DIYUI

I have mentioned before that we imbibe at Craft Club.
Last night we had very yummy hot chocolate with flavored liqueurs. I had raspberry.
Our project last night was appliqued t-shirts.
I was having a terrible time with one and, to be totally honest, there was a great deal of language that I would hesitate to use in front of the hug-a-bugs.
I decided to quit when my bobbin thread ran out, and I had to go home anyway.
After a good night's sleep, I did three in a half hour.
This tells me that I was guilty of DIYUI (Do It Yourself Under the Influence)
Please help prevent the spread of DIYUI.
Some signs are uneven seams, having angry words with machinery, general belligerence toward knit fabric.
Please, for the sake of the crafts, have your drink after you're finished.
Have a restful rest of Saturday,
Jess

cool misty lovliness

Just a check-in from the fifth lamp down...

My current distraction

The Yarn Store where I work and spend much happy time just got in a fantastic new yarn.

Road to China Silken Jewels from The Fibre Company.
65% Baby Alpaca 15% Silk 10% Camel 10% Cashmere

I am using color Ruby.
Due to the particular classes I teach at said Yarn Store, I have a number of right-hand mittens.
I do not at this point have any mates for most of them.
As the winter is closing in, I realized that I should have something to keep my little hands warm.
Since I like to take outdoor pictures, I decided that fingerless mitts were the way to go. I started making short-fingered gloves, but there was too much fabric between my fingers to be comfortable.
My only twinge about them is that there is only 80 yards per skein and this is how far one got me.
I will literally need the other skein for 10 rounds.

I'll probably start a hat with the remainder and have the happiest forehead in the land.

Tuesday Cookies

I finished teaching a class on mittens at the yarn store yesterday and so I took the opportunity to use my mitten-shaped cookie cutter.

I try not to inundate the www with stories of my cute kids, but here is what the smaller hug-a-bug was doing yesterday.

"Robot! Robot!"

Fiber projects

I am teaching a class at the yarn store about teaching kids fun stuff with fiber arts.




We will dye yarn with kool-aid and make fun needle-toppers with Sculpey, we will also use felted sweaters to make book covers.




While I was felting some sweaters I realized that a women's medium vest felted to exactly the size that my nearly-4 year old could wear.




So I cut out the zipper and sewed on a button. It should keep her pretty warm, if she deigns to wear it...



















I also made some dinner buns and they looked so pretty rising on the pan that I just had to include them here. They are wheat buns so they also have plenty of fiber.




















I have also made a small amount of progress on the semi-neglected sweater. The sleeve is more complicated than I want for watching tv or sitting in a class or ECFE, so I moved on to a front.














Talk to you all out there soon,
Jess.

It's coming on Christmas

Shopping at Target on Halloween I saw a strange sight.
November was still a day away and they were replacing the hanging Halloween decorations with Christmas.
Normally I am irritated by this holiday jumping.
Last Christmas Eve they were putting out the Valentine's Day clothing and it seems that the holiday-related stuff and more stuff comes out earlier and earlier each year.
That said, we have a tradition at our house that I must confess.
We have most of our music on our computer.
From February through October we have the music separated into Not Christmas and Christmas.
Beginning November we start listening to the whole catalog on Super-Shuffle and we get the occaisional Christmas song.
When December hits we only listen to the Christmas list.
I also buy 2-3 new Christmas cds every year.

My name is Jess, I am a Christmas Music-a-holic.

By January we are getting tired of the carols and we go to Super-Shuffle with everything and then go back to Not Christmas in February.

I am glad I got that off my chest.

Does anyone have a favorite christmas album?
I have a few:
Ray Charles - The Spirit of Christmas
Harry Connick, Jr. - When my Heart Finds Christmas
Frank Sinatra - A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Wishes you a Swinging Christmas
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Christmas Caravan
George Winston - December
The Hollywood Trombones (A band made up entirely of trombones, most of the players are studio musicians in Hollywood) - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
A Motown Christmas (Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder)
Der Bingle Bing Crosby (Of Course) - The Voice of Christmas
Anonymous 4 - On Yoolis Night

Happy Holidays!

works in progress

Hi everyone.

So, my computer was down for a week or so, and I was unable to post pics.

I did get some work done in that time, and here is a recap:

I made cookies, they turned out well. Peanut butter with cocoa in the dough and chocolate chips. This was about a week before halloween, so we hadn't yet had our fill of shirockuate.

I work most nights, but, miraculously, was able on one night to work on the aprons that are my solo contribution to the craft club's craft fair. Didn't get any completed, but I did make some progress.

I have entered the custom-knitting season. I make christmas stockings and whatnots for folks.

Here is the latest, the third so far this year. It hasn't been blocked yet, I just finished hiding the ends. It also needs the name and date at the top.

I am thinking about working stockings from the bottom up from now on. I have been, though I flatter myself that I don't need them, a slave to the basic patterns for christmas stockings.

It has always bothered me that the stitches are upside down when you knit from the top, but I thought "What do you do? That's the way the pattern is written. Do I really want to do more work?"

Well phooey.

I am a college educated woman.

I can think critically.

I will make this change.

This photo shows another WIP in that the stocking is sitting on my color-wheel quilt which I have neglected. Maybe I can guilt myself into working on it...

Thanks for listening,

Jess