Saturdeee WIPs

Posted on Posted in design, shawls and haps, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs), yarnTagged , 9 Comments

I’m making a little progress on Staghorn from A Fine Fleece. I decided I want to try to finish it before Celtic Colours so I’m making an effort to work on it more.

Celtic Myths is also coming along. If I stick to my goal of knitting one chart repeat of the border every week, I should be done by October. The mussel shell bug is a handmade treasure from my stepdaughter. As a rule, cockroaches are something I cannot abide, but these are charming. Probably because they don’t move unless I move them.

Lilac Heather Cumulus Blouse is also growing. This is great TV knitting.

I ordered some new cotton yarn. The Nature Cotton is my favorite and I used to design with it, but it’s now discontinued, so I bought up what I could find. The multi is Tolhuaca and worsted, but I think if I knit with two strands it might match the gauge of the bulky. I’m planning to type up one of my old designs and put it on Ravelry. I already have photos and everything, so I’m hoping this is a good baby step for me.

Ancestry and DNA

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I’ve been meaning to blog about my DNA test because I recently came across some new information.

These tests are only as accurate as the pool of DNA they have to compare it against. For example, I have documented French Huguenot ancestry, but DNA testing is outlawed in France, so there is no comparative DNA.

I found the West Asian DNA surprising, although you just never know for sure. But I was open to the idea, even though there is no family lore about it.

But I recently read about a man with documented Cherokee ancestry who had West Asian ancestry show up in his DNA test, but no Native American ancestry. The article went further to say that often people descended from Eastern tribes like Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek will show up as West Asian, because that is their original and closest descent, while Western tribes will show up as East Asian/ Polynesian. This made sense because we have undocumented Choctaw ancestry according to family lore. There probably won’t be any way to verify this until more First Nations people choose to have their DNA tested.

I suspect the Baltic comes from my maternal Grandmother’s Vance line.

Also, you might have ancestry that doesn’t show up in your DNA test because you didn’t get those genes.

Still killing time at the BMV…

Lavender Festival

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When we arrived at Peaceful Acres Lavender Farm we were first greeted by this delightful cob house. I have had fantasies about living in a cob house but that stopped when I found out how much work goes into maintaining one. Maybe an adobe house in the Desert Southwest is in my future?

This was a small festival where you could pay $12 to cut your own English Lavender bouquet (well worth it), shop several handmade vendors, order a plant based lunch, buy handmade herbal products from the farm, and walk nature trails. In the end Bob and I walked the nature trails but didn’t buy anything. I was proud of myself.

There was, as you would expect, many Lavender plants (Lavandula angustifolia) and they were gorgeous and buzzing with bees. It was a bit off the beaten path but I got some knitting done and enjoyed the road trip.

After the lavender festival, Bob and I went to see The Dead Don’t Die.

We had been anticipating the release date as we are both Jim Jarmusch fans. The film did not disappoint. Although as far as horror comedies go, Shaun of the Dead is still my number one. Perfick.

Lavender

Posted on Posted in art, finished objects, knitting, life, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , , , , 5 Comments

Bob and I are on our way to a lavender festival, and I hope to blog tomorrow about all things lavender. Technically my cumulus blouse is lilac heather, but close enough.

I finished my felt piece for the Mother Artists at Work show next month. It’s all natural wool except for the blues. It’s mostly Romeldale-CVM and Shetland, and is called “Sunbleach”. It’s about 16X20. I hope it counts toward my Shave’Em to Save’em finished objects.

The caterpillars are eating my dill, but I don’t mind. Are these Monarchs?

Work has been very busy and I haven’t had time to blog or read blogs. I am trying to catch up.

Hi

Posted on Posted in art, finished objects, sewing, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , , , , 11 Comments

I finished my Farrow Dress.

It’s very frockish. Super comfy and cool in the linen. Maybe it will dress up a bit with some sandal clogs. (Yes I used “dress up” and “clogs” in the same sentence.)

It was a new method of making pockets for me. I’m calling it the “apron method.” There is another complete layer of fabric across the inside front from the seam down. Since this is a medium weight linen, it makes it a little heavy. It’s not a good pattern for French seams but I made it work.

Not bad. Do you like it?

I got a little work done on my art piece. Do you like it? I’m liking it. I guess the real question is how long will I do this before I go home and have a glass of wine?

Or should I bring the wine here and keep working?

This is my choice for selfie of the week.

(Edited: I replaced the gym selfie because I thought this one was more appropriate.)

Follow Up

Posted on Posted in art, knitting, sewing, Uncategorized, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , , , , , 6 Comments

Isn’t this blue linen pretty?

I originally bought it to make another pair of Emerson Pants. But I thought it was too pretty for pants. So today I cut out a Farrow Dress instead.

(Photo courtesy of Grainline Studios)

I hope to start sewing it together tomorrow. Shout out to my Mom who sent me some birthday cash which I promptly blew on linen fabric from Lithuania. (I’m so glad I did!)

I also worked on my felt painting today.

This is mostly Romeldale-CVM and local (Ohio) Shetland wool. I’m hoping to get to the felting part tomorrow. This is for a group show with Mother Artists at Work in July.

I even knit on my Celtic Myths today.

Today was a good day.

Take 2

Posted on Posted in fiber love, what makes me tickTagged , 3 Comments

I blogged before bed last night, and I deleted it in the wee hours due to a 1am panic attack. Don’t ask me to try to make logical sense out of it. There isn’t any.

Selfie a Day

5.26.19 Studio

A friend of mine posted a selfie on Instagram the other day. She looked great. Another friend has been taking daily selfies for years, although I don’t think she posts them all. She said it’s educational to watch how you change over the years.

I was taking photos of Bob, and he said his kids say there are more photos of him on my social media than there are of me. It’s true. It’s because no one ever takes my photo.

So I decided to start the selfie a day, though I’ll spare you from a daily post. I’ll pick the best one from the week to post.

Great Lakes Fiber Show

I purchased one pound of Shetland roving, some handmade birch dpns, and this wonderful orange basket from Ghana. All my baskets are orange. I just realized.

There were hanks and hanks of gorgeous yarn, of course. But I was controlled with my spending. I needed the roving for my art piece. I needed the dpns because I’m going to start knitting with wire again. And I didn’t technically need the basket, but I will put it to good use as my studio transport.

The Photo of Bob

Snapchat has the best stickers.