WOW! Ravelry is ALL that - - - & a bag of chips!!!

ok... so I have spent a massive amount of time on Ravelry this week... nothing much has been done here in the way of domestic chores... but thankfully, I have a hubby that is OK with that... as long as it doesnt last forever! lol

I can see why so many people were complaining about the time spent on Ravelry... It is like the Black Hole Of Free Time... but that could be because it is so very Awesome!

You have a tab called "My Notebook" where you can list your projects (both completed and WIPs)... you post pictures and all kinds of details about your project... date started/completed...size.... made for...hook or needle size... type of yarn... amount of yarn... WPI... whether project is pattern... if so, where to get pattern (book, pamphlet, web, etc), or if you modified the pattern, or if you improvised... then there is a notes section where you can put in info that doesnt fit.... one of the cutest features is you can use different emoticons to show how happy you are with the project!

then you can link your blog entries that deal with that project...

there is also places to keep an inventory of hooks and needles (and you can print out a little card for your pocket/purse) so you don't have to run out and buy duplicate sizes.

you can look up future projects by pattern or by yarn.

you can keep an inventory... along with pictures of your yarn stash!

yarn porn, anyone?

your Ravelry profile allows you to have a feed from your blog.

i think it is a great tool for organization, if nothing else...

but wait, i am not done yet... you get access to pics of all other members' projects & notes.

and then there is the social networking aspect of it... there are friends & groups to join, if you wish.
i have met some new friends... and plenty of "old " ones (although sometimes they have different names over in ravelry land) that i have made through blogging & flickr & even myspace.com!

i think it is a great tool and lots of fun! (you gotta love a place where, in your profile, it asks what your favorite curse word is!)

FO Alert: or How I Finally Finished My Skullerific Tote Bag; and I Want to Felt Again

This is a post pulled from my previous blog that I have disbanded... but as I am putting projects on Ravelry for perusal, I thought I would repost it here... with all of the non-project Information deleted ... the date of original post is: Friday May 12, 2006 - 09:53am (EDT)








Woo Hoo!

I finally finished my first (but not last) felted/ fulled project!
(which is it felted or fulled? i think that it is fulled because it was crocheted first... not loose wool... does anybody know?)

This was crocheted with a J hook using Bernat Lana 100% Merino Wool.




I did the entire bag free-style after looking at this skull tote: http://www.helloyarn.com/bigskulltote.htm

I have a hard time following a pattern; so I just looked at the picture for inspiration... and this is what I came up with.







I don't know if you can read the words on the strap; but here is what it says: " caution: I use hooks & pointy sticks x x x joanna"

It was felted by placing it in a pillowcase (which was secured by a rubber band) and put in the washing machine along with an old pair of jeans & 2 tablespoons of baking soda... i turned the the cycle on small and hot/cold and ran it through the wash & rinse cycle (regular not heavy duty).

I am fairly pleased with how it came out... except that I tried to make the crossbones in the shape of crochet hooks ... i dont think they came out too good... oh well... for the most part, I like it. It's very roomy and the strap is long enough that i can wear it messenger style.

I am in!!!

Can you believe that I got my Ravelry invite on Friday night... AFTER we headed out of town?!? I was checking email from my cell phone and saw it... Let me tell you, I was ready to have SugarDaddy turn the car around!!!

LOL... ok... so I am finally in... woo hoo!

My first look around is that this is going to be such a great tool!

AWESOME!!!

Ravelry Countdown

You signed up on January 15, 2008
You are #87960 on the list.
557 people are ahead of you in line.
6351 people are behind you in line.
92% of the list has been invited so far


----------------------------------------
--tapping my feet-- I can hardly wait.... next week, i should be surfing past the pearly gates of the paradise called RAVELRY!

i have heard alot about Ravelry... can't wait to see for myself...

---waiting patiently... well, as best as i can----


Check it out for yourself: http://www.ravelry.com/

KNIFTY KNITTER SOCKS

Here is a pair of socks that I made with the Blue Knifty Knitter!

They are made of Lion Brand Thick & Chunky Wool Ease yarn.

The pair took me about 4 - 5 hours to make - which makes this a definitely do-able weekend project.

I looked at several different patterns and websites and kind of came up with my own twist on these... I will post my "pattern" soon.





