Wednesday, March 26, 2008

I'm Lovin' these Socks!!


Check this out!!
I got this really cool sock yarn at my LYS and I just love it! This is a perfect example of what a sample will do because that's what sold me on the yarn! One was knitted up and on display and I fell in love with the colors and striping and I just had to get it.

Now you know how I am about socks.....I haven't finished a pair yet. I did the glorious 'Monkey' sock which was beautiful but a lot of work so I just couldn't make myself do another one! And then there is the first sock I ever tried.......never even finished it!!!! BUT I am determined to finish this one because it is just too cool! I found this pattern off the internet. I was looking for something easy and was wanting some ribbing and low and behold, this has been a great one!!! I am heading on a short vacation to the lake house so I am planning on finishing the other one there. The only down side is I knit them on 1.5 double points and they really start to bug my hands after too many hours. I have decided I prefer DPs over 2 circulars because I was getting a 'line' where it wasn't joining so good.
I know you want to know what's up with the purses. I'm stalled on the sunflower purse (those darn socks! and knitters ADD) but am determined to find just the right fabric to line the purse with. I also have another baby gift I need to start working on. I'm thinking Baby Surprise Jacket. That's part of the plan for my short vacation too................as well as a stack of books to read. When will I find the time to do all the things I want???

Well, that's it for now.....my next post will be 2, count it, TWO socks that MATCH!!!!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

More successful needle felting!


I am so excited how well this is going! In case you couldn't tell, it's a sunflower! It's really been easier than I thought it would be and the results are GREAT! It ends up basically looking like you did intarsia knitting before felting to make the image!

I need to do a dark brown for the center part and add some yellow beads for the center. I had to order dark brown because I didn't have any, so I won't be able to finish for a few days but was too excited how it was looking to not post.

I think I will add bamboo handles and look around for the right fabric for lining.

BTW....if you haven't read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield it's GREAT!!! It's been out for a while and I never picked it up but I am really enjoying it!

Happy Day!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Needle Felting

Sometimes things turn out better than you think are will. I usually am excited to try a new technique but then apprehensive because I worry that it won't turn out like my vision or that I won't be any good at it.
I am pleasantly surprised with how my first two needle felted flowers turned out! I know I'm not an expert yet but I was pleased that the first ones turned out okay!

This is a small wallet size clutch that I felted the other day. This flower makes the perfect accent!


Here's a closer look at the first one that I tried!

And this one was the second.



I felted this purse a couple weeks ago and have been struggling to know what to embellish it with because it is larger and didn't want to put a ton of flowers on it. I think the small one on the closure works nicely. Now I can line it and finish.

I was just using the craft store kind of felt sheets to cut out flowers, which can look cute but I think this will add a more cohesive look to the bags.

I can't wait to try the next thing. I want to put a sunflower on the front of a brown purse that I felted!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Crazy About Felted Purses, Again!

I'm sure you have been wondering....'is she now a reader and not a knitter?'. Never fear, I have been doing both just not posting pictures of the knitting things I'm working on. They are kind of a work in process and most are not done yet. But I do have a new purse I finally finished to post.


I think it's a really cute summer bag!!!

I had knitted the black body of the bag a while ago and never felted it. I was so happy with the size and boxyness that it inspired me to complete it. I cut the flowers out of felt and embroidered, made orange and yellow stripe felted handles and lined it. You can see on my 'Ode to the Starlet' post where I was working on the lining. After a lot of work on trying to figure out how to make a lining that would be stiff enough to hold the shape I finally got it done, but it just wasn't fitting right inside the purse so yesterday I ripped all the seams out and tried again. SUCCESS!! It turned out GREAT! I used plastic mesh canvas which keeps the shape perfectly!

I currently have a baby pink bag (different shape) and a brown bag and a fuschia bag (different shape still) that I have to finish. I have ordered supplies to try needle felting on the front of these. The felt sheets look okay but I think the needle felted images will give it a complete felted look. I should be receiving those supplies just in time for 2 days off in a row and can't wait to get started! I will post as soon as I have something to show. I'm hoping I won't be crying that it looks terrible, but it's worth a try!

Happy Day!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Book Review #2

The Secret Sisters by Joni Rodgers

I just finished this book today......and I must admit I was rushing to get through it because I wanted to move onto something new. I picked this book up on the new arrivals shelf at the library thinking it sounded interesting, which it was but not in the way I typically like. I am the happy ending, easy pleasant read, get a glimpse into someone else's life kind of read. Don't get me wrong, this one filled several of those things just not the easy pleasant read part.

This is the tale of 2 sisters and one sister-in-law (sounds kind of like my last book review doesn't it?!) Each is struggling with their own loss (again, it's sounding like my last review) and as the book moves along they are working through their own isses (yes, it is a different book, I had to go back and check to make sure tho!). Pia, sister number one, is devastated when her husband dies unexpectantly. She had been an extremely capable, high power lawyer who traveled and worked all the time. The untimely death of her husband sends her into a tail spin and she becomes someone totally different. She can't fly, she doesn't like to leave the house, she won't go back to her job. She does get remarried but she attempts to take her life and still has a very difficult time just functioning. A chance meeting with an antique dealer is the beginning on a new friendship. Daphne is quite the character and I found myself not really liking her....feeling she was taking advantage of Pia when she was weak and at the end I find out why I didn't like her. Her relationship with Daphne, no matter Dahpne's intentions did end up being a good thing for Pia because she does appear to break free of her issues through her friendship with Daphne. There is an interesting twist at the very end of the book regarding Daphne which really took me by surprise!

Pia's sister, Lily is in jail throughout the entire book. She tried many times unsuccessfully to get out on parole and as time goes on, she becomes more and more jaded. She is 'courted' by a guard who she wants nothing to do with. You see her progression to healing most strongly close to the end of the book. A cathartic outburst during a parole hearing was just what she needed to begin to let go.

Beth, the sister in law to Lily and Pia has the smallest role but one that ties the entire book together. Her daughter, Easter was 6 years old when she was killed in a car accident.......Lily was driving the car! Beth struggles with 'good days' and 'not good days' the few times we see her in the book. She has a great deal of anger toward Lily and attends each of Lily's parole hearings to make sure she does not get out.

What I found interesting about this book was the way the author worked the characters and the people in their lives. Pia interacted with Lily quite a bit at first but then gradually pulled away so each of them becomes very 'on their own' but it doesn't really speak to why they pulled away except that Pia moves away and can't visit Lily as much. Also, Pia has 2 sons and they are in the beginning of the book briefly but go off to college and pretty much disappear from further mention. If I as any good at all about reading the hidden meanings I would know what all these things mean............but I have never been too good about symbolism.

I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars in my book diary..........mainly because I found myself rushing through the end. Everytime I want to get done with a book (skipping over lots of paragraphs and words just to get done versus loving it so much I want to keep reading!) I give it a low score...it's lost my interest but I just can't stand to not finish it. I am at least interested enough to want to know how it ends.

Fiction/358 pages