tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84480255034834198322024-03-05T03:30:04.560-06:00Cotton Gin and TonicBeth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-13878524404849686352011-06-03T17:06:00.001-05:002011-06-03T17:07:20.785-05:00Henrietta Maria Cardigan KALI've started my first ever official KAL (knit-a-long) for the Henrietta Maria Cardigan.<br />
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I think it's going to be a blast and I'm kicking it off with a giveaway - sign up by replying to the first post in the KAL thread in my Ravelry group (located <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/cotton-gin-and-tonic/1690341/1-25#2">here</a>) and if you are one of the first 10 to reply, you will relieve a free pattern, the next 10 will get a one time use 50% off coupon for the pattern<br />
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The KAL will run from June 3rd to July 22nd and is open to anyone who wants help, encouragement, to share photos, chat with me, and in general have a grand old time. <br />
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Here is a unreleased photo of Shelby giving her best "blue steel" <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZCKKYSOmU0t3az3BfVauEQohx0TlJpSw2V3TBa8bUXoAwFaqNeG1-70IhKOGYb7X_9WiRtLVw2jLggYJUbz8vi7xdZJX77SeF9wlgktp7Fie6Ln24tSWnX4lyQwNfO2NPkmnC5eaZqo/s1600/R0012525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZCKKYSOmU0t3az3BfVauEQohx0TlJpSw2V3TBa8bUXoAwFaqNeG1-70IhKOGYb7X_9WiRtLVw2jLggYJUbz8vi7xdZJX77SeF9wlgktp7Fie6Ln24tSWnX4lyQwNfO2NPkmnC5eaZqo/s640/R0012525.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-12613525507784850672011-05-24T15:03:00.002-05:002011-05-24T15:06:22.144-05:00Henrietta Maria CardiganIt really started with the stitch pattern, King Charles Brocade. It's named after King Charles I of England who lost his head and, gruesomely enough, the knitted waistcoat he was wearing at the time was saved. and it had a diamond brocade pattern that now carries his name.<br />
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It is a very fine and elegant pattern and I had been wanting to use it on <i>something</i> for a while. Having come across a photo of some 1940's cocktail sweaters with diamond patterns with embellishments inside the diamonds I had an aha! moment and produced this sketch.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57c4nOnl1_JetE4soyY1VpOuYe6QPfSNNIk9fmCwpbKLDPX27bwh6nG4GT-5_yMG9xHrDDoloC9oXl5YEPceu-RxtYNedwJ3sNEebHr7-mFOrRYVYMyjI_O44VSfrW_thlN3JCtl0CU8/s1600/Greta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57c4nOnl1_JetE4soyY1VpOuYe6QPfSNNIk9fmCwpbKLDPX27bwh6nG4GT-5_yMG9xHrDDoloC9oXl5YEPceu-RxtYNedwJ3sNEebHr7-mFOrRYVYMyjI_O44VSfrW_thlN3JCtl0CU8/s320/Greta.jpg" width="199" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Having bought a skein of Weaver's Loft Gaia Worsted at a fiber festival, I decided to try a swatch of the pattern and embellish it with Lazy Daisy flowers. I was really excited about it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80pStgKFdVuM_K4rhXZztvTDJqnngnC0DPZZFMsYlC533CqGW8bS-DybBRxNd6gJOLBkKHJcJs0Xgis_7htBugppiOBfYruk-uUswvRc21AzLnTVCmPeIGhHvpK5qg8nW25jT8Hj0lhA/s1600/Greta+Swatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80pStgKFdVuM_K4rhXZztvTDJqnngnC0DPZZFMsYlC533CqGW8bS-DybBRxNd6gJOLBkKHJcJs0Xgis_7htBugppiOBfYruk-uUswvRc21AzLnTVCmPeIGhHvpK5qg8nW25jT8Hj0lhA/s320/Greta+Swatch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I contacted the Weaver's Loft to see if they would be interested in providing yarn support for this project and they generously agreed. To support my generous sponsor visit their website here <a href="http://www.weaversloft.com/">www.weaversloft.com</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got to work on a prototype and had some trouble coming up with a button band I liked. So I invented one. It's a double knit strip with that gets sewed to the cardigan with mattress stitch. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've made a couple of video's to give a tutorial for the technique. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YKZ2RvBPk6o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5PtfwzD2Huc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
I also made a video tutorial on how to embroider the cardigan <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WDVHitiyFDg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And finally after weeks of terrible weather, I got to do a photo shoot with my friend Shelby as the model. She was wonderful and we had an excellent time. All the clothes except the cardigan were actually hers. She's a stylish lady. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROaNIbFH7UhXis1BKbal04rRz3FTLnwVY4VQk6JguErMv4Hfp_qlxGt8WV5sISFZDjACxYYAdQ5UHT4otdXI_BMC1G33voM1nj51kaTooT6MCmkeLDvNAJL36-Uv5RlZ6WHPBAU3iMjg/s1600/R0012455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROaNIbFH7UhXis1BKbal04rRz3FTLnwVY4VQk6JguErMv4Hfp_qlxGt8WV5sISFZDjACxYYAdQ5UHT4otdXI_BMC1G33voM1nj51kaTooT6MCmkeLDvNAJL36-Uv5RlZ6WHPBAU3iMjg/s640/R0012455.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzA0MbAAj4eBQ_KQSkn99_tkXO47G2e44VL4-oT7boXnspkRVk8tRwFui0hLbUuInPZ3OeIRKZyY09jy6aawKKQlMYEjSMcRGThqH6JR5FmGC6ZsPNK_gSXde-NCxiGzH09RiCIswLuk/s1600/R0012473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzA0MbAAj4eBQ_KQSkn99_tkXO47G2e44VL4-oT7boXnspkRVk8tRwFui0hLbUuInPZ3OeIRKZyY09jy6aawKKQlMYEjSMcRGThqH6JR5FmGC6ZsPNK_gSXde-NCxiGzH09RiCIswLuk/s640/R0012473.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQg7zm2GwXLOdYT79_jddQoJay2GBVuLd6kmmQMmwA-VBUq2y_JYm3zur2n_UYsRfbcxiVq0cF7aW5B9_l2Yv1OHNW7P3zn6Qeho2KJM7l4rOHwPX-WGxiGap4axV6v7qgSCcyF09K3c/s1600/R0012477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQg7zm2GwXLOdYT79_jddQoJay2GBVuLd6kmmQMmwA-VBUq2y_JYm3zur2n_UYsRfbcxiVq0cF7aW5B9_l2Yv1OHNW7P3zn6Qeho2KJM7l4rOHwPX-WGxiGap4axV6v7qgSCcyF09K3c/s640/R0012477.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRf5m1OWxdl5jn1hTgncz-HWPqcVciwdDGxQsq4O7Kg2psq4iB0ax41xJDeXFagrPaJlXgDEo1P2uUc_mIeuzm2klKI13QNlMdATWP2zrt04Dtp53q1mxb0xhI88jt1X1xcMII8zBYjrc/s1600/R0012466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRf5m1OWxdl5jn1hTgncz-HWPqcVciwdDGxQsq4O7Kg2psq4iB0ax41xJDeXFagrPaJlXgDEo1P2uUc_mIeuzm2klKI13QNlMdATWP2zrt04Dtp53q1mxb0xhI88jt1X1xcMII8zBYjrc/s640/R0012466.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/66618" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">$5.50 </div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-28146960608925571402011-04-20T17:15:00.000-05:002011-04-20T17:15:20.586-05:00Abominable Weather and Fake FlowersThe weather here has been cold and rainy for 2 weeks without signs of letting up. "Sigh" I keep waiting for it to have an at least, dry-ish weekend so I can do the photoshoot of my latest pattern but no luck. Dark, rainy, no sun, it's really starting to get to me, and everyone I know. I can't wait to have one nice day.<br />
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So to keep myself from going crazy I've been trying out some new skills. I got some watercolor supplies for my birthday and I've been working on learning how to work with those. They are a lot of fun, I made a totally disproportionate painting of some silk flowers in a glass last night. I really like playing with the colors. <br />
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Today I decided to create some floral hair accessories. I've been seeing really pretty ones on Etsy for a while, but cannot afford $50 for some silk flowers attached to a comb just for my hair. Though they are very pretty. A while back Hobby Lobby had a 50% off sale on their fake flowers so I bought a bunch and they've been sitting a too-small vase for a month or so. I took the pink and green peony with a bud and made a nice little facinator out of it. I'm pretty pleased. I sewed the flowers and leaves to a piece of craft felt and then sewed the clip to the underside of that. I suppose I could have used glue, but I really like sewing things together. Also, if I decide I don't like the way something looks it's usually easy enough to snip some threads. Anyway, here it is! Don't mind my frizzy hair, the humidity is making it act up.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5639025478_359a61d735_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5639025478_359a61d735_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the side. You can see I kept the bud on it's stem.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5639027382_9821344f50_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5639027382_9821344f50_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The color on the flower was what really attracted me to it.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5307/5638450757_b8a6bc76b2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5307/5638450757_b8a6bc76b2_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voila!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-6243367409322955132011-04-04T15:30:00.000-05:002011-04-04T15:30:49.696-05:00Sneak Peek!I know I haven't posted in too long but I've just been swamped with work! I thought I'd give you all a little sneak peek of what I've been working on.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBj6EcDFec3184NykYCdrMXpbWKb0gRyGmVwaIZk8wze9CU0f5z_5q3954lqHzYsYlOhqx5c0Vt7V5cSLGue1TFHFrJq3PUDC-bPwQnTqD12UGHrtV863aukHVjX_lIWYagIKMzm7Y11E/s1600/Greta+Swatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBj6EcDFec3184NykYCdrMXpbWKb0gRyGmVwaIZk8wze9CU0f5z_5q3954lqHzYsYlOhqx5c0Vt7V5cSLGue1TFHFrJq3PUDC-bPwQnTqD12UGHrtV863aukHVjX_lIWYagIKMzm7Y11E/s320/Greta+Swatch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>King Charles brocade pattern, embellished with lazy daisy embroidered flowers. What will it be? Stay tuned! Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-57176542424661349202011-03-13T19:38:00.001-05:002011-03-16T12:19:39.141-05:00Old Rice HotelThe Old Rice Hotel is the pretty, old, building where Eli works so when I designed this scarf and hat set for him it seemed the natural choice for inspiration.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here is a photo of the building I took last winter when we had an amazing ice-fog. Every plant had a delicate silvered appearance that made the landscape seem like it was enchanted. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXc7B0DcwZnUgQjG-_ZP0xzibUL2WFAv7LPL8xKEN6tBxytFPj57qSIzEBrflS-Zn8jUu3e8fm607Nj3WSOnYRoWL7JWQ9-rRj1DXiM0fbtcw61xGlgX6urctevFl05yQPvQFKP5_RIIg/s1600/Old+Rice+Hotel.rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXc7B0DcwZnUgQjG-_ZP0xzibUL2WFAv7LPL8xKEN6tBxytFPj57qSIzEBrflS-Zn8jUu3e8fm607Nj3WSOnYRoWL7JWQ9-rRj1DXiM0fbtcw61xGlgX6urctevFl05yQPvQFKP5_RIIg/s400/Old+Rice+Hotel.rgb.jpg" width="311" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here is Eli with his new cold weather gear.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGiAml0NYuOU6mc6ibkTF0ph1etX5MBnKSh8OnsesTx7t0XCtSx8cRz8u0D7Wy07Syi9r4t7ysbxVeGoB7l2Qb18bNR8k-FP5Tu1u6-mUSND-a92D1OCmtNJwrBNaMmOCXtmrhT_54oE/s1600/Zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGiAml0NYuOU6mc6ibkTF0ph1etX5MBnKSh8OnsesTx7t0XCtSx8cRz8u0D7Wy07Syi9r4t7ysbxVeGoB7l2Qb18bNR8k-FP5Tu1u6-mUSND-a92D1OCmtNJwrBNaMmOCXtmrhT_54oE/s400/Zoom.jpg" width="265" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMNcsEMszYHdBrnoHZrKCIyTHaE7YOQjaEEO-9rMe7CuOOIYNO-dh4kQ7ERW34jo7gDl7rYxouf5_pWt-qe7gcvqdsz2wqn5wlbigmpRQy_x87q_dVLN3B4uJ39ueb-XZPdjRQf5NgY8/s1600/R0012269.rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMNcsEMszYHdBrnoHZrKCIyTHaE7YOQjaEEO-9rMe7CuOOIYNO-dh4kQ7ERW34jo7gDl7rYxouf5_pWt-qe7gcvqdsz2wqn5wlbigmpRQy_x87q_dVLN3B4uJ39ueb-XZPdjRQf5NgY8/s400/R0012269.rgb.