<---- here is a close-up of the stitches (sorry about the picture quality--my old sony digital camera gave up the ghost... and so i had to use my camera phone...thankfully, a new camera is on the way!)

<--- another view...

<---- my youngest son, Jordan, trying out his new socks

<--- stretched out on the coffeetable Hey! get those feet off the table!!!!

I know a lot of people who don't accept the Knifty Knitter --- "it's not real knitting!"; but I enjoy using them occasionally--- And have made some very useful items! As long as someone is creating things... I don't knock it!

VOTE 2008

Saturday, January 19, 2008 was the date of the Republican Primary here in South Carolina.



So even though it was rainy, cold, yucky and snow was in our forecast... the Head Family loaded up and went to the Polling Place.



Here are pictures of me and Sugar Daddy showing off our "I VOTED" stickers!


















And here is our son, Jordan... who voted for the first time! WOO HOO! He was really into the voting process... he did online research and really initiated a lot of conversation about the candidates!




He is not 18 yet.... but in South Carolina, if you are eligible to vote in the Presidential Election... then you are allowed to vote in the Primaries.

and here is Jubal... he too is showing off his sticker...

OK...OK ... you got me... he didn't get to vote... but he definitely had some ideas about the candidates!


And he really is a Cutie Pie... Don't you think?











The weather was so nasty and yucky that we stopped by our favorite Vietnamese Restaurant, Saigon Fast Food (on Pleasantburg Road), and ordered a veritable FEAST!

Pho, Springrolls, Steamed Dumplings, Squid & Crispy Duck on Curry Rice! YUMMY!!! And washed it down with Iced Vietnamese Coffee!

We took this Feast home & played Wii Golf well into the night!

(I think it was the Coffee that kept us up!)

Don't forget to vote!!!!
If you don't vote, then you have no right to complain...
and you get the government that you deserve!

WALLHANGING #10

Just wanted to post some pics of a wallhanging that I was working on before the holidays.



This piece is about 10 inches across and about 33 inches long.



I made a rod pocket and used a piece of red bamboo to hang it from.



This was a "stash buster"; and is made from commercially available wools and acrylics and novelty yarn mixes.



As you can see, I have used my favorite motif, the Hand Print and 3 ( "It's a magic number..." sing along with me! ) triangle motifs.



I added a little ruffle below the hand and above the triangle... for a layered effect.



The stitches mostly used were single, double and treble... with a few popcorn stitches and other assorted stitches thrown in here and there for interest.




As usual, I tried to put in lots of color.

LOOK WHAT I GOT ON ETSY!!!

Isn't this just the cutest little dog harness ever?!?
(Of course, it goes without saying, that Jubal is the cutest little doggie ever!)

I got this faboo doggie harness from the Etsy shop: 3POOCHYS

Here is a link to the shop: ( http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5289504 )

I had to order a custom-made one for Jubal (who is up to 16 pounds now... his vet says, "Enough!"). 3POOCHYS answered my request and made the harness and shipped it very quickly.

I was very pleased with the workmanship of the harness and I just love the fabric design! ( so much that i ordered a wristlet from another seller on Etsy: Smitten Originals ( http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5144003 )!

Actually, I am quite addicted to ETSY... if you haven't been by there... you should definitely check it out!!!

Buy Handmade!

EATING FOR GOOD LUCK (mobile blogging)

I had New Year's Dinner at BrendaBaby's (my mom)... we had the traditional greens for money & prosperity, black-eyed peas for luck, cornbread, coleslaw, squash & meatloaf.

But the best part was having the potliquor & cornbread afterwards. If you don't know what potliquor (or as some people spell it, potlikker) is, it's the juice left in the pot from the greens... it has all of the seasonings of the greens... and all of the nutrients that boil out from the greens! i like to soak my cornbread in the potliquor... almost like a porridge... nothing like it!

Hope you have properity & luck in 2008!!

How can that be comfortable? This is how Jubal brought in the new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (mobile blogging)

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

May Love, Joy & Prosperity reign forever!

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at our little place in Temple, GA. Just Sugar Daddy, my brother, my nephew, Gabriel, Jubal & me... but everyone but Sugar Daddy & me conked out before 2008 rang in!!

We shared our midnight kissy-poo & sent New Year's text messages to our kids & then turned in ourselves!

Jubal wanted to stay up... but he just couldn't make it!

