View from the Art Institute North Garden

I recently got back into sketching/drawing.  I went into downtown Chicago on June 6th to wander around and sketch stuff.  Here is the best of the day, and a photo of the same view.  I've been avoiding color, for the time being, to focus on line value and I've stuck to pen only in order to force myself to JUST DRAW! since I can't fiddle around with erasing and fixing.  It may be about time to add pencil (and eraser!)

Ideas

I was bumbling around the blogosphere at  lunch today and found a few really excellent things.  People who are really using blogging in a good way.
I subscribe to a blog that is set up as a weekly free journaling class with four regular teachers and a guest.  So far it has been interesting but only marginally inspiring because the styles are rather similar, are not very "art"istic (more craft than art) and are simply not to my tastes.  However the guest for this past Saturday was a breath of fresh, artistic air.  He has a nifty, interesting blog and also is involved with an online school for visual journalers.  Which led me to several other teachers, and one in particular.  She also has a very interesting blog in which she was willing to admit that she watches tv and even explained why she enjoyed a particular show so much.  I was favorably impressed.  Then, the piece de resistance, she also has a blog with a yearly one-month-long project.  Similar to NaNoWriMo, it runs for the month of April.  International Fake Journal.  I'm seriously considering it.  Even though I have something huge looming in mid-May.  I was thinking that the protagonist of my mystery novel could be the journaler and she could sketch the town where the book takes place.  It would help with future novels (assuming I write more and not veer off into that science fiction storyline I was considering).
The artist was explaining why she liked the show Foyle's War so much and that's just another reason this seems so providential, because her reasons are some of the same reasons that I chose to write a mystery to begin with.  Heros and villains and right over might.  *Sigh*  Another project-just what I needed???

Best Sock Knitting Pattern-Toes Up (of course)

Regia is the best sock wool.  I didn't love wool, but it makes the best-wearing socks.  This is the best and fastest way to knit a pair.  I knit it almost all in plain knit because I can knit much faster than I can purl and patterns really slow me down (although they look awesome).  I love a snug-fitting sock and I have size 9 (wide) feet.  Adjust as you see fit, so to speak.


M (make) as often as possible on the back loop to leave the smallest hole possible


100g yarn
5 size-1 Double-Pointed Needles (DPN)
9" size-1 circular needle (I like the Chiagoo)
stitch markers
ruler
CAST ON


Cast on 30 stitches on two of the DPN using the figure eight cast-on method.  I leave a decent amount of tail so that I can knit it into the second half of the first round and then I don't have to worry about it unraveling and can simply cut it off after that first, but make sure not to pick up the two threads as two stitches.  Make a slip knot on the right needle, then wind under around and down over the left needle (one stitch) down through the middle and under around and over the right needle (second stitch).  Repeat to 30 stitches and be sure not to include the knot.  Pull them snug.  Knit the stiches on the left needle but don't count them as a round (or part of one).  Drop the slip knot, pick up the tail and knit one round, all stitches on both needles.


TOE
Knit the toe in pairs of rounds, increasing twice at each edge for the first round and a plain knit the second, notated thus:
1--K1    M1     knit to the penultimate stich     M1      K1 (first needle)
Repeat for second needle to finish the first round
2--Knit a round
Repeat to 25 stitches on each needle or 50 stitches total.  Add a pair of needles as needed (pretty early, in my experience)
FOOT
Switch to the circular needle, marking the edges and continue knitting all rounds until the sock measures six inches.
GUSSETS
Increase at each edge to create the gussets until there are 70 stitches total, notated as pairs of rounds thus:
1--Sole(first needle)-K1     M1     knit to the penultimate stitch     M1     K1 --- Arch(second needle)-Knit
2--Knit one round (both needles)
For the final round (once you've reached 70) taking off the markers: put 25 arch stitches on the Chiagoo,  sole---14 on one DPN, 17 on the second DPN, and 14 on the third DPN.
HEEL
Working only on the second needle (for now) on a knit row:
K1     M1     knit to penultimate stitch      wrap and turn
P1      M1     P to the 3rd-to-last-stitch     wrap and turn
K1     M1     K to the 3rd-to-last-stitch     wrap and turn
P1     M1      P to the 5th-to-last-stitch      wrap and turn
K1     M1     K to the 5th-to-last-stitch     wrap and turn
P1     M1     P to the 7th-to-last-stitch      wrap and turn
K1     M1     K to the 7th-to-last-stitch     wrap and turn
TURN HEEL
P1     M1     P to the last stitch, slip & purl tog with stitch from the first needle, turn.  Repeat the following pattern until all stitches on needle one and three are used, splitting the work on the second needle as needed (Partridge stitch);
Slip1    (K1 S1) to penultimate stitch, knit together with stitch from other needle     turn
Slip 1     P to penultimate stitch, purl together with stitch from other needle      turn
Slip1    K1 (K1 S1) to penultimate stitch, knit together with stitch from other needle     turn
Slip 1     P to penultimate stitch, purl together with stitch from other needle      turn
LEG
Knit around all 50 stitches until the sock is as high as you desire, then K1 P1 for the final 1-1/2 inch.  Secure your end and Boom, SOCK!  Repeat for a pair :-)

I'm going to stop now.

Buying sock yarn, that is.  I have enough for... five? pairs and I won't buy any more until I'm about done with that.  And one set coming from the UK.  It cost less than the same brand in a shop here, even with mailing, and ended up costing me nothing because I had Discover Rewards I didn't know about until I was checking out on Amazon.  Pretty cool.  Although I'm such a ninny that I still wonder if I should have saved the Rewards for...something...else?  Better?  More decadent?
This is Cascade Yarn's Heritage Paint in color 9805 and it cost 18.00 at Never Enough Knitting in downtown Wheaton.  That place is always an experience!! (Sniff sniff sniff). I promised myself to make that the next place I go for yarn because I love their prices and I like to support brick-and-mortar yarn shops (when they deserve it!  Don't get me started on the goofy place in Glen Ellyn!)

