Studio Friday- Contrast

"...something about contrast, or juxtaposition. it could mean something concrete, like a contrast in colors, textures, or lines. . .or something more symbolic." Laura

This week's topic was a no brainer for me. This past fall I had the opportunity to be on HGTV's make-over show Mission Organization. The subject of the make-over was my living/sewing room.



Yup, I needed help. After a lot of hard work and creative space planning, this is what I happily ended up with.

Treats

It was a nice treat. It was a really nice treat. My parents were in town for the weekend and I spent Mothers Day with my mummy for the first time in ages. Traditionally, Christmas is really the only holiday we are all together and do really well. I cannot recall the last time I got to give my mom a big hug and kiss on Mothers Day and let her know in person how much I love her.

The other treat was brunch at the Four Seasons. Brunch was scrumptious, the service impeccable, a most civilized event. Even the occasional shreiking child could not ruin it.

Two other unprecedent events occurred...in a family noted for extending the giving of birthday presents to the months following the date, two birthday presents were actually given early! One was the lovely Clapotis my mom has artfully draped over her shoulders. It was knit using the Silk Noir in Plum Loco from Great Adirondak Yarns. The drape on the scarf/shawl is wonderful, an ideal weight for cool summer evenings. The color of the Clapotis is much much better in person, the photo really doesn't do it justice.

Present number two was an early birthday present for me. My mom brought back from Arizona a lovely bundle of fat quarters for my stash. The colors are those of the Sedona Desert, all are handpainted or batiks.

Studio Friday- Robot

What robot can we find in your studio? And what does it do? Maybe you even have more than the one?

I used up my entire memory card on my camera taking my first-ever movie clip. It was breathtaking cinematography. The plot was riveting...would the automatic buttonholer make a perfect button hole? Would it choke? Would the thread break? Would the movie clip crash the laptop? OH YEAH! Crashed like a ton o' bricks.

My other favorite automated function in my studio is the updating of the podcasts that I subscribe to on i-Tunes...Craft Sanity...KnitTunes...Knitty D and the City...NPR Story of the Day.


But this wasn't really fun, so I did a little coloring with my buddy, Jake. I tutor Jake in reading once a week. We took a break from the longer words and longer books we are now reading and drew cool robots for my studio. This is the robot Jake made for me. He's a dancing fool robot, grooving to the tunes on my iPod, under the sparkly disco ball. Yes, even eight-year old Jake understands about me and sparkly things! This dude is going to break hearts, seriously.

And here is my robot, he's a whiz with scissors and always cuts the fabric to perfect dimensions. He also measures twice and cuts once. I obviously had nothing to do with writing his programming.

I have survived

...my first outing to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. Off I went to Baltimore with two bus loads of knitters from Rosie's Yarn Cellar for a beautiful day of yarn gorging. I approached the event with a certain amount of anxiety for such a fun day...what should I buy? how much should I buy? would I oversleep and miss the bus? and most importantly, would I attempt the Koigu mill ends booth?

And why you might ask would a visit to that booth promote anxiety attacks? They sell the mill ends of Koigu for cents on the gram and has consistently resulted in something of mythic proportions...knitters gone wild...when knitters attack...the tales would curdle your blood. As a first-timer I didn't know how I was going to approach the situation. My competitive side wanted to jump right in. My cautious side said to hang back, watch the yarn brawl from the side lines and maybe take photos of my normally mild mannered friends in a Koigu-induced frenzy.

I got to the booth, my cautious side was rudely pushed aside, and my competitive side started grabbing Kiogu with joyous abandon. I even worked up a sweat. Happily though a lot of budgets were busted, there was no pulling of hair or blood shed. I have no photographic evidence of the carnage at the Koigu booth- just a pic of my own haul, not bad for a virgin.

The festival was a wee bit overwhelming. After displaying such a shocking lack of discretion at the Kiogu booth I became a real commitment-phobe. Beautiful yarn all around me, but nothing to make my Lady Eleanor. And lots of adorable livestock...sheep, of course...llamas

and my favorites, alpacas.

Unfortunately that is the one rule of the Rosie's bus, no bringing home livestock. Plus I guess they don't make ideal apartment pets. Wonder if they can be trained to do stairs or use a litterbox? Their faces are so sweet, not the silly supercilious look of camels.

I did manage to commit to one lucious yarn before the day was over. This lux hank of lace weight silk and kid mohair is destined to become a Kimono Shawl from Folk Shawls. I bought it from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm. They'll be one of my stops again next year.

Now, what the hell am I going to do with all that Koigu?

Studio Friday - Sounds

What are the sounds in your studio? Sit quietly and listen. I am sure you'll be surprised at what you hear!"

The obvious that anyone will hear are cars, sirens, people walking by chatting and laughing, and the squealing brakes on the Penn bus when it stops at the corner. Listen a little closer, you can hear my wind chimes and Artemis and Tosca chasing each other back and forth through my bedroom.

What I hear is my stash whispering to me, "knit me"..."sew me"..."oooh oooh I'd be a great scarf"..."we'd look great together as a bag"..."quilt me"..."grandma's garden please"..."lets try a Kaffe." Wow, what a needy, whiney stash I have.

And then there is the rail o'unfinished quilts, "Ahem...Claudia will be too old for a baby blankie if you don't hurry up"..."just been hanging out here for years" ..."don't you love me anymore?"

Good lord, who knew listening to your studio space could be so guilt inducing?

And now for the bling update, checked the window at the eyewear store and somebody bought my sunglasses! I know I said, "if they are still there when the income tax return comes...blah blah blah." The hell with all that, check still is not here and eBay had them for almost half price. The bling is mine!