Live, Laugh, Loom

What's Been Going On?

2007-09-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Bet you've been wondering what I've been up to! Well, here's one little project I can show off! It's a variation of the original Josie Hat - this time with a big 'ol flower right on the top! Josie looks so much like my mom in that first photo. Crazy!

Also, I've been working on cables with the knitting board. My next project is a large bag I'd like to make for my friend, Heidi's, birthday. It was tough to get this photo taken - notice the little hand on the left that kept snatching my sample away?

Anyone that knows me, knows I am completely addicted to television. And I have to say, I've been seeing commercials for the upcoming Fall season and I am so excited to see some of these new shows! Of course, as with every season, there's still the horribly hokey ones. OK, a vampire cop? Who the heck thinks up this stuff? But I'll try just about any episode at least once, just so I can say I saw it! I'll be sure to share my reviews so you know what's worth watching!

Anyone that REALLY knows me, knows I'm completely obsessed with make-up! Although, oddly enough, most days I sport a bare face. Funny, huh? My sister likens my addiction to women who can't get enough shoes - I can't get enough high-end make-up! My heaven is my Sephora! My most recent purchase is the Stila Fall Fantasy Kit in Madagascar Agate. I LOVE it! The kit includes two eyeshadows, a powder eyeliner and a blush. The powders look so smooth on my face, I feel like I've walked off a photo shoot!

Well, that's it for today. My hubby and I are have begun a pretty cool project. Can't say too much about it right now, but we'll hopefully have it all ready to go next week!

Walkin' Wednesday

2007-08-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Watch her go!!! This was all she wanted to do for about ten minutes. She's not even ten months old yet!

Hide the Stash!

2007-08-17T16:51:00.001-07:00

It seems a certain little someone was digging into my stash the other day. Caught her red handed! Looks like I need to secure my yarns a little better.

Had a GREAT time at Michael's today. The ones in my area had a clearance their "fun fur," so I was able to buy a bunch of it for about 60 cents a skein! Doesn't get much better then that! I'm planning to knit up some hats and scarves for Christmas presents. Good projects for a certain cross-country move we're making....but I'll talk more about that when plans are firmed up.

I've been working on Josie's Hat, trying to redo the magic. Definitely learning a lot! I will post the pattern once I've got it hammered out, but we'll be doing a little something different with it. Can't give it away yet, but I think ya'll will enjoy it! Stay tuned.....

Just Another Day at the Beach

2007-08-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

We know that we'll be leaving sunny SoCal sometime in the near future. And althugh we haven't quite pinpointed where we're going next, we're pretty sure it won't be near a sandy beach. So we've been taking every opportunity to go! The water is actually warm right now. Or about as warm as it gets around here! Josie hated the sand when she first touched it. Now she wants to eat it! Here, she's looking at her reflection in Jimmy's shades (while wearing my hat)....

I really like this shot. Amazing that it actually turned out! You can see Josie playing in the reflection....

And in more knit-worthy news, I used Denise's pattern from LKC magazine to knit up this bag. It's really cute! Actually, a little too cute. I'm going to alter the pattern a bit and make a bigger bag. Caution! Bag in photo is much smaller then it appears!!! It was a very quick knit, though, and a lot of fun. But I've got a girlfriend who'd really like something to use as an overnight bag. Here's the front....

And the back.....

As for my Wordless photo in the last post, the shot is of a bunch of pattern books that were my grandmother's. They go from 1954 up to the 80's! I just love them! I'll have to loom knit something up from one of the patterns. Just another project on the LOOOOOOONG list of things to do!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2007-08-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Highs and Lows of Life

2007-08-06T18:37:00.001-07:00

For the past month I've been toiling away at this hat for my daughter. I probably would have had it done sooner, but we went to Virginia for two weeks and I left the project at home. Yesterday, I finally finished it! I was so proud of myself! I was euphoric all day long. This would be my coming-out project. After all, I had started my blog and joined the looming groups right around the same time, just a few months ago, and I hadn't done anything yet that would make me stand out. But now I had! This would be the one that would make me shine! Everyone would think me so brilliant! An up-and-comer, the blog to check for the newest and hippest designs. I was imagining something like the scene from "Cleopatra" where I would be paraded through the crowds. I wasn't sure how that would happen over the internet, but I was so elated, I didn't care!

