this moment - this week - inspirations

this past week I have been so inspired by jude hill's blog http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/ - she was talking about colors and how they lean into each other - her musings lean into my current knitting project - another Margaret Dashwood shawl from the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits. For this current one, I am knitting with Aslantrends Santa Fe yarn in a color named Grape Jam but honestly it is so much more - the colors are grape, olive, navy, tan, and mixes of these and more as the colors merge and divide and as jude writes, "lean" into each other. I have tried to show how incredible this looks in the photos but to see them in the natural sunlight through the window, they just take your breath away.  Here's a link to my first Margaret Dashwood shawl on Ravelry - I just love how you can tie this shawl around your shoulders and chest, and then do things without having to worry about the shawl coming loose.  It's a fabulous pattern with easy lace.
thanks for stopping by.

Remembering that it's the process not the product

a sad tale

or perhaps just a story about acceptance and process

I have been knitting a shawl and was making very good progress with it

enjoying how the variegated yarn of blue and green and purple and tan and ....

mixed and melded

but last night I got a bit distracted

and realized that I had missed a row

and knitted lace where it should be garter

I tried to frog back

but I am a really terrible frogger

and corrector

so

I frogged back to the ball

needless to say, I was very upset with myself

I took a lot of deep breaths and went to bed

today I will begin again

and remind myself

how much I love the process of knitting

What about you?

What are making or doing today?

And now for something completely different............

An embroidered, appliqued, and beaded felt box (oh yes, made by moi) - a bit of a departure from my watercolors and mixed media works.  I was attempting to create a box that looked like an aquarium and each side and the top reflect different views of the same set of aquarium elements.  This is such a departure from most of my current work but it was great fun, and I am already planning another embroidered box.

AND then, inside the box is a new ruffled scarf that I am knitting - it's about half way done. The yarn is Araucania Itata Solid ( it is hand painted a pale moss green and has hits of pinks and reds through it) and the yarn is 70% wool, 15% silk, and 15% bamboo. It is a fingering weight and I am knitting with US no 2 Bryspun flexible needles (fantastic needles made in New Zealand).  What a joy to knit and to watch the ruffles curl and spin as it grows.

What are you creating today?
Chris

November - right now

Right now............................
lots of activity going on in my studio - some things being finished, some things being started, and some other things in the midst
Above is a lap quilt I made for DH - the traditional Ocean Waves pattern just a bit updated on the edges - to remind him of our years living on the sea. The fabrics are a mixture of new and old - some Androsia from the Bahamas, some Japanese yukata fabric, and who knows what else

I am going through the design stage of a new quilt - thinking, sketching, playing with fabrics - we'll see what happens.......

I finished this knitted lace scarf for the Jane Thornley Branches & Dunes knitalong - it is knitted from Dune, Berrocco linen jeans, Artyarns regal silk, and some cream yarn (not sure of the brand) that I hand dyed with coffee and with glimmer mist. As you can see, the scarf coordinates with the knitted short sleeve cardigan that I knitted last year out of Berrocco linen jeans yarn

Just ready to cast on a new shawlette from a pattern called To Eyre - it is designed from the shawls in the Jane Eyre movie that I just recently saw on DVD. I fell in love with the shawls when I saw them and of course, was able to find a wonderful pattern on Ravelry.  

My white poinsettia is turning white on the top leaves just in time for the holidays and one of my Christmas cacti is covered in buds.  And can you believe it, one of my azalea plants is blooming right now - too strange - normally they don't bloom until February.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving - turkey and all that!!!!

Thanks for looking and have a great week,
Chris

I am so thrilled to be the feature artist on Jane Thornley's blog

Just to let you know, I am the featured artist on Jane Thornley's blog today!!!! I am so thrilled!
http://www.janethornley.com/blog/index.php/knitting/blog_detail/knit_artist_of_the_week_chris_aiton/

Kalahari vest and some fun things happening in the studio

My vest is finished - yay!!!!!! but I will have to wait until Oct or Nov to wear it since it's a bit warm in the summer in Florida to wear something like this!

I finished reading A Discovery of Witches - it's a fun read!

Some fun creating going on in the studio

Gotta head off to work at the book store

See you soon 

Chris

Free-range knitting without tears

Here is a photo of the back and one front of my Kalahari vest that I am knitting for the Jane Thornley knitalong on Ravelry. In the true spirit of free-range knitting, I deviated a bit from her original pattern. I am now working on the other front and then will have the 2 gussets to knit and sew it all together. The deadline is May 31 so I should be finished in plenty of time.

The choice of yarns was inpsired by a stock photo of the Kalahari desert that I found on line but I also decided to do a little watercolor sketch - the photo and sketch have some gold grasses in them and even though I had pulled some lichen Giotto ribbon yarn from my stash for this piece, somehow it just didn't work with the other yarns. The variegated orange ribbons in the vest (where the little bows are) are actually stribbons that I cut on the bias from a vintage silk scarf. I then zigzagged the strips together on the sewing machine - they knit up beautifully and are a lot cheaper than buying ribbon yarn.
Yesterday morning we watched the Endeavor take off.  We can see it once it clears ours and out neighbors' trees. It's funny but when we moved into this house 7 years ago, our tree was so much smaller - as they say, time flies!

I'm off to knit although what I really want to do is read - I am hooked on A Discovery of Witches , mentioned in a previous post. The book is so "spellbinding" (LOL!) Just picture if you will a funky witch who doesn't want to use magic, a hunk of a vampire (swoon!!!!!!), and lots of wired daemons all participating in a yoga class - and of course, an evil wizard out to get her. The book is very well written and moves quickly.
Check it out.

thanks for reading and have a super day!

Chris

Things making me happy right now

A new mixed-media piece on my worktable

a homemade chocolate chip cookie on a vintage plate

back of my Kalahari vest finished

 hand dyeing seam binding in coffee and tea (ended up too faint so I enhanced it with watercolor paint)

 seam binding sprayed with different colors of glimmer mist and Adirondack spray

Books that I ordered coming today!

Life is good!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND 

I won a $25 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com by winning a Gecko Galz contest with this fan

I am a Happy Camper!

Thanks for looking,

Chris

No rest for the painter or the knitter

Despite being sick last week, I did do some painting and knitting (most of the knitting was on the weekend).

I did this one just for fun!

I am knitting a vest with the Jane Thornley knit-a-long on Ravelry - I found this necklace that I had made a long time ago - I think it will add to the Safari flavor!

The project must be finished by May 31 so I have to get busy and knit knit knit. The back which you see part of above is about half done, then I move on to the fronts, the gussets, and the finishing touches. I probably won't be able to wear it until late fall, but I think it will look very exotic with jeans or black pants and a black top.
Hope you are having a good week. I just finished the Prima BAP for April and need to photograph it - hopefully later today or tomorrow.  See you soon!
Chris

Starting some new things

The past two weeks have been pretty gruesome around here - I think I told you that DH had the flu - he is now improving but still coughing up a storm. Believe me, you do not want to catch this strain (DH had gotten a flu shot in the fall but as he says, there are always new bugs mutating out there!). Of course, I caught it on Sat! It has been a miserable week but you know how you just do everything you have to do even though you feel wretched - and then you crash when you get home! I finally slept well last night and actually feel like I am recovering today (knock on wood!).
I was invited to join another Knit-a-long - it started this past week but I was too sick even to knit! The knit-a-long is based on Jane Thornley patterns and is to capture Africa in your creation. I found the above image of the Kalahari (our sailboat's name) on the web to use as inspiration, and above is a photo of my selected yarns. I also made some stribbons from the silk scarves in the photo.I have no money to purchase anything new so I shopped my stash and am using lots of leftovers.

As you can see, Hana is helping me select yarns, and she has deigned to model as my lioness muse!!!!!

Another sketchbook page -

Hope you are having a good week - I feel much better today and hope it continues over the weekend - I have some paintings in me that need to be released and I have to knit knit knit to catch for the lost week.

Thanks for reading,
Chris

some peeks at a Classic and some random thoughts about art and craft

I have been working on a canvas to submit to Somerset Studio for their "Classics" challenge - lots of paint(acrylic and watercolor), paper, fabric, laces, vintage items, and adhesive - the real definition of mixed-media!

