Youer than You...

 "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You", a quote from Dr Seuss' Happy Birthday to You.

This is the theme of today's Corner View. I had to do a little thinking about this. Just a little, though.
I am obsessed with making things in general, but Iespecially like making things with fiber. I love to spin, dye, knit, crochet and have even been known to weave a bit.

I am often found with yarn or fibers of some type in my hands. I have told people it is my own form of Prozac! If you were to ask most people who know me well, they would probably mention how my hands are rarely still. My hands are almost always busy in some way, shape or form. When they aren't, I am probably sleeping!
Corner View is a weekly appointment with bloggers all over the world, hosted by Francesca. Visit her Corner for links from other bloggers all over the world.

226 yards of bliss

I attended the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza this past weekend. While there, I taught a class entitled, "Drapable Crochet". I didn't spend a lot while I was there, as it was a working gig. However, I always like to have a little something to remind me of an event. I picked up a lovely batt, composed of Finn wool, silk and Firestar. It's hard to fully appreciate from this photo, but it has both a halo and a shine. It also has some sparkle. It spun up into 226 yards of fluffy, silky, sparkly two-ply yumminess. I purchased it from Woodenspinner- Fibers by Brenda. You can email her at brenda@woodenspinner.com. She had many lovely batts in assorted colors, but I am a sucker for tonal ivories and whites. This colorway is called "Ice Princess". Get yours now!

Today's Corner View- Joy!

 Today's Corner View topic is "Joy". There are a lot of things in life that give me joy, but nothing gives me joy like seeing this face and spending time doing things with him. Grand babies are the best!

 Corner View is a weekly appointment with bloggers all over the world, started by Jane, currently curated by Francesca at Fuoriborgo. Click on over to see Corner Views all over the world.

Corner View- Where has the time gone?

Today's Corner View theme is "Where has the time gone?" Good question. I could have talked about a lot of things. But I decided that I would show you a picture of my baby boy.

In this picture, he is about a month old. You can see how yellow his hospital birth card is.

Here he is now. He's the tall guy on the left. The little boy is my energetic grandson. I am so grateful that he was always a good kid, and now I am proud to say he is a good young man. I can't believe how quickly this transformation occurred. Where has the time gone, indeed?

Corner View is a weekly appointment, curated by Francesca at Fuoriborgo. Visit there for links to other Corner Views all over the world.

What have I been stitching, you ask?

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, in spite of trying to participate in Corner View (which I will this week; check back tomorrow!). I also haven't done much crochet or yarn related posting. So I am here to rectify that. I am only able to crochet A LITTLE right now and have been working on swatches for an upcoming  class I am teaching on "Drapable Crochet" at the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza. But I can knit. It is easier right now, since I don't have to move my left arm much to knit, but have to move it quite a bit to crochet. I just finished knitting the Harris shrug by Kate Elsa. It is wonderful! And the yarn I used, Madeline Tosh Vintage, was equally wonderful. I will be using this yarn again. I also have some Tosh Light, but have not decided what it's going to be. I am thinking a crocheted vest. Maybe. Who knows? Anyway, I was almost finished with the shrug, when it became apparent that I didn't have quite enough yarn. So a trip over to Ravelry found that raveler jmkorn had a partial skein in his stash. He graciously mailed it to me at his own cost, and his only request? That I send what bits and bobs of wool or wool-blend yarn in a worsted weight so he could make hexi-puffs for the Beekeeper's knitted quilt. No problem! There was enough with a bit to spare, which I mailed back to him with some other yarn. Here is a picture of the shrug blocking. Enjoy!

Corner View- Exotic

This week's Corner View theme is "Exotic". I had a bit of a time with this one. So as I was working around the kitchen, grilling eggplant, I thought, hmmmm.
Eggplant. While it may not be too exotic for most folks, I recently discovered that a much more exotic name for eggplant is aubergine. So I have recently taking to calling eggplant aubergine. I like the exotic way it rolls off of the tongue. Aubergine. The word even looks exotic, huh? I planted about a dozen aubergine plants in the garden this year; six Italian and six Japanese. The pic above is one I recently picked which I thought bore a striking resemblence to Stan Laurel.  A bit exotic, perhaps. I actually had thoughts about trying to sell Stan on Ebay, but decided against it and incorporated him into a lovely eggplant, errr, aubergine curry.
Now that the weather is cooling off, I picked all of my aubergines, both small and large. Today I am grilling them, will eat some and freeze the rest. I love grilled aubergines! For some of the ways I have used my aubergines, visit my blog where my sister and I write about our mostly vegan journey to health, "Two Fat Sisters"

Corner View is a weekly appointment with other bloggers all over this grand world. There is a theme each week. CV is hosted by Francesca over at Fuoriborgo. Click the link to visit other corners of the world. Have a great exotic day!

