Sorry guys!.....

So it turns out it's really hard to blog while in a different country when you're traveling and whatnot... Do you all (all three of you..) still want to hear about my trip or should I just keep posting artsy/craftsy type things?

I should mention I have changed my major to Art Education, so now I'm studying to become an art teacher! I will become certified to teach art in public schools, but I would prefer to work at a private school, as long as the benefits are there. I will be delayed by a bit in order to get all the classes I need, but it'll be fine - not too much longer than it would have been anyways. In the meantime I'm taking some classes I won't need this semester.. such as Statistics :P and Human Growth and Development. Hopefully those won't pull down my GPA because I have almost no drive to study for them!

Here's a tiny taste of my trip:

 Stonehenge, near Salisbury

 Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

Loch Ness, near Inverness

Made it!

We have arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland! We had 3 flights, two of which were pretty bumpy in places, but not too bad. Two of the flights had a ton of movies to watch! That might be part of the reason I am so tired now at 3 pm in Edinburgh.. 9 am in the past my time. I haven't downloaded any pictures to my computer yet, but I will try to do that soon. Edinburgh here we are!!

Just Kidding!

So yes, I lied in my last post when I said I would write something about what I've been making soon... I've had little time to knit and I've done no spinning or crochet, but I have gotten farther on that purple cape. I wish I was farther on it though so I could take it to SCOTLAND with me. Speaking of which, I will be leaving in 11 days! That is when this blog will turn into a travel blog, and hopefully I'll post at least once a week when we get there. We will be staying in Edinburgh and will take side trips to London for 4 days and Belfast for just one night. Other than that we'll take day trips to the Isle of Skye as well as Iona! Get excited for pictures of the beautiful United Kingdom!

BRB

Finals week is almost over and I've been starting to knit!! More to come hopefully within the week. Also I can share with you my final projects for Graphic Design and 3D Design :)

Art News..

Since there is absolutely no new knitting news... (I haven't knit one more stitch since my last post).... I thought I'd show some of the things I've been doing on my own and in class. First up are some more sketches I made on my own. Nothing special, just something to look at :)

This first one was basically just a study in pattern - thinking of new ones and trying new stuff in the guise of a cityscape! Although I have to admit, towards the end I sort of gave up thinking of new patterns and started doing what I knew..

















For the next one, I asked my sister to give me two requirements for me to stay within. They were, it has to be something alive and it has to be asymmetrical. Once I got that done I worked on the pattern of the fence behind it. I don't particularly like the bird in the foreground, but I think it works. I'm trying to realize I need to spend more time on my art if I actually want to make something worth having in the end!




This last one is just a little stippling work. I started with the body and finished with the penguin like head.. I don't think this one is done - it needs water or another bird or something.. any suggestions?

Next up, I'm going to take you through the making of a cool plaster sculpture for my 3D Design class! First, we had to do 100 sketches. Then, sew a bag for the plaster to go in. The sketching and pattern  making were the hardest parts for me. It's so hard for me to visualize something that's going to be 3-dimensional when all you have are a sewing machine, pins, and a piece of paper. However, I came up with a pretty good design, I thought. My teacher liked it too. :) Here's the sketch I ended up using. Sorry it's a little dark.

And I actually ended up taking out the 'limb' that wraps around the 'head.'

Next I sewed up a bag after a LOT of head scratching, trying to figure out how to sew a bag so when plaster is poured in there will be 'legs' in front of others etc. After I got it sewn, we poured plaster in it! Here's what that looked like.

The way gravity and the plaster went into the bag, it turned out quite a bit differently than I was intending, and I was really nervous and excited to see how it would turn out.











After it was poured and it dried for a few days, I took it down and slowly cut away the fabric. It was a little difficult because in the 'arm,' there was fabric bunching in the curve, keeping it from coming out. Although in the end I did get it out.




Here's the result of that:

I REALLY REALLY REALLY liked how it turned out! So different from my original sketch, but really cool in its own right!

That last photo is of one of the 'legs' that sits on the table. There must have been an air bubble in there or something.... remember this for later....

After that, the teacher suggested I paint it.. so I bought some blue spray paint and painted it! I picked blue because I was trying to think of a color that portrays movement. I thought of blue because it's the color of water which has a lot of movement - like a river or ocean.

Anywho, here's some pictures of that.

 Notice anything missing?

