Fall Harvest Multicolor Set

This one was a little something for me. I’d been making things mostly to sell and as gifts for other people, so I figured I’d treat myself for a change. I’d seen the Fall Harvest yarn in catalogues for a while and was very interested in obtaining it but, until a certain point, was unable to due to lack of financial resources.

When I finally did get the yarn, I took my time trying to figure out just how to put the whole thing together. Ironically, I didn’t follow the pattern I set out at all. Instead, I just made alternating blocks for the scarf. All told, it took me weeks to do, mainly because of my notorious dislike of doing scarves the “long” way. I much prefer casting on 200+ stitches on a pair of circular needs and just knitting until its wide enough than to sit there for hours turning and turning the work.

Still, I got it done in the end.

The next item on the agenda actually wasn’t even on the agenda. I’d had quite a lot of the Fall Harvest Multicolor and Black yarn left over and figured I’d make myself a hat to go with the scarf. So, in literally twenty-six hours, I made the hat. I wish I were kidding about that, but I’m not. It was one of those sleepless days I sometimes suffer.

I’m not only proud of this hat for having done it in such a short span of time. I’m also proud because this was my first sojourn into the land of the ribbed stitch. I used K2 P2 and it came out pretty well actually. It was actually pretty fun knitting this hat in that I just kept going without having to look. This was actually the first time I’d truly done that and I really preened over the newly acquired skill.

Which brings me to the last item. Last, but certainly not least.

I had still more yarn left and figured “Why not?” when I planned this last bit. It was getting cool enough out that I figured I’d need some gloves or mittens of some kind. Not yet having the skill to make fingered gloves or mittens (thumbs), I embarked on a project to make these fingerless gloves using the two yarns.

I didn’t use any kind of set pattern for it beyond guesstimation and initiative and I managed to come out with a pair of gloves that fit pretty well on my rather large hands.

As always, the webcam is not the best in the world and the colors shown are not reflective of how they look in real life. They’re much more vibrant and, if you can find it, look up Red Hearts Fall Harvest Multicolor to get an idea of what I’ve got or, if you see me on the street this upcoming Autumn/Winter, just look at it.

The Pink and Gray Scarf and Hat Set

I could have a long and fantastic tale about this one involving a desert, Sultan, mysterious quest, and a Genii but I don’t. Darn it. I really must stoke my imagination more and put some stories on my story blog. My mental playground needs the workout.

I could also tell a big fat fib and say that I made this stuff in less than one day. That would surely get me struck by the Lightning of the Multiverse if there is such a thing. It actually took me more than two months and I was none too thrilled to be working with the dreaded pink yarn. I did mention my loathing of the color pink, right? Yep, can’t stand it. *shudder*

In truth, this scarf and hat set came about during a two month span of time in appreciation for a nice lady who showed grace and kindness to us when we had nothing. She’s consistently been one of the “Good People” who remind me that the world is a pretty cool place once you get past the few sucky people. I wish upon her, her church, and all who help them lots of good things in their lives. They’re really good people. That’s what kept me going. I wanted to do something nice for her in return for all the good she’s done for us. It’s the least I could do.

AurniaStar Herself

This is the woman herself. My friend Leslie, AKA AurniaStar, modeling the scarf and hat set previously mentioned on this blog. You’re mainly seeing this picture because I’m (finally!) sorting my computer out and I managed to find her picture buried deep in my “Danger! Danger! Desktop is overwhelmed!” folder.

The Rooster Scarf

Several centuries ago, I started this scarf and finished everything but the tassles. To be precise, I finished it in April. It had been collecting dust in my yarn bin since but this morning, for some odd reason, I felt the urge to finish it and put it up on the blogs and Flickr. So here it is in all its glory.

I’m hoping to have it in the mail when next I get postage enough to buy one of those cool envelopes that send things priority. In the meantime, I’m going to start on something else. Why I feel the need to fiddle with hot acrylic yarn in the middle of a heatwave is anyones guess.

I made it using my trusty 6US 16″ circulars and finished it off with a size K crochet hook to make the tassles. The condensed time frame for making this scarf would be around two days with breaks for meals and other necessities.

