Machine Knit Cotton Cardigan

#1 Daughter-in-law celebrated a birthday recently. As usual, I didn't do any real pre-planning for a gift idea, so...I turned to my trusty knitting machine (Knitking Compuknit III - Brother KH930) and a large cone of 100% cotton yarn that's been lingering in stash far too long. Here's the result:

The yarn was some of that thick/thin, slubby cotton that my standard machine refused to knit without complaint. Using the GC-95 garter carriage worked a treat with this yarn, however, and being able to add a nice knit/purl pattern stitch to the mix resulted in a heavily textured fabric that I quite like. The pattern stitch is a chevron (Stitchworld #502) at T9 (tension 9). The 1x1 ribbing is also produced on the GC (Stitchworld #532) worked at T6. Knit cotton fabric has a tendency to stretch and grow with wearing, so you really need a firm ribbing so that it doesn't look sloppy an hour after you put on your sweater.

The cardigan design is my own - and the pattern was created with the help of the Knitware program. The program did a splendid job of sizing on just about everything except the button bands. On those, the pattern called for far too many stitches to be picked up on the front edges and would have resulted in a badly flaring band. I reduced the number of stitches by about 25% and the bands turned out just as I like them.

The pockets were an afterthought - and a bad one at that. I chose to make great oversized pockets that extend across the entire front sections from button band to side seam. While I like the look, it was a poor choice because the pockets gap badly if the cardigan is unbuttoned. I did a quick and dirty fix by running a sewn vertical seam in the middle of each pocket, effectively splitting the two pockets into four. The seam is virtually invisible, so I got the giant pocket look without the gap. It worked out, but I won't be adding giant pockets to anything like this in the future.

There are more photos of this project on my Ravelry project page: HERE

I'm calling this project a success primarily because it opened my eyes to the possibility of using the garter carriage when I'm confronted with a yarn that my standard machine carriage refuses to knit. I'm seeing new possibilities for that mohair, boucle, and some of those other thick/thin yarns I had pretty much relegated to the "handknit only" stash.

Ravellenic Games 2012 - Ravelry.com

Day One - It was my intention to cast on my first project for the games during the Olympic Games' opening ceremony gala scheduled for 9:00pm London time - 1:00pm here on the west coast of the U.S. Unfortunately, other obligations got in my way. I chose, instead, to cast on while watching the delayed NBC broadcast of the ceremonies at 7:30pm my time. The delayed start cost me more than 6 hours of productive knitting time, so I decided to do a quick and easy machine knit project that I could easily complete in a few hours. I wanted to have a finished object that I could "medal" with early on day two. Voila, the Lowly Dishrag:

My personal goal for the Ravellenic Games 2012 is to complete 16 knit projects over the 17 days of the games - an unrealistic goal for hand-knitting unless every project consists of something no more complicated than this dishcloth. I'll be using a knitting machine, of course, since it allows me to complete a project in about a tenth of the time I need to hand-knit just about anything. I intend to do a couple pair of socks, a lace shawl, and a simple summer tank top.

Beyond those, I'll knit whatever simple project strikes my fancy and suits the stash yarn I have. That's goal #2 for Ravellenics 2012 - stashbusting. I've done a significant amount of time lately recycling/frogging high quality sweaters. I am at SABLE (Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy) and have been for a very long time. Time to dig into some of that yummy merino, cashmere, silk and linen that I've reclaimed.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Machine Knitting Upgrade to Electronics

The old Singer Memomatic 327 knitting machine with ribber has gone off to a new home and a newbie machine knitter in Puerto Rico. That old punchcard machine (manufactured in the 1977) has been a dependable little workhorse and served me well over a decade. I was sad to see it go, but in its stead, I've purchased a newer electronic patterning machine - a Knitking Compuknit III. It is exactly the same as the Brother KH-930, just rebranded. It's standard gauge (4.5mm) with 200-needles capable of creating stockinet, tuck, slip, fair isle, weaving, and transfer lace. The onboard computer offers over 500 built in stitch patterns, as well as the capability of programming my own. No more searching for the right punchcard or taking time out with the hole punch to make a new pattern card. All the patterns are ready to go at the touch of a few buttons. It's a wonderful machine, easy to use, and I've been spending a lot more time knitting by machine because of it.

I purchased the ribber attachment, too. I really can't get along without the ability to create professional-looking ribbing for my garments. The ribber enables me to knit circular, too, which allows me to create seamless socks that are as good or better than the ones I've knitted by hand. It tell you, the ability to knit a pair of socks in a day by machine as opposed to two weeks by hand really satisfies my occasional need for instant gratification.