Peace on Earth... Goodwill to Man (mobile blogging)

THE KING OF COOL (mobile blogging)

As I am trying to learn about mobile blogging, I came across this picture that proves that Jubal is the KING OF COOL!

This is a picture of Jubal in his seat on the back of the motorcycle!

He really does like to ride... Don't worry, he is harnessed in and attached to me... he is safe!

Check out his cool Doggles!

Steve McQueen was NEVER so cool!!!

Look once... Look twice... Motorcycles are everywhere!

RIDE ON!

New Body Ornamentation (mobile blogging)

I got a new nose ring! woo hoo

A Tale of Two Sweaters

Once upon a time I got a set of Knifty Knitter Looms.

I was thinking of projects that would utilize my new toys... and BINGO!

It hit me... why not make a doggie sweater?

The stretchy cylndrical shape seemed PERFECTO for chilly puppies.




After a little trial and error in making the leg openings... I came up with a workable sweater for Jubal.

(I will try to post my "pattern" later)

I made this with two strands of acrylic camo-variegated yarn and then trimmed it with two strands of a bright hunter orange.

I was going for the "hunting-dog-look". Kind of a "tongue-in-cheek" look for a pampered miniature poodle.

Jubal loves his little sweater.

He wears it when hunting for a warm lap to sit on!

<---------- ( here it appears, he has hunted down a "Daddy" )

He also wears it when he is "On Patrol" in the front window!

Then I thought that I should make Gabriel a sweater too.

I thought it would be cute for Gabriel and Jubal to have matching sweaters.

Gabriel looked very handsome in his sweater.

He seemed to like it... so I went inside.

It must have looked tasty to Gabriel, because when checked in on him about an hour later, the sweater appeared to have been ... uh... eaten.


I am guessing... either he ate it... or some sweater-eating Zombie attacked him and he was lucky to escape with his life!!!

We are just glad that he's ok...

Either way, it will probably be a while before I make Gabe a sweater again!

But I won't let it stop me from using my Knifty Knitter Set!


... More to come ...

MY FIRST DOGGIE SWEATER (mobile blogging)

This is the first sweater that I made for Jubal.

It is made of wool-ease yarn.

this was a free form project, which meant a lot of 'fittings'!

Jubal was not happy with the process...

but when cold weather came around, he didn't fight wearing the sweater!

POODLES IN PAJAMAS (mobile blogging)

Here is a picture that is too cute for words! Jubal napping in his new 'jammies'!! sweet dreams!


Edit: I am trying to understand mobile blogging... i am having difficulties in doing this correctly... can't get the token or claim to get in... and so have to email my posts in. So far, I am not too crazy about this... although I think that it will help me to actually post like I want to.

If I dont do it when I am thinking about it, then I may never get around to it! I know, I know... I am a slacker!!!

My pictures look fine on my phone... but when i post to Blogger, the pics look dark. Plus, I am having to go in and edit out the verizon message about pix... I dont know why it bothers me... but it does!

I have an email in to blogger... maybe i can figure this stuff out!

another commissioned piece... w00t w00t w007

I just wanted to show pics of a wallhanging that was commissioned to hang in a little girl's room.

I used a variety of yarns... commercial wools, handcrafted wool, acrylic & cotton yarns. I hung this piece from bamboo, using a rod-sleeve.

The wallhanging is called "Sweet Dreams, Devan".

I utilized my favorite motif, the hand print... in this case, symbolizing the love of GOD... along with star motifs and a moon motif. The colors are mostly purples and greens... with other colors thrown in for variety.... My hope was that this wallhanging evokes peaceful and loving feelings for Devan as she sleeps!

i think the pic came out a little dark... which makes it hard to see the detail... sorry.



<--------- this is a picture that Devan's mom got to go in the room also... she bought it independently of the wallhanging and what a neat suprise: the colors of the dress almost perfectly match the variegated yarn in one of the stars!!!! serendipity, baby!




i hope Devan & her parents enjoy her new wallhanging!

WELCOME OUR TWO NEW FAMILY MEMBERS!

This scurvy little miniature poodle is Jubal.

We adopted him in July from the Greenville Humane Society.

( http://www.greenvillehumane.com )

He was very, very thin and quite shy when we brought him home... but now it's safe to say that he rules the roost!






