The Fifth Wondrous Place

2 Projects (Liesl and Needles)

katnap — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:59:48 +0000

PROJECT #1-Liesl

I began Liesl this weekend. I’ve been drooling over this pattern for a year now. It’s a airy tunic length summer top, that will be nice to wear over leggings or skinny jeans;however, it is made with linen fiber. Linen has definite postive and negative attributes.

Positives:

1. Makes a lovely organic textured fabric

2. Softens over time with washing and has a nice drape

Negatives:

1. Hard on the hands -I am a massage therapist-this is not good……at all : (

2. Annoying feeling of wire in your hands ..yuk!

The negatives put me in a debate over whether to take on this project. I could’ve chosen a linen blend, but I fell in love with this sandalwood shade from Louet. It’s wet spun and….Machine Washable! I was sold.

Getting gauge was kind of tricky. I managed to get the stitch gauge at 3 needle sizes down, but not the row gauge. The test swatch was fine, but now that I’m 4 inches in, my stitch gauge is slightly off. Since this is a loose-fitting top, I think it will still work out (cross fingers) .

PROJECT #2- Needles

I was ecstatic when Ravelry introduced a needle inventory page. Finally there was a place I could go to reference what I had in my needle inventory. One of the reasons this was such a boon is because my system for keeping needles was atrocious. Needles were scattered all over the house, sitting in abandoned skeins of yarn, in my clothes draws, some were hanging on closet hangers….etc It was a complete mess! I bought a circular knitting case eons ago, but never took the time to get the needles in it. Why! …. I don’t know. Some things elude the anal retentive personality.

Ahh. this is soooo much better. It makes me feel…once more…ecstatic! I can find them! All of them! I don’t know why I waited so long to do this. There are still a few stragglers hanging around, but I’ll be purchasing another case to house them too.

Texting Mitts

katnap — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:33:14 +0000

I started these on a day hot enough to have the windows open. It’s a balmy 70 degrees in Atlanta today. I opened the windows and bound off a pair of fingerless mitts that I may not get a chance to wear this year….oh well.

My niece calls them texting mitts. I call them fingerless mitts or wrist warmers. It’s about all you need during the mild southeastern winters.

Yarn: Rowan Pure life silk/viscose/cotton Blend

Color: Rock

Pattern: From Knitty.com-Voodoo Wrist Warmers

All this balmy weather has caused me to drop the cardi idea. Instead of a nice bulky wool, I placed an order yesterday for 3 skeins of linen in a calm cool sandalwood shade. It should be in my mailbox Monday or Tuesday.

I always want eyes….

katnap — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:07:06 +0000

(Art play with water-soluble Stabilo and Inktense pencils)

The Blessing of Beauty

I always want eyes

To see the beauty of the world,

And to praise this wondrous beauty

That is without exception,

And to praise the One who did it,

So beautifully, fully to praise the fully, so full of beauty

Natan Zach

Yokoo: A Fiber Artist Profile

katnap — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:24:43 +0000

Yokoo is an Atlanta-based fiber artist that gets up at the crack of dawn, because that is when the world is quiet and full of dream-like drama. Immediately it seems apparent that she works as hard on her craft as she does on creating an authentic way of being in the world. There is one thing she said that resonated with me quite strongly: (paraphrase) ” The world we live in is rough and we need to create a sub-world as a place of protection”…..and there you have it: The Fifth Wondrous Place. The fifth wondrous place is one of 8 places of protection in Buddhist mythology. It is a place where we let our life force bloom and come to a better understanding of the human world. I hope you enjoy this artist profile as much as I did.

Week 2: PAINTING!

katnap — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 00:48:24 +0000

Change and risk-taking are normal aspects of the creative process. They are the lubricants that keep the wheels in motion. A creative act is not necessarily something that has never been done; it is something that you haven’t done before ….Margaret Mead

Week one of art class was bliss. The city came to a halt because of the “baby” snowstorm that hit the southeast last week. This gave me an unexpected 5 days of vacation to indulge in the lesson assignments. Misty is a first class quantity queen of art play. The lesson site is packed with links for books, inspirational artists, resources for various projects, instructional videos, writing prompts, music to listen to while drawing or painting etc., the list goes on. You have the option to pick and choose what you want to do (this is why I love online classes). There are not enough hours in the day to complete all the assignments given, but they are so enticing..you will at least want to experiment with all of them on some level.

water-soluble stabilo pencil water-color and gouache

Week 2 was back to reality a full work schedule and life responsibilities…and Painting! There were a few precious hours this weekend to indulge in the painting assignments, but they all seemed short and incomplete. I WANT ANOTHER VACATION!

water-soluble stabilo pencil, watercolor and gouache

Painting is fairly new to me. I have to admit that I jumped in before creating the infamous color wheel and have no idea how to mix colors properly. I tend to gravitate toward watercolors- probably the most unpredictable, uncontrollable painting medium…..and this is the paradox….Why would a control freak like me want to work with watercolors?

Anyway,a color wheel is next on the agenda.

Learning how to paint is like learning how to swim. The water looks intimidating, but you just have to jump in,flail around and almost drown a little bit in order to discover that regardless of the outcome-painting is fun.