Baby Kimono, Designing

I have so much I want to be saying and the words aren’t coming out in any way that seems pleasing to me. I’ve been sketching and designing all day, organizing my ideas into computer files, collecting photos with elements that inspire me, and browsing Colour Lovers for awesome colour combinations. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, and I’m not quite sure where to go from here.

I’m working on a some sketches for jacket with toggle buttons, a mandarin inspired collar and a diamond stitch pattern, as well as plans for my Fair Isle sweater I’m making from my Blue-faced Leicester and white alpaca fleeces.  I’ve been taking full advantage of my tablet to doodle with, I’m really excited. I plan on drawing out images and repeating patterns and overlaying knitter’s graph paper to give me an instant chart to work from, it’s going to be awesome.

This is the first drawing.

The light and dark grays are the natural colours of the beeeeeautiful second prize winning BFL fleece, and the pink/red will be nature dyed alpaca from my second fleece, probably dyed from Madder and a tiny bit of Brazilwood. I haven’t yet decided what kind of motif will be the stitch pattern, I’m not overly familiar with traditional designs, but I’ll figure it out in the coming weeks.

I (started and) finished a baby sweater for a friend’s month old sweetie pie. It was one of the fastest things I’ve ever knit. Such a fun pattern, and so easy!

Hoorray!! It’s been too long since I finished something! ^_^

And for those interested, I recently made my Twitter feed public and open to all again, so follow me and I’ll follow you back!

Ideas and guns!

It’s been almost two weeks since I posted, and I’ve been cooking up some ideas.

I’ve recently been in touch with a couple sweet ladies on the internet about starting a new collaborative blog-project-resource for fibre artists and the like. I’m really ridiculously excited about getting involved in something new and I hope this takes off as well as I think it will.

Keep an eye out!

I learned how to shoot a rifle the other day! We went to a gun range off in the woods and I did some target practice.

I had so much fun, and I think I did well

FO super modelin’ – owls

Ravelry Project Page

Video Update!

So.. I made a video instead of taking photographs because I just had to blog again. Everything was building up. I tried to keep it short to prevent you folks from getting bored

This was fun!
(You may have to crank your audio, I’m still figuring everything out and my mic wasn’t turned up enough, apparently.)

more about “Video Update! on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod

Newness.

I downloaded a bunch of music compilations of bands I’ve never heard of and have been progressively working through them today, marking down ones that I want to hear more of. This is one of my favorite things to do, finding new music that makes me ponder or tap my feet or .. forces me to do ANYTHING.

I’m eagerly anticipating new releases this year from some of my favorite musicians: The Decemberists, Conor Oberst, Silversun Pickups, Iron & Wine. I can’t wait.

I want to knit an afghan, one section or block per month for a couple years, using a fitting pattern or color to go with the month, taking pictures of each block and having memories attached to each of them as I knit through.

This project 365 thing I’ve been working on has been fun so far, too, so I hope I can keep it up and not cheat too many times..

I really like commenting on people’s blogs and drinking beer, so I’m going to do that right now.

Kitties, yarn and knitting WIPS

Today I woke up around 10 am, got dressed and put on some heels. I then proceeded to start laundry, clean the bathroom, vacuum the living room and cleaned up the kitchen. I had a bunch of coffee and decided to do some yarn dyeing with the acid dyes I bought from KnitPicks a while back. The results:

I’m knitting more lately, too. I’ve been working more on my Clapotis and I started a Swallowtail shawl. The shawl is kind of driving me crazy, I’m having some issues with understanding the whole chart/repeat thing and have had to start over a few times. I really like the way the Handmaiden is working up for the Clapotis, and it’s simple, so the variegated colors don’t obscure anything – they just look pretty.

Anyway, other than that I’ve just been working and cooking up tofu dishes. Tonight was different, though, I whipped together a faux cheese sauce out of water, oil, nutritional yeast flakes, dijon mustard, fish sauce, garlic and a little bit of cayenne to put over pasta. It turned out deliciously! I wish I had taken pictures of it too. Instead, I got pictures of my cats. You can too!

1) Your cat is probably sleeping.
2) Get a camera.
3) Wake that little bitch up.
4) Take a picture.
5) Post that shit.

This is Tom-Thumb. He’s a polydactyl beastmonster of a cat.

This is Bowie. He doesn’t afraid of anything. Actually, no. He afraids of everything.

Annnd.. this is Virtue. Well, I think this picture speaks for itself.

I work tomorrow and Friday morning and then I get the weekend with my sweetie, this pretty new yarn and my latest attempts at Project365. Wish me luck – I’ve got to come up with two pictures on boring workdays.

Wheee!

