Amy Artisan

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Category: Project Spectrum (page 2 of 5)

Third Time’s a Charm

February 9, 2007 / / 9 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, I had hoped to start February with a blue finished object; however, the hotel knitting last week just wasn’t happening. On Monday I cast on…knit round & round, cabled, knit round & round and then discovered a problem with the first cable – so I ripped it all out. On Tuesday I tried again…cast on, knit round & round, cable, knit round & round and then discovered a problem – so I ripped it all out, again. Fast forward to last Friday evening – I cast on, knit round & round, cabled, etc. and by the end of the evening Blue Fetching #1 was complete. I did discover one “issue” with it but it was something I could incorporate into the pair. Saturday morning I cast on for #2 and later in the evening was finished. Ever since I finished Grandma’s pair I was wanting to make a pair for me and with the deep freeze that has descended it was a the right time to make this pair. They came in handy (oops, no pun intended) this week with all of the drive time to/from WI they were the perfect thing to keep my hands warm. (And they are on my hands now as I type this entry.)

Fetching

The Details:
Fetching in Dream in Color in Blue Lagoon. This is a “new to me” yarn and I love how the color subtleties knit up. My extra “design feature” the palms of both mitts don’t have the third cable.

Calorimetry

Next on the needles is Calorimetry from Knitty. I knit it up on Sunday but encountered sizing issues and had to rip it all out – so will finish up version 2 this weekend. I had hoped to complete it this week as my hotel knitting; however, for the second week in a row I had knitting error problems with Monday night knitting. I think going forward I shouldn’t plan to accomplish any real knitting on Mondays when I travel – I’m just too tired at the end of that day.

Shells on the scarf

This weekend is my final crochet class. Last weekend I added the shell border to the edge and will learn to make flowers on Saturday. Now I’m ready for warmer weather so I can wear my new spring scarf.

As I finish up these projects I’m wondering what I’ll cast on for next. So much yarn, so many possibilities! Stay tuned…

Bring on the Color!

February 1, 2007 / / 9 Comments

Project Spectrum 2.0 has begun!

The focus for February and March is the blue/gray/white spectrum – quite fitting for these winter days! Recent car time to/from the client in WI has been filled with these colors – blues and grays in the sky and the white of the snow covering everything. In addition to knit projects I’m looking forward to some non-knit projects – including some that I had hoped to accomplish last year during the first Project Spectrum.
Blue Knitting
I have a blue knit planned for the next couple of days. I started this knit twice this week while traveling for work (and actually thought I would start the month with a blue FO)…but a couple of intense work days meant that I had few brain cells left for knitting & both evenings I messed up the knit & had to rip it out. Hopefully I will reveal the finished project soon!

January Knits
Looking back on January I managed to knit quite a few colors from the spectrum – this stack of knit includes 12 dishcloths, my Bejeweled Blue Hostas Scarf, the secret knit and the still unfelted tote. The simple knitting has been great travel knitting.

Crocheted Scarf Progress
The crochet class is going well & I have made great progress on my scarf. As for the sore hand/arm when crocheting I have found that these hand exercises are helping & I plan to incorporate them into the daily routine. This multi-colored cotton yarn is perfect for a spring scarf!

It looks like we will be in “deep winter weather” mode this weekend – just perfect for staying in and crafting – stay tuned for project reveals…

There’s No Place Like Home

July 30, 2006 / / 11 Comments

The Wizard of Oz has always been one of my favorite movies. Maybe it has to do with being a Kansas gal. How many of you remember “getting to stay up late” to watch the movie on TV when you were a kid? When I moved to Georgia before 10th grade, many comments were made about “being from Kansas” – to which I would respond that Dorothy did indeed live across the street from me.

When I recently saw this pin “3 Clicks From Home” at Melissa’s Eggman Studios it seemed like a perfect way to celebrate a favorite movie and being a Kansas gal.

