time with my brothers and parents. I can say she brought us all closer together. We live all over the world and it's not often we spend quality time together. Upon my return to work I had to jump into the Accreditation process for our school. The QAR Team Visit to our school was last week and to top it off I am co-chair of the steering committee. Talk about crazy and hectic, I am just thankful that we had done most of the data collection and leg work before Christmas. It went well and we received a full accreditation. Nice and rewarding for every ones hard work.

As for the knitting obsession. I took a couple baby hat projects with me and my constant companion was Kristin Knits.

I started the fingerless flower gloves using a combination of Knit Picks in a variety of colors. We shall see how it turns out. I couldn't find Julia Yarn anywhere in my area so I decided to experiment with what I had on hand. So far they feel nice. I will give more details when they are finished. The picture is a little dark, I will take a better one later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

2008-01-01T09:33:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year's Eve and that it continues in 2008. We had a nice evening with our grandchildren, daughters and their husbands and fiancee, as well as daughter's X and his new girlfriend. My best friend and her husband and daughter came by and we just enjoyed the company. I didn't intentionally overlook daughter's X thing. It's our belief that we need to keep things stable for our grandsons. Strange to those looking in but important to our little angels.

I feel that I did make progress in my resolutions last year, even though our lives spiraled out of control and we had no say or any control over it. So we have decided to start fresh and to move forward without forgetting the events of 2007 but looking forward to a new life.

As for my personal life, I resolve to:

Not worry so much about the kids(by the way they are all in their mid 20's). They have all turned out great and they will be fine.
To focus my life on hubby and I and moving forward and walking into a bright future.
To re-evaluate my career. I worry about my students as I do my own children. I love my job but....it is draining and stressful.
Plan and work on completing my MA.

As for my business, I resolve to:

Blog once a week. It helps me to work thru my thoughts and ideas.
Write and submit my patterns to magazines for publication.
Which means NEW DESIGNS for the gallery and etsy.

Baby Steps and 500 Handbags

2007-12-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

I wanted to see if there was something to my madness. I loaded some of my knitting books to Ravelry hopping to see a pattern in my interests . I also decided to go back and read my 2007 New Year's resolution. I took baby steps and made some progress. I did design and start to sell my patterns but I was not able to publish a website. I did participate at Artworks, and sell on Etsy. I also submitted to Lark's 500 Handbags, unfortunately they did not have enough entries and cancelled the project. Sad because I really liked the pieces I submitted, and I had not done anything with them waiting to hear if they were accepted. I am considering other options with those designs for 2008.

Inspiration

2007-12-28T18:32:00.000-05:00

I've had time to rest and knit a little this Christmas. This design was inspired by Kristin Knits. I am sure it will evolve as I recreate the pattern but I am pleased with it. I realized that the Sock it to Me wrist warmer that I created with Kaffe Fassett design sock yarn sold at the gallery before I could get a picture. I didn't think that one would go so soon. Back to the drawing board.

Colors, Colors and More Colors

2007-12-10T05:39:00.000-05:00

When I painted this rug, I titled it"Dreams".

When I was a little girl my mother taught me to crochet, embroidery, needlepoint, and cross stitch, which are all interests of good little hispanic girls. When I was a teen, she signed me up for knitting classes. I was at a young age impressed with the fact that you could use small treads to create such beautiful works. But the practical aspect of life took over. I did a little of each, and started knitting again several years ago. Finding my niche has not been an easy road. As a teacher/artist, I can work with just about any medium but none made my heart jump.

I own many Fine Art Books, several of Kaffee Fasset's book, Brandon Malby's Knitting in Color and others...so, I have been looking and I knew I would know when I found what I needed.

I received Kristin Knits about a week ago, I skimmed the pages and my heart immediately jumped, the same emotion that overcame me when I was in the Louvre standing in front of the Mona Lisa. The same feeling I had when I stood in front of an Original Georgia O'Keefe at the Chicago Institute of Art, but due to this and that, there was no time to post. (Time has not been my friend lately. I need to follow my own advice to my students "learn to balance".)
Kristin brought it all together for me. Something that no other artist's work had been able to inspire, the AHA moment. It have been traveling down a road, picking up pieces here and there, but never putting it all together, till this moment.

