Creativery

Slice of Toast

2011-09-30T17:33:00.000+13:00

Make this adorable toast plushie keychain by following these instructions at Deviant Art.

I didn't have brown felt, so I colored white felt with a Copic marker. The effect came out great, but the only problem was the marker gave the felt a coating that was hard to push the needle through. But I managed. I also decided to give my toast a wee smile.

So cute! I can see doing lots of other shapes this way.

Make Your Own Scarf

2011-07-17T16:37:00.000+12:00

One thing I find difficult is finding clothing in my colors. I am an autumn, so I don't wear black very well at all. Brown is my black. I also don't wear the colors that I would normally find in every store in Christchurch at the moment: white, purple, red and black (bleck!). My colors are bright greens, rust, oranges and peacock blue among other colors. It's is surprisingly difficult to find clothes in these colors, especially in winter.

One of the things I've been on the lookout for is a scarf with some of those vivid colors in it, that I can use with some of my neutral pieces; to add color and tie everything together. Again, really hard finding anything in my palette. I keep looking and find nothing I like.

I was at the fabric store the other day and found this lovely, silky fabric in orange, dark brown, cream, green and dashes of other colors I love. I bought a 1/2 meter for $20, trimmed it down to a scarf-sized rectangle and spent the evening doing a hand-sewn rolled hem on it.

Today, I have a beautiful scarf that cost me $20 and took one evening to make. It looks incredible against my skin and with most things in my wardrobe.

Tip on getting the scarf perfectly square and on the grain:
Cut a notch in the edge and rip the fabric...it will rip right on the grain. The raw edges will be sewn under with the rolled hem.

I used this tutorial on YouTube to learn the rolled hem. I didn't have to use starch...I just folded the edge down as I went, no problem.

Hand-sewn rolled hem. Probably needs a quick hit with an iron

Knitting for Christchurch Kids

2011-07-03T14:48:00.000+12:00

I've recently joined a great group of knitters close to my house who are knitting warm things for kids in Christchurch. Everyone has been traumatized by our recent spat of earthquakes, but none more than the kids. There are many people who have struggled to keep warm during this very chilly wintertime. Many houses have big cracks in the walls or broken windows that let the cold creep in. And there have been power outages from time to time as well.

A woman in nearby New Brighton, Jenny Lineham, started this knitting group and it has grown (see this article). I saw her story featured on the 6 o'clock news, did some Google'ing and was able to contact her. I've been going to the knitting group every week for a month or so now and making some new friends.

We started by knitting warm beanies for the kids. The ladies would collect the beanies, sort them by size, then take them to the schools, where the kids would pick out their very own beanie. The kids love it! There are beanies coming in from all over New Zealand. Donated yarn is also pouring in.

We have completed the beanie project after giving beanies to almost all the kids in Christchurch! Now we are knitting cozy slippers, for kids and some older folks too.

Here's a couple I knit up (they go fast!) and I thought it appropriate to place them by the crack in our driveway that is a result of the quakes.

Cozy Feet for Antz

My husband got this cozy pair of 'dorm socks' for his birthday. I invented these socks when I was in Antarctica and wanted a warm pair of socks to walk around the dorm without having to put shoes on. I used Lion's Brand Chunky yarn, then sewed a piece of fleece on the bottom in the shape of my foot. I loved them and wear them so much, I figured Antz needed a pair too. They are wonderful for wearing over another pair of regular socks...protects the socks and keeps the feet nice and toasty.

More Color Inspiration

2011-07-03T14:35:00.002+12:00

A blog dedicated to color, the Color Collective

Color Knitting Chart Maker

2011-06-26T15:07:00.001+12:00

Hey this is pretty neat... it's a little mini-application from Tricksy Knitter that you can use to create a color knitting chart. You can choose any color. Click here.

I found you can 'paint' more than one square by clicking once on a square and moving your mouse around. Click again to stop.

Orchid Baby Set

2011-06-17T11:35:00.001+12:00

Just love this cardigan! It's the 'Children's Neckdown Bolero' (pattern #275) from 'Knitting Pure & Simple.' Get the pattern here. I just think it's adorable...just love the curve in the front. There is another button on the inside on the opposite side that secures the other side of the cardigan.

The pattern was pretty straightforward, with the only slightly confusing bit being there was an incredible amount of stitches to be picked up for the ribbed band in front. That is because of the curve...you have to start with a lot of stitches on the pick-up in order for the curve to happen without bunching. The pattern author offers a tutorial on her website to handle this part of the pattern and it was very helpful. And I learned something!

I used one of my favorite yarns, Malabrigo Worsted in 'Orchid.' It's super soft and cuddly, with the only drawbacks being that Mom will have to hand wash it and apparently it has a tendency to pill easier than most yarns (read the review here). But I reckon its positives outweigh the negatives. I really should investigate some superwash yarns for projects like these, but it's hard to beat Malabrigo's softness and fun while knitting. And the colors! Don't get me started. Anyway, I had two balls of it and had some left over so I designed a little hat to match. So cute. Can't wait to give it away!

Update: here's a photo of lovely Willa wearing her new set!

Yender

2011-06-10T13:57:00.001+12:00

Recently, I went on a bit of a bender. A yarn bender. A Yender? It happens to knitters occasionally. For me, it started with a sale at Webs on Cascade 220 (for $4.95 a skein). A good price for a yarn that I love and use a lot. Too good to pass up. And I needed more charcoal gray...and white for an upcoming project. Then of course, it's always a good idea to stock up, especially at such a great price and then I will be paying for shipping anyway, so may as well take advantage of that.

But then I noticed that not all the colors I wanted were available from the Webs sale. So then, naturally, I had to pop over to my other favorite yarn store, Angelikas. I know I can count on Angelikas to have all colors in stock. They've never been out of stock on anything I've wanted and the prices are pretty reasonable. And they ship FAST. So I ordered a few from there. A little of this and a little of that, just to round out the stash a little.

So this is the result. This is all the new yarn, to be added to my burgeoning stash of Cascade 220. I had to buy two new bins for the new yarn, plus some that's been collecting over time, and so my stash has grown from two full plastic bins to four full plastic bins. I wonder if I stopped buying any new yarn right now, how long it would take me to knit all of it? Maybe not a lifetime, but it would sure be a while.

It's a nice balanced selection of colors and don't they look pretty on the window sill, bathed in sunlight?

The neighbor's dog thinks so too.

That was a lot of winding. Many hours in front of the TV, patiently winding skeins. Someday I'll have a swift and winder combo.

Purple Mama

2011-06-01T23:16:00.000+12:00

This is some sign artwork I did for my Mom who is starting a new branch of her jewelery designs called 'Purple Mama.' I love the name -- it's so perfect for her! The name was given to her by my friend's 2-year old son, Dominic, who remembers when my Mom visited New Zealand. She was wearing a purple outfit on that day and ever since, Dominic has called her 'Purple Mama.'

My Mom wanted a creative and playful design that is light-heartedly sophisticated, not serious nor child-like. She wanted a straightforward, puffy font that can be seen from a distance. She wanted 'bubbles' and 'clouds.' I think she'll like this, knowing her. It looks a bit like space too.

I started with just swashing a piece of paper with purple watercolor and threw in some areas of red and blue. Then in Photoshop, I layered in a photo of some bubbles (can you see them in there faintly?). Then I added another layer of some swirly bits -- in the upper left and lower right corners. Then cut out circles from some other watercolor I did (they look like purple 'planets'). Then I put yellow glows behind them and added other small yellow fuzzy dots and some other smaller, sharper white dots. I just love layering in Photoshop. You can really control how much of each image shows through when layered on top of each other. I particularly love the combination of traditional art, like watercolor, combined with Photoshop...most excellent!

I've also been knitting away on this...

A wee cutie of a bolero jacket for a certain lucky little lady who doesn't know she's getting this yet. I used one of my favorite yarns, Malabrigo, in Orchid. It is the softest, most wonderful kettle-dyed yarn and I love the subtle color shifts from pink to lavender. I should have enough left over for a little hat to match. It will be finished soon and I'll post the final photos.

And I'm not sure if I posted this hat. I made it a while ago and the photo looks like it's in black and white, but it's not, it's just the color of the yarn I used; very neutral earth tones. All done in Cascade 220. My own design.

And these two I whipped out recently. The floral pattern is not my own, but I love it. Next time I think more contrast in the yarns would be better, but this is subtle and pretty. And then I did a stripey hat just using up all the bits of Noro I had laying around. I just hate having extra bits of yarn not being used. So that was a very satisfying hat to make.

So yeah, been a busy little knitter...

It's a Sign

2011-05-23T11:46:00.001+12:00

I've just returned from a family trip from the North Island of New Zealand for my husband's father's 90th birthday and his sister's 50th (it's a BIG family!). When this family decides to have a get-together, there are usually no less than 50 people in attendance! Coming from a small family, this is great fun for me.

On our way to Claire's 50th, we passed this sign located in a small town called Eltham. Just HAD to stop and snap a photo!

I completed two hats during the trip (photos coming soon!) and started a gift for a friends baby (also coming soon).

Flying back to Christchurch, here is a view of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, with a fresh dusting of snow. Winter is coming! I would swear this photo could pass for Antarctica.

Flying over the Nelson Lakes area of New Zealand, I looked down and spotted this lake, which looks disarmingly like the continent of Antarctica. I took this image from Google Earth.

I guess I'm thinking about Antarctica. Which is perfectly normal for someone who has spent most of the last 14 years there.

Knot my usual thing

2011-05-10T22:36:00.000+12:00

I usually knit, but for this project, I used knots. The yarn I showed you from a couple of days ago seemed to lose its beauty when knitted as all the gorgeous stranded colors got jumbled up in the knitted stitches.

So I came up with this idea (well I'm sure I'm not the first person think this up) to create a knotted scarf which allows the yarn to be displayed in it's best light.

I cut 24 lengths of the yarn that were twice as long as I wanted the scarf to be. I divided the yarn into eight 3-strand sections. Then I rigged up something on the wall to make it easy to work on and it took me a couple of days to finish.

Here's a video that describes my process.

I'm thinking of a hat to match this scarf. Knit the main body of the hat in a neutral color and use this yarn as an accent around the brim and perhaps a tassle on the top. Would look amazing I think.

Bye-Bye Baba Black Sheep Yarns

2011-05-08T13:42:00.001+12:00

Update: I just went to the Baba Black Sheep Yarns page on Etsy and there's a note saying they have closed indefinitely. I'm kind of sad about that, but sure glad I got some of their yarn!

Birthday Blog

2011-05-08T13:38:00.000+12:00

It's my birthday and I plan on working with yarn today. Not necessarily knitting per se, since I am working on a new project that answers the intriguing question of 'what do I do with this yarn?'

It's a GORGEOUS 2-ply, handmade, hand-dyed yarn from 'Baba Black Sheep Yarns' made from 75% Blue Faced Leicester Wool and 25% silk. I bought it online from Etsy (I think). It's so soft has a wonderful sheen thanks to the silk.

Oh it looks so gorgeous sitting there in a festive little ball don't you think? But I guess the problem is, it's not much use to anyone in it's current form. I tried knitting it with large needles and I thought it just lost so much of it's personality when it was knitted! I mean all the colors were there but it just didn't look as pretty to me. So I started thinking of a way to use this yarn that would preserve it's rich, stranded beauty. I think I finally came up with something, but will wait to reveal in another post (but you won't have to wait too long, promise).

The sun is out and my husband is scuttling about the kitchen making my birthday cake...a lemon and pistachio crunch 3-layer cake. I love watching this cooking drama unfold. Our own little version of Master Chef.

In other news, I finally finished the Ariosa Wrap Cardi from ages ago...last July. I was so happy to discover that before I had shelved the project, I had actually completed the second sleeve. Whew! I had to go 'offroad' on the pattern for the sleeves as they were too small when I followed the pattern exactly.

Here it is, happily blocking in the sunlight...

Ok, so there are some things that bug me about it, but hopefully after blocking, and maybe a couple of strategically placed buttons, it may be something I want to wear. One of the issues is the 4x4 ribbed band going all the way around. It pulls up on the bottom edge and so I've pinned it to try and block it into submission. Also the increases around the collar create a line that is quite visible to me, but hopefully the blocking has worked a little of that out. But yikes, I can still see it in the photo...so I guess it's something I'll have to live with.

It may need a belt too...I'll have to see about that. Something in a dense stitch, like linen stitch maybe.

I LOVE the color though...and the idea of a short-sleeved cardi. I'll work with it some more and see what I can do.

Praise for the Granny Square Hat

2011-03-04T11:08:00.000+13:00

I received this note regarding the granny square hat I sent out last week:

"It arrived before we left, and it was PERFECT! She loved the fit, the colors and especially the tassel, so I'm glad you went ahead with that. Your detail and expert craftsmanship showed in every stitch, and we were all totally impressed."

I'm glowing.

Voted Best Hat!

2011-03-03T18:27:00.001+13:00

I just found out that the penguin hat I made months ago for my mother's friend was voted 'Best Hat' by everyone on the vessel National Geographic Explorer! How exciting!

Here she is off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula.

Commission Completed and Sent, Whew!

2011-03-03T18:21:00.001+13:00

I finished this commissioned hat last week while we were visiting family on the north island of New Zealand. It is one of my original grannie square hats, with a knitted top and sassy tassle. A friend of mine ordered it for her mother's birthday.

I put in a lining of some stretchy polyester that looks a little like crushed velvet. Very cozy without too much bulk.

I was almost walking out the door to run into town to send it to the recipient, when news came that the Christchurch earthquake had just struck. From that moment on, everyone in the room was glued to the TV, watching live footage from the devastation in the city. We were especially worried, because so many of our friends were in Christchurch at the time *and* we have a house there.

So, that hat got mailed a few days later, as we made our way south back to our disaster-stricken town.

I am happy to report that no one we know was hurt or killed, but are plenty of people that lost loved ones. My heart cries for them.

Sheri's Hat

2011-02-14T00:13:00.001+13:00

This was the last hat I completed before I left McMurdo. Sheri is a good friend of mine and one day about a month ago, she said she really wanted me to make her a hat. One of my favorite things is to design FOR people. So she picked out the colors of yarn (Cascade 220) and even the pattern and design. It wasn't normally colors I would have picked for myself, but as you can see, this hat came out beautifully, and is absolutely PERFECT for her and looks stunning.

The little 'beaded' band just above the rolled brim is actually something I just made up, but it looks great. It gives the feeling of a braid without being too bulky.

It's super simple. Knit a set up row in stockinette alternating two colors. Then on the next row, purl all stitches, alternating the same colors as the set up row. The third row is exactly the same, alternate purl stitches following the colors of the previous row. That's all there is to it.

Seriously Sidetracked

2011-02-01T14:55:00.000+13:00

I am still in Antarctica, but not for long. My contract ends in less than a week and soon I'll be on a plane, sailing through the clouds towards New Zealand. My anticipation grows. The first day back is always blissful...rain, grass, flowers, warm air, the beach, good fresh food.

This season on the Ice has seriously sidetracked my blogging, but I should be back on track soon. I have knitted a lot of stuff this summer despite being extremely busy in my job. I pretty much knit during most of my spare time, sometimes thinking that maybe, just maybe I'm an addict. I don't think they have a group for knitaholics.

My job this summer in case you were curious, was supporting a remote field camp on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet called Byrd Surface Camp. I was responsible for making sure all the necessary cargo and supplies were loaded on a plane and sent to the camp. It was stressful at times. But the camp staff were so appreciative of my efforts, it was all worth it. Additionally, I supported two traverses from Byrd Camp to Pine Island Glacier on the coast over on that side of Antartica. This project has the worst acronym ever....PIG. The PIG Traverses carried fuel and supplies to set up a camp next summer so that glaciologists can study that glacier, which is showing signs of rapid change. It is a difficult area to access, with weather that is unpredictable a lot of the time.

Now my time is drawing to a close and my thoughts wander to New Zealand and beyond.

Rip-it, Rip-it, Rip-it

2010-10-05T13:26:00.000+13:00

I decided I didn't like Attempt #2 of the Bobble Brimmed Hat after all. I ripped the whole thing out and started all over again. I am well into Attempt #3 and will post photos soon!

Conquering the Bobble Brim Hat

2010-09-30T21:09:00.000+13:00

I saw a photo of a bobble-brimmed hat that I really liked. I liked it so much that I cut it out and put it in my inspiration book. I've been trying the past week or so to re-create this hat, but so far I haven't found just the right formula.