Sock yarn

I've gotten hooked back onto knitting socks because of Claudia.  I realized that the key, for me anyway, is to KNIT socks.  No fancy laces or stitches or yarns, just plain old stockinette with fun yarn colors.  Knit, no purl (well almost none) and no yarn overs (well almost none) and I'm getting much faster.  My first sock fits so well!  I'm about 1/3 done with the mate and it should go a little quicker.
I got out of work early because my new bosses are actually NICE and so I drove to LaGrange to a nifty yarn store and bought just ONE SKEIN.       That part isn't true, I bought two skeins but ONLY two and I resisted the cool wood knitting needles she was handing me.  I'm sure I'll be back.  They had a lovely array of yarn---their website does not do the place justice.  And I stopped at one of my very favorite restaurants in Berwyn while I was out thatta way.  A good way two spend a gift hour!  A three hour outing that cost about 45 for the yarn and 16 for the dinner (including a very generous tip) with tons of good-to-reheat leftovers!  Yay!!!

Side effect

Another good sign-ink on my fingers!!

Creating... something

Setting aside thoughts of quality, I'm just happy to have created something-anything, really.  Last night and today, so far.  Whew!

4-2-1

I'm not keeping to my daily blog post.  I'm also not keeping to my plan to create every day.  And that is the subject of the journal page I just made.

1-2-1

I think this is called a scrumble.  Something like that.  I'd gotten a book that showed how to mix knitting and crochet in a freeform manner and I checked out a website for one of the authors.  This is not a brand new book and it seems the author's followers haven't done any blogging about work in two or three years, but the idea is interesting.  Probably not something I'm going to dive into for a month, but I gave it a try.  Probably too open-ended for my style of crafting.  What do you think?

1-1-31

I've been too busy at work to do...anything else, it seems.  However, I managed to get the shrug finished.  So month two will start tomorrow.

1-1-27

I haven't really been creating anything much.  Last week I worked entirely too many hours and they were very hard hours, so I still feel entirely drained even this late on Sunday night.  I can't keep this up much longer.
Anyway, I did manage to make a page for my Psalm journal.  Last night, I think.  Today I frogged 2/3 of the black shrug I've been crocheting and got back on track with the help of a cheat sheet on the edges and what to do when turning.  You certainly don't need to see another photo of that project, so here's the journal page.

1-1-22

Despite having a dreadful day at work, I managed to do two rows on my crocheted shrug at lunchtime.  And just now, after a 13-hour workday, I managed to put on quite a few more rows.

1-1-21

So I didn't really have much time after a 12-hour plus workday last night to create much, but I did get my new journaling bible and started marking the reading I'm at in John.

1-1-20

While it seems like I didn't do any crafts yesterday, it is an illusion.  I simply forgot to post what I was working on.  I'd gotten two glittery black yarns on sale and had started making a shrug with the glittery-ier one.  The pattern was tough, I don't love crochet and the width was too narrow.  I ended up frogging it and then, because I couldn't come up with anything better to do, I started again with a slightly different pattern and a longer chain.  Voila.

1-1-19

I need a little something to wear with my little black dresses.  There was interesting glittery black yarn on sale at Michaels.  I got two kinds.  This is my first attempt at a shrug.  Too small.  And I still like knitting better than crochet.  Gonna frog this shortly.

1-1-18

I've wanted to try art journaling for a while but was held back by two things.  First, it is daunting to create something from nothing at all-that blank page staring at you.  Second, I have nothing profound to say and so the idea of decorating my lame words seemed... stupid.  Then the solution dawned on me.  What are the best written words ever???  And of the Bible, the Psalms are the most personal and emotional, so that's where I started.  I recently came across Psalm 119 and despite the cute acrostic-ness, it is a very profound set of words.  I debated a while over which translation to use and settled on The Message, at least for now.  The most "regular language" version I have.  I don't think I would recommend it for anyone's only Bible, but I picked it up cheap at Goodwill and for the Psalms, in my "art journal", I think the language is right.

1-1-17

I know-I said I was going to set aside the grey grannies for a while, but I didn't have much time after rehearsal tonight to start something new, so I got to thinking about them.  I thought about using the flat braid join in a slightly different way and tested it out on my smallest square.  Using white.  Two things I don't like about it.  The white is actually too bright when I'd hoped it would be unobtrusive.  Second, the 3-chain is too long and will leave too much open space for the way I'm planning to join them.  See for yourself...

1-1-16

I'm stuck.  I don't know if I want to do any more on this afghan, either now or ever.  I can't figure out how to join these.  Neat rows? Big aisles between? Funky offsetting?  I can't even decide on the finished item.  Lap quilt? Wall hanging?  Wheelchair afghan?
Grrrrr....

1-1-15

I did a little knitting this evening, trying out some more knitted edgings.  I didn't love them and I didn't take any photos.  Actually, I did really like one of them, but it was too wide and really too complicated for the whole afghan. A beautiful leaf pattern over 18-21 stitches.  But I think I've settled on a crochet edge that I will do directly on the pieced piece.  Scallop.

1-1-15

I'm trying out a knitted edge for the grey grannies.  I don't think I love this one. Not enough to knit...like...five yards of the stuff.  It curls in on itself too much.  I know blocking would help, but this afghan is made to be thrown in the washer and dryer, and it would curl up again in no time.