For the last year or so I had noticed designs in magazines that I enjoyed viewing. Last week, I realized that they were mostly Kristin's designs. Her designs are an inspiration to where I had been heading. Now to allow my style to come out.

Obsession or Passion

2007-11-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

Knitting can be considered one or the other. I just don't know where I fall. I love creating and designing. Creating Functional Works of art that others will enjoy.

I remember in college when my professor pounded into my head that I needed to tone my color palette down. Since then, I have struggled with what I should do with my palette. I think it's time to stop worrying about what color schemes work in the Midwest and follow my instinct. I should only be concerned with making it work for me. Someone described my pieces as "everyday casual", that really is not me. I want my designs to pack a punch.

These are a safe set of fingerless gloves that I designed.

The cables are slightly larger in one and the ribbing is different but the same effect. This is a good advanced beginner pattern. Safe!

So let's go for the punch......

I love the work of Kaffe Fassett, and Nicole Chazaud.
They are amazing colorist! Not afraid of the impact but confident in their design sense.

Exactly what I want to be when I grow up.

My Goal for Today.

2007-10-28T07:30:00.000-04:00

It's cold and foggy. The weatherman says it's going to be cloudy all day. A great day to stay inside, knit and write up a couple of patterns. My goal for the day is to get my completed patterns back on Etsy and to write up two patterns that are completed and in my sketchbook.
I will post again at the end of the day. We shall see how much I get done.

Time Flies

2007-10-13T06:08:00.000-04:00

It's unbelievable how fast time flies. When you are young, time stands still and you can't wait to grow up and now I just don't have enough time to do what I have to do, much less those things I want to do. I am still trying to smell the flowers but they are starting to wilt and the gray weather of IN is arriving. I do have to say it's been a beautiful summer.

Now that our lives are back on track, I need to set a list of priorities. I can't seem to jungle things the way I used to, just off the top of my head.
First on the list is to organize my designs and write the patterns so that I can jump start my creations. Which means I have to get my creations back on etsy.
I am having trouble loading my pictures to Ravelry. I wonder why?

Summer Splash

2007-07-30T21:03:00.000-04:00

Summer has come and gone so quickly. I just cannot believe I only have 13 more days of vacation time. I went by school today and my temporary room is not ready to be set up. I have no idea what they are planning and how they will get us back in with 1300 students. It's beyond comprehension. I will be in the wrestling room until my room is ready. NO clue how long that will be. But I will continue to take it one day at a time and enjoy the flowers.

By the way, The August Bag of the Month for the Bag-a-holic Yahoo group is my design. I really hope they like it and I was thinking of trying a felted version of it too. Fun, Fun, Fun!

Stop, smell the flowers.

2007-07-17T10:42:00.000-04:00

My daughter's mother in law just reminded me that things happen for a reason. At this time we may not know what that reason is but in the end it should work out and we shall know why. I know I think too much. I am a fixer and I cannot handle NOT having control over my life, and then I think of Annie Modesitt and I realize that at least Dan and I have each other and our health to get thru this stage of our lives. We have our children and grandchildren around us. So we are very lucky. I have to keep in mind how lucky we are. We take things one day at a time and we have learned to value the little things in life. I went for a walk yesterday and discovered all the wildflowers that I had not noticed before. And I have found time to work on patterns and just knit for pleasure. Knitting always takes me to another zone. It's cheaper than therapy.

Skulls & Crossbones

2007-06-27T18:05:00.000-04:00

This piece was created for a dear friends daughter, it was for her birthday last week. I couldn't get motivated with the skulls and crossbones. But I decided it was something she liked and I better get with the program. I used her school colors and I think it turned out nice. Now my daughter wants me to make her one in brown and pink. At least they are colors I can deal with.

