Grab your knitting needles and come relax with me.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Creativity and other things
Written under the influence of The Killers.
It's a weird thing, creativity. I've always been a bit aggravated with my brand of creativity. I am creative/talented with a lot of things. But none of them exceptional or rather none of them is a stand out. I am slightly musical, more than slightly visual, then there's the making of actual objects and the creating of words and stories...my best. I want to and I am drawn to it all...but I only have so much Muse at one time. The more I write, the less I design. The more I design/draw the less I write. The more I play music, the less I write or design. (Although listening to music does tend to re-fill the creative well and gets the creative juices flowing.) I feel pulled in many many directions.
I desperately need to do a re-design of Dubh Croi, the other blog (not to mention the website my mother wants me to create for her). But, I feel all used up. I have been devoting a lot of energy into designing and writing. I have been neglecting the writer part of me for ages (and I was writer before nearly anything else...I drew and makes paper things before I could write). And I want to stop neglecting the Writer.
I guess I am just a little aggravated with my self right now. And I feel the need to rant about it.
On to other things: I promised pictures. This is the cone of Habu Bamboo, HCW sent me (since they had charged my card for it)...one less thing to wind!!
Jamey ordered this from Amy Designs (it was made esp. for me-feeel the love!) for me as a Mother's Day gift. I absolutely adore it. One, it's a bag (and I love bags...perfect yarn/project bag-just needs a handle); B) it's red, black and gold (my favourite colours); and Lastly, it's ASIAN. LOVE it!
And see how wonderfully my yarn complements it? It will certainly be a pleasure to work with this yarn...it'll be a luxurious wrap someday!
(I also took loads of pictures of my local wildflowers. You can find them in Dubh Croi.)
Oh and because all Knitting Blogs whose writes own cats, must have a mascot or two. Here is one of the kitty mascots. Gina, my funny Ginger Tabby.
I've gotten so many packages this week, my son has become very jealous. I got my Secret Santa presents from my various knit lists. My birthday presents. And then Jamey got a package too (his 10 year gift from his work).
First on the table: Birthday. I picked these lovelies from Knit Picks (gift card from the 'rents).
I can't wait to dig into these pattern books and yarn!!
This came yesterday from my Father.
Now Secret Santa loot! I participated in two this year. First up my loot from my Lone Star State Knitter sister, Caroline.
A "B" pillow for my back! She had meant to get me some of that purple yarn I couldn't resist at kid N Ewe--but I was naughty and bought it. Grin. The soap is Lavender, one of my favourite scents (lilac being the other). Chocolate--well that's a given...suprisingly, it not all gone yet. hee hee.
Next up: Laurel from my ravelry group, Alamo City Knitters.
That yarn? Her very own silk and merino handspun! Wow, I am naming it Twilight. It reminds me of the colours in the rain forests of Washington. Here's a close up.
Now, I am giving this to my secret santa. Shhh, don't tell her.
I finally finished ONE of the skinny scarves.
It is entirely too cold today. My hands are freezing...and me without fingerless mitts. I think I'll be casting on for some as soon as I finish blogging. My hands are freezing--little ice pops. I think our heater is from Canada and is telling us to fuck off because this cold is NOTHING compared to the winters up there. Suck it up! Grin. Gotta find myself a stitch pattern to use...
But ya know--I start a pair of mitts AND it WILL be 80 degrees. Actually yesterday it WAS 80 degrees and a few hours later snow was falling from the sky (didn't stick of course). But hey, it WILL be cold again.
Yeah, I have been incommunicado this week. I took a lot of knitting pictures, but kept them hostage in the camera. I wanted to just take one_more_picture. So I have several different subjects today.
Last Monday (gee the last time I blogged), I helped Anne cast on her toe up socks. Judy's Magic Cast On can be finicky for average fingers, but when one has RA--it can be nearly impossible. I knit the toe, increases and all and handed it off to her once the straight knitting started. I am a tight sock knitter and so the toes were very much cast iron toes. She couldn't poke her needle through my toes, but she could once she had knitted enough. Grin.
I just love the color.
