just maryse

Eye Candy Friday -- On Saturday

i'm a little behind today. but whatever. here's some stuff that i've been working on or thinking about working on.

this little crochet project needs to be properly photographed. this is what i worked on while in france. or should i say, when I WAS GIVEN THE TIME TO WORK ON SOMETHING!

this is undyed fiber (unknown origins) that i spun up this week. as you can see, i tend to overspin. i need to work on that.  this is for a mystery experiment project that i'm working on. SCIENCE!

and this is the Pop Art Mini Tapestry Kit that i ordered from Purl during their recent 20% sale.  i'm a little bit of a mini cooper fiend (i drive one) and fell in love with this kit ages ago. but it cost a little more than i was willing to spend so i waited.  finally not only did it go on sale, but then it was an additional 20% off! so it came home to live with me.  i think i'll save it to work on this winter. 

so that's all that's going on around here.  in a bit i'm heading out to Fiber Revival, a lovely local fibery event about an hour or so away from me.

i'm sure i'll see some of you there.

FUCK YEAH!

i "met" chawne via flickr a couple of years back.  i was initially attracted to her crafty photos. she's very prolific and you'll see, very talented and thoughtful and inspiring. then one day she posted a photo of the college campus where she is a professor and although i hadn't been to my alma mater in almost 10 years, i recognized the scene right away and wrote her to confirm.  and we've been crafty buddies ever since. 

she's lovely and soft-spoken in person.  but what you don't notice when you meet her is what a potty mouth she is. 

so when she asked me to contribute to a quilt that she was putting together, i said "fuck yeah!" 

thing is, i'm not much of a quilter. i still haven't finished the little quilt i started almost 2 years ago. so i took a piece of linen (from an old pair of pants so it was nice and soft) and did a little cross stitching.

i used some of that waste canvas stuff which served as a guide for cross stitching. i can tell you that it was a fucking pain in the ass.  heh.

and then i just let the f-bomb fly.

 

 

i really like the word "fuckwit."

Another FO

looking back on some posts, it appears that i'm averaging AT MOST one FO a month.  yeah i know, that's pathetic.  this problem has been kind of getting me down just a little. i've been very unfocused and it's the first time in a long time when i've had several projects in the works.

but if i'm writing today it's to tell you that I FINISHED SOMETHING!

last saturday, a friend of stacie's brought over an old cashmere sweater for chopping up.  the friend wanted a pair of mittens.  i cut off the bottom of the sleeves.

this is a breakthrough for me by the way. i am nothing if not deliberate and taking scissors to this old sweater, even if it was not my sweater went totally against my normal instincts.  just so you know.

and then i took these two pieces of sleeve, decided right away they would make awesome arm warmers and then thought about how i was going to finish them for 4 days.

 

yesterday i finally finished them by using a blanket stitch to turn down the unfinished edge and crocheting 3 rows in single crochet.  the actually time required to do this?  an hour maybe.  the time to think about it. 4 DAYS! but you know that's still a record. i do a lot of thinking.

and yes, the blanket stitching is a little frankensteinish and far from perfect, but i kind of like it.

so that's it! i've raved raved them here.

A 2010 Crafty Retrospective

the other day, i said i would look forward from now on.  no looking back.  but one aspect of my life that didn't suck ass was my crafty life.

 

i wasn't super productive, but i did try a few things.  i became obsessed with cross stitch, and i started my first quilt.  i knitted a few pairs of socks, spun some wool.  i self-published the very braidy cowl and the oh jamie, my jamie socks.  i had two patterns published in crochet today:  your nana's potholders and the petal pillows.  and the secret design projects i had been working on the summer of 2009, finally appeared this fall in Knitting It Old School:  sunshine day and the go go granny (my personal favorite).   and i had the opportunity to work with gale zucker and joan tapper on their latest collaboration as project manager, photo assistant and stylist, chicken wrangler, sample knitter and crocheter and mitten model.  it was great fun.  well most of it.  wearing wool mittens in 90 degree weather was a challenge.  heh.

i lost my mojo for a couple of months, but over all i had a crafty good time.  i plan on more of the same in 2011.

oh jamie, my jamie

i seem to have developed a bit of an obsession.  and i'm not verra proud.  but i also can not deny it, since it has infiltrated even my crafty life.

at least it's got me reading again.  heh. 

