Nemo & April

Our cat of 8 years, Nemo, took a little walk last night and has not come home. He never leaves the house - he has maybe set a foot on the deck or ran under the bushes right outside the door, but this has never happened before and I am very sad.  I am so lucky to have the amazing pets that I have. Nemo is just a lazy, loving, wonderful cat, and I am sure he is scared and lonely right now. I don't what to do. I am getting a flyer to put around the neighborhood tomorrow - other than calling his name every 5 minutes, I am at a loss.

April couldn't be happier, as she gets to hang out with Aster in her bed all day. Both my kids are home sick today and the cat is missing. And now it is raining. I don't like this sad day -hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Rockin Dopsie & The Zydeco Twisters

Obviously one of the best experience in New Orleans is the music. You really have to experience the energy and atmosphere of the place. On every street corner in the Quarter and all around Jackson Square there are horns blowing, banjos jumpin' and voices rockin' the blues. Rockin Dopsie Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters was the amazing band that played at the wedding reception. They are a world famous Zydeco Band and my feet still hurt. We also got to go to New Orleans' International Jazz Festival on Friday. The food, music art and people were all awesome! 

Wedding Bells

 The bride, my cousin Lindsey with her dad, Rick. 

The bell in the background was actually ringing as they walked in.

The dancing ring-bearer and flower girl.

The Wedding Party

My dad with the ring-bearer and flower girl looking at the coy in the fountain.

I have finally had a chance to look over some of the 300 pictures I took during my trip to New Orleans. The wedding was the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended. It was held at the Houmas House, a plantation near Baton Rouge. Almost my entire family of aunts and uncles and cousins were able to attend. We had way too much fun. Above are some from the wedding and below are some of New Orleans' wonderful  buildings.

6 x 6

I have had the rare opportunity to work on art for the past three days. I set up Saturday morning and pretty much cleaned up last night. I had a challenge... to make 6 x 6 images for a local gallery's fundraiser. They receive over 2000 pieces and each one is a measly $20. I completed 23 of the buggers. I do not really love the size, or maybe I do not really love the constraint of size. Collage is tricky enough with out having choice of scale. I did manage to make one piece that is not 6 x 6. And I may finish a few others in the next two days, but then I am off to New Orleans for a family wedding! 

Yarn of an unknown source

I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep.

- Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand

I purchased this yarn with no label at a yarn auction. I really like it and am wondering what it is. I believe it is hand spun (actually it is quite over spun), it has no odor at all and is pretty soft. I am certain it is a natural fiber and maybe it was spun so long ago and any natural element has dissipated.

Then I saw a post at Lolly Knitting Around and I think the yarn is similar to something she used. (From http://lollygirl.com/blog/page/4)

“The yarn was wonderful to knit. It was raw and over spun in sections and crunchy and flubby and perfect. I love to be reminded of the source when I am knitting. In this case, the source was some lovely ivory fleeced Chilean cordero.”

I researched the term cordero and found it is simply Spanish for lamb. But I think it may be a term used for a type of South American sheep. (Most of what I found were recipes on how to prepare lamb). I had originally thought that this yarn I have is wool and the little pieces of wood and straw in it made me think it was from South America. It reminds me of those itchy sweaters you can get a flea markets and summer craft festivals. But this yarn is finely spun, not bulky and very, very soft.

Later.... I am sure it is cotton , now that I have worked with it all day - it has got to be cotton. I never saw hand spun natural cotton befoe. I have started a little baby sweater, it should be very sweet.

I just found out that I get to watch the movie Gattaca in the classes I am subbing in today - it is one of my all time favorite movies. Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and Jude Law...mmmm. The story illustrates that there is no gene for the human spirit and that enthusiasm and drive can overcome any obstacle.

never say never

I said I would never order yarn off the internets again. I hate not being able to feel it before I buy it, but I went and did it again. I ordered enough yarn for a brown cotton sweater for myself, all because I wanted to wear a brown cotton sweater tomorrow and I realized I do not own one! (and because I am very bored and all I can think about is knitting, specifically sitting on the beach and knitting).

Berroco Pure Pima -Color - Walnut

Gauge:5.5 sts = 1" on US 6 Weight/Yardage:50g/115yd $6.00 discounted 20%, plus shipping it comes to $58.75 for a sweater I still have to make. So as soon as I finish the Stripey Cardigan I will start on this walnut one - I might make the Turbulence U-Neck Pullover by Norah Gaughan... Which means I have to order her book - as the pattern is not free on Ravelry....

or maybe I'll make the Riding to Avalon Sweater by Connie Chang Chinchio

from Knitscene, Fall 2008. t is a hooded sweater that is super cute.

Easter Stuffies

I fell in love with this little guy at Lori Brown's Etsy Shop, Morning Glori. I wanted to surprise my daughter with a replicate, but it is kind of impossible to surprise anyone at home as I do all my sewing in the dining room. I did go ahead and make four of these little ugly bunnies (as I call them) for Easter gifts and I am excited to make more. I think the ear placement and ear size could make a big differnece in each one's personality. I will make them only for gifts though as I hate to steal some one else's original design and then profit from it. Although I did change the shape, and I used felted wool sweater pieces instead of fur, the face is what makes them so cute - and I definitely stole that from Lori as seen below. You can purchase her creations here. She also has a fun blog.

Chuckles

Dooce posted this image in her Daily Chuck. I never get tired of these photos. Thanks Heather!

on the needles

Feeling very accomplished with the February Lady Sweater from Ralvelry, I have decided to try another one. I decided to use up all my cotton yarn that is a light color or pastel and I am making a stripey cardigan. I am planning to over dye the entire sweater in a periwinkle blue. I  am hoping that the pinks will become purples and the whites periwinkle and the greens nice aqua. I am attempting a different neck line from the Febraury Lady Sweater, as I prefer a V neck for my body shape. I appropriated the neck line from f. pea. She offers alot of free patterns which is really nice. She posted a children's stripey cardigan pattern which can be found in her free pattern Friday archive. It i a top down raglan too. My other problem with the Febraury Lady Sweater is that the button band is knit as you go. But if you change colors that just isn't possible and the cardigan hangs too low along the button band. f. pea uses an I-Cord to edge the sweater, so I am going to try that.

soft sweater

So, after the disaster of the itchy sweater, I ordered some beautiful soft cotton and silk yarn by Cascade. I do not recommend getting yarn sight unseen from the internet but I bought a couple of balls of this stuff from my local yarn store and loved it so I ordered what I needed from Webs. The sweater is based on the most knitted cardigan on Ralvelry, the February Lady Sweater. It is a great top down raglan on #8 kneedles, I just changed the lace pattern to cables and voila!

itchy sweater

I started this sweater eons ago - I was trying to save money and use up some old yarn that I had on a cone  from who knows where. I completed it in November but just got around to photographing it. Although I am happy with the design and the fit, I will never wear this sweater because it is super itchy! I will never again waste my time using inexpensive yarn.