With the addition of the garter carriage accessory, there's only a few stitch techniques that I cannot accomplish on the machine in a fraction of the time it would take me to knit by hand. Cabled projects are a notable exception. Although it is possible to fashion cables on the machine, the process is too fiddly for me and I still prefer to work those projects by hand. One of my first projects with the garter carriage was a gansey-style pullover for my son to wear with his favorite kilt. Would you believe it - this sweater took about 80 hours start to finish. I'd have spent months creating this sweater by hand.

The real beauty of the garter carriage is that it is electric and doesn't require hands-on operation. Once programmed, it requires only occasional monitoring until it's time to decrease for armholes, neck or shoulder shaping. While the garter carriage was busy doing its thing on this sweater, I was free to work on an intarsia sweater project or cook dinner or do a load of laundry. Can you say, "multi-tasking?"

As great as the knitting machine is, it will never completely replace handknitting for me. I still enjoy the tactile pleasures of working fine wool and other luxury fibers by hand. And then, of course, there are the cabled projects I am fond of doing. The kilt hose (below) are a handknit work in progress and one that I could never accomplish on the machine.

I will say, however, that there have been more than a few times with this project when I wish these socks could be worked on the machine. I don't even want to think about how many hours I have invested so far in a single, unfinished sock.

Toe-Up Socks – Hot off the needles

Finished up this comfy pair of toe-up socks this morning. These socks have been hanging fire for two weeks, only needing a couple of hours to finish. I put them aside (in fact, I put ALL of my knitting aside) when my best friend put the arm-twist on me to design a website for a political action committee she belongs to – but that’s another story. As I said in my previous post, I put a new Estonian lace project on the needles and I’m anxious to get clicking on that. Unfortunately, I couldn’t until these socks became a done deal instead of just another UFO.

You see, about a year and a half ago, while in the process of cleaning/reorganizing that pit I commonly refer to as my “studio,” I came up with no less than 26 UFOs floating about in various stages of unfinishedness. I did a little mental calculation on what I had invested in yarn alone in these projects and was stunned when I came up with a number that exceeded $1,000 (and if you spill the beans to my DH, I’ll lie through my teeth about it). Really, though, even DH couldn’t be more unhappy with me that I was with myself. I vowed then and there that, in future, I would not start any new project until: 1) the current one was finished;  AND, 2) I had to finish one of the UFOs.

That was over a year ago and I’m glad to say that I’ve stuck with it and completed most of the damning evidence of my knitting sloth. Today, out of the original 26 UFOs, only 3 remain – the comfy socks in the photo were not one of these, BTW. That was my project on the needles. The UFO was one of those “Surprise” baby sweaters. Have you heard of it? It’s a mitered square affair worked as a single piece of fabric that, when folded correctly, produces a little boxy sweater needing only seaming at the shoulders. I saw a couple of cute incarnations of that pattern and gave it a go, but found that I hated the execution of it almost from the get-go. Garter stitch…yards and yards, hour upon hour of garter stitch. ‘Nuf said.

Okay, so after making a short story long, let’s get back to these socks. They were knit on two Size 1, 24” circular needles using the basic sock pattern I adapted for myself from “Socks from the Toe Up” by Wendy D. Johnson of Wendy Knits. See my post on “Knitting with Rheumatoid Arthritis” for more info on this book and why I don’t use double point needles (DPNs).

I’m giving this pair of socks a B grade for a good fit, soft yarn, and a bit of lacy interest. They’re short of the A grade because I’m not over the moon on the colorway. The yarn is a tweedy blend of pink and blue with just a teensy bit of yellow ochre tossed in for God knows what reason. What can I say? It looked better when I bought it. Some yarns are just like that. They can be awfully appealing in the skein state, but once it’s knitted up…meh.

I don’t mind it so much with something like socks. Once your shoes are on and pant legs are down, who’s going to see them anyway? It really snaps my girdle, though, when I get suckered into using one of these changling yarns for, say, a sweater project. It’s just too bloody expensive and too much labor to end up with a sweater you’d only want to give to your ancient aunt – the one in the nursing home – who’s blind – and seldom comes out of her room.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I put a new Estonian lace project on the needles yesterday. Using Size 2 needles and laceweight yarn (which is a bit like knitting with spiderweb) it takes a lot of knitting to come up with enough fabric to photograph. I'll post something when it looks like something...or I'll let you know if my patience wore out and I frogged the whole business.