Yep, when I was sanding it down so it wouldn't be fuzzy, one of the legs broke. It was the one with the air bubble.. I was worried about it, but I had kind of forgotten about it :( I'm kind of angry about it, but at the same time, it's just a school project and IT STILL STANDS, so that's the important part. They're due on Thursday, so if I had more time I might try to get it glued on there, but I'm not gonna worry about it for now.

This is a good angle :) I think I'm going to name it "Movement."

Promises, Promises

I keep saying I'm knitting, and I am to an extent, but not really enough that there needs to be a big update.. SOOO I've decided to show you some of my drawings! One of my New Year's resolutions was to draw a little every day. I've done that if you consider writing words on paper as drawing.. but more recently I've been able to draw at least a little every day. Here are a few drawings:

I SHOULD be able to post more knitting stuff this summer. But I will be working and I may be getting an internship, so that will take up a lot of time. HOWEVER!! I'll be going to Scotland(/London/Belfast) for four weeks in July. So I'll be blogging more then probably, mostly about traveling. But I'm going to go to a few yarn stores hopefully, and I'll definitely fill you in on those. :) So get excited for this summer!!!

More to come

I got the next color for the kaffe blanket!

What to do while knitting...

So, since I am now on spring break and I'm realizing just how little I've been working on projects, I started knitting on that cape. And it was quiet. What to do while knitting? I'm the kind of person who needs at least two things going on to keep myself interested. The other day, in the Mac Lab at school, we had to watch a video on .. something about graphic design. WOW I can't even remember what it was about! Well, anyways, the teacher told us to turn off our computers to make sure we were paying attention to the film. I was almost dying 30 min in. All I was doing was listening - my hands weren't doing anything but fidgeting.

Then we come to today when I was knitting. I had been watching some shows on my computer already and decided I didn't want to start something else. Then I thought of something - I reached for my iPod and realized I could play my Russian language CD! I have the first two lessons for learning how to speak Russian which includes phrases such as, "Excuse me, do you speak English/Russian?" "I speak a little English/Russian" "Are you English/Russian" "Yes/No, I'm English/Russian." (One thing that annoys me about this, though, is that I can't see it spelled out - I'm very visual, especially when knowing how to pronounce something! But of course that would mean learning a whole new alphabet.. crazinesss!)

If you're like me and get bored if your ears AND hands aren't busy, you could start learning another language through tapes, such as Rosetta Stone or any other recorded language learning listening recording! It's a fantastic way to keep your brain and hands busy, while learning about other cultures and how they say things. This could come in VERY handy if planning an international trip to a country where they speak a different language!

This year, I've been in Italian 1 and 2, so when it asks me to repeat a whole phrase, I often completely blank and go for the Italian version - "Si, io sono inglese" "Mi scusi, parli inglese/italiana/paruski?" "Si, parlo un po."

I find the study of language so interesting! It can be SO frustrating and confusing when you start, but once you can start understanding what others are saying when they speak that other language, it is so encouraging! And you realize just how much you really have improved. Plus, it gets easier to learn that language the more you know of it PLUS learning/understanding other languages gets easier. For example, I can almost make out Spanish now. My teacher also mentioned once that Italians speak Italian to Portuguese who speak Portuguese to Italians and they can understand each other! (Did that even make sense?) That is so cool.

Anyways, just something to think about, and a good way to spend your time! Learn that language you've always wanted to be able to understand! DO IT!

Not an update..

..because there's nothing to update. BUT I have decided to make something with the blue yarn I made! How exciting!! haha

Updates to come...

Update!

Sorry guys, still haven't had a whole lot of time for knitting etc, but I do have an update! I started on the monkey for February. I'm making it black since I don't have any brown yarn I'm willing to use on this project.... Anyways, here's the monkey:

It looks a little freaky right now, especially without the ears, and I'm not totally convinced it's ever going to stop being freaky. The white eyes are just a little much, but black eyes wouldn't have shown up, so what else was I to do?

I've also been working on that cape, which is nearly 13 inches! I have to keep doing this same stitch for 18 inches, so almost there!

The throw I've been working has come to a halt... I need to buy the next color before I can do anything else on it, and since I've been focusing on the cape, I haven't been thinking about that.

