the cat's out of the bag ~ posted by Melissa

 

Remember this post from not quite a year ago?

 

 

The book may or may not ever get published (I'm still rooting for you, Rachel!) but my design was very kindly returned to me last night, along with some gentle encouragement in hopes that I would publish it myself.

 

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with it at the moment.

 

Other than finally share it with you all! 

 

 

 

 

Just a teaser til I figure out exactly what to do.

 

It's exciting and daunting all at once.  I'm not sure I have it in me to be a designer so this may be the first as well as the last thing I ever create.  It's hard to put yourself out there (Will ~ now I know exactly what you were talking about with BRRH!!).  Is it worthy??

 

I have dozens of pictures of the ten samples that I knit and gave away as Christmas gifts last year, but for now, these are the only two I'm going to share.  (If you're wondering, this place is my destination on those daily walks, and I felt like Jared Flood the day I took the photos.  The weather was not the best, it was December and I thought the beach would be deserted but I was wrong.  I had so many people stop and ask me what I was up to...and where they could buy my knitting...I was embarrased and proud all mixed in together!)

 

So, what do you think?  I'm relying on some honesty from my favorite knitting peeps about whether to put it up on Ravelry or tuck it away and stay in the warm safety of total anonymity (which is completely my comfort zone!).  Should the cat stay out or shall I stuff the poor thing back in the bag and just let it be?

 

That's it for now ~ got some thinking to do...

ponder ponder ponder :)

~Melissa

 

edited to add: while I was writing this, it was raining so hard you couldn't see outside...and just when I posted, the house across the street's drain pipe to our shared creek plugged up, the creek overran and we had about 8" deep and at least 20 feet wide of incredibly fast river run across the road right into our driveway.  Our garage and shed and backyard...completely flooded.  Oy.  Life has it's ups and downs, doesn't it.  Glass half full, glass half full, Melissa ~ ok, the boat just barely didn't get knocked off it's stand & I was able to prop it back up til Jason gets home from the Seahawks game, Dozer didn't get swept away, I met our next door neighbor (finally) after 14 years (and she's nice) and I only got completely drenched from head to toe one time by a car that didn't bother to slow down thru the rapids that I was trying to take pics of for insurance (the man was nice enough to show me one of his fingers when I soaking wet hollered for him to slow down!!) :)



Spirtited Crafters~posted by Kelli

Ok...this is a new concept.

My 22 year old daughter M'lis, works at this bar couple nights a week, it's her second job.  She asked if I wanted to sell some of my knits.  I had no idea it would be HERE.???

 

 

The Brown Lantern Ale House has a craft sale,

I had to check it out, I'll bet a dozen venders were there... so com'on down the last Sunday of the month and check it out.

 

Pull up a stool and shop with any drink of your choice.

 

 It cracks me up!

 

My Quill ~guest blogger Andee

Look at what I made!

 

 

I finished my Quill!!! I love it so much. I made with 100% alpaca. I bought the yarn at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I got it for a great price. The yarn was a close out so I only had a few colors to pick from. They were not all my first choice, but I love how it turned out.  The body of the shawl is made out of rose gray alpaca (that color is one of my favorites). My parents have a rose gray breeding program going on at their alpaca farm. I tried to get Smokey their rose gray herdsire to come over and check it out, but he seemed more interested in my camera on the tripod.

 

I really should have had my cell phone to take a pictures of all the alpacas gathered around my camera and tripod. It was like they were the ones taking the pictures (but really I was with my little remote).

 

Little Miss Jatoba was a little more interested in helping me out with my pictures. She must have thought my remote was a carrot.  She is such a sweet alpaca.

 

Miss Aponi wanted to come closer, but those pesky toddler boys were rough housing too much behind her and it was just to distracting for her.

 

Sweet Lily I could tell wanted to get in a picture with me, but then she got distracted by my boys whining that they wanted to go home. 

 

 

So there is my Quill. I loved working on it and thanks for all the encouragement!

