Northern Lights Scarf

Back in March of 2018, I posted about a scarf I was knitting.  It had been years in the planning because the two skeins of yarn I bought didn't match - they were the same colorway, but handpainted, and not purchased at the same time.  I couldn't decide how to knit the scarf without giving up the beautiful patterning this yarn does when knit.  I finally decided the scarf would have two fraternal ends, and I started knitting.  Back in March.

It did take a while to finish it - not as long as it has taken to post about it - but a while.

Here it is - the Northern Light Scarf (in one post called Aurora Borealis), finished.  Can you see the two different halves? I don't care. I love the patterning.

Yarn: Mountain Color 4/8s wool in Northern Lights (colorway no longer available) - two skeins

Needles: Size US 7

Pattern: Yarn Harlot One Row Scarf

Other Posts: March 2018 and November 2018

Bullet Journalling pen case for April

My bullet journalling pen bag changes each month - and some of it stays the same.  I keep them in a Delde pen case.  It zips at the top, but when you open it, you can pull the sides down and it becomes  a pencil cup. Great invention.

Items that don't change each month

• Factis BM2 eraser.  Looks like a pencil.  Push the top and eraser pushes out
• Pilot Precise V5 in blue
• Pentel Energel 0.35 in black
• Staedtler fineliners in light gray, gray, and black
• Pencil
• Wescott 6 inch metal ruler
• Dear Lily Designs ruler that counts grid and dots
• Compact scissors
• Faber-Castell Pitt Artists pen, S

Items that are unique for April

• Tombow dual brush markers in 055, 761, 873, 451
• Tombow Twin tone markers - dark bluen and teal (from the rainbow pack

Two birthday cards

The two cards above were made for a friend's birthday.  The top one is all dogs - all from different stamp sets.  She is a volunteers with animals and is an advocate of rescue, so the dogs are all wishing her a happy birthday

The second card is hand-drawn and painted. No stamps. 

Both fun to make.

Oil Lamp

In our Annual Conference, each church was given an oil lamp - it's the round part of the candle above.  I purchased one for The Foundation and added colored oil lamp to it.  As part of the production of The Foundation's Annual Report, I wanted to include a picture of ours. Above are three of the many images I took using my iPhone 7,  Those phones have great cameras.

Knitting Perserverence

What is the role of perseverance in knitting?

Last weekend, we drove to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  It's a nine hour drive, one way, so I planned a knitting project to take with me.  I'm using the yarn I purchased in Seattle that was dyed in Sitka, Alaska.  I talk about it in this post.

My plan was to use size 7 needles, and to try the cartridge belt knit pattern.  But I wanted stripes so that I could use both colors of the yarn I bought in one scarf.  The cartridge belt stitch pattern involves some slipped stitches, which would have made the stripes uneven in the scarf - I would be carrying stitches (and their colors) up from the last row of a stripe into the first row of the next stripe.  I didn't realize that until I had knitted a few rows.  Rip.

So I switched to a farrow rib pattern:  Cast on stitches in a multiple of 3 + 1.  *Row 1 is Knit 2, Purl 1* Repeat until there is one stitch left in the row. Knit the final stitch.  Row 2 is a Purl 1 *Knit 2, Purl 1* to end of row.

Great.  Did that.  Knit several rows and realized the scarf was too narrow.  Rip.

Tried again, adding more cast on stiches so that the scarf would be wider.  Knitted several rows.  Looked at the knitting and decided the fabric was too loose and that it looked funny.  Rip.  

Switched to a size 6 needle.  Tried again. A few rows in, and I realized that the reason the previous attempt (and this one) had looked funny was because I was knitting 3 and purling 1 (instead of knitting 2 and purling 1).  Rip. (See the top picture - odd knitting)

Finally, after five tries, I had a pattern I liked with needles I liked.  And I was actually following the pattern correctly.  Perseverance.  

Snowshoe Retreat

We spent a weekend at Snowshoe Resort this month.  The Resort is closed during November (although they do rent rooms and keep the condo buildings open.  We planned meals and packed food.  We spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing, and aboslutely enjoying it.  I spent much time coloring.  The images below are of the common area in the condo building, showing my copics and the fireplace as we enjoyed the view and the room.  The second picture is of the card fronts I colored while we were there.

Simply Watercolor

I'm working my way through the Online Card Class called Simply Watercoloring.  Below are three of my animal pieces.  Fun to do - and it stretches my ability because none of the images are stamped.

Two Logos

My son graduated from Marshall University last May.  This August, he started at the University of Alabama.  He asked me to create a thank you card he could give to the professor at Marshall who recommended UA to him (and who went to graduate school at UA himself).  This is the beginning of it - hand drawn and watercolored logos from both schools.

Aurora Borealis Scarf

I'm still working on the Aurora Borealis Scarf.  I wouldn't mind finishing it and moving onto something else, but that would require that I pick it up and knit.

Sprocket the Kitten

This is the newest member of our family, Sprocket, the kitten.  He came to live with us in April.  For some reason, he likes to sit on what I'm working on. Sometimes to nap.

Maybe he's trying to help me craft?

One Image, Five Ways

At the end of May, we spent the weekend at Snowshoe Resort.  Go look at that link - great place to go. Absolutely beautiful mountain top resort.

While I was there, I colored the flower images from the Simon Says Stamp June kit five times (images on right of line of art).  I used different paper, different media, and different colors.  Fun.

