The Rainbow Connection

I had the strongest urge to organize and clean the other night, in preparation for starting new projects. As in extensive cleaning -- old portfolios, school project folders, junk drawers, bathroom cabinets, etc. After I was finished, I attempted to organize some of my books by color, as I've heard others have done. It's not completely by color, more like sectioned areas. However, at midnight on a Monday, this made me feel quite accomplished.

I then realized that I had other grids of colors in the house. It seems that I am drawn to either rainbows, all colors, or like to collect sets of things in varying colors. Or perhaps it is pure greed!

For instance, my new gocco inks.

A rainbow and modular grid is apparent in the first quilt I ever made, utilizing old memo samples from a previous design showroom job. These gorgeous fabrics are all between $100 - $300 per yard. The top was hand stitched by Mike and myself. He helped in order to get the massive project done, not because he likes sewing, but because he wanted a quilt. Big difference (he thinks!). On a side note, this project involved quite a few lost tempers, where I nearly threw a pair of scissors at the beau.

Let's not forget about the "Marc Chagall" colorway of my Clapotis in progress.

Or wide palette of watercolor paints.

Am I just crazy, or are others drawn to the same thing over and over?

P.S. "The Rainbow Connection" is the song that my dad sang to me as a kid, since Kermit was my favorite. Cheeks told me that we would dance to the song at my wedding, which would make me cry buckets, I'm sure.

Print Gocco

I had never heard of a Gocco until Leya told me about hers. And of course the company decided to discontinue the machine in 2005, so that it's hard to find one. Until the Paper Source sent me this link. They have made some sort of agreement with the Japanese company, RISO to sell some at their store in the US.

The version below is a larger one, that can print up to 6.5"x9.3". It is almost $400. I just called the store and they said they will be receiving the smaller version around the end of this summer. It prints about 4"x6" and is about $150+. They said they will keep having them in stock, so I do not need to buy one immediately or forfeit my chance to ever own one.



I used to teach silkscreen or screenprinting in my highschool graphic arts class. From what I understand, print gocco seems much easier to use and everything is contained within the unit. I really want to buy one, and for the type of stuff that I love to do (cards, drawings, illustrations), I think this would be perfect. They're not cheap, but it's definitely an investment.

And lets face it, it's better for me to get a gocco than a letterpress someday. When will I have a house to put that in?!?

So my question for you is, if I do decide to purchase one, do you think I should spend the extra money and get the larger size, which will provide me with more options? Or if your name is Marissa's mom, do you give me permission to spend my hard earned money to get one--since it's not a dog or a baby? Just kidding mom!

I'm reading the websites and forums for gocco printing, but would love any first hand advice. Thanks!

Adjani's Quilt

Adjani's quilt is all about the details.

Like Ethiopia and The Red Sea outlined in cotton floss...

As I mentioned before, this quilt is for my friend's new daughter. This little girl is so special, her mom flew all the way to Ethiopia to get her, and bring her home to Pennsylvania.

My friend is the type of person who will get a kick out of a quilt that symbolizes the journey. It's kind of silly, tactile and charming, which is why I like it so much.

I'm smitten with the colors and imperfections of the hand quilting. The small stitches are tight enough for little fingers not to get caught in them, but fun to touch. The embroidery is free-form and a bit sketchy. This is a child's blanket after all, and it is meant to get used and get dirty.

Here is the end result. I think it went pretty well, and was very fun and surprisingly easy to make.

Technical information:

The fabrics were all purchased from Purl Patchwork in New York. Both patterned fabrics are from Freespirit Fabric's Lighting Bug by Heather Ross. The brown fabric may be found here, yellow fabric here, and the solid blue cotton here.

Pineapple Zimmerman

I'm reading The Knitter's Almanac for the first time. After about two pages, it clicked why there is such a fuss about the revered Elizabeth Zimmerman. What an amazing and inspiring woman!

I love the conversational aspect of her writing. It feels as we are old friends, and her sensibility is refreshing. "Gauge is approximately 5st= 1 inch, but babies come in all sizes" is one of the tidbits of advice that did me in, and scared me at the same time... The descriptions for her patterns are not very detailed, but in making it that way, it enables the reader to use their wits to figure it out themselves.



Thanks for everyone's advice about knitting superstitions. I have decided to start knitting a baby sweater, but not necessarily for anyone. I first saw the pattern on Brooklyn Tweed's blog, and thought it was gorgeous. (Here's a picture of a finished one by Elliphantom Knits). Since then, I've wanted to knit one mainly for the process. We'll just call this a "swatch" for now. And if someone happens to have a baby in the next week or so, perhaps they'll get it.



The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky in a lovely cherry red that is machine washable and on sale. That button is just there for show, but it's a bit too "matchy-matchy" for me.