But it had been several weeks since I had checked the emails from my groups, and boy had they piled up! I thought I'd check out the latest posts to see what was new before I laid upon the world a new design the likes of which had never been seen, and bask in the glow of everyone's adulation.
And then I saw it. The post from Graciela about her updated blog featuring her newly designed floppy brimmed hat. Everyone loved it. And there I was, on the sidelines, just one of the crowd watching Graciela on her golden chariot parading through the streets. She had even gone so far as to felt it! And after I had just told my husband earlier in the day that I wanted to felt mine and see how it looked!
So much for being a trailblazer. Still, I had worked so hard on it, I just had to go into a delusional mode and share my work with the world. Perhaps I would get a few cheery comments from kind people who will act like I'm still really cool for being the second person to design this hat.
And now I introduce the Josie Hat....

Modeled by the ever gorgeous Josie.

So much natural talent in that little one. And she works cheap, too!

There you have it. The second introduction of a floppy brimmed hat. Graciela's is different, although I think she did do something similar at one point, from what I could tell in a photo on her blog. I think her hat uses two looms to make. This one uses a small gauge A-Just-A-Loom. Pretty sure a WonderLoom could be used as well, but I'd have to double check that.

It was quite a rollercoaster of a day. But I'm still proud of myself for finishing this lovely little piece. I almost quit three times, something I am prone to do with my crafty projects. And no worries. I've still got my little idea book....

.....so I'll be rockin' the world with something truly unique soon! You haven't heard the last of me!!! Graciela, keep my chariot warm for me please. :o)

PS - If you haven't already, check out G's blog at http://gracielandcr afts.typepad. com, her hat looks absolutely amazing! I'm going to have to buy the pattern myself!

CrossCountry

2007-07-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

We are in sunny Virginia Beach, Virginia at the moment. Visiting my dad and all the friends we've got here. Won't be back till the 20th, so unfortunately my floppy hat had to get put aside. I was working on decreasing the top of the hat so it wouldn't be so bulky, but I'm not having much success with it at the moment. But at least I've figured out how NOT to do it, right!!
I did bring one project with me, the board knitted bag of Denise's that's in Loom Knitters Circle Magazine. I'm making it for my sister, but don't tell her, she doesn't know yet!!

I'll post pictures as soon as I'm back home. Hope everyone is having a great summer so far!!
- JJ.

So much, so much...

2007-06-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

So much going on this week!

I'm really close to finishing up a hat for the baby. Very excited to show it off! Will get pictures up here as soon as I have!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! - JJ.

Off the Loom!

2007-06-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

So I've bound off the body of my latest project, a bag, and now I'm thinking about my next move. I already know that I want to stitch a long, skinny rectangular piece to the bottom and I have bamboo handles for the top. There's two directions I go, though. This one, with the decorative stitching in front:

Or this one, with the stitching to the sides:

I'm leaning toward the second one, because the bamboo handles would get in the way if the stitching was in the middle. And since this is a small bag, there's not a lot of space to showcase everything.

I tried to take close-ups of this icord stitch that I was using. This was the best I could do:

It's a very pretty stitch, but leaves large gaps on either side. For that reason, I thought I might felt this piece. There's two problems with that, though. A) I've never felted anything before! And B) the extra bulk in the icord stitch might make those columns stick straight up. I'll have to knit up a swatch and see what happens. Just more work to do!

Next is a photo of some of the booty from my trip to Michael's. The rings are for the purse, of course. The cotton yarn to the right will be a sweater for my daughter. No pattern, I'll just think up something! The yarn to the left is fascinating! It's Patton soy/wool blend. That's right, SOY! And the colors were so pretty, a mix of pastel rose and green, I had to do something with it! It's going to turn into something for my daughter and maybe a bag for me, if there's enough. I definitely want to test it out for felting as well. I'm very intrigued by the process!

I've been working on a new stitch - almost have it figured out and am looking forward to sharing it! I've joined a bunch of looming groups on yahoo and am having a great time seeing what others are coming up with!

Happy days! -JJ.

A Little Inspiration!

