My Podcast Interview~

I did it.

Today I was honored to be interviewed by the sparkling and amazingly colorful Ricë Freeman-Zachery!

It was a blast and she so is easy to talk to... not that she had a chance to say much. (shocker)

She asks the best questions!

I actually did not sound like the rambling spaz I thought I did.

Still not a fan of hearing my recorded voice (shudder).

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE PODCAST

and to her Podcast notes.

It should be up in iTunes soon also, under "Notes from the VooDoo Lounge" podcast.

Look for a fun MW giveaway on her blog-- coming soon! ( I will let you know when it is up!)

So GO--- fix yourself your beverage of choice and grab your knitting!

Let me know what you think?

and Thanks Ricë!

Naughty Scarf~

It's in time out.

I am angry with it.

First it broke my Denise 40" cable.

THEN it outgrew my cables I connected together with the one and only extender I can find. Wonder where they went? weird.

grump.

I think I may let the Bad Kitties have at it-- if I can rouse them from their naps.

All I can say is, it better be FABULOUS when it is done.

grumble (idiot scarf)

I must be slow-out-of-the-gate. I have had my fantasticly marvelous iMac for 3+ months now and just realized the built-in-camera-thingy has these really cool effects toys on it.

(giggle, hair toss)

LOVE this one. I may make it into a banner.

I think I look younger in it. maybe 30? (rather than 39?)

and this one is just creepy and wrong.... heehee

Awkward? Knit.

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are

willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try
something new."
-- Brian Tracy

I love this quote, but he makes it sound like one makes a conscious choice to move out of their comfort zones. Am I really making a choice to do this? It seems more like an inherent trait of mine, to just cause trouble for myself. Not trouble... because that is a negative word. awkwardness. (using Mr. Tracy's word).

I have this constant, intense craving for a rut. a routine. predictability. But then when I fall into a rut, or a routine, I fight like hell to get out of it, to mix things up. I hate having to do the same thing over and over. contradiction? snort.

This is what I like about knitting, how it is repetitive, and comforting and rhythmic, but at the same time things are always changing. You have to pay attention to your pattern and project. You cannot just follow a knitting pattern without questioning or modifying or reinventing some part of it. No two people knit the same or are shaped the same, so a pattern or project needs to be approached like it is a recipe.

I knit when I am tired or weary or frightened (to comfort and heal) or happy or excited or squirrely (to calm myself down).

The past few weeks I have held this feeling of...? I want to call it impending doom, but it is not a negative, scary thing, but rather a feeling that something big is coming.
and I don't know what it is . and my control-issue psyche does NOT like not knowing.

So I walk around with this feeling of oh shit. Now what?
yo-yo-ing between oh shit and anticipation and excitement.

I exhaust myself.
I want to plan what this thing is or will be. I want to tackle it with my lists and agendas. I want to do it now. I do not to wait or marinate or see what life is going to bring.

So I have been knitting a lot. A LOT. It seems to tune out those voices that say... hang on... it's coming! Are you ready?

Ready? how can I be ready? sigh.

So the Journey is to just BE and to listen and to knit and try to be ready.
So when it all comes I know it and can soak it up and have fun.

ohm

I am crazy? Does anyone else do this?

Rainbow over Salmon Creek (taken by Eve).

Hats! The Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head Hat

Hat #5~

The "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" hat.

Knit from a mutation of my Journey Hat pattern... not as many lace rows and I pretty much just knit and shaped as I went.

I was surprised how cute this yarn was once knit... I was not a big fan of it in skein-form.

Iridescent beads really look like raindrops. The perfect Portland Hat!

Here is the yarn before knitting... 100-ish yards.

Hats! "The Hippie Skull Hugger Hat"

Hat #4...

This hat is knit a make-it-as-you-go pattern by ME.

Garter edge, then knit until it seems right, then decrease. simple.

It hugs your head, just as it's name says...

Knit from my Hippie Skull Hugger Skein~ 96 yards

Hats! " "The Chrysanthemum Hat"

Hat #3...

I knit the hat with the beads intact, then decided the hat did not like the beads so I snipped them off. I used EZ's Pillbox Hat (rav link) as a base pattern, but adapted it for my yarn and for the shape I wanted.

