Dingbats spotted!

Well, this studio journals class has so many interesting lessons that it's hard to keep up. This past week we have been working with dingbats (computer dingbats, that is). I made a few designs using dingbats and then played around with some positive/negative imagery. Here's what I came up with:






They aren't works of art but they are fun.

Kaleidoscope Mania!!

I have been taking an online class on Studio Journals with Sharon Boggon. The class is through Joggles. It's a great class so far, even though I was on vacation for the first few weeks and I have fallen behind in some of the exercises. But Sharon realizes that students have to work at their own pace and she knows that life sometimes gets in the way (understatement of the year)!

Last week's exercises were about working with patterns and Sharon introduced us to a wonderful and additive website: http://www.krazydad.com/kaleido. You can use it to make kaleidoscope images from pictures of your own or others on the web. It is fascinating and I am getting lots of design ideas from this. I can't wait to try some out!

Here are some of the images (along with the original pictures I took) that I have created so far.

Original image. This is a picture of a palm I took while on vacation on Galveston Island, Texas a week or so ago.

Kaleidoscopic images.

Original image. This is a bromeliad that we saw in the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens on Galveston Island.

Kaleidoscopic images.

Original image. Cactus seen at the Indianapolis Zoo in the desert (reptile) exhibit. I think these kaleidoscope images are amazing.

Kaleidoscopic images.


Okay, now the following images just blew me away. The originals are detail shots of some of my art quilts. The kaleidoscopes from these are fantastic!

Original image. Detail of Deco Dot Polka.

Kaleidoscopic images.

Original image. Detail of Beginnings.

Kaleidoscopic images.

Original image. Detail of Deco Study #2.

Kaleidoscopic images.



There are many more but I'll save them for another time. I gotta go do some art now!!!

If it isn't broke . . .

BUT IT IS!!


Shelby has broken her arm! The reason: Cheerleading!


Well, not really. It's true that she has started cheerleading at a local cheerleading gym. It's also true that she was attempting a cheerleading maneuver when said break occurred. But the two were entirely separate. She was attempting a running cartwheel in the living room (against house rules, I might add), without the knowledge or aid of any adults. She twisted and landed wrong. One should also mention that she has not yet mastered a regular cartwheel, let alone starting one at a run. The fun never ends in a house with two four-year-olds!

A broken arm certainly hasn't slowed us down any! Last weekend we attended the Mushroom Festival in Mansfield, Indiana. I bought a (very) small bag of morels at the auction. Here we are with our booty (and our brand new Purdue sweatshirts)!


We saw an old grain mill.


And one of Parke county's famous covered bridges.


The view from the bridge's windows was great!

It's Bruce Lee! Well, not quite . . .

Our family has ventured into the unknown world of martial arts. (Unknown for us, that is.) Ian has just started in Tae Kwon Do! Here he is in his do bohk (uniform) after his class today.

Doesn't he look handsome?! I have even learned how to tie his belt. For those who don't know, there is an "official" way in which the belt should be tied.

He even knows enough to start showing off some moves!

Rain, rain go away - it's February!

Well, after enduring single-digit temperatures early last week and then getting 4-5 inches of snow at the end of last week, we now have 40+ degree temps and rain! We had a thunderstorm last night (only at night when it can wake up the kids, of course) and rain and now we are getting more. The movie theater nearest our house had a large portion of it's parking lot under water at noon - I assume it's worse now. And the worse part of it all is it's February in the Midwest. We should be having fairly consistent cold temps with occasional (or lots of) snow. Can you say "Global Warming"?? The weather here in the past year or so has been so bizarre, I can't imagine how anyone could doubt the existing of global warming. There was flooding all around the area in January and it looks like more of the same might be coming again.

On a lighter note, there's new knitting! I finished a heavily-modified (construction-wise at least) version of Midnight Sky's Funky Vintage-Inspired Wrist Warmers. I used sock yarn left over from my Chain Link Socks, and I still have more left! I mainly worked on these when we were in Texas over the holidays. They are great for wearing while knitting in the evening after DH turns the heat down!


Cindy's Fingerless Mitts
Main Color: Cherrytree Hill Supersock Merino - Water colorway
Contrasting Color: Fortissima Socka - Black
Needles: US 2 dpns

I also have several new projects in the works. The Bristow cardigan by Melanie Gibbons (published on knitty.com) in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Camel Heather colorway.


Here, in it's infancy, is the Shawl Back Shrug by Michelle Ciccariello. The pattern is a free download from elann.com


And finally, I cast on for the Victorian Lace Today Yahoo Group's 2008 KAL. I am making the Myrtle Leaf Shawl with Willow Border from Victorian Lace Today in Knit Picks Shadow, Grape Jelly colorway.


I have also been hard at work in the studio making some new art quilts. More on that later . . .

Starting the New Year Fresh

I'm not really sure how that's possible with all the unfinished projects I have lying around but I'm going to give it a whirl!

The Christmas trip to Texas went very well. The kids were wired the entire time - especially my son. They went non-stop, were up HOURS earlier than normal, up HOURS later than normal on several occasions, and were generally bouncing off the walls for 2+ weeks. Now that we are home we are all slowly getting back into the groove of life. The kids are catching up on (apparently) much needed sleep. They are sleeping in until 9:30-10:30am on non-school days. (I hope that extends into this weekend!)

Several Christmas present projects were finished but I, of course, don't have photos of the finished objects yet. I made the Large Rectangle with Center Diamond Pattern from Victorian Lace Today for my SIL (in-progress photo) using Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud lace weight yarn in the Autumn colorway.

I also made my MIL a variation of "Scarf with edging 21 and insertion 25 from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, Thompson Bros., Kilmarnock, Scotland 1850" from Victorian Lace Today. I modified the borders to be smaller. It is worked in Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn in the Cranberry colorway. Yummmm!

I finished my first pair of socks for 2008! (Okay, I just had the foot of sock #2 to finish, geesh!)

They are Jane's Hedgerow socks by Jane Cochran from Knitter's Review. They are done in Needful Yarns Australian Merino in a grass green color (#1014) on US 2 dpns. Love the socks! Love the yarn! It's a bit thicker yarn so I needed part of a third ball to finish them up. Love the color! The green is flecked with other shades so it has more depth and character than a solid.

I have also cast on for the 2008 Victorian Lace Today knit-a-long. I am doing the Myrtle Leaf Shawl. I have cast on using Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in the Iris colorway but I am not sure if I want to use this yarn or not. I think I will work a second pattern repeat and then cast on with my other yarn possibility (Knit Picks Shadow in Grape Jelly) and see which effect I like best.