On Thursday evening I wished I could have clicked my heels three times to get home. Summer storms impacted flights in and out of Chicago – so I “got to” hang out in the Chattanooga airport for 5 1/2 hours while waiting for my flight home. At least the passengers sitting near me at the gate were in pretty good spirits throughout the wait – each delay update caused a mixture of groans and chuckles. I did some knitting on the sash belt that I have been working on – a 10 year old boy was intrigued by the knitting and another passenger joked that it would be a sweater by the time we finally got to board the plane. After waiting an hour in the line for a taxi at O’Hare I was putting the key in my door at 1AM on Friday – it was 10 1/2 hours from the time I left the project office in Chattanooga till I was home.

Over the last couple of weeks the mail has once again been filled with some fun goodies.

I Won! Recently Amanda Cathleen had a contest for some free alpaca yarn that she was given on her recent vacation. In addition to the yarn she also included some great stitch markers that she made. Thanks for the goodies! I think I know “just” the pattern for this yarn – stay tuned.

Project Spectrum Postcard Swapping continues. Margene was my blue swap pal. Anastasia (in Australia) was my purple swap pal.

My swap pals have been very understanding of some delays in getting postcards out to them. Last Sunday I was busy with papers & flora/fauna pictures – the cards have been dispatched to Pennsylvania, Utah & Australia. In my rush to get them in the mail I didn’t get pictures snapped.

Have you swapped with Trek yet? Her sock bag swap is a great idea! When I saw this bag on her site I knew it was time to swap – this bag contains 2 of my favorite things: sunflowers (see Kansas gal above) and purple. So, I swapped with her for some of my handmade notecards featuring pictures from my Italy & Greece trip.

Jodi (aka Purl Needlemeyer) has developed a fun knitting organization kit – Gettin’ Knit Together – it is filled with all sorts of great things that are being put to use in organizing my stash & supplies.

Sunny Violets Bib – This weekend I finished up this Mason Dixon baby bib. It matches with a yellow onesie that I had picked up several months ago. This one is on it’s way to Baby Lilly in Texas. (For those of you who are making these bibs, when you’re looking for cute buttons make sure that they can be machine washable. Several cute buttons that I initially picked up where hand wash only – not practical for baby bibs.)

Speaking of home…where is yours? I’ve got a Frappr map going (better late than never…) – if you would, please take a minute to put a pin in the map so I can see where you are.

Summertime: Blooms, Books & Beverages

July 17, 2006 / / 11 Comments

**…and we’re back…the web host company was experiencing some power problems earlier today…(7/18)

Due to my work related travel this summer I didn’t do any gardening in my flowerbed or on the back deck. However, I’ve still been able to enjoy some summertime blooms.
While I enjoyed my week back home in Chicago earlier this month I had some blooms in my backyard – the hostas were in full force. Also, the fence was covered with beautiful shades of purple clematis – most of the plants are in my neighbor’s garden; however, one of my clematis vines came back & is entwined with the others on the fence. These July blooms are perfect for Project Spectrum: Purple.


While I was home with the parents in GA this weekend I was able to enjoy the blooms (& greens) of their garden as well. A trip through the garden was a bit of each month of Project Spectrum – including the beautiful “past prime” colors of the blue hydrangeas that I showcased last month.