And this handsome fellow is Gabriel. We adopted him from a rescue shelter called
Hugs for Hounds.

(http://www.hugsforhounds.com )

He is a happy-go-lucky fellow who doesn't really seem to mind that Jubal has hijacked control of the family!



I had never been to an animal shelter before... i was shocked at all of the expensive animals that were there (at the Humane Society)... there were many pure-breed dogs there.

It was so sad to see some of the sweetest animals who have been so mistreated...

Jubal was soooo skinny ( a miniature poodle should weigh 15-17 lbs - he weighed 11 lbs) and his nails had grown so long that his quick was all the way to the end of his nails... he was shaved down and covered with scabs where his hair had become so matted that sores developed.

We literally saved Gabriel from the gallows... we adopted him on a saturday and he was scheduled to be put down the next tuesday... we were just compelled to take him home! He was actually fairly healthy when we got him... physically, that is... he has had some trust issues... you can tell that he was abused... but our son, the Barbarian, has really devoted himself to acclimating Gabe into family life.

And it has really paid off... both doggies have become full-fledged family members!

And even though Gabriel is about 3 times bigger than Jubal... he recognizes that Jubal is in charge!

PLEASE... when you are thinking of enlarging your family with a pet, consider adoption from a shelter or rescue group... and definitely spay or neuter your pets... the shelters are FULL of unwanted pets.

Here is a link to Petfinders: ( www.petfinder.com ) --this links to many shelters and rescue groups nationwide & is a very good place to start when searching for a new family member!

My latest obsession is dog sweaters... i will have pics to post next week!

Have a happy weekend!

WOW! Has it really been that long since I blogged?

It hit me last week that I haven't posted on my blog in a while... (actually, it was my son in georgia who asked me if i was ever going to post on the blog again) ...imagine my suprise when I clicked onto the Fiber Deviant Blog and realized that my last posting was in March!

Am I a slacker or what?!? (Don't answer... it's a rhetorical question)

I would like to think that it's NOT that I am a slacker... but that I have just been busy living. Because actually, lots of things have been going on...

We celebrated our son, The Barbarian's, birthday,

I got addicted to Bollywood movies (Amitabh is the absolutely coolest dude on the planet!!! I also love Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan & Saif Ali Khan! although I don't think that they are related... oh well),

Sugar Daddy & I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a wonderful trip to Atlanta... where there is a movie theater that plays Bollywood movies and you can eat samosa chat & kulfi while you watch the flicks. We tried to eat at all of the wonderfully diverse ethnic offerings that Atlanta has... I am sure we missed some... but that means we can do it again next year!,

I found a video game that I can play (and Sugar Daddy too!)... we bought a nintendo wii ... i think it's great! My 82 year-old FIL must have thought so too: he played it at our house and then bought one too! (he really rocks in bowling... none of us can touch him! and his baseball game is not too shabby either!)

We celebrated my mom's 60th birthday,

Our older son, The Accountant, & his wife, The Teacher bought a beautiful new house (CONGRATS!),

We adopted 2 wonderful doggies from local shelters (Gabriel, a 50 lb mixed breed (he's really The Barbarian's dog), and Jubal, a 12 lb miniature poodle (Sugar Daddy & mine's spoiled little darling!) ... welcome to the Family!),

school started again (The Barbarian is a senior this year)...

My nephew, Trumpet, started high school this year and is in the marching band!

My nephew, The Tank, who lives in Georgia, turned 8 and is playing football... and we actually got to see a few games... (do something #71!)

and that is not counting the projects:

I swear that I haven't been sitting on my laurels! I have been doing projects! I have made wall hangings, purses, blankets, and my new passion, dog sweaters!

I will be posting about them later... with pics!

I just wanted to get a "catch-up" post in... and i am going to try...no i AM going to do a better job of posting! (errrr.... hopefully)

but right now, i want to go check up on some blogs out there that i have been missing out on!

see? I have been a slacker on reading blogs too!

oh! before I forget: I want to congratulate Regina (www.monstercrochet.blogspot.com) and Jimbo (www.jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com): Jimbo was featured in Craft magazine... and well, Regina, it seems that lately, you can't open a crochet magazine and not see a pattern by her in it! so CONGRATS! to two people that I have had the pleasure of "talking" to via blogs and emails!

Fiber Deviant