Joyce Makes Art

Studio Clean Up

I clean my studio once a year -- whether it needs it or not.  Of course, it always needs it.

Usually, I reserve this charming activity for the week after Christmas, but this year, in anticipation of filming with That's Clever next Tuesday, I have been slowly cleaning up, bit by bit.  Tonight, after coming in from a Christmas party after work, I did a bit of final vacuuming and counter-washing, and, Voila!  As Ellie says, "Mama, there is room to dance in here!"  (Usually, you are taking your life into your hands trying to walk from the door to the main table I work at)

Look at that!  you can see the top of the table.  More importantly, you can walk from the door to the table!

Normally, there are about 500 rubber stamps all piled up on either side of the sink, with a half dozen stencils thrown in for good measure.  I had to put away heavy metal working tools, books, bottles of dye and all sorts of strange things to get to clean counter space here.

Wow!  I even forced myself to clean out the fabric shelves that you can see on the far right (of course, i have four big cubbies in my walk in closet full of fabric, so don't feel too sorry for me).

Best of all, this paper was crammed in between the top of my shelves (you'll see them in a minute) and the ceiling, forever falling on top of me at inopportune moments, and generally looking messy and taking up lots of space.  I simply can't believe that all that paper rolled up so neatly into these two small baskets!  I know I'll be a lot more likely to use it now, too.

The paper was in a horrible mess all over the top of the shelves at the back of the picture.  Now, two bins neatly hold all of my precious metal clay supplies.  The best part about all this order is that there is room for all of the kids to come and do their homework in my studio again.  Room for everyone to find a comfortable spot.  As excited as I am about doing the TV show taping, I'm almost as excited about having reclaimed my space!

Dog or God?

Sometimes, I just crack myself up.

Bad Cables

Oh the horror of it.  The sheer horror.

Riding high on the success of the Oh Jan dress (I had to gently tell my daughter she could not wear for the sixth day in a row yesterday) I picked up Memory's cabled purse in earnest.

should it go without saying that cabling is something that should not be attempted with an almost-four year old on your lap?  What was it that caused me to periodically do something inexplicably stupid with the twisted stitches?

I looked at it last night, and decided that I am going to have to rip back row after row, virtually to the beginning, and start over, because it looks like this:

Or, for the truly brave, like this:

I really wanted to finish this purse by the start of Chanukkah, but it is clear to me that to keep up with the pattern, I'm going to have to knit it behind locked doors, in the middle of the night, with no one around to distract me.

In case you are wondering, the yarn is Berroco's def. Oxygen.  I am a yarn snob, sort of, and normally I shy away from Berroco like I would skirt a dead possum in the middle of the road, but Memory (the aforementioned writer of this pattern and one of the most delightful, and sadly blogless, knitters I know) snuck up on me with this yarn, and it was LOVE at first sight.  It's 50% wool 50% (I am very sorry to say) acrylic, and it looks a lot like twill tape in its shape.  It feels fantastic and the color is beautiful.  As an added bonus, it is an absolute delight to knit.  So, with all due respect to the sadly departed You Knit What Blog and its many jabs at the folks at Berroco, I have to give this yarn two thumbs up.  Of course, they've discontinued it.

I could go on and on (and apparently will) in an effort to avoid sitting down to the task of ripping and restarting the cabled purse.  But, I will leave you with some happy thoughts.  I've been dyeing some yarn this week and am positively enamoured with this green silk, which was accomplished by dyeing and then overdyeing for lots of depth of shade.

I only dyed two skeins of this gorgeous stuff, but it is mine all mine, and I can't wait to knit with it.  Any suggestions for an appropriate pattern (including, perhaps, dyeing some mohair to go along with it -- it seems to be crying out for a nice thin spider-web like mohair as company), would be greatly appreciated.

And this fabulous yarn:

is fantastically beautiful Peace Fleece and will be available for sale at Elliebelly later this morning.  There are 20 skeins available right now, but y'all have been doing a fantastic job of helping me clean out the studio the last few weeks, so I don't expect it to last long.

 

More Picture of the Oh Jan Dress

More pictures.  (for all of you who have been waiting patiently).  The Oh Jan dress is definitely a hit with my daughter, and appears to have given me, a lowly working mommy, fresh new status in the eyes of my 70-something society matron neighbor, who has always seemed slightly suspicious of me.  First off, we found some great Oilily pants on Ebay for Ellie to wear with the dress.

 

Here is the detailing on the front of the neck.  I was nervous that the cotton yarn wouldn't be particularly forgiving when I went to pick up stitches and finish it -- I was afraid any small error of gauge would be lethal.  But it was very easy and seemed to set itself perfectly even without blocking.

The back -- I think the V neck detailing is especially pretty.