The yarn used was Red Heart Woodsy, Red Heart Light Gray, and Red Heart Hunter Green, all acrylic, and all worsted weight. Normally, I don’t like making scarves but I did enjoy this and I might try to repeat this pattern with different colors.

Tall Tremoring Order For Tree

I made this scarf for an actor I’m a fan of (More and More). A friend and I actually conspired to horrify grace him with our artistry and he seemed appreciative. It was not only a gift for him but a “challenge” practice item for me in that he’s a bit hard to place due to his size and features. Whether he kept it all or not, who can say? Regardless, I just hope someone got some good use out of it. It took a blasted long time to knit and my artistic intentions were honorable. Horridly crude, stumbling, and amaturish, but honorable.

A showing of the contrasting colors. I made it with a light and dark blue yarn but, owing to a sudden storm darkening my natural light, the pictures didn’t come out so great. The colors are actually quite bright and beautiful. One is a very light blue produced by Caron while the other is a darker Royal Blue by Red Heart. Mind you, it’s been a while. I may well have the two mixed up. Eep!

I was temporarily possessed by Calvin here. Must be from reading too many comic strips combined with too overactive an imagination. Seriously, the scarf is eight feet long by around a foot and a half wide. I made it on a pair of 29″ 6US circular needles. It took a condensed time of twelve days to make it but, being lazy, I managed to stretch it out over several weeks leading up to a month.

I also made slippers but, for reasons of copyright, I can’t show the design on this site since it’s not mine to display or make any economic profit from.

I can, however, show my being a smartypants in making a miniature version of both the scarf and slippers (not the same slippers design) as a passive agressive joke about said actors height. As you can see, the items are very much smaller than a foot long. Actually, this photo most accurately represents the colors of the scarf. The picture is one of a series taken on a different day with much less cloud cover. :p

I also made a matching hat but that’s another post entirely. Check this blog for more on that piece of s…work.

The Aurnia Star Project

One of my first “Long Distance” gifts. I sent this hat and scarf set to my long time sister in all but parentage and friend Aurnia Star.

I based the colors on what I knew would be her favorites. Pinks, soft blues, and generally chicky colors. It’s not my thing personally, but I <3 her anywho. All told, it took me a condensed span of one week to make. This was during my “struggling to learn” days of knitting.

Honestly, when does the “struggle” ever stop? It’s a good thing to constantly have a challenge before oneself. Something, a barrier, standing in the way to overcome. Not so much to be completely unsurmountable but to build skill and strength in craft. I hope the struggle never stops in me. Learning is a drive I never hope to lose.

The scarf itself took, ironically, the longer time out of the two items to knit. I’d gotten a pair of 29″ circular needles not too long before and I used my laziness as an excuse to try knitting the “short way”. Instead of casting 30 stitches onto a pair of straights or small circulars, I just cast 220 onto a pair of longer circulars.

I’m still up in the air as to which was a bigger challenge. True, I had a much less challenging time of having to deal with the work slipping off of the needles and it’s also true that I didn’t have to constantly turn my work. The negative of this for me was that I lost interest in the monotony of the task to the point where I’d walk away for days at a time and not pick up what was, honestly, a two to three day job at most for someone of my skill level at the time.

The hat on the other hand, was quite easy to manage. Once I’d gotten the whole “circular knitting” bit right, it was a simple matter of going around and around in circles until it was time to decrease and, eventually, bind off. I took that hat with me everywhere too. As many who saw me on various parts of the Maryland MTA can attest to, I spent a good portion of the longer traveling distances with my hands on my needles.

If only Baltimore could be known to have more of a rabid fascination with this type of needle rather than the other.

Anyway, I can attest to the fact that she did indeed like the gift. I’m glad she liked it too, because I made it out of deep love and respect for our nearly nine year friendship.

Lunar Bipolarity’s Artform

Greetings to you all.

The intention of this blog is to showcase the artwork of…well, of me really. Currently, I’m searching for a better digital camera than my current one…or at the very least a better resolution webcam so I can take pictures of the stuff I’m doing.
I will endeavor to post things here, pictures, updates, and other things as they pertain to my pursuance of acculturation and immersion in the world of Art. Until that time, I wish you well and hope that you’ll check in from time to time.
And you know, if you wanted to buy some of the things shown…I wouldn’t mind…

Have a great one!