Still making

Not too much in the way  of finished stuff at the moment but I continue to knit, sew and bead.

I did make a Marcy Tilton shirt out of a white fabric and it's a pretty good 'go to' white shirt, because everyone needs a good white shirt, right?

Then there's this beautiful shawl which I did not make.  Every year at the Colorado Bead retreat artists donate pieces to be raffled off and the proceeds given to charity.  This year a beautiful shawl was donated by Melody Cross.  Exactly my color and with crystals in lilac shadow.  I was totally enamored and I put all my raffle tickets into that one bucket and.......I WON IT!  That's never happened to me, seriously, not ever have I won something like this that I wanted to badly.

Melody even included a shawl stick which she beaded to match. Pattern is Aello by 

Aello

by Marnie MacLean

Here I am modeling it over my Ranunculus, so you can see it was made for me!

I was gifted a sweet pouch at the Colorado Bead Retreat by Julie and it's my new favorite sock bag.  It carries everything I need to make socks which is good because I am on a quest to made the perfect sock.  Maybe pair five will be that.

I’m working on perfecting techniques and finding the one I like best. All top down with rolled cuff, pattern

How I Roll

by Mara Catherine Bryner.
64 stitches around on shorties, size 1, except for sock four which is on size 1.5. First one, stockinette heel flap, turned heel gusset and Kitchener toe. Sock two and three after thought heel and barnntoe. Sock four, slipped stitch heel flap and barn toe. I think I like fours heel flap and ones toe....sock five will try that combination.

This is the Celebration kit by Sherry Serafini which I bought in Colorado.  I've finished it now and it's perfect!

Progress continues on my Skylark Cardigan.  I've finished the back and two fronts and now I have cast on the sleeves which I will work simultaneously.  I want to wear this on an upcoming trip so I have some deadline knitting to do.

Happy Making to all my maker friends out there!  This weekend I'm off to assist at the Beaders Dream Retreat in San Diego.  

Blogger app post

I decided to look into blogging on the iPad again since it’s been a couple of years, so I’m trying out a new app.

First up

A photo from my recent airstream travel, Emma wood state Beach. This is Gertrude, the airstream mascot that travels everywhere with us.

This is Willowkiss, a simple beaded pendant. You can find the tutorial here.

This is my new favorite shawl,smock It by Stephen West.

And this is my peace heart, metal work by friend Tracy Stanley.

Travel makes

Interestingly I find travel to be a very productive making time.  Especially this kind of long, leisurely airstream trip with short distances on the road and long stays in between.  It is so relaxing and I find lots of time to work on projects.  I do leave the sewing behind, so it’s knitting or beading that come along and I’ve done plenty of both.

I finished 

A Metal heart

A pair of earrings

A faerie locket

Two peace signs

One pair of socks and one sweater

A beaded tape measure kit 

I’ve worked on 

A shawl

A second sweater 

I bought yarn for one new sweater

This is the Faerie locket.  I'll teach it at the Colorado Bead Retreat next week.

This is a reversible peace sign.  It has been too long since I made one.   The embellishments are freeform but there are photo ideas in the pattern.  You can find the pattern here.

 I made a pair of earrings to go with my new Johnny Was top.  I had the opportunity to stop at Creative Castle in Newbury Park so I took my shirt in and found the perfect colors.

This is my Ranunculus by Midori Hirose in Kestrel linen by Quince and Co.  The color is  Hyacinth.  I am using a 16 inch needle for the sleeve.  I made it cropped as per the pattern but decided to order more yarn and make it longer.  If you're tempted, look for instructions on joining the two ends of Kestrel together.  There are several ways, but I found this you tube to be the best explanation.  I've used it and am very happy with the result.  No ends to weave in either!

Here's what the yoke looks like.  I'm happy with it, but I will make it longer.

Here's my tape measure.  Pattern is from Paula Gething of On a String and cab is from Touch of Glass.  Everyone needs a fancy tape measure, right?  Check out Paula's Etsy shop.  Many pretty 

things there!  

I also made this dress for this little cutie, grand daughter Bella.  She loves rainbows!  If you have someone who loves rainbows I purchased the fabric at Birch in Paso Robles.  They have an online presence as well at Fabricworm.com  Since I dono't trave with sewing machine, I finished this up before leaving, but I did deliver it on this trip!

This is a heart I made for my daughter Casey at her request.  Metal work is from Tracy Stanley.  If you're interested in one, pm her on facebook.

So now what am I doing?  I have a second sock cast on.  I'm working on fixing my Ranunculus, I'm knitting on my Skylark sweater, my Fintry shawl and beading a Geometric Beadwork piece.  Those should keep me busy for a bit.  I've also had a request for a pink hat for another wee one who appreciates a Grandma knit.