The picture on the mantel behind Ellie is my baby's school picture.  I never looked anything like this in any of my school pictures -- I was always the child with a crooked part and a spot of dirt on my dress.  Isn't he a sweet little angel?

It's Done! It's Done! Oh Jan is done!

A very grateful Eleanor wore her Oh Jan dress for Thanksgiving dinner today.  I really had reached a point where I wasn't sure I would ever finish it, and it does look suspiciously short due to the fact that there was no way I was going to knit 4 more inches that anticipated when I began the pattern because this child is going to be an amazon an apparently unnoticed growth spurt.

I think I may like this picture of my appetizers better than the appetizers themselves.  It was fun going out barefoot to pick chives to snip all over the top of them. 

If, like me, you abhor the travails of Black Friday shopping, please consider shopping on my website.  I'm almost to the point of begging now -- I am still in the process of trying to clean out my studio, because in 12 short days, HGTV is going to show up to shoot a segment there and there is some serious overcrowding going on.  I can't tell you how much I love everyone who has helped me empty out space in the shelves were I normally store Elliebelly merchandise at this time of year, so that I can use it to clean off the shelves and tables in the studio and make nice.  If you haven't taken a look yet, come visit and use code 3120666 to get free shipping at my website.  I'm also going to have some items on Midday Faire tomorrow -- both Black Friday sale items and a few special things.

On Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to stop and take stock of life -- ahead of the spontaneous combustion of the holidays and the forced reflection of the new year.  I probably don't just sit back and think -- really think -- nearly as often as I should.

One person I am hugely grateful for in my life, and this is shocking because she is a heathen when it comes to fiber arts doesn't knit, is my mother-in-law.  For years I have teased my husband that I only married him because I like his mom.  She is unerringly good company, lots of fun, and knows how to speak her mind.

But the reason I want to do this today (and I know I'm safe because her internet connection is out so she can't read this and catch me saying nice things about her) is because she personifies all of the  qualities a good mother-in-law, really, a good friend, should have.  I hope I can be the same way she is when my children are grown and married.

The thing about Mom is this:  She is unfailing supportive.  It doesn't matter if she agrees with you or disagrees with you.  It doesn't matter is she doesn't get why it matters to you in the first place.  She let's you know, explicitly, but also with little things that she does, that she cares and she thinks you're wonderful and that she is there for you -- 100% there for you.

This may sound to good to be true and I don't mean to make her sound like a pollyanna.  If you were doing something dumb, like spending your money on crack instead of cashmere yarn, she would not sit passively by and watch.  But when it comes to issues like working moms versus nonworking moms, extended breastfeeding, goofy daughter-in-laws who express mail organic produce to make baby food, etc., she simply notes how wonderful you are, without regard to whether your choices are the same choices she would have made.  It would be a much better world if more people were like her.

The context my appreciation of her is especially large in has to do with our son Teddy, who many of you know was born with a congenital heart defect as part of a genetic disorder called the DiGeorge Anomaly (and also here).  DiGeorge kids struggle with many physical illnesses, including heart and immune system problems.  Teddy has done well medically speaking, but it is a lot of heartache.  He was diagnosed with  Nonverbal Learning Disorder in fourth grade.  I have a bit of a background in special education, enough to have caught the problem before it was formally diagnosed and also enough to know that this is a learning disorder that is different enough that it is not amenable to treatment in the typical fashion used for dyslexia, adhd, and the more commonly encountered learning issues.  Frankly, we have struggled as parents with taking the right steps for Teddy.  Often, we have realized only too late what needs to be done.  But throughout that struggle, Mom has been my cheerleader and support system, adoring Teddy no matter what the latest report cards shows, believing there is a place for him in life, and, even when we are resolving issues that seem to have no answer, making sure I know that I have her support 100% and she believes we will find the right answer.

This is my Thanksgiving meme for anyone else what wants to answer (and has read through this long and uncharacteristically photo-less entry).  On a deep level -- who in your life has had a strong impact on you, and what charactertisic of theirs would you like to be able to develop in yourself?

Yarn For A Friend (and some yarn on sale)

It's wonderful having friends, isn't it?  I agreed to dye some yarn for an old and dear friend.  She wanted garden colors, like cornflower, persimmon, and a bright yellow, with some greens and robin egg blues.  And then, she wanted a sort of mulchy, rusty color.  Um, ok.

After much experimentation, her skeins are ready.  I liked the result so much I did a few extra for myself -- I seem to have caught the Clapotis bug and I'm wondering if the skeins of superfine alpaca and wool blend that I dyed would knit up into a nice one.

