leafy goodness

First - some business...

There are two dates that you should be aware of now. One: August 18 - my birthday. Two: June 30, 2007 - our wedding date.

Second - I made up a crochet leaf in two sizes.




Small leaf -
Chain 9. Working in only one side of your chain, sc 1 in third chain, hdc1, dc 3, hdc 1, sc 3 in last chain - two on one side of loop and one on the opposite side. Then, working down the opposite side of the chain and starting in loop opp. the hdc, hdc 1, dc 3, hdc1, sc 1. End with a slip stitch into skipped chains from the beginning.

Large leaf
Chain 13. Working in only one side of your chain, sc 1 in third chain, hdc1, dc 2, trc 3, dc 2, hdc 1, sc 3 in last chain - two on one side of loop and one on the opposite side. Then, working down the opposite side of the chain and starting in loop opp. the hdc, hdc 1, dc2, trc3, dc2, hdc1, sc1. End with a slip stitch into skipped chains from the beginning.

yay nepitism

SO, my big sis has put out a new book which is a collection of her poetic artwork. In a moment of need on her part and luck on mine, I was asked to create the cover art in a big quick hurry. Look!
Buy a copy! And buy your friend a copy! And your mom! And your sister! And your neighbor! Please purchase it here because she wants to beat Ann Coulter off the top 100...if only just for a minute.

We are at war.

So that statement may seem like a somewhat obvious statement. However, it has nothing to do with the current global strife; it has nothing to do with Isreal; it has nothing to do with Iraq. This war is a war that I whole heartedly want to fight. A little make stitches not war (since I put "love in every stitch" I feel like that was a suitable use of if a=b and b=c then a=c). Our WMDs will be four five little pointy needles and well chosen superwash.

Check it out at yarn monkey, sock warlord.

The deadline to fight the good fight is September 8, 2006.

Disclaimer: No trivialization intended by this post. This blogger feels unsure about her stance on the war on terror or any other armed conflicts. She feels very grey about the right and the wrong of it all. She also greatly admires individuals who are willing to stand up and offer their lives for her protection and she gets teary eyed anytime she hears "Proud to be an American" played over fireworks.

open for business

So I have put my first goodies up on etsy.com - you can find them directly at anneland22.etsy.com.

Too cute and useful...a dangerous combo.

I have been doing so much knitting and sewing this last month that I have had no time for posts. I will have to find a balance ;).

A current and ongoing love affair is with this tank top pattern; it is a tribute both to knitting in the round and to lace knitting. The pattern came from knitlit.blogspot.com and was conceved by ohmystars.net. I assembled the color pallette as inspired by a skirt that I have had for over a year and have not worn much. Sadly, though a great inspiration, I do not love the skirt even with a partner to support it. The project was a treat as far as sampling yarns goes - the lavender is Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, the turquoise is Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, and the plum is Elizabeth Havold (?) Cotton Cable. They all knit up beautifully, the cotton fleece especially exceeding my expectations of a humble skein of cotton.
Not being able to leave a good thing alone, I have another in a multi lime/white/lemon going. I always feel like I should be sipping an ice cold 7Up while I am working on it. In fact, I was inspired to pick up some diet 7Up on my last trip to the market - it may be added to my list of acceptable diet drinks...still more research is needed. Current members of that list are Diet Dr. Pepper (including cherry vanilla and mixed berry) and Diet A&W Rootbeer. One of these beverages would also make an attractive color scheme...you tell me which ;).

The yarn for the bottom of this scarf came from a swapper in Sweden. I am adding it to some DB Alpaca Silk and am going to send it back to her.The yarn came in the form of a magic ball which had treasures wrapped up in it which included a lamb key chain, Lipton English Breakfast tea bag (which we cannot get in the US), and a matching measuring tape (with centimeters on both sides) and needle keeper.
While I was sorting through my stash, I felt the urge to turn this yarn into a basket tote. I turned it over to my son and it has been a hit for toting his massive train collection to and fro.The same weekend that I was quickly crocheting this number, he found the patience to finger crochet some chain "snakes." His adventure into fiber arts has deepened this weekend as he embarked on his first sewing project -a pouch for school supplies. I was quite tickled by the quality of his stitching since I was at least two years older when I first picked up a needle and thread and was not as tidy - plus, he has already installed a zipper on his first go.


And last but not least, I want to brag about my purchase at the felt club this Saturday. Dimetrodon earrings...I didn't know it until I saw them but I have wanted these my whole life long.

ArrrrG...or what I have to show for yesterday

A few elements came together to create this bag:
1. A grow excitement with Pirates 2 debuting.
2. A brillant bag originally created by a brillant knitter, Tiffany.
3. A cute pouch created by a cute youthful knitter.

Tiffany's bag is very sweet and elegant - solid cream up top and sage green on the ribbed bottom, with a delicate broach centered in the top half.