I got some fantastic books at the library this week (along with the dvd Inception) - I had asked the library to see if they could get 2 books via interlibrary loan - Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style, both by Natalie Chanin - well, the library ended up purchasing them and I am the first person to check them out - so love the patterns and recipes. Chanin's way of deconstructing teeshirts is explained very well and her projects are so intriguing, stylish, and useful.  I have gotten interested in bookbinding (due to Marit's wonderful blog) and got Book+Art and Cover to Cover - I loved Marit's stitching over the tape - and the 2nd book has instructions on how to do that. I am creating a book project to submit to Somerset Studio and am trying out different book art techniques. I also got a wonderful drawing and painting book - Natural History Painting with the Eden Project - the cover has a watercolor feather on it that I so want to learn to paint. The book also has techniques for painting shells and goodness knows, I have a lot of them from when we cruised on our sailboat.

I will be starting a new knitting project - the Shalom cardigan designed by Meghan McFarlane (free pattern on http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shalom-cardigan . Amanda Soule on http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ has knitted 2 of these sweaters, and I love the look of them. This cardigan project is very different from the Jane Thornley free-range style of knitting that I have been doing the past year - the pieces that I have knitted are very artsy but I rarely wear them. I have been thinking about why I create - why I craft - and what types of projects give me the greatest pleasure. Sometimes I look at what I have created and say why - what was the point?   I remember this quote from William Morris: "Never have anything in your house that is not useful or beautiful."  The Shalom cardigan is useful and beautiful.

Do you ever think about your art - your craft, and why you do it - what is its purpose? I read Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions (mentioned in an earlier post) and both she and Natalie Chanin (see above) talk about the art and craft that women created in earlier and poorer times. They couldn't afford to go off to a craft store (of course, they didn't exist) and purchase the newest papers, embellishments, fabrics, and yarns - they had to make do with what they had - and they made beautiful quilts and other domestic use items, useful and stylish clothing, and arts and crafts that brightened their homes and lives. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to inherit such treasures are forever reminded of the resourcefulness and artistic urges of our foremothers (our grandfathers were also creative but mostly their efforts took other formats).

And then too, I have been reading several books about sustainability (and some novels about Tibet) and wonder about the sustainability of the craft of scrapbooking - all that paper!

Anyway, just some things to think about - what do you think?

Have a super weekend - I have to work this morning but plan to paint this afternoon. Tomorrow I am going out to the beach for our annual Gardenfest - hopefully to get some herb plants. Then cast on my new sweater (with yarn from my stash). And finally watch the Superbowl - I bought avocados for guacamole and shrimp to boil, French bread, and a big salad - YUM!
ttfn
Chris

Knit a river scarf

I think that I talked about our budget a bit at the beginning of the year - was that only two weeks ago?! 

So far this month has been deadly with lots of repairs and replacements needed (furnace!!!) as the bitter cold is taking its toll on our houses and crops.  Hopefully it will begin to warm up and stay - even just a bit warmer would help!

Anyway, I am about to begin another knit-a-long with the Jane Thornley group - it's called knit a river, and we are using river images as our inspiration for whatever we decide to knit. I am totally shopping from my little stash and have come up with the group of yarns pictured above. I am also using a small watercolor sketch that I did last month as my inspiration. (I did it for Marit's Top 2000 music of the year.)

I am thinking about knitting a http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shalom-cardigan and think that I have enough pale green yarn to do it. I like the idea of the short sleeves. Amanda of http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ has knitted two of this pattern, and I love the way they look.

Back to the drawing table - no rest for the wicked (great name for a song!LOL!!!)

or maybe a cup of tea and a sweet potato muffin (just finished baking a batch) YUM!

the second choice sounds like way more fun!!!

Thanks for reading and have a super day!

ttfn

Chris

Multi-tasking - blogging and petting my cat at the same time!

