the Akamai Knitter

Back in February I bought a bunch of yarn.

Since then it’s morphed into this.

It’s my very first Log Cabin Blanket.  It’s for my mother and it’s in her favorite sports team colors. Both the Duke Blue Devils and Dallas Cowboys have basically the same team colors, which makes life pretty easy when you’re dressing up to cheer for your team at game time.

I’m having so much fun with this project! The mindless garter stitch is the perfect relaxation remedy when I’m done working with my seed beads or my wire projects.  And by a happy coincidence, blue is my favorite color.

I also love the yarn, Berroco Comfort. Yes it’s a man-made “acrylic”, but it’s so super soft and so easy to work with. I love the fact that you can throw it in the washing machine and for all that? I love the price too.

It’s just too bad that I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a chance to knit in the past two weeks.

Ah well, it’s not going anywhere and it’s not like a blanket is an absolute necessity in Hawaii. ;-P

Part of the reason I haven’t been knitting? I’ve been making these.

Don’t look too closely, some of them aren’t perfect as I’m still learning how to use resin. I’ll most likely put the imperfect pendants up for sale at a discounted price in the coming days.

Look! Kitty!

That’s the first photo in a series. Stay tuned for more.

Happy Wednesday, folks! I find Wednesdays the hardest day to get through. How about you?

Since last year I’ve wanted to play with resin. It wasn’t until this last bead show I went to that I finally took the plunge.

You’ve seen my first attempt. Now I’m ready to put a few pendants out there for sale.

Of course, the one I love the most is the black cat.  That one isn’t up for sale quite yet. I thought I’d show her off a little more though.

I’ll definitely be making more of these. She’s too adorable!

Thanks to all of you who asked after my safety during the Tsunami scare.  For those who don’t know, I don’t live in a coastal area so I had no need to evacuate. In fact, I was quite snug in my home for the duration of the event.

It did shake me up a bit though. I live right next door to the warning sirens. To hear them blaring at 6am was quite a wake-up call. Especially since I went to bed at 2:30am the night before.  It’s taken me a few days to get my sleep schedule back on track. I think I’m good now though. :)

There’s another bead show tomorrow.  I’m not as excited as I usually am. I think I’ve reached a heavy saturation point where beads are concerned. I feel like my stash will soon explode and then I’ll have drowned to death in a sea of beads.

Haha!

So I plan on going tomorrow and I plan on being extra picky. My main focus will be the Green Girl Studios. I love talking to Andrew and her beads, buttons, and pendants are just so fabulously unique. I always go a little crazy at that booth.

Sammy says, “Whazzup!”

(Let us now talk about the carpet. The carpet is doesn’t exist in my reality. It just doesn’t. In my reality that right there is hard wood floors.)

Happy Thursday, folks!

So I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been consumed by the seed beads. Only I’ve missed my shiny, so when the new Step By Step Wire Jewelry came in the mail, I was inspired to try one of the projects.

This is what I came up with.

Of course it’s a little different then the project in the magazine, but whatever. I didn’t stray too far from the original design.

That is until the second and third piece. I’m calling them Medusa’s Nests.

I originally just left the edges alone, but genius Jamie suggested I coil square wire all around the piece. I’m not sure she meant to coil it the way I did, but that’s the only square wire I had on hand.

This piece was done with an earring hoop frame.

The earring hoop is made with a really thin wire, so I decided to make my own frame with a sturdier wire. That’s what I did with the third pendant.

The kitty bead is from Green Girl Studios and was the basic inspiration for the pendant. There’s a bead show rolling into town next weekend and if you wear a piece with one of their beads you get a free bead!

I’m not sure how Andrew from Green Girl will like what I did to their bead, but I used it and I’m gonna wear it.

You see, I’m really ambivalent about my latest creations. I can see they’re not for everyone. I mean, you should have seen my mother’s face when I showed her the purple pendant. She has very classic and simple taste.