3 Bags Fulled - Now with more style!

I'll admit it, I've been a delinquent blogger, but I'm determined to mend my ways. In an effort to breath new life into this blog, its poor mistreated followers (if any of you are still hanging in there) and, most of all, me. So....after three long hours in front of the 'puter redesigning these pages, I herewith present the all new and improved "3 Bags Fulled" - Now with more style! With lots of oranges and limes, it's refreshingly citrusy, don't you think?

Still having a few issues with some widgets not showing up, i.e. the Followers box through Friend Connect. A check into Google's help desk reveals that I'm not the only blogger experiencing this glitch, so I'll leave it to the geeks at Google to try to figure it out. It will take me awhile to verify my links. You could all do me a favor and let me know if you find any that are broken so I can get to them right away.

It won't happen tonite, but check back tomorrow for at least one new post on a new project I just put on the needles today - an Estonian lace shawl in the most exquisite teal laceweight Merino wool from Filatura Di Crosa - called Centolavaggi. This fiber is to die for and a hell of a bargain at $22.00 from my LYS for 1531 yards.

And, just because a girl can't be too thin or have too many knitting needles, I picked up a set of the new "Knit Picks" cable needles in Size 4, 24". I like 'em - a lot. Can't wait to show them to you.

Until tomorrow...

Still knitting - in spite of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Hello faithful followers. My apologies for my long absence from the blog. I am, in fact, still knitting by hand and by machine although the progressive crippling effects of the Rheumatoid Arthritis is making it more difficult to knit by hand. But, don't cry for me Argentina - I've found some tips, tricks, and work-arounds that I'll be writing about in the coming days that have helped me cope with my pain and loss of dexterity. I hope these will help some of my fellow knitters out there who are also suffering some disability in their hands and either have given up hand knitting or think they will have to give it up at some point in the future.

I've been knitting socks - with luscious sock yarn - on size 1 needles! How's that for coping? How do I do it? Three words...two circular needles. I know, I know, it's not some groundbreaking new technology. Folks have been knitting socks this way for a long time and I vaguely remember hearing about a technique for knitting socks with a single circular needle twisted and turned into an odd figure-eight affair. Never did quite savvy the instructions on that. Instead, I continued to struggle with conventional 4 DPNs (double point needles) for years and hated every moment of it. As a consequence, I can count on one hand the pairs of socks I've made over multiple decades of knitting. I did turn to making socks on the knitting machine, but I was never totally happy with the results.

I'm not sure why, but my MK socks were never as soft or stretchy as the handknits worked in the same yarn. The tension difference may account for part of it. The other part may be related to the need to use weights on the MK socks to keep the stitches from jumping off the needles. I suspect those weights stretch the yarn and remove some of it's loftiness in the process. Moreover, the Kitchener stitch (which is used to sew up the toe of top-down socks made either by MK or HK) has never been my friend and I avoid it whenever possible.

Imagine my delight in discovering a book by Wendy D. Johnson of WendyKnits.net titled "Socks from the Toe Up." Her instructions for knitting socks using two circular needles were easy to understand, easy to execute, and very easy on my gnarled fingers. The toe-up sock patterns are beautiful and also easy to work. And, oh, the beauty of working from the toe up so that there's no sewing up to finish! Socks not only come off the needles ready to wear, you can actually try them on for fit as you are knitting. Not an easy task with DPNs. Add the instructions for Judy's Magic Cast-on, which produces a perfectly smooth and seamless toe, and this book is worth every penny of the $22.99 list price I paid for it at my LYS (local yarn shop) as an impulse buy. You, however, can buy this book on Amazon for about 50% off. Here's a link to appropriate page at Amazon for your convenience:

Until next time, keep on knitting!

(ETA: Thanks to some wonderful machine knitting friends I've made on Ravelry, I am now quite happy with my machine knit socks, but still like to do the occasional pair by hand. Wendy Johnson's book is still my "go to" reference for toe up sock knitting, too.)

P.S. I love reading your comments. Will you take a minute to share your thoughts and tell me what you've been working on?

Prayer Shawl Ministry

If you've been thinking about lending your knitting or crochet skills to charity work, I'd like to recommend one of my favorites - the Prayer Shawl Ministry. There is such beauty and power in these prayer shawls (aka. "comfort shawls") for both the giver and the reciever.

The first shawl I made was for a friend diagnosed with ovarian cancer. As I watched her go through both surgery and chemo, I wanted so desperately to do something, ANYTHING, that might comfort her through that terrible ordeal. While surfing the Net, I stumbled upon a reference to prayer shawls. Googling the term led me to a website where I learned that these shawls are made and given to people in all sorts of life-changing situations (illness, grief, depression, etc.) for comfort, love, and inspiration.

