Tuesday, August 18, 2009
New Blog
To keep things from becoming too confusing, I've started a new blog to correspond with the name I've chosen for my fiber related business. Please click here for "Dame Etta Vett Designs."
(I have moved posts from this blog over to the new blog.)
SDOSAS!
Jer
Monday, October 27, 2008
Baby Boots and Big Hair
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
And then there's Meg!
But that didn't last long...
The next day, when I returned from classes, she was livid!
It seems that when I invited her to accompany me to the conference, she expected to meet people. I (hesitantly) agreed to introduce her to "the players" as she called them, only after she promised to be on her best behavior. In Meg's defense, she was a natural - no fawning or gushing - and she met several "players."
She met Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss:
She met Drew Emborsky (The Crochet Dude) and Robyn Chachula from the PBS Show "Knit and Crochet Today"
She met Jennifer Hansen, The Stitch Diva:
She met Jenny King (from Australia). (And those are Jenny's travelling companions, Lizzie and George):
She ran out and practically accosted Myra Wood for a picture in the sun:
This is my new friend Patsy H. from Tampa, Florida. Our local chapter adopted her since she was the only one from Tampa: (insert appropriate prayer here)
These ladies had the most wonderful merino at market; They are Decadent Fibers:
My friends Pam and Yvette had to get in on the action:
And my loyal friend Jan:
As well as several vendors and shoppers at market:
And in perhaps the strangest display of solidarity, Meg and her Matching Auntie Molly:
Never before had there been someone to whom Meg was so drawn!
All in all, I thought Meg was appeased enough to safely pack into the bag and head to the airport. But once we were on the plane, her lamentations began again. Seems she didn't like leaving while the Party was in full swing... me either !
But finally she settled in for a peaceful flight, thankful for the opportunities...
Me, too, Meg. Me too!
SDOSAS!
~Jer
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Long Time, No Blog!
There was the intermittent jewelry. This one was for Mom:
There was a couple of trips. While in Manhattan for a long weekend, I was able to go by the office I worked in for 6 months and had a great lunch with my former supervisor, Tanya Marie. Everyone say "HI" to Tanya:
Fred and I went to Galveston for my birthday:
And we went to one of our favorite places, Puerto Vallarta, for vacation. It was a week of relaxation and great meals that was looonnnggg overdue:
And during the whole time, I was STILL working on "that one project." You know the one. The jacket that refuses to be finished!! That's right. I am still working on the basket-weave jacket whenever I can stand it. So far, I have the back, 2 sleeves, and almost all of one front piece completed, but it seems like I will never reach the end!!
sigh
::insert prayer for perseverance here::
SDOSAS!
Jer
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Spring Accessory Sprung!
I acquired additional fiber at the Fest (big surprise!) along with a great bag I found on clearance! Here's a pic of the haul:
With so much beautiful fiber, where's a fiend to begin? I started a sock with the "Acero" I bought from Brooks Farm but that's still in the "tweaking" stages. I began a wrap with the pastel "Harmony" lace-weight I got from JoJoLand. I absolutely love this yarn, so airy and light. The long color color repeats make it a dream ~ the pattern I chose, though, a nightmare!! After only a couple of hours, I scrapped it for a pattern of my own design. Now I just might have the patience to finish the piece. Being so fine though, I find I can work best on it in good lighting, daylight preferably, so have decided it will not be a piece I do in the evenings, when most of my crafting time is.
So what's a fiend to do? You guessed it. Start yet another piece. The idea of the finished felted bag jumped to the foreground of my mind fully formed. I used the Himilayan wool with recycled silk, also gained at the Fest - choosing to ignore the label that read "60% wool, 40% silk." Any good fuller knows that this combination normally spells disaster in the fulling process, but I proceeded on blind faith. The yarn seemed like wool, true enough, and I could see the multi-colored silk throughout, but I could scarcely believe it was 40% silk! I would take my chances!!
I finished crocheting the bag in one evening and spent only a few hours on the felting process. Normally, I like to felt everything by hand, in the kitchen sink. Afterall, with a front-load washer, it's kinda hard to add boiling water to the machine mid-cycle. But just the thought of all that sqeezing and pressing hurt my hands, so this time, I started the piece in a machine at a laundry mat. (You can imagine the stares of all the people doing it "right" as I squirted dishwashing liquid into the washer like it was only natural...) Three "hot" wash cycles later I returned home and let the bag dry overnight before completing the process in my kitchen sink.
After a few beads and a handle, I now have this drying on the craft table:
I LURV It!! The yarn (which started out Texas Burnt Orange in color) had lost some of the dye in the process and the resulting bag is a bit more bright orange than I had hoped, but it's beautiful, nonetheless!
Besides, all the fashion mags say bright colors are IN this spring. Just in time...
SDOSAS!
~Jer
Monday, March 31, 2008
Look Ma... A Sleeve!
I bought 10 skeins of yarn; I charted it out; I swatched, like a good fiber-fiend...
I even estimated the time involved. ::Surely 4000+ yards would be enough!:: I should be able to finish it in about 4, 5 or 6 weeks tops!:: I foolishly guesstimated less than two months to complete this project...
Long story short, I have now increased the total yarn needed by an additional 4 skeins of the sock yarn (making it 14 total) ... and have just now reached a half-way point in the actual crocheting. I now have a sleeve to go with the back of the sweater. That's right, ONE sleeve down, one more to go. (::sigh::)
Seldom have I ever spent so much time on just one project and not been at least close to finishing it. I swear, I am going to wear this thing until the threads give out and it will no longer hang upon my body. People that know me will be sick of seeing it. I will be described in ways like "You know, Jerry. The one with the gray sweater." "Ohhh. Him."
As you can imagine, I was in desparate need for a fiber diversion! (As much as for the sake of those around me as for myself, I asure you!)
I had come across a yarn in one of my favorite color combinations (black and green - remember the ruana?) and for several days was trying to decide what the fiber wanted to become. Then it hit me!
Last week, while trying to escape the clutches of a cluster headache, the idea popped into my head, with the design nearly fully-formed! What about a sleeveless turtlekneck? My sister would like that! When I ran the idea by Fred, his reaction was, well, let's just say there is a reason we fiber-fiends seek each other out. The so-called "normal" folks don't get it. Fred is no different. (In fact, he looked at me like I had two heads.)
I told myself that since this garment was going to be worked with a larger hook and thicker yarn, it should be relatively fast. Surely I deserved a break from the sweater that will not die. Surely the Fiber gods would understand...
They did. And three days later, I had this:
This was made using 8 balls of On-Line brand yarn, "Punta" (balls are approximately 88 yards each) so it went really quickly! I'm even thinking of doing a few more in different colorways, you know, just for those times when the fiber gods want to reward my perserverance on that other project of mine.
SDOSAS!
~Jer
PS~
Don't miss the DFW Fiber Fest this weekend, April 4-6 at the Addison Conference Center!
Friday, March 14, 2008
19,912 Down, 40k+ To Go!
I knew the sweater was going to take ALOT of this yarn to complete, but some quick math using the time it took to get just this far gave me a better idea of exactly how aggressive this project was going to be.