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj119EikxKDBn8o_y4FOKDPV8DBNFb5sw1aQNmGnvkGiqI-qGkO6zRimOm6Gvg8amyGQSG20dHgwQuXiPfcC5pw6QFtZjCVc53-gxso84V-9PU5_y-S95moDd94gZludKXKUKOxmpiLzhg/s1600/R0012259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj119EikxKDBn8o_y4FOKDPV8DBNFb5sw1aQNmGnvkGiqI-qGkO6zRimOm6Gvg8amyGQSG20dHgwQuXiPfcC5pw6QFtZjCVc53-gxso84V-9PU5_y-S95moDd94gZludKXKUKOxmpiLzhg/s400/R0012259.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The scarf is a knit and purl herringbone pattern knitted up in Cascade Rustic in color 04 which is a really nice wool/linen blend. It's very soft with an interesting texture and a good drape. A bonus is that it can be bound off at any time to use up every last bit of the yarn. I hate having tiny little leftover balls. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The hat is a sort of stranded knitting pattern with the contrast color woven in-between alternating blocks of the stitches. I used Brown Sheep's Lanaloft Sports Weight in Sandstone Cove and Cliff Rock. That the hat is mostly ribbing allows it to fit almost anyone. It fit me (22" head) and Eli (24" head) which really encompasses almost everyone. It has a really sophisticated appearance and it's a bonus to me that his Highness has been wearing it every day. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><b>Buy The Old Rice Hotel Stocking Cap</b> $5.00 <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/59611"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a><br />
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</div><b>Buy The Old Rice Hotel Scarf</b> 3.00 <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/59612"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a><br />
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<b>Buy the Old Rice Hotel Set</b> $6.50 <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/59613"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-77414723484974875892011-02-05T14:56:00.002-06:002011-02-06T11:22:30.427-06:00Linocut Prints Part 2The knitting related prints are coming along well and I have one plate carved, a lot of good ideas and some test prints accomplished. I've had to order some ink as none of the stores around here had the Gamblin ink I wanted to use. I prefer using ink from a tub instead of a tube because you can scrape unused ink back into the jar and since I'm not mixing colors right now it works out well economy wise. I bought a small tube of Speedball oil-based ink from the store to play with until the tub o' ink arrives but I don't like it much. It doesn't have good coverage and isn't tacky enough for my taste. <br />
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I've purchased some mulberry paper to print on, a 8" roller, a scraper, a glass palette, a glass scraper, a Japanese brayer, a box of blue shop towels and some "green" mineral spirits that said it was low odor and good for indoor use. All this stuff adds up!<br />
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Anyway here is a picture of my set up. On the right are all my tools, the glass palette is taped down to my table over a piece of white paper so it doesn't move. It's pretty easy to clean I've discovered. I have an old 3" roller for small areas or applying spot color or stamping. It's quite useful.<br />
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I've been really attracted to hands and the textures of knitting and textiles so I've been working on some compositions that include those elements. I've always loved borders and usually put them on all my work. I wanted something that was evocative of textiles or yarn and I was going through my pattern reference books and found something I liked in <u>Ornamental Design</u> by Claude Humbert. The book is reprinted by Dover in black and white but I tracked down quite a reasonably priced original in the lovely orange, black and white that is at once both retro and stylish. The border design I decided on is based on this one from the book. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfyIpx8UqnwSAKcXv6aKHHkk8XRvEiQAygfGKr4rnP_YM-rozg09s8Y7KwFlTf6yLIk2guf8n3dquHlzpBCbsrS0NbJchpsX1cv7SjIzFdUOqBehiHm13WzcgO-3U-lzpYuMHMdD4SwU/s1600/R0012157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfyIpx8UqnwSAKcXv6aKHHkk8XRvEiQAygfGKr4rnP_YM-rozg09s8Y7KwFlTf6yLIk2guf8n3dquHlzpBCbsrS0NbJchpsX1cv7SjIzFdUOqBehiHm13WzcgO-3U-lzpYuMHMdD4SwU/s320/R0012157.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torc Motif. Luristan, Persia </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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I traced the plate I was going to carve in my notebook and measured out a border of an inch or so. Then I freehand drew the outlined shape.<br />
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I added the interior lines when I was carving. I only do as much work as I need to! I traced it onto a piece of tracing paper (to the right in the photo above) so I could easily transfer the drawing to the linoleum plate.<br />
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I'll add at this point I wasn't sure what the rest of the composition was going to be. I work on the fly! I wanted hands but wasn't sure if they would be too difficult for my 5 years rusty skills. Here is a sketch of my hands I did knitting. I loved this image but it's pretty complex and I was worried I wasn't up to it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t7B0GMZBbS8NDwEsIwG6_D6M1Upgdly7vBXA6ns_2-NYFM0cyiVRzt2Kp9463n2k5ShgZEnjehdMwzazNNNS-szbcvIVQ-yIYPuRwNhWT3y_WalmD64ldsxX3z7mus2Rj8e7f7U2FW8/s1600/R0012166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t7B0GMZBbS8NDwEsIwG6_D6M1Upgdly7vBXA6ns_2-NYFM0cyiVRzt2Kp9463n2k5ShgZEnjehdMwzazNNNS-szbcvIVQ-yIYPuRwNhWT3y_WalmD64ldsxX3z7mus2Rj8e7f7U2FW8/s320/R0012166.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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So then I drew this crappy uninspired sketch of yarn balls with needles. YAWN.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTHnVBsVMze80rAHHC3yXLdd7IRF-z4LA7f0_Ynk8FBX1BZFRxmnZLfDaZ82-0mJRBSNb5A2j4t_kT5ebK0vERZyunmMyRYcRNc2sQIgojwe05uZOEoInBkZGyvpvBP12GSclqKlDiGk/s1600/R0012155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTHnVBsVMze80rAHHC3yXLdd7IRF-z4LA7f0_Ynk8FBX1BZFRxmnZLfDaZ82-0mJRBSNb5A2j4t_kT5ebK0vERZyunmMyRYcRNc2sQIgojwe05uZOEoInBkZGyvpvBP12GSclqKlDiGk/s320/R0012155.JPG" width="245" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So I went back to hands and decided that this was both interesting and not too complex to carve. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYy6Lyc90mJ7pbk83rCFrGM-qcW8QR5kAB1d-5gJrd-W1zfsrbW2uFcAfmtre9EM0LmbD3JA7V3Ij-Dxm2rt4QFOdHN9N7prPn8CuBazol92_v__hmD70oiH01BXGIEMgCJt7pwRXEeGA/s1600/R0012154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYy6Lyc90mJ7pbk83rCFrGM-qcW8QR5kAB1d-5gJrd-W1zfsrbW2uFcAfmtre9EM0LmbD3JA7V3Ij-Dxm2rt4QFOdHN9N7prPn8CuBazol92_v__hmD70oiH01BXGIEMgCJt7pwRXEeGA/s320/R0012154.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I used the tracing paper to get some of the details of the hand, but I just drew the outline of the sock and added more details to the hand and made the fingers more proportional. I transferred the image to the plate and carved it out. I did the border first as I knew just what to do with it and it was simple. Then I carved out the hand, then the whole background. Then I did the texture on the sock. I was very nervous about it and how to go about suggesting a knitted texture. I think it came out quite fine and I was rather pleased with it in the end. You can see a little texture experiment in the drawing above. I didn't do something that detailed however. It wasn't going to work out. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>I did a couple of test prints and decided that while I liked it on the plate, in the print the un-carved out portion of the wrist made it look like a very hairy arm! So on the fly I just carved that bit out. It was much better but still needs a little refinement. You can see the two different versions in this photo<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll be posting more about this when I get my good ink! I'm pretty excited for it to come. I'll be working on another plate in the meantime. I think it'll likely be some hands knitting, but we'll see what I come up with. </div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-84855008535265442762011-01-13T19:26:00.000-06:002011-01-13T19:26:13.801-06:00Knit related linocut printsWhy yes you did read that title correctly. My knitting muse has flown for the moment so I figured I change tack for a week or two and work on making some prints. They will be knitting related and I'll likely post some sketches when they come to me. I'm feeling good about this, I've been wanting to do a little more drawing recently and I think some prints will do the trick. If I write it here I'll have to do it because people will expect me to. Yes yes. A little peer pressure. <br />
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And since this post doesn't have a related photo have this one of a sweater I recently completed. It's beautiful. This sweater is knitted in an old cone yarn with no brand name that was ostensibly some sort of blend of wool and alpaca. It's incredibly warm and I wore it as a coat down in the city for record shopping a couple of weeks ago. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5301591232_a11cb8df50_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5301591232_a11cb8df50_b.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pattern is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/howlite">Howlite</a>, by Heather Dixon. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-41907342160364488202011-01-12T13:21:00.000-06:002011-01-12T13:21:00.673-06:00Updates!I just wanted to share that I've updated the patterns page with Meta Cap, a companion hat to Meta Mittens and Meta Set, which is both patterns together for a discounted price.<br />
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Another exciting thing that happened recently was that Meta Cap was mentioned in a podcast! Just One More Row - podcast #3 - about 14 minutes in. That would be here - <a href="http://justonemorerowpodcast.wordpress.com/">scroll down to episode 3</a>. It's in their "what's new in the queue" portion and though it's a small mention, I am extremely flattered to be noticed.<br />