Since I hit the road last week there has been very little knitting activity. Instead, I’ve done more reading in the last week & finished up 2 very different books.
First up – Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore. The Amalfi Coast in Italy…England…post-WWII…1970s…a lot of different elements come together to tell a story that is a great summertime read. While not as intense, it reminds me of The Shadow of the Wind that I thoroughly enjoyed last summer.
The other book I finished has been an in progress read for a couple of months: Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler. This was a very interesting read about Abraham & the role that he plays in Christianity, Judiasm, and Islam. I definitely learned more about my faith as well as other faiths. After reading this book I’m even more interested in reading Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses.
Blooms & Books are two key ingredients to enjoying summertime. Another key ingredient…beverages, specifically Iced Tea. A new favorite iced tea is Trader Joe’s Pomegranate White Tea – when I was home for the week I constantly had a pitcher of this chilling in the fridge. Last summer I discovered the Lipton Iced Tea to Go – the Green Tea with Mandarin & Mango was quite a refresher when in Greece & I needed to add a little something to the endless bottles of water I was drinking. While grocery shopping with my Mom this weekend I discovered a couple of new flavors & picked them up for a tea break at the desk – the Green Tea with Natural Cherry Blossom is my new favorite, while enjoying it this afternoon the subtle cherry flavor reminded me of slurping a cherry popsicle when the popsicle starts to turn more pink than red. These tea packets are a great way to enjoy tea when away from the chilled pitcher in the fridge.
Even though the past week didn’t contain much knitting progress I went to Hobby Lobby on Saturday to pick up lotsa Sugar’n Cream yarn to make the Mason Dixon Absorba bathmat for my bathroom. Given the size of this project it definitely won’t be a travel project. Also, on a hot Saturday in July I actually picked up a few things for Christmas decorations – past experience has taught me that if I don’t pick it up now it won’t be around the next time I go to the store…hmm, a different take on Christmas in July.

Fun from the Mailbox

June 25, 2006 / / 12 Comments

While back in town this weekend…at the top of the errand list on Friday was picking up the 2 weeks of held mail. In addition to the regular “boring” mail, magazines and catalogs I was pleased to see this stash of mail held several fun goodies!

 

I had mentioned earlier that I was participating in Dacia Ray’s Gift Tag Swap and this week I received my portion of the swap. More detailed pictures about each tag & artist are found on this Flickr set.

 

Several months ago I came across Tanya’s blog & the fun postcards that she makes. With the latest postcards she also included a fun & colorful ball of yarn that was unexpected. Thanks Tanya! I’m not sure what I will make with the yarn but I think it may end up being for a kid in my life because the colors remind me of children’s crayons.

 

Purl Needlemeyer is another “new in 2006” blogger that I read – I think she was my first “Let’s swap blog links” buddy. She has a fun “Getting Knit Together” kit and is continually expanding her goodies. A couple of weeks ago she offered up some fun “hand knit” labels for commenters. These are very fun – I don’t know which projects they will be attached to but I will enjoy using them.

Kirsten recently went to Croatia to help ready the Logos Hope ship for ministry with Operation Mobilization. She sent along this postcard from the team that she was with. Prior to her trip there was a bit of knit blogger fundraising that I stumbled across & I was glad to help – we have several friends involved with OM so it was great to support another great part of their ministry.

 

The final fun thing in the mail – my tickets to the Pink Martini show on Sept. 8th at the Chicago House of Blues.

 

Belatedly posted…my Project Spectrum green postcard arrived from Amanda Cathleen several weeks ago & I didn’t have a chance to snap it. The sheep were a very appropriate part of May since Amanda Cathleen was one of the multitudes that enjoyed Maryland Sheep and Wool.

Other mailbox fun this weekend…seeing The Lake House with a friend.  In the age of emails it was fun to see a story that evolved through letters in a mailbox. While the media reviews have been mixed to negative I thoroughly enjoyed this movie & was glad that I went to see it in the theater instead of waiting for the DVD.

 

I did just a bit of knitting during the movie – the yarn that I picked up earlier this month during our lake weekend. I am making the Soft Weave (Linen Weave) Belt from the Knitting to Go set – although it will be a sash instead of a belt. This is a fast knit & is such a small project that is will be my travel project for this week.

In other knitting news this weekend I got started on my first pink scarf for The Think Pink Challenge, made some progress on my first felted bag, picked up the Knitting to Go kit & matched several of the project cards to yarn in my stash and finished up a couple of dishcloths to put into my “hostess gift” box to have on hand.

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