Completed Project-Vertical Scarf

At the store that I work at, we usually make a sample scarf with any of the new yarn that we get so that customers can see how it knits up. Trendsetter Yarns has a new yarn called Venus. In the skein, the yarn appears to be pretty crazy, but when it knits up it isn't really that crazy. This posed a challenge because with a really crazy yarn, you can knit a really plain/easy scarf and it turns out looking like a masterpiece. But when you use a yarn that is a bit more conservative, then I think the scarf looks a bit plain unless the pattern has a lot of detail. I think there were 3 of us that knitted a bit of the scarf and took it out and finally one of my co-workers decided to knit the scarf vertically instead of horizontally. It turned out SO great that I bought a skein for myself and knitted my own scarf and I think it turned out GREAT. I used the color Garden of Eden, I casted on 300 stitches and knit the entire skein... the scarf turned out great. The only thing that I would caution someone on, is that you should make sure that you cast on and bind off very loosely. Even if you do that, you will still have to block it in the end... but I think it is well worth the effort. The more I look at it, the more I want to make another but I think that I might just make the next one out of scrap yarn. I also think it will be interesting if I leave the tails as fringe at each end, which makes it even easier because you don't have to weave in any of the ends.

Completed Project-Halloween Costume

When I was growing up, my mom made most of my clothes. Not out of necessity, but because she like doing it. Her desire to make my clothing included making my Halloween Costumes. In fact, even when she didn't have the time to make my clothes, she found the time to make my costume. And these costumes weren't the run of the mill hand made costumes... some of them were elaborate works of art that could compete with Hollywood and Walt Disney.

Sooo basically I have HUGE shoes to fill... not because I want to compete but because I would like to carry on the tradition. I also LOVE to sew and like to be able to have the versatility to make my son a costume of anything he wants to be. This year is my 2 year old son's 3rd Halloween and so far he doesn't quite grasp the concept enough to know what he wants to be for Halloween. Sooooo I get to choose :-)

For his first Halloween, I bought a standard McCall's Halloween Pattern and pretty much followed it to a T. I just wanted to judge what my abilities were in the costume making department and figured that the following year I could be more elaborate. So, last year I made an Elvis costume for my then 1 year old son. For those of you that don't know, I am from Las Vegas and I have a large "Shrine" in my house devoted to the King. The neatest part about the costume was that we were in Las Vegas visiting my parents and few back on Halloween last year. Needless to say there were Elvis spottings in Las Vegas, Kansas City, and all over the open skies.

This year I thought that my son would have more of an opinion, but I was wrong... so I picked his favorite toy to play with.... a Staples Easy Button. The irony is that I used to work for a company that is now owned by Staples, so I thought that it was appropriate. I went round and round about how I was going to make the costume and then I started to think, "Is any one going to know what he is supposed to be?" Despite my reservations I did make the costume and the look on his face when I showed him the costume made it all worth it. He couldn't believe that I had this giant Easy Button. So I just tacked on the actual button so that after Halloween, I can take it off so that he can have the button.

This past Friday we took him to a local University for their "trick or treating" function for the kids and he was definitely the talk of the party... and everyone knew what he was!!! The best part is that my son taps his belly (where the button is on his costume) and says, "That was Easy!"

Art at Park

This weekend was Art at Park (the Art fair at Park University). It is usually a pretty small art fair but since I went to Park University and sold my first painting at Art at Park, I try to make it to the fair every year. This year I actually bought something!!!! There was a new artist, Nichole Collins, at A.A.P and her jewelry was amazing!!! She is fresh out of college and her work definitely reflects her new and fresh approach to metal smithing and jewelry making. There was one necklace there that really caught my eye and I couldn't pass it up! It is sterling silver and the pendants are made of dried flowers that are suspended in tinted resin. I've never seen anything like it and in addition to the unique medium, I loved the overall design of the necklace. The extra bonus is that it is 7 necklaces in one!!! The necklace is made up of 3 separate pendants that can be worn together, in any combination, and separately. I LOVE this necklace and I am soooo glad that I bought it. Check it out: