Sommer Designs

Number two.

Let's talk about knitting, shall we? That seems safe. Number one isn't complete, yet I've started on Number two. I asked Heather to get me started on another scarf a couple of weeks ago, so I would have something else to do if and when I got into trouble again with Number one, and had to stop until I could get to the emergency room.

I've been much more careful with Number two, making sure it doesn't grow in the wrong direction, keeping it skinny. I chose the same yarn, in a different colorway. The blue is deep and dark, and doesn't have the same variances in color as Number one has. It's definitely more masculine.

I asked Scott if he would wear a scarf I made, and he asked where he would wear it to? Well, Mr. Corporate Smarty Pants, I wear them all the time, everyday, wherever I go. Do you need an occasion or destination?

My mother picked it up while we were in Mammoth over Thanksgiving weekend - I had only knitted about 4 or 5 rows, and while I clicked away on Number one, she added to it for some busywork. For some reason, my right-handed mother knits Continental, and her stitches are a bit looser than mine. Not so noticeable when you look at the interior stitches, but...

I had a momentary giggle as I noticed that my sides were straighter then hers...I know I probably shouldn't have other people add to my knitting, but there really was no harm in this and I don't mind the jagged edge.

I've also been trying to get up to speed with Ravelry; now, that's fun site! I applied or submitted last summer sometime and received my invitation and joined in late September. And then I didn't do anything with it. It wasn't until last week when I noticed a link on someone else's blog for a pattern, that I clicked over and started investigating.

There's a whole 'nother world over there, full of beautiful yarns, lovely patterns and inspiring projects made by extremely talented people of all levels. So I jumped in, as I do so often with a new toy.

I like how I can classify and organize my growing stash and keep track of my projects. I like that I can que a project for a later date, favorite other's projects, be involved and inspired by groups that interest me, and get questions answered if I can't make it to the emergency room. One thing that really surprised me was the amount of ongoing projects that people have! Because I've been trying to limit what I do until something is finished (and I sometimes have trouble finishing things...), but there are people with a lot of ongoing, unfinished things that they seem to be working on simultaneously, or here and there. That's just plain liberating to me, but I don't know where I would store all these unfinished things! Somebody please clue me in here!

I'm planning on slowly getting all my yarns officially stashed so I can keep track of it all (because, um, yeah...I've gone a little crazy over the last year). So, if anyone is on Ravelry and wants to 'friend' me, I'm right here!

But for today...today is a little cold and rainy, and I think, the perfect opportunity to indulge my fantasy. After I get a few orders out the door, I think I will sit with my feet up, a cup of chai at my side, my doggies nearby and knit.

Because that's what it's all about.

Another Sommer Designs Apron Giveaway? Why, yes...

That's right! I am offering up another hostess apron through Boutique Cafe - go check it out and enter!

Fun stuff ~ and just in time for all those holiday parties~!

Also, if you are in the Torrance/South Bay area, stop by Torrance Memorial Medical Center today for their Festival of Trees Holiday Fundraiser/Boutique. I'll be there all day, and the setting is amazing! 20% of all sales benefit the Oncology Department!

My gift to you: Free Shipping!

Yes! Free shipping for everyone - through December 15! Thanks for being so wonderful! But just a word of warning - some items are going fast and when they're gone, they're gone! Let's start shopping!

*The fine print: Free shipping is valid only on new orders and not orders previously placed or currently in production. Shipping is via UPS or USPS at our discretion...enjoy!

Thanksgiving: Done!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It's one of my favorite holidays, but I haven't actually made a Thanksgiving dinner for years. This is something I tend to regret on the actual day, and in the days following. And whenever we go out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner (as we did this year), I'm always disappointed by the turkey! I'm thinking we might just have a Thanksgiving dinner next weekend...just thinking...

I have never been to Mammoth in the fall - and while this is closer to winter than fall, the weather was still quite autumny. The fall colors were gone, and the trees were bare, but there was some snow on the ground near our condo, and the tiny lakes and creeks surrounding the complex were frozen. The temps were in the 40's...just enough to be chilly and bundle up, which is exactly what this group of Southern Californians needed!

The air was crisp and clean, and it was gorgeous beyond belief...

That's Lake Mary above, just beginning to freeze over...

We explored some of our summer favorite places, which were closed and deserted...

We rested and relaxed, did some more exploring...

Knitted some rows...lots of rows actually...

Tried to capture the fragile architecture of water crystals in some of the higher streams, usually rushing, but now a trickle under hard packed ice....

It was breathtaking.

Coldwater Campground...very quiet, and very cold, this time of year...we've never camped there, but as we were driving through to leave, found a little surprise...

