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Autumn Knitting

As the weather here is turning colder, and the leaves begin to show their brilliant display, I find that I am once again feeling a draw towards my knitting.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do knit year around of course – but once fall comes around, I find it easier and easier to spend my entire day needles in hand.  This can cause a problem for the amount of house work that then accumulates around me.  Today for instance, I was going to focus getting all the laundry finished, and all or our floors cleaned.  However, once I started looking at fall knit-ware, I was unable to pull myself away.  Can you blame me?  Take a look at some of the inspiring & fun knitting patterns I found.

Interweave Knits; Fall 2007
The Sitting Tree
Joji Locatelli
free french pattern/translation please!
the Purl bee
Vogue Knitting Early Fall 2011
Vogue Knitting fall 2012
Ysolda Teague
by Celery Stalk
Pixie Bell
Carmen Rigby
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roller skating party

I have a lot of fond memories from roller skating.  Growing up, I loved roller skating parties.  My school would have a party every quarter.  They were great! The girls would all gather in the center of the rink and take turns locking hands to spin.  Then, when it was the boys only skate, we would all line up along the wall with our hands out for the boys to high 5.

When we became too old for school roller skating parties, we took to skating on the street with roller blades.

It was at a roller rink when I first discovered that my husband “liked” me. He surprisingly took my hand while I was on the sideline and pulled me off to skate a couples skate. I was 18 & he was 21.

I didn’t skate much after that. We got married, my husband began his career, and eventually we started a family. I hadn’t given roller skating a second thought until our kids began going to school had their first skating party.  The first time they went , I noticed how everything was the same. The racks of skates with bright orange laces, the slick wood floor.  The flashing colored lights. Of coarse, it was mostly me picking the kids up off the floor.  I  had offered them my help to regain their balance, but I too felt awkward being on wheels.  I quickly got the hang of it, getting my skating legs back, & they quickly improved. Neither of them need much help now, so last week when we went to the first party of the year, I was able to sit back and watch them create their own roller skating memories. They looked so cute, all bent over with their arms stretched out in an effort to keep balance as they skate.

As we were getting ready to leave, glow stick necklaces in hand, I remembered how when I was kid, we all wanted to have those huge pom-poms tied onto the toes of our skates. I looked around.  There wasn’t a single pom-pom in the building! This can’t be, so I decided that before the next school skating party, the kids & I are going to make some huge pom-poms.

You can find a great tutorial for making pom-poms here.  Just remember, the larger you want your pom-pom the wider you need to spread fingers.  It’s also a lot of fun to attach bells!

my dream craft fair

I thought it would be fun to put together a collection of artwork that would be found at my dream craft fair. Here are some of my favorites.

>>>1. sarahdee  >>> 2. jane e roberti >>> 3. petit felts >>> 4. amber alexander >>> 5. moon silver studio >>> 6. bonjour frenchie >>>  7. blue room pottery >>> 8. odelae >>> 9. Tollipop >>> 10. joe’s fiber tools >>> 11. Hide n Seek >>>12. ellen giggenbach >>> 13.  gabriel >>>14. fancy tiger >>> 15. the rocking yak >>>

Make your own collection, and leave a link in the comments below. I’ll pay a visit! I would love to see who your dream craft fair would host.

Renegade Craft Fair >>> Chicago

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago.  I’ve had my eye on this event for several years, but haven’t been able to get there until now.

We arrived there early.  So early in fact that many of the artists were still setting up.  This had it’s benefits: 1. we got an awesome parking spot 2 blocks away, & 2. we were actually able to get in to see the art work. By lunch time the street was so packed it was nearly impossible to see what was there.

My favorite artist at the fair was Dolan Geiman.  His artwork drew me in and held my attention.  I wanted to look at every single piece he had there.  My favorite piece is the Warblers.

Lisa Chow is another artist whose art I really enjoyed seeing.

I love her whimsy style that invites you to the land of make believe.  I’m hoping and waiting for an enchanted ballerina to appear.

There were a lot of other talented artisans there as well and over all The Renegade Craft Fair is a great event. However, I’d have to say I was disappointed.  Almost every artists could fit into one of 4 categories: 1. jewelry  2. silk screen/letterpress  3. art/graphic art prints  4. reclaimed wood.  There were a few people working with leather, and few more with aromatherapy, but there just wasn’t a lot of variety.   After awhile, I found my self not caring if I saw what an artist had since it was very likely that they would have similar things to what another artist had. I don’t know if this lack in variety was a result of The Renegade Crew accepting only this sort of application or if there weren’t any applications from other artisans.  I am a bit curious to know why it was this way.   Later on I’ll share with you what my dream craft fair would look like.

At any rate, it gave me some confidence in my own art/craft projects.  Confidence that I could one day have a booth at something like this, and my stuff would be unique.

If you ever have the oppertunity to go to a Renegade Craft Fair, you should definately check it out.  There are several of them across the country.

nature + fiber art = seasonal inspiration

>>>> I came across this beautiful installment this past spring and was inspired to do more outdoors knitting this summer.  I didn’t get as much of it done as I had hope. The summer seems to have gotten away from me as it always does. I get to this point in the year and panic.  I realize autumn is upon us and I still have a list of summer activities yet to do.  This summer, I couldn’t get enough time at the beach! I am still hoping to get at least one more trip in before the weather turns chilly.

I did get some knitting in this summer, and on our last trip I found this lovely drift wood!  I have some ideas brewing for next summer, or maybe this autumn yet.  I make a vow to myself to slow down, empty my date book, and enjoy the coming season.

>>>> Happy Labor Day my friend! <<<<

baby Isla

 

I made this blanket for a friend who had a baby over the summer. I used Jared Flood’s pattern Hemlock Ring (FREE on Ravelry!) with some stash yarn.  I’m sorry, I can’t remember what it is. This is my favorite blanket pattern.  I have to start the pattern when I am alone and without any distractions.  The center flower section is pretty easy to get messed up on if I’m distracted. The feather and fan section of the blanket I now have memorized so I can travel with the project. I also don’t knit the entire blanket when I’m making it a baby blanket.

I made two and given both away as baby blankets. Next, I want to make full sized blanket (in yak of course!) for our home.

 

Along with the blanket I made this fantastic baby sweater. I used Kelly Brooker’s pattern Puerprium Cardigan (also FREE on Ravelry). I was able to this knit up in a day with Caron Spa (a bamboo blend) yarn. I think this will be my stand by for hand knit baby gifts.