The cute pouch has been nicknamed "Cat in the Hat bag" and had alternating cream and agua stripes (rather like thing one and thing two).

I was day dreaming about two things: 1. doing red and white stripes (like the cat's hat...but it then got me thinking about a pirate's shirt), 2. doing this design without any side seams or sewing up (there is a bottom seam but sewing up is avoided with a 3 needle bind off).

Now I am trying a smaller hand bag rather than a tote.
Soon I will post the finished pieces, but I have some patrons to take care of first. ;).

Updated class information

Beginning Knitting $45 for 4.5 hrs of instruction (3 consecutive 1 1/2 hour sessions)
Two Levels at Once, three week course, ongoing enrollment

Dates and Times: Tuesday Afternoon classes (12:30 to 2:00)
Wednesday Evening classes (7:00 to 8:30)

Beginner one: little to no knitting experience

Project: Techno Cozy
Skills taught: Cast on, Knit, Purl, Bind Off, Sewing up, Basic Pattern Reading
Stitches: Garter, Ribbing, Stockinette
Materials: Size 10 needles, one ball of worsted weight yarn, tapestry needle, 12" plus of ribbon, pins, measuring tape, scissors
Suggested Yarns: All Debbie Bliss except Cashmerino Superchunky or Cashmerino Astrakhan, Blue Sky Cotton or Alpaca, Cascade Pastaza or Cascade 220, or any smooth texture worsted weight

Beginner two: some experience; best if you knit and purl already

Project: Hat
Skills Taught: Decreasing, Stripes*, Pom Poms*Knitting in the round with Circular Needle and Double Pointed Needles (dpn's), gauge swatching
Stitches: Ribbing, Seed Stitch, Stockinette
Materials: size 10 needles - one 16" circular and one set of 4 dpns, One ball each of color A and B or two balls of a color, tapestry needle, pom pom maker*
Suggested Yarns: All Debbie Bliss (except Cashmerino Superchunky or Cashmerino Astrakhan), Blue Sky Cotton or Alpaca, Cascade Pastaza or Cascade 220, or any smooth texture worsted weight
*optional design features

Beginning Crochet $45 for 4.5 hrs of instruction (3 consecutive 1 1/2 hour sessions)
Two levels at once, three week course, ongoing enrollment

Dates and Times: Monday Evening classes (7 pm to 8:30 pm)
Thursday Afternoon classes (12:30 to 2:00 pm)
Beginner one: little to no experience

Project: Hand Bag
Skills taught: Chain, single crochet, double crochet, sewing up
Materials: two skeins of any smooth worsted weight yarn, one skein of novelty yarn, size G crochet hook, tapestry needle, scissors, 1/4 yard of coordinating fabric*

Beginner two: some experience recommended
Project choices: Tank Top, Swimsuit Sarong
Skills taught: Chain, single crochet, double crochet, increasing (in tank only), decreasing, pattern fitting
Materials: Tank - Six balls of Cotton Angora (90m/50g)(for a medium)(other cottons are suitable), one ball of ribbon yarn, Size G crochet hook, tapestry needle, measuring tape
Swimsuit sarong- two ball of any worsted weight yarn, size J hook, 2 to 3 yards of 3/8" to 1/2" decorative ribbon

One on One Lessons $30/hr
*Can be scheduled upon request and student's/instructor's convenience.
*Available for knitting, crocheting, specific skills, etc.

Policies
1. All yarn and needles must be purchased at Yarn Garden.
2. Classes will be open for up to 8 students. Bring a friend.
3. Pre-registration is required within one day of the class. The class roster remains open the day of the class, but a $5 fee is required if joining that day.
4. Please give one week notice if canceling attendance. Class fee is non-refundable, but credit toward future classes or private lessons will be provided if 48 hour notice of cancellation is provided.

better than no solicitors

I saw this mat at Bed, Bath, and Beyond originally. So, since we were sprucing up the man's apartment for guests and a bbq this last weekend, there was a need to purchase it. Due to shabby cell phone reception, Mr. C almost turned down my offer to fill his doormat need with it. Sadly, when I got to the store, they were all out. But there was just no not having it; so, I bought a plain one (which was only 9.99 rather than 19.99) and ran up the strip mall to Michael's for some black paint (.50 and a brush for.39). My dear man thought that I had said something prissy like a "how do you feel about a mat that says 'good eve'?", so he was pleasantly surprised to see what the word I painted on his mat turned out to be. Not a bad imitation...plus I prefer it with punctuation..it adds a little more harshness.

more class stuff

So, the Yarn Garden is on Tujunga Ave in Studio City. (I'll put the complete address up later.)

And for my next trick, I will be teaching a beginning knitting class. We will be making these darling little tech cozies. I made all of these out of exactly one ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. So fun!

busy bee living the dream

SO...
everyone who cares should come visit me at the Yarn Garden in Studio City.

It is my dream job. My kind of surroundings, my kind of people....luving it!