Corner View- Whatever Tickles Your Fancy

Today's Corner View theme is "Whatever Tickles Your Fancy". This was hard to narrow down, as there is much in life that tickles me. The first is not so much a what as a who...my cool little grandson. Spending time with him always tickles my fancy.

Some other things that tickle my fancy involve being creative, such as spinning & dyeing...

Crocheting....

Knitting...

and gardening and cooking with all of the bounty! What tickles your fancy?

Corner View is a weekly appointment, started by Jane and now hosted by Francesca at Fuoriborgo. Visit there for links to Corner Views all over the world.

Corner View- October

Today's Corner View's theme is "October". I had plans to get up this morning and take some stunning photos of turning fall foliage. But it's raining. So, I thought I would share some October pics from last year. Every October my son and daughter in law take my grandson to a local pumpkin patch. I tag along every year, too, because we always have a great time! We will be making this year's excursion this Saturday. There is a corn maze..

The pumpkin patch...

...and some miniature donkeys and horses.

What do we do with all the pumpkin? One thing we like to do is make Pumpkin Biscotti! Happy fall, ya'll!

Corner View is a weekly appointment, created by Jane, now hosted by Francesca at Fuoriborgo. Visit to find links to Corner Views in other corners of the world!

The Last Thing I Learned- Corner View

Today's Corner View theme is, "The Last Thing I Learned". I thought this would be a tough decision, but after the day I've had today, it was easy. That's my Dad & Mom in the out-of-focus picture. Dad had to go to the hospital today to get his gallbladder out. There was some possibility that he would need his spleen out (he didn't- thing learned #1); we weren't sure that the gallbladder removal was the answer to removing his pain (so far, so good,keeping our fingers crossed; thing learned #2). Finally, I learned that no matter how old you get, you still want to be able to say "My Daddy can beat your Daddy...thing learned #3. I love you Dad, and hope you mend quickly!
Corner View is a weekly appointment with folks all over this blogging world, managed by Francesca at FuoriBorgo. Visit her page for all of the links to see all the views from all the other corners of the world!

Music

This week's Corner View is titled "Music". My son, Ben, has been making music since the age of 11. He is an accomplished brass musician as well as being able to play a variety of stringed instruments, too. Oh, did I mention he also sings? I am so proud of him, and his sweet music has been the soundtrack of my life for a while. Corner View is hosted by Francesca at FuoriBorgo. Go check out her blog for her CV, as well as links from all over the world for other Corner Views.

Corner View....just beginning!

I am just now beginning to participate in a weekly blog event, Corner View. It is moderated by Francesca, over at FuoriBorgo. I read her blog on a regular basis. She has wonderful pictures and I just love visiting her blog. There is a different theme each week and to participate, you post a picture that fits with the theme. This week, the theme is "silly".

These pics are all kind of silly. It's what happens when you let a 3 year old boy loose with the camera. The last two pictures were taken while we were camping out in the back yard, which my husband thought was silly as well. But we didn't, we just thought it was fun!

Attack of the killer crustaceans...or what I am crocheting now.

So, okay, I was recently chastised at a stitching group by Lisa, that I needed to do a new blog post. I have been so. freaking. busy. But, today marks day one of a much needed and much longed for 2 week vacation. I will be having shoulder surgery this fall and didn't want my vacation to consist of recuperating from THAT. So, next week I will be in Minneapolis at the Knit and Crochet Show to attend the National Chain Link Conference. I am so excited! I have been 3 of the last 4 years and I always have so much fun. There are people there who get me...really.
My crochet repertoire has been pretty extensive over the years, but one thing I have avoided up until now is making amigurumi.

 AMIGUR-WHAT?
 Okay, for my friends who DON'T really get me, amigurumi are little crocheted character dolls. I just was never interested. But let the 12 year old granddaughter visit, and suddenly I have become an amigurumi-making machine.

 Also, I have been reorganizing the studio. My work table had disappeared under a fiberstorm. So now I am able to wind yarn, which I have been busy with and making handmade clay buttons. I have a lovely friend who is going to teach me to fire and glaze these buttons, so hopefully this fall I will have some pretty buttons to share with you! Hope you are all having a great summer! Keep cool!