So when I wore one to a class at The Bead Gallery and I received compliments, I ended up acting like a fool, asking people “Are you sure it’s not too garish?” or “You don’t think it’s gaudy?”

Yeah. Way to take a compliment!

But since I did indeed receive compliments and I have a lot of fun making these, you’ll probably see them pop up in the shop.

That is if I don’t drown in seed beads.

Happy Thursday, folks!

So just for kicks, I thought I’d bombard you with more handspun.

Pa-pow!

The details:

Terra

100% Targhee

420 yards
18 WPI
4.1 oz

Fiber Credit – Hungry For Handspun

I got this fiber for my birthday a year or two ago. (Thanks, Jen!) I adore Targhee. Adore it! I tried to spin it spider web thin, but somehow that didn’t happen. Still, I got some pretty good yardage on it.  Enough so that a person could make a nice shawlette with it.

Pa-pow!

The details:

Woodland Faun

100% Superwash Blue Faced Leicester

185 yards
12 WPI
4.5 oz

Fiber credit – Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club

I loved loved loved spinning this up even though the colors really weren’t up my alley. I also don’t like to spin regular BFL.  But the superwash? I dig the superwash. It has a nice sheen to it and a softness the untreated BFL doesn’t seem to have.

Or maybe I’ve just been spinning the wrong BFL?

Pa-pow!

The details:

Sweet Respite

100% South African Fine
185 yards
12 WPI
4.5 oz

Fiber credit: Hungry For Handspun

I worked really hard to keep this a low twist single. I minded my treadling and I cranked up the tension. For the most part I think I did okay. Plus, South African Fine is another favorite of mine. It’s so soft! I also have crazy love for the colors. So soothing!

Another thing I have to bore you with is the same necklace I’ve shown you before. Only I tried to jazz it up a bit by adding pearls. I didn’t add a crap load of pearls, just a touch here and there.

I tried to get a shot of the necklace on my velveteen display stand, but my camera totally freaked out on me. I don’t know what happened, but it was not pretty. I’ll just save you the eyesore and skip those photos.

Sadly, I have no pretty scenic or feline shots for you. What I do have is a shot of me and my friends enjoying lunch at the Waioli Tea House this past Saturday.

Can you guess which of those lovely ladies is my mother?

Happy Thursday, everyone!Thanks for putting up with me and my zany ways!

I have been remiss. I have been a bad blogger. So here’s me trying to catch up.

Here are another couple of skeins of handspun that have been yearning for attention.

Azurite

2-ply

200yds
12 WPI – 4.15oz
100% Merino

Fibrer Credit: Forest Fiber Works “Tidal Pool”

This is the first time I’ve tried Forest Fiber works and I gotta say it was so much fun to spin. It practically spun itself.

Only I hadn’t been at the wheel for awhile when I spun this one up so it isn’t as consistent as I would have liked it to be.

Next up, is a single.

Calypso

260 yards
18 WPI – 3.8oz
100% Finn

Fiber Credit: Zarzuela’s Fiber “Pigment”

I love Jessica and her fiber! I love Finn! I love this colorway! (Pigment.) I just don’t love how I spin singles. There are spots that are just a little too overspun for my liking.

Ah well. I’ll keep practicing. Practice makes perfect right?

Speaking of practice. I started doing something new.

I’ve been wanting to play with resin for awhile now. When I hit the last bead show there was a vendor doing a demo. That sealed my fate. I came home with some basic supplies.  Next thing you know I’m ordering more from Etsy.  I finally ended up with the above!

That was my first try.  I gotta admit. I was afraid of trying something new. The resin intimidated me. Luckily I had Tough Love Megan on the line and she gave me the support I needed to just go for it.

I’m so glad she did!

Although, there’s an air bubble on the bottom right corner. o.O

My mantra? Practice makes perfect.

Happy Thursday everyone! Friday is right around the corner!