by Kelly
Books recently purchased for me by my loving husband. I know he loves me because he still buys me books, despite the overflowing bookshelves and growing stacks of books piling up in that corner of the computer room.
Included - Creepy Cute crochet, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amigurumi, and Amigurumi Animals.
Each of the books has tons of patterns and how to's. My favorite book so far, though, is Creepy Cute, just because it starts with this introductory line "It all started with zombies."
How can you not love a book like that?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Knitting in Fine Art
by Kelly
Looking for ideas for a new header, I did a search for 'fine art knitting'. Ambitious, ain't I? Thought I would share the beautiful images. All from WikiPaintings
Portrait of Madame Boissiere Knitting

Something I noticed while looking at portraits of knitters - they all have terrible posture. My physical therapist would be patting all those slumped shoulders and saying "Relax, now. You're beautiful and you should let the world see that." (She even gave my husband permission to do this! I had to explain that he has a different approach - He sneaks up behind me, says "Posture monster!" and tickles my sides until I straighten up.)
I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by going to charm school all those years ago. Although, if someone told me to balance books on my head, I'd likely be sneaking one off the pile so I could read it.
And now a random YouTube video moment. No, that's not me, but this is a great example of the sort of geeky talents that I especially admire in others.
Looking for ideas for a new header, I did a search for 'fine art knitting'. Ambitious, ain't I? Thought I would share the beautiful images. All from WikiPaintings
Portrait of Madame Boissiere Knitting
Artist: Gustave Caillebotte
Completion Date: 1877
Style: Impressionism
Genre: portrait
Technique: oil
Material: canvas
Dimensions: 65 x 80 cm
Gallery: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
Scheveningen Woman Knitting
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Completion Date: 1881
Place of Creation: Netherlands
Style: Realism
The Knitting Lesson
Artist: Jean-Francois Millet
Completion Date: 1869
Style: Realism
Genre: genre painting
Technique: oil
Material: canvas
Dimensions: 101.3 x 83.2 cm
Gallery: SThe Knitting Shepherdess
Artist: Jean-Francois Millet
Start Date: c.1856
Completion Date: 1857
Style: Realism
Genre: genre painting
Technique: pastel
Material: paper
Dimensions: 33.7 x 25.4 cm
Tags: arts-and-crafts, pastoral-scenes
Something I noticed while looking at portraits of knitters - they all have terrible posture. My physical therapist would be patting all those slumped shoulders and saying "Relax, now. You're beautiful and you should let the world see that." (She even gave my husband permission to do this! I had to explain that he has a different approach - He sneaks up behind me, says "Posture monster!" and tickles my sides until I straighten up.)
I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by going to charm school all those years ago. Although, if someone told me to balance books on my head, I'd likely be sneaking one off the pile so I could read it.
And now a random YouTube video moment. No, that's not me, but this is a great example of the sort of geeky talents that I especially admire in others.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Ninety-five Degree Afghan
by Kelly
Oddball that I am, I crocheted this during our recent (and ongoing) heatwave. Ninety-five degrees in the shade? Sounds like a perfect time to make a ripple afghan in cool blues and grays.
I do like how these pictures turned out, though. The sunlight shining through the holes in the afghan looks just like sunlight sparkling on water. Note to self - from now on, take pictures only on scorching summer days with 98 percent humidity and glaring sunlight.
And on cold winter days I will curl up in the comfort of my ninety-five degree afghan and remember the sweltering weeks of summer when I made it.
On another note, the above pictures were taken on our screened back porch. This is the only part of our house that I have ever loved. I hate the poky little kitchen, the leaky roof, the bizarre electrical wiring, the partial chimney from a long ago fireplace hidden in the utility closet. But the back porch is a little bug free haven where we can escape and pretend we are living in some breezy vacation locale.
Of course, even here there is room for improvement. Here's another view of the porch.
I would like to think that this picture expresses something profound about the ephemeral nature of the creations of the human race, and the overwhelming urge of the nature to sweep away the old and begin anew. But in all honesty, I think all it says is that it's time to nag my husband about getting out the weed whacker.
Oddball that I am, I crocheted this during our recent (and ongoing) heatwave. Ninety-five degrees in the shade? Sounds like a perfect time to make a ripple afghan in cool blues and grays.
I do like how these pictures turned out, though. The sunlight shining through the holes in the afghan looks just like sunlight sparkling on water. Note to self - from now on, take pictures only on scorching summer days with 98 percent humidity and glaring sunlight.
On another note, the above pictures were taken on our screened back porch. This is the only part of our house that I have ever loved. I hate the poky little kitchen, the leaky roof, the bizarre electrical wiring, the partial chimney from a long ago fireplace hidden in the utility closet. But the back porch is a little bug free haven where we can escape and pretend we are living in some breezy vacation locale.
Of course, even here there is room for improvement. Here's another view of the porch.
I would like to think that this picture expresses something profound about the ephemeral nature of the creations of the human race, and the overwhelming urge of the nature to sweep away the old and begin anew. But in all honesty, I think all it says is that it's time to nag my husband about getting out the weed whacker.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
A Change in the Weather

As these Brookfield residents enjoy their icicle treats, I find myself strangely turning back to crocheting. Now is really the time I should be at the beach reading and yet, for some odd reason I have been on a crochet tear all week. I have so many unfinished projects that I vowed to start getting some of them off my plate. I finished my bright pink camisole - and actually wore it! In retrospect I really should have done it in white or some other unassuming color - the pink is a little LOUD. I'm finishing up a market bag and interspersing that with dishcloths here and there (they're so easy they make me feel like I've actually accomplished something). Sushi mats are next - still have a shawl that's 2/3 done. It's all I can do not to look for the next project :)
Friday, July 15, 2011
July 31 Days of Giving Calendar
Found this interesting link on the Red Heart site this morning. It's a calendar of giving opportunities. A nice list for some ideas about what to do with all your handiwork.
http://www.redheart.com/files/cc11947_RH_July31DaysOfGiving.pdf?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=31%20Days%20of%20Giving%20Back&utm_term=July+2011+Giving+Back+calendar
http://www.redheart.com/files/cc11947_RH_July31DaysOfGiving.pdf?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=31%20Days%20of%20Giving%20Back&utm_term=July+2011+Giving+Back+calendar
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Rippleing Waves Blanket
by Kelly
What I'm working on now - I made a baby sized ripple blanket once before, and it was really easy and fun. So I decided to make a larger one for me. So I staged a raid on Donna's yarn stash (which is so much larger than mine!) and picked out nine or ten skeins.
What I'm working on now - I made a baby sized ripple blanket once before, and it was really easy and fun. So I decided to make a larger one for me. So I staged a raid on Donna's yarn stash (which is so much larger than mine!) and picked out nine or ten skeins.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Crocheting for Charity

Kelly posted a nice article some time ago on handcrafts for charity - I stumbled across this list so I thought I'd share - http://www.dailycrocheter.com/charity.php
I'm usually the one lagging in this department. Both Donna and Kelly made a nice donation to the Fossil Ridge collection last year. I've actually done a few things for this year's contribution, so mark me ahead of my usual game. There's lots of good ideas and links here - I'm liking the red scarf project in particular, but many to choose from.
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