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Because this post otherwise has no photos and I can't have that, I'll leave you all with a photo from our Thanksgiving vacation to Edisto Island, South Carolina.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CgE6JYfALilK-ZstyZo5r98Y1jVeXV5IQBXZNa4O926B1kTJVsVLTcxFv_AbHkeIC5AXw_zigtb3a5TAoEeDO4CNPmUdUadsjnmaImAE3xOiNrQO1jw3LLzkq-tiM6EBEasGlxNbikw/s1600/R0011785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CgE6JYfALilK-ZstyZo5r98Y1jVeXV5IQBXZNa4O926B1kTJVsVLTcxFv_AbHkeIC5AXw_zigtb3a5TAoEeDO4CNPmUdUadsjnmaImAE3xOiNrQO1jw3LLzkq-tiM6EBEasGlxNbikw/s400/R0011785.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-70940006302117817762010-10-20T16:57:00.000-05:002010-10-20T16:57:31.311-05:00Beautiful FallLast Friday I went with Eli's family to Starved Rock State park for some hiking. It was so, so beautiful there. I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the trip.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had had a really great time. That mushroom had been picked by someone and left by the side of the trail, Eli and I decided to goof around with it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-86079270634307454882010-10-12T15:05:00.001-05:002010-10-12T15:05:10.968-05:00New Everything!Hello welcome to the new version of the blog! I just got it live and linked up today and I'm really excited. The new layout is prettier and more flexible and now I can have pages! Like a I have a REAL webpage! Oh boy! I had an exciting time making up a logo yesterday which I'm going to put in this post so I can link it to facebook. I have a lot of exciting patterns coming down the chute and look for class schedules and and about me pages coming whenever I can get over my loathing about talking about myself. I hope everyone enjoys the new blog! Now here's the logo I promised.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsVWhhftWzxTqcyNDQXvWiVCxRWr-14G7lL1JcVkc7M5ree-F381NmS70X9UvRts0VUUVEO9j3msGspBaBzE1pTr1oGV_fBnfcPSbV9xH0LbZfdhoXiEFu9iu5dT_CPrmIoFPNME_0qY/s1600/header1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsVWhhftWzxTqcyNDQXvWiVCxRWr-14G7lL1JcVkc7M5ree-F381NmS70X9UvRts0VUUVEO9j3msGspBaBzE1pTr1oGV_fBnfcPSbV9xH0LbZfdhoXiEFu9iu5dT_CPrmIoFPNME_0qY/s400/header1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-50471120798240746292010-10-01T14:10:00.001-05:002010-10-11T15:53:16.062-05:00Susie's Long StockingsThe test knit for these socks finished on the 19th and it has been a looong ride. It started when I saw these socks in the Christian Dior Fall show by John Galliano. I had to make something similar, I just loved them.<br />
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I bought the yarn way back in March and began swatching, which did not go smoothly. I had an good idea of what I wanted the finished product to look like, I just didn't know how to get there. I also had the idea that I wanted to do some of the shaping with needle size changes. I wanted a lot of verticality like the Dior socks. The Dior socks had faggoted rib obviously but I didn't think it would look the way I wanted at the gauge I was going to get out of sock yarn. I tried a lot of lace patterns that had vertical orientations but they all seemed too stretched out on larger needle sizes, I needed it to be polished looking, smooth and sophisticated. After another failed swatch of star-mesh lace from one of the Barbara Walker Treasuries I sat stumped. My knitting buddies liked it but it had too much air, and too much bias to be what I wanted. The ribs on it looked too messy for my taste as well. Then it hit me that a twisted rib might be my answer. It pulls the rib in tight and attractive when stretched out and when you do the purl stitches plain it gives and orderly but slightly lacy look in between. I made a few swatches and KNEW I had it. I also had a pattern that had a sort of diamond orientation going up the side of the legs to get a similar look to the Dior socks. I chose the Vandyke Leaf Lace from the Second Barbara Walker Treasury.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1s4Rg0K5tLvk-HjP4WAFQb8m5zWbm9xWUXReS82nnpO4T0puSHdAtiwhRAaYNehRwObIiOCm2hQZFZBVyuYgZ2H2oBqD3JS0P5A21_nP49-7Iqew64mWP512rW_rH1_7aF-Bx847qAnv/s1600/R0011357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1s4Rg0K5tLvk-HjP4WAFQb8m5zWbm9xWUXReS82nnpO4T0puSHdAtiwhRAaYNehRwObIiOCm2hQZFZBVyuYgZ2H2oBqD3JS0P5A21_nP49-7Iqew64mWP512rW_rH1_7aF-Bx847qAnv/s320/R0011357.JPG" width="240" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I had to make charts for the beginning of the lace, the ending of the lace and the repeating portion. The difficulty was in writing the chart on a background of twisted rib. I did accomplish it well though and I changed some of the clunkier looking portions of the Vandyke Leaf Lace so that the pattern flowed better to my taste. I used Open Office's spreadsheet program and a knitting font I picked up on the internet. I was also going to do these socks toe-up as it is usually my preference but the leaves on the Vandyke Leaf Lace looked weird going from the bottom up. This probably worked out for the best as the back of the calf decreases I used look really stunning in the twisted rib.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk9dYGETG5d_tvL3s2V2M8QwlY12IcxtwsP3eVw1Aqt0qUmIOLgEQX5gDZFDFlljUOx8-YHmOsvBFVhQQd1NtKvD6Kel5Wt37kTBWtveoh-i_HfD6y-Ao9rtus6Iecs6_bu-CvHk8linx/s1600/R0011358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk9dYGETG5d_tvL3s2V2M8QwlY12IcxtwsP3eVw1Aqt0qUmIOLgEQX5gDZFDFlljUOx8-YHmOsvBFVhQQd1NtKvD6Kel5Wt37kTBWtveoh-i_HfD6y-Ao9rtus6Iecs6_bu-CvHk8linx/s320/R0011358.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>I decided I would make 3 sizes so that almost anyone can make a wear these socks and I also made a video explaining the double decrease I invented so the the decreases stayed in pattern.<br />
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<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlzXYNrUsAw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZlzXYNrUsAw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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I decided that since there was going to be no way for these socks to stay up on their own I should make a hem for some elastic to be inserted. I had seen a folded over hem done on a child's skirt so I just used the same idea, and in pattern. It worked surprisingly well. So I had all the elements I needed and I knit the first sock, and it looked wonderful! I started the test knit after writing it out and doing a preliminary layout. I stalled on the second sock. I had terrible second sock syndrome. I'd already done it, why wasn't I finished? There were other things I wanted to knit! Why did nature give me 2 legs? But I eventually got around to it and took photos in wool thigh-highs when it was 90 degrees outside. I'll tell you though, the sweat really held them in place!<br />
I have to give kudos to my wonderful test knitters who found all the mistakes in my written version of the chart (boy writing that sucked) and various other problems with clarity and and suggested what photos would be most helpful to them. This pattern wouldn't be nearly so great with out them. <br />
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Here is the relevant info if you are looking to make these socks:<br />
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Yarn : Trekking Pro Natura - 3 skeins<br />
Needles : US 4, 3, 2, 1<br />
3 sizes, s, m, l - Medium will fit almost everyone, small is for size 4 and lower and large is for size 16 and up. <br />
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It was really important to me to be inclusive with my sizing, I want as many people as can be to show off their awesome gams in my lovely socks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Svje1WzzOgQlI42_3dhFT5VBw25jjc9VEMoJ4GgoO7YIjkec2tiQeLAfgvDYxAuddN__TCEYlMbkU4wQw3qDpMtJMM34jp3gvosmuKgLjYKsoZlvT5f1VbTZRB3JjAs_H2pk-_rSjzkO/s1600/coverpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Svje1WzzOgQlI42_3dhFT5VBw25jjc9VEMoJ4GgoO7YIjkec2tiQeLAfgvDYxAuddN__TCEYlMbkU4wQw3qDpMtJMM34jp3gvosmuKgLjYKsoZlvT5f1VbTZRB3JjAs_H2pk-_rSjzkO/s400/coverpage.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/44064" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-19351447005367487902010-09-15T15:06:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.150-05:00Meta Mittens<div class="value"></div> On our way home from Buckhorn State Park last month Eli suggested we stop at a yarn store in Madison. I am not one to say no to that so I did a google search on my iPhone and came up with <a href="http://www.knitmeone.com/">Off the Beaten Path</a>. It wasn't too far from the highway and their website said they had locally produced yarns. I ended up with some crochet thread and some rough, rustic wool that immediately said "make mittens out of me". The yarn was Yaeger's Acres 2ply medium weight wool. I got the natural and the black-brown I felt like I wanted to have something related to knitting or wool on the mittens but I decided a yarn ball would be too abstract. I decided on sheep and did a big google image search on sheep so I could get a handle on what they look like and for illustrations of sheep so that I could understand how they are generally abstracted. I knit up a swatch in the round later in the week. This swatch lied horribly, I must have been knitting incredibly tight because I ended up with 7 sts/inch on US 3 needles which I was never able to replicate. Swatches Lie. Do them anyway. Always make a swatch especially if you are working with a yarn you have never used before, if only to get a feel for what needle size will go with it best.<br /><br />So once I had my horribly off gauge I went and made some graph paper from my favorite graph paper making website (What? You <i>don't </i>have one?) <a href="http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/asymmetric/">Incompetech</a> (see it even has a punny name) and input my gauge. The website makes a pdf of the graph paper which I then opened in adobe photoshop. I marked out the parameters of the mitten using the dimensions of a pair of Norwegian mittens I made a few years ago and liked. Then I spent about a day or so dinking around with the chart. The palm was easy, as was the thumb, but making sheep that looked like sheep and made a good composition on the back of a mitten took a bit longer. Once I was satisfied with the chart I knit up a prototype. Which was sized for a child.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBL39_ZRVUDZWB9QWucLDZ1brhAC6Xw7BjwcDYuKFEJO5c7YTBVcZ_5zNOPl25JB9wdWLW4u60_73UGgJqMffrRKbowrmEkrj4jODyH3gIpnFKzMOMTvQ-Z8aJBBQJO3gpi-UquugrkCN/s1600/photo(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBL39_ZRVUDZWB9QWucLDZ1brhAC6Xw7BjwcDYuKFEJO5c7YTBVcZ_5zNOPl25JB9wdWLW4u60_73UGgJqMffrRKbowrmEkrj4jODyH3gIpnFKzMOMTvQ-Z8aJBBQJO3gpi-UquugrkCN/s320/photo(4).JPG" /></a></div><br />Good thing it doesn't take too long to knit a mitten, I thought, I'll just go up a needle size and add a little length and it'll be fine...<br /><br /> Nope!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SpBMkdBI3morasRat00xXogUkEUVbpda9RWygai0JeKXc3PRIStHA4JwsG1c5HJ2VG0004jI_mtytEkgNaIuv8wGHNA6svJzFtETxznf3H19gnBP-bPxxmYrREZzvtHmEt6YjJiHjy2O/s1600/photo(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SpBMkdBI3morasRat00xXogUkEUVbpda9RWygai0JeKXc3PRIStHA4JwsG1c5HJ2VG0004jI_mtytEkgNaIuv8wGHNA6svJzFtETxznf3H19gnBP-bPxxmYrREZzvtHmEt6YjJiHjy2O/s320/photo(3).JPG" /></a></div><br />Still Tiny! Urg! I felt pretty frustrated with myself, but luckily I had plenty of yarn so I didn't have to frog either of them. I went back and counted how many stitches were in that old Norwegian mitten I mentioned earlier and went with those stitch counts. I finally <i>finally</i> got it the right size, yay! Here is a prototype progression photo with a 5" ruler at the side to show how tiny the small ones really are.