Project Spectrum: April "Sunshine Blanket"

I know that it is not really April yet, but I am excited to get going on some yellow projects. The sunshine baby blanket (named such not for a pattern but beacause of all the yellow!) will be the first. Here are some project stats... Project: Sunshine Baby Blanket Tools: G Hook Yarn: Various Pattern: Based on Baby Mile A Minute I might change this up a bit but the idea will be based on this pattern Start Date: March 31, 2006 Finish Date: ? (I am hoping to have it done by this Sunday April 2) For: Warm the World Related Alongs: Mile a Minute, #7 for 25 things for charity, Project Spectrum April and 40 days for others Comments on the Project: I really love making Double Crochet so I may just make strips that include double crochet and not much else...we shall see. Also my yellow squares that I made in February will be ripped and added to this blanket.

Ballet Socks...

Fini! They were made on a D hook with Knit Picks Dancing Yarn in the color Ballet. They are a mixture of single and half double crochet (the half double is where they needed to be more stretchy). Here are a little project stats... Project: Ballet Socks Tools: D hook Yarn: 1 ball Knit Picks "Dancing" in the color "Ballet" Pattern: None, but it is a mixture of single crochet and half double Start Date: March 28, 2006 Finish Date: March 30, 2006 For: Me Related Alongs: Feet Need Socks, Project Spectrum March and Sock a Month .

Ballet in progress...

Warning: I am not that great of a house keeper, please ignore my dirty stairs.... Here are my "ballet" socks in progress made from knit picks dancing yarn in the color ballet. I love the colors in this yarn I think it is my favorite dancing yarn yet. I have to make a confession I like crocheting socks better then knitting socks at this point in my sock adventures. I find my hook easier to use when making turns and such. What takes me days to do with a needles (still trying to get the hang of purling on itty bitty needles) only takes me an hour to do with a hook. I will continue to practice knitting socks of course I in fact join the Six Sox Along to practice more advanced patterns. We have a new pattern coming up in April and I am going to give it a go.

Project Spectrum: March Red and Pink

With the end of Red and Pink Month nearing I thought I would run through my finished projects for the month... First up we have the small salmon scarf that will be donated to Warm the World... It was simply knitted on US 11 needles in a mystery yarn. It is 40 inches long, nice for a child or a short scarf for an adult. Second spectrum project his month is the touch of pink hat... This hat is a wool hat that was knitted on US 11 needles with a little pink crocheted flower added. It is also for Warm the World. Third spectrum project is the "Spectrum blanket"... This blanket is the ultimate scarp blanket. So many unloved skeins or small balls of yarn were used to make this blanket of various colors, yarns and stitches. It is knitted and crochet (single, half double and double). It is another project that will be donated to Warm the World. The last spectrum project finished this month is Cherry Blossom... This little darling is the only project so far this month that is just for me, she is also the only non-yarn project. She was supposed to be a bear but without ears she looks more like a scared gingerbread person. She is cute and definately a unique edition to my large homemade toy collection. I have one more project I would like to finish before the Red and Pink month passes. Currently I am working on my "Ballet" socks and I believe I should be able to get them done in the next four days. Happy Crafting...

Introducing Cherry Blossom...

This was the room of one's own bear for the March 2006 Month of Softie. I call her Cherry Blossom. The poor little bear is without ears. I forgot them and was almost done putting her head on when I realized she still had no ears. I also messed up on her neck a little bit, but she is still too cute to take apart...perhaps she will get ears soon... This is the fabric I plan to use to make this idea I have for a sock project bag. The patterns is something I think will be good to take sock projects in. More to come... I have been sewing more and more since my successful tote creation... Excited with how good this tote came out for being sewn by hand as little Cherry Blossom was I quickly started looking up sewing projects online and stumbled across some SALs. Here is a little list of the SALs I belong to and the projects that I plan on making for the alongs.... 1. A Month of Softies: Cherry Blossom was the March project and I plan on working on the April project too when it is annouced. 2. Sew I Knit: I missed sewing along with these fantastic sewers the first time around but this time I was able to join the project for April which is Bags!! I plan on making more then one bag and my first bag will be the sock project bag. I have an idea for a small bag you throw into your large bag and a large bag that can accomodate a sock project within it, we will see which on works for me... 3. Beginning Bee Sewing Circle: This SAL is for people who are new to making quilts, which I am very very new to. I have no definate plans yet for my first quilt but I thought I might like a yellow themed one, a nice sunny one to throw on the bed. Perhaps if I get good enough I will make some quilts for Warm the World.