Rollercoasters

2007-06-04T19:30:00.000-04:00

I don't like rollercoasters! You go up and down, in circles and upside down and you have absolutely no control over anything. That is what my rollercoaster is doing right now.
It is turning my life upside down and inside out, and it will not stop. I can't even say that the ride will end soon, and I need to take it one day at a time, because I don't believe it anymore.
At least I have one less thing to worry about. School is out, today was my student's last day. I just have to finish entering grades and packing up to move again this year. This time I move to the 2nd floor over the gym. They said construction should be done in Nov. We have all been so busy that the end of the school year just snuck up on us. I don't think anyone was ready for it. We needed it and wanted it but it hit like a tornado.
Tomorrow is another day and I can try to slow down. Oppss! That is wrong, I still have to move my classroom, and graduation is tomorrow so maybe after Wednesday. One day at a time!
To end this post on a positive note. I finished my second sock. So I finally made a pair. I did start another one so that I could get the technique down.

I'm still here

2007-05-14T05:33:00.000-04:00

Life has just taken over and I can't seem to find time to do all the things that need attention. I'm going to say that once school ends things will again slow down for me so that I can focus on my designs. Creating works of art is the only activity that keeps me sane right now.

I have two UFO's that need my attention

First the 2nd sock that I never finished when I took the class a year ago.
A sweater that I started this past winter.

What can I say! Life is just not fair. But we deal with it.

Spring is here!

2007-03-25T16:08:00.000-04:00

For now, who knows how long it will last. It's finally sunny in Indiana but the ground is very wet from all the rain. We need sunshine for inspiration. I designed made this little things. They were fun.

Spring Fling Designs

2007-03-12T20:04:00.000-04:00

I am very excited to share my

2007 Spring Fling Collection.

Creating them is lots of fun.

Stopping to write the patterns not so much.

But it's an adventure that I have enjoyed.

The patterns will be available for sale at my etsy shop soon.

Another Storm

2007-02-25T14:14:00.000-05:00

We can't seem to keep the ice and snow away. Hopefully we won't miss any more days of school.
We already have to make up three at the end of the year. I do have to say I did get a lot of knitting in during the week we were snowed in.

I have designed my own bag and I am almost finished writing the pattern. My LYS asked if they could carry it. That is exciting. One of the prototypes is the one I am sending my Tote Exchange III pal. I hope she likes it.

ArtWorks Gallery in downtown Muncie now carries my purses and my local LYS will have a sample with the pattern. So things are slowly progressing.
I will be selling the patter at my Etsy store as soon as it is completed. Unbelievable but I haven't even posted any of the new pieces I designed. But I do like the promo I received at FB Fogg. Ann is an amazing artist and saleswoman. I wish I had her energy.

Artist Salon

2007-02-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

Artist Salon at FB Fogg was a success and alot of fun. I enjoyed the process of designing but not the sale part. I am not a salesperson and I know it. I love to create not the business aspect. This a picture of my pieces. I also enjoyed being surrounded by works of art. It's inspiring.

Adventure

2007-01-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

It's been an adventure trying to access my blog. I think the problem stems that my operating system no longer supports the new version of blogger. So I will have to upgrade soon. I have been busy designing my Spring line which will be exhibited at F.B. Fogg on February 10.
I was also juried into the ARTWORKS gallery in Muncie, that is an honor.
Of course, the next step is to design a website. As soon as I can get my computer up with blogger I will post pictures of my designs.
Everyone have a great week!

New Year's Resolution

2007-01-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

I promise to design, start and finish my own creations, and I'm sticking to it. Have you ever started cleaning house and then you are distracted by something, which you take a look at, and several hours later you realize you never finished cleaning. Well that is what happens to me with my own designs. I start them and then I am distracted by this and that pattern that I must try because I will learn a new technique.
I have to admit, I have learned so much this past year but I did not apply it to my own designs. So that is my new year's resolution. I am going to focus on my work and not allow other beatiful designs to take center stage. I know that I am a lifelong learner and enjoy the process of learning something new, but I really want to launch my designs this year. I have several people giving me a chance and I need to jump on it. I need to close my eyes and jump into the adventure.
I have so many ideas running around in my head, my sketchbook has notes and sketches but I haven't followed thru. I hope it's not too ambitious, but I my plan is to design a bag a month.
This month I am focusing on designing and creating pieces for the Salon Show, Feb. 10th. at F.B.Fogg. I am very exhited about this show.
This purse sold at the Artworks Gallery today.
This little cell phone holder, and then the wine bag are among some of the pieces I have there.