I found a basic Trinity stitch pattern, pulled some exquisitely soft bulky yarn out of my stash, and went to town on size 16 needles. Knitting for only a few hours each evening, it took me about 2 weeks to complete the shawl. When I wrapped that shawl around her shoulders and told her of the prayers and love I put into its creation, we both cried. She later told me that everytime she felt like she needed a hug, she'd wrap that shawl around her shoulders. She fought that terrible disease over nearly five years requiring multiple surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy. When I couldn't be there for her, the shawl was. She died this past June and the shawl continues to comfort her grieving family.

Since that first prayer shawl for my friend, I've made a dozen more that have been given to others through my church's pastoral ministry. Besides being rewarding charity work, creating these shawls has also strengthened my faith and helped me develop a more contemplative prayer life.

If you'd like more information on prayer shawls, you can find it here. The founders of the Prayer Shawl Ministry, Janet Bristow and Victoria A. Cole-Galo have also collaborated to bring aspiring knitters thirty-eight distinctive and lovely prayer shawl patterns to knitters of all skill levels in the pages of:

The Prayer Shawl Companion: 38 Knitted Designs to Embrace, Inspire, and Celebrate Life

Beautiful pictures, easy to follow patterns, and anecdotal personal stories make "The Prayer Shawl Companion" so much more than just another book of patterns. You'll learn the meaning and traditions behind the kinds of shawls showcased, as well as the importance of these shawls to those who make them and/or receive them. Thoughtful, inspiring, and educational - knitters at every level of ability and proficiency will enjoy this book.

I encourage you to start a prayer shawl for someone you love. I'm so glad I did.

Freeform Crochet and Beyond: Bags, Cushions, Hats, Scarves and More

Here's another great new book I just purchased that is a unique addition to my bookshelves.
Freeform Crochet and Beyond is written by Renate Kirkpatrick and offers both inspiration and instruction for this experimental art form. I've posted several articles on freeform crochet and often use these free-style crochet motifs as embellishment for my felted knit purses and more. As the title suggests, there is a "beyond" embellishing with freeform.

I met Renate Kirkpatrick through a terrific Yahoo Group where we exchange tips, techniques and encourage one another to keep pushing the envelope with crochet hook and yarn. Renate is one of the veteran's of the group and a source of inspiration to all of us. It's so exciting to see her works in print.

What is freeform crochet? It's probably best described on the International Free Form Crochet Guild's web site:

"Freeform crochet is like painting. The hook is a brush and the yarn a paint. The result can be abstract or realistic. Freeform is original design, not a reproduction of another person's pattern, it goes beyond the realm of patterns and restrictions that usually apply toward our art. The outcome is a piece of art like no other, not only functional, but beautiful as well. Freeform includes 2-D and 3-D art, clothing and useful items."



Here's a sample of my freeform crochet used as embellishment on a felted purse, but this is nothing compared to the exquisite work of others who create stunning garments and even coral reefs populated with all sorts of sea creatures rendered with hook and yarn.

I encourage you to purchase a copy of Renate's book so you can discover the joys of creating something distinctly your own under the guidance of one of the best in the field. If you'd like to meet other afficianados of freeform crochet, do follow the link to the Yahoo Group above and sign up to be a part of the discussion. I'll bet Renate will be there to answer any questions you might have about the techniques in her book, too.

AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister

AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister
This book by Renee Rigdon and Zabet Stewart is one of the newest and wildest additions to my growing library of knitting and crochet books. I just had to post a word or two about this wickedly different how-to/pattern book of "slightly sinister" projects that will appeal to the teens and young adults who are into the dark, medieval goth look . Not only are there instructions for knitting pirate hats, constructing corsets out of black duct tape, sewing wiccan dresses, crocheting stuffed two-headed rats, and the like, but each project is accompanied by awesome photography. The talent behind the camera is Al Parish.

The writing is off-beat and hysterical, making the book worth the price just for its entertainment value, alone - especially to an old dame like me who wouldn't be caught dead in "double snake thigh-high stockings." There will be, however, two very teenage nieces who'll be happy with their Christmas presents from Auntie J this year - appropriately adorned with skull and crossbones, of course.

For the newbies out there, the book includes a section in the back with step-by-step instructions on how to knit, crochet, bead, and, incredibly - how to make chain mail! Patterns are clear and easy to follow, and accompanied by useful tips. I think what I like best about this book is that it's not exclusively knitting or crochet projects. I think it's great to break out once in awhile to make something that doesn't involve yarn - like making chain-mail earrings. How cool is that? The next time I find myself in a creative rut, this book is guaranteed to give me a laugh and a way to spread my wings.