WK 13: Stash Update...Fini

Oh how the stash has just flown by... I started with a small shelf full of stash and 3 cardboard boxes full (medium sized boxes) and now on the last day of the stash along I have just the shelf left. It has been wonderful to move so much stash but I would have like to moved more out. Well I will keep on knitting. One of my latest finished projects is the spectrum blanket shown above. It is truly a stash project, in this house there are no more pinks, reds or purples (well except for sock yarn which does not count in this case). It is item number 5 for Warm the World this year. It was knitted on US 10 needles, crochet on an H hook in single, half double and double crochet. It is 47 inches by 53 inches (odd ball measurements I know but I wanted to make sure that all similar types of yarn were used). Want to see how others used their stash? Click here. Want to see my 13 week stash adventure? Click here.

Happy Birthday Maverick!

Today my fur baby is 4 years old and he has been living with my husband and I for 1 year. In celebration here is a photo post... To see more Maverick photos click here.

Clearance Heaven

Secret: I love getting things on clearance. So on my last day of class before Spring Break (which for me officially beings today!!!!) Hubby and I decided to head over to our local Barnes and Noble because we had received a 25% coupon in addition to our 10% members discount (yep I buy that many books). Who can pass up 35% savings? Anyway I set a budget of $25 for myself. I made out good. First off hubby and I had some coffee at the cafe ad chit chatted. The I picked up "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" by ZZ Packer. Not really sure what it is about but I know I have heard the title somewhere before and it seemed appropriate after we had our coffee. Then I found "Not the End of the World" by Kate Atkinson. I read one of her newer novels "Case Histories" a while back and loved it so I thought I would give this one a go to. And lastly I found a book called "Knitting Directory" by Alison Jenkins. Never heard of this one but I love the spiral book and the tab sections and the fact that it has a bunch of different stitches in it so I do not have to look things up online I can just go to my handy little book. The best thing of all is that all these books were on clearance! And since it is Thursday I have a square to share for the KTC blanket... This is square number 2 of 63 from the 63 Easy to Crochet Pattern Stitches booklet. I am currently in the middle of square number 3. Well I am off to officially start my Spring Break which will consist of lots of reading for fun, lots of knitting and crocheting (because it has been non-existent lately and will most likely continue to be that way in April) and a whole lot of nothing much.

Poetry Monday...

March: Ides of March

A child said, What is the grass? by Walt Whitman A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it is any more than he. I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven. Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord, A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped, Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose? Or I guess the grass is itself a child. . . .the produced babe of the vegetation. Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic, And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, Growing among black folks as among white, Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same. And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves. Tenderly will I use you curling grass, It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men, It may be if I had known them I would have loved them; It may be you are from old people and from women, and from offspring taken soon out of their mother's laps, And here you are the mother's laps. This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers, Darker than the colorless beards of old men, Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths. O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues! And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing. I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women, And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken soon out of their laps. What do you think has become of the young and old men? What do you think has become of the women and children? They are alive and well somewhere; The smallest sprouts show there is really no death, And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it, And ceased the moment life appeared. All goes onward and outward. . . .and nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier. On the first day of Spring I feel like I have no idea what grass looks like either. The picture above is my backyard this morning. We have about two feet of snow and it is still snowing. Spring time for the mountains means snow, snow and more snow. Ahhh coco time... Want to talk more about poetry with others? Click here.

WK 12 Stash Update

Well with only one week left in the stash along I have to admit that I have not done much knitting or crocheting. I worked a little more on my spectrum blanket and that is about it on the knitting front. I have however spent some time sewing. Above is the beginning of my March Softie. The theme was room of one's one and I am trying to create a bear that would be a tribute to my room as a child (up until 5 years old). I loved pink. Everything was pink, I remember even having a pink hairdryer at one point. And I loved teddy bears (actually I still do) so I thought why not a pink teddy bear, and how perfect is it that March is red and pink month in Project Spectrum. Anyway this is pretty much the only crafting I have done this week. I am loving the way this little bear is coming out. All I have left to do is to sew her all together, stuff her, oh and make some ears.

Happy Crafting! Amanda

Want to see other softies? Click here. Want to see how others are using their stash? Click here.

PS...It looks like KTC blog is back up and nothing (as far as I can see) was lost!

E: Earl and F: Felicity

E: Earl My Name is Earl. I love this show! I do not watch TV on a regular basis but this show is so funny! It is on Thursday nights on NBC, if you have not seen it yet, check it out. F: Felicity Felicity this show first came on when I was a sophomore in undergrad. I loved this show and was actually sad when it went off the air, but luckily they have put all the episodes on DVD and they rerun it WE, Women's Entertainment sometimes in the evening. Either way I have all the episodes.

Smooches!

Blanket Boredom...

