Jimmy Beans Beanie Bag October 2015

Back in October of 2015 I decided to start recievng the monthly Beanie Bag from Jimmy Beans Wool. Each month for 10 dollars you receive a very cool cloth bag with a metal zipper.  In each bag you will find samples of the yarn that they sell.  There are usually at least 4 samples of 15 - 20 yards each.  Along with that you normally get some kind of extra surprise and a pattern that will allow you to make something with those samples.  I think that this is the smartest idea ever.  

It is great for Jimmy Beans Wool because it gets a little bit of the products they offer into your hands every month to let people know the wonderful yarns that they carry.  It keeps their name right there in front of you at least once a month so that you don’t forget about them..  Lastly it is so much fun that you want to tell your friends about it.

I the consumer get a neat little bag full of goodies.  A chance to try new yarns. A chance to try new techniques.  And most of all a quick small project that I can complete in an afternoon if I want to.  

For October their first ever Beanie Bag contained samples of Mrs. Crosby Satchel, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, Cascade Heritage Silk, and Baah LaJolla.  It also included a couple of very cool stitch markers, a sample of wool wash, and some very pretty buttons.

The patterns were for some lovely wrist bands that work up really quickly.  The knit pattern was called The Horseshoe Lace Cuff and the crochet was done in the Heritage Silk and simply called a Crocheted Wristlette.

Out of all the yarns I think that I preferred the Mrs. Crosby Satchel because when you work a lace pattern in a single ply it is just sooooo soft. That does not mean that I did not like the others,  they were awesome as well, I just preferred the single ply.  The Horseshoe lace pattern was actually one of the first lace patterns that I had ever worked and found that it is really so easy.  Since then I have no fear when it comes to lace and understanding the patterns whether in chart or written form.

This is just so much fun.

KNITTING AT THE BEACH

One of the really nice things about living in Southern California is the ability to go to the beach, watch the waves, feel the sea air on your face, AND KNIT!!!!  I have reached the point in my crafting career that I actively seek out lovely places to sit and knit. 

My daughter was bugging me all of spring break to go to the beach and I kept reminding her that the water was just too cold for her to want to be in it for very long.  So after awhile I realized that she could deal with the water and I could knit.  It turns out that she was able to handle the cold water temperatures, boogie board, and even made a couple of friends.  I started making a cucumber.  The cucumber is done now.  The car is vacuumed of the excess sand.  The boogie board is put away.  However, I think I will be the one pushing to go to the beach next.

My Work

It has been so long since I posted.  The last few years I have been quite busy teaching handwork.  It is one of the most rewarding opportunities of my life.  I presently am working as a substitute Handwork Teacher at my daughter's school and find I look forward to work every day.  That in my opinion is what work is supposed to be.  Working everyday with Middle School kids reminds me of my own days at that age and helps to keep my spirit young.  Working with my hands helps to keep me interested and excited about the art and craft of Handwork.  Hoping to have more posts soon.

Beeswax Candle Dipping

India's class had a chance to do some candle dipping before the Holiday Break.  She enjoyed it so much that she insisted that she get a chance to do it at home during the break as well.  I did not have a lot of wax nor did I have a deep can but I found that a soup can will make a long enough candle.  I heated up the wax using a double boiler method on the stove.  Once it was all melted I kept just enough heat under it to keep it from cooling down.  I then pre-dipped the candle wicks first in order to make them firm.  This involves putting the wick in the wax and then stretching and holding the wick until it cools. Doing this first will make the candle straight.  Not really a good task for kids.  Then once the dipping starts you just dip in the wax.  Then dip in cool water.  Wipe with a cloth and repeat.  When the candle is a size you like you just cut off the bottom evenly to make it stay in a holder better. 

This is a quick project that yields beautiful results.

Saint Lucias Day

India had been bugging me for years to get to dress up for St. Lucias day.  So finally this year I got a small table top wreath from Trader Joe's.  Hot glued 3 Tea Lights into it and voila you have a St. Lucias crown.  We used an old ghost costume and tied a red bit of yarn around the waist.  India happily left some treats at our neighbors doors while she walked around our apartment structure.  Emile and I completed the procession by following closely behind to make sure nothing caught of fire.  You would never know we aren't Catholic.

VICTORIAN FAIR

On Saturday, May 5 I got the opportunity to demonstrate lace making at the Victorian Fair at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in City of Industry California

It was a wonderful day with lots of sunshine and gentle breezes.  We were positioned on a lovely tree lined promenade and as all of the visitors passed I had lots of people stopping by to ask questions about the lace I was working on.  I had chosen to do a very simple insertion in Torchon Lace.  Mostly made up of half stitches with a rose point ground.  This enabled me to work confidently while answering questions throughout the day.  It was interesting that one of the main questions I received was that people wanted to know "exactly" when and where bobbin lace started.  I don't believe that it has a specific location or date.  Like so many other things it just developed.  Its development was mainly along trade routes and primarily in Europe.

While I was there, Emile and India got the opportunity to visit the homes and actively participate in all that was available to them.  India made some crafts, they watched a fashion show, ate snow cones and had the most amazing ice cream bar on a stick.  It was a great time for me to work on lace and a great Daddy/Daughter Day for them.

Of Queens and Crowns

Now that my daughter has gotten settled into her first grade class her teacher has asked us to create some capes and crowns.

I volunteered to complete a felt crown that had already been cut out.  I used gold lame under some cutouts and used blanket stitch around those cutouts and the outer edge of the crown.  For the blanket stitch I used a gold thread that needed a lot of TLC but the time was worth it for the effect.  Then I decided to use Mother of Pearl beads along with a center blue seed bead to complete the decoration.

One of the nice things about Waldorf Education is the use of Royalty archetypes throughout the stories and class play.  This is not like the "Little Princess" Tiaras that so many little girls wear or the Burger King Crowns.  The use of crowns and capes and Kings and Queens in Waldorf Education is about presenting children with the idea of creating a noble view of their behavior.  Kings and queens and knights behave with honor and take care of the people in their kingdom. 

To behave with honor and a noble nature is what we should all aspire to.

First Day of First Grade

Wow,  how quickly it seems that we send them off.  Today was India's first day of First Grade.  I got to watch her waiting in line patiently until it was her turn to greet her new teacher and then enter her class.  I saw her nervousness and how she handled it.  Somehow today was different than when she started Kindergarten.  In Kindergarten the children are expected to be just that, kinder kids.  In first grade there are more rules and more things that they will be learning.  By the end of the year she will be reading ( I expect pretty well)  She will be in a new phase of her life. 

Oh how wonderful, compelling, stressfull, and somewhat mournful all of that is.

End of Summer Fiesta

Wow the last few days have been picking up steam.  Swimming lessons were over yesterday.  The Ice Cream Social at India's school was Thursday night. Also several of my clients are getting their last little trip out of town before school starts.

So amid all of the end of summer busy we took the afternoon to enjoy the Festival at Vets Park in Culver City.  As usual India prefers the pony ride and petting zoo to anything else.  However, we did have to pretend we were eating our vegetables with some fried zucchini.  Then my annual opportunity to have some Cotton Candy.  I am so happy to only have it once a year.  That is truly enough. 

The end of summer is upon us.  The sun is still bright in the sky.  First Grade is right around the corner. The best things in life are still petting a pony.

Chloe Begins

Well as you can see to the left I have gotten started on the "Spud and Chloe at the Farm" project.  My daughter India is very excited about it all and is very vocal about what colors I should be using.

One thing that I have observed about working on small knitting projects is that it gives you an opportunity to start learning some new techniques that you previously had not had very much opportunity to try.

For instance I have be doing K2tog (Knit two together)  a good method to decrease.  Also I have been using Kfb (Knit front and back) Pfb (Purl front and back), and M1 (make one)  All three of these are new ways to do increasing for me.

Also when you are working on this scale you complete your work fast but you also have the opportunity to repeat your work often to help you get used to the new techniques.  So far This little doll is going together well and I can't wait to get her dress done.

Dorset Wool is Spun

A little while back I posted about a lovely fluffy snowball like ball of Dorset Wool I was working on.  Well I am finally done spinning it.  It is about 15 1/4 ounces of wool that I spun in about a light worsted weight. 

I will be dying it into pink, blue, and purple.  Then I will be making it into a granny square vest for my daughter.

