A Life of Colour

Designing?

Or alternatively, am I crazy? LOL With a new yarn just having been delivered I got the grand idea that designing something for the yarn would be a fantastic idea so why not try it myself? Crazy I know but there's lots of times where I just throw caution to the wind and dive right in especially when all the designers out there are so busy that it takes awhile for them to get to a design for you. Totally understandable of course - designing doesn't take 5 minutes.

Well, dive in I did indeed and what did it involve? Conceptualizing, charting and frustration...LOL First off it's pretty easy to set up a blank chart for a shawl but that's not where it ends...now you have to fill in the chart with stitches that come from what you are visualizing. Well, let's just say I sat and stared at the chart for quite some time before I decided to just jump in and start adding stitches to see where it would take me. From there, it just wasn't working out so I scrapped a couple of ideas and finally settled on something that I thought was "cool".  

Now what? I knit up a teeny tiny swatch of maybe half the design just to "see" what it did. Once that was done, I realized it wasn't such a bad little idea for stitches so from there, I cast on and am anxiously waiting to see where the design takes me...hopefully somewhere?

For all the designers out there, my hats off to you - this is quite the process to go from having a vision for a design to actually putting it on paper to finally knitting it to see how it turns out and tweaking it the whole time to make sure it looks nice. Just a short foray into designing has made me realize that this is indeed a skill that takes time to master like anything else.

I have cast on and am going to just throw caution to the wind to see what happens when I knit my simple design for a shawl. It may be a total disaster or it may turn out lovely - either way, I know I'll learn a lot along the way and sometimes the best way to learn is just to get your feet wet.

 

And before I close, I wanted to show you my new best friend - a filing cabinet! I am not kidding either - this lovely little rolling filing cabinet has made me that much more organized this year already. Definitely makes the organizer inside me very very happy. Now to make sure I stay organized throughout the year - I'm trying not to repeat this year's episode of taking 5 days to get organized for filing taxes. If I organize all throughout the year, that should put me ahead of the tax game next year, yes? Ah, the simple things in life are sometimes the most exciting.

Have yourself a great week! Maybe I'll have a nice design to show in the coming weeks or I'll have given up entirely...wish me luck!

Crunch time.

This time seems to creep up on me every year and every year I figure it won't take that long to complete. Why is that? Shouldn't I have learnt from the last year? LOL Probably has something to do with the fact that a whole year has passed and my memory seems that much more distant. I'll be so happy when another tax year is over as I'll be able to jump back into the dyeing again where I feel most productive.

And don't you think I should be concentrating on the paperwork? Apparently I needed a distraction...LOL So here's a photo to encapsulate what my desk looks like today...I threw the box of yarn onto the table to remind me that yarn is always the focus no matter what I do....

Even after all this time I'm still surprised just how much paperwork yarn can generate...who knew this job would have so much administration! Are your taxes done? My paper mountain is already much more manageable...must press on!

Knitting's a Privilege.

Love this video and thought I'd post in case some of you haven't seen it yet.. go Debbie Stoller and Ravelry.com!

Karma.

Do you use stitch markers? I have been using them like crazy since starting to knit shawlettes and what did that create? My need to buy quite a few of them of course...LOL There's so many different kinds and all of them so cute...how could I possibly have too many stitch markers? I quickly looked at a tutorial on how to make them myself but it's just so much nicer to support someone's business so that's what I'll continue to do rather than making them myself. It creates a bit of good business karma don't you think? So without further adieu, here are a few of the markers I've acquired in the past little while...all of them lovely!

 

Bought from: Caryl Style (Etsy)

Bought from: Entrelac Stitch Markers

Speaking of good business karma, there's been more and more inklings on Ravelry lately of business owners bad mouthing other business owners. Until now I've just ignored it but I seem to be seeing it more and more these days. Why has this trend cropped up? I'm baffled by it. My Mom taught me that if I had nothing nice to say that I shouldn't say it at all. Truth is, there are real people behind the monitors and even though it seems innocuous to make a passing comment, these comments can be quite toxic as they create a lot of negative energy. As Ravelry continues to say and over and over, "let's be excellent to each other". It's a simple concept but for some, really difficult to follow. It's really too bad - Ravelry used to be a haven of positive and now it's becoming infested with negativity at almost every turn. I like to think the positive still outweighs the negative but some days you just really have to wonder. Is it just me or have you noticed this trend too? Maybe not with business owners in particular but just with the users in general? I sure would love to go back to the early days of Ravelry when everyone was excited for a social network of knitters and negativity was really hard to find.

However, onto something much more positive! Currently on the needles is Milkweed by Laura Chau and it's coming along nicely! I was struggling with Swallowtail so I decided to cast on something a little easier to get me back into the swing of knitting shawls. Laura's patterns are clearly written and I love that she includes little blue numbers that tell you how many stitches there are between the lace repeats - no need to count boxes! It's such a small thing but it makes it easier to just keep knitting without stopping to count. The yarn I'm using is my new Serenity 20 in the colourway Red Raspberry. It's got a lovely hand and the softness is really spoiling me for anything else...ahhhh, cashmere.

Have a fabulous and positive weekend everyone! I'm hoping to cast off my shawl this weekend if I manage to get in some good knitting time. The sun is beginning to shine here in Ontario and it's so refreshing. Perhaps Spring is around the corner? A change of season sounds fantastic.

click images to embiggen

New Year.

As a gift for Christmas, my MIL gave my DH and I this plaque. She said it suited us and both my DH and I thought it was cute! After the year we've all been through, it definitely rings true and with a new year now here, it seems pretty timeless to take us into the New Year and beyond. It sits in my office now where I glance at it often.