I am sitting on the edge of my chair - literally and physically on the edge since Hana has decided that she needs to be close to me since it is a bit cool here - plus she needs extra petting (not sure why but she has her reasons) so I am trying to blog and pet her at the same time. It's been a busy day - I braved the elements this morning to do a little shopping (the weather was nice earlier today but I hate having to fight the crowds at the shopping area - almost all of our stores are within a 6-8 block range - the mall, Target, Sam's, Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy, Michael's, you name it so that particular area of town is a madhouse during the holiday season). I got there early but it was still hard to find parking spaces. I know you will find this hard to believe but I went to both Target and Michael's and didn't find anything I wanted to buy. I did buy some black pants on clearance at Beall's, some socks at the Dollar Store, and some groceries and a Poinsettia at Walmart - and I got cat food for Hana at Pet Supermarket so I did help the economy a little bit. I really do not enjoy shopping so I always try to get as much done as I can in one trip, and then I treat myself to a Starbucks!

The above tag was inspired by one of Tim Holtz's 12 days of tags. I love to see what he creates but since I have very little of his products, I try to create tags that are inspired by his with the products I have on hand. This year he has been using dies on almost every tag, and since I don't have a die cutting machine, I am trying to figure out how to make them with what I have and with what I can cut out. I used his method for making a flower from his tissue tape but I used some old Heidi Swapp tape instead.I also drew the branch with a black pigma pen, not stamped like his, and the little holiday tag is Gecko Galz ephemera.

This is my finished Autumn Pralines & Cream wrap for the Jane Thornley knit a long on Ravelry. I am a bit burned out on knitting right now but will be ready to start something new after the holidays.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend - I am off to watch some football on television.
Thanks for reading
ttfn
Chris

Fall is in the air - and in the house

Just a few photos in the living room - the entry table, some fall candles, my DH reading, the quilt that I am currently quilting, a half-knitted wrap, and freshly cut strippons (I ran out last night and had to hurriedly cut some more (they look like noodles! LOL! )
Lots of creation going on - painting, scrapping, quilting, knitting, and baking
Hope your day is filled with good things!

Another year

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?"

    -Mary Oliver

   "The Summer Day"

I won this yard of Japanese cotton from the Sew Mama Sew blog - I selected it from their store, and the fabric feels so soft and silky that I know it will be a joy to sew. It seems that I am drawn to these colors right now as yesterday I stopped at Tuesday Morning and found a few wonderful skeins of ribbon yarn, and when I returned home, I realized that they were in the same color families. 

I made these little flowers from ultrasuede yesterday - I had gotten a wonderful book from the library, Fabric Jewelry by Teresa Searle, and plan to try quite a few of her ideas - not for jewelry but change them a bit for scrapping embellishments.

This is a layout that I made with SEI Monsterville - don't you just love those funky little monsters? You will be seeing quite a few new layouts done in the new SEI lines and the new Bella Blvd lines so stay tuned!

Hope you have a super day!

and thanks for reading!

Chris

Fall in love - Prima build a page sketch

I created this layout using the October Prima build a page sketch - all products are Prima. I used the photo as an inspiration to paint the pumpkins and squashes (shown a while back) but decided to cut up the painting and use portions as elements in the layout. I really love the colors of this photograph - I found it in my "painting inspiration box" and would love to thank whoever took it - I searched through my links and stuff but am not totally sure where I got it - so thanks to whoever!

My autumn wrap continues to grow. If you knit, I assume you know about the Ravelry site - I so love it - being able to share and talk with other knitters and crocheters. So much inspiration!

Right now I would like to spend a minute or two talking about Scrapgal and whatever is or is not happening there. I am not privy to any of the stuff going on between the owner and some other members (ex-members) of the DT, and I do not want to get involved or take sides. I love everyone's creations and have really enjoyed working with all of them and hope to keep in contact through blogs, email, and facebook.  Kelly and Cassie did fantastic jobs and I truly appreciate all of their hard work.  I will stay till December (end of my term), finish the October contest that I have been running (although it is pretty sad - so far there have been no actual participants), post the layouts that I have already completed for November, and create my two projects for December. I have received quite a bit of new product so I feel that I should complete my end of the deal. 
BUT, having said that, I am looking for a new place to start posting my layouts and projects so I am open for suggestions????????? I have user names at 2peas and Scrapbook.com (is that right - although I have forgotten that user name). Anyway who is posting where, and do you like it - and what are your user names so I can link up? I guess I will also begin to do some of the challenge blogs again - what are your favs?
THANKS so much for reading and thanks also for any info on sites and blogs.
Have a super week!