I have never done any dye work with my hand spun yarn yet but time will give me the opportunity to add a new skill.  I will post the results of the next stage when they  are ready.

Spud & Chloe at the Farm

Yes, just one more project to get started with.  I saw this book advertised at the back of Living Crafts Magazine and had to get it.  The book is full of instructions to make a whole knitted farm yard scene and a story to go along with it.

This book is designed using the Spud & Chloe Yarn line from Blue Sky Alpacas.  This yarn is partly super wash wool and partly cotton in a worsted weight yarn. 

While I am sure it would be great to use this yarn that I am sure is divine, I checked on the prices.  It seems that each skein is just under $20.  That means to get all of the colors to make just Chloe you will be spending around $60 once you add tax or shipping.  Now I am sure that each skein will be able to be used in more than one of the patterns. It still comes out pretty pricey for me. 

I am presently using some "Wool Ease" that I have on hand to test out the patterns.  I may also experiment with other worsted weight yarns to complete this cute little scene.  So far the patterns seem pretty straight forward and I hope to be able to learn enough from working my way through them that I will ultimately be designing some of my own cute little things.  Some ideas are fluttering through my mind.

Family

Today our little family got to be four instead of three for a little while.  It had been about four years since we last got to see my husbands son, Chance, who lives in England. 

A day like today makes you think about what really makes you a relative to someone else.  Is it genetics? Yes and no. Is it proximity, being with each other day after day?  Or is it just simply a desire to be a family?  Have a place marked for you that says that you belong with others. 

While we don't get to see Chance often.  Seldom have the opportunity to communicate the way we would like.  We are family.  We are family because we have chosen that. 

So today under the watchful eye of the Hollywood Sign we had an opportunity to reignite that feeling of family.  As I look at those three faces in the picture above I see a genetic resemblance.  I also got to experience that desire that you have when you are with family to connect and feel passionately that you belong just where you are even if those physical moments of togetherness are much too far apart.

Lace For Shoulder Bag

 A few days ago (August 13)  I made a post called Weft Faced Weave.  This post showed some weaving that I am working on that I plan on making into a shoulder bag.  I am also making some lace to put on the bag when it is down to give it a little texture. 

This particular lace is being made with, I think, 60/2 Linen.  The pattern itself comes from "101 Torchon Patterns"  by Robin S. Lewis.  This particular book is a really nice place to start for some basic Torchon patterns that are easy to follow and give you an opportunity to work on many different techniques.  Many of them can easily be adapted to use different stitches than is originally shown to spice up your work. 

I especially like this pattern because of the hearts.  I think it will give some nice contrast to the more ethnic feel of the weaving that I have done so far.

Playing Fair

Well here it is. I am finally letting myself write a bit more of a philosophical blog post.

Through a conversation with my husband tonight on the merits of what we were viewing on the evening news. I was reminded of a frustration that I have with the leadership that we have throughout our world. This is not just our politicians or our bosses. It is all of us. You know, the "adults".

As a parent I take my child to the playground. I help her get through her issues with other kids. Tell her how to play fair, say she's sorry (even if it was not her fault), teach her to tell the truth, care about others who are different than her. You know all of those things we teach our kids but often fail to do our selves.

I teach her these things and then I have to explain to her that she will get more responsibilities in life as she shows she can be more responsible. Then she looks around and sees many adults behaving worse than the biggest brat on the play ground. What's up with that!

I watch the news and it is just one big "he said she said" spat. Why should I pick up my toys Johnny doesn't have to pick up his toys. You know the drill. Anyway, the whole point of this post tonight is just a reminder to myself and those around me that maybe before we open our mouths we should think about what our Mom or Dad would have told us was the right thing to say. Remember that life really is one big playground and none of us can have a good time if we aren't willing to play fair, accept our failures, and try again.

Airing Some Clean Laundry

Living in an apartment I have to use the washing machines that are in our laundry room. When you start adding up the cost of doing your washing each month it ends up costing me about $40 a month if I use the dryer. If I don't use the dryer I save about $13 per month.

So why would I bother hanging my laundry up to dry in my bedroom instead of using the dryers. The reasons are many.

For instance I take that $13 and add it to what I set aside for savings each month. That is $156 extra dollars in my savings per year.