Also (if I know y'all, you were waiting with baited breath for the yarn for sale part), if has dawned upon me that in just two weeks there are going to be TV cameras filming in my workspace.  The sad truth about my studio is that there is SO much going on down there that I can barely walk around.  I have got to do some serious organization and clean up.  And, I need some space.  So dear blog readers, just for y'all, a free shipping coupon that will let you snap up any of the yarn (and other items like journals, roving, felted purses, collages, playsilks, etc) on my website without paying shipping. Please come and help me make some space, ok?  Use code 4120666 at www.elliebelly.com for free shipping.  Coupon is good until my studio is clean.

The Reason Oh Jan Progress Is Slow

I believe I have finally discovered the reason my progress in knitting the Oh Jan dress has been so slow.  You see, most of the time the kittens (urged on by Ollie who gleefully enjoys their antics) are doing things like this:

But sometimes, they resort, I suppose out of sheer boredom since the have only four children, two dogs, and unlimited amounts of yarn not in use to amuse themselves with, to this:

I believe they have been secretly pulling out the Oh Jan dress while I sleep and frogging back a few inches, just to insure I don't make any great progress.  They probably secretly laugh about it behind my back and wonder how long it will take me to figure it out.  But I am finally onto their kitten tricks and there will be no more liver snacks for them until they leave Oh Jan alone and let me finish it up!

In other news, I have just finished making arrangements with the HGTV show That's Clever to film a segment for their show in early December.  I'm really excited about doing it!  I'm going to be making a fabric portrait collage.  The idea first occurred to me while I was doing a Gustav Klimt inspired fabric page for a swap at Habilments.  I had a picture of Ollie in my arms that strongly resembled one of my favorite Klimt paintings, The Three Ages of Women.

I used some Kaffe Fasset Roman Glass Collection fabrics, which have always felt Klimt inspired to me as the background, and ended up with a little fabric collage portrait. I forgot to scan them when they were finished, but I have a picture of one in progress.

The project I'm doing for That's Clever is completely different, but still lots of fun, and I'm very excited about it.  I hope you all will tune in for the show when it airs!

Yarn Paradise

Do you believe in signs from God?

The husband and I took boy #2 to Asheville, North Carolina for the last four days. We were up there to look at a potential high school for him, one with that bad word "boarding" involved in its name.

For many reasons that I won't bore you with, boy #2 needs a special high school environment. The crux of it is, he was born with a genetic defect called the DiGeorge Anomally and has a complex learning disorder that requires a special learning environment that isn't available where we live.

The school we looked at was wonderful. But it is oh so far away.

We walked around downtown Asheville before we started the drive back home. Just as we were getting ready to go back to the car, we saw it: Yarn Paradise. Really! There was a store named that. It was amazing. It had things I had never seen before like Koigu. I had two very impatient men on my hands, but I managed to quickly snag a few essentials like some Touch Me for the scarf I have wanted to make forever and a pretty little skein of foofy stuff to use in collages. I also grabbed a pair of Lantern Moon needles for the scarf and a pair of Lantern Moon circulars for the Clapotis I'm about to start. It was a lovely end to a very nice trip.

Was it a sign from God? Sort of a "you know, this is the right place for him even though it's going to be hard on you, and as a reward you can come knit with these cool people and buy new yarn when you come to visit him" thang? Or is that reading entirely too much into the sudden appearance before my eyes of the best yarn store I've ever seen?

Democracy In Action

As an aside from this blogs usual posting about knitting and making art, I wanted to tell you all about a wonderful, heartwarming experience I had this morning.

I voted.

It is pouring down rain in Birmingham, Alabama. The hard, driving kind of rain that keeps people inside of their homes. But there was a line outside my polling place when I showed up to vote at 7:00 a.m. My neighbors. My friends. African-Americans, asians, hispanics, white people, people with two, three, and four children in tow. It looked like America.

In Jefferson County, Alabama, where I live, we have seen some ugly campaigning this cycle. Slick Washington operatives poured resources and personnel into what I would have thought were races of only local interest -- races like Alan King's, the probate judge. The probate judge is the person in charge of determining which votes get counted in an election. King's opponent used racial hatemongering and outright lies over the last few days in a last-ditch effort to beat a candidate with far superior experience and qualifications.

Other elected officials -- people from both parties -- brought the truth about the false allegations made against Alan King to light. I received email after email in the last few days from people eager to insure that their friends knew that King's opponent tried to pull a fast one. I expect the voters here will return Judge King to office with a high margin of support. It might seem innocuous, but I'm proud to live in a community where elected officials choose telling voters the truth over party affiliation.

Last night, one of our neighbors came over to talk with us about the candidates and the issues. We had a great time together. He had already been to visit two other friends who knew some of the candidates. Another friend mentioned she was researching judicial races before voting.

This morning, I had the chance to vote for a highly qualified woman to be Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and an equally qualified African-American jurist to take a seat beside her on the court. I looked around me and saw my neighbors voting. The line was even longer when I left than when I came in. Whether it's raining or not where you are, I hope you will go and vote!