Tag: Knitpicks

Random

WIPs As Far As The Eye Can See

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ON MY NEEDLES

I’m going to dive right in……..

 New Gray Day Sweater

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Sprinkle Heather

 

Five Roses Shawl

Knitologie by Knitcrate Sparkling Sock in Turquoise (speckled)

Emma’s Yarn in Turquoise

 

Twisted Flower

Yarn Bee

Rainbow Wrapsody

 

Kew Socks

URU.YARN  by Knitcrate Sugared Sock

Hidden Pool

Dissent Cowl

Faithful Beauty by The Verdant Gryphon

Arco Iris by Malabrigo

Shell Cottage from The Handmade Sock Society

Knitpicks Stroll Fingering in Seashell Tonal

Helen Stewart, Designer

So, lots of knitting happening here at Casa Coleman, just not a lot of finishing. 🙂 I’m trying to be more diligent about recordkeeping and such, so you can find pattern details and progress in my project pages.

Silence is a fence around wisdom. German Proverb

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Knitting · pottery

The Insomniac Potter Rides Again

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Good morning everyone! As you can see, my sleep pattern seems to have reverted into the good old 2 a.m. internal alarm setting.  (heavy sigh)  One good thing about starting my day in the wee hours is that it’s a great time to run the kiln, long before the sun comes up, and the heat and humidity start to build.

Here’s a look at a few things I’ve been working on:

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The start of a series of small bottles, all different

Glazes L to R

Blue Rutile, Textured Turquoise and Blue Rutile, Blueberry Spice, Textured Turquoise, Ancient Jasper

A pot I started yesterday waiting to dry enough to trim.

A bean pot that has been washed and reglazed several times. (I’m not usually this indecisive.) Final glaze is Textured Turquoise. (Probably)🤔

ON MY NEEDLES

The first five inches of the Gray Days sweater. Six more inches of stockinette to go then on to the best part – CABLES!  I absolutely LOVE cables!

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My Gray Days

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Haze Heather

Project notes can be found here.

There is no great genius without some touch of madness. Seneca

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PS I’ve added some new pots to my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery.  I’d love to have you pay a visit!

Knitting · pottery

Woo-Hoo! I Have a FO!

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Off My Needles

It’s official!  My Leksak Lady is finished, with ends woven, a nice Eucalan soak and ending with a good blocking and drying.  My project notes can be found here.

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My Leksak Lady

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Tweed Barn Door Heather

I’m ready for fall and cooler temps, could someone please get in touch with Mother Nature and pass that on?

In the hope that yes, fall is coming, I started a new sweater yesterday, Gray Days, a Knitpicks pattern.  I wish I could show you a photo, but nothing larger than a postage stamp will load. You can get a better look at it on the cover of the latest Knitpicks catalog.

Out of the Kiln

I’ve been working on a small bottle series and got the first bunch bisqued yesterday. Now comes the hard part – what glazes should I use?  Decisions, decisions. Here’s a photo –

 The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. Eden Phillpotts

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Knitting · pottery

Almost Back to Normal

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After being laid low last week from my shingles vaccine booster – think worst hangover ever accompanied by a temp of 102, I finally feel like I’m on the downside of this ugliness.  Jeez louise, I hate to be sick!

I’ve made what I consider great progress on Leksak Lady, with only one and one half sleeves and the crochet edging to be done.  I admit, I’m particularly proud of my edging as I rarely crochet (though I really do enjoy doing it) and am usually pleasantly surprised at how good it looks.

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Leksak Lady

I’m going to try my hardest to remember to add project notes when a project is completed.  I find other knitter’s project notes really helpful and, well, turnabout is fair play my mama always said.

OK, that’s my string side.  Now, on to the mud…..

My new clay finally arrived and new clay is always cause for a celebration.  I threw a couple of chucks, which I sorely needed.  It seems like just about everything that comes off my wheel lately has some sort of neck and I find it impossible to trim without using one.  Granted, a chuck isn’t the most  exciting thing to come off my wheel, but it sure is nice to have one when I need it!