First attempt:

I cast on 90 stitches in a multi-colored Noro Silk Garden yarn and used moss stitch for the brim with a large bobble receipe.

The finished hat.

I'm not so wild about it. I think the bobbles are too big and too far apart and I'm not so hot on this Noro colorway either. I bought a whole bunch of it on sale and now I can kind of tell why it was reduced. I tried knitting a sweater with it and didn't like it then, and although I think it looks okay used on this hat, I'm not liking it too much now.

But having said that, someone out there might LOVE it.

Second Attempt:

Cast on 85 stitches (using same size needles as the last hat was just a tad too big) with this gorgeous yarn I picked up in Wellington, New Zealand called Vero. 100% wool and super soft and fluffy but knits up beautifully.

Used all purling for the brim with a medium bobble recipe and spaced closer together. I like this much better, but the brim is rolling inward (as it does when you have straight stockinette on the edge of something). It looks fine when it's on a head though. I will block it and see what happens. But I'm liking this result much better. And love this yarn. I might bring back the moss stitch brim for the 3rd try...or maybe something else...

I washed all the cotton fabrics I bought when I was in Vanuatu and they look so pretty hanging on the line! So colorful and festive. I love them!

Scary Scary Markers

2010-09-17T15:55:00.000+12:00

My Copic markers...

My colorful soldiers of creativity...

So expensive, so beautiful, the penultimate marker. Sitting there in their little box, waiting for me. And waiting...and waiting.

What is the problem?

It is not a lack of love for these markers. Noooo. I am obsessed with them. I line them up in perfect color order: the first letter is the color family, the first number is the purity of the hue; zero being the most pure, and the last number is the saturation of the color with 9 being the darkest.

I just bought 12 more of the palest colors available. See 'BG0000' in photo above...'Snow Green.' They are amazing for using as a base color for layering, and for skin tones and for SNOWFLAKES...which is what I am thinking I want to create.

I gaze at them, I keep them near me. It's such a good feeling having them.

But for some reason, at the moment, I am totally intimidated to use them. I mean, come on! They're markers! Markers = Fun. It's color, it's coloring. What could be more fun than coloring?

What is happening here is a good case of artist's block. I have these ideas see, and I guess I'm afraid that I won't be able to achieve these ideas or that it'll look lame and I'll muck it up. Or I won't create the perfect snowflake right off the bat. I love the IDEA of being a marker artist and making marker art. It's SO COOL! I just don't do it very often.

And honestly, it's kind of silly I'm feeling this way. After all, here is some of the marker art I've already done. All drawn freehand, then colored.

And, the little purple punk penguin that is my avatar for this blog and for Facebook. I did that too. I think what I have done so far is perfectly beautiful.

I think I just needed to talk this out. All I need to do is sit down with paper and my little soldiers, reach over and pull one out, take off the cap, and put it down on the paper. Sounds easy right?

We'll see how long it takes me, how many times I can find something else to do to put off my marker project, until I actually do it.

Be brave Christine!

ps. My felted slippers drying. They are not totally evenly matched, although they fit fine. I think this is an issue when I sewed them up. I will have to be a little more careful about that step. But I reckon when I sew on the toe flaps and the button, they will be great.

CHC to AKL to LAX to PHX and Back Again

2010-09-16T15:47:00.000+12:00

If you have trouble keeping up with my global itinerary, you are not alone. Even I am having trouble keeping track of myself!

I just returned to New Zealand after five weeks in Apache Junction, Arizona...smack in the middle of summer. My Gramma had a hip replacement and I went there to help her through it. 'Weren't you just in Arizona...like, a month ago?' you ask. Yes, I was and I had to turn right back 'round and go back out there. But nothing could stop me really...my Gramma was in trouble and I needed to be there for her.

While I was gone I missed the big Christchurch earthquake that rocked our little town to the tune of 7.1 on the Richter Scale. Luckily our house survived without so much as a crack, but Antz was without water for 3 days.

During my month in the Valley of the Sun, I developed a serious addiction to air conditioning and Jamba Juice smoothies while obsessively hunting for the ever-elusive shady parking spot. Of course the interior of my rental car was dark grey.

One thing I love about Arizona is that a lot of the eateries have outdoor patios with overhead misters that put out a fine, cooling mist that gently floats down to cool you on even the hottest days. Wonderful!

Admiring the unique southwest architecture.

To keep sane during some pretty hellacious days in which my Gramma was in so much pain that the maximum doses of morphine still didn't quite do the trick, I knitted for hours, often in a dark hospital room.

I knitted the other sleeve to the Ariosa sweater.

I knitted a hat of my own design.

This was made with Noro Kureyon and another coordinating Peruvian Highland Wool. In retrospect, I ought to have chosen more contrasting colors, but I kind of like the subtle design and texture. Due to the scratchy-ness of the wool, I will have to line this hat with something.

I knit another pair of French Press slippers with Cascade 220 in 'Thunder.'

They look a bit Franken-slipper at the moment, but they still need to be felted in the washing machine which will shrinky-dink them down to a perfect pair. Just you wait and see!

Only home a couple of days and I've already lined the hat.

I cut up an old sweatshirt that I wasn't wearing anymore and used it to line the hat. You can see I sewed in a tiny green 'tag' on the seam that lets me know at a glance where the back of the hat is.

I was going to use windblock fleece, but from experience a Fair Isle hat that has two yarns running along the inside plus a layer of windblock fleece is just a smidge too warm for the summer season in Antarctica (oh by the way, did I mention that I am keeping this hat for myself?). So I thought if I lined it with this cotton sweatshirt material, it would still be warm, but not quite as warm as with the fleece...and it would breathe. The cotton material is really comfortable to wear too. Usually cotton is not recommended for cold weather gear, but the thick layer of wool on the outside should be sufficient for insulation, even if I am working outside. There's nothing worse than a sweaty head down on the ice. Or frozen ears. We shall see if I am right.

Spring has sprung in New Zealand and my favorite flowering tree, the Magnolias are in the middle of their very short but exquisite blooming season.

Uh oh

2010-08-03T21:40:00.000+12:00

Knitted one sleeve. Looked a bit strange for some reason. Figured out that it is 3 inches not wide enough. I followed the pattern; I even did a swatch at the very beginning to make sure. I am not liking this pattern so much at the moment...it's been funky from the beginning. So I have to pull out the whole sleeve (or maybe I'll just be really naughty and start a new one without unraveling) and figure out how to make it the right size myself. I have put it aside for now...just don't have the patience tonight.

I hope it's big enough!

2010-08-01T20:32:00.001+12:00

Today, August 1st, is our seventh wedding anniversary, and the decade anniversary of our being a couple. Anthony and I got together as a couple on August 1, 2000; then were married three years later on the same day. It sure makes it easy to remember!

So it was our anniversary *and* Sunday so we decided to relax and stay in today so I spent the majority of today knitting on the sweater and so I've made great progress.

I have finished both fronts and the back and pinned it loosely together to get an idea of fit.

It is longer than I thought it would be (even after adding two inches) but I'm actually okay with the length. I think part of that is the yarn; it has a bit of give. It just means it will be a nice laying cardi for cold days. I am a little concerned about the width of the front pieces, but I haven't added on the collar/front edging yet which looks to be at least 4 inches on both sides, so it will probably be just fine.

I *love* the color and the pattern and so I'm off to knit the cap sleeves now.

If I knitted the fronts a little wider and just added a simple border to the neck/front/armholes, it would be a nice vest cardigan just as it is. But I'll proceed with the pattern as written, except for having to compensate on the collar/front edging for the longer length.

It looks like I may have a few balls of this yarn left over. I could make a belt from the same yarn using linen stitch, which creates a nice, thick, dense sort of knitting. I'll have to see if it needs a belt after it's all done.

Or, a hat to match!

Ariosa Cardi

2010-07-28T18:10:00.000+12:00

I have had a hard time thinking about anything else for the past couple of days but the new sweater I am making. I love the pattern and the sleeves; it will be a nice layering piece. It's still full-on winter here in New Zealand so knitting warm things is definitely an attraction.

It is the 'Ariosa Wrap Cardi' shown here in black, a free pattern from Classic Elite Yarns.

I have substituted Vera Moda 'Mousse' yarn which is a single ply yarn made from 70% wool and 30% soya. It is very soft and has a nice sheen. The color is 'number 34' but I would describe this color as 'clay.' It is a nice brownish-grey color...one of my favorite neutrals.

Here is the first front in progress...

Of course I can't just make a pattern exactly the way it is written, so for this pattern there was a couple of things I wanted to change. First, I increased the length by a couple of inches. I want to make sure there is enough sweater there to cover all the 'hills and dales' and still hang to a nice length around my hipbone.

Secondly, I don't really like the belt on this cardi...and if you notice there is a ribbed section that interrupts the pattern in the middle that the belt lays on. I got rid of that and just knit the whole thing in the 'ribbed lace' pattern.

I love this ribbed lace pattern. It has a nice texture and looks very sharp I think. Here it is from the front...

...and with the light shining through...

I have entertained the thought of putting a small ribbed section in the middle of the back to slightly pull the sides of the back in, giving it a slightly fitted shape. I will have to figure that one out. I think once I get some of the pieces knitted, the cardi will kind of let me know what it wants to be.

One thing I have to say is that I had a little trouble reading this pattern. The good news is I am now an experienced enough knitter, that despite not 'getting' some of the pattern, I am still able to knit this sweater. Great feeling.

As of my writing this, I have finished both fronts and working on the back. It sure is nice knitting with the bigger needles and yarn...the project is going so quickly.

Six-Week Socks

2010-07-25T19:48:00.005+12:00

I've just returned from a 6-week trip to the States, visiting family in California, then taking a trip with my husband up to Alaska, ending up in Vancouver, flying back to Orange County California, then finally a week-long side trip to Arizona to visit more family.

What a whirlwind! I took enough yarn for two projects, but with all that was going on, I quickly realized I'd be lucky to complete the pair of socks that I began just before leaving New Zealand for the trip.

The socks went everywhere I did and I found bits of time here and there to work on them.

Here is the first sock near Denali Park, Alaska.

Anthony took the time to take some time-lapse photos along the way. Here he is waiting for Anchorage's famous 'bore tide' to come along the inlet called 'Turnagain Arm.'

We drove all the way to the end of the Kenai Peninsula to a town called Homer. I hadn't yet had a yarn fix and was jonesin' for sure. A local man told me about the 'Yarn Yurt' and we hurriedly made our way to the location.

To my horror, the Yarn Yurt was closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we were in Homer for one day...you guessed it...a Thursday. It was painful.

After a week of driving around seeing the sights, we hopped aboard a cruise ship to take us from Seward, Alaska down to Vancouver, BC.

In between eating, which is a 24/7 endeavor on cruise ships, I found some time to knit.

Starting the second sock...

Lovely view of (first) sock and Alaska's gorgeous coastline.

I was finally rewarded with a yarn fix in Ketchikan at Mission Street Arts & Fibers. I was looking for some unique yarn, preferably something made locally and I found this...

This hand-dyed colorway from Raven Frog Fiber Arts in Sitka, Alaska is called 'Tapestry.' The colors are inspired by the climate of southeast Alaska and the Russian influence there. Apparently to keep houses warm in the winter, the Russian immigrants would hang heavy tapestries on the walls to insulate them.

There is an additional skein laying on top of it that is in the same colorway but is a fancy yarn. I have no idea what I will make with it, but the colors are intoxicating. I have 550 yards of the main skein...maybe enough for a vest, or perhaps a hat/scarf combo?

On a side note, Anthony and I were dumbfounded at the number of penguin souvenirs in Alaska. It is shocking how many people think penguins live in Alaska (when in fact, they don't...they live in Antarctica and a few other places, but definitely NOT Alaska). This kind of marketing, especially to kids, just perpetuates the myth and frankly, annoys me.

I continued working on the socks when we were in Vancouver for five days, and then when we returned to California. We then rented another car and drove to Arizona to visit my Grammie. The socks were getting so close to completion. Working on socks in 110-degree temps is an act of sheer dedication.

Here they are hanging out on a fence off the Apache Trail near the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.

While in Arizona we happened to find ourselves in downtown Mesa. The place looked so familiar for some reason. Then I realized with my 7th knitterly sense that I had been down this way before...TO A YARN STORE! And sure enough, moments later I spotted the giant pink chair which heralds the spot of a great little yarn store, 'Fiber Factory,' that I had visited on my last trip.

My husband Anthony has the patience of a saint, as I parked and left him in the car with the engine and air-conditioning running and told him, '15 minutes.' Of course I could have spent longer, but one has to be reasonable, especially when people are waiting. So I perused the yarn store for something special and found these lovelies...

Ah, I just want to lick them, they look so good. This is Mirasol Yarns 'K'Acha' from from Peru. It is a kettle-dyed single ply of 60% fine merino, 25% Suri alpaca and 15% silk. A portion of each purchase is dedicated to the funding of a school in a remote area of Peru. So I can feel even better about buying this yarn.

The brown ball is so unusual in that it looks almost purple in some lights.

Well that's me all caught up to present. We are back in our house in Christchurch, New Zealand and I have already started a new project, a vest sweater with cap sleeves in a bulky 'clay' colored yarn. I'll post about that next time.

Oh, and by the way, I finished the socks the night before flying back to New Zealand. I wore them on the plane. Yay!

The Hat...Personified

2010-06-09T20:27:00.001+12:00

The Penguin Hat finally found it's way to the head it was meant to sit on. This co-worker of my mother's is bound for Antarctica in a few months and this hat will ensure her head stays warm -- with style. She really loved it ad I think it suits her perfectly.

Another view...

In Other News...

The 'Little Blue' parka was again modeled by wee cutie Isaac. He seems really thrilled to be helping us out with the photos. What a great little baby!

Really goes well with those gorgeous peepers of his.

His brother Dominic seemed to be enjoying himself as well...

Now I've traveled 7,000 miles across the Pacific and am enjoying some time in Southern California with my family. I'm knitting a sock -- with teeny tiny yarn -- in an interesting color/pattern mix. Photos coming.

Little Blue

2010-05-27T17:17:00.000+12:00

Another productive day in the Powell Knitting Factory. I just finished another baby sweater. I knit this one basically to test a pattern I have created...just making sure the other sizes in the pattern work as they should. I also reworked the faux fur around the hood as the last time I knit this, there was too much fur in the baby's face, and anything a baby feels tickling its face, it will try and eat. Not always good!

Today was cold, rainy, and windy. About 42 degrees during the day and we had a few bouts of hail too. The sun peeked out for all of about 5 seconds once today which was a good reminder that it's still out there. This huge storm has latched on to New Zealand for the last 3 or 4 days. But all indications are it's on its way out.

Rainy day by the Avon River

Wet autumn leaves

So, a good day to catch up on knitting projects. I put the buttons on the above sweater. Lining them up...

Marking the placement...

I tried a couple of different ways of making loops, including i-cord and crocheted, but finally came up with an idea I got from 'The Knitter's Handbook' by Montse Stanley. There weren't instructions per se, just one illustration of what it was supposed to look like and a bit of text. But I finally figured it out and I'm happy with the results. It's hard to describe but basically you use something called a 'buttonhole' stitch -- which essentially is blanket stitch without the spaces inbetween -- wrapping around a couple of loops of yarn that formed the base of the loop.

Here's what the finished loop looks like:

Very nice looking in my humble opinion.

Commission Completed

2010-05-26T23:28:00.000+12:00

I put the final touches on my commission hat tonight and it took some time to decide what colors to use in the tassle. In the end, simple red won out...everything else seemed to fight with the pattern of the hat. It's lined with windblock fleece, so it's very warm. The recipient of this hat will get to travel to Antarctica in style and warmth, with a one-of-a-kind hat.

Here's the hat...well...flat.

I get the added bonus of getting to hand off my creation to its new owner and see how it looks on her noggin. I've heard that these colors will work very well on her.

In unrelated news, we are being pelted with a big storm causing wide-spread flooding around New Zealand. At high tide, our street is almost completely flooded, but it recedes when the tide goes out. I feel sorry for all the poor farmers down south trying to keep their livestock out of harms way. Hopefully it will pass soon.

Sneak Peek

2010-05-21T14:31:00.000+12:00

My current project is blocking (the cookie cooling rack is doing double duty)...but here's a sneak peek. I'm pretty happy with it although I must admit, some things about fair isle knitting are still mysterious for me...most it's about the tension of the 'floats' in the back of the work. I used to make them too tight, but now it seems a lot of them are a bit too loose...and some are just right; the consistency is off. I would love watch a knitter who is really good at fair isle to see what they do. But blocking really helps...makes everything lay down nice and flat and hopefully it will 'mold and hold' those stitches in place.

