I've Moved

I'm not going to divide my life into Art and Craft anymore.

You can catch up with me at http://meetmeinthedayroom.wordpress.com

I'll leave this blog around for the free knitting and crochet patterns.

I hope you'll join me at my other blog. You guys are great!

Odes to Common Things

pin cushion, originally uploaded by alexcateye.

A friend sent me a book of Neruda poetry for Valentine's Day this year and it got me thinking. I had not read his work for years, but I was always taken with his Odes to Common Things.

So much of my journey in life has been a celebration of the everyday. I'm a housewife and a mother. The ordinary objects that I touch as part of my daily life need to be exhaulted.

This is my Ode to a Pin Cushion.

I hate girls who write like this.

I hate girls who write like this., originally uploaded by alexcateye.

They eat whatever they want and never gain weight.

I would have died for girly handwriting and a girly name when I was in junior high.

I am Alex and write like a boy. I'm happy to be who I am.

New Sweater for Isabel

This was supposed to be a February Baby Sweater, from the old Knitter's Almanac. However, I forgot to bring the book with me while I was working on it and improvised the lace. (I've knit gull wing lace so many times, I was sure I had it memorized.) I guess I was off by one stitch on each repeat and ended up with this lace pattern.

It doesn't matter. She loves the sweater! Now I just need some buttons.

The yarn is Vintage Wool from Berocco. It washes well, but I thought it was slippery and splitty. The metal needles I was using weren't working for me, so I switched to the acrylic needles from www.knitpicks.com and I had a much easier time.

Tinker

In an effort to connect with Oklahoma, I decided to join a stitchalong.

The Air Force Base where my husband is currently stationed is named for Clarence Tinker. I started studying him because I was pissed off that we were sent here instead of England and I wanted to know more about the man behind the name. Tinker was actually fairly interesting and admirable. He was the first Native American Major General in the United States Army. You can read more about him here if you like.

I tried to use a variety of stitches in the less detailed parts of the portrait to add texture and interest. My new favorite stitch is the bullion stitch I used for the shirt button.

The blue-gray areas are more bullion stitch. Tutorial here.

In case you can't tell by all of the photographs, I am really proud of this.

After all, I am a sucker for a man in uniform.

Caw! Caw!

Caw! Caw!, originally uploaded by alexcateye.

I know that I've been told not to use the term "gay for" as a perjorative on this blog before, but I won't be censored. I support the rights of gay people to serve in the military. Really, aren't we all just gay for eagles?

(What I mean is that military service is an expression of love and devotion to a country, personal love relationships have no bearing.)

You can see more pictures at my other blog: meetmeinthedayroom.wordpress.com.

Godzilla Quillta

Green varigated quilting thread on a green wholecloth quilt makes Godzilla skin. So cuddly!

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5 and 5 and 5 again

Steffi likes everything I sew.

It's been a long time.

David went on a mission for the USAF for 5 weeks and I was left with the kids, a full time job, and chronic depression to deal with on my own. I was stuck in Oklahoma, where I don't know a soul, and I didn't handle it well. I've gained 40 (!!!) pounds since we moved here in September. I'm lonely every day.

I need my art back. I know that very few people still read this blog any more. I don't focus on knitting as much as I did originally. I also quit updating for almost 5 months. For those of you still with me, thank you. I plan on sharing again. I need it.

I've been sewing a lot. I got a new Brother machine for my wedding anniversary and I've been honeymooning with it for months now. I had forgotten how much I loved sewing with a machine. I sit at the sewing table for hours. I spend all morning in my pajamas. I hold my bladder for hours. My coffee gets cold before I drink it. The hours fly by and I realize that I didn't plan anything for dinner yet.

The first quilt is a spontaneous number I did for my best friend. I just cut rectangles and attached them at random. Some pieces are larger than a fat quarter and some are as small as a credit card. I don't really know how I ended up with a queen sized quilt, it just happened.

The second quilt is on my bed. It's a giant log cabin square made from 5" flannel strips. (I got all of the fabric from JoAnn's when flannel was $1.99 a yard.) The back is an old sheet with a few leftover 5" strips thrown in here and there.

Using my mad binding skilz

We have tons of old towels, but never enough washcloths. I decided to practice mitered corners by cutting squares from frayed towels and binding them with bias tape. I'm not bothering to blind stitch them by hand--just machine stitching all of the edges. I love having piles of "new" face cloths ready and waiting.

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Finished!

More humping deer hats. These were commissioned. It took me 4 months to finish these hats and the guilt has been overwhelming. Now that I'm done I have time to work on some new stuff.

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