It turned out really cute.. I love it, and it fits nice and tight.

The chrysanthemum is crocheted from malabrigo and has a pin back sewn to it so it can be moved around on the hat or removed and worn as a brooch.

This is my sarcastic child being all fake-cheeseball-cutesy for the shot.

The corals look pink-ish in these outside shots...

More accurate colors in the following studio shots...

Top of hat~

Made from my True Faith skein, 100-ish yards.

Hats! 2 "The Cyrille Pixie Bonnet"

Hat #2

The "Cyrille Pixie Bonnet".

I chose a hood pattern, Spring Pixie Hood. (Rav link)

The gauge worked out exactly as the pattern, 144 ish yards on a size 11 needle.

I added handmade beads to the braided ties and the tassel as well as some strands of a coral hand dyed worsted.

Here is a pic of the yarn before knitting. 144 yards

Hats! "The Crazy Cat Lady Hat"

Hat #1...

The Crazy Cat Lady Hat!

I did not take a pic of the yarn before knitting.... below is a photo of an older Cat Lady skein.

Made from my ribbed Personality Hat pattern... with a crochet scalloped border.

Crazy fun for a cat lover!

Splurge.

Spoiling myself. TO DIE FOR jewelry from SacredCake on etsy.

Mine... they are all mine... cackle.

(These are her titles)

Azure

In Memory of Trees

My Little Obsession with Pink.

I die.

(that is me trying out Rachel Zoe's phrases....it really annoys my girls) >:)

LOVE RZ. She just kills me.

Come and see me!

2nd Annual Juried Twilight Winter Art Sale

It's back!
Mark your calendar!
Saturday, December 5th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm

Support local artists!
Live music!
Beverages and treats!

Looking for unique gifts for the winter holidays? Look no further!

This magical evening will have many surprises in store!

An excellent date night event!

Artists Juried into the Show include
Amy Burgess
Swirly Girlie ~ Kerri Anderson-Linde
Reenie Hanlin
Serena Barton
Kablam Industries
Altered Treasures
Nikki McFerren
Amy Olson
Daniel Muir ~ Twisted Copper
Kurt Dahlke

Not to mention our Art Boutique full of local artisan creations and an amazing array of creations from our Interns and Volunteers!

The 100th Monkey Studio
Where creativity is contagious!
110 SE 16th Ave at Ankeny Street
www.the100thmonkeystudio.com/503-232-3457

Yarn Caddy!

A few weeks ago Jackie, Liz and I took a day trip to Portland and hit some fantastic vintage retro thrift shops in the Hawthorne District.

Such a fun day.

I scored this amazing yarn caddy!

My Great Aunt Toot has one and she taught me to knit, so of course as soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it!

But NOT the fabric. The design and colors were fine, but gak, filthy.

Note the loverly stained-sateen lining with pockets!

There was no way to remove the fabric to wash it, not without taking the frame apart, so I cut it off!

I selected some delicious fabrics from my fabric stash.

For the outside, a Kaffe Fassett beauty with my favorite colors... called Cloisonne.

For the inside, a chartreuse and purple cotton I immersion dyed a few years ago in canning jars. hmmm... that was a lot of fun to dye I should do that again and SOON.

Anyway... the fabrics love one another.

The original caddy only had pockets on one side of the lining, I decided to put them on both sides.

So I did some sketches and math-ing in my Manifesto...

and cut the fabrics, and sewed it all up.

I decided to make the attaching edges with velcro so I can take it off and wash it if I choose.

Of course I have the constant help of the studio queen Ezmaralda and her flunky Rufus.

Here they are to my left while I assembled the new fabric...

Money shot of Rufus.

He is at that goofy-kitten stage where his legs are too long and his head too small...(he's about 7-8 mos. old)

Finished!

Here is Ezmaralda inspecting it (peeking through) while I took photos of the inside. See the awesome pockets?

Rufus took his turn as inspector...

and got in to test it's strength. SO helpful.

So now I can just grab my caddy and GO! (as demonstrated by Eve).

Watch out world!