Happy New Year to you and to all your loved ones you have beside you!

Terra.

That's the name of my Dad's dog and constant companion for the last six years. Last night, sadly, she lost her life when she was hit by a truck. She didn't suffer and it was all over in an instant.

This post is a moment to say thank you to Terra for being my Dad's constant companion and dear friend to both my Dad and Mom for all those years. She was a special dog who was there while my Dad had to work away from home, she was the dog who learned words like she could speak them herself and she was just a wonderful and loving spirit who got along with everyone she met. I only had the chance to spend a bit of time with her but during that brief time I knew she was special - she had a way about her that was warm, kind and genuine. She was always ready to please and never left my Dad's side.

 

I don't know what else to say about her but for my Dad and Mom, Terra, thank you for being there for both of them and for enriching all our lives, we all loved you and we will all miss you. May heaven be filled with lots and lots of tennis balls for you to chase and chase and chase.

Merry Christmas.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas day filled with joy, happiness and a bit of yarn under the tree! Have a great day everyone!

Art Institute.

Mr. Zen and I just got back from a quick trip to Chicago for a couple of days. Despite the hair raising traffic, we managed to visit the Chicago Art Institute. What a glorious place! We didn't have near enough time to get through it all but wow, so much art to look at.

I was particularly interested in going because of the Art Walk Sock Yarn Club which is premised on creating colourways inspired by art masterpieces.  Seeing these masterpieces in person definitely lends a certain amount of appreciation for the amazing work these artists do.

And here's a few photos I managed to snap while visiting. Feel free to click them to make them a bit larger.

 
I love the feel of this shot - not only for how it shows how large the painting is but also because of how I captured an onlooker gazing at the painting - it's pretty much how I felt looking at all this gorgeous work too!

This was an interesting piece as it was light as art and it was mesmerizing to gaze at. Loved it!

I did a little happy dance when I found this piece - it is Georgia O'Keeffe who I've been inspired by a few times with the ART WALK Sock Yarn Club. Gorgeous!

Caravaggio was the special exhibit artist and his work was, well, amazing of course! Look at the sheer size of those paintings on the wall. I'd like to know how he painted such exquisiteness so large! Wow, just wow.

The Grand Staircase which was indeed very grand and gorgeous. I loved the layout out the Institute - there was so much to look at!

I snapped this photo as we were leaving Chicago - love the architecture of the buildings - not only are there a lot of very tall buildings but the structure of them all is rather unique. As you can see, it was a rather chilly day with snow!

These are just a few highlight photos from the trip and if you care to see the entire 19 photos, click here to visit the Flickr slideshow. If you haven't been to the Art Institute before, I definitely recommend it! I would go back without question - it was well worth the 1.5 hour drive to get back to our hotel through traffic volume that is worse than Toronto.

The Hunter.

I bet you thought I meant a colour didn't you? LOL Not this time I'm afraid. I thought I'd interrupt my normal blog postings to talk to you a bit about my Dad.

For as long as I can remember, my Dad has packed up his gear yearly and gone out hunting. As a kid it was always sad to see him go because I never thought he was coming back but after a few days he always did which, of course, made me really happy. As I got older I began to appreciate just what he did every year. The meat he bought back fed the family for a good year or more depending on how much him and his hunting buddies brought back.

Usually my Dad hunts moose but this year he was lucky enough to win the lottery and got an Elk permit so him and his friend packed up and went up island to the Campbell River area on Vancouver Island.

One of the nice perks of his going hunting in the wilds of BC is the fabulous pictures he brings back. This year was no exception!

What a gorgeous shot of a group of Elk cows, don't you agree? He snapped this photo but two minutes before the bull came along. He sent me a few pictures of him standing over the bull he managed to shoot this season but I think I'll stick to the pretty animal pictures. He's been hunting for eons but I still cringe at these kinds of photos so I won't subject you to them! This bull is massive too weighing in at 400 lbs! Wow, that's a lot of animal don't you think?

And I quite like this photo he sent too...so adorable that deer! My Dad doesn't hunt deer so this one was lucky enough to be captured in photo only!

If you've followed my blog at all over the years, you've also heard me speak of the carving that my Dad does in his spare time. I have been talking to him for about a year now asking him to incorporate these carvings into spindles and spinning wheels. He will come through for me one day I know it!

Don't you think these types of carvings would be fabulous on spinning equipment? Thought so! Any ideas on how to get him moving on the project? LOL He's retired now but I think he'll need to retire from his retirement before he finds time to think about carving spindles or spinning wheels.

So Dad, if you're reading, don't forget about my spindles and spinning wheels after you've retired from retirement, okay?! Thanks! LOL

P.S.: We should be getting some elk salami from this year's shoot - can't wait - yum!

Fall reds.

I love it when Fall rolls around because if you know me even just a little bit or have been following my blog for awhile, you will know reds are my all-time favourite colours to work with and when the seasons change, the reds outside abound and are totally intriguing to look at.

First up is our Japanese maple just outside the front of our house. Look at those gorgeous reds bordering on purples! Lovely.

And just around the street side of our house is this lovely little plant. No idea what it's called but the bright pink red is fabulous! Most of the leaves have fallen off already.

And these two plants...both are exactly the same but are showing off reds in such a different way. Gorgeous!

Has your Fall season been unseasonably warm? It's been hitting double digits here in Southern Ontario for the entire month of October with no signs of it letting up. It's so warm out there I was able to just walk outside wearing a t-shirt and snap these photos. Sure hope this doesn't mean winter is going to hit us with a vengeance!