Christmas Show Prep 2009

The school's annual Christmas Show is in just over one week, and am I prepared? Well... no. My plan is to wow with my glass oil lamps that are totally unfinished and my work that I completed last semester that was inspired by delicious North Carolina poetry. I still have to design the displays and print out the poems that will coincide with the pieces. It will be done, I vow it.

I have, however, just finished designing (with my friend, Louise Sanderlin) the promo postcard that we'll be putting out around the town (and apparently attaching to people's cars in Chinese buffet advertising fashion.)

Front:

Back:

I taught myself to use Gimp, which is a free software for download and use, by the way. They have free tutorials online, which I will start reading... someday. For now, though, I can manage with the basics. More on the show later though.

Time Off

The ocean washed over Hwy 12 this week, so I've been cut off from my workplace. Excellent. So what to do to make up for not making $70 doing mindless work? Broom casting!!! Well, actually I've been doing pine straw casting. This is where one melts metal in a crucible and pours it into a bunch of pine straw tied together with a rubber band. You can get these really cool shapes and then make jewelry out of them... so here is the first ring, which is going to my sister. There will be many more where this came from... I'm still choking on all the fresh pine smoke that I inhaled while casting in my damp garage tonight.

See where the metal slips through the straw?

and here's a new lace cowl I'm making with clear beads that look like rain droplets... very pretty. I might keep it.

Some Fiber Love

Here are some finished projects and some WIPs that I captured finally.

First, my completed Rambling Rose Cardigan, which I happen to be sharing with as many people as I can because, dammit, it's my first cardigan and my first lace project. So there.

I also have the hat that I've knit for my sistah for Christmas. The pattern is called Who? and I'm knitting the Owlet baby sweater for her baby, so they will match! Oh my God, can you get any cuter? Okay, no.

A bit of a sock that is crazy complicated and promises to be gorgeous... pattern (by Cookie A. who is a fantastic designer of knitwear) called Ellington.

I also have been using my drum carder to blend some super beautiful superwash fiber that I bought at the N.C. State Fair this year, which I attended with my sister and niece. It was super fun. I'm really happy with how this is turning out. I think I'll spin lace weight yarn from it and knit a shawl or maybe some wrist warmers.

(blended at the top, not at the bottom.)

This is some roving that I dyed:

and blended:

I'm going to try for sport weight yarn which hopefully will become a sweater. The fiber is superfine merino wool from http://www.helloyarn.com/