I do love working with Cascade 220 yarn. It's really good for this kind of knitting.

Don't the penguins look like they are wearing little dutch clogs?

Commission

2010-05-18T13:31:00.001+12:00

This is my next project; a hat commissioned from a woman who is heading to Antarctica on a cruise next austral summer. She loved a design she saw on my blog and told me the colors she likes and above that, is letting me design whatever I want. I was inspired to put some little Adelie penguins on the hat so I had to figure out a chart that worked within the vertical space of a hat. This one is 10 wide (with one white stitch in between each penguin) and 20 tall.

I have to get this done since I'm leaving for the States on June 1st and she lives in the general area I am visiting in California, so I had planned on giving it to her then.

I'm not entirely sure about all the patterning in the hat as shown in my sketch, so I may simplify it somewhat. What usually happens is the hat kind of tells me what it wants to be as I go along, but it helps to have an idea to look at.

Neat Cast On
I want to share with you a little trick for how I do a cast on when I want to make sure the edge is really tidy. I use the smallest size DPN I have and lay it alongside the needle I am casting onto. Then I snug the cast on stitches down quite tight around both needles. Then when I'm done casting on, I just remove the smaller needle. Works like a charm!

Ta da! Nice and neat cast on edge and plenty of room to work into the first row.

Just One More...

The day before my friend's baby shower, I experienced an overwhelming desire to make another pair of booties to match the pink hat, even though I'd already knitted a pair of booties to go with it. I found this free pattern, 'Saartje's Booties,' and thought they were cuter than cute, so I downloaded the pattern and made a pair in pink.

They look like they would stay on pretty well, which is always a concern when making booties...as babies are pretty much always moving their feet.

The lichens on the wall in this picture is also proof positive that I live in a city that has ultra clean air. Yeah for Christchurch, New Zealand!

Nature's Delights

2010-05-08T16:32:00.000+12:00

Just appreciating nature today. I whacked the end off a rather giant celery and was taken by the loveliness of the design that resulted.

Also walking in Lyttelton this morning, found a fuschia bush quite unlike any I've ever seen. The flowers are so delicate; I call it the 'fairy fuschia.'

It's been a lovely birthday so far. Lots of wishes from friends and family in far off places and a fun morning going to the market and shopping in Lyttelton with a friend. Unexpected present and lunch. A celebratory Kiwi trifle (with candle) and presents from my husband. A fragrant little package in the mail from a friend in Wellington. I think I need a nap!

Oh Yummy!

2010-05-05T22:09:00.001+12:00

Nothing more delicious than new yarn. This pile of lusciousness just came in the mail today. It's all Cascade 220, which I just scored off the Webs website (www.yarn.com) for $5 a skein (normally $7). Not sure how long it's on sale, but I checked tonight and it's still at that price. Cascade 220 is just a nice, basic, all-purpose, affordable wool yarn that comes in a kazillion colors and felts REALLY well...and it's quite soft too.

The colors may seem somewhat random, but I actually have two projects in mind for all these skeins. When I will find the time to actually sit down and make those projects is another matter entirely.

This is in addition to the 40 balls of yarn I purchased on sale last weekend...enough to make two sweaters. I already have the patterns picked out and downloaded...and so the yarn and patterns sit, waiting patiently until the day I ~~find~~ make the time.

So all in all, I'm about 7 projects deep at this very moment. But hey, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cascade also comes in 'paints.' Here is a color called 'Thunder.' It's gorgeous. My photo doesn't do it justice, so here's the one off the website...

I think I will make another pair of those French Press Felted Slippers with this yarn. It will pretty much match 50% of my wardrobe. The green ones I made match another 40% of my wardrobe and if I get ambitious, I will make a red pair that will match the remaining 10%. But let's be rational.

Currently...

I am testing my baby parka pattern, by knitting another of the 3 sizes offered in the pattern. I bought the cheapest yarn I could get at the local yarn store, which is still a nice 100% New Zealand wool yarn in a vibrant 'Superman' blue. I am just making sure the pattern makes sense in all the sizes represented.

Double the Cuteness

2010-04-30T17:10:00.000+12:00

The first set of baby boy cuteness is done! Followed closely by a large dose of baby girl cuteness.

I finished this hat in about two days. I think my knitting is getting a lot faster. It's basically the same as the blue hat except it has this cool braided thing on the top and bottom of the snowflake pattern and I embroidered little french knots and additional snowflakes to tie it all together. It has a tiny little purple 'sprig' at the top but hard to see in this photo.

Then of course the booties needed a little bit of something to tie them to the hat. It's a lot more pink than I anticipated but how can you go wrong with pink and baby girls?

I thought the boy's hat needed a little something more, so I added a braided tassel. Very easy to do this.

Just cut some lengths of yarn about 14" long and with a yarn needle, pull each color through the top so that the yarn is folded in half. Usually there are about 6 or 7 stitches at the very top of a hat where the last stitches were pulled together. I secure each color of the tassel yarns through 2-3 of these top stitches.

Here I cut 3 lengths of 3 colors. Neatly braid the three colors about 1.5 inches longer than where you want the knot to be.

Make an overhand knot at the end of the braided section so that the knot itself is made up of the braided yarns. Snug that knot down to where you want it.

Trim the ends to desired length.

In other news, I had fun with the ladies at the Knit World knitting group yesterday. There was a new woman from Egypt, just learning to knit and a hearing impaired woman whom I stuck up a short notepad conversation with. A lovely older lady named Pauline has knitted for years but never on DPN's so I'm going to show her how next week. I showed everyone my booties and hat and it was nice to get some feedback. Lots of oooohs and ahhhhs and howcutes.

I think in general -- from my observations -- most New Zealand knitters seem to knit from patterns and on straight needles. I think I'm the only one I've seen so far using DPN's. And of course I like to make things up. There is something to say for following a pattern though...you don't have to think too much about what you're doing and it all comes out wonderfully. It's just interesting to note that I've gotten to the point where I can make modifications. It wasn't too many years ago that I didn't know much past knit and purl.

Now the inevitable lull that comes after finishing a project and wondering what will I do next? Seems I can't let too much time go by without the needles in hand.

Isaac's Hat

2010-04-27T20:11:00.000+12:00

Making progress on a little hat for Isaac. It coordinates with the little booties I just made.

Issac doesn't have hair yet, but if he's anything like his older brother, he'll be a red on top. He has blue eyes so I think these colors will look fantastic on him.

The other night when I was visiting, Isaac did the funniest thing. When I picked him up, he opened his toothless mouth and laughed as if I was the funniest thing he ever saw. This is pretty interesting behavior coming from a fella who's just a couple months old. It made quite an impression on me.

I figured this pattern out myself, using basic snowflake pattern from Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting. I'll probably find some soft fabric to line it with as the yarn is not as soft as I would like for a baby.

Show Me Your Bootie

2010-04-25T10:38:00.005+12:00

Been shakin' booties for the last few days, so to speak. They are great fun and fast to knit. I'm playing catch-up with a friend who's had her new boy for a couple months now and there's another friend with a girl due any day. I found this pattern for Gansey booties free from Knitting Pattern Central on the web. But of course I had to change a couple of things...

On the purple booties, which are for the little girl, I added a girlie finish to the cuff. You can do this stitch as a cast-off for any number of even stitches. I adapted it from a book of knitted edgings that I had, but modified it slightly.

On the teal bootie, I changed the pattern on the top slightly. For both booties, I used KnitPicks Swish worsted in Indigo Heather and (I think) Marine Heather. Great colors and very soft. It's much softer than Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted. And the other good thing about Swish, is it is essentially the same yarn as the KnitPicks 'Bare' Superwash Merino yarn that you can use to dye your own. Last winter, I dyed up a bunch of the Bare yarn, then ordered the Swish to use with it. Looks great together. And machine washable.

Instructions for dainty bobbled edge:

At start of cast off row:
*k1, but don't slip stitch off the L needle. Instead, place loop back on to L needle. One new stitch created.
Put your R needle in between the two stitches on L needle. Draw loop through as if you are knitting and place this loop also on the L needle. Now you have created 2 new stitches next to the first stitch (group of 3 stitches).*

k2 and pass the first st over the second st on the R needle (you have cast off one st).
k1 and pass the first st over the second st on the R needle (you have now cast off two). You will have one st remaining on the R needle.
k the next st and pass the first st over the second st on the R needle. One st remains on R needle.

Repeat from * to *.
k1, cast off 1 on R needle as before. Repeat 3 more times.
Repeat the last two lines above until all stitches have been cast off. Cut yarn and weave in.

Now I'm on to knitting a couple of coordinating hats to match the booties.

I also finished the scarf I was working on. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, some projects just don't go as well as you'd like. I love the cabled pattern I chose for the scarf, but I ended up running out of one of the yarns a little early, so the scarf ended up a little shorter than I would have liked. It is still really pretty and will look awesome wrapped around and tucked into a jacket or coat. The colors are lovely.

Frustration

2010-04-19T12:25:00.004+12:00

So I decided on a new pattern for my scarf, one that would show off the yarn and I came up with this cable pattern that's pretty simple, or so I thought. I got this far as of last night, only to discover with some horror that I've made an error way far back in the knitting, where I crissed when I should have crossed.
You can see that this elongated section of the pattern does not match the ones below it. My first thought was to continue thinking 'no one will notice but you,' but I will always know it's there and it will bother me, so I must rip it back and correct it.

I like the pattern. It's a bit bulkier, but I think with a nice fringe on it, it will look great when it's done.

This IS quite frustrating for me as it's tough to rip out when you are using three yarns. They twist and tangle and generally try one's patience. So I might have to do this in stages. But I am determined to get this right.

@Stacie: thanks for your suggestion! I had thought of that, but decided to do something really different instead. Perhaps I should have stuck with your simpler idea!

Shaky Start on the Winter Scarf

2010-04-18T12:23:00.004+12:00

While on my last trip to the U.S., I picked up these wonderful yarns from a little shop in Escondido, California called Black Sheep Yarn. They have an amazing collection of specialty yarns, felting supplies and unique fibers, as well as all the regular yarns we know and love, plus the entire collection of Jacquard acid dyes (which are awesome for dyeing yarn).

The idea I had was to knit these three yarns together into a gorgeous winter scarf. And if I had enough left over, a hat to match.

Funny thing about this is that I have to knit this project with latex gloves on. Yep, that's right. I have some dry patches on my hands that don't seem to improve much even with lotion, and the tiny dry parts of the skin 'catch' and stick to the yarn. Very annoying indeed. So I found that knitting with gloves on solves that problem...and it doesn't molest the yarn too much.

So, the first time I cast on, I got about 4-5 rows into it and decided it was too wide, so I ripped it out and started again with less stitches.

As I was knitting, I have to say I'm completely enthralled by this ribbon yarn. It's from Italy, but distributed by Trendsetter Yarns. It's called 'Segue.' It has all these wonderful colors that suit me to a tee...dusky rose, shimmering cream, browny-gold, light and dark greys, and the palest of lavender. I imagined throwing out all my clothes and having an entire wardrobe made of just these colors. What a vision!

The thicker cream colored yarn is Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran, an incredibly soft blend which I thought would add warmth to the scarf. And the other thinner one is this really cool yarn from Berroco called Bonsai, a bamboo and nylon mix and adds just a further dimension of subtle sparkle.

The second time I cast on, I liked the width and the way it looked, but after knitting about 5-6 inches, I realized the edges of the scarf are rolling, as is normal for stockinette stitch, but I thought (fantasized) with the three yarns knitted together, it might decide it would lie flat. Wrong. It wants to roll in. I don't want it to. So now I have to think of a stitch that will lie flat...or knit this in the round and flatten the ends for the scarf. Only problem is, I don't have double-pointed needles this big. So I'd have to go and buy those and who knows if I could find them here. And the scarf would be twice as heavy if I did it in the round. It's already dense and heavy enough with all the yarn in it.

So, today I'll research a stitch, such as moss stitch, that I know will lie flat like a scarf should. Third time's a charm right? Any suggestions on the stitch?

Rolling in...achhh! Works GREAT for hat brims but not my idea of how a scarf should behave.

Cozy Toes

2010-04-13T12:42:00.004+12:00

Too cute! I just finished these felted slippers from French Press Knits. I was inspired by two things: 1) The Yarn Harlot had made them and 2) It's starting to get a bit chillier here in New Zealand as winter approaches.

I got the yarn on the north island while traveling. It's from Creative Fibre in Tauranga, New Zealand. The color is called 'Fern' and is inspired by the 'Ponga,' a native New Zealand tree fern. It is an '8-ply' yarn which works out to be similar to worsted weight.

The buttons are made from 'Paua' shell, the New Zealand Maori word for a shellfish similar to Abalone.

These cute slippers are a pretty fast knit as you use big U.S. 15 needles and worsted-weight wool yarn. The Yarn Harlot says you can knit them in 90 minutes. I'm not sure about that -- but I should time myself if I make a second pair (and I JUST MIGHT!). You knit 2 or 3 strands together to get a denser felt on the finished product. The pattern calls for 150 grams of yarn, but I made the largest size (9/10) and weighed all the pieces on my digital scale and it only weighed 115 grams before felting...so 120 grams would cover it for the largest size, but I guess it depends on the kind of yarn you are using as well. Probably best to go with what the pattern says, just in case.

I have been forming a relationship with my front loading washer in order to figure out the best way to felt. It's going well. We are bonding. I discovered yesterday that the hot water does not enter into the washer until at least 20 minutes into the cycle. So I leave my stuff in there for 30-35 minutes to start. Then I stop it, drain the machine, check the work and repeat for another 30 minutes if it needs it. My washer won't let me stop mid-way in the cycle...the door stays locked until I drain the washer, then I need to reset the whole thing and start the cycle over again from the beginning. Kind of a pain...but it's working.

Adventures in Felting - Part I

2010-03-28T12:58:00.005+13:00

Working on my next project now, a zippered, felted bag using Lamb's Pride worsted wool. For those of you that felt, you know that having a front-loading washing machine presents a bit of a challenge as most front-loaders don't allow you to stop the machine mid-cycle (thus controlling the felting process).

So I decided to approach this on a very scientific level and do some tests. I knitted up some swatches in different colors using stockinette stitch, using various needle sizes, then put my swatches in a pillow case (as has been suggested), put in a tablespoon of shampoo and 1/2 cup of white vinegar, then put it on the hottest setting and ran the cycle.

This is what came out.

Each swatch was crumpled up in a little ball initially. This is how it looked after flattening it out the best I could. Also, because each swatch was knit in stockinette, the edges naturally tended to curl, so the curled edge actually bonded to the main part of the swatch, creating a overly-thick edge. You can see this best on the top of the medium and navy blue swatches.

I'm not really happy with this first test. The felting seems irregular and lumpy. I wonder if this is because of the pillow case. Maybe the pillow case works best for larger items...or in a top loading machine. Next test I will try letting them float around inside the machine without hindrance. The other thing I will try is putting a few stitches/rows of garter stitch around all four edges to see if that doesn't cure the curling problem.

I also found it fascinating that the white tube swatch did a couple of things. Well, first it turned grey (duh) from being surrounded by it's blue-tinged buddies. And it didn't felt...just maybe got just marginally more fuzzy. So this little thing in my brain clicks and I just feel like someone has told me this before...that this white yarn doesn't felt. Can't remember who said it or if I read it somewhere, but whatever. The tube is the same exact size as before the wash and the other swatches shrank close to 50%. So, note to self and anyone else using Lamb's Pride wool to felt...not the best results with the pure white.

So on to Test #2.

Y.A.E.

2010-03-27T16:04:00.004+13:00

Your first modeling gig young Isaac! Thank you for letting us pull at your little limbs as we coaxed you into the little red parka, made silly noises and faces, pointed strange electronic contraptions at you, then gazed at you in wonderment at how cute you are. You are a patient soul.

It's all good news. The baby parka fits an actual baby. It's funny, but I was secretly dreading that after all that work, it somehow wouldn't fit. It looked too small for anyone to wear. Cute as! And the hood comes down if baby wants his noggin' to get some sunshine.

A true Y.A.E! (Young Antarctic Explorer!)

Little Red

2010-03-25T13:39:00.006+13:00

On the Ice, we sometimes refer to our parkas as 'Big Red.' Here's a few at work profiling a crack in sea ice.

Big Red...

...Little Red. Ta da!

It's complete with name tag embroidered onto white felt. This could say anything...the kids name, 'little red,' 'ice, ice baby' or whatever.