Bear tracks? That's what we thought at first, but now I'm not really sure. They were huge, and you can't really see it in this photo, but you could just make out its' nails. If it is, indeed, a bear, it seems late for this little guy to be wandering around, looking for his last meal before hunkering down for the long, cold winter...hopefully he's all tucked in by now.

We came home late Saturday, our attempt to miss the horrendous holiday traffic, recoup and recover before another week begins. As much as a quick getaway is so necessary and so welcome, I always feel about as exhausted when I return as when I leave, even if it is a different kind of exhaustion. More photos can be seen on my Flickr!

There are piles of laundry and piles of mail, and I left the studio in shambles. It's not so bad though, I'm smiling as I write this last little bit - I'm looking forward to putting it all back together today.

Fresh start and all, you know?

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are on our way to Mammoth for a little getaway! I'm so happy ~ I plan to do some hiking, knitting, reading, and a whole lot of nothing else! Happy Thanksgiving my dear blog friends! And remember, everything you eat on Thanksgiving has zero consequences! XO

I have no idea where I found this picture - it's been on my hard drive for years! 

Refashion: Fleece gloves to handwarmers

It's getting cold in my studio/workshop/garage. Even if the fog burns off and the day warms up, unless it gets really hot, my workshop stays pretty cool. Which isn't so bad, but my hands get cold and I can't stand cold hands!

I've been coveting a pair of knit handwarmers since last winter and I've got all sorts of fabulous favorites over at Etsy, but I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for in terms of color and style. Then Erin went and knit up a whole batch a couple of weeks ago, and that really put me over the edge! I want to knit some too! I think that project will have to wait, as I am fully consumed by the never-ending knit scarf (which I still love!), and definitely don't have the skills yet for that sort of project.

But as I was thinking about my cold hands, and coveting (as I do), I remembered a pair of Old Navy fleece gloves that I had crammed into a drawer in my dresser. I hardly ever wore them, and I thought I might be able to make them at least partially cute.

I started by cutting off the fingers and thumb.

Then I whipstitched around the cut openings.

I used ordinary embroidery floss...simple.

That was easy, but I still thought they were a bit boring. Initially, I started to embroider little flowers on the top, but my flowers didn't quite turn out the way I visualized, and you can't really draw or trace on fleece, so I had to think of something else.

I cut out little flowers from ivory felt and stitched them to the tops.

And added little faux-pearl beads to the centers, and a little running stitch for the stem...

That's better.

Even toastier with some hot chai! Mmmmm. Perfect!

I think I have a matching fleece scarf crammed into another drawer somewhere...

I missed Felt Club. Again.

I had an event yesterday, and would you believe, I forgot to take pictures? It happens sometimes, but I always kick myself afterwards. I may not post pictures of all my events, but I take them, and store them in a little, overflowing folder on my hard drive. Sometimes I take a little trip down memory lane, and sometimes I use it as a reference for preparing for another show in the same venue when I need to figure out my space (usually I just wing it, but it's nice to have a reminder). So, yeah, I screwed that one up yesterday.

Saturday, though, made the whole weekend. I picked Jennifer up from the airport again and we scooted into town and blew through Melrose Avenue. When I was going to UCLA, and living in L.A., my friends and I always drove over to Melrose to hang out, shop the thrifts (and there were real thrifts back then!) and enjoy all the funkiness of Melrose. It actually hasn't changed a ton in the last 22 years (did I just say that?), a little trendier maybe, but really, just as funky. We were just driving down the street when we spotted John Fluevog shoes and both our eyes got wide, and I turned to Jennifer and she said, "Yeeaaaahhh!". The store is just as cool as the website, except that you get to touch and try on - we did a lot of touching, but no trying on. The salesgirl was super cool, but I just couldn't justify $235 for either of the shoes I was coveting. Not just yet. Maybe after the holidays. I doubt it then too, actually. But I did get to touch them, which is almost as good. Almost. Sort of.

We stopped by American Vintage - very cool, and I found a sweet embroidered table runner for $5 that I can add to my pile of doily's and lace and I'll-get-to-those-one-of-these-days projects. Jennifer found a rack of plaid wool mini's and tie-skirts.

My goal was to take her to Pink's for lunch and then to Jet Rag on La Brea, but the Pink's line wound back and forth in front of the window like a ride at Disneyland, and then when we drove by, noticed that it actually went down the block and around the corner! Crazy!

Instead, we hit Jet Rag, another great vintage store (which, by the way, if you live in L.A., they apparently have an awesome $1 parking lot sale every Sunday). We walked in and turned the corner and the first rack was crammed full of vintage aprons. Heaven.

I was pleasantly surprised by the prices, which for West Hollywood, weren't terrible. Almost all the aprons were priced at $6 or $8. A whole room of vintage lingerie yielded slips for $4 or $6, and tons of vintage dresses were mostly $18.