I also started my crayzee scarf inspired by Amy Singer from Knitty. She's started hers back in the beginning of the year and I am sure you remember me ranting about how crazy she was and how if I ever even expressed interest in doing it too--to make sure my husband carted me off to the looney bin. Well...I went off the deep end and started one of my own. (Although I didn't stash dive, but had to BUY some new lace weight)
It's so beautiful. I found the yarn, Claudia's Hand Painted Silk Lace) at Hill Country Weavers. And it inspired me to move past pure stockinette and do a solid pattern on one side. The dark teal just screams scales, so I modified a dragon scale pattern for the other side of the scarf. So one side stockinette, with two faux seams (p1, k1, p1) and the dragon scale. It's maddening.
I love it. Yep that's a penny. And I am about an inch into it now. I hope to show you the other patterned side once I get some more repeats of the dragon scale.
Yes, this is meant to be a long term project.
Speaking of which--I started knitting on the Swallowtail shawl again.
I have finished the main bud pattern and am working my way through the first lily of the valley edge border. I must say I am loving the nupps.
Yes, it does look a bit like cat sick, but once it's finished and blocked--it'll be exquisite. And I am not sure who the recipient is going to be...
I am still working on several projects I am not at liberty to discuss---which probably explains my bloggy silence. I kept some knitting updates under my belt so I can blog again tomorrow with something fresh...grin.
My friend Lei Lani casually mentioned she had something for me--so keep an eye on the mail box. Well, I promptly forgot and my husband overlooked it in the incoming mail--and I found her envelope a week after she sent it. Then I remembered!
I love the cute little cat playing with yarn (thank god my cats completely ignore MY yarn). And inside:
I could have cried, it is the sweetest most un-silly thing any one has ever done.
I was horribly disappointed I couldn't go to the 1000 Knitters photo shot and meet Franklin (ya'll have to know by now that I desperately want to be famouz--grin). I was a mite disappointed only 67 showed--with this big state of knitters you would have though there were more knitters that weren't camera shy. I think there we many like me that just could not arrange it with their schedules. I WAS able to go to Austin 13 days later and see the art work Franklin left on the walls of The Knitting Nest.
They are so beautiful! It's so cool seeing something I did being used--which is a duh moment because OF COURSE she's gonna knit with it. I can't wait to see the socks in person.
I have been a huge U2 fan for years. For a time, I was quite, quite enthused and spent a great deal of time doing U2 related things. I have laid off of the enthused bit, a lot, although it does peek out from time to time. (Most noticeably when Bono or really any band member is on TV or in any sort of media--I tend to let out a barely audible "squee" and grin like a maniac).
Last night Jamey took me to see U2 3D at our local IMAX. Folks, it was fantastic and truly surreal. I desperately missed my mates (Phisto and Quimby share my U2 enthusiasm), knowing they would have got the joke in some odd gesture or expression -- Adam's expression when Bono groped his leg was PRICELESS! Despite the enormity of it all and having Bono "nearly touch my face" (it IS 3D after all). I thought knitting: whenever I saw The Edge, I thought how handsome he would look in a nice handknit hat. Maybe something like the Koohaas {Ravelry}...
So what do I obsess over last night?
The logistics of getting the beautifully knit, with a soft, fantastic yarn, hat to The Edge. Including the packaging (none except for a small note pined to the hat), who to hand it off to...this all assuming I could actually get to a concert and find someone "important," and making sure to include contact info. Because after all The Edge would want to know who to thank and to tell me that Bono wants some handknit socks for his tiny little feet.
Mostly I bought myself knitting booty for Christmas. But two people bought be awesome knitting tools: Jamey bought me a gift card to Michaels (money is surely a tool in any knitters bag...) and Leah bought me the coolest bag for notions: a zipper bag. At first I thought it was a bag made up of a bunch of zippers, but no it's ONE zipper sewn in a spiral. It's so cool...and it's red...even better.
Isn't that SO neat!! I love it!
I bought myself: a dressing wire kit and the Bee Field's Shawl kit from Wooly Wonka Fibers. I got the Tupelo Gold colorway...oh it's going to be beautiful! Well actually my Mom gave me some Christmas money, so technically she got them for me. (I just realised I may need size 5 needles...I have gotten hooked on my uber expensive Addi Turbo lace in size 4! But KP Options are just as fabu and a fraction of the price. It's just convincing J. I need more needles.
Written under the influence of The Killers.