What parka would be complete without the 'Hoffman Patch?' It's the semi-official name for that rectangle of reflective material (3M makes it) on the back of parkas. It's called Hoffman because years ago the parkas didn't have the reflective patch on the back. During the Antarctic winter when it's dark 24/7, it could be darn difficult to see people wandering around town. Sure enough a guy named Hoffman got hit by a truck and broke his leg. After that, the reflective patches appeared on the backs.

Now you'll never lose your kid in the dark. Or you could hold junior up in the air and use for an emergency beacon!

This came out great. I'm very happy with it. Now the true test is to have a wee one model it, and I have just the tyke in mind; my friend's bub Isaac. He's brand new. Hopefully this will fit him since I kind of made up this pattern loosely based on another pattern. I'll post photos when I get them.

Getting There

2010-03-18T22:46:00.005+13:00

I spent a good portion of today finishing the hood, adding the faux fur edge and getting the lining ready to install. It's looking more like a mini parka every day! Here's the lining pinned into the body and the hood. Just a tiny bit of trimming here and there and all I have to do is sew it in, and the zipper which I might have to run out and buy.

Once it's done, the last thing to do is test the fit on a suitable subject. My friend Vanessa just had a wee one called Isaac about a month or so ago, so he'll be perfect. Can't wait to see it modeled!

Should have the finishing touches done in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Lamb's Pride Joy

2010-03-16T12:53:00.004+13:00

Oh the joys of new yarn! I ordered this armful for a special felting project and it is with such delight that I realize the colors are exactly what I wanted. That yarn that looks black is actually a deep, royal blue.

A lot of people love Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted wool. It is 85% wool and 15% mohair and comes in a huge range of colors and is great for felting. It's lovely to knit too...it just has a nice feeling in the hands as you knit it and the stitch definition is really nice too. I buy my Lamb's Pride from Paradise Fibers. They have all the colors and ship internationally. You can also go to the Brown Sheep website -- they don't sell their yarn online -- but you can use the website for color comparison and to see the full range of yarns they offer.

I'm doubly excited to receive the Lamb's Pride color charts. Now I know exactly what colors there are and what they look like. No more guessing from the computer screen.

I see they have a range of yarns (right hand column of the right hand color chart) that have slight variations in color. They are just gorgeous! (They have separated each color with a line of black yarn.)

Why am I so excited about yarn? and knitting? I have no idea. I guess I just love color and I love doing something with my hands. And making something useful. It's all mixed up in a big ball of fun for me.

Arggggh!

2010-03-16T00:00:00.001+13:00

I finished the hood and it was oh-so-cute!!

Only too small.

So I cut, and ripped and ripped and ripped. Alllll the way back to the beginning of the hood.

Starting over. It was painful, but I'm back on track.

Argggggh!

Shoulders, Sleeves and Hood

2010-03-13T12:18:00.005+13:00

Little setbacks and a lot of progress and the baby parka is coming right along.

Here I have attached the back piece and the front piece at the shoulders using a great technique called '3 Needle Bind-Off.' It creates a very flat and tidy seam using two pieces that have open stitches at the top.

As you can see at the bottom of the photo, I have picked up some stitches on the side and have started one sleeve. I knit that out to about 5 or 6 inches then seamed up the side edges of the front and back together, then under the armpit and down the sleeve.

Close-up of picked-up sleeve stitches

As of last night, I have finished both sleeves and sewn the seam up the sides, under the armpit and down the sleeves. I had completed one sleeve when I discovered I had made a mistake in my math and made the sleeve too narrow. So I had to unravel it and start over. I don't like the feeling of going backwards in knitting, but sometimes it is necessary. The good thing is now I can count rows accurately and know exactly where I am when I rip out stitches and have to start over.

I picked up stitches around the neck, increased slightly and am now well into knitting the hood. It is interesting to me that if I were to cast off right now, I'd have a very cute sweater that has a cute little fold-over collar. So simple! Funny thing is, I have trouble thinking in 3-D so a lot of times I discover things in the process of knitting. If I were to try and figure out that collar without stumbling upon it while knitting, it would be very difficult for me.

It's starting to look like a bonafide garment now. Something wearable by someone. Albiet someone very leeetle.

Baby Parka Progress

2010-03-07T10:29:00.005+13:00

Here's the progress so far. I've knitted the back and one complete front side. Still working on the other front side. The color in this photo is a little bit off because the yarn has such a nice sheen. It almost looks like a deep pink, but it's actually a very nice shade of red. I can't believe how fast this sweater is going...babies are quite small and knitting stuff for them is fun as the projects shape up very quickly.

The yellow yarns are simply holding stitches that will be used later on (instead of binding off).

I tried the Lamb's Pride yarn as a possible alternative, and although it's a nice thick weight, it is 100% wool and not machine washable. I worried that the sweater would mistakenly be thrown in with the rest of the wash and it would be ruined. New Mom's have more important things to do than worry about the special washing instructions for one particular piece of clothing. 100% wool will shrink and start felting when put into a washing machine. So I've decided to stick with the Cashmerino. I've started thoughts about lining it with a nice fleece which would give the parka some body.

I have so many other projects in my mind at the moment, but they will have to wait. I have an awesome skein of bamboo sock yarn I bought in Hawera when I was there recently. I have a pattern for a pair of felted slippers I've wanted to try. I bought this amazing collection of yarns including a beautiful ribbon yarn in San Diego when I was there that's going to be knit together to create my winter scarf.

This bamboo sock yarn is titled appropriately. It is so soft and the colors represent most everything in my wardrobe.

This is a hand-dyed yarn from the north island, New Zealand, appropriately called "fern." It is a giant ball and I can make many things from it. It would be great for felting.

Making Stuff Up

2010-03-06T09:55:00.005+13:00

My next project is a baby sweater that looks like one of the U.S. Antarctic Program parkas. I purchased a lovely Debbie Bliss merino wool and cashmere blend yarn ("Cashmerino") in the appropriate shade of red. I am using an existing pattern from a book of baby stuff as a guide. Ultimately, the 'parka' will have a faux fur trim on the hoodie and zip up the front. I may or may not add the reflective patch on the back, but it would be an nice touch for authenticity.

Here's me in a USAP parka:

Here's a drawing of my idea:

Except it will be a zip-up instead of buttons and I may leave off the fur on the sleeves, but it does look kind of cute that way (with the fur). Would be cute to put on a white name badge like the real parka and embroider the word "baby" on it or something. People could personalize their own baby parkas by embroidering their baby's name on it. Cool. I just thought of this while I was typing.

Creating a pattern like this is a challenge for me. I have only knit one sweater in my time successfully, although I'd like to do more eventually.

I knitted some swatches to get a gauge and have started knitting the back of the sweater. After about 30 rows, I am starting to feel that the yarn might not be heavy enough to give the feeling of a parka. But with babies, it seems important to use a very soft yarn. Maybe not even so much for the baby's sake, but for the mother's, ha ha. This yarn I am using is very soft and has a nice drape -- great for a sweater -- but maybe not so great for a parka.

I have another yarn I can try -- Lamb's Pride worsted in a similar red. But I reckon a baby parka made from that would have to be lined as the Lamb's Pride is not as soft. Not impossible certainly. I may knit up a swatch of that to see how it feels in my hand.

My needles are calling...

I Heart Noggin' Warmers

2010-03-04T19:55:00.010+13:00

I love making hats! They are the perfect project for me -- just enough room to be creative -- yet they only take a few days each to make. And the result is something fun and very useful, especially for those in colder climates. Antarctica is such a climate and I've sent 10 of my hats down to the Ice this winter for folks to purchase. The nice thing about my hats is that they are all lined with windblock fleece, for add added layer of warmth and comfort. Here's a few of the ones I sent down:

This hat is made from all the bits of leftover hand-dyed that I had lying around. Stripes are FUN!
I found a wonderful knitting book at Barnes and Nobles when I was in California, called 'The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques,' by Margaret Radcliffe. In this book are wonderful new patterns and ways to use color including these fun ovals. I added bobbles to the top for texture.
This is a Parka Hat. It is red, like the parkas the U.S. Antarctic Program issues to their employees. And it has a reflective patch on it, just like the backs of the parkas. The reflective patch on the parkas is to increase visibility of people walking around town, especially in winter when it's dark and when blowing snow can make spotting people difficult. Years ago, someone was hit by a vehicle, breaking their leg and that prompted the "Hoffman Patch" to be put on all issue parkas. So this hat mimics the parkas and the patch is worn to the back. It's made with Lamb's Pride worsted.

I had a bunch of brightly-colored Icelandic wool in my stash so I created this fun hat, just playing with intarsia and having a ball. The wool is so thick and warm, but a little scratchy, so like the others, this hat is lined with windblock fleece.

I'm really happy with how this black hat came out.

I used another technique from the book I mentioned before in this post...it looks like chains and it's SO easy! I used some more of my hand-dyed scraps to make the three chain rows and the very top of the hat, and Cascade for the main color of the hat. It's just a sharp looking hat I think. Great fit, looks good and just the right amount of pointy-ness on top. I think this hat would suit men and women both.

Here's an inside view of the lining...

Even though it is the first days of autumn here in New Zealand, summer feels like it wants to stay for a while. The past week the weather has been brilliant; warm and sunny with the clear air full of fun and promise. I hope it stays like this for a while. It's only a matter of time before things get really chilly here which, now that I think of it, will be an EXCELLENT excuse to knit and wear more hats, socks, scarves and things!

Street Hat

2010-01-05T14:26:00.004+13:00

I finished another granny square hat last week. The colors are a bit muted, but I like it. Kind of reminds me of street colors...asphalt and metal. Made with Japanese Noro Silk Garden yarn and hand-dyed wool that I made last winter in Antarctica. Fully lined with windblock fleece for warmth. This one will probably go to the ice to be sold this winter.

Then in a mad rush of knitting addiction, I finished this hat tonight.

This is a much different style than I usually do, but I was inspired by a new book I just received about Fair Isle knitting. Fair Isle knitting is famous for its intricate patterns and unique color schemes. I had a bunch of Icelandic wool in my stash that was all about the same weight, so came up with this fun hat, which is seen here blocking happily. I will put a windblock lining in this one as well. I think it's just necessary for a properly warm and functional knitted hat.

I'm really quite fond of the outcome. So festive!

A parting shot of Murphy the Cat. The coolest cat in the world. She's tiny, about half the size of a regular cat, but makes up for it with a huge personality, which is obvious in this photo of her loving my leg.

Antz and I are heading for California on Monday, so may or may not get to the blog, but I have a new handy pocket-sized camera that S-antz-A Claus got me for Christmas, so there's no real reason why I can't. I plan on buying yarn for upcoming projects and doing some serious shopping for things to bring back to New Zealand...things I can't get here (or at least don't know where to find them). Things like my favorite cinnamon dental floss, cans of green chilies and Jello pudding mix.

Small World

2010-01-03T18:26:00.002+13:00

I am kicking myself for not taking a photo of today's Small World Event, but I guess words will have to suffice.

My Mom and I went to the Art Centre in downtown Christchurch today for their weekend Art Fair and firstly, I got a parking spot on Worchester Street, which is like, right next to the Art Centre. For those who know the city, it's practically impossible to get a spot on this street. We conjured Mother Boniface, the Patroness of parking spaces and she came through for us YET AGAIN. Mother Boniface rocks!

Anyway, after paying the pay and display parking fee, I told my mother that I just KNEW I would run into someone I know at the fair. Just a feeling, ya know. Hours later, we had just finished our souvlaki and were getting ready to leave when who do I run into, but Lisa-Jane Harvey! I just posted about her in my last post about the lampwork gallery showing in Akaroa a couple of days ago. She is the bead artist that I took a weekend course from in Auckland a couple of years ago. She taught me how to do it. Such a small world! She lives in Auckland but is just tiki-touring around the South Island with some family. She was only to be in ChCh one day, today, and we ran into each other. We made quite a scene amongst the crowds; high-pitched squealing and jumping up and down. I am certain people were staring. But oh well, life is all about the cool things that happen and that is something to get excited about.

There you go. It's a Small World after all.

The Story of Mother Boniface (except from this link)

One morning, we left the Cenacle at Wynnefield Avenue, Philadelphia, to make our rounds with the banks. We lost everything in the fire at Holy Trinity, except the debt. Mother Boniface, a small town country school teacher, now had to go from bank to bank, looking for credit. Depositing here, only to cash at another bank; establishing credit because our limited lease and temporary shelter would soon be up. She got out and told me to go around the block; she wouldn't be long. I went around once and the second time she was waiting. When she got in the car, I said, "Mother, you can't go around a block in Philadelphia; you have to go around four blocks; they call it a Square; they are all one way streets. Patting my leg, she said laughing: "Francis Damien, when I get to Heaven, I am going to be the Patroness of Parking. We do already have a Patron for Drivers, but they have no idea what it is like down here, and you remember that. It was August, 1931, and in November, she was dead at forty-six. [end excerpt]

All you have to do is ask Mother Boniface for help with a parking space. And don't forget to thank her!

New Zealand Glass Artists Exhibit in Akaroa

2010-01-02T18:02:00.013+13:00

The beach at Akaroa

Yesterday, on New Year's Day, we packed into the car and drove to Akaroa, a tiny seaside town just about an hour and a half's drive from Christchurch. Under blue summer skies, we drove through long stretches of pasture country and sun-bronzed hills.

Akaroa is a quaint and colorful town with a obvious French influence having been settled by French immigrants long ago. Charming old houses line the hillsides, some almost completely overrun by prolific gardens in full bloom. Street names are all in French. Akaroa is situated on the edge of an extinct volcanic crater that makes up the Banks Peninsula. The Pacific Ocean invades the crater from the East, creating a calm and breathtaking body of water. It's one of my favorite places to go.

View of Akaroa Harbour

Charming Akaroa Home

My friends Kay Butler and Lisa-Jane Harvey, with support from the NZGBA (New Zealand Glass Bead Artists) organized a glass artists exhibition at a well-known local art spot in Akaroa, the Andrew Firth Gallery. Andrew himself specializes in glass art and creates some of the most wonderfully executed and graceful glass sculptures and pendants I've seen. Many of the artists are into lampwork, which is creating art beads by melting colored glass rods in a torch flame.

Andrew Firth (far right)

A couple of years ago I took a weekend lampwork course from Lisa-Jane Harvey and met Kay Butler through her. It was a wonderful weekend exploring an exciting new art and I came away with a long string of my fledgling attempt beads. See post.

Kay Butler with her jewelery (in glass case at eye level)

The New Zealand artists represented in this exhibit were: Kay Butler, Andrew Firth, Frances and John Hansen, Lisa-Jane Harvey, Karen Irwin, Justine McInally, Karen Mitchell, Helen Moore, Selma Rainey and Greg Smith.

It was exciting to see what everyone has been up to. I was impressed with how Kay's work has progressed from when I first met her. She had a few lovely necklaces on display and she called me up today to say that she had sold two of them! How exciting! It's always very gratifying when someone loves your work so much, they simply have to have it.

New Zealand still has a comparatively small lampwork artist community. But it is growing. Annie Rose in Whangarei and Lisa-Jane Harvey's studio in Auckland 'Born to Bead,' provide wonderful opportunities for people to learn this exciting art.

Kay (left) and my Mom, Ginny (visiting from California). Ginny is a glass artist in her own right, making stunning jewelery with Dichroic glass and beads.

After looking at everything and having some champagne and nibbles, my Mom, Antz and I went on to explore the area a little bit, enjoying some fun little shops and having a lovely lunch by the shore with a nice breeze cooling off the hot afternoon. It was unseasonably hot yesterday (about 90 degrees F and over 30 degrees C) and without air conditioning in the car, it made for a toasty trip. We had all the windows open, hair blowing every which way, my hand 'porpoising' out the front window. Perfect summer day!

Christmas Presence

2009-12-22T16:41:00.007+13:00

I completed a collage artwork today that is a gift for my Mom for Christmas. She arrived today from California after 22 hours of traveling. It is good to have her here. When you live in another country, there is nothing quite like having your Mom visit your home for the first time. There is a sense of complete-ness about it.

Anyway, I have been thinking about trying collage for some time now. I am particularly inspired by the woman who created Art Chix Studio, an online store for collage art. The images are so rich, compelling and creative. With her blog, My Artistic Life, she encourages others to create by giving instruction and art challenges. People send her photos of their creations and her cats pick the winners.