We didn't buy anything, but I filed this away for later when I have time on my hands so I can go back. I like this picture of Jennifer - it looks like she's going to give that dress what-for.

Action shots are so tricky.

Jen was in town for Felt Club, which I missed, again. I'm sure she'll be posting tons of pictures to her photostream tomorrow or the next day - don't miss it. Everybody was there apparently. Except me. And maybe you. Next time, right?

A motherload of inspiration.

A couple of weeks ago I won two auctions for two amazing lots of crochet trim and doily's. Yesterday, they both arrived. I am beside myself.

The first one contained a bunch of vintage doily's, and lace trims. Several of them are actually attached in-the-round, making me think they were removed from some vintage pillowcases. I can only wonder what those cases looked like? Did they have some beautiful embroidery, like so many vintage crochet-edged pillowcases have?

There are various colors, and I love that one up there that also has the ric-rack sewn on. You can also just make out one with a sweet blue edge.

I am in love with this green-edged scalloped trim! The work alone that went into all this astounds me. Some, I'm sure, is machine made, but I really, truly believe the majority is handmade.

The seller also threw in a valance that was stained (3 yards!). She suggested maybe dying it.

Obviously, she has never heard of Retro Clean. This will have a good soak - I'm sure it can be salvaged.

The other lot was mainly lace trims - most still on the spool.

Everything seems to be in such great condition - I don't know if anything is stained yet. I can't imagine that I could ever possibly use everything here, so when things slow down, and the events and shows are over, I think I might put together some more scrap packs and include some of this goodness. Seriously, I could never use this all!

My head is exploding with ideas and possiblities for all this! I just read yesterday that Wardrobe Refashion has opened up sign-ups again. I keep considering it, but you have to swear off shopping for whatever time-slot you sign up for, and I just don't know if I can do that! According to the rules, you can still thrift - so I might be able to swing it. So much to think about right now - and I have sewing to do! But the inspiration is there, and that will count for everything today. And tomorrow. And....

Thrift Thursday...et.al.

This is a really busy week for me. Coming off two events, I have another this Sunday and then we are leaving on Wednesday for Thanksgiving in Mammoth Lakes (my favorite place). We return on Sunday and I have another event on Tuesday, and then two more after. I'm frantically trying to replenish stock because I won't really have time in between the next 2 shows. This is when all that procrastination from the summer bites me in the ass. I'm such a dip.

I got out another order to Nest yesterday, so if you've been looking at those aprons, they will be restocked soon! I love working with Nest, it's such a great site and such a great cause.

I also have to tell you, if you've been thinking about Lavender Liners for holiday gifts, don't put off your purchase! I sold out last year, and even though I made tons more for this season, they are moving fast! This makes me oh-so-very-happy, but just a heads' up...k? When they are gone, they're gone. I'm out of fabric, and not expecting any until after the holidays! That's my PSA for the day.

AND, Thrift Thursday, before I forget! I found another vintage crochet apron! In a box of crochet trims/pieces/doily's - most of which were in terrible condition, except for this little beauty, which was in perfect condition!

Yesterday was Candy's birthday! She turned 8! We were all so happy for her and tried to make her day extra, extra special - but she seemed a little down.

"Woe is me. I'm so depressed."

"Is this all there is? Nap. Nap. Stretch. Play ball. Nap."

"Deal with knucklehead over there"

"Case in point. Hey, grow up Gracie, will you? Knucklehead."

"What was that? My birthday? Today?"

"You got me a cake? A doggie cake?"

"Well alright then. You can stay."

There's a new kid on the block - Make It Mine Magazine

 

Have you seen it yet? The premier issue is on the newstands. It's a little like Adorn, all about embellishing clothes and projects, and actually has some potentially fun possiblities. I'm so happy to see more magazines embracing the whole reuse, recycle and refashion philosophy. I have a major magazine obsession, and I love all the craft ideas that are being explored lately. Have you also noticed how the big-time magazines are scoping out and recognizing independent artists and crafters? I love that! It's so inspiring to me read about all the inventive women out there who are continually doing what they love and living their passions.

New magazines are still very fun (at least for me!). I had found a call for submissions to Make It Mine way back sometime over the summer - they have a little gallery on aprons, and of course, I had to submit. They did accept one of my aprons, and here it is!

I had totally forgotten about it, and Beki emailed me Sunday night that she found it, and low and behond, there it was! It's always a thrill to see one of your creations in print - sorry for bad scan, I'm not very good with that machine! There's a little bio-blurb that they kind of chopped up a bit, but you get the gist, and if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, I think you know what I mean! So, if you see Make It Mine, pick up a copy and check it out! I'm curious to see what you think!

You can also check them out online right here - and check out the submission section right here - it looks like they are looking for how-to articles, step-by-step techniques, profiles & artists' galleries. It's always worth a query, because you just never know...you know? ;)