Take it from me, you just have to buy this book for yourself, if only to see the unbelievable squid-shaped menstrual pad holder...

Outdoor Art Market - End of Season Reflections

Another outdoor art market season is a wrap and I worked furiously last week to finish up, tag, and price those final works-in-progress. I also kept my fingers crossed and hoped for a break in the winds and rain (typical of Pacific Northwest Fall weather) that have dampened the enthusiasm of both buyers and sellers the past few weeks. Vendors did, indeed, get lucky. Saturday was clear and sunny, but jacket-and-gloves-chilly. As I expected, my mittens, hats, scarves, and bulky sweaters drew the lion's share of attention from buyers and browsers.

End of season is a bittersweet time for me. On the one hand, I'm happy over the prospect of once again having my weekends free - and my weekdays, too, for that matter. On the other hand, I miss the social side of life at the market - the other artists and vendors, the old friends and locals who drop by each week to see what's new, and meeting the tourists and travellers just passing through. It's a great deal of work each week, but an enormous amount of fun and camaraderie, too. The icing on the cake for the vendors, of course, is the validation of our talents through the kind compliments and patronage these folks give us. As I've said before, the greatest compliment is when someone is willing to spend their hard-earned cash on something we've created. That's the best validation of all.

This past season was a bit of a landmark for me in that it was my first time exhibiting and selling my needle felted landscapes, seascapes, and abstracts. This is a brand new medium for me and one that is really just in its infancy in the art world. To my very great surprise (and delight) my artwork drew a lot of attention to my booth and, I believe, helped boost sales of my wearables. As a bonus, most of my artwork sold quickly, too. That was totally unexpected and very, very exciting. That encourages me to produce more and emboldens me to ask some of the better galleries for an opportunity to hang my work over the winter. Quite understandably, gallery owners are only interested in hanging pieces that are likely to sell. While they may feign the attitude of being about promoting "art for art's sake," it's sales commisions that pay the bills and keeps their doors open. The artist that can walk into a gallery with a portfolio of sold works in hand is less likely to be snubbed. That's my theory, anyway. I'll let you know if it proves to be true.

Experience and observation during this past season taught me some new things about branding, marketing, booth set up, and display. Each is worthy, I think, of an individual post. I will write a little something on each topic over the coming weeks in hopes that it will help someone else carve out their little niche in the wonderful world of the outdoor art and craft market.

DIY Network Tells Crafters To Take a Hike!

What have the programming gods at DIY been smoking?!? It all began several months ago with the disappearance of Vicky Howell's Knitty Gritty. Apparently, we didn't howl (pun intended) loud enough about losing that show, so the mental midgets at DIY Network decided to cancel the rest of the crafting lineup in favor of more home improvement shows. Are they nuts? I did (count them) ONE home improvement project this year (refinishing my wood floors) and in retrospect, I'd rather have my tits nailed to the table before I'll tackle a horrific job like that again. It was dirty, backbreaking work that took way more money and time to accomplish than anyone could ever imagine from watching a DIY show on the subject. I'm sure the only reason networks like DIY and HGTV continue to get program viewers is because do-it-yourself home improvement is like giving birth. Eventually, over time, we forget just how downright painful and expensive the whole experience was. On average, it takes about two years before we're willing to get pregnant again. That sounds about right. I'd love to remodel my kitchen, but it'll take at least two years for both my bank account to recover and for the miserable memories of the floor refinishing debacle to fade away.

On the other hand, I am an artist and a crafter every single day and enjoy every moment I can devote to being creative. Like you, I'm sure, I spend a good chunk of my discretionary income on crafting supplies...even in lean economic times. Come to think of it...ESPECIALLY in lean economic times, because it's the only relatively inexpensive recreation I enjoy. I'll drive less, turn down the thermostat, clip grocery coupons, and give up every other form of recreation so that I can afford a couple of skeins of yarn, or a few tubes of paint, or some other crafting supply I can't live without. The folks at DIY just don't get it. Which commercial message do you suppose grabs my attention and spurs me to go shopping - a sale on storm windows at Lowe's or a sale at Michael's?

Well, I say, the heck with DIY Network! I'll go back to getting my new crafting ideas and inspiration from fellow artists and crafters on the Internet - uncut and commercial free. And, when it comes time to tackle the kitchen remodel or the landscaping project, I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding all the do-it-yourself advice I need without wasting my time watching DIY or HGTV.

FREE Business Cards, Rubber Stamps, & Magnetic Signs!

