Ruby Rose

AWOL.  Absent without leave.

It's been two months since I've been here so I have a lot of catching up to do.  The good news is that my absence has been all for good reasons.  I've been busy engaging my life, loves, family and friends...and the chair in front of my computer has been so empty it had dust on it.

Jim, Jack and I traveled to Kyoto and Tokyo for ten days in July and I've been busy traveling, embroidering, exploring and enjoying life.  I'll do my best to get caught up on posts since there's a lot of experiences I'd love to share.

Rather than go chronologically, let's just join the movie already in progress.  This week, Jack was center stage as he had requested that I make him a very specific hat and sweatshirt.

I did what any sewing mother would do whose son hadn't asked her to make anything for him in over...umm, let's just say...five years or more.  I dropped everything in order to meet his request.

It turns out, Jack is a big fan of a Rooster Teeth animé-style internet show called RWBY (pronounced "ruby") which has four main characters loosely inspired by the classic fairy tale characters and the colors Red,White, Black and Yellow.  Jack's favorite is the red character Ruby Rose who dresses in black with a red-hooded cape...



And whose logo is this trademark fiery rose...



This weekend Jack is going to the Rooster Teeth (RTX) convention in Austin TX with a friend from school.  Lots of attendees dress up as their favorite characters called cosplay.  Jack didn't want to wear a full costume; just wanted to show his support for his favorite character so he requested a hat and hoodie combination.

Jack has taken to wearing a beanie pretty much every day.  It helps to tame his thick hair so I set about to knit him a beanie in a linen/cotton blend for summer wearing...




I used this free pattern from Jared Flood on Ravelry based on a recommendation from Wae at my local knitting store, Cloverhill Yarns.



Since Jack wears his beanie tilted back from the crown of his head, I didn't want too tight of a ribbed band so I used the same needle for the entire hat instead of dropping down three needle sizes as recommended in the pattern.  This was a mistake so I'm going to re-make him one where I only drop down two sizes.

That being said, the hat turned out great and it was the first time I had ever tried the Tubular Cast On.  It makes a wonderful cast on edge for a ribbed band and I'll be using that idea over again.  Highly recommend.



Next up was trying to figure out the best way of transferring the logo to the hat.  I decided against designing a hat with the rose knitted into the pattern (not my forté) and embroidering directly onto the knitted stitches using duplicate stitch wouldn't give me enough detail.

Eventually I decided to embroider the logo onto 100% wool felt.  Since wool felt is expensive, I basted just the amount I needed for my design onto inexpensive muslin and cut away the muslin from the felt...

This is often used when embroidering onto little bits of very expensive materials such as silk gauze where you don't want to waste the fabric by needing to stretch it into a hoop.

Next up, I used my old favorite of tissue paper design transfer.


 I fall back on this method time and time again.
 

It's not the quickest but it allows me more control over the detail of the design transfer.  It also gives me a nice outline for the outside edge of stitches...



I used one strand of Au Ver a Soie silk floss in random long and short stitch with all the stitches directed to the center of the rose...



After I finished the embroidery, I cut it out and appliqued it onto the top of the knitted beanie...



It worked out better than I expected so I would likely use this technique again.

Where it Begins

IT ALL STARTS with the weather.  

 Comes a day when summer finally gives in to the faintest freshest of chill and a slim new light and just like that, you're gone.  

Wild in love with the autumn proviso.  

You can see that the standing trees are all busy lighting themselves up ember-orange around the hemline, starting their ritual drama of slow-immolation -- oh, well, you see it all...

So begins Barbara Kingsolvers' short essay on our drive to knit as the weather grows cold. And let me tell you, she's the one that sees it all.

A wonderful wordsmith, Ms. Kingsolver gets to the heart of how and why we knit.  As I read, I felt like she saw the life pulse behind our working hands...the energy force that knits earth, heart and soul together.  It's lovely and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You can read Where it Begins: Knitting as Creation Story in full here.  It's published in the November/December 2013 issue of Orion magazine.  