Pet Peeve 1

I know I haven't been blogging much, and it's just because I haven't had anything to say. This week all I've had the time to do is a few rows on that cape. I STILL haven't started on that monkey! Anyways, I thought instead of an update on progress, I'd give a little rant. :)

One of the things I dislike is the view some people have on knitters. I am a college student, and am still a little embarrassed to admit to my college friends that I like to knit. I imagine in my head they are just thinking of the dinky things beginner knitters do. A plain scarf, a tacky scarf, a plain hat, fingerless gloves that are unadorned.

As an intermediate to advanced knitter (probably...) I do NOT make these things. I make it a point to steer clear from anything that looks too simple or ugly in my eyes. Perhaps this is because I want to continue growing as a knitter and want to branch out so I can do everything. But there is still that side of me that wants to be seen in people's eyes as a person who buys knitwear at a high price without even having the slightest inclination to ask if I made that myself - as if that were some sort of judgment that it doesn't look very well made.

I know I know, handmade is better than store made any day, but in my mind for some reason I don't think the general public would agree with that. Maybe it's that I see the "general public" as uneducated and judgmental.. which may be true.

I don't know. Anyone care to disagree with me on how non creative types see handmade items?

Not much progress...

I have been a really bad job of knitting etc this month so far.. I haven't even started crocheting the animal for February (which is a monkey btw). I have done a bit of spinning though.. so I guess I could talk about that. :)

I did a bit of spinning about a week ago. It was that blue stuff I got shown in the pictures for January. I spun it ALL. It's a lot and it didn't even fit on the bobbin... but I made it fit! My right arm was pretty sore the next day! I used the three-ply Navajo method after I spun it. Here are the lovely pictures:

January, check!

New Things!

I love getting things in the mail! It has to be one of the most exciting things to know something is coming for you, to know what it is, but to not know WHEN it's coming! Almost more exciting than waiting for Christmas since you know you're gonna like what's coming! Anyways, here's what I got!

I won this great book from a blog tour on Rhythm of the Needles! I've already marked the ones I want to make first!

This is some great roving from WCMercantile on Etsy. LOVE it! and I'm loving the color! I'm going to go do some spinning right now!

2012 Goals

So it would be more convenient, I've decided to repost my goals for 2012 here.

• Make a new animal (from the Chinese zodiac) each month. There's a link to the pattern HERE.
• Learn something new - such as how to knit real lace. Or maybe how to fit knits - make a cardigan, or maybe a blue one, or perhaps a sweater vest.
• Knit something with the yarn I made.
• Make the majority of my Christmas gifts for next Christmas.
• Design at least 2 pieces of knitwear. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but have never gotten the courage up to try it!
• Draw at least a little bit every day... I'm gonna need to catch up on this one.

So far I'm not doing so well on the drawing every day.... But I have already designed a piece of knitwear! I made this hat for a friend of mine. I didn't really sit down and write it out beforehand, although I did do a bit of thinking before I started. I basically knew what it wanted to look like and I was off! This was also partly because her birthday party was the next day and I hadn't started on it yet....

Still working on it..

I've been knitting a lot on the Neapolitan Tweed Cape, but I feel like I'm not getting any closer to finishing it! Below is how much I have now, and I'm supposed to continue in this pattern for 18 inches! That's 14 more than I have now!

But first I'll show you how I do my gauge to see if I'm using the right needles with the right tension. My fingers were crossed because I ordered these needles especially for this project from a great Etsy store called Rachael Made It. Anyways, so what I do is cast on the amount of stitches it says to in the correct pattern and knit a few rows to see if it's gonna work out! Not the correct way, I know, but it's worked so far! Hopefully this won't be the exception... So this is my gauge and it is perfect! 20 sts to 4"!

This is what I have now, actually I have a little more now adding up to 4 inches, and probably 140+stitches! CRAZINESS. The only thing is I'm not sure if I like how many of those random dots are showing up so close together... we'll see as it slowly become 18 inches! At which point I'll be at the first buttonhole. Oh boy.

Welcome!

So here I am on blogger.com rather than weebly. Here I'll be able to post better quality videos and link to other blogs I like to read! Those are the main reasons for the switch. Anyways, now for the important stuff:

I GOT YARN IN THE MAIL TODAY! I LOVE getting mail! And this was special mail, I ordered this stuff especially for a pattern that goes with this particular yarn from elann.com.

 The pattern can be found HERE. I'm really excited to make it! It will be the first thing I've made that is semi-fitted. I've only made gloves, scarves, and stuffed animals before. It will also qualify as finishing one of my resolutions for the year! I'll post those on a later post. Now for more homework so I can get on this cape!