...okay, so it's not totally free...we do have to pay shipping cost...but it's darn close. I've blogged before about the great bargains at Vista Print on business cards, rubber stamps, and other business supplies we can't live without, but it certainly bears repeating. The UPS driver just delivered my latest order and I'm so excited and pleased with the high quality and low price of the products, I just had to share the information about this wonderful commercial printing resource for the small business owner on a shoestring.


I was running out of business cards. My last order at Vista was for the 250 standard cards, which they offer free. While I was at it, I accepted their offer of a free rubber stamp, too. Cost of shipping for both items was approximately $7.50, if memory serves. Compare this with the cost of color business cards at one of the big box retailers like Office Depot or the cost of buying the ink for your printer and making your own cards. It's easy to see the incredible savings to be had at Vista Print.


This time around they were offering 250 premium business cards for free. There was a good selection of styles to choose from and I chose one that was the perfect image for my business. I also took them up on the offer of a magnetic sign for my car door - also free - in a design similar to the business cards. Before I finished checking out my purchases, I was offered an additional 250 cards for $7.49 and a 2nd magnetic sign for $5.99. With shipping, the total cost of my order came to $23.43 and here's what I received:


500 of these...

And, 2 of these...

Pretty awesome, no? I chose standard shipping, which they say can take up to 2 weeks. My order was delivered to my little corner of the world in a mere 6 days. That's fast.

You don't need to take my word for it. Shop and compare for yourself. I can't say enough good things about the price, the quality, and the service at Vista Print. I'm sure you'll like them too. For your convenience, here's a quick link to their site:

Vista Print

While you're there, be sure to check out their other free offers - there's always about 10 different products to try for free. By the way, they don't gouge you on the shipping costs, either, so you can take advantage of those free offers without taking out a loan to pay the shipping. As Martha Stewart would say..."It's a good thing."

Updated Website for Irrational Exuberance - Ebony Glen Studio

Whew! Just spent the entire, live-long day on a major revision to the web pages for Irrational Exuberance and Ebony Glen Studio. I decided to show a clearer distinction between those two entities by giving each their own set of pages on the website. Ebony Glen Studio is the name I use when showing/marketing my fiber and mixed media landscapes, seascapes, and abstract art as well as the occasional stain glass creation. Irrational Exuberance is the brand name attached to the felted handbags, knit and crochet clothing designs, and the other wearable art that I create. Both entities are obviously related under the broad description of "fiber art," but different enough to justify giving each its own web presence. I hope you'll make a visit and let me know what you think. Your feedback is important to me and any suggestions on how I can improve the site is most welcome.

Fiber Art Seascape "Heading In" Needlefelt on Fabric

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." From Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.

I had the rare opportunity to spend a day sailing with friends. The weather was perfect - sun and 75 degrees, with just enough wind to fill the sails and keep us moving along at a leisurely 5 knot pace. We had no destinations and no time schedules to keep. It was a glorious day of "simply messing about in boats." We lunched on cold cuts, cheese, and crunchy baguettes of french bread washed down with generous amounts of Chateau St. Michelle wine. We found a quiet cove and dropped the hook for an afternoon nap on the foredeck and cabin roof. We looked like a family of harbor seals laying basking in the warm sun. Crab pots set out early in the day yielded half a dozen Dungeness crab that we cooked in sea water with a bit of onion and garlic for our dinner. We cracked it while still warm, sucking the meat right out of the shell, with the juices running all the way to our elbows. It was one of those days you hate to see come to an end. As the sun dipped down behind Fidalgo Island, we reluctantly headed in. I was blown away by the glory of the bright orange sunset and the "welcome home" feeling of the shimmering lights of town as we neared the island.

I think I captured the beauty of that scene in this needle felt seascape I call "Heading In." The size is 13x17" (20x25" matted and framed) and is the largest piece I've created thus far. It (like most of my current body of work) was created with the machine embellisher, unspun wool roving, and metallic hand embroidery. The lights of town were achieved with a glittering novelty yarn and golden glass beads, which catch the light and actually twinkle. It brings the whole painting to life.

This piece is available for purchase. Contact me for a price quote.

Needle Felt Art - Landscape and Seascape

"South Fork Twilight" is another example of my exploration of needle felt artwork using unspun wool roving, yarns, and embroidery threads. It's a reconstructed memory of fall evenings sitting around the campfire on the bank of the south fork of the Skagit River and watching the moonlight play on the water.

I'm delighted to say that it sold at the art market within a couple of hours of opening. Size is 12x14 unframed. Framed and matted it measured 17x20".