I'm casting on this scarf today...

Happy creating.

Chincoteague, Virginia

For the past few days I was away on a needlework retreat in Chincoteague, Virginia.  Though the group has been gathering for the past 10 years, this was my first time.

To say I was warmly welcomed is an understatement.  Four days of stitching with no agendas, no classes, and no commitments...sitting in a room filled with talented needlewomen is stimulation enough!

Not to mention the setting...

I couldn't help but wake up a few mornings and head to the beach on nearby Assateague Island to see the sun rise...

Assateague Island is part of the National Park Service and is home to wild ponies and tons of birds.  I didn't see any horses but I did see lots of birds...kingfishers, egrets, great blue herons, etc.

Next year I'll have to take my "birding lens" for my camera.  This year, I was caught quite unawares by the spectacular scenery...

Since we were at the beach, I worked and worked to try to finish that Rainbow Beach Shawl I've been working on for years. (Mine is knitted in Tahki Cotton Classics.)

My friend Carolyn made the same one in muted cotton colors...only difference is she finished hers about two years ago...

And hers is completely finished.  Notice the yarn ends hanging from the end of my shawl?  I still have all those ends to weave in as well as finish the edge.  But I'm close...

Close enough to have our picture taken (thanks Marian).

Spending a few reflective days in such a beautiful environment reminded me of this Gratitude film by videographer Louie Schwartzberg.  

Coincidentally, he's started a 21-Days of Gratitude series and it starts today.  For 21 days we will journey into Gratitude through daily meditations and stunning video and audio presentations.  If you'd like to join in, you may register here.  It's absolutely 100% FREE!

I figure it's a good way to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving.

Happy Monday everyone.

Casting on Wonder

It's exciting times here at the Elliott house.  

I've casted on a new sweater...

It's from Rowan's Spring magazine...The pattern is called Wonder by Martin Storey.

I've been knitting a lot while visiting colleges with Jack who is a senior in high school.  It's a busy and unsure time for him...

Jack's first day of school, Senior Year 2013

I'm wondering why Mr. Storey named this design Wonder?

It's working for me since there's a lot to wonder about these days.  

I wonder while I'm knitting.  I'm a knitting wonder.  I wonder why I'm knitting.  I'm knitting wonder.  

I like that best.

I'm knitting Wonder...

Violet

We interrupt our Breakfast at Tiffany's coverage to bring you this late breaking news...

After three Summers of working on this shawl, I have finally reached the last color in the spectrum...

I can see the end of the rainbow.

It's just going to take 40 more hours of knitting before I actually reach it.

We'll return to our regularly scheduled programming next post.

A Woolly Mother's Day

I started my Mother's Day with these alpaca brothers...they're two years old. The one in front was just shorn and the one in back was up next...

Jim and Jack slept in late so that I could head out early to the Great Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. It's always the first weekend in May.

You'd be proud. I didn't buy any yarn.

I just drooled over it...

Actually, I haven't used the pink yarn I bought from this same vendor a few years ago so I exercised restraint.

Well...I guess I didn't exercise complete restraint.

I did buy some more curly roving from this old friend from last year. It was only $3.40!

Do you think he can see anything through those dreadlocks?

This was the same guy who gave me Alice's hair last year for my Alice in Wonderland block. He's got the curliest locks at the Festival -- IMHO.

The weather was perfect.

And the animals were putting their best fleece forward...

Or their best face...

In addition to the cool sheep, I met some very interesting people.

Like Violet, the hooker from the Mason Dixon Chapter of the Rug Hookers Guild.

Her name is Violet, she wore a violet colored shirt, and...she was using all shades of violet in her rug. Yet another example of women who wear clothes to match their projects...or...who work on projects that match their clothes.

I also was psyched to meet Amy Singer, founder and editor of the awesome online magazine Knitty.

The funny thing is she thought she recognized my name and face from being on TV! And then it was me who recognized her!