So, I must admit I was a little intimidated by the process. My art is usually based on precision, so to just let loose and slap some stuff down on the paper is a bit scary to be honest. I decided to mimic one of her projects that she did recently, just as a place to start...the circle background. But the rest is all ME. I used a photo of my mother as a wee baby, all dressed up to go out in the snow (she was born in Maine). I started my project at 1030 at night...not the best time to start, but when the creative urge strikes, it's best not to get in the way.

In a word, I had FUN. I tried not to let my brain get in the way, but just let it flow and played with the colors and the paper and the paint. I am really happy with the result and I'm sure my Mom will love it too. It's framed, wrapped and under the tree.

I also finished knitting a pair of socks, also for my Mom. They are made from Noro Silk Garden Chunky and I had to look hard to find a pattern that works for chunky yarn, but I found one and adapted it slightly. I'm not wild about this colorway, but they do contain a lot of colors. And they are BIG socks (affectionately knicknamed "Godzilla Socks"). Big and cozy. She could even wear them over another pair of socks. But since her feet get cold easily, I figure she will find good use for them.

Here they are blocking in the sun...
Now my Christmas preparations are all DONE. I can just sit back and enjoy the season.

Sea Tree

2009-12-17T01:07:00.003+13:00

The Sea Tree looks magical. I feel a little sad that the tree has to die though. Thank you Tree.

Sparkly Sea Shells

2009-12-15T11:45:00.006+13:00

After gathering some shells off the beach near our house, I painted them with white acrylic paint, then dusted them with silver holographic glitter and let them dry. Then I cut some small lengths of silver tiger tail (but anything like ribbon would work) and glued a loop to the back with a hot glue gun. I made about 18 of them for the tree.

This is the best photo I took, but is only about 30% of how the sparkly-ness appears to my eye. It's hard to capture just how sparkly these shells are. The holographic glitter has all the colors of the rainbow in it and the sparkle seems to be more intense at night, with just ambient lighting in the house. So I'm just imagining these babies on the tree with the tinsel and fairy lights. Oh!

We are going to get our tree today...so excited! I can't wait to see the sea fantasy tree come to life.

A Star is Born

2009-11-30T13:59:00.002+13:00

Using the same technique as the seahorse, I made some starfish.

Rainy day in Christchurch. Perfect for catching up on indoor pursuits. Many things to do and Christmas is right around the corner.

The Blogger Returneth

2009-11-26T23:06:00.011+13:00

Yes, I'm sloggin' back to bloggin' after a very long hiatus. I have nothing to say in my defense except maybe I was just too busy while I was in Antarctica for 8 months. And maybe on some level I was just ignoring that I was actually there. After eight winters and many summers on the ice -- and as amazing as Antarctic is -- I had just had enough...and this was how I felt BEFORE I started last winter. I was conscious that I wasn't fully participating in my life down there, even though everything went really smoothly despite me.

In my off time down on the frozen continent, I must say I did do a lot of creative stuff. I was involved in several tie dye sessions and I taught myself how to dye yarn (jaquard dyes and bare yarn from Knitpicks.com). I knitted all the time (keeping stir craziness and general garden-variety insanity at bay) and made heaps of hats and part of a sweater, and socks and gloves too.

Now I'm back in New Zealand and I really appreciate all the things that the big world out here has to offer. Sunshine is a good one (try being without the sun for four solid months). Flowers are nice too. And rain. And the beach. And being able to eat any food I want whenever I want. And I never get tired of waking up when I want to. Anthony and I are taking a year off...or as long as we can while the money holds out.

Big Secret
Anthony is working on his film (www.frozensouth.com) and I have a project of my own. I started to write all about it and then I deleted it. There's this voice in the back of my head that wonders if I write about it and people know about it, and then something happens and it doesn't get finished, will I feel like a big failure? I could just say it's a big surprise and I'll reveal it to the world when the project bears fruit, but we'd all really know I'm just afraid of failure. It's an artist thing. Well it's a slightly inhibited, insecure artist thing.

I haven't decided if I want to talk about it yet, and I may not ever, but then again I might get a wild hair sometime and spill the beans. I always thought it was a good thing to do something and talk about it after you've done it (this worked very well for my first skydiving adventure and climbing Mt. Whitney). But for now, let's just say that it's a great project, and I'm collaborating with two terrificly talented women and it's good for me to have something to focus on during my spell of unemployment and if all goes well, it could be a doorway into have a creative life that I can actually pay some bills with. Wish us luck.

Christmas Ornament Challenge

So the last day or so I've been in the midst of a creative burst that gets me closer to my goal of making all my own Christmas ornaments this year from stuff I have laying around the house (no buying of any supplies allowed). We are having Christmas at home (being our house in Christchurch) this year and since this is the first time we've done this, we have very little in the way of ornaments and decorations.

So I had an idea for a "by the sea" themed Christmas tree. The first ornaments are seahorses. I found an image on Google images, then laid it out on the computer so there were 5 left facing seahorses and 5 right facing seahorses (so my ornaments could have two sides).

I printed it out onto some special transfer paper for injet printers. This stuff is cool!

Then I trimmed each seahorse close to the image.

Then ironed each image onto pieces of muslin and peeled off the backing when it was cool.

Then layered a piece of thick poly batting between a seahorse front and a seahorse back.

Lined it all up, then stitched around the edge with quilting thread.

Then, with scissors, trimmed each one about 1/8" outside the stitching. Leaving the edges raw for a handmade, old-fashioney look.

Then I painted parts of the seahorses with Sparkle Mod Podge (can get this at most craft stores like Michaels). It's kind of like glitter glue. Dries clear.

Then I used my Bejeweler Pro and some hot fix Swarovski crystals that I bought last year to put crystal eyes on the seahorses. Then affixed a hanging loop and voila! 5 pretty horses for our tree! Next, starfishes...or maybe minnows. Haven't decided yet.

Oh, the only thing I am allowed to buy are the twinkle lights.

I am really amazed at how many craft supplies I have in my possession. But this is a really wonderful thing, because it is all there at my fingertips and I can just boldly go into any creative project. To be happy, Creatives need to have lots of creative stuff around them. It's like water to fishies.

I'll try not to let a year go by before my next post.

Ain't it True?

2009-01-07T23:10:00.003+13:00

Thank you to my friend Shandra for sending me this cartoon...

...and this GORGEOUS SCARF. This photo does not do it justice. It looks like sparkling gems in the colors of peacock feathers. I am so lucky.

I'm back!

2008-12-08T13:31:00.028+13:00

Building 155 icicles, McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

I'm back in New Zealand after a 2+ month contract working down at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Just so you don't think I took a vacation from blogging instead of working at a remote Antarctic research station, here's this photo.

I was busy down there, and I mean busy. I really, honestly didn't have the time to update my blog. I often worked late and the last thing I wanted to do after being in front of a computer all day, was to be in front of a computer doing anything, including updating the blog. So I hope you can understand this lapse.

Blogging seems to be a big commitment, doesn't it? I like sharing my life, but I know there will be times when I may not be communicative. I just blame it on being human; or perhaps a mercurial artist. I don't always like the idea of sitting in front of a computer all day, when there's so much other cool stuff to do.

When I showed up on the white continent, I was reunited with my darling Anthony who sported 8 months of impressive beard and hair growth, the result of The Company not having hired a hairdresser for the long dark season. Click here to see.

My time on the ice was productive and fun too. I got to spend time with good friends, even made some new friends and did a lot of knitting. I finished several hats, including this hat I designed for myself. I used Excel to map out the leaf pattern and threw in a few bobbles, some decorative braids and a tassle complete with a hand-knitted leaf.

Best part was I used up bits and pieces of yarn I already had.

This morning dawned grey and overcast and now it has broken into rain, which turns my mood into a happy one. I'm not sure why rain makes me feel so good. Maybe it's the idea that not much is expected of you on a rainy day and it gives you license to do something fun and not necessarily all that productive. Or you can just curl up with a good book or movie and not feel the least bit bad about it.

It also feels wonderful to have gotten all the laundry off the line before the rain started up!

Fiordlands, New Zealand

Anthony and I just returned from a week-long trip down south to the Fiordlands area of New Zealand, specifially Milford Sound (which really isn't a sound at all apparently, but a mis-named Fjord). Fjords are ancient glacial valleys with water in them and Sounds are ancient river valleys with water in them.

What is really funny is that to compensate for the mistake in naming Milford Sound, they declared the area "Fiordland," but they didn't realize they misspelled it. Fjord is spelled with a j, not an i. But the name has stuck and makes it unique in the places in the world and besides it's too late to change all the maps.

Photos definitely speak better than words in this part of the big blue globe. All along the road to Te Anau (say 'tay ann-ow'), the roads and river banks were overflowing with brilliant lupine blossoms in a eye-popping array of purples, blues and pinks.

See them all on the far bank of the river?

At a view stop, we were greeted by a friendly and inquisitive Kea, who was most certainly waiting for a tasty morsel or for us to walk far enough away from the car so it could attack the rubber seals around the windows (yes, Kea's are known for these antics). Or perhaps he was just waiting for his close-up.

Kea's are a member of the parrot family, known for their intelligence and ability to solve simple problems or work in teams to achieve a goal.

The road from lake Te Anau to Milford is in the top 3 on my list of most beautiful roads. I put it up there with Going to the Sun at Waterton-Glacier National Park and the bit of road from Prince Rupert to Vancouver, British Colombia.

Rivers of water cascading down the near vertical surfaces of ancient glacier-carved canyon walls.

The entrance to Milford Sound is breathtaking, regardless of the weather conditions.

We spent a day there and took an afternoon boat tour that took us up close and personal to many of the rock faces of the sound and even right underneath a waterfall.

During my time around Te Anau, I day-hiked a section of the world-famous Kepler track through old Beech forest and fairytale fern grottos.

On our way back to Christchurch, we took a different road that took us up past Queenstown and the most famous mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki Mount Cook. Here is Queenstown's lovely wharf.

Mt. Cook is the tallest in the photo.

Sometimes the color of the water in the lakes of New Zealand can only be described as fluorescent aqua.

It's good to be back.

Packing Again

2008-09-02T21:06:00.005+12:00

I'm now two days away from my flight to the Antarctic. I've done this drill so many times, I no longer have to think about it too much. Yes, it is still exciting, but the result of all this experience, is I've become a master at packing and organizing my stuff. In fact, the other day when the lady at Jenny Craig was packing up some food I'd ordered to take with me, she pulled out a cardboard box and I took one look and said, "I don't think all of that is going to fit in that box," and she said, "Oh sure it will, plenty of room," and another lady in the office chimed in, "yeah, it will fit no worries."

Well guess what? It didn't fit. The box was too small. Once all the food was packed, the first lady handed me a box much larger than the first one and said, "you were right, the box was too small," to which I explained that I've spent the better part of the last 11 years packing up my life at least twice a year and I've developed a talent for sizing up boxes.

You can see in this packing action shot that Snowflake is making it known, in no uncertain terms, that he is coming with me. Shhh, don't tell anyone. Cats are not allowed in Antarctica.

Tomorrow I go over to the Antarctic Centre by the airport and get my clothing issued for my Antarctic adventure. The next morning, my flight on the C-17 is scheduled at 5am. Of course this is all dependent on the weather down on the ice, which can be very fickle this time of year.

Now that most of my house is packed up and all my craft stuff put away, I am relying on knitting to keep me happy for the next couple of months. I've packed lots of yarn and currently I am working on a hot pink dog sweater for my niece's toy poodle. And I mean 'toy' poodle, not toy poodle. Her poodles are as much real dogs as Snowflake is a real cat (but we won't call them 'stuffed' as not to offend). She has two doggies, and since I'm unable to measure them properly (since she's in California, and I'm here), I am guessing and hoping that the sweater will fit. If it does, I'll make another one in light blue (her two favorite colors).

This is that cool bamboo fiber yarn. Who would know this stuff is made from bamboo? It's so soft and silky and knits up beautifully. See the nice sheen it has?

Recently when I visited my friend Kay, we got to play on the torch for a little while and I made these two cuties...

Really, it's tough to make a matching set, because after you make the first one, you have to put it in a high-temperature blanket (or a kiln) so it doesn't cool down too quickly (and crack). So the first bead is out of sight when you make the second one, so you have to just try and guess and hope it looks like the first one. I think this set turned out pretty close and I'm happy.

These beads started out with a white center, then I layered green glass over that, then applied the dots with another, slightly more yellow-y green. I like the way the white underneath brings out that gorgeous green color.

Four Days Worth

2008-08-26T21:31:00.024+12:00

I went away for the weekend to Kaikoura (say 'kye-coor-ah'), a beach community about a hour-and-a-half drive north of Christchurch. My friend Jude invited me to stay up in her bach (vacation home).

A view more or less straight out from Jude's bach.

Kaikoura is awesome. It is most famous for it's seafood and in particular, crayfish, which is like a lobster without the big claws. Tastes pretty much the same I would gather (I haven't actually had crayfish here yet, but look forward to it). In winter, Kaikoura is a pretty sleepy little place, but it explodes with tourists in summer who love fishing, whale watching and water sports.

Jude and I went on a great hike of the Kaikoura peninsula headlands. Once at the top, the view is great.

Here's another view. Notice all the little spots amongst the rocks there -- those are seals.

We scrambled down a rather steep trail that down the cliffs to take a closer look.

The next day, we drove down the highway to check out a short walk to a waterfall that a local had recommended. It was about a 5-minute walk from the highway, following a gentle stream through dense forest dripping with rain.

The waterfall was very pretty, but what we discovered in the pool under the waterfall was most unexpected and incredible.

The pool was filled with baby seals, swimming, rolling and playing with each other. Some were lounging about on the rocks around the pool.

This is the best photo I got of them. It was dark, I had no tripod and had to make do with slippery rocks to steady the camera and the little sealies were constantly moving (as baby seals do).

How the seal pups got up here I have no idea! My best guess is that the mothers climb upstream and give birth by the waterfall. It's a bit of a mystery but the most delightful surprise!

On to Some Art Stuff

I've needed to create a resume to possibly pick up some part time work this summer. Ideally I'd like to be working doing something creative. This is the first 'crafty' resume I've done so I wanted to do something special.

The resume text will be printed in black and while on vellum paper which is slightly transparent. I wanted a beautiful color background to put underneath the vellum that would show through slightly.

I looked around for inspiration and it's amazing what you can find in the room you're standing in. I had been admiring the twigs that came with my anniversary roses that I still have sitting in a vase. The roses are long gone (but they still look kind of cool -- all dried up and almost black in color), but the twigs that came with arrangement actually sprouted roots and have put forth some leaves.

So this is my inspiration...

I was thinking of some kind of pattern, that also looked really organic and natural, so I did some sketches and came up with an idea.

Then, studying how the branches curved and twisted, I sort of free-handed it out in pencil, full size on a piece of marker paper (special paper that does not bleed and allows you to blend the Copic marker colors).

Then I went over the pencil lines in fine black ink pens that don't bleed when colored in with the Copic markers. I really like these...they are called Pigma Micron. They come in different widths.

After the black ink was fully dry, I erased the pencil lines. Pencil will muddy the marker colors if you don't get rid of it.

Now the fun part. Coloring. I pulled out some markers that I thought would work and tested them on a scrap paper.

Then, I started coloring, starting with the lightest colors and layering on the darkers ones to give the branches and leaves a sense of form and shape. I used the colorless blender to blend the different colors together smoothly. With alcohol markers, even when the marker is dry on the paper, the ink can be 'reactivated' by using another marker or the colorless blender. It's amazing what a little color can do -- it's like magic -- making a flat, uninteresting drawing come to life.

I learned a little trick from Marianne at the "I Like Markers" blog. If you don't have a dark color that coordinates with your lighter colors, you can use a medium gray layered over the lighter color to give you a darker or 'shadow' color. I used this technique here on the leaves and it worked beautifully.

I would have taken a couple of photos of the coloring part, but honestly I got so immersed in it, I forgot. I think it turned out really nice and will make a lovely background for the resume.

You know sometimes when I do stuff like this...I can hardly believe I did it. It's a little bit like waking up from a trance. It almost seems like it comes from somewhere else. I reckon it does.

Tranzscenic Railway

2008-08-22T09:37:00.010+12:00

Yesterday felt like a great day to get out of town. The skies were blue and there was snow in them thar hills. So my friend Jude and I booked two tickets on the Tranzscenic Railway, a train that travels from the east coast of the South Island (Christchurch) to the West Coast (Greymouth) straight through the Southern Alps via Arthurs Pass.

Here is a view across the Canterbury Plains farmland to the majestic Southern Alps.

A bit closer now...