Watching House, drinking cider, and eating honey dijon Kettle Chips with my sweetie. It’s a good night. I work tomorrow, but I don’t want to think about it.. I’m enjoying tonight too much.

I’ve been discovering so much new music lately. I’ll chit chat about it later..

There’s a new website!! Popknits! It’s an online knitting magazine focused on vintage knitting patterns! I’m so excited about it. I wish that I spoke to Katelyn more often so I could tell her about it – I’m sure she’d love it. The first issue is out now, and so far, it shows a lot of potential. I especially like the cowl, it’s super cute.

I miss my friends.

Stash

Stash, originally uploaded by GoetheGamine.

My roving and yarn on a nice little shelf

I have got to get knitting/spinning some of this up.

Great Success!

I sold the first nude I’ve ever drawn the other day. There isn’t a feeling I know of like someone wanting to pay you for a thought-process of yours on paper. I had it framed not long ago with a black mat and a shiny metal frame to make it look extra sharp, to hang it in the house, not expecting to be selling it a few weeks later.

That felt good. Damn good.

I started my oil painting class last week. I’ve found my newest favorite medium to work with. Paint thinner is my new best friend, for sure. Later this afternoon, my sweetie and I are going to the poorly stocked office supply/art supply shop to price out paint and brushes. I can’t wait. I want to build a paint box that holds a canvas board for plein air like this one. It would be so handy to have something to paint on in the living room on my lap that is relatively self-contained instead of spreading paint and destruction everywhere.

My art instructor might be putting on a figure-drawing class later on, I’ll be sure to take it. I find that my biggest challenge with charcoal and pencil is getting the mid-range tonal values right when it comes to drawing skin. I don’t know, maybe my brain thinks – this is a white person I am drawing, this is white paper I’m drawing on.. 1+1= WHITE SPACE IS THE ANSWER TO SKIN.

No, Kaitlin. No. It’s the age-old left vs. right brain fight rearing its ugly draw-what-is-there vs. draw-what-you-think-you-see head again. That sentence made no sense to anyone but me.

Anyways, my Tree Jacket is at a stand-still, but I’m still really interested in finishing it so all is not lost. I’ve got maybe 2 inches left of the body pattern before I move on to the garter sleeves which will just fly if only I could lengthen the hours in the day to accomadate all the things I want to do.

I like watching the puddles gather raiiin.

Mixtape o’ the Day – Songs of right now.

1. Milk Thistle – Conor Oberst
2. King – Weezer
3. I Was Meant for the Stage – The Decemberists
4. Hide and Seek – Imogen Heap
5. Staralfur – Sigur Ros (my personal wedding song)
6. Homecoming – Kanye West ft. Chris Martin (of Coldplay, who apparently knit together!)

It’s getting chilly again. I’ve been spinning and painting like a madwoman lately, as I’ve mentioned.. but I have pictures now to prove it!

Here’s the most recent painting I’ve completed, and I love it. I can’t decide, though, whether to keep it, try to sell it in the gallery or try to sell it through etsy.. and how much to sell it for. I custom framed it at work all fancy, I like it.

(click to see the full size)

The idea was of a bird that flies around the planets bringing night to the sky. The one I’m working on right now is of some winter trees, and the next one I have planned is a chakra diagram of sorts, with a little more flow. Keep it, or sell it? Keep it, or sell it?

Here’s my tiny spinning! That bobbin is full now, and I’m about a third of the way through the second one. I’m getting amazing yardage out of these.. what, four ounces of Fleece Artist? I’m ecstatic, and I can’t wait to have it plied. It’s going to be SO pretty (AND SUPERWARSH, ZOMG).

Tree Jacket is still coming along. I feel badly, as though I’ve been neglecting it in favor of these new pursuits. I’ve just been bitten by the lace bug, and am dying to get my hands on a shawl of my own. Yeah, I know, anyone who isn’t a knitter thinks shawls are old-ladyish. I think they’re beautiful, and would wear one with pride, knowing full well how many hundreds of hours they can take.

I unpacked my yarn today, and found that I have no room for roving on the shelves. I’ve still got a garbage bagful from Fibre Week that I have yet to take stock of, and put away. I’m so surprised at how much I’ve acquired in the last few months.. from nothing, to a whole walk-in closet full of roving, yarn and spinning wheel parts.

I recently acquired the Twilight Series audiobooks. I’m unsure of whether I’ll actually take the time to listen when I do get my new iPod. It might help the time pass at work, if the person’s voice isn’t incredibly tedious. I hope it’s a good story. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but the general consensus is that it’s great for mindless entertainment, but don’t expect anything of major substance to be gleaned from it. Thanks for the hot tip, guys.

I just had a cup of coffee. It’s 10pm. I did this on purpose. There will be no rest for the wicked Kaitlin tonight.