News Flash!

Okay, the fact that I am WOEFULLY  behind on my blog is not the news flash, folks. The news flash is related to what showed up in my mailbox a coupla days ago.

 

Yep, that's my design on the cover. I screamed when I saw it. Out loud...really! Anyone who knows me very well knows I am not given to such over-exuberant displays of emotion, but....I was just. so. excited! Then, as if that weren't enough, while thumbing through the book, I also found this:

I did both of these designs for Caron Yarns, International some time ago. I wasn't sure exactly where or when they would turn up. I am told (for anyone who might be interested) that this book will be available at Joann's craft stores. Get yours now! I will have to see about doing a giveaway for a signed copy soon, but you can't have my copy! Until next time, keep those hooks flying!

Renee'

NATCROMO!!!!!!

I recently agreed to participate with several other indie artists in the Crochetville NATCROMO giveaway. What, you might ask, is NATCROMO? Well, it means National Crochet Month, which happens to ge going on all. month. long! These pictures show what Crochet Renee' has donated for the big prize basket. The first is a skein of handpainted sock yarn, the second, two skeins of handspun natural colored alpaca and the third is a luscious 4 oz crazy spinning batt containing alpaca, mohair, hand-dyed angora, recycled Sari silk thread (that's the hot pink you see) and just a touch of purple and green glitz for a bit of bling! When I got done mixing this batt, I was actually sad that I wasn't keeping it. But, alas, it could become yours! How do you enter to win? I am very happy you asked! Visit each of the artists' websites below and find the Treasure Chest for Crochetville, post the URL where you found the chest on the entry form, and when you have found them all, submit the form, and bam! You're entered. To find the form and all the rest of the particulars, visit Crochetville. Now, for more particulars...

National Crochet Month Treasure Hunt 2011

 

Win a Fabulous Crochet Gift Basket!

 

In honor of National Crochet Month 2011, Crochet Renee' is partnering with Crochetville and a number of indie designers, spinners, dyers, and hook and toolmakers for the Crochetville NatCroMo 2011 Treasure Hunt.

Each indie business has donated one or more special items for a super-special crochet gift basket that will be presented to one lucky winner by March 31.

The following contest logo has been hidden somewhere on each indie business's website:

Contest participants will have to find the logo on each indie business's website. Entry forms may be submitted from March 8 through 11:59 PM CST March 25, 2011. Participating businesses will hide the logo on their site by March 8, so please don’t begin searching until the evening of March 8.

Click here to visit the Crochetville site for complete contest details and an entry form!

 

 

 

 

List of Participating Businesses

 

Crochet Renee

 

Cute Crochet

 

Edgery Doo

 

Fibers By Tracie

 

Jelly Yarns

 

KRW Knitwear Designs

 

Poetry in Yarn

 

Positively Crochet

What are you waiting for? You can't win if you don't enter!

 

Yarn, beautiful yarn- How a pile of dirty animal hair becomes a creative delight.

 Yarn. So many of us use yarn. Some of us even make yarn. "Why?", you might ask, to which I would reply, "Why not?" I began spinning about 4 years ago, and have been making alot of my own yarn ever since.
 This is raw alpaca fiber. Raw means it has been sheared off of the animal and nothing else has been done to it.

Next the fiber is often washed before carding. In this instance, I have chosen to card and spin, and then wash. When I work with sheep's wool, I typically wash first and then card, because of the grease in sheep's wool. 

After the carding drum is full, I carefully remove the batt from the carder.

Sorry, I didn't take a pic of the spinning; it's hard to focus a camera while you are spinning! When the yarn has been spun and plied, I wind it into skeins from the bobbin on a "shoebox Kate" onto my antique skein winder. Once all of the fiber has been turned into yarn, all of the yarn gets 3-4 good soaks in warm water; first with soap, then in the last rinse, a "glug" of vinegar is added to acidify the pH, as animal fibers tend to be more to the acid side of things. Plus, it cuts any soap residue that might be left. Then all the lovely yarn is hung by the fireplace (outside in nice weather) to dry. 

And that is how a pile of dirty hair becomes a luxury yarn! Any questions?

Baby, it's cold outside!

 It was about 6 degrees (Farenheit) this morning. I think it warmed up to almost 20 at one point. I have been keeping busy, though. Crocheting a design that I plan to put up for sale on Ravelry....


Hunkering down with one of the pups....

 Mixing up some fresh rub for our roast beef tonight....

And feeding the woodstove! How are ya'll spending your indoor winter time? Stay warm!