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLxqA4lv6cf5WzY0IRpuo74zAhhBtx7CvTyMsxY3x-8QfqknuWPKu6R_LjgFPwbz_BHGVy6hMdisM3hB5qE7iR0BuvG5v2ppD0jB3LS6Vl7ST4kKcQIBQ_4m7r_L2X3OmoSKpUCy6ZkqQ/s1600/photo(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLxqA4lv6cf5WzY0IRpuo74zAhhBtx7CvTyMsxY3x-8QfqknuWPKu6R_LjgFPwbz_BHGVy6hMdisM3hB5qE7iR0BuvG5v2ppD0jB3LS6Vl7ST4kKcQIBQ_4m7r_L2X3OmoSKpUCy6ZkqQ/s320/photo(5).JPG" /></a></div><br />So, after knitting 4 mittens, only 2 of which were any good, I was ready to take some photographs. It was 90 degrees outside so bundling up and going outside were a bit out. I didn't want to get heat stroke, even for my work. So I plopped on a matching hat and sat on my workroom couch and used the self timer gratuitously. I think they came out pretty well all things considered<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4.ravelry.com/uploads/BethWolden/34059690/R0011264_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images4.ravelry.com/uploads/BethWolden/34059690/R0011264_medium.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />I really upped my game with photoshop on these photos. I generously used the dodge tool to brighten and emphasize the mittens and to make the eye in shadow more visible. Plus I was having a <i>really </i>good hair day. So I wrote and laid out the pattern, I went with a vaguely German, 70s medieval revival sort of style that I think went really well with the mittens and made the pattern pretty to look at. It's for sale, if you'd like to <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/42338"> buy now</a><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/42338"></a><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFF_8f3RRe5InIjh08PZ8O6dNbCP3lpTLc1GMmJauN6HmNPuX-uLRE8UkJh4iTc56gGyhAFcYrPz0odLmFh7rfjFIjceiepsPmIlWnKgNAO3BEzDBpNG10wLRSkksFz7M4PnMWQgK0gId/s320/pattern+picture.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="247" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/42338"> buy now</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFF_8f3RRe5InIjh08PZ8O6dNbCP3lpTLc1GMmJauN6HmNPuX-uLRE8UkJh4iTc56gGyhAFcYrPz0odLmFh7rfjFIjceiepsPmIlWnKgNAO3BEzDBpNG10wLRSkksFz7M4PnMWQgK0gId/s1600/pattern+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-88440629188657973482010-09-13T13:42:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.152-05:00Gilly's Big BowWay back in July I was sketching out an idea for a superbulky cardigan and the lady I sketched needed a big bow in her hair.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcp6XjhijvS4hRlacrSHJmcMSvomBqjpBZipB0wJsstdAOKhPB-itdkg2kqWO_K7coGPXKArrd7i2tetco_saCw9wQBpZRKpvggNibC4V4QOwZDotb_wHapVWfQv4rTiHyKtyrJvD-ObhO/s1600/photo(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcp6XjhijvS4hRlacrSHJmcMSvomBqjpBZipB0wJsstdAOKhPB-itdkg2kqWO_K7coGPXKArrd7i2tetco_saCw9wQBpZRKpvggNibC4V4QOwZDotb_wHapVWfQv4rTiHyKtyrJvD-ObhO/s400/photo(2).JPG" width="300" /></a></div>The next night, deep in the night, something silly was born. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs043.snc4/34509_1530620026214_1256156714_31445549_1962667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs043.snc4/34509_1530620026214_1256156714_31445549_1962667_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I went overboard. Waaay overboard. The thing weighed like a pound and would barely stay on the headband I put it on. I decided I needed to downscale a bit. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So I finally ended up with this</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs085.ash2/37566_1535138299168_1256156714_31455724_5495831_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs085.ash2/37566_1535138299168_1256156714_31455724_5495831_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yay! It only looks slightly silly! I wrote up the pattern, had it tested, and put it out as a fun little free pattern. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIB8stJ5QQUI9pUg72Gt_AhCjgUwVLsRyHQIxg5m-zc53Mk9Fr1cabXYia60nDarXdtjwAyPGNX3SchMXsX522yiLFkq2Fm5FcEAaN15aXOtY-4bKObuyqLsky7nOijRJG_MdPpp_H6zC/s1600/R0011034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIB8stJ5QQUI9pUg72Gt_AhCjgUwVLsRyHQIxg5m-zc53Mk9Fr1cabXYia60nDarXdtjwAyPGNX3SchMXsX522yiLFkq2Fm5FcEAaN15aXOtY-4bKObuyqLsky7nOijRJG_MdPpp_H6zC/s320/R0011034.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>You can download the pattern for yourself here:<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/dls/elizabeth-wolden-designs/40339?filename=Gilly_s_Big_Bow_Patt.pdf"> download now</a>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-26260221850876360922010-08-03T17:46:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.154-05:00Camping at Buckhorn State Park, WI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Last Monday afternoon we took off for Buckhorn State park. This is a fabulous place to camp with many campsites having their own private beaches. When we arrived we set up our campsite made dinner and jumped in the water. I think I spent the most time swimming since I was a kid. The water was lovely and warm.<br /><br />The next day we rented a canoe for the morning and explored the shore. There were a lot of interesting fungi and tiny moss and lichens. I love taking pictures of little things the best. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZk7Q_5vdEnZkF5WEu0j0wzBrbge51AKz1gd1FZi_R_AdAH_6TymtyxB7bP2D51Tk_bV4OkaDvoj6gqQPIOKqPhc_pD_KohpLehSxOZ5dS_wyIQrn7kG7APhR6gxJ8xdlPXQhhxU7pt4dO/s1600/R0011128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZk7Q_5vdEnZkF5WEu0j0wzBrbge51AKz1gd1FZi_R_AdAH_6TymtyxB7bP2D51Tk_bV4OkaDvoj6gqQPIOKqPhc_pD_KohpLehSxOZ5dS_wyIQrn7kG7APhR6gxJ8xdlPXQhhxU7pt4dO/s320/R0011128.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely Grassy Forest</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vXrhqtKRMKGfgdE9tLsk3mbzlUdlE4ItbvPObCtuJz1tFUyPnftWhqjek0F6RbOE3YSNxsy7Lk3cyOB5jZoHgwCW3OM9A0u1xEob8vF7b7vkeJdlcyG9s0hRR7O1kACtu9GoFGiC8Muy/s1600/R0011142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vXrhqtKRMKGfgdE9tLsk3mbzlUdlE4ItbvPObCtuJz1tFUyPnftWhqjek0F6RbOE3YSNxsy7Lk3cyOB5jZoHgwCW3OM9A0u1xEob8vF7b7vkeJdlcyG9s0hRR7O1kACtu9GoFGiC8Muy/s320/R0011142.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little red Canoe where we beached it to explore</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47u63F2YPMSWB3nG4ioE4VvnNB6eTfASyIAvHTO8I42p7KVMO96aeoMfrTQeHFJUbr2q4L1kvjbj47ACJRjJOlIgvRlBIoy4SYv9NqZA0B9q-Rzb6vnZ3Aj04T2iGapfzypn60IdE35uW/s1600/R0011147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47u63F2YPMSWB3nG4ioE4VvnNB6eTfASyIAvHTO8I42p7KVMO96aeoMfrTQeHFJUbr2q4L1kvjbj47ACJRjJOlIgvRlBIoy4SYv9NqZA0B9q-Rzb6vnZ3Aj04T2iGapfzypn60IdE35uW/s320/R0011147.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My silly sun hat! </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YfO_w79a61TeAyqpLq083UjmtFUDcx-4t6k2GfMwNWZZNzyhaAbfzAgO1JMiEju-BeOBEkbZPxsXtpJIuKaharBY-TJ3a6Z8klB-cGVpcJABqgVyiByxpS6ra-TfC-yI19L8k-lSqUcW/s1600/R0011152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YfO_w79a61TeAyqpLq083UjmtFUDcx-4t6k2GfMwNWZZNzyhaAbfzAgO1JMiEju-BeOBEkbZPxsXtpJIuKaharBY-TJ3a6Z8klB-cGVpcJABqgVyiByxpS6ra-TfC-yI19L8k-lSqUcW/s320/R0011152.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adorable mushroom in the moss</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoMGXDvWMGpoJ3CY1-nDfhVgJg4u6lyLsEG_OppePsUoFGTB0oLkDPNc-0wsKVhsInMjyxGzdh6cUeMVLR-f64hSPPpU9xAgrQxj5tOvhHmGhsfjwn0yXp7hYsgge-0lOq0o3ZvdB50Zj/s1600/R0011153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoMGXDvWMGpoJ3CY1-nDfhVgJg4u6lyLsEG_OppePsUoFGTB0oLkDPNc-0wsKVhsInMjyxGzdh6cUeMVLR-f64hSPPpU9xAgrQxj5tOvhHmGhsfjwn0yXp7hYsgge-0lOq0o3ZvdB50Zj/s320/R0011153.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one has grass growing through it!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxk0poIVCSJcJ4xPRZW5bN9FszkgJ_huLXK9AsMSy_7dmEB77XVvGxXTNuaiKPqo7DtZ13EhFzRfn6TCut0PFuBQaz60yiU3VR0g8mqT9iAhqxSVQDXQYmxody5D3lb6h80eP4JDnJ8D9R/s1600/R0011157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxk0poIVCSJcJ4xPRZW5bN9FszkgJ_huLXK9AsMSy_7dmEB77XVvGxXTNuaiKPqo7DtZ13EhFzRfn6TCut0PFuBQaz60yiU3VR0g8mqT9iAhqxSVQDXQYmxody5D3lb6h80eP4JDnJ8D9R/s320/R0011157.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phallic</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV91850bMTzY2wBA4S10lqajGeNz-7-lHN_aDX1dNU5iVeO_vPD9tUNixslWgzebVrSPns43H6AFhX__FLp2ZTIoKBm92WeIdXhgKxlvFOHI0gEPZj_AD-21dgQBJj2Jasth11MRg1soCp/s1600/R0011160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV91850bMTzY2wBA4S10lqajGeNz-7-lHN_aDX1dNU5iVeO_vPD9tUNixslWgzebVrSPns43H6AFhX__FLp2ZTIoKBm92WeIdXhgKxlvFOHI0gEPZj_AD-21dgQBJj2Jasth11MRg1soCp/s320/R0011160.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the ur mushroom</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It was really really windy when we were out on the lake so we didn't get far and it started to get really hot so it wasn't the best canoeing time ever but it was still fun. Eli didn't like it as much as me, he made faces.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFjvtGwUbkCtrnY-IdzeymYTltctdZw_7cgI0CtHzYqh90CJNoJSC2iCaL5Ji7rz-NN4GMnLANmmxyyDpf7RnjdpmH-zGvlVtMbDtLIz5xWLKwYApjU1VqWUOG86gVU377W6HV91Zawzu/s1600/R0011131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFjvtGwUbkCtrnY-IdzeymYTltctdZw_7cgI0CtHzYqh90CJNoJSC2iCaL5Ji7rz-NN4GMnLANmmxyyDpf7RnjdpmH-zGvlVtMbDtLIz5xWLKwYApjU1VqWUOG86gVU377W6HV91Zawzu/s320/R0011131.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Eli!</td></tr></tbody></table>I'll post about the rest of the trip in a later post, there are lots of lovely pictures to share. Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-9466500227791384112010-06-23T15:19:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.157-05:00Lady Jane GlovesSo I heard back from <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/">Knit Picks</a> today that they are going to publish my very first for-pay pattern! I went ahead and uploaded it to <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry</a> at the 1.99 price point. I was waiting to upload it until I heard from them so I could decide what price to place it at. The whole experience ended up being really fun. My pattern testers were great, my model was awesome and things just really clicked with the whole project. I think I've learned a lot and have really gained some confidence in my skills. I have also sent 2 proposals to Twist collective that I'm really excited about so I'll get working on them either way once I know if they are interested. So anyway, without further ado, here are some of photos of the lovely Michelle wearing the Lady Jane Gloves.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYjzr8VxgyK3Dp-Hc-2_5VpZpA-fclBjr8y5dw-HaM0OoVQqqbgiJaINY8yu1ZcWTMYh7G2EI6xrzUk7SYEJFJ7cTdlf0p349bW5qU8Qgeykd57Jvh-jO5dXptB7iQbVX_4xt_vq5kan4/s1600/glove+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYjzr8VxgyK3Dp-Hc-2_5VpZpA-fclBjr8y5dw-HaM0OoVQqqbgiJaINY8yu1ZcWTMYh7G2EI6xrzUk7SYEJFJ7cTdlf0p349bW5qU8Qgeykd57Jvh-jO5dXptB7iQbVX_4xt_vq5kan4/s400/glove+crop.jpg" width="193" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdJ_s9pAwvsiN6U3zGFMD6lXHQFTFPglq2X6vAJmboqW5cVkKYP6afCjWTz-G7G0h1AyFLKtb9ziBGLIolr1duG9D9UaaHnriSIk2SoHs47uNzRet7Eupi9htPrtjWyhCW0elhZRryFFj/s1600/R0010773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdJ_s9pAwvsiN6U3zGFMD6lXHQFTFPglq2X6vAJmboqW5cVkKYP6afCjWTz-G7G0h1AyFLKtb9ziBGLIolr1duG9D9UaaHnriSIk2SoHs47uNzRet7Eupi9htPrtjWyhCW0elhZRryFFj/s400/R0010773.JPG" width="273" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fGXY0R9ol9G2V6mOJBs_3IMpebm7PL_ijksVgxwIiCqBvHgMTvBn61H3e_qjKiXyC48_4EPRtf-vCL2S7X5l0i4NSFwba0Hnp1c2fG2QCmkJsCxW0UE4BV1yjJnGjUwcl8tI-CYn1umk/s1600/R0010767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fGXY0R9ol9G2V6mOJBs_3IMpebm7PL_ijksVgxwIiCqBvHgMTvBn61H3e_qjKiXyC48_4EPRtf-vCL2S7X5l0i4NSFwba0Hnp1c2fG2QCmkJsCxW0UE4BV1yjJnGjUwcl8tI-CYn1umk/s400/R0010767.