2007-06-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Since hubby was on his way out of town for a four-day business trip yesterday, I took a little break from child-rearing before he left to take a soul soothing trip to Michael's.
I know, I know, Michael's is a megastore and I could find better stuff online. But you can't touch the stuff online, and I'm a touchy feely kind of girl! (Posting such a sentence on the internet will probably attract the wrong sort of person to my blog - but that's their problem, isn't it!) I just love wandering the aisles of Michael's (or Hobby Lobby or Jo-Anne Fabric, whatever is available!) and soak in all the artful possibilites. It really stretches my imagination to see what's out there and be able to grab something in one aisle and hold it up next to something from another aisle. I like shopping online (my poor hubby know just how much!) but the colors never quite look right on the screen and I get nervous to make colorful purchases. I will have to be more brave, however, since a lot of the ideas floating around my head require fibers or colors that just aren't available in the big box stores. I plan to check out the local yarn stores this week to see what sorts of specialty yarns they have. I hadn't had a chance to go - it's kind of tough to drag out a 7 month old. She never seems to be as interested in yarn hunting as her momma is!
I tried to take photos of my Michael's Finds, but the battery in the camera died. I'll have to get them up tomorrow!
Here's to Inspired Looming! - JJ.

Knowledge is Power!

2007-06-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the new books I received today from Amazon. I now own "Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms" by Anne Bipes and "Loom Knitting Primer" by Isela Phelps. I normally don't do patterns. I'm the type of oddball that doesn't like the idea of doing something that I know has already been done. But, I'm a self-taught loomer, using nothing more then the instructions that came with the looms and some pamphlets from Provo Craft. I've been making up stitches, but have been wondering if I'm just reinventing the wheel, and so my odyssey begins!
I'm actually looking forward to working some patterns. I've been craving to learn more and really honing my craft.

And speaking of my craft, I thought I'd post my current project! This is the beginnings of a bag. I'm really more like "winging it," but you can do that with bags. After all, there's not a whole lot you can do to screw it up. And if you do, oh well, just a lesson learned for next time! So here it is. Front and back are the same, and I'm working from the top down.

This displays one of the stitches I've made up. It looks kind of like an i-cord or rope. I've put three of them on each side. Here's a side view so you can see the texture...

Once I've finished, I'll get some more detailed photos up here. So far it's looking pretty good! I've only got a few more rows to go, so it won't be much longer!

Until next time! Happy Looming!

JJ.

Welcome to Live, Laugh, Loom!

2007-06-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to you, and welcome to me as well! I am new to the blogging world, so please bear with me. It'll take me a little time to get this blog set up the way I'd like (I'm a Virgo, so it must be perfect!), but I will persist!
So you may be wondering where Live, Laugh, Loom came from. Well, a couple of places. Obviously, it's a play on live, laugh, love. I don't where that originated, but it's on my keychain - a trinket that was made by a six year old in Illinois. It was $6, which I'm pretty sure is overpriced, but I kept imagining the little girl's face as the store owner handed her the money she'd made that day, and I couldn't resist. It hadn't occured to me that this phrase was truly my own mantra until quite a bit later.
So how is this my mantra? Well, let's find out...
Live: Well, that's kind of basic. Living is sort of basic for us, isn't it? Once we're here, we sort of don't have any choice in the matter! But I believe in genuinely living for the moment. Don't hold onto the past. Don't worry too much for about the future. The only thing I know right now, the only thing I do anything to change, is this moment. Life is a series of choices. I can choose to be happy or sad, angry or forgiving, salad or chocolate chip cookie dough (it's always the later on that last one - I'm not apologizing for it!). So we live in the now, take it as it comes, don't expect too much cause it's all gonna change, and try to be happy with what we've got. Which brings us to....
Laugh: Damn near my favorite thing to do! If you don't have laughter and joy, what do you have? It doesn't take much to make me laugh, the stupedist joke will set me off. But, you know, I'd rather be laughing at that stupid joke, then turning up my nose exclaiming how stupid it is. Sure, I look silly. But silly sure is a lot more fun! And finally...
Loom (Love): Obviously something I love to do! I love crafting, creating things out of nothing. But I love to give away my creations even more. People that I like or have an affinity to, eventually are bestowed with one of my little treasures. It's a sign of love, really. And everybody needs somebody to love!
So here we are at the beginning. I'm really looking forward to sharing all my crafty thoughts and ideas. I tend to have a lot of them floating around in my head.
So welcome! And I look forward to chatting more soon! JJ.