If you don't know about Knitty, it's an amazing FREE , quarterly online knitting magazine with all kinds of great articles and projects. See the recent issue here.

After meeting Amy, I ate lunch...

And made my way through more of the vendor stalls...

And I bought one of these tassel thingies imported from Peru.

Evidently, in one of the villages in Peru, the young men let these hang out of their pockets to show that they don't have a girlfriend.

I bought one for Jack.

And I also bought a few buttons and stickers for friends to whom this saying happens to apply...

And just before I left, I made a tour through the Award tent.

I fell in love with this vest which won first place...

I'd love to make one of those. *sigh

All in all, I'd say it was a great way to wake up on Mother's Day.

And yes, I did eventually make it home to Jim and Jack who had weeded the yard and were taking me out to dinner -- God love them.

But that was not until after I said goodbye to this fella...

I think I would have adopted him if he was available.

Hope your Mother's Day was just as sweet.

Royal Knitting

Doesn't this just make you smile?

Thanks to Needleprint blog for introducing this new book to me!

Knit Your Own Royal Wedding by Fiona Gable is a delight for the senses and for your funny bone.

I absolutely love the zaniness of a knitted royal wedding party...

It's one of the most creative ways to commemorate the big event that I've seen.

And it truly tickles my funny bone...though I really have no desire to actually knit the royal wedding party myself.

That being said, you corgi lovers might be tempted to knit a miniature version of your pooches...

Fiona Gable has a great sense of humor and is famous for her knitted holy family published in Knitivity as well as a book of knitted monsters. She cracks me up.

She even includes a knitted spoof on the famous engagement picture...

I think she nailed the famous wrap on Kate's dress.

And just to make you smile even more and send you into your weekend just a bit on a light note...

Take a couple of minutes and watch this video put out by the publisher Ivy Press (you'll be happy to know that the corgis are prominently featured -- turn up your volume)...

Happy happy weekend everyone!!

Women Gone Warrior

Who is this woman?

And why is she covered in mud and wearing a cereal box....ah-hem...a Spartan war helmet on her head?

Well, folks, this is my friend Carole. And Carole is turning 50.

And, good friends that we are, we decided the best way for Carole to greet her 50s was by fully participating in a crazy, mud-filled 5K race called the Warrior Dash.

The birthday girl is self-evident. The Spartan war helmets are self-explanatory...

The Diet Coke one is Abby's...she's a little addicted to Diet Coke...and yes, she even knows that it's a neuro-toxin...

All the pink, as well as the bras, are to honor our friend Jill who signed up to be with us but couldn't...

And, the armpit hair...yes, the armpit hair...

That was because the race was holding a contest for the longest, most scraggly beard.

Obviously, being women, we couldn't grow beards, but we could grow our armpit hair.

When the race began, we scampered...

Shimmied...

Climbed...

Slipped...

Rolled...

Hurdled...

Belly-flopped...

I mean...Commando-Crawled...our way to the finish line.

And for all her effort, all Carole got was One Free Beer.

(Hey, we're big-spenders)

So, we toasted...

And Maura showed us what happened to her armpit hair...(I know, you were dying to know...)

And Jill's sister, Stacey, and her husband Scott, hugged (because that's what they do...they can't keep their hands off each other)...

And then the birthday girl lost all sense of propriety and wrestled a turkey leg into her maw...

I'm sorry. It's disgusting, I know.

Carole is honestly, a brilliant scientist with lots of charming qualities. It's just not her fault.

It's the folks she hangs out with...

And, in case you want to make one of these amazing helmets for your next milestone celebration...

You can download the pattern here.

And lest you think that this blog isn't a needlework blog...

I give you a knitted version of the warrior helmet on the cutest little model at the party.

You can find the hat and/or the pattern here.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting about dainty ribbonwork.

Don't worry, the fireman washed me off before I touched any of the stuff...

Happy Birthday Carole!