Along the way, a deep river gorge with the Waimakariri (say 'Why-macka-rearie) River far below.On the way we passed small settlements such as Cass. This once used to be a thriving community of about 600, but now one lone soul lives here. He is called by his nickname "Rambo" by the locals and is reputed to be a pretty rugged individual. His job is to maintain the tracks in this area.

The Waimakariri river again. It is called a 'braided river' for it's shallow depth and the way the river seems to braid along the vast silt bed of the valley. Apparently this type of river is common in New Zealand and rare in the rest of the world.

A photo of Snowflake at Arthur's Pass. This morning, he looked at me with longingly, with hope in his little beady eyes as I was getting ready to leave the house. How could I not bring little Snowflake along? He loves the snow, having spent many winters in Antarctica. If not for that bright little vest of his, he might disappear entirely into the background.

I don't have any photos of Greymouth (bad photographer!) as we had only one hour to grab a coffee, lunch and partake of a whirlwind shopping blitz through a shop that had caught our eye. With moments to spare, we dashed down the street to the train station with our loot and got on board with about a minute to spare.

Then it was back the way we came with the sun sinking lower in the sky and our eyelids falling heavy from the hypnotic motion of the train.

A Fine Afternoon on the Rupaki Track

2008-08-19T18:24:00.016+12:00

Today was a stunner with a capital S. The rain clouds cleared and the sun came out. The snow-covered hills beckoned.

This is the view from the estuary looking up a the Port Hills in Christchurch. I daresay there is more snow up there than last time.

I dug through the garage, finding all my cold weather gear and put a bunch of it on. It felt like the same sort of outfit I'd wear when, say, walking down to Hut Point in Antarctica. It was THAT chilly today.

Just to see what it looked like over the hills, I drove through the tunnel and got this photo of Lyttelton Harbour.

Here's the start of the Rupaki track. A bit muddy, but not as bad as I expected. As usual for NZ trails, someone has done a great job of digging a trench on the side of the trail for melt water to flow down.

Water runoff on the side of the trail.

White sheep, black sheep... huh?? Honestly, I have never seen a bi-colored lamb like this. What happened there? Was it a secret rendezvous with a bovine somewhere? A sort of Romeo and Juliet story from different sides of the pasture?

Just another pretty picture...

This photo so funny because it's so obvious I'm holding the camera at arm's length. But when no one is around to assist, you do what you have to do.

Here I'm wearing a treasured hat by one of my all time favorite knitters, Mette (say 'met-uh') Cephers. She worked as a dispatcher in the Firehouse at McMurdo Station my first winter in 1999 and knitted these gorgeous Scandinavian hats and matching mittens all day long. Eventually she stopped coming to the ice, but her hats have shown up in the tiny McMurdo Store from time to time.

A gorgeous view of the summit of the hike. At the top of this hill, you can see Lyttelton Harbour. The horizontal line (where the trees are) is a road, and the trail is the line going up on the right side.

And oh, I finished another hat. I love this yarn -- it is called Malabrigo and it an exceptionally soft merino wool yarn from Uraguay -- but even though it's green, I can't say this colorway is my favorite of all time. I think someone will love it though, so I'll bring it down to the Ice with me in a couple weeks and see if I can find it a home on someone's noggin'.

I like the cabled band on this hat, but if I were to do it again, I'd increase the width of the band a little...and maybe start the decreases a bit sooner and make the top a bit more pointy instead of round (all a matter of preference). One thing is for sure, my knitting has gotten so much better. I struggled at the beginning with my stitches looking 'lumpy' but these stitches are smooth and even and lovely. Also getting much faster. This hat took me only 3 evenings.

Paua and Silver Necklace

2008-08-18T22:07:00.002+12:00

Just made this tonight. It is a beautiful paua shell and sterling silver necklace. The textured silver bars I made with 14 gauge wire, hammering it flat and using one of my texture hammers to give the hammered effect. It looks better in real life as I don't have a very professional camera set-up at the moment, but the silver bars really glimmer and the paua shell flashes all sorts of blues and greens.

I've spent this rainy cold day inside watching the Olympics and making jewelery. Fun!

Here is what it looked like all day today...cold, icy rain on the window.

WIFFA Design

2008-08-17T23:12:00.006+12:00

This past week, I've worked on a design for the first annual "Winter International Film Festival, Antarctica" or "WIFFA."

The penguin illustration I did a while back with my new Copic markers came in handy as well as the 3-D Antarctic continent art.

Here is the final design...kind of like a mandala or a snowflake with filmstrips emanating from the Antarctic continent center. The colors in each frame of the filmstrip depict an Antarctic landscape with snow in the foreground and sky afire with colors typically found in most Antarctica skies in August.

Here is the sticker design. The six flags represent the six countries that submitted films for the festival: McMurdo (U.S.A), Scott Base (New Zealand), SANAE IV (South Africa), Casey and Mawson (Australia), Neumeyer (Germany), Rothera and Halley (Britain).

The t-shirt design is similar, but without the flags (too busy for the tee I reckon).

To order a t-shirt or a sticker, you can visit the gallery at Zazzle.com. Click here.

Weathering New Zealand

It is pouring down rain at the moment and icy cold outside due to a brisk 'southerly' weather system assaulting the country from the Antarctic regions.

The heaters are going and I've curled up on the couch knitting a new hat while watching the Olympics coverage on TV.

It is a mere two weeks before I head down for another stint 'on the ice.' I suppose I'm putting off packing until the very last minute.

Creative Genius or Madwoman?

2008-08-12T11:05:00.014+12:00

I vote for the latter. Here is what the upstairs dining room looks like last night. And the mess is not limited to this table. The living room is overrun with yarn and the kitchen console with various bits and pieces of Creativery.

My friend Stacie instant-messaged me this morning and that means it is a good time to update my blog.

Last night I worked on a design for my husband, for his International Antarctic Film Festival. I had to draw in Illustrator a length of filmstrip that is twisting. I tried freehanding it, and although a good effort it just didn't look right.

So this is what I did...

I cut out a strip of paper and drew all the little frames on it so it looked just like a filmstrip (front and back). Then I taped one end to a mug, and twisted it like I wanted it, and took a photo. I then imported the photo into Illustrator and drew over it.

Better result I think...

I also took the Antarctic continent shape (instantly recognizable by those that go to the 'Ice' on a regular basis) and colored it with my Copic markers. Gives a very nice 3-D effect, I reckon. It would be challenging to get this look on the computer without using a paint program. And even then...

So, speaking of Copics... I am in love. It's a serious crush. I found this blog called "I Like Markers," kept by Marianne who is the product specialist for Copic (what a cool job! Can I have it?). Click here. It is the most amazing blog. She started it in June so it was easy for me to catch up on all the wonderful techniques she shares for working with Copic markers. Why she didn't call her blog, 'I *Love* Markers' instead of 'I *Like* Markers' I'll never know.

I have asked her if she could share some tips on coloring ice. I'm guessing she is inundated with questions, so will be interesting to see if she responds at some point.

Fine print: Just a request to please not copy, reproduce, forward, or in any other way use any of my original artwork on this blog without asking me about it first. Thanks.

Snowflake Gets a New Vest

2008-08-07T17:13:00.004+12:00

Snowflake the cat has mentioned more than once how chilly the weather has been, and that his nice white fur, although fairly warm, could be supplemented 'somehow'. He said this in a very suggestive way one night while I was knitting.

So, I figured this must be a pretty big hint that he would like me to knit him something. After all, it's only a teeny little bit of yarn -- 'you could probably do it in one evening,' he added.

My teeny bit of yarn turned out to not be enough for a full sweater, so he got a vest - a very warm wool vest of some Noro in very toasty colors.

He's quite happy as you can see by the photo.

Finished the Socks!

2008-08-04T13:50:00.003+12:00

Ta da! I finished my socks last night in a marathon knitting session. I think they are marvelous! And fruity!

Spring Is Coming

2008-08-03T11:31:00.011+12:00

What happens when you don't update your blog often enough? You end up with a plenitude of things to say which well explains this rather long entry.

First, the good stuff. SPRING. It's on it's way as evidenced by the tiny signs of growth occurring in my garden at the moment.

The bulbs are coming out and I await their blooms eagerly.

The barren sticks of my rose bushes are pushing forth tiny new growth, that will become monstrous growth once Summer arrives.

Lavender is an all-year bloomer. Isn't that wonderful!

After last night's rain, this gorgeous little plant is covered with sparkling beads of water.

Notice the new leaf buds on my hydrangea bush -- and oh yeah, there's a sock there too. Ha! This is the finished Noro sock. I had finished this sock, only to realize I'd made it about an inch too short, so I had to undo the toe and add about 8 rows. Years ago, I probably would have abandoned the sock, not having the patience to rip it out and re-do. But when you invite the 40's to dinner, they usually come with nice side-dishes...like patience.

That is the great thing about Noro yarn. You just never know exactly how the finished thing will look. I am pleased with them. They are bright and fun and will look great with my Dansko clogs or my green Keen sandals.

Yesterday's Adventure

Yesterday, after several days of rain (I hadn't seen the sun since I arrived back in New Zealand), the morning came with sunshine and fine weather. I actually got to turn off all the heaters in the house for the first time. Sun flooded the upstairs and I actually felt...do I dare say... HOT.

The sun's appearance infused me with a new energy and vigor and I simply had to get out of the house. I grabbed my bike and headed down to the end of our peninsula. Everything was still fresh from the rain, colors intense from being soaked, the air was impossibly clear and everything in sharp detail. I breathed it in. I remembered why I love New Zealand.

I was just going to go to the end of the street and back, but the trails at the end of the peninsula beckoned and I obeyed. I got right around the loop, stopped at a bench facing the beach for a moment of reflection, then continued on. Right near the end of the loop, I was faced with a flooded trail. I mean really flooded. At least a foot of water. Not just the trail, but a large area around it. I decided to try going off-road over the clumps of sea grass, but discovered pretty quickly that despite appearances, it too was flooded. My feet just sunk down through the grass into the water, soaking through my socks and Keen sandals.

I was a bit horrified at first, but then realized that it was quite refreshing to have my feet in the icy cold water. Back to the basics of sensation and fun. I struggled my way through the bush and grass, then finally resigned myself to getting back on the flooded trail and just slogging straight through it, laughing. This went on for about 200 feet. It was fun and invigorating!

I wish I had my camera. I have made a pact with myself that my camera will now come with me at all times. I never know when I'll have a little adventure which would be fun to share on the blog.

To officially welcome Spring, I got a a red hyacinth plant and will look forward to watching it bloom.

August 1st

On August 1st, Anthony and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Even though we are apart at the moment, we found ways of celebrating our special day. First and foremost, I remembered it, which is a good thing considering last year I forgot! Anthony sent me these.

Today the skies are gray yet again. When you live here, you learn to get out when the sun is shining and grab those opportunities when you can.

Back In New Zealand

2008-07-31T13:44:00.004+12:00

The rain is tapping on the roof and I am dressed in 2 layers of fleece and heavy socks, reminding me what a different world I have been transported into from the one I just left. It is chilly here, brrr. I am considering sewing up a faux fur toilet seat cover. I think my tanned face and highlighted hair looks a bit out of place in the mirror. The thought of drinking an ice cold soda is so very unappealing.

Our house in Christchurch does not have central heat, so I have to devise ways of heating the spaces I use the most. Luckily the upstairs living area is relatively small and can be closed off from the rest of the house by a sliding door. I also am keeping the bedroom warm (not too warm, just taking the chill off basically). The bathroom has it's own wall heater so I can heat that up quickly whenever I need it.

How chilly is it today? Well it's 10 celcius. That is 50 degrees F. Well that's not THAT cold for goodness sake. I need to toughen up.

So, artistically I am a little on hold until I properly transition myself to being back here in Christchurch. A lot of my stuff is en route in boxes.

In the meantime, I came across this artist, Rex Ray who does some really amazing art using simple shapes and fantastic colors. His large format paintings are amazing. I loved this clip because he talks about how he started into collage by just cutting up magazines. He did a collage a day for a whole year I think. The only point of it was as an exercise; for fun and not to judge the work or TRY to create an artwork out of it. I really like that idea.

Click here for the YouTube clip from Rex Ray.

Happy Happy Joy Copic

2008-07-21T06:41:00.008+12:00

Okay, so I did it. I bought some Copic markers. What a splurge. But in my defense, I think they are exceedingly useful, valuable, and necessary artists tools to have around. And I got a really good price on them.

Copic markers are the creme de la creme of artists markers. Manga artists use them to get vivid colors, even toning and amazing shading results in their illustrations. They are a lifetime investment as they are refillable and the tips are replaceable. So I feel I have made a good choice. Immediately after bringing my babies home, I sat down and did these illustrations.
That is in order...an Emperor penguin and a Scott Tent.

I haven't actually sat down to draw something in a long time so it is such a relief to know I can still do it. I used photographs for my source material, so I didn't draw this stuff from total memory -- that WOULD be amazing.

These markers make me feel such joy. Even just looking at them sitting in their little box on the table...all lined up like little Soldiers of Creativity. I remember feeling a similar way when I got my first box of Prisma Pencils when I was about 12. I still have that box of pencils and they still work as good as when I first got them. Some of the pencils are getting a bit stubby though.

I am now on my last week here in Southern California. It has been a wonderful visit and I feel I have grown in amazing ways. Creatively I have learned a myriad of new crafts and skills, I have acquired some wonderful tools to use and I feel I have become more in tune with myself and with my spirituality. I feel a sense of excitement for the future.

Now I return to New Zealand, swapping the hot, dry summer weather here for what is sure to be cold and damp conditions in Christchurch. It also looks like I will be returning to McMurdo Station for a short contract in the Finance office starting early September. Well, I don't actually have my contract yet...waiting for that, but I imagine it is forthcoming. I can't wait to see my adorable husband, Anthony, again. We have been apart since February -- it will be 7 whole months before we are together again.

The International Antarctic Film Festival*

Speaking of Anthony, he is arranging an Antarctic film competition in August, starting with a 48-hour film contest and following a week later with a international film festival at which all films will be shown and voted on.

For the 48-hour contest, aspiring film makers are given several random objects, sounds and a speaking line that they must use in their film. The films are shot fast and dirty and edited the same way, since they have to be completed within 2 days. They are short; being only 5 minutes or less in length and are all shot in Antarctica.

This is not the first time he has done this, but the COOLEST thing about this year is that he sent invitations to all the other stations on the continent -- to Australian, Italian, German, British bases, etc. and many of them have shown their intent to participate. So it truly will be an international event.

*we need to come up with a very cool name for this event and a similarly cool acronym. Eg: San Francisco's International Film Fest is called "SFIFF."

Parting Sketch

I drew this in my sketchbook the other day and just thought it was kind of silly.

Fusing with Dichroic Glass

2008-07-16T15:36:00.007+12:00

My Mom and I have recently done a couple of glass fusing sessions together in her small workshop. My Mom fuses dichroic glass to create one-of-a-kind jewelery items such as pendants and earrings. She sells them at the summer art and craft show in Laguna Beach, called 'Art-A-Fair.'

I am lucky to have been taught the 'tricks of the trade' by someone who knows them so well.

Here I am cutting and arranging tiny pieces of glass on the carbon kiln base. Notice how safe I am with my safety glasses! Raytheon has trained me well!

My Mom lets me pilfer through her 'scraps' -- tiny off-cuts of dichroic glass that I sift through, cut and layer onto bases of solid color regular glass. The dichroic glass is the stuff that gleams in all sorts of fantastic colors. It is an expensive kind of glass so it is nice to get these bits for free.

Here you can see a better photo of my Mom layering the glass into tiny squares. When the glass melts, the squares turn into round pieces.

Once the kiln base has been covered with layered pieces of glass, the kiln lid is placed on top and the kiln is slowly brought to a temperature of about 1500 to 1600 degrees F. At this temperature, the glass melts and all the layers fuse together. At that point, you tilt the kiln base top up to release some heat and 'flash cool' the glass to about 1200 degrees. You have to wear really big, thick leather gloves to do this because the heat coming from the kiln is so intense. This stops the glass melting process in its tracks. Then you turn off the kiln and wait for the glass to slowly to cool to about 100 degrees (before you can remove it from the kiln).

This is one of my batches of finished glass pieces.

A lot of these I will be using to embed into and embellish jewelery that I will be making, therefore I have made a lot of them into tiny dots.

Now it is less than two weeks before I return to my home in New Zealand. I am excited to get back to my house, but sad to leave my 'other' home here in Orange County where my family resides. I am busy packing and tying up loose ends. It's been a great visit.