The model below has been named, Pineapple Zimmerman. She was too cute not to be a model, but the sweater is a little big for her. I've actually finished the first sleeve, but don't have a picture. So far the pattern is easy, fun to knit, and easy to memorize. I highly recommend it.



I'm off to Maryland Sheep and Wool tomorrow, and will be getting up very early to witness the madness at the Koigu booth. I've paid all of my bills so that I must stick to my budget, no matter how cute those alpacas are...but my car is big.

Then we are off to Aimee's house to celebrate her birthday and Cinco de Mayo! Hope your weekends are fantastic as well.

Grandma Huber

Florida was fantastic. I didn't get much knitting done, but spent a lot of time with my family and best friend, Brooke. I also had a piece of cake, pie or key-limey goodness with every meal for 4 days.



I didn't get much knitting done, but spent a lot of time with my family and best friend, Brooke. I also had a piece of cake, pie or key-limey goodness with every meal for 4 days.

I read The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. There's a reason that book is so popular right now. Go out and buy it...or borrow my copy.



I didn't want to leave, but it's good to be back in Philly so that I can see Mike, enjoy this spring weather and finish the baby quilt. Oh that's right...and my sweater which is actually almost done!



Remember this hat? It was done and looked great. I decreased so that it made a nice twirly star on top and fit exactly how I wanted it to.

But I wasn't in love with it.

However, my darling cousin, Cara loved it. I had wanted to make her something, but wanted her to pick out the yarn and project. She responded that she wanted a hat just like the one I was wearing...in the same yarn.



Well, that hat snapped right off of my head and right onto her gorgeous one full of hair that will soon be donated to Locks of Love.

That was a quick project! I'm always glad to find a happier owner to something I feel tepid towards. It looks much cuter on her too, but that could be the fact that she's twenty and beautiful and has the longest lashes of anyone I've met.

While we're speaking of knitted items and my cousin, Cara. I must show off our grandma's best scrap yarn ripple afghan that my aunt gave to me, much to Cara's dismay.



My paternal grandma was an amazing knitter and crocheter. She taught me to crochet as a child, but I couldn't pick up the knitting. I thought it a task impossible, akin to juggling. Ha.

Grandma Huber grew up during the Great Depression, and everything was saved of course and re-used. Over her life, she must have made so many projects, including gorgeous sweaters with intarsia, and she let us choose the colors. In fact, for the sweater that she let me pick out the yarn ended up being "pink and puh-ple". (Mind you, God-awful purple that I wanted. Look at the picture again and find the ugliest purple on the afghan...yes, that's it!)

For some reason, my Aunt Sissy decided that I should have this particular afghan while I was visiting them in St. Louis during college.

Thank you, Aunt Sissy. You don't know how much that meant to me...and it was a crappy year of heartbreak (wink).

It is so colorful and crazy and I loved it immediately. All the scraps of yarn are from projects that my Grandmother worked on over the years. Some of the ripples are felted now, the few that were wool. There's a hole in it where my cat caught her claw and I had to cut into the blanket, which almost made me cry, but of course I did it.

It is one of the most treasured items to me because it is one of the only things I have from my Grandma. Being a knitter myself makes it even more special.

And Cara is still jealous, five years later. But I don't feel to bad for her, since Aunt Sissy is making a new one for her.

Atlas Shrugged -- "Yes it's a quilt of the world!"

As a crafter / weekend-artist / knitter / maker of all things, I tend to show love with homemade things. Not all the time, but for certain special people, I want to spend the time and energy to create something.

It can start with an idea, a letter composed in my head, or a picture that I can see clearly in my mind, and I just need to bring to life through an illustration, an apron, a book, or in this case--a quilt.

A friend of mine just adopted a beautiful little girl from Ethiopia. This friend also happened to be my first boss in Philly. She has really helped me out alot, given great advice, food, fabric samples and friendship. She will also make a wonderful mother, and I'm so happy for her and her new daughter.

I'm always interested in seeing the design process...so here is part of mine.Idea in head for months...work trip to Manhattan = a trip to my favorite fabric store where I came home with a some cotton-y goodness after eating 2 cupcakes and Korean food with my friend Kathy Jean.

Stay late at work to utilize AutoCad and the plotter to create a full scale template of the 45" x 60" baby quilt. This was also an easy way to avoid sketching out 4 very large continents or bribing Mike to do it. Laid it out and realized that decision making is not always my best quality... Doubted the fabrics I selected and started sketching out options. Pick one after feedback from my esteemed boyfriend.

Pared the palette down as originally intended and narrowed it down to these:

Well....okay. AND these. (It is a kid's blanket after all, we need some texture and color!)

Then, I just kind of "wing it" (while maintaining excellent craftsmanship!) and let the project unfold. (Side note: I just quoted my father, who during movies says to stop asking questions and "let the story unfold". The horror!)

I started quilting on Friday, and the 'quilt sandwich' is in progress...as well as some self-taught embroidery. I'm keeping the stitches small and tight so that little fingers will not get caught in it.