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgvxgoGtlas-CfXo79xuyQAVlF4cZSh9o1SZMhIHduwv5GDuQawEnPmIClDBkN59L-9jvE_7Is1QiRvVM8JGRUyFUOz4OKaNVp5YjT-2YXFEDuMq5hGhgqJ8Oi8dcPIq2hnTiVnCt9IFi/s1600/R0010757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgvxgoGtlas-CfXo79xuyQAVlF4cZSh9o1SZMhIHduwv5GDuQawEnPmIClDBkN59L-9jvE_7Is1QiRvVM8JGRUyFUOz4OKaNVp5YjT-2YXFEDuMq5hGhgqJ8Oi8dcPIq2hnTiVnCt9IFi/s400/R0010757.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The photo shoot was fun but it was so hot and humid. I'm glad I didn't do a heavier makeup on her because it would have just run everywhere. The wind was a bit high too, but that just ended up giving the shots some drama. These were taken in the area right outside my back door. I love it because there are so many interesting buildings and alleyways to photograph. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/elizabeth-wolden-designs/38648">buy the pattern now</a>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-80527229250790364872010-04-23T19:35:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.159-05:00I'm Turning Japanese Story and (limited) TutorialSo a while back I watched <a href="http://www.twitvid.com/4E77A">this</a> video produced by artist Takashi Murakami and directed by McG. The video starred Kirsten Dunst dressed like a Sailor Moon type character complete with magic wand dancing and singing "I'm Turning Japanese". (with sparkles!) I have loved the work of Murakami since being introduced to it about 5 years ago by Eli. The colorful characters that seem happy and silly, but always with just a bit off about them that makes it all a bit creepy. The highly graphic and commercial aspects of his work simultaneously revel in and poke at anime and fan culture in Japan. The light bulb went on in my head as I'd been thinking about doing a new project since my McQueen tribute was on hold due to back-ordered yarn.<br /><br />I decided I <i>really</i> needed to make a Murakami inspired sweater. (Also watching the video about 20 times) Fresh off the toil of Eli's vest I was ready to take on another intarsia project and I thought the graphic flowers that populate Murakami's work would make an excellent motif. So I sat down and began to plan. I did a gauge swatch in some yarn I had left over from Eli's vest as I wanted to use Brown Sheep's Lanaloft Sports weight again. I've been a bit obsessed with this yarn and the colors were too perfect so I went with it. The gauge came out at 6 sts and 8 rows per inch on size five metal needles. So I went <a href="http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/">here</a> to get some proportional graph paper to plot out the sweater and make the charts for the flowers. I particularly like this website because you can make the paper vertical or horizontal, can have 2 different line weights and make paper exactly your gauge. My grid was exactly half size of my gauge so when I plotted the shaping of the sweater it was exactly half size. Before I did that with any degree of accuracy I sat down and spent and entire day making the 2 color charts for the flowers. Using photoshop and a googled reference image I made full color charts for myself to work from. I made 1 extra chart of the big flower without the black so would know where to put the colors exactly as I intended on embroidering the black in after. <br /><br />After making the charts I went to Interweave's <a href="http://www.interweave.com/Waist-Shaping-Calculator/">waist shaping calculator</a> (which is awesome) and made the required measurements of myself and input them. The calculator is for knitting in the round so I had to do some fiddling with the numbers to make them even so the corrugated rib worked nicely. I also input no ease into the calculations as I wanted this sweater to be fitted. I knew it would relax over time and be very comfortable with a small amount of positive ease. Taking these stitch counts and two pieces of graph paper I printed off I set to work plotting the back and the front onto the graph paper so I could place where and how many flowers were going to go on the sweater. I had a few false starts. I had printed the graph paper wrong the first time so the squares were taller than wider which started to shape up into a very tall sweater. Oops. I'm glad I caught it. When I finally had the back plotted out to the bust I started thinking about the shoulders. I recently bought Ann Budd's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Knitters-Handy-Book-Sweater-Patterns/dp/1931499438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272068717&sr=8-1">The Knitters Handy Book of Sweater Patterns</a> and I chose the set-in sleeve sweater size that was closest to the stitch counts from the waist shaping calculator. This was a mistake! The ease and size of armscye were huge! The chest size that was the same as mine had a 9in armscye. I'll get to how I fixed this later.<br /><br />I dutifully plotted out giant arm holes and placed the flowers on the sweater. For the small ones I cut out their size square out of some extra graph paper and traced them onto the sweater until I was happy with the placement. Then I drew some leaves in as the sweater looked a little bare and I didn't want to add more flowers. With the stems and leaves the front and back looked good and I cast on. I finished the back and realized looking at it and holding it up to my body that the armscyes were way too long! the waist shaping wasn't hitting at the right point the sleeves would have had to be HUGE. So I took my favorite and best fitting hoodie and measured both the armscye length and the shoulder rise and calculated that into stitches and revised my graphs. Then I fixed the back. The back flower is too close to the top now because of this, but it wasn't bad and I didn't want to reknit half of the back with some of the more difficult color work. I decided I could live with it. If I had it to do again I would have moved down out of the way of the collar. <br /><br />Another thing I did when plotting out the back of my sweater was to make the back narrower than the front by increasing 4 fewer stitches after the waist than the front. I find that if I do this my sweaters fit better and after some measuring I have figured out that my back is narrower than the my front. Your mileage on this may vary of course, but having a good knowledge of the size of various parts of your body to other parts and of how this may be different than "standard" is really helpful in getting a good fit. <br /><br />And so I finished the front and the back and sew them together for a fitting and it was good and I was happy. I was feeling flummoxed by how to make the puff sleeves I wanted as I couldn't really find any good info on what <i>shape</i> they needed to be in order to look the way I wanted them to look. So I started on the embroidery and it took what felt like forever. I think my knit buddies wanted to strangle me. I had this terrible compulsion to whine about it, all the time. Silly me!<br /><br />So I eventually got bored bored bored of embroidery and decided to tackle the sleeve o' doom. Seriously folks I think by the final edit I had done the sleeve about 7 times. Really. I had knit the entire stupid cuff about 3 times and after trying it on deemed it wrong in some way. <br /><br />So for those of you skimming this for the tutorial here it is. How to make a puff sleeve in a set in <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">armscye</span> by picking up and knitting and short rows. ( Make sure all your seams are sewn before hand)<br /><br />1. Starting in the middle of the underarm pick up and knit a stitch for every row all the way around the arm hole. For the underarm this will be 1 stitch for every underarm stitch. This is going to give you a lot of stitches and allow the sleeve to "puff"<br /><br />2. Knit back to the top of the sleeve (in the round) and knit to about 1.5 in after the shoulder seam. You are now going to begin short rows by wrapping and turning every row until you've consumed enough stitches to be just short of halfway down the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">armsyce</span> measuring from the shoulder seam to the underarm. <br /><br />3. Now you are going to continue to knit back and forth but instead of wrapping and turning you are going to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">ssk</span> on the knit side and p2tog on the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">purlside</span>. Do this for about 1.5 in or so. This will give the sleeve some length. You may want to do this more or less depending on your arms and where you wan the sleeve to end. I did it 8 times. <br /><br />4. Now knit plain in the round for about 2 inches.<br /><br />5. Place marker for underarm stitches and decrease all other stitches by half by k2tog. I used a trick I learned from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sweater-Design-English-Maggie-Righetti/dp/0312051646/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272068795&sr=1-1">Sweater Design in Plain English</a> to wrap the ribbing from the bottom of sweater around my arm at the tension I wanted and count the stitches to know how many to have for the ribbing. Mine was 64 which was about 4 stitches less than I got by halving the stitches not part of the underarm so I decreased the extra in the next row. Regardless of weather you need to decrease a few more stitches you should do another row before starting the ribbing so the great number of k2togs don't interact badly with the ribbing. It can look like there are holes.<br /><br />And that is how after much trial and error I finished the sleeves. I did a nifty little i-cord bind off that prevent the corrugated ribbing from curling and kept it tight. If you use one color ribbing this wouldn't be necessary. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKqaqVbho9N0o9Ni0QmaaN6FcrupXSqKaV-e_TmEIarWI15NCYKO1jBJTeDB8TDzBtisZDnm-iPvn-m4Kxx7ZJWMlKpV0w87hKUktcnCK2Gqeh044zDkerTVZZtY5ytjzXRbSqSCbCGSG/s1600/R0010355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKqaqVbho9N0o9Ni0QmaaN6FcrupXSqKaV-e_TmEIarWI15NCYKO1jBJTeDB8TDzBtisZDnm-iPvn-m4Kxx7ZJWMlKpV0w87hKUktcnCK2Gqeh044zDkerTVZZtY5ytjzXRbSqSCbCGSG/s320/R0010355.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />After finishing the sleeves I picked up stitches in white around the neck to start the collar. I picked them up from the outside in so that it wouldn't show when you look at it. I decided on reverse stockinette with garter borders because it would curl over the neckline nicely <i>and </i>lay flat (because the border) I knit it flat with a circular needle and slipped the edges to make a little bit lacy decorative edge. I increased every fourth row every ten stitches with a lifted increase so it would be as invisible as possible. Its about 2.5 inches long with 4 rows of garter stitch at the edge and 2 edge stitches in garter stitch. I bound off a bit too tightly and make go back and fix it at some point but for now I'm pretty happy with the way it came out overall and it fits like a dream. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH2q3hh_Ol8G4MO-iRXiospS_ipfjxXdiPrZ-4OKwu-288zpMs0j4qxXKAWqBuce6Acy3SBVWhPyjTcN6hXuV8Vgy26GmCs7zHmOymAZyUCQ4EiVjLo7vWLzxAkbgru6v9ClyJqU3-nSA/s1600/R0010524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH2q3hh_Ol8G4MO-iRXiospS_ipfjxXdiPrZ-4OKwu-288zpMs0j4qxXKAWqBuce6Acy3SBVWhPyjTcN6hXuV8Vgy26GmCs7zHmOymAZyUCQ4EiVjLo7vWLzxAkbgru6v9ClyJqU3-nSA/s400/R0010524.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-75290709134714640632010-03-22T19:38:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.163-05:00So I finally finished that vest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UJXU2zoTs75rHiweOeM9XWfK6LFN9Ue9UMjuR_DA0b_B1xO2qpbBq55PnVLfB7l8WSxwysl9V92EiebJdwt244i8Ir7QVqSBfljinXaZgQ8uwxkHTQlrAQt9uIFvsAe3Trh9JIrml8fO/s1600-h/R0010263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UJXU2zoTs75rHiweOeM9XWfK6LFN9Ue9UMjuR_DA0b_B1xO2qpbBq55PnVLfB7l8WSxwysl9V92EiebJdwt244i8Ir7QVqSBfljinXaZgQ8uwxkHTQlrAQt9uIFvsAe3Trh9JIrml8fO/s320/R0010263.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> So I finally am totally done with the argyle! After finishing the first vest and having it come out 4" too big in the chest, and doing it all again in a different color, I am very happy with the result. Eli doesn't like having his picture taken but I explained it was the price he had to pay for hand-knits. For what it's worth <i>I </i>think he's handsome but he loves to make put-out faces for the camera. Here is a nice close up of the vest.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGU_0jXhRR3LVPrXwGRu6G4I59Ci646FsaUNDyWwFT1eGIOEor-keGSiQHeos4S9CvBXapLKf7XOx4-feRXGOJ-qjwz741Ppoa77nOzM3o8kc4-RO3SBh7pOVWXFvDa4rJIy07c1MlnOb/s1600-h/R0010270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGU_0jXhRR3LVPrXwGRu6G4I59Ci646FsaUNDyWwFT1eGIOEor-keGSiQHeos4S9CvBXapLKf7XOx4-feRXGOJ-qjwz741Ppoa77nOzM3o8kc4-RO3SBh7pOVWXFvDa4rJIy07c1MlnOb/s320/R0010270.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The crisscross lines on it are duplicate stitch embroidered after the knitting and sewing together and pretty much everything was done. It was a bit of a slog, that last bit, I just SO wanted to be done with it! And so I am. I really think this was one of the nicer things I've made. I did make a big modification to the pattern by making it 6 stitches smaller on the front and the back. I basically followed the directions but just decreased the size. The pattern was nicely done but I don't know why you'd want a vest like this to have 4" of ease. My vest of fail showed that clearly it isn't very attractive. Who knows? Do most men really like everything 2 sizes too big? Anyway here are a few more photo's of Eli hamming it up. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTR1cTLWtNznOIUAIdd5HrT9nEXdzVBxG7LMNjBmr-y0qkcXgnIbfUTEHNdVqlFOwGhyphenhyphenEQCrD0xMvQWSKzXsM2ShI4SK7ZhXp7JhSYvC70w_KIOuPDgUjkLi1QkV1xmNbhKKk-T28hoiik/s1600-h/R0010246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTR1cTLWtNznOIUAIdd5HrT9nEXdzVBxG7LMNjBmr-y0qkcXgnIbfUTEHNdVqlFOwGhyphenhyphenEQCrD0xMvQWSKzXsM2ShI4SK7ZhXp7JhSYvC70w_KIOuPDgUjkLi1QkV1xmNbhKKk-T28hoiik/s320/R0010246.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn1Gfnkt-rwI33hKeT48b_BvXFgDpVt0_h7RaMTo64DC911etgnfr9PP_z-EzfUf9dBIjXU_shEmSHOJo-Aq7jMBN_ra7Pjl1blpJBn7UpSUPy_jY063q2gHIXS3RpTKb3ca7gRMRoI86/s1600-h/R0010259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn1Gfnkt-rwI33hKeT48b_BvXFgDpVt0_h7RaMTo64DC911etgnfr9PP_z-EzfUf9dBIjXU_shEmSHOJo-Aq7jMBN_ra7Pjl1blpJBn7UpSUPy_jY063q2gHIXS3RpTKb3ca7gRMRoI86/s320/R0010259.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpetxqBaSGV8TvgtZVcgwQh_7ufY0D-a4omt-UCZA2ZW4BbycquLMzZBGpgUYaJe56YvDngx-3IBLgNpgLdl4Kb85eYKr6eMyM4tTxGmErt5NRhyphenhyphenlKe9XLStBOCbC0eNUCikh7qpNNP8B/s1600-h/R0010274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpetxqBaSGV8TvgtZVcgwQh_7ufY0D-a4omt-UCZA2ZW4BbycquLMzZBGpgUYaJe56YvDngx-3IBLgNpgLdl4Kb85eYKr6eMyM4tTxGmErt5NRhyphenhyphenlKe9XLStBOCbC0eNUCikh7qpNNP8B/s320/R0010274.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfv9Ckww9B4bSn4s8-FskUjvLLCrU4X674Djs9Mo7WkbVLjBg4Jcbh4UuBGZ-dEukwlGZ55DXBSbWN4uJGkqC3NV_Q3e3gjdv9qGD4Atlg5D1eDqG8IYFlE8_2VA6wmXdNTVsUMkjv4N7/s1600-h/R0010281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfv9Ckww9B4bSn4s8-FskUjvLLCrU4X674Djs9Mo7WkbVLjBg4Jcbh4UuBGZ-dEukwlGZ55DXBSbWN4uJGkqC3NV_Q3e3gjdv9qGD4Atlg5D1eDqG8IYFlE8_2VA6wmXdNTVsUMkjv4N7/s320/R0010281.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-75336339294839595952010-03-10T22:19:00.000-06:002010-10-11T15:31:49.166-05:00Busy busy!So I've been obsessively reading the forums on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry </a>and ordered 4 books through inter-library loan and all of this has been about learning to be a designer. I really want to beef up my skills on designing my own garments and learning to make the things I knit fit better. The books I got from the library are Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop, Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook by Montse Stanley, The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe, Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti, and The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNlsVgiOg0LpXJT88daa_scCa7NFHctaEnui0NOwW3gcsj2iIzuwit-s_MbAS0I2mbwlOu8MizIX9QW0OZ-xc1r8Lq2a8nAVpLagQULqHG0Tm-AABq3oEZdqVwv8fG0005avsmgeKZXvR/s1600-h/R0010172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNlsVgiOg0LpXJT88daa_scCa7NFHctaEnui0NOwW3gcsj2iIzuwit-s_MbAS0I2mbwlOu8MizIX9QW0OZ-xc1r8Lq2a8nAVpLagQULqHG0Tm-AABq3oEZdqVwv8fG0005avsmgeKZXvR/s320/R0010172.JPG" /></a></div>I spent the afternoon browsing these books and I think the most helpful one is going to be the Sweater Design in Plain English. It seems like a really straightforward guide to making garments that fit and work the way you want. The other books certainly have value (The principles of Knitting had 30 types of cast on) but turned out to be in short supply of the things I really wanted to know. I used reviews on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon</a> to decide what to get from the library because I think I'll likely want to buy the ones that seem most useful. <br /><br />The Principles of Knitting is out of print and very expensive to get so I feel lucky that another library was willing to send it here so I could take a look. It was very talked up but it seems persnickety (she is convinced that there is only one right way to knit) and somewhat dated. It has a lot of information but most of it I already know and or have for reference in other books. I'm glad I didn't shell out for in all honesty. <br /><br />Of the books I got I think the Color knitting book is the most useless. There is a little info in there but I think I'd much rather have a book of stranded/fair-isle designs. A lot of what is in the book is god-awful ugly and will make me not want to use it. To be fair it did give me the idea to use shaping to make intarsia patterns more than cross-stitch looking. That was worth walking it home from the library anyway. <br /><br />On other fronts I've finished the back of Eli's vest and have a few inches done on the front. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvHk61bKa6wgIs2BWKVv4ZP3ZwU8iMbvR_Qc1bXqKBLrjg3GBt_TE_3hQ6vkGuhUrJqhPPsbGL5RE_p6A8wUZJo7ToZ29mOt-SphHLQbIuTVzWxBGT_Mj3YU-O7b_8L7463PW5Duz0jbQ/s1600-h/R0010175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvHk61bKa6wgIs2BWKVv4ZP3ZwU8iMbvR_Qc1bXqKBLrjg3GBt_TE_3hQ6vkGuhUrJqhPPsbGL5RE_p6A8wUZJo7ToZ29mOt-SphHLQbIuTVzWxBGT_Mj3YU-O7b_8L7463PW5Duz0jbQ/s320/R0010175.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvadINWtHj9rD7s1RAE2w2Yp7-wRvnCVeqGa1EZWXDXBECL2wL9-svcz7iiEak3WGKfIIq3nnhwFtiRLD0mHOL-5adII4vfSLwiaXi0M5yJ3KM1LrQOpKP2ZAifX8ptK-aXj063eEfquLX/s1600-h/R0010173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvadINWtHj9rD7s1RAE2w2Yp7-wRvnCVeqGa1EZWXDXBECL2wL9-svcz7iiEak3WGKfIIq3nnhwFtiRLD0mHOL-5adII4vfSLwiaXi0M5yJ3KM1LrQOpKP2ZAifX8ptK-aXj063eEfquLX/s320/R0010173.JPG" /></a></div><br />I have a few ends to weave in on the back still and of course the argyle lines to embroider on but this vest is very much actually the right <i>size</i> this time. I measured. And measured. The first one I made came out 4" too big and looked like a really ugly argyle sack on the poor man. Maybe I'll feel ok enought about someday to take some funny pictures. <br /><br />The Alexander McQueen tribute is on a bit of a hold while I wait for more yarn to arrive. I'm terrible at estimating yardage, but it usually works out ok because I work at the Yarn Exchange and live a block away so I just run and get a bit more. This time though I bought all 3 skeins that we had of the Lanaloft Bulky in Cottage White so I'll have to wait until we get more in. I did have to frog a bit of it because of an irredeemable and complicated-to-explain mistake so I took some pictures of my progress off the needles. Its coming along just like I planned! What a good feeling despite the mistake. It was a bit fun to frog it on the floor like that. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5M7WSc6HQLSWFoYNWkZkuMzHWGZewn2noRqXSz0T39RsKyVAi7rvpXZ4l7C0Y5x7OkjB39Rk9ssj0KTgEYEnwucsXHrWsACdG0nojMrTGbV4UMfb_1YHPWIs4NWAsPd73HR0gNqGDVfR9/s1600-h/R0010165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5M7WSc6HQLSWFoYNWkZkuMzHWGZewn2noRqXSz0T39RsKyVAi7rvpXZ4l7C0Y5x7OkjB39Rk9ssj0KTgEYEnwucsXHrWsACdG0nojMrTGbV4UMfb_1YHPWIs4NWAsPd73HR0gNqGDVfR9/s320/R0010165.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVN7dp44cxbyWIMDGMlr94fsFyCBBEtNOmBaRUxlP2YaP0MQRFTu6-rUqNYKoO_qxD89GFOu8W1861VzZwUCFpzwpO3wqxeV_zjRRAkaKl_PbcWmljfeWfF6iYSkW0PaNytA0HaeIkAOi-/s1600-h/R0010169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVN7dp44cxbyWIMDGMlr94fsFyCBBEtNOmBaRUxlP2YaP0MQRFTu6-rUqNYKoO_qxD89GFOu8W1861VzZwUCFpzwpO3wqxeV_zjRRAkaKl_PbcWmljfeWfF6iYSkW0PaNytA0HaeIkAOi-/s320/R0010169.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNY_PqDbI_Uyajfit_sa-k13b946TE7q1Rgx0LdpzF3nhyLz3VKSy-sdsu7pVMK22Ka5hfTquMrGlVpk2sNBw0FAgISh5allbPOHZgLjJfCEWTRiP3bHBWrVbV9IOguWIzdWUkUikwq6K/s1600-h/R0010171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNY_PqDbI_Uyajfit_sa-k13b946TE7q1Rgx0LdpzF3nhyLz3VKSy-sdsu7pVMK22Ka5hfTquMrGlVpk2sNBw0FAgISh5allbPOHZgLjJfCEWTRiP3bHBWrVbV9IOguWIzdWUkUikwq6K/s320/R0010171.JPG" /></a></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-72967530162668070882010-03-06T13:18:00.000-06:002010-10-11T15:31:49.168-05:00ThoughtsI had a fun moment of magical thinking the other night when the fan in my computer decided to stop working. I decided I would take it apart and see if I could see what was wrong. I finally got it apart (after taking out about 100 screws) and saw nothing wrong but dust and cat hair so I vacuumed it out and spun the fan around a bit and screwed it back together and then it worked fine. *shrug*. Who knows?? The power of randomly taking shit apart I suppose. It's out of warranty now so I figured I couldn't mess it up worse.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26646863@N08/4411764998/"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4411764998_2c8a18a24c_m.