The Quill Must Go On~ Guest Blogger Andee

I am on the final edge of my Quill.  Are you applauding? I am giving myself a pat on the back. I am further along than the pictures above, but these are the last pictures I took of it. I was lucky to be able to go camping for a week and have lots of knitting time.  I worked on my Chesterfield Sweater until I ran out of yarn and then devoted the rest of the trip to my Quill. I am so close to finishing! Hopefully I can keep my focus and get it done soon.

 

I loved sitting on the beautiful porch swing at our friends cabin in the Adirondacks knitting and enjoying that beautiful view. I also spent many morning over the campfire at our campsite working on it.  We had chilly mornings and it was so warm and cozy as it was draped over me as I knitted. This project has been like a good friend. I'll miss knitting it when it is done, but I will enjoy using it!

Nunoing My Summer Away~ post from Kelli

 

A light lesson in Nuno Felting: You find an open woven piece

of fabric and feltable and a nonfeltable  materials.

 

The feltable materials will have to cover the 'non'. You lay

out you design, on the bubble wrap on a plastic table~

 

you roll it all up, with a hot tub bubble wrap and a long thick PVC pipe...you all have this, right?

 

I use the hottest tap water and a drop of Joy(dish soap that is) and yes you should have joy in your heart too :)

 

You drench the dry fibers, carefully, and start the rocking process, like how you rock a rolling pin with the palm of your hand, over and over for a really long time.

 

Unroll and take a peek, and re-wet. Over and over.

 

The heat, friction, and soap help coax those fibers to mesh together.

 

You roll and unroll every 15 minutes of so and re-wet and watch it bind together and get a little smaller~

 

yep it's in there...(wear sandals and shorts, it's messy) 

 

 

You can't see, but some of the hairs of the fibers are pocking out the back, after about an hour or more from rocking, you fold it up, like I did here and throw it down folded (as hard as you can) for 100 throws or more, and  the fibers really pock out through the fabric. Water and soap go a fly'in, and you get everybody's attention.

 

Rinse and lay it out to dry...

 

Ta-Da, wearable hand woven art that's been happening for centuries~ and with joy!

Happy summer~ Kelli

You can check out my Etsy, but no 'knits' yet!

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kellisknits

are you ready for some FO [otball] ? ~ Melissa

long summer days ~ a hard working husband ~ lots of quiet time ~ a fun knitalong to encourage getting a giant, unruly pile of W[orks]I[n]P[rogress] finished ~ preseason football playing in the background

much has been completed ~ there's still lots to do but I've made huge progress :

 

 

baby gifts blocked and wrapped and given away :

  

 

a test knit for WillyG completed that turned my husband into a supermodel ~ hehe :) :

 

 

 2012 starts finally finished in 2013 ~ good grief :

 

 

 

 

and this fun shawl that should have been done long ago :

 

 

not bad for 3 weeks of buckling down, eh?

 

now if I could just finish the other dozen projects that I've started (shhh!)

 

have a great weekend, everyone!  ~ Melissa

 

info about the knit/crochet along can be found over at Andi's blog ~ My Sister's Knitter ~ she's a wonderfully encouraging hostess to all of us castonaholics (thank you so much for all your hard work, Andi my dear!!  you're the best!)

 

Project links if anyone's interested (from top to bottom):

Heirloom Blanket , Baby Tea Leaves Sweater , BRRH! Hat , Insouciant Tee , Easy Folded Poncho , Holey Square Shawl

 

Better Late Than Never - Post by Guest Blogger Sue

Can't believe it's August!  I fully intended to start my Quill back in June, but have been so busy and distracted.  Having my middle daughter home from college, and my youngest out of school for the summer, has kept me away from my knitting. I thoroughly enjoy having a full house, and we have been filling our days with fun activities.

I am using Madelinetosh Merino Light, in the Posy color.  I have a ridiculous amount of TML, so thought I should de-stash for this KAL, as opposed to buying more yarn. (Although, always love an excuse to do that!)  I have admired the one color versions of this project, so am going to do that. I know I will have enough yarn to do the smaller size.

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer, wherever you are!