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Someday I’m going to learn how to level my shots. 🙂

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I threw this vessel and stamped it as an experiment.  I like the way it turned out – what do you think?  Maybe my new glazes will have arrived  by the time it’s ready for glazing and it’s final firing.

FYI – Tomorrow is the first day of the fall session of pottery class.  It’s doubly exciting  because we’re in a new (to us) building as the Arkansas Art Center and Museum School is undergoing a facelift/remodel slated to take three years.  Exciting stuff!

One more thing – If you haven’t visited ClayDreamsPottery lately, go on over and take a look.  You never know what you might find!

All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. Albert Einstein

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Knitting

Finally A Little Progress

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Finally showing a bit of progress on the Shell Cottage Socks!  I have to admit that this is NOT my favorite yarn to work with.   It’s really nice and soft but tends to get fuzzy and is super sticky. Seems like it’s always snarled up with itself. 😠

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

By the Sea

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I joined The Handmade Sock Society’s Season Two sock club this week.  Since the theme is “A Sanctuary by the Sea, I thought it fitting that the project yarn I’m using is Knitpicks Stroll in the colorway Seashell Tonal. I love the soft pink and grays of this yarn!

 

You can find my project notes here.

One more thing – I’ve started a pottery blog, The Insomniac Potter. I hope you’ll pay us a visit!

An ounce of emotion is equal to a ton of facts. John Junor

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Knitting

Happy February!

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Despite my vow to myself that I’d not start anything new until my WIPs were finished, I found I could’t exist one more day without at least casting on the Abella Pullover from Knitpicks Sunday Morning patterns and so caved.  A word to the wise – Beware the 279 stitch i-cord cast on. 🤪

Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. Jonathan Kozol

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Knitting

Oops, It’s Been Awhile, Hasn’t It?, Lots of Excitement at Casa Coleman and Happy Easter!

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It seems that the harder I try to plan and always, always intend to sit down and blog at least a few lines about whatever is catching my attention, somehow, it never happens.  I also know that one of the keys to blogging regularly is planning, which I’ve thrown aside for the last little while – stream of consciousness anyone??

Like I said in the title, lots of  excitement here at Casa Coleman these past few weeks, here are a couple of the high points….

After a run of five little grandgirls in a row, Babymama, Babydaddy, Baby Diva and the Elf are set to welcome a new BABY BOY this summer!  We’re all very very excited — think hitting the lottery or winning the Superbowl!  At their last ultrasound, Baby Boy cooperated beautifully, allowing a good shot of (ahem) what little boys are made of. 🤗

Next, our Bangkok trip is pretty much upon us; we leave Wednesday – DAY AFTER TOMORROW!!! This is about the time that my anticipation usually gets the best of me and I become very scattered, trying to do too many things at once without really accomplishing anything.  I’ve been mentally packing for days and tried on last summer’s shorts just to be sure they still fit (they do! Yay!), next to try – swimsuit – which isn’t something I ever look forward to. ☹️

As usual, I have several things on my needles, but only one WIP that I’ve made real progress on.

Julie’s Sweater

All this baby is lacking is the cowl neck and the second sleeve.  I’m debating whether or not to carry it to Bangkok, 25-30 hours of flight (knitting) time would just about do it.  It’s just a lot of sweater in what I’m afraid will be a small space.  Maybe Mr. iknead and I will get lucky and the third seat will be unoccupied, providing me with more elbow room and a place to put all my knitting essentials.  It’s happened before. 🤞🤞🤞

Spinning continues on the Summer Palette roving, but should be finished before we leave.

Summer Palette

Roving from Three Waters Farm

The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do.  The hard part is doing it.  Norman Schwarzkopf

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Knitting

Hurray! I Have A FO Today!

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OFF THE NEEDLES

Liesl is a done deal – knitted, ends woven in and blocked.  It fits and I’m really, really excited at how it turned out.

