Something for Everyone

It's been a while since I've posted, so I have quite a variety of things to share. First off is this shawl I knitted for the niece of a friend. It's the Mara Shawl (free on Ravelry). I've also made one for myself. The pattern is very easy and repetitive, which makes it perfect for relaxed knitting when you want to focus on the person who will receive the shawl and not the process.

This is another page in my composition notebook, which has definitely become an art journal. I've made a number of these off the wall collages now, and they're always fun. (Click on the photo to see a larger version). I also do other things in the book, including trying out new techniques I discover on the Internet. Every time I work in this notebook I think of my dear friend Caroline, who gave it to me.

This is a page from my altered book, which is getting close to completion. I'm very happy with the way this page turned out, especially the quote. I colored in the picture of the woman (taken from the newspaper) with chalks.

Of course I've got a bunch of other projects in the works. As far as knitting goes, I'm ready to start the second in a pair of navy blue socks. In the winter I can manage to work on dark colored knitting because I have a nice, bright task light near the couch. But as it heats up in the spring and summer I find it too hot to knit with a bright light shining over my shoulder, even if I have the air conditioning on, so my work on this pair of socks has become limited to daylight hours. I'm also working on a pair of socks for Liat. All of my other knits in progress have been ignored for many weeks, but I know I'll get back to them sooner or later. I've got many ideas I want to try out in my altered book and my art journal, and I'm already preparing another outdated reference book for altering. I'd love to make a supply of greeting cards to have available, too. And I haven't forgotten my clean up the crafts room project! (I just haven't done much about it yet, darn it). Hope you're all enjoying lovely spring weather!

I Like Nonsense

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells." ~ Dr. Seuss


I've been having a lot of fun lately playing around in a composition book given me by a friend years ago. She decorated the cover beautifully and left it up to me to take care of the inside. I've done some journaling and stamping inside, but just lately I've felt more like playing than being serious. It's a challege to saturate the thin pages with color without ruining the paper; I've been using dye based and pigment inks mostly. The really fun part comes when I grab my bag of words I've cut out from magazines and put together a random phrase. Okay, sometimes they're not all that random (I'm learning to be more free form when it comes to art, but I still tend to have control issues when it comes to words).


I especially like to take the photos of models, singers and actors and mess around with them.


What can I say? I like nonsense!