So I have about 25 inch on my Spectrum blanket and I have to admit I am now kind of bored with the project. I will finish is of course but I need a little something different in the mean time. I looked at my dwindling stash and I started to think what would I like to make... There is of course socks (I still have at least 9 pairs of socks in my stash) but I do not feel in the sock mood just now ( I know the horror!) And then I started to look around the room and I noticed this guy... He seems to have a very clear idea in his mind what he would like to see more of. And Sloth was not the only one.... Georgia is in on it too! Well there you have it from the yarny mouths themselves...Toys it is... PS...there are new Maverick photos in the Furry Zen Album.

40 days for others update...

So from March 1 to April 9 we are supposed to try and make the majority of our knitting for others. I am knitting for Warm the World. Here is what I have gotten done since the 1st... 2 scarves, and a hat Here is what I have started and am working to complete... the spectrum blanket, the granny square blanket Want to see everything I have made in the past for Warm the World? Click here.

WK 11 Stash Update...

Only 2 more weeks! Which is good because I am so looking forward to doing some yarn shopping. So this week I finished.... ...5 out 25 in 2006 for WTW. It is cream colored wool knit on US 11 with a little pink flower attached. ...2 scarves for WTW ... and began a granny square blanket On the Maverick front here is my boy snuggling on the bed while I am reading 3 Lives by Stein for class (good book by the way) with his new little buddy a teddy bear named "Woody." He loves stuffed animals, it cracks me up. Want to see how others are using their stash? Click here.

Square Thursday...

It is made from Red Heart Classic yarn on a US H hook and right now it is a 28 inch square when it is finished I am hoping it will be a 40 inch square. It is for Warm the World. In addition to working on this square I also made these scarfs for WTW... This Salmon colored scarf was knitted on US 11 needles for WTW. It is 40 inchs long. It is number 3 out of 25 items for WTW this year. This turquoise scarf was knitted on US 11 needles. It is 40 inches long and is number 4 out of 25 things in 2006 for WTW.

A New Project...

Coming Soon...Crafted Poetry. Is anyone else interested?

Poetry Monday...

This Monday since there are no flakes I decided to put up two poems... Morning Song by Sylvia Plath Love set you going like a fat gold watch. The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry Took its place among the elements. Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue. In a drafty museum, your nakedness Shadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls. I'm no more your mother Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow Effacement at the wind's hand. All night your moth-breath Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen: A far sea moves in my ear. One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral In my Victorian nightgown. Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window square Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try Your handful of notes; The clear vowels rise like balloons. A Clear Midnight by Walt Whitman This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless, Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done, Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best, Night, sleep, death and the stars. March always feels like an awakening. Everything seems so clear and new and I thought this Whitman and Plath help to illustrate the newness that March brings...

Introducing Cinnamon...

This little guy sat unfinished in my project cabinet since the beginning of this year. I was looking for pink yarn for Project Spectrum this month and I noticed the little body already stuffed just headless. He was crocheted on a G hook in Red Heart Classic "Buff." So I picked him up and crocheted his head last night. I think I made the head a little too small for the body but overall he is cute, and Maverick seems to like him...

Maverick was interesting in what I was working on and kept coming over and smelling little Cinnamon. When I was finished I put little Cinnamon on the his pillow under the table and then went to the bathroom. I came back and saw the two of them getting ready for bed.

I had not planned on giving Maverick Cinnamon but who can resist such a cute face, I tell you my pup loves stuffed animals...

WK 10: Stash Update

Ah Spring is in the air. Here, in the mountains of Colorado, it is a beautiful day. I finally got rid of my sinus infection and bronchitis, it is sunny and there is a cool breeze but we definitely do not need the heat today. It is wonderful and I feel in the project mood. Above is my first project for March: Project Spectrum which I pretty much have been playing with this morning. It will be a blanket for WTW in various, pinks and purples and because I do not really have that much pink and purple some other light and cheery colors (yellow, mint green, white, etc...). Not sure how big it will be yet. The bottom is composed of single crochet squares and now I moved on to knitting on US 10 needles (started off with 4 inch squares but then I thought it would look nice knitted up so I switched). In addition to my spectrum blanket here are some other projects I want to work on this month.... 1. My fur baby will turn 4 years old on the 24th and I have a fantastic idea for a gift for him...I puppy head pillow. My baby is not the type of pup who likes to chew or rip things up, but he does love to snuggle (remember his pink teddy bear?) anyhow he used to have a pillow I knitted for him until it got too dirty and ended up being thrown out so I thought I would make him a puppy looking one I have this wonderful vision in my head of what it will look like...more to come on that one. 2. In the spirit of socks and project spectrum I want to make my “Berries” socks and my “Ballet” socks. 3. In the spirit of project spectrum and 40 days for others I will be making my “spectrum blanket” and a orange/pink like scarf out of mystery yarn (it is a mystery because I have no idea what it is it was given to me by Nan from WTW). 4. Of course I will be continuing my square project (we have 13 squares and one complete blanket) from KTC for WTW! 5. I also want to make a softie this month. I have been thinking about the theme for this month (take a room to find inspiration for a softie) and I decided that I was going to use my lonely pink fabric and make a teddy bear. When I was five I was an only child (shortly between 5 -6 my first sister was born) and I remember loving pink. I had Strawberry shortcake bedspread, curtains. A pink and purple hippo sink to make imaginary tea and cakes for my numerous stuffed bears, dolls and my imaginary friend Herbert a lime green duck. In the spirit of this room (which sadly, I have no picture of) I thought a pink fabric bear would be perfect to represent my love of teddy bears ( I still have an old little bear named Brownie that I have had since birth) and my childhood love of pink. I am really excited about this project and I cannot wait to see how she comes out... 6. And lastly KTC is reading Life of Pi this month and I could not resist the idea of making zoo animals, since I have black and white yarn I thought I would make a zebra. Okay now that I have you updated on my list of projects for March here is what I acheived since the last stash update... 1. a couple more flakes 2. And my “Woman on the Edge of Time” meditation mat. Want to see how others are using their stash? Click here.

"Woman" Mediatation Mat

Here is my project for the Knit the Classics February Book Project, Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Pirecy. Here she is my "Woman" color wheel of emotion meditation mat. It is 25 inches across although it looks really tiny in this picture (I had to stand on a kitchen chair to get it all in the picture). It is all crocheted on a H hook in single and half double stitches. No pattern, just crocheted in round and some of the colors felt like they should be half double which gave it a nice openness in parts. The color wheel starts off with the color gray, Connie lives this drab gloomy life, everything is gray her feelings, her city, the people around her. Next it moves on to blue (which in this case I associate with depression, but typically I do not think blue is depressing) it is Connie's depression that is believed to make her "crazy" thinking she has been in and out of the future. The brown comes next and is to symbolize the naturalness of the future. Yellow shows up next to signify the happiness Connie feels when she is able to be in the future. Pink, here signifies love and how Connie comes to love the future and Luciente. The next color is hard to see in this picture but it is purple it signify that Connie's love for Luciente has turned into loyalty to her. Connie loyalty and love for Luciente eventually turns into green :envy not only from the other members of the village but from Luciente and Connie when each one is more involved in other activities in the village. The color wheel ends on blue again because of the asylum Connie is in but it is flecked with other colors such as yellow, red and green because the book finish in a similar place it started but you cannot ignore the other emotions that helped Connie through her stay. Reason for the Mat (posted 2/15/2006) I have been contemplating my "Woman on the Edge of Time" project for some time now and I finally came up with an idea which I thought would be a great complement to the novel. I am going to make a circular meditation mat. There are so many emotions in the novel and time feels circular in the novel to me because Connie goes in and out of "the future." I want to capture the emotions of the novel with colors. I decided to make it a meditation mat instead of a blanket or something else because this novel always leaves me in a sort of trance, lost within my own thoughts, much like Connie. I have started going through my stash and have begun to find colors to match the major emotions as they come up in the novel. This weekend I should have some pictures to post on my idea.

March: Project Spectrum

Red and Pink

Finished Projects in March...

This Salmon colored scarf was knitted on US 11 needles for the charity WTW.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So many days so many chances to make something red or pink. What a lovely month ahead. Let us take a look at the materials...

A bag full of pink and red yarn! In this bag I see squares for my square project, socks for my feet and well... well it is a small bag and that is all I see right now...

A box with some fabric. Oh that pink fabric does look lonely, perhaps it needs more fabric to make it happy or time spent with it? I will have to see what I can do for that lonely little fabric...

Projects this month

March 4, 2006 (Saturday):

Above is my first project for March. It will be a blanket for WTW in various, pinks and purples and because I do not really have that much pink and purple some other light and cheery colors (yellow, mint green, white, etc...). Not sure how big it will be yet. The bottom is composed of single crochet squares and now I moved on to knitting on US 10 needles (started off with 4 inch squares but then I thought it would look nice knitted up so I switched).

Possible Projects this month:

Theme: A Room of One's Own~

This month is about finding a room either in your house, a friend's house, a room in a public space, a photo of a room in a magazine or a catalogue --- where ever -- but a room, and take the inspiration from that space and make a softie that is somehow a product of that inspiration... whether it be colour, feel, theme etc. An obvious idea would be to make a softie that matches a child's room and would look perfect sitting on the child's pillow - but obviously it can be as bizarre, unique and twisted as you wish. Anything goes! Also, Virgina Woolf dolls are totally acceptable. -- with a themes like this there are so many possibilites and it has been a long time since I made a softie.