My Liesl Sweater

Knitpicks Cotlin in Brown Sugar

Cocoknits

I’m linking with Tami and Frontier Dreams KCCO today.

Science is organized knowledge.  Wisdom is organized life.  Immanuel Kant

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Knitting

Fun with Dye, Crazy Cables

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INTO THE DYEPOT

So, up until now, I’ve been experimenting with dyes, mostly Kool-Aid, but a couple of weeks ago I decided to take this dyeing thing to the next level.  I ordered the sample set of Jacquard acid dyes from Knitpicks and here are the results of a first time for everything dye trial.

This is some of my handspun – Natural Bare Superwash Merino/Nylon, dye color Vermilion

More handspun, this time Knitpicks Bare Superwash Wool/Nylon, dye color Sky Blue

I love, love, love the intensity of the color and, really, the process was a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I’ll be doing more of this!

A LITTLE BRAG

Babymama picked up the needles again earlier this year and has been knitting up a storm.  Look at her latest project, modeled (of course) by Babydiva.  How bout them cables??!!

The minute you choose to do what you really want to do, it’s a different kind of life.  Buckminster Fuller

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Knitting

Lost and Found

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FOUND!

Remember the set of Knitpicks cables I lost a few weeks ago?  They’re found now – right where I left them, in a interchangeable pocket thing I had whipped up on the sewing machine and was “test driving”.  Oh, of course, they were found a day AFTER the new cables I had given up and ordered arrived, but that’s about par for the course, I think.  Glad to have them back, no matter what!

SPIN CYCLE

Since my last post, this:

has transformed into this:

I’m thinking shawlette, maybe Hitchhiker, but haven’t made a final decision.  Suggestions welcome.

In every man’s heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty.  Christopher Darlington Morley

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Knitting

Phestival Phun, Phorget The Photos, If I Were a Knitpicks Cable

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WHAT I DID AND WHAT I DIDN’T DO

Remember all the photos I promised of the Fiber Festival?  Didn’t.Take.One.  As a matter of fact, my camera didn’t even make it to the festival.  That’s right, after being obsessive about making sure I had the camera, it never even made it to the festivities.  I remembered it about the time we pulled into the parking lot.  I suppose I could have pressed Mr. Iknead into going back and getting it, but the festival and the camera were about 20 miles apart and I just didn’t have the heart to ask him to go back and get on that cold and rainy morning.  But……..

MY PHESTIVAL TAKE AWAY

Prepare to be awed:

This, my friends, is a bag of beautiful baby alpaca.  It feels like buttah.

It’s from Whirlwind Ranch in Lebanon, Missouri and cries out to be fondled.

Here we have “Raspberry Ice”, domestic wool top from

Diamond B Sheep Farm of Greenwood Arkansas

More from the Diamond B – 100% merino, just waiting to become someone’s favorite socks.

More Diamond B merino, which hasn’t decided yet what it should be, given the amazing possibilities.

A wool, Angelina, silk noil and faux cashmere batt from you know where.

Can you see the little sparklies?  I learned that those are called Angelina.

A wool, Tussah silk and bamboo batt, from my favorite Arkansas sheep farm.

All this fiber and I stayed within my budget (give or take about five bucks).  This should keep Violet and me spinning for a while!

IF I WERE A KNITPICKS INTERCHANGEABLE CABLE

Where would I be?  All I know is that all my lovely interchangeable cables are missing and I’ve pretty much exhausted all possible hiding places.  I’ve looked in every bag, basket and drawer in the knitting room, I’ve called my housekeeper, I’ve called Bigmommy and even enlisted St. Anthony.  No cables.  They may have been abducted by aliens, since I’ve ruled out someone breaking into my house, sneaking into the knitting room and taking off with a ziplock bag of cables.  Sigh.  They’re sure to turn up now, since I ordered a new set last night.  Sigh.

 Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.  James Baldwin

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