I Blame Ashley

one of my issues (one of many) is that with all of the blogs and the flickr-ing, i'm constantly bombarded by images and descriptions of things that inspire.   and lead me to obsess about.  sometimes it's just a yarn that i must have.  or a kit i must knit or a pattern i must try out.  sometimes it's a new lens.  and sometimes it's a new craft that i want to try out.

that's how i became a spinner, by the way.

the other day though, ashley started posting pictures in flickr and blogging about her new obsession, embroidery/needlework.  and i thought to myself, "self, i must do this too!"   so i went to amazon, started adding books to my wishlist until i saw something that look familiar.

i already had a kit!  i bought it awhile back when i found it at Home Goods for something like $1.99.  and i had forgotten all about it. 

yeah so when i'm not working on babette, or some other secret projects, or commuting to my stupid job, or working at my stupid job, or finding another stupid job, or gardening, or walking past my idle spinning wheel or my dusty cross-trainer, i'll embroider something.

yes sir-ree bob.  i will.

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day 66 -- i have to remember that on knitnight i should post something earlier in the day!

Oh, Right ... The Haul

sorry, i got distracted by the ABC-Along.  i had some serious catching up to do.

so the haul.  i did bring stuff home.

i brought home some pottery

this cute little chicken ...

and this sponge-brillo pad "hut"  and matching butter dish.

 

oh.. right, you don't want to see this crap...

so the yarn -- like i said before, i found very little but i couldn't leave one store without buying these three little skeins of italian cotton.  i loved the colors.  they'll be good for MDK inspired warshrags.

i also bought some beads.  these from the crafty shop where the lady didn't mind me taking pictures.

and these from la droguerie.  yes, i had the NERVE to pick up the jar that these shell beads were housed. 

and finally, the books.  OOOHHHH BOOKS.

of course i had to get the current issue of marie claires idees (and the special edition of prima -- another crafty mag).

and then i went a little nuts...

i love the title of this series of books...

Shhhhh.. I'm creating. (or  SHUT UP, I'M MAKING SHIT)

i got two -- one that uses every day sewing notions for making jewelery and other decorative items.  and one that uses beads and buttons for jewelery.

 

i also got a book on red embroidery.  this one reminded me of some of the japanese craft books we've been seeing.

then there's this one on crochet trims, and another put out by the people of DMC.

 

and last but not least, a couple of knitting books/mags.

 

and of course, i've told you about  the chocolate.

Knitting Free Post

the other day, i mentioned that when i should have been concentrating on my olympic event, i was partying with needlepoint.  i even brought it to the closing ceremonies *gasp* but was shamed into keeping it in the bag (which is fine, since it would have gotten in the way of the drinking of beer).

anyway, jackie asked to see it anyway.  and who am i to say no to jackie. 

so this is the piece that i've been working off and on for a few days now.  it's a door stopper kit that i purchased in bermuda. i love this little pink house. 

i finished this piece ages ago.  it needs to be properly blocked and framed.

(i found this piece at the bottom of a bag, so i needed the mouse and camera to keep it flat).

finally, this piece is the largest i've ever attempted and it's almost done.  unfortunately i've run out of the sky blue cotton, and i'm going to be a little short on the white of the house.  so this piece will continue to be on hold at least until the summer when i go back to france.  (i think i bought this canvas a good 10 years ago).

and because i'm a born multi-tasker, i crocheted a couple of hand soap cozies last night. 

(i wonder if these are kitschy enough for stitchy?)

that's all for now.