I used the Husky embellisher (with its 5 felting needles) to lay down the large blocks of blended color in unspun wool roving. The highlight at the river bank and water shadows were added by hand with a single felt needle for tighter control. The trees are free-form machine embroidery in a blend of black and brown silk threads. The little sparkles on the river were hand-embroidered in silver metallic. I was so pleased with the final result, I was tempted to keep this piece in my private collection. I'm glad that I decided to price it and display it at the market, instead. It was a real traffic-stopper and I received many lovely compliments. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's no greater compliment an artist can receive than to meet someone who so admires your creation that they are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars to make it their own. THAT is pure joy!

Needle Felting & Embellishing

Am having a ball with the new needle felting embellisher machine. At the last moment, I chose the Huskystar ER10 embellisher by Viking. Functionally, I couldn't find a substantial difference between it and the Babylock embellisher, but I liked the case style a bit better and the price was perfect...$249.00 on sale! I was able to bring it home and immediately start playing with it. Very little to learn. The instruction booklet is ridiculously simple.

Here's a little seascape I started with using some pencil roving and novelty yarn scraps I had laying around (I save everything - all the little bits and pieces I cut off). I started with a base square of green wool felt approx. 10x10" square. It's a somewhat crude landscape since I was just "winging it" - in future I would do a pre-drawing in chalk and pay a bit more attention to composition and color. I'm really excited by the possibilities, however. I've long been a painter and it was fun "painting" with wool as a new medium.


The second project was embellishing a felted handbag. This project is an "upcycled" wool sweater that will become a tote style handbag. I'd been tossing around the idea of adding select silk flowers as embellishments and the Huskystar machine did a splendid job of attaching those flowers as well as creating some nice flower abstracts. I used some scraps of variegated fuschia pink novelty yarn for those.

The embellisher needles did a fine job of securing the large flower, but for extra holding power I used some black/brown novelty yarn as a center. I attached the small pink and white flowers with embroidered French knots. The design is quite secure and I should have no worries about anything coming loose with daily use of this bag. I'm very pleased with the way this is turning out and so, so simple. I'll post a photo of the bag when it's finished.

The new art market season begins the end of May. The embellisher is going to help me add a whole new dimension to this season's creations.

Machine Needle Felting - Babylock Embellisher

Okay, I'm taking the plunge and spending another 300 hard-earned bucks to stretch my creative wings, again. I've decided to purchase a new Babylock needle felting machine to use as an embellisher for the felted handbags and the custom sweaters I create.

Have been searching for a fresh new design twist for the line of custom clothing and felted handbags I sell under the Irrational Exuberance name and, as often happens, I stumbled upon the answer quite by chance. On a visit to my local fabric store six months ago, I was admiring one of those terribly expensive Babylock embroidery machines ($5,000++) that (who am I kidding?) I'll never buy. In fact, it's become a running joke with the whole store staff that as soon as I'm ready for my husband to divorce me, I'll be in to purchase the top of the line machine! Still, the owner of the shop, Joanie, patiently shows me all the whiz-bang features and lets me play around with them to my heart's content. I suppose it's because we never fail to draw a crowd of lookyloos while I ask questions and Joanie demonstrates. If Joanie sells one machine to one of those women, I suppose she figures it's all worthwhile. Anyway, on my last visit, Joanie quickly pointed out the new needle felting machine she'd just received from Babylock and it really started my creative juices flowing. The price was certainly right and I had a blast experimenting with that machine. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right for me to make the purchase right then and there, but I told myself that I would have one of those clever machines - soon. I'd done needle felted embellishments in the past - by hand - with happy results, but I found the process terribly tedious. The machine promised better results, at a fraction of the time and effort. I was sold.

Unfortunately, Mom's illness put all my creative endeavors on hold for about four months so the whole idea was quickly forgotten...until last week. I'd dropped into the store to purchase some magnetic closures for a couple of handbags in the making and there it was - the needle felting machine - sitting right on the counter by the cash register with a lovely "20%-Off Sale" tag on it. Kismet! I convinced Joanie to hold it for me while I went to my "Bank of The Old Man" to whine for a temporary loan. It took a couple of days worth of favorite meals and sweet talk, but my DH (dear husband) finally gave me the go-ahead. He muttered something about it being a Mother's Day-birthday-anniversary present all rolled into one. Oh, happy day.

I'll post some photos of the little gem and a 1st project, soon. Meantime, if you've been thinking about a similar purchase, you might be interested in reading this product review I ran across while researching these needle felting machines online. You can read it here. It's really informative, fair, and balanced comparison of machines by Babylock, Janome, Bernina, Brother, Husky, and the Fab Felter by Nancy.

Let me know if you answer the siren song of machine needle felting. I'd love to hear from you.