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" border="0" height="209" width="281" /></a></center><br />The object of irritation! <br /><p class="blogpress_location">Location:<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Illinois%2038,DeKalb,United%20States%4041.930510%2C-88.753153&z=10">Illinois 38,DeKalb,United States</a></p>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-7199195754706418042010-03-03T16:05:00.000-06:002010-10-11T15:31:49.170-05:00Nifty Thrifty<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">So I went thrift shopping this afternoon and was rather productive. Uh well I spent a gob of money anyway. I got this lovely tea service with 6 cups and saucers for $15. The only thing missing is the lid to the sugar jar sadly, but I couldn't leave it. Its gorgeous and I didn't have a whole one. So mod. The mark is Melitta, Germany. I got this from Lavish Thrift where I'd been wanting it for nearly a year. It started out at $40 so I don't feel like I've done too badly.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegy18HuuHjXx1z5SvWyXAsWy6uYWKmX59jRRzS48M7X6zO_LrD7jLnsFq7a67liOfYyFfRQKZjLWnKKioJPvtcMiKufUn2GOqcu8VpMgVQDimwtNKSvDskyLHot1Z9_ELTHf2MY0g-Hqq/s1600-h/R0010153.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegy18HuuHjXx1z5SvWyXAsWy6uYWKmX59jRRzS48M7X6zO_LrD7jLnsFq7a67liOfYyFfRQKZjLWnKKioJPvtcMiKufUn2GOqcu8VpMgVQDimwtNKSvDskyLHot1Z9_ELTHf2MY0g-Hqq/s320/R0010153.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444537658673604978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I also went to the new consignment store 2 doors down from me. Its still pretty empty but they had a table full of fantastic jewelry really cheap. Oh I went I bit nuts. I promise I did leave some behind. First up is this lovely pair of gold plated filigree earrings with jade that were $6. I am currently wearing them. They are light and darling. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyifMct_E_Tx_wNsiiD4QQJVsSHqJc3mBaEgU8xbkYWcE1nfqxTf-cNaRnOirY7LjYkYtoK3vbWPaR2doJITVtdT6anTGXarr9Sd68zSlpe4gN39CSRoyhMRmt4LZk5mnqgwrCJioZLgW1/s1600-h/R0010151.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyifMct_E_Tx_wNsiiD4QQJVsSHqJc3mBaEgU8xbkYWcE1nfqxTf-cNaRnOirY7LjYkYtoK3vbWPaR2doJITVtdT6anTGXarr9Sd68zSlpe4gN39CSRoyhMRmt4LZk5mnqgwrCJioZLgW1/s320/R0010151.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444535531331674722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Next up is the lovely mid century modern sterling fish pin. This guy was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">sooooo</span> cool. I think he's going to go on my pink cape. He was $7<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofSoUvLK-SDAEeTOxJX9Lal1YX5xF-f4uDyyMqVKRL0VdqMEQh7_YCZCMa4VTuDsEz0VvTi2LGeR8WzLBgr4aSTSPsXZ_zaDeRf1dlvDuSrtjYs0RTKfZvGM5GoGrkPPB0hIRbeCG_txb/s1600-h/R0010149.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofSoUvLK-SDAEeTOxJX9Lal1YX5xF-f4uDyyMqVKRL0VdqMEQh7_YCZCMa4VTuDsEz0VvTi2LGeR8WzLBgr4aSTSPsXZ_zaDeRf1dlvDuSrtjYs0RTKfZvGM5GoGrkPPB0hIRbeCG_txb/s320/R0010149.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444535526074972562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is a lovely brass enameled pin that looked really sharp on my green coat. $6<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbkh4SV1pEtkzm0looEC0fDWHIpaLikkEp8BHjDDUyq6rjXgz8CuiMUWeGa0LWFb4aAg1YLK6PGYkv5kzZjJ2dsjJuQZrkjZKL2dXkAY_d6xQo7HFsOf2bcKT3faw2P0kqNoC-0vbg6b3/s1600-h/R0010147.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbkh4SV1pEtkzm0looEC0fDWHIpaLikkEp8BHjDDUyq6rjXgz8CuiMUWeGa0LWFb4aAg1YLK6PGYkv5kzZjJ2dsjJuQZrkjZKL2dXkAY_d6xQo7HFsOf2bcKT3faw2P0kqNoC-0vbg6b3/s320/R0010147.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444535513647950642" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The the most awesome thing was this brass and pearl lapel chain. Oh jeez I saw one of these in a magazine a while back I wanted one <span style="font-style: italic;">bad.</span> Now it is mine! 8$<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9amgFX_FvP0FXtYYhNiCSEbaIkK1zgp-BFBiP8xQr2Bl2J98t8GfUlTprZcMpU4LZJDopXwrST2VyCyORyp8wiV9Ck7opfpIgvegCQT_FodaDd437ZKU2SDE3TDphRTiX1p7s6KQGOeR/s1600-h/R0010145.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9amgFX_FvP0FXtYYhNiCSEbaIkK1zgp-BFBiP8xQr2Bl2J98t8GfUlTprZcMpU4LZJDopXwrST2VyCyORyp8wiV9Ck7opfpIgvegCQT_FodaDd437ZKU2SDE3TDphRTiX1p7s6KQGOeR/s320/R0010145.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444535504368004450" border="0" /></a></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiON48BGbpsjGIozseUH1wxTU6cUNylpn9UlZCMpCiCiAXZtTJht0b9bgFucgSW_tiaessW81TjOyI6CzlxAc8Jf2W0M-7WdiA5W7oJXJKek4qifz4fY94kFDMcMcg28pF2zQhAdauS8r/s1600-h/R0010146.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiON48BGbpsjGIozseUH1wxTU6cUNylpn9UlZCMpCiCiAXZtTJht0b9bgFucgSW_tiaessW81TjOyI6CzlxAc8Jf2W0M-7WdiA5W7oJXJKek4qifz4fY94kFDMcMcg28pF2zQhAdauS8r/s320/R0010146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444535510359695794" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then I bought an assorted set of mid century mod drinking glasses and a carafe. They were too much but they make me happy. Plus we've broken a few glasses lately so I think we needed a few that weren't the ugly POM ones. $25 for the set.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftZj_7SLmVD-8fAQjSSSmlcUqBQiw3ZiLFNutqE3an2wGclkq8urhhZVarItkJDO-lSEsxmbuJGpsglGyrJON1A3o-TToqE0_dMKUPsl1g_aUhFJFBVTpw5HXztMHHPnOHxF9bTemUVQx/s1600-h/R0010143.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftZj_7SLmVD-8fAQjSSSmlcUqBQiw3ZiLFNutqE3an2wGclkq8urhhZVarItkJDO-lSEsxmbuJGpsglGyrJON1A3o-TToqE0_dMKUPsl1g_aUhFJFBVTpw5HXztMHHPnOHxF9bTemUVQx/s320/R0010143.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444533471185266402" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqzHDaoRmXZVq35-OoWWbAejXuZyAc6tEXCGKldJiSSNpxxOaupzHEctsdyH3SbDw_4hmpJ3ZWPz93u7oAPBPYpiE1RqYxBfAnmDWquPfUjxZRWkngPlRWwmWByMPVpSIaEvRgpTq73zA/s1600-h/R0010142.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqzHDaoRmXZVq35-OoWWbAejXuZyAc6tEXCGKldJiSSNpxxOaupzHEctsdyH3SbDw_4hmpJ3ZWPz93u7oAPBPYpiE1RqYxBfAnmDWquPfUjxZRWkngPlRWwmWByMPVpSIaEvRgpTq73zA/s320/R0010142.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444533464984222322" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzf4uCWw-Ngan0wH60LFptsF8S5IVaVl22z3S0XQiUTP_aOgFRSWAm4Hsi3HU5c0pdOPY6Rpw-6zzAQ3tM2p7glNbbk2VdHzijLHpaWp9BA7jBq6ZxgE7EFsHOgGZXLpr4-uYxbjZMVvHq/s1600-h/R0010141.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzf4uCWw-Ngan0wH60LFptsF8S5IVaVl22z3S0XQiUTP_aOgFRSWAm4Hsi3HU5c0pdOPY6Rpw-6zzAQ3tM2p7glNbbk2VdHzijLHpaWp9BA7jBq6ZxgE7EFsHOgGZXLpr4-uYxbjZMVvHq/s320/R0010141.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444533454635239090" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxLACA0ePggpj6MY5MT35nLw-bUhD69Cdnp1IcYngdq5EvEqb962HpMAsDE42ovbgXty395OvULqk5GDBDnuuvWUUrCUFLs1Bli0p8lzwZuwcUjZ-WhwjCdj6ZVzLJQlOjSuCCFHVphHl/s1600-h/R0010140.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxLACA0ePggpj6MY5MT35nLw-bUhD69Cdnp1IcYngdq5EvEqb962HpMAsDE42ovbgXty395OvULqk5GDBDnuuvWUUrCUFLs1Bli0p8lzwZuwcUjZ-WhwjCdj6ZVzLJQlOjSuCCFHVphHl/s320/R0010140.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444533446424550690" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uqw-mcZw1kFjDppaVHbiAhDFq7GcDczMphsXxhuwM0MlF88p4jQDp1ULIKxrpbPR7UX3unzMnsMzULJkmN6yRqTLLPVge_-f7jdEVuNiFla7km4bkDBkbCF_mjh-I_TCfWniMTRnAr0U/s1600-h/R0010134.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uqw-mcZw1kFjDppaVHbiAhDFq7GcDczMphsXxhuwM0MlF88p4jQDp1ULIKxrpbPR7UX3unzMnsMzULJkmN6yRqTLLPVge_-f7jdEVuNiFla7km4bkDBkbCF_mjh-I_TCfWniMTRnAr0U/s320/R0010134.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444533433145369698" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-87277485369591976492010-03-02T22:31:00.000-06:002010-10-11T15:31:49.173-05:00Swatches swatchesI've been working pretty hard on getting everything ready to start the Idea. I've done my calculations wrote a chart for the stitch pattern and made some really large swatches.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4403198460_ff3767a2f6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 285px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4403198460_ff3767a2f6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4403199802_1ca967a904.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4403199802_1ca967a904.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/4402434515_9c7f034805.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/4402434515_9c7f034805.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The really large swatches were necessary to see how the worsted and bulky weight yarns handled the stitch pattern. I went through my stitch pattern book several times and found patterns that were close to what I wanted but I ended up writing one that was similar to others, but did exactly what I needed it to.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I've also completed the yoke portion. I don't know how happy I am about it. I'm not sure that portion is going to work, but I'm willing to sit on it until I get the skirt done. I just don't know how it is going to look when it gets sewn to the side. Also I need to frog a bit of the back and make it shorter as it somehow got too long.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4403205550_325604b62a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4403205550_325604b62a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I've made 30 lower portions of the leaf motif as a cast on for the skirt. I realized at some point yesterday that I was really going to need to buy a 60" circular. OMG. The poor thing is <span style="font-style: italic;">stuffed</span> on it. Good thing it has to decrease pretty quickly. One round takes about an hour at this point so I think this thing will take longer than I was thinking. Also I'll probably need more yarn. Oi. I should have known this would get out of hand. :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4403202646_b10dca1015.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4403202646_b10dca1015.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-2449664079456583852010-02-25T12:24:00.000-06:002010-10-11T15:31:49.175-05:00Testing testing<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/02/25/709.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/02/25/s_709.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I am testing this blogger app for my iPhone. I took this picture of Eli and Asuka a couple of weeks ago. Asuka decided she needed to be on Eli's shoulders. Hee.<br /> <br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Illinois%2038,DeKalb,United%20States%4041.930496%2C-88.753151&z=10'>Illinois 38,DeKalb,United States</a></p>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-54960016062403744742010-02-24T23:06:00.000-06:002010-10-11T15:31:49.177-05:00It's been such a long time...Lately I've been lured away by facebook, getting out all my little thoughts and dramas in succinct and slightly thoughtless blurbs. But I have had an Idea that will not be quelled and I think the process of working through the Idea is worth documenting in blog format. Anyway the genesis of the Idea began with Alexander McQueen.