So, I am going to begin teaching crochet and begining knitting there.

The first class that I have worked out is one of the crochet classes. Look at what we will be making:

I also just finished the flower wash cloth from "weekend knits." I have been looking at that wanting to make on for ages and this was the first time that I sat down to do it and it gelled. I made the petals while we were at the Pantages watching Stomp (which was fantastic). The wash cloth is a part of the June Colorific Swap from Swap-bot.
I also whipped out this bag for another swap.

My plans for today and probably tomorrow

SO this is where it began...

And this is where it went. I have lots and lots of work; I love sewing for my love. It is a gift that he likes adventurous shirts.
The sushi+the navy
The planets+the blue
The baseballs+the black
The hawaiian+the purple
The purple Hawaiian

And then there are the plans for my little love. Construction, Spongebob, and train themed shirts.

This is my other set of plans. They are going to ravel into a set of baby kimonos from the pattern in "mason-dixon Knitting". Recognize the ROY G. BIV action? I am contemplating adding a white one and then it will be enough for 8 days a week. ;) It is good that my new neice or nephew is not due to arrive until December.

Damp and Lovely

So now I can show you what we saw while visiting Portland. This collection is mainly of the Columbia River Gorge and waterfalls surrounding it. It was a gorgeous way to spend the day. It was also the only day that I was good about taking pictures. These first two are of Latourell; the colors of the moss and the pounding of the water were surreal.

We went to an observatory that overlooks the Columbia River Gorge. Sadly, it reopened for spring the next day; from the state of the construction tape and unfinished projects inside, it seemed hard to believe that it would really be ready as scheduled. Redgardless, it was a breathtaking site. By the way those good looking guys belong to me. ;)
The drive was gorgeous and it was nice to stop along the way. The hillsides glowing with tulips and daffodils made up for the lack of sunshine (there was some sun...just intermitent...sun/hail/sun/drizzle/rain/drizzle/sun/drips...and so on).

I don't remember what this one is called. What I do remember is that my five year old is terrified by waterfalls and that my future father in law will kindly risk a raging river for a dropped lens cap.

As for the waterfall tour, this stop was the end of the trail. While driving through downtown, I was wondering how you could choose from all of the quality places to dine; which led me to wondering about whether or not Rachael Ray had ever done a "$40-a-day" in Portland. So, I checked when I got home and found that this last stop would have found her approval. After hiking to the top and crossing the bridge (which almost feels like verb-embellishment...it was a short trip), we ate lunch at the Multnomah Falls Lodge. It was delicious; I agree with her.

The very last thing that we did was visit the fish hatchery. It was good that we stopped here after lunch because the fishes looked delicious. Rather than wishing to eat them, we fed them; they do tricks; you should try it; seeing a trout dance across a pond is definitely neat.

Then we celebrated Easter and enjoyed each others company; we ate lots of delicious homemade goods...so tasty; I made a trivet ;).

On our last day, we ate delicious Hawaiian food and started our goodbyes at lunch time. The last thing we did was walk through the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. The flora was amazing (I kept thinking of when Patrick Dempsey told a cheerleader that she had the best pair of rhododendrons on the block in"Can't By Me Love"); the fauna was entertaining - the boys challenged the geese and there were some blue billed ducks I'd never seen before.

long awaited Trivet

For my favorite potholder, tavanb of the LA SnB found it already published online. Her finding it was a nice gift and saved me lots of fretting on how to communicate it through crochet speak. The author of that version doesn't know its origin either. I wish someone would come forward with the answer. My mom and aunt were speculating that it came for Ladies Home Journal in the 30's or a little magazine that was called something like the knitting basket.

As for the other:
So here it goes.

There are no yarn or hook requirements. Use what you like. I used Encore and a size G hook. I suggest two coordinating colors and to stay away from 100% acrylic because it will melt ( but it takes many years of use to do so). Since I have about half a skein of each left, I am going to guess that it takes about 100 yds of each color.

Abbreviations:
DC - double crochet

Chain 44.

Row 1: DC 1 into 8th chain from the end. *Chain 2. DC 1 into 3rd chain from last DC.* Repeat ** until the end. You should end up with 13 squares. (If you lengthen or shorten this pattern, be sure to end up with an odd # of squares.)


Row 2 thru 13: Chain 5. DC 1 into top of second to last DC from previous row. Chain 2. *DC 1 into each DC. Chain 2.* Repeat ** to the end. You should end up with a grid of 13 by 13 squares.


Here is where I am at a loss for [crochet] words.

Hopefully I can illustrate it well enough to make up for my shabby [crochet] prose.

Round 1: Chain 3 into a corner square. Work 2 more DCs along oneside of that square. Then work 3 DCs along the next edge. From here follow the diagram. (There is actually a diagram waiting in illustrator; I just need to figure out how to get it here. For now, I hope you get the gist.) ;)

You end up working 7 rounds.