The Real Knitty Gritty - Amazon Bargains

Something new has been added...I've just signed on to be an Amazon Associate store and have put together a hand-picked selection of knitting & crochet books & accessories at bargain prices. There's some really splendid books listed. I own many of the titles & I'm sure you'd find them wonderful resources, too. The rest are on my "wishlist." Check out the knitting needles and crochet hooks, too. The prices are well under the prices at my local yarn shop. If you don't see something that you've been searching for, or if the size knitting needles or crochet hook is not currently listed, contact me via e-mail. If it's available, I'll point you in the right direction to get it.

I'll be adding more products to the store as time goes on, so check back often to see what's new.

The store, "The Real Knitty Gritty" is located at the bottom of the sidebar to the right. Enjoy!

Selling Arts/Crafts: Can I make a living?

I ran across a post on one of the forums this morning that (once again) posed the question, "Can I make a living selling my jewelry (knitting, crochet, paintings...) online?" As you might imagine, the answers from the other posters were all over the ballpark. Some said, "yes." Some said, "no." The vast majority, said, "maybe...", and while I think that's the correct answer, it's not the answer most of us want to hear.

To demonstrate my point, ask yourself whether you would have intentionally navigated to this post if I had titled it, "You MIGHT Profit Selling Arts & Crafts Online." No, of course you wouldn't. Neither would I. Even so, I contend that it is the most truthful & correct of the three. If that's not what you want to hear, I'll understand if you leave now.

A fundamental problem arises with the question, itself. It's a subjective question that seeks an objective (yes or no) answer. Read the question, again, & emphasize the words in bold type..."Can I make a living selling my (blank) online? See the problem? First of all, no honest person can say for a fact that YOU can do this or that without knowing whether you're willing, able, or even know how to go about it. If anyone tries to tell you that, ignore them. They are either a liar or a fool. Secondly, the question begs another question...what is this person's definition of "a living?"

I'd love to be among those cockeyed optimists who say, "Yes you can!" In honesty, I can't do that based on my own experience. I sell my work (fiber arts as well as paintings) through a website, Etsy, and group art shows. Through the spring & summer months, I spend 8 hours each Saturday manning a booth at my local art & farmer's markets. All this effort nets me a very nice supplemental income, but not enough that would allow me to quit my "day job." First of all, because the income can't be relied upon. Some months are good, some are not so good. Secondly, when I actually sit down to calculate my hourly wage, it's below what I'd make taking a job at McDonalds. Seriously! There's an enormous amount of time involved in creating the product, maintaining websites/blogs, making ads for Etsy or eBay, marketing myself in webrings and chat forums in an effort to drive traffic to my website or ads, etc. Last, but not least, self-employment means having the worst boss & the worst fringe benefits in the whole world...no insurance benefits, no sick leave, no vacations, no 401K...

So why do I do it at all? Part of it has to do with the artist's need to have their talent recognized & accepted by peers as well as the larger community. Compliments are lovely, but can't be trusted. The best & most genuine compliment is when someone pulls out their wallet to pay hard cash to own something we've created. The second part of it does have to do with the extra income I can derive from my art which, in all truth, merely serves to keep me painting or knitting without dipping into the household budget. Most of the money I make goes right back into buying more paints, canvas, yarn, needles, etc., which we all know can amount to a pretty sizable expense.

Far be it from me to say that you can't make a living from your arts & crafts. You may well be be the exceptional talent who'll be quickly "discovered" & will rocket to fame & fortune overnight. Or, not. You could be just another "starving artist." My best advice...don't quit your day job until you know what the fates have in store for you.

A Life Interrupted

Apologies, friends, for the long silence. Within days of my last post in September, my mother (pictured here) became ill, which made it necessary for me and my sister to provide 24/7 care so that she might live out the rest of her days in the comfort of her own home. Since there are only so many hours in a day, it was necessary for both of us to put on hold any and all activities that weren't essential to caring for her or caring for our own family household. Regrettably, favored pastimes like knitting and blogging and maintaining websites ranked low on my list of essential activities and, by necessity, were put on hold.

Mom passed away peacefully, at home, surrounded by her loving family two weeks ago. I am grateful I had the opportunity to be with her even to the end.

As I endeavor to pick up where I left off with this blog, I beg your continued indulgence if several days should pass without a new posting. To all of you who took the time to write me and post comments in my absence, be assured that I will make every effort to catch up on my correspondence to you as quickly as possible.

If you have not already done so, I'd like to encourage you to sign up for the RSS feed or e-mail subscription so that you easily receive notifications when something new has been posted here.

I'll be back soon...