If you know me, you know that I take my work and myself VERY seriously...as demonstrated in an old photo below (big wink!).

I think it's going okay so far, "just winging it" in an orderly fashion...Props to my boy Mike for helping cut out the Mediterranean coast.

P.S. As I was looking at the childhood picture of myself, I jumped because I was mirroring the image. That is my pose and expression for painting, drawing and typing! Awwwww.

ICA Shadow Fair - Come Visit!

Spring is almost here! In fact, I even encountered a flock of seagulls (giggle) on my walk to the bus this morning. The light is back and everyone seems kind of happy.

I have been chugging along with my sweater, turned the heel on my socks, and started a spring hat for myself with some gorgeous Colinette Jitterbug merino wool in 'Bright Charcoal'.

But mainly, I've been really tired and hibernating in my home watching the food network and pretending to be on cooking shows like Nigella Feasts.



Well, the hibernation is over. In fact, I think I have more things scheduled this weekend and the past few nights than my entire hectic workweek!

Two friends, Victoria and Jenny have art openings this week.

I cooked delicious but extremely spicy Thai curry with Olivia that made me feel like I was on pain medication or something! Has that ever happened to you? It was insane.

I am going snowboarding tomorrow with Heather and Nate from D.C. We're going up to the Poconos where I am hoping to school them with my skills. (wink) Cross your fingers for no freezing rain...

And most importantly (craft wise), I will be the proud booth partner / snack-eating lackey to my lovely friend, Aimee, the proprietress of Betsy Ross Patterns this Sunday. Let me give you some details, since you will all be visiting me:



It is this Sunday, March 11th from 11a.m. to 5p.m. at the ICA at UPenn. Click here for more details. You can buy something for yourself, talk to your favorite friend Marissa and feel good about doing something cultural on a Sunday afternoon. (Free admission between 11-1p.m.)



And one more picture of the hot air balloon by our nation's first zoo in my ..since I have no crafty progress today!

Bird's Nest

This sweet looking bird's nest is what remains of my sweater back after ripping it out. As you can see, it's as crimped as an 80s hairstyle, so I bought some soak wool wash in the flora scent to remedy this.



I needed a break from my sweater, and needed the instant gratification that only baking or sewing can provide. However, I had more fabric than butter at the moment.





I did some quick planning after figuring out which scraps to use. I used some 18x24" fabric scraps I bought from my last visit to Purl in Soho, and something from my small fabric stash.

And this is my new and first apron!



I just eye-balled everything and started ironing and sewing. I ended up doing two pockets because of how much fabric I had, and so that the one pocket wouldn't sag if I put too much in it. (Mike's suggestion!)



I also ruched the top of the apron for some extra flair. I am a big fan of cummerbunds, and anything that looks like them, I like.

And after all that sewing, I thought I needed a new pincushion.



Now, I have enough of that new project glow to attack my sweater again.

Daylight Saving Time vs. The Philippine Cobra

Did you read that we will be doing a Daylight Saving Time study for the 2007 year? We will be turning our clocks forward on March 11th, instead of in April. Apparently, this is a test to see if we can save some energy. Also interesting is that most people seem to have an extremely strong opinion on Daylight Saving Time. (Did you know it's not Savings time? New trivia for me too!). What's your stance?

In Florida, we're too close to the equator to notice the difference in the daylight from summer to winter...which of course is redundant, since South Florida only has summer and summer-lite as seasons! Now that I live up north, I find myself brightening up each day that the sun sets a minute later, and cannot wait to spring forward. I definitely notice the sun affecting me in a positive way, and find myself feeling a bit gloomy when the days are short. However, in many parts of the world, this may be the opposite, or not make a difference, so my opinion may be a little ego-centric here....but happy people probably make better decisions...

What got me started on DST, is that I am unable to take any decent pictures of my knitting or stationary, so you will not be seeing any photos today!

I've been working diligently on my sweater, and playing with my watercolors, and pen and ink.

I'm enjoying painting and drawing little illustrations, and not needing everything to be perfect. My favorite paints are Schmincke and Winsor & Newton artist grade watercolor pans or tubes. I also love the ever versatile Escoda kolinsky sable brush. One single brush lets you do washes, small details, lines, and if you take good care of it, can last forever. I recommend a size 6. If you can't tell, I became an art supply snob when I worked at Pygmalion's Art Supply in Bloomington, Indiana, which is my favorite art store in the United States.

I also selected a new pseudonym for myself. This is because of the awesome new name for our Quizzo Team, the "Deadly Viper Squad". At the Locust Bar, I am now known only as the "Philippine Cobra". There will probably be a tee shirt to follow, with vinyl letters and a sparkly cobra in the national colors of my mother's homeland.

Stay warm, everyone! (Except for all you show offs down South).