Remember

2008-07-03T11:14:00.004+12:00

Sometimes it is so easy to forget who we really are in the stress and hustle of every day life: we are utterly amazing, organic, thinking, breathing, living miracles.

I made this for a loved one who is having a hard time.

LA, New Art and Addiction

2008-07-02T08:15:00.009+12:00

For those of you that are worried about the use of the word addiction in my blog title, I'll have you rest assured that it is only my addiction to Noro yarn that we are concerned about here. It's not life threatening (unless I hole up for the rest of my life, knitting, in a small dark cave foregoing proper nutrition and life's basic necessities for the thrill of 'just one more row'). I just can't get over the gorgeousness of this yarn.

Here is a pair of socks I am knitting using very tiny Noro Kureyon sock yarn (color: S95, 70% wool and 30% nylon). It is kinda expensive and the wool is not really that soft per se, but it's the colors that drive me nuts and they way they gradually transition into each other.

I seem to be stuck on that bright yellow-y green at the moment and that vibrant hot pink is just so yummy. The yarn I made my felted tote out of had similar colors and I just finished another hat in Malabrigo worsted yarn in 'Apple Green.' (I'll post that hat soon, but it's not quite done yet). I need to branch out on the color wheel a little.

This is the thinnest yarn I have ever tried. I love the effect. The top of the socks are a basic 3 x 2 rib with the slight 'twist' of using a subtle cable on every fourth row. These are going to be my socks -- my little treat to myself -- as I have been gifting a lot of my knitting lately.

By the way, fellow knitters, Malabrigo kettle-dyed merino wool yarn is amazing. It is made in a small factory in Uruguay, where each batch is hand dyed. The yarn is so amazingly soft, like baby chickens or maybe the inner area of a kitten's front leg, right above the paw.

I visited the Malabrigo website only to find that they had a fire which destroyed most of their stock (but not the factory thank goodness). They are recovering and have started production again. I have called three out of four yarn stores in the area and none of them have it. I got mine in Arizona when I was visiting there. So if you can get your hands on any, grab it!

Fun in L.A.

I spent the weekend with a high school friend of mine, Bob up in Echo Park where he has lived for years in a cute little apartment. Bob and I hadn't seen each other since high school, but around the holidays last year, he and his family traveled to New Zealand and we were able to meet up there and have a reunion. So now that I am so conveniently close in Orange County, it was great to be able to get together again.

We saw Werner Herzog's new film, "Encounters at the End of the World" that has now premiered in small art house theaters around Southern California. I had seen it before, in the galley at McMurdo Station last December. The fun thing about this film is I know most of the people in it. It's the first Antarctic film I've seen which really addresses the people and personalities of those that travel to the ice continent.

Bob and I also visited Griffith Observatory on Sunday. It just went through a 9.3 million dollar renovation which required lifting the entire building 6 inches on hydraulic jacks. Pretty amazing. They added a whole new area underground.

Apparently this whole front grassy area was excavated to get underneath the building, but now it looks as if nothing ever happened.

Here we are with a very heavy meteorite, down in the new underground section of the observatory.

A newly restored ceiling fresco in the observatory depicting the signs of the zodiac.

de la Torre Brothers -- amazing glass artists

This fantastic glass and found object artwork is hanging on the wall in Bob's apartment. It was created by his brother-in-law's two younger brothers, Jamex and Einar. Their website is very interesting if you get the chance to take a look.

The circular thing in the middle is a painted bicycle tire. Click on the images to get a closer look.

Finally, just had to share this photo of my Mom's cat Patchouli...or Choolie...or Choobacca...or Choozilla... finding a very deep interest in a rather large moth on the screen door.

Art-A-Fair Opening Night

2008-06-27T09:05:00.006+12:00

Last night was the opening night of Art-A-Fair, the show my Mom does every summer in Laguna Beach, California. It was a great evening, full of music, food, wine, happy people, cool art and quirky artists.

My Mom, the artist, and I (also an artist)

Lots of earrings

Ladies digging for treasure in the earring bowls

Craft Abomination

2008-06-25T19:05:00.004+12:00

That's me painting a display case at my Mom's booth in Laguna Beach, California. It was a sweltering day and you can see by my expression that I am not a very good hot-weather person.

After a busy week helping my Mom prepare for her art show in Laguna, I finally got back to some creative work of my own tonight. I just got a bunch of very cool rubber stamps in the mail and was eager to try them out on some polymer clay pendant designs. The first one turned out okay (a good warm-up), but the second one was a true winner in my eyes.

I made it with black clay, stamped a gorgeous asian floral in the front, shaped it into a curved triangle shape, then applied fuschia and silver mica powders on all sides to bring out the gorgeous design, I put a crystal in the middle of the flower, then embedded more crystals into the side of the pendant. I couldn't wait to bake it to see what gorgeous thing would result.

And then something went horribly wrong.

Remember the movie, 'The Fly' when Seth Brundle put a dog in one of the pods to test his new telepod system, and it came out the other pod a shrieking, slimy, quivering mass of distorted dog flesh?

Well I put my pendant in one pod (the oven), threw the switch and it came out the other pod (same oven) looking like THIS.

I only wish I had a before photo to really drive home how horribly this thing distorted. You can see one of the crystals, like a sad little eye, sitting right there in the middle.

So what my little Brundle-pendant endured was 100 degrees too much heat.

So I am disappointed, but highly amused at the same time and I'm going to keep my little Brundle-pendant to remind me to CHECK THE INSTRUCTIONS NEXT TIME.

Greg's 40th Birthday Book

2008-06-18T06:12:00.015+12:00

Wow, has it been almost two weeks since I posted? I've been busy helping me Mom with her summer art show, the Art-A-Fair in Laguna Beach. I've been painting cabinets and getting her jewelery on display cards. Busy, busy.

I thought I would post the pages from the book I made for my brother Greg's 40th birthday. I couldn't think of anything cool to buy him, and so I came up with this idea, which I think is so much better and much more personal. Well, the book was a hit and he made sure to show it to all his friends. The scrapbook class I took in New Zealand really helped with putting it together.

Basically I took old photos of Greg and in Photoshop, put his head or face into some pretty cool images. I got these from magazines and the internet. A couple of them are real, like "Motocross God," (he really did race and win trophies in this) and "Family Man." Wouldn't we all like to fantasize about being someone else for a day?

If you click on the photo, you can get a closer look.

Fun in San Clemente

2008-06-10T04:12:00.009+12:00

Good friend, pedicure, fast cars... what more could you want?

I spent some time with my good friend Stacie yesterday down in the coastal community of San Clemente. It's the last town in Orange County before San Diego County begins. For OC, it is still a relatively quiet town, snuggled in the hills next to the sea, all palm trees, lush vegetation and red tile roofs.

It just so happened we stumbled into the vintage car show happening down the main street, Del Mar, which literally means "by the sea."

Stacie and I go back a long way... back to the early 90's or maybe even late 80's. We worked together at the same hotel back then. We kept in touch, then she did a crazy thing and went to work in Antarctica. I lived vicariously through her emails for her entire winter season, delighting at her adventures. Then when the company I worked for went belly-up and I was faced with a daunting job search, she suggested I apply to work on the Ice. I was sure I wasn't qualified for such an adventurous position but she convinced me otherwise and later that year I found myself in a place so white and strange, it was like the moon. Except the moon with heavy equipment, diesel fumes, dust, and odd little black and white bird beings.

So yeah, Stacie and I go back. I guess I could thank her for suggesting Antarctica, because after all, I met my husband there and now I'm so happily married I could pinch myself. I can never thank you enough Stace!

More photos of the car show... I love this 61 bus, probably because I had my own 67 bus for about eight years in my 20's. Can you imagine taking this baby on a road trip? (but just for a moment you'll have to pretend that gas doesn't cost $4.50 a gallon!).

Makes me want to get another bus and fix it up.

Rows and rows of classic-ness.

I can imagine those folks there in the photo have gone back in time in their minds. As the wings of time carry off the years, we'll all be doing that someday too.

Sweet!

Mean Green Machine.

Woo-weee!

For all you folks on the ice, the shadows and reflections caused by the presence of the sun must look pretty odd to you about now. Look at that grille!

Clay and Dichroic Pendant

2008-06-08T08:32:00.003+12:00

I had a play with the clay again yesterday and decided to try my hand at some pendants with little dichroic pieces in them. I devised a way to roll out the clay with very consistent thickness by placing to pieces of 1/8" flat balsa wood on either side of the clay, then putting each end of the roller on the balsa. That allows for a very even 1/8" roll-out on the clay.

I rolled out some black Premo clay, then stamped it, then rubbed some silver mica powder on with my fingertip. Then pressed a small dichroic dot in the center, placed a wire hanger on the top and baked it.

After baking, I covered it with a satin gloss to seal it, glued in the wire bit on the top and put a nice chain on it. I think it turned out rather nice for a first try. The fact that I want to wear it is a good thing.

Beautiful Quote

2008-06-05T17:44:00.002+12:00

The last few days I have been working on a special birthday present for my brother, Greg, who turns 40 TOMORROW. I can't say what it is or post photos yet, but I will. It is really cool. I dare say there is NO WAY he won't just LOVE IT. So I'm excited. Turning 40 is hard, but it's exhilarating at the same time.

For now, I found this wonderful quote on a rubber stamp website...

Mixed Media Mosaic

2008-06-01T20:05:00.008+12:00

Okay, I found another craft, as if I need another one in my life!

I spent last weekend in San Diego with some close friends, Deborah and Graham, that I haven't seen in a while. Deborah is a fellow artist and runs her own business creating unique and fabulously beautiful tiles. Whenever we get together, the sum of our collective creativity exceeds each of us individually...if that makes sense. We both have some great ideas and it was gratifying to be able to express and talk about them with another Creative.

While there, I noticed a very intriguing book that was laying on her dining table. It is called 'Mixed Media Mosaics' by Laurie Mika and I was attracted to the image on the cover like a crow to a shiny thing. Inside was page after page of yummy techniques for making luminous tiles from polymer clay, using stamps to create textures and images on the tiles, and using metallic paint, mica powders and metal leaf to create shine and bling. These tiles are then arranged into a unique artwork. I was transfixed. Deborah decided that I needed the book more than she did, so she gave it to me.

After arriving back in Orange County after the weekend, I felt compelled to try out this new art form (as if I need another one, sheesh!), so I bought all the stuff and rearranged a nook in my Mom's house to work.

Here's some photos from my learning process. As with anything new, there is a learning curve and one has to be patient with oneself during this time.

Cutting out a frame.

A bunch of tiles ready to bake.

Using rubber stamps to make words and patterns in the clay. I rubbed mica powder directly into the unbaked clay to get the metallic look.

I spent this evening painting my 'tiles' and experimenting with different paint and finish applications. At the end of the evening, I had a nice collection of tiles, albiet quite a random selection of colors. But I wondered what they would look like in a layout, so I created this spontaneous gathering which, even with all the random tiles, looks quite nice!

It is an exiting medium because it combines so many things: color, texture, images, sparkle and mosaic in a very expressive way. You can embed crystals and other metal trinkets into the clay...even do image transfers (so you can take a color picture and transfer it onto a tile). I haven't even scratched the surface.

The funny thing is, working with polymer clay was the LAST thing I thought I would be interested in.

Parting Shots

This is the magic time of year when all the Jacaranda trees are blooming. They are an amazing site. You never know how many there are until they bloom -- the same with Hydrangea and Rhododenron plants in New Zealand.

Speaking of New Zealand, I ran across this intersection while on a walk around a Kensington, San Diego neighborhood.

Kia Ora!

Been Knittin' and Stuff

2008-05-24T11:58:00.006+12:00

I've been knitting again after a short break. I completed this sock last night made from gorgeous Noro Silk Garden yarn.

I got the pattern from this great little book, 'One Skein' that I have mentioned before. This sock took less than one skein of the Noro, so I could have made the ankle part longer, but I just followed the pattern as is. The toe turned out kind of pointy. The pattern doesn't do that, but I thought it looked cute, and elf-ish, so I left it. Maybe a little bell on the end?

Now I just have to knit another one just like it. The pair is for my Mom, but she doesn't know it yet. She has been looking over my shoulder and oo-ing and ah-ing over the colors.

Big Creative Step

Today I placed a huge order for tools and supplies for silversmithing. This was a big step for me because it was quite a bit of money to spend and on many levels, I have been resisting moving forward on this (it's been a mixture of fear of failure, fear of success and many other heavy emotions in one big ball of confusion). But I am walking through that and now that I have taken action, I am SO EXCITED! My new motto, 'Move Forward."

I bought a torch, and all the related equipment so I can start doing some soldering. My Mom has a great workbench that she says I can adopt while I'm here, so I'm going to get set up and work on some things. Most of the stuff I can take back to New Zealand with me, with the exception of the torch and a few chemicals.

Art Chix

I was turned on to this website (www.artchixstudio.com) by the teacher of one of the classes I took recently. This is a GREAT website for romantic, whimsical images to be used in collage, scrapbooking, jewelery and other crafts. What fun stuff!

More Lampwork

The last two days, I had some personal instruction on lampwork from a well-established and talented artist, Lisa Claver (www.lisaannclaver.com) who lives nearby. She is a friend of my Mom's and has shown her beads and jewelery at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach in the past. I won't have my beads until early next week, so I'll post photos then. I learned some very valuable tips and techniques.

Lisa's fish beads. She also makes wonderful flowers and goddesses. I learned more about using copper and silver leaf on beads and also how to embed cubic zirconia crystals into beads! So exciting!

Venice Art Walk

2008-05-20T13:32:00.013+12:00

Yesterday, on a sweltering, record-breaking Spring day in Venice, California, I went to the Venice Art Walk with some friends. The art exhibition and benefit, staged on the grounds of an elementary school, included silent auctions of art works, ceramics and cartoons, plus an elaborate system of buses taking folks around to all the artist's galleries located around Venice. There was live music and delicious food from many local restaurants.

I didn't take many photos -- many of the artists didn't like photos being taken in their studios, but I did manage to get these (with permission).

Giant dogs (and other critters) are made from recycled plastics.

A different take on the glass vase. So gorgeous in the sunlight.

Will this fountain fit in my suitcase? Because I really, desperately want to take it home with me (that is grass reflected in the side of the fountain -- water pools at the top and cascades down all the highly reflective sides).

We hopped on a bus and visited the studio of Larry Albright, who is well known for his work with "plasma" globes and neon since the 1960's. Click here to visit his website. He's done a lot of work for movies such as Star Wars, Star Trek (movies) and Close Encounters (OTTK) and for theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Here is a giant tube filled with excited gases producing electricial bolts that look like lightning.

'Tubes' of the trade...

The workshop of a Madman... or Genius?

I was so bummed Antz couldn't see this... he would have loved it. I certainly couldn't 'talk shop' with Larry like he could.

Another artist I was particularly moved by was Fortune Sitole. He is a South African artist that does these amazing scenes depicting South African life by using corrugated aluminum, used soda cans, bright colors and rich textures. I was mesmerized. I very nearly bought one and sitting here now, I'm not sure why I didn't bring one home.

Aren't they amazing?

And who wouldn't appreciate this ride? The paint job is a sparkling orange that turns yellow in the highlights.

It was a fabulous day, despite the heat and I hope I have a chance to go again someday.

I'm Back!

2008-05-15T09:33:00.024+12:00

It's been a while since I posted, for a lot of reasons including a family hospitalization and a couple of whirlwind trips taking me from San Francisco to Phoenix in less than a week's time. I have a lot of catching up to do. This will be a long one. Put on your jammies and make some popcorn.

San Francisco

About two weeks after I got to Orange County (on April 15th), I drove up to San Francisco for the "Ice People" premier, a film by Anne Aghion, at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF). I stayed with a friend of mine that I knew in high school and it had been 23 years since we had seen each other! Heidi Jane is a brilliant violinist and musician and is almost done with her second album.

Having breakfast at Boogaloo's down in the Mission District where she lives.

San Francisco is a cool place. It was an unseasonably warm spring weekend and EVERYONE was out working on their tan. I was a bit taken aback at the number of people in this park. I definitely felt like a country mouse.

Getting off a bus, we were greeted by a flock of very friendly pink bunnies down at 18th and Castro.

A few more things that struck me about the city. Here's a classic SF home. This city reminds me of Wellington, New Zealand.

Street name embedded in the sidewalk.

Amazing architecture.

At the premier of Ice People, I ran into some Ice Friends including Rhonda Rodriquez, Bruce Iler, Kelly and Andy Lawson, Tizoc Spears, Sandwich, and a few others.