It also saves on the wear and tear on my clothing. Whenever you clean the lint trap in a dryer the lint you are removing is fabric that the dryer removed from your clothing. That means your clothes wear out that much faster.

When I hang my clothes and the air flows through them into my apartment it works somewhat like a "swamp cooler" and helps to cool my apartment.

Lastly, its just that much less energy used that does not have to be used and no dryers heating up the world any more than we already are.

So every night I have the clothes up, yes we have to duck under them. Do I want people coming in my bedroom looking at my underwear hanging up there, No! But this is about having a home that works for our family not the other way around.

Painting With Wool

Wool is such a versatile fiber. You can spin it, weave with it, knit it, felt it, stuff things with it, and even paint with it.

This technique is called magic wool and essentially you just lay the wool on a felt base and press it together. I am just starting to work with it that way so when all was said and done I did a little needle felting to keep it all together. I think that in retrospect I need to work a little more slowly. Diligence almost always pays off. One of the nice things about getting older is that I no longer feel pressured to hurry. I think that is one of the things that people who have a passion for art and crafting have is that willingness to let something evolve in its own time. Sometimes you just have to give the work time to show up, if you move to fast you miss all of the fun.

Popcorn

When I was a kid we always made popcorn on the stove in a saucepan with a lid. Then one year for Christmas I asked for a kids popcorn popper that I saw in a toy magazine. My parents who also loved popcorn did not want to get me a popper that would not last very long so they went ahead and bought an adult style popcorn popper for me for Christmas. I think they had the motivation that if I enjoyed making the popcorn they would reap the benefits.

That popcorn popper was basically an aluminum pot that sat on a hot plate but the bottom of the pot was rounded so that the popcorn would not burn. The next popcorn innovation came when they developed jiffy pop. Then we had hot air popcorn poppers, and then microwave popcorn.

Over the years the original popcorn I loved as a kid became almost forgotten to the point that I seldom come across anyone who knows how to or considers making popcorn the old-fashioned way. I even was having a hard time finding popcorn all by itself to pop. I sent away to a company I had known as a kid that supplies popcorn to the circus. They are the Evel Gada popcorn company in New Springfield, Ohio. (Part of the Hummel Gift Shop)

Now in our household we pop once again the old-fashioned way. I always have a jar on hand and in not much more time than it takes to make mirowave popcorn you can have the good stuff complete with freshly melted butter and plenty of salt. You just have to get your portion before India gets ahold of the bowl. I think she actually likes popcorn as much as she likes chocolate.

Weft Face Weave

A little over a year ago I aquired my first loom. It is a very well loved two harness table loom. When I got it, it already had some warp left on it that I finished up into a table runner using some yarn that I had on hand. Almost imediately I wanted to do something more than a tabby weave.

I started exploring the idea of a weft faced weave and this is what I have been working on. My ultimate goal is that this will become a shoulder bag and I will probably do the strap on my inkle loom. I also am planning on putting some torchon bobbin lace on it as well for some different texture. Who knows how it will end up but I am having a good time working with some new techniques and mixing the media up.

The First Challenge Is Complete!

A little over a month ago I decided to post on this blog for 30 days straight. I am happy to say that I achieved that goal. Like many of us out there I had started working on a blog. Posted once or twice. Then intended to continue at some date somewhere out there in that future place that means "not gonna happen".

I set this goal because I was tired of going through my day thinking about something and saying "Oh I should blog about that" and then not doing it. I want these ideas down in writing so here I am....writing.

Some of the things I learned over the last month was that it really was not that difficult to set aside a few minutes a day to post here. I often would try to keep collecting ideas in my mind as I thought of them so that come about 9:00 at night I had something to write about. Some days that was a stretch, but, for the most part ideas always showed up. Another thing that I worked through for myself was what I wanted this blog to be about really deep down. Mostly I want it to be a place that people can look at the projects I am working on. Maybe be inspired to try something similar or to try something else. I just want people to try and get rid of all of the extra ideas we all get on how we are supposed to be in the world and start to do it their way. Make their own little bit of heaven for themselves and their families in their home. Who needs a spa or resort when you come into your own home everyday and feel love and joy and all of the simple good things in life.

Hmmmm, I need another goal! Thirty more days? Why Not?