<br /><br />As you all may or may not know Alexander McQueen <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/13/MNI01C0M1F.DTL">killed himself</a> on February 11th 2010. He was one of the most visionary and artistic fashion designers ever to send a dress down the runway and I actually cried when I heard he had died. I found his work challenging and beautiful and was continually inspired by it. I felt moved to examine my grief for his genius by trying to replicate his aesthetic in a knitted work of my own. I felt very driven to do this and haven't had this fevered a desire in a long time. I began by googling for retrospectives of his work and a few images really grabbed and stood out to me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHEoxnFHQRlbEIGFqbX9huCITcqwGxE93cnY8tEL23fr0MkM17OLY9-wbM8yNhm8lZ0EdMY5WDImX6uLuX5sj9xvUkvnyh8WuFxxLyFF-mWkjVdhFr7vMsXdqZGyA1sJZ3n1joxKymQKD/s1600-h/00340m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHEoxnFHQRlbEIGFqbX9huCITcqwGxE93cnY8tEL23fr0MkM17OLY9-wbM8yNhm8lZ0EdMY5WDImX6uLuX5sj9xvUkvnyh8WuFxxLyFF-mWkjVdhFr7vMsXdqZGyA1sJZ3n1joxKymQKD/s320/00340m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442047059256245010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnnRrdnWtpz0_1ObCHKGK6B9adUz_-xCp4A3Xr6bh99t4ZHoVxL8NdNnwSakzYysDpy2Phn4uCeKqILO_ZLeSxNHnma6mHjenwVrl7WreojOM1V0K4Vg4ieIO1UIcCC2OoT5QieTWmxd-/s1600-h/00130m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnnRrdnWtpz0_1ObCHKGK6B9adUz_-xCp4A3Xr6bh99t4ZHoVxL8NdNnwSakzYysDpy2Phn4uCeKqILO_ZLeSxNHnma6mHjenwVrl7WreojOM1V0K4Vg4ieIO1UIcCC2OoT5QieTWmxd-/s320/00130m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442047539394919522" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfEIFaVZGP_nhuvlKRTRB3yth_zFbIVseVejKgAN3VuJ0GKRm1xUO6gZgw6ZTUFH_BZrrKEHKmPg7_igWP5p8y1zVFI7i0QbQG8XAUVNUIKr2INpjJkgXXUHWu026_iBNRL2VOrXNucDU/s1600-h/00230m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfEIFaVZGP_nhuvlKRTRB3yth_zFbIVseVejKgAN3VuJ0GKRm1xUO6gZgw6ZTUFH_BZrrKEHKmPg7_igWP5p8y1zVFI7i0QbQG8XAUVNUIKr2INpjJkgXXUHWu026_iBNRL2VOrXNucDU/s320/00230m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442047843756088258" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml2uXaZXdROOPzqmE6lgoBJccoE0zAXp9UrkE4n2NHIhaYcg1NOTM1Dz-TVmDXZGopw5ItjJllQ7-_WQL9u0qPuxCe5BWRUbgyi3O939tlddeEvZPzrjdMyygY3c8JdsEr8A0NS09mcMM/s1600-h/00210m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml2uXaZXdROOPzqmE6lgoBJccoE0zAXp9UrkE4n2NHIhaYcg1NOTM1Dz-TVmDXZGopw5ItjJllQ7-_WQL9u0qPuxCe5BWRUbgyi3O939tlddeEvZPzrjdMyygY3c8JdsEr8A0NS09mcMM/s320/00210m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442047709552204274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulxEn24bfip0r3HYxCB8UnwbImOQWw2yuVGfwESP_vaEhvDDT8fVgg6fk9Wbi5bZPUMhWT-WpKHG1ll5u150WGknPynhZxsvbUkeFKxesl0sfJhrULr_MhCvURs6B4DQ-voJp-b6Sn_-Z/s1600-h/00450m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulxEn24bfip0r3HYxCB8UnwbImOQWw2yuVGfwESP_vaEhvDDT8fVgg6fk9Wbi5bZPUMhWT-WpKHG1ll5u150WGknPynhZxsvbUkeFKxesl0sfJhrULr_MhCvURs6B4DQ-voJp-b6Sn_-Z/s320/00450m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442048163612325666" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />What really struck me as overarching theme in lot of his work was a certain historicity, body consciousness and emphasis on texture. I played these ideas around in my head and came up with this sketch.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7jQRWWYj6ZIMw0pgdtar78NSkmIvq6ATAOsqWcFhRiWSMhWPkqZUyB_Gs4Uso8Jja09_Lvww6NPc_va2iQ5XLeXkqFktB4MLUbE0acuOR8-WpasThSc71NgWpB-oENnXT0i8Q656MMFw/s1600-h/R0010116.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7jQRWWYj6ZIMw0pgdtar78NSkmIvq6ATAOsqWcFhRiWSMhWPkqZUyB_Gs4Uso8Jja09_Lvww6NPc_va2iQ5XLeXkqFktB4MLUbE0acuOR8-WpasThSc71NgWpB-oENnXT0i8Q656MMFw/s320/R0010116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442049034408447986" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">You'll have to forgive my drawing ability, I'm terribly rusty as I haven't done any real drawing or sketching in years. But the idea is there. I feel like the Idea captures the body consciousness and the textural elements that I was going for. I don't know if anyone but me will ever see Alexander McQueen in it, but if I can pull it off I think I'll feel mighty proud of myself.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">I have picked out the yarn and have done some swatching. Here are some photos of the yarn and my work area. I'm really wishing I had a dress form these days. <br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwG-D-FtNMbeEDe8nzj0jHt52-R_sdQ3aAQLZ587TDYczwh4rkQI8lMDQTS9ecduoLQM82N35aGZaDllEAHb3nZiYxIZhjSTtO2gEnvd9e8QAikU8N_vJxJQPYPKsTJvCLS2O6uUIZgcoI/s1600-h/R0010115.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwG-D-FtNMbeEDe8nzj0jHt52-R_sdQ3aAQLZ587TDYczwh4rkQI8lMDQTS9ecduoLQM82N35aGZaDllEAHb3nZiYxIZhjSTtO2gEnvd9e8QAikU8N_vJxJQPYPKsTJvCLS2O6uUIZgcoI/s320/R0010115.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442050681631252162" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1X-DK5jw5Wukoz8rd5Q6FD1qdWtSexwhzuXxUmNofjXGUHgfWHt5LS_jfQYXs4NhyphenhyphenxF6MV1J-5Eq0APlq1AlEdRt3B9VF9ThjfwSXYH2DSLb8T7O9l2VfKSnl1IGp0oir_X6e5yAwMhH/s1600-h/R0010117.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1X-DK5jw5Wukoz8rd5Q6FD1qdWtSexwhzuXxUmNofjXGUHgfWHt5LS_jfQYXs4NhyphenhyphenxF6MV1J-5Eq0APlq1AlEdRt3B9VF9ThjfwSXYH2DSLb8T7O9l2VfKSnl1IGp0oir_X6e5yAwMhH/s320/R0010117.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442051421881691810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>So the yarn I'm using is Brown Sheep's Lanaloft in Bulky and Worsted. Its a soft single ply wool with a lot of stitch definition and loft. The dark grey will be for the yoke and the cream for the lace portion. I think this dress will need some heavy duty foundation garments but I've been angling for a reason to buy the fancy pair of <a href="http://www.spanx.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2990122&cp=2992553.3010022&parentPage=family">Spanx</a> I've had my eye on. I'm currently in the process of charting stitch pattern that will be what I want because despite having a pretty comprehensive collection of stitch patterns I couldn't find one that was just what I wanted. It gave me a lot of ideas to make what I wanted after I swatched a few that were similar. I think that this dress will need a lot of negative ease for the lozenge shapes to really pop and It will need a good amount of blocking. The yarn I'm using is pretty thick though, so I think it won't take too long to knit once I've planned it. But oh the planning!<br /><br />Thinking about making this dress leaves me feeling like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff. The yarn was not inexpensive and I'm afraid to fail to accomplish what I want to do. I've had a lot of trouble lately with large projects not coming out the way I wanted or anticipated so I hope this goes well. I'll need to buy a petticoat for this dress too, and I don't know where or why I'd wear it but it wants to exist so badly I can't help but move right along with it.<br /></div></div></div><br /></div>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-27379156717755291312009-10-31T19:48:00.001-05:002010-10-11T15:31:58.536-05:00Halloween fun!So I had a pretty good Halloween I'd say, we carved up some pumpkins, which rotted rather quickly, but were cute while they lasted. I made one a kitty and one a face and Eli managed to get the rotten pumpkins so he spent a lot of time cutting the rotten bits off so his pumpkins looked pretty weird.<br /><br /> I dressed up as a woman from the 60's minus the torturous undergarments worn then. I bought some <a href="http://www.bumpits.com">Bumpits</a> to get some nice big 60's hair which I would not have otherwise been able to do myself and some false eyelashes and some black eyeliner. I normally wear brown so I didn't have any. I worked at the yarn exchange and gave out candy to little kids. When I came home I had Eli take some pictures<br />Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448025503483419832.post-27599618140531370472009-10-31T19:48:00.000-05:002010-10-11T15:31:49.182-05:00Halloween fun!So I had a pretty good Halloween I'd say, we carved up some pumpkins, which rotted rather quickly, but were cute while they lasted. I made one a kitty and one a face and Eli managed to get the rotten pumpkins so he spent a lot of time cutting the rotten bits off so his pumpkins looked pretty weird.<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrieEvpSdjr21FPiim9eoyNreGusGiVp3J5gSqoHv6BrL1oqJ0mru-lA7MtW-sE2WSmdvseeuozhlkCd0WrZXkAVG3AGbsT33tcLDWvlZQ6Hk4sihyc4bndJEG3vWMIR2PAsAkaBqL2cNG/s1600-h/R0011982.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrieEvpSdjr21FPiim9eoyNreGusGiVp3J5gSqoHv6BrL1oqJ0mru-lA7MtW-sE2WSmdvseeuozhlkCd0WrZXkAVG3AGbsT33tcLDWvlZQ6Hk4sihyc4bndJEG3vWMIR2PAsAkaBqL2cNG/s320/R0011982.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399001418863178834" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgay2X8EjTBF6qS0bQMJkp9CmcveWOx0WCNl4iN9GPgoSyjOUJqMwcw4G9LmzLLqVWZnWymDS5qzT4P-2RcPgHOLlp_0tWLAsWsiFbETWzuqXvYUIGmt4TGFCVeue6g-UjHXf5aelckIQtf/s1600-h/R0012000.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgay2X8EjTBF6qS0bQMJkp9CmcveWOx0WCNl4iN9GPgoSyjOUJqMwcw4G9LmzLLqVWZnWymDS5qzT4P-2RcPgHOLlp_0tWLAsWsiFbETWzuqXvYUIGmt4TGFCVeue6g-UjHXf5aelckIQtf/s320/R0012000.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399005536602764498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcdcKRRcZ4Kb9X4_01Ueb7QBrAcNJwR5jE1nLa9q9rmEnZ-25sENv6ORRr2PHQlL-sbugJDiFYT_D5IcsZWrWRptM0Vm3T4z_Pbn972cu88EzctprIsdVwEJHD0gLiulscTvZp5RHP74Q/s1600-h/R0011997.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcdcKRRcZ4Kb9X4_01Ueb7QBrAcNJwR5jE1nLa9q9rmEnZ-25sENv6ORRr2PHQlL-sbugJDiFYT_D5IcsZWrWRptM0Vm3T4z_Pbn972cu88EzctprIsdVwEJHD0gLiulscTvZp5RHP74Q/s320/R0011997.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399002146623966818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /></div>I dressed up as a woman from the 60's minus the torturous undergarments worn then. I bought some <a href="http://www.bumpits.com/">Bumpits</a> to get some nice big 60's hair which I would not have otherwise been able to do myself and some false eyelashes and some black eyeliner. I normally wear brown so I didn't have any. I worked at the yarn exchange and gave out candy to little kids. When I came home I had Eli take some pictures<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHM5egPiQQ8moViJFjL2OPMPOMoJVgGr7AwgRcOfIWXnoiC2mIIzINmlvyd-EPzaBKbu7SNVWRofp0NlboEHNylZMaE6ljjPDxY-_FWxXUu_JqfthKHmu49kTK0ZS1L_thuiq1iTUxIq_i/s1600-h/R0012046.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHM5egPiQQ8moViJFjL2OPMPOMoJVgGr7AwgRcOfIWXnoiC2mIIzINmlvyd-EPzaBKbu7SNVWRofp0NlboEHNylZMaE6ljjPDxY-_FWxXUu_JqfthKHmu49kTK0ZS1L_thuiq1iTUxIq_i/s320/R0012046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399007510605277378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBEw7rqOLJp3t58_zf6qlRkpZwvW9N8iF3LyWlwUzcF-UiXQuYgYCKjmnTleB9cvQ-d75gGLoCrqEnOopDCwPcYC0yO2-tMPXAWZUgMK78rcm4efBx0oa5wzXOICgwTYNXdLYKGnT1WNQ/s1600-h/R0012054.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBEw7rqOLJp3t58_zf6qlRkpZwvW9N8iF3LyWlwUzcF-UiXQuYgYCKjmnTleB9cvQ-d75gGLoCrqEnOopDCwPcYC0yO2-tMPXAWZUgMK78rcm4efBx0oa5wzXOICgwTYNXdLYKGnT1WNQ/s320/R0012054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399009137362147922" border="0" /></a>Beth Woldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16904054328405757221noreply@blogger.com2