Over the first two weeks of my stay in California, I knitted these two hats made from awesomely gorgeous Noro yarn from Japan.

Phoenix, Arizona

Two days after arriving back in Orange County, I was off again and across the desert to Phoenix in a fiery red rental car. I stayed with my 86-year old Grannie in Apache Junction, about 60 miles east of Phoenix. Months ago, I had signed up for a couple of jewelery classes at the Bead Expo in downtown Phoenix so I had to high-tail it in order to make the dates.

I had a lot of fun at the Expo. The first day was a class called "Frame It." It was using silver and copper sheet to make little frames that go around laminated images. You then texture the frames using hammers and metal stamps. On the back we wrote little messages using letter stamps then embellish with beads. Here are the two I made. The red one was for my Mom for Mother's Day.

The second day was a class in making PMC beads. These are my creations. Aren't they cool?

Of course there were a lot of vendors selling all kinds of beads and other great stuff. I spent a little money on some great tools, some beads, Swarovski crystals and some great stone cabochons to be used for a future silver smithing project.

I also spent a week with my dear Gramma and helped her get some things done. Here is a great picture of her playing her organ (I love her joy in this photo -- this is her essence).

Spring in the desert is amazing. All the cactus are blooming.

Lots of Quail around too. They are very cute with their little top-knots bobbing as they walk.

Oh, and I turned 41 on May 8th. I spent my birthday with my Gramma and she took me out to the favorite local buffet.

Back in Orange County

While in Arizona I started knitting a felted bag. I finished it on the last day of my visit, then took it back home to my Mom's house to felt it.

When you felt a knitted item, you need to make it way bigger than you intend the final size to be, because the felting process shrinks it. It got this pattern from a great little book called, "One Skein" by Leigh Radford. It has tons of cute projects using one skein of yarn or less. Of course this bag took more than one skein, but I think the pattern is intended for using up all those little bits and pieces of yarn that are laying around. I ended up using 4 skeins of yarn -- 2 solid colors (mohagany* and dusty pink* in Cascade Peruvian highland wool) and 2 balls of self-striping Noro Kureyon to get the striped pattern. Normally you would use scrap yarn to make the stripes.

*not the actual color names from Cascade.

Here's the knitted bag. It measures 19" high by 15" wide before felting.

To felt, fill the washing machine on the lowest water level with HOT water and add a tablespoon or two of dishwashing soap. Put a few tennis balls in there for friction.

I threw in the knitted bag and let it agitate for about 20-30 minutes, checking every 5 minutes or so. Eventually the wool shrinks and binds and the knitted stitches seem to disappear and become a dense wooly fabric. Then it's done. It took out the bag, squeezed out the water, shaped it and have been letting it dry for a few days. It shrunk to 13" x 13" ...so it did not shrink evenly. It shrinks more vertically than horizontally. Cool. Here's the bag today.

Cascade felts up REALLY NICE. I recommend it for this purpose. The Noro did okay, but came out a little fuzzy. But I absolutely LOVE Noro's colors. This colorway reminds me of Tourmaline (a semi-precious stone that commonly varigates from pink to green), so I'm calling this my Tourmaline Tote! It has a little pocket on the inside that I knitted and attached before felting.

So, I've been back in OC for nearly a week and catching up with family. On Mother's Day we hung out with my brother's family. Here's my neice Taylor and nephew Hayden helping me with some sewing.

Okay, am I just being a squishy aunt, or is the cutest face you've ever seen?

Life is good.

Antarctic Sun Article

2008-04-14T11:26:00.005+12:00

There's a great little article that has been posted up on the Antarctic Sun website about husband Anthony and his time-lapse photography.

http://antarcticsun.usap.gov

Ice People

In other Antarctic-themed media news...

The movie, "Ice People" is going to premier in San Francisco at the end of this month at the "SFIFF" (San Francisco International Film Festival). A couple of years ago, movie-maker Anne Aghion and her film crew traveled to McMurdo Station during the Winfly period in August with the intent to collect footage for this film. For something different, Anthony brought them with him on a traverse to Black Island, the telecommunications ground station for McMurdo. It's about 60 miles away across the ice shelf. The original intent was to be there only a couple days, but some big weather came through and they were stuck there a bit longer. They filmed lots of stuff there, including some of Anthony and apparently he does appear in the film briefly.

So I am planning on traveling up to SF for the premier -- going to catch up with a very good friend of mine from high school that I haven't seen in over 20 years -- should be a good time!

Click HERE to see a trailer and get more information.

Tomorrow I will be on a plane to the U.S. for a long-awaited visit with family and friends. It might be a spell before I can post again (hopefully not longer than a week). So as Bugs Bunny would say, "Bon Voyagee!"

Second Batch O Beads

2008-04-11T17:01:00.007+12:00

Here's a few of the beads I recently made this week. This is called a 'jellyfish' design. I guess I can see why. It is made by wrapping a black molten bead in a thin sheet of sterling silver, then burning off the silver in the torch. The spots are made by a combination of silver and ivory glass.

These next beads I'm quite proud of because it shows how much more accurate I am getting at placing the dots (especially the black & white bead).

I tried my hand at a tiger bead. Lovely!

Actually, done a little better, the bead should actually look like it has tiger stripes.

A few more...

Just another reminder about Blogarithm. If you scroll to the very bottom of this page, there's a Blogarithm link. If you sign up you can get reminders about when I make a new post to this blog.

Have a great weekend!

Getting to Know Kay

2008-04-09T11:39:00.010+12:00

First things first.

I finished the sodalite ring. I had my last beginning silversmithing class this week at the Art Centre. It's hard to believe how fast 10 weeks have gone by. I learned so much.

Remember this from a few weeks back...

This is what it looks like now.

Beautiful. I am proud of this ring, it fits beautifully and is very comfortable to wear.

I met a wonderful lady this week, Kay. She lives here in Christchurch and is another lampwork artist who I was put in touch with by Lisa, the woman who taught me up in Auckland. Kay has her own torch and set-up in her garage. I spent several hours the last couple of days at her house, making beads, having great chats and getting to know her.

Here is Kay at her torch.

I will be picking up my finished beads from her house today, so I'll photograph and post them next time.

Kay's partner, Bob, happens to be an American from New York AND an ex-Antarctican. He is a Vietnam veteran who was one of the Navy Seabees who traveled the globe 'building stuff' in different places in the world. McMurdo Station, Antarctica was one of those places. He spent about eight seasons down there starting in the early 70's, some with the military and some as a civilian.

Bob and I had lots to talk about (as you can imagine), me having also spent the better part of 10 years there as well. To Kay and her friend from the UK, Anna, it must have seemed that we were speaking another language at times, what with all the acronyms and Antarctic slang we were throwing back and forth.

Bob showed me his jacket with some really cool patches on it.

The USAP patch on the upper left is of particular interest. The USAP patch of today is still basically the same design, but the wording is different...and check out the stitching on the old one. No NSF on the old patch either.

Also of particularly notable historic value is the Seabees patch.

Is this just the coolest patch EVER?

Bob calls himself an "SOAE." Super Old Antarctic Explorer. Great meeting you Kay, Bob and Anna. What a small world.

Note by all the sweaters that it is getting a bit chillier in Christchurch. Daylight savings time has ended and winter is on it's way.

Without Further Ado...SPAM Haikus

2008-04-07T09:55:00.003+12:00

Blue can of steel
What promise do you hold?
Salt flesh so ripe

Clad in metal, proud
No mere salt-curing for you
You are not bacon

Twist, pull the sharp lid
Jerks and cuts me deeply
Spam, aah, my poultice

And who dares mock SPAM?
You? you? you are not worthy
Of one rich pink fleck

Pink tender morsel
Glistening with salty gel
What the hell is it?

Ears, snouts and innards
A homogeneous mass
Pass another slice

Pink beefy temptress
I can no longer remain
Vegetarian

Color Crack

2008-04-06T21:35:00.010+12:00

I found some websites today that are like crack to a color-lover like me. Or colour-lover if you're from New Zealand or the UK or whatnot.

First one...the most fun is www.colourlovers.com. You can create your own favorite colors, palettes and patterns, name them and search through thousands of other people's color creations. You can even upload photos of your color inspiration. What fun. I am username 'isitgreen' and if you do a search for 'Rotorua,' my first color palette comes up. I need someone to write me a 'love note' on that website so I can get little red hearts next to my entry ;) hint, hint.

A groovy wave pattern made from 'Rotorua.' That line that looks black is actually a dark chocolate brown...leaning towards the greyish side. And that yellow...has just the slightest tinge of green.

More fun sites:

Try this Random Stripe Generator for knitters. You choose the colors, select the different row widths you want (no limit) and click the generate button. To get another random stripe, keep clicking the refresh button until you get one you want. It even gives you the pattern in text!

Wa-la!

And the Color Scheme Generator. Keep playing with it...you figure it out pretty fast.

These are some great tools for getting color inspiration!

Have fun!

The Latest Scrapbook Pages

2008-04-05T22:31:00.008+13:00

These are the last three scrapbooking pages I have finished on the wedding album. I think I'm getting a little better at it! Like anything, the more you do it, the better you get. This vows page I just finished today.

Those cards are the actual cards Anthony and I held at the wedding.

It's been fun reminiscing on that special day as I'm going along. And it's so rewarding to be putting the photos in a beautiful format that Anthony and I can enjoy for the rest of our lives.

In each class, we go over a different aspect of scrapbooking. In this class we used ribbon to wrap a shape...in this case, a heart.

Now, what you might find interesting is that each of these pages are a really different color scheme from one another. Why, you might ask, don't you just make everything all the same color if it's all the same book?

Well, this is the fascinating part of scrapbooking. The first thing you do -- and the secret to harmonious-looking layouts -- is choosing paper colors that are found in the photos you are using for that page.

Orange and blue? Might be an unusual choice for a wedding theme, but I think it looks pretty nice in this layout. If you look at the photos, I am wearing an orange top and almost everyone is wearing blue jeans in various shades. So it works.

I've written a few words on each page...reflections and remembrances from the day.

The things I like about the toast layout is that the pattern of the paper in the center circle seems to echo the shape of the twinkle lights in the photo. And the brown dots in the upper right seems to denote bubbles...like in champagne! Each line of text makes up the toast that the station manager, Eric Hobday, gave us.

I guess the fire of our love is pretty hot, because B-15 melted! (B-15 is that big honkin' piece of ice the size of Jamaica that broke off the ice shelf in Antarctica a few years back).

Okay, one more. This is the finished Wedding Quilt page.

I this one, I made letters and hearts from fabric to kind of go with the quilt idea.

And in other news...

I finished another granny square hat.

I am loving the little braid around the crown. I'm trying to decide if it needs a tassle on top.

Green Bike, Green Thoughts

2008-04-04T16:03:00.008+13:00

Here's my new mountain bike. It's a Kona brand, apparently a Canadian company. I don't know about all the other bits and pieces of the bike, but I do know it is an awesome ride. The shock absorbing system takes out anything the road throws at me...and the gear shifting is smooth and easy. A lot has changed since the last time I rode a bike (which is about 10 years ago!). It feels solid, the knobby wheels whizzing on the road and it has that wonderful clicking sound that a bike makes when you aren't pedaling.

And it's GREEN. *sigh* Can life get any better?

There's nothing like the feeling of the wind in my face, the world rushing by (as well as some very gargantuan red buses) and feeling good about going somewhere under my own power.

I bought a helmet to protect my coconut. It has a nice girlie flower pattern on it and the white matches the bike frame (you know, I hate to admit I'm one of those people can only find contentment in life when things match, but I guess I am! Color-coordination is Zen!)

I got on my green chariot today for a spin to the store to pick up some milk and an avocado (the necessities of life)... but got about a 1/2 mile down the road and had to turn back. To be honest, the bones in my backside have not gotten used to this new activity, even despite the gel seat cover, impressive suspension, and generous padding of my own in that region ... it's the only thing holding me back from getting out there on my new wheels. I need to investigate intensive padding options or maybe I'll just get used to it.

Speaking of thinking green, if you have the time, please visit this website:

www.wecansolveit.org

and sign the petition for change to stop and reverse global warming. It only takes a second. And please, spread the word.

Lamp-Working For The Weekend

2008-04-02T15:57:00.023+13:00

My first beads. Lookie what I made!

If you are an 80's music fan and remember Loverboy, then the title of this blog entry title might actually be kind of clever.

It's been a while since I blogged, but I was away in Auckland doing some really fun stuff this last weekend. I took my very first lesson in "lampworking"...that is making beads from molten glass using a torch.

I took a class from Lisa-Jane Harvey of 'Born to Bead.' She has been creating beads and jewelery for about 3 years, but has just opened a beautiful studio perfect for teaching.

She and her husband are originally from South Africa. On the way from the airport, she stopped by a South African butchery and we picked up some Biltong, a spiced, dried meat and Droewors, a similar dried meat snack formed in long ropes...similar to beef jerky, but made using a different process and spiced uniquely. Really tasty!

In no time, I was at the studio and taking a look around. The beads are made from glass rods in a luscious array of colors. Ooooo, pretty!

This is me on the first day of the class getting used to working with the torch. It's an interesting mix of fear and coordination. The flame is extremely hot (well, it melts glass after all) and so there is a natural fear of getting burned.

Then with one hand you have to continually rotate the 'mandrel,' the metal rod that you make the bead on. It has to be rotated back and forth, at least 360 degrees, and perfectly horizontal (or the beads go lopsided). With the other hand, you manipulate the glass rod in the flame which wants to melt and flow away from you. See the white hot blob of glass on the end of the blue rod.

Now I'm not trying to make some sort of retro-uber-geek statement with my outfit here, but I had to wear these special UV-blocking safety glasses when working with the flame.

Once we got the hang of making a basic bead shape, Lisa taught us how to make different types of beads...ones with spots, little nubs called dots, spirals, and how to trap a bubble of air inside a spot (far right bead in both photos has a tiny bubble in the center of the spot).

Then we made a rectangular free-form bead. I didn't intend it, but this one just looks Antarctic to me. I see Ob Hill or Mt. Discovery at the top with clouds in front and some ice and stuff on the bottom.

Then we learned how to use silver leaf in beads, giving it a nice sparkle.

This one also has some silver in it. I particularly like the way the blue seems to glow on this bead.

The class was 2 days long, but I stayed for an extra day to get some individual tutoring on using dichroic glass on beads. For those that don't know what dichroic glass is, go here.

Dichroic glass is a bit challenging to work with. You can't put it directly in the flame and have to be careful not to overheat it. It has to be 'encased' in clear glass (in other words has a layer of clear glass over the top) to protect it. As a beginner, I had a tough time with it and after ruining three beads, I decided to stick with the basics, as least for now.

But I did manage to get one decent dichroic bead. I think it's lovely!

A few more lovelies...

The day of my flight, we had some time so Lisa took me into the city of Auckland. We had lunch at a terrific Italian place where every dish was $12, then we had some amazing gelato for dessert, then and took the ferry to Devonport for a bit of a look around at some shops.

It was a lovely weekend! I can't say for sure if I am hooked on lampwork, but I certainly want to do some more of it and we'll see where that leads.

Morris & Co.

2008-03-27T19:47:00.007+13:00

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

William Morris 1834 to 1896

These are the words of William Morris, famous pattern designer during the 1800's and the man behind the firm Morris & Co. Although I couldn't find his birth date anywhere, the man must be a Taurus, because those words pretty much sum up how I feel. Taurus' are famous for having homes of comfort, grace and beauty.

I went to the Christchurch Art Gallery today with a friend and took in the William Morris exhibit which completely blew me away. I have never heard of him prior to this day, but his art seems comfortably familiar and I'm sure I have seen it before, or something very similar. I imagine he has influenced countless artists.

Pimpernel wallpaper, 1896

This guy was a master of patterns. He used British plants, flowers, birds and fruit in most of his motifs for fabric, wallpaper, carpets and tapestries. And what most extraordinary was these designs were all applied by hand, using hand-carved wooden blocks.

Strawberry Thief, 1883

Not only are the prints amazing in their detail and color, but most were designed to repeat seamlessly, especially the wallpapers.

He was one talented man. He and his wife also did amazing hand-embroidered tapestries, most using heavy silk thread on silk. These pieces seemed to positively glow on the walls of the gallery today.

The above tapestry looks small on my blog, but in real life they are enormous. One like this would be about 8 feet long. He also did furniture, tiles, textiles, stained glass, books and ceramics. That was one talented dude.

Membland tile motif