Here are the cards:

On Graytoned paper with Gray polychromos pencils

On watercolor paper (Tim Holtz) with watercolor

On either bristol or Neenah Solar White with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

On Nennah Solar White with Polychromos pencils

On Desert Storm paper with polychromos pencils

Father's Day Cards

This is what I did for Father's Day Cards.  I actually made four the blue one; one of the green one. 

All are painted on Tim Holtz watercolor paper.  I started with a blue water, and then did increasingly darker washes of color for each mountain as it came closer to the viewer.  In this way, the front mountain has several washes of color and is the darkest. 

The green one might be my favorite (it went to Steve), but some of the other blue ones (not pictured) were good, too.  Fun to make.

Seattle yarn, part 2

I spoke earlier about our trip to Seattle.  I shopped for yarn (twice, yes, I know) in this store.  It's called So Much Yarn, and it is located near Pikes Place Market.  Cool place. 

Even cooler story - we were talking to the owner, who asked us where we are from.  She is also from West Virginia.  Amazingly small world.

When I went back, I bought this yarn.  The colors are Seattle Seahawks colors, but I don't care.  I love the colors.  The company is Raven Frog Fibers, located it Sitka, Alaska.  Funny thing - I recognized the company and realized that I had bought a skien of yarn from Raven Frog Fibers when I was in Alaska (see this post).  With that yarn, I made this scarf.    Looking forward to seeing what I knit with this giant skien - maybe two scarves?

Polychromos Flowers

I’ve been debating purchasing a set of Polychromos pencils. I received an amazon gift card for my birthday and used it to buy the 60-count set. I know I’ll want more colors, but this versus the 120-count set - cheaper to buy the other colors a singles and add them as needed. 

Pictures in this blog are my first attempt to use the pencils - Simon Says Stamp Beautiful flowers set

Seattle Yarn

Pretty yarn, right? I purchased this at So Much Yarn in Seattle.  It is a California yarn, specifically dyed for this store.  It's La Jolla yarn from Baah Yarn, and the colorway is Market Flowers.

It is a perfectly appropriate colorway name considering the number of flowers for sale in this city, espeically at the Market.

Colored Pencil debate (with myself)

I'm continuing my study of Prismacolor versus Polychromos colored pencils.  I purchased three red polychromos pencils so that I could do a good comparison between the blending of them against the prismacolor.

One of these was colored with Prismacolored pencils (the bottom one); the other with Polychromos.  A few differences:

• You might be able to see (in the terrible picture) that the prismacolor leaves a waxy finish. That isn't present with the polychromos - you're able to add more color layers with the polychromos.
• The prismacolored pencils are softer, and may be better for larger areas.  The polychromos are harder, and might be better for more detailed images.
• The prismacolored pencils, when you add too much color, shed onto the paper around the image. This I Really Don't Like.
• The polychromos don't break like the prismacolored pencils do. I can sharpen them to a better point, and they hold the point.  Also, there is less breakage inside the wood of the pencil - that drives me crazy with the prismacolored pencils, and results in wasted pencils.  

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but at this point I'm thinking I could use the difference kinds of pencils for different projects.  Also, the shedding of color outside the image and the breakage are really turning my heart away from Prismacolor.

Colored Pencil Details

This card is made with Altenew's Carnation Build-a-flower layering set.  I used four Lawn Fawn inks - Wild Rose, Guava, Lobster Red and Chili Pepper.  The problem is that there isn't enough contrast between those four inks for the flower to have any depth. I didn't realize that until I had stamped six of the carnations and made three cards.

I try to fix it, I added some detail work with colored pencils. I did help. The flower on the top has colored pencil work; the one of the bottom doesn't.  It's easier to see in person.

Next time - more contrast. Nice stamp set, though.

Northern Lights Scarf

Once upon a time I was in a yarn store, and I fell in love with one of these two skeins of yarn (I don't remember which one).  It's Mountain Colors 4/8s wool in the colorway Northern Lights.  I bought one skein.

That's not really enough to do anything with (250 yards).  I don't know why I didn't buy two skeins at the time - whether it was price, availability, or just absent mindedness.  Later, I decided I wanted to knit a scarf, so I took a chance, and ordered another skein.  It's the other one in the picture.

Handpainted yarns may not be at all the same from one lot to another, and that's the case with these. They are mainly the same, but the one of the right has yellow in it - the one on the left does not.

This yarn has been sitting in my stash forever. I love how this yarn will knit in a scarf - the colors make patterns on its own.  But the only way to cure the difference between the two (so that the scarf is uniform) is to altnerative the two skeins - knit two rows and then switch.  If I did that, I would lose the natural patterning of the colors.

I couldn't make up my mind.

So, last week, I wound the yarn into balls, and just decided to go for it. One skein at a time, and I'll end up with a scarf that is mainly the same, but sort of different.  And that will be OK.

I'm using the Yarn Harlot's one row pattern.  I love this "pattern" and have used it multiple times.  I'm using US size 7 needles.

And there is the beginning. See the patterning?  Love it!

Snowshoe Scarf completed

Back in May, I wrote about a scarf I was knitting - the details are at this link.  I started it when we went to Snowshoe - I picked the yarn because the color was "snowshoe."

I finished the scarf this January - really, I can knit much faster than that, but I haven't been knitting much, so the scarf just sat around. It seemed fitting to comlete it when we returned to Snowshoe the first week of the year. I took the pictures of it from our room.

Oodles of Doodles

I participate in a doodle challenge each month called "Oodles of Doodles" by @the.petit.planner on instagram. If you want to see all of them, you can check out my instagram feed at @mom4gj

I can't draw, but I enjoy playing.  Here are a couple of month's worth: