Shawl All Done!

Just a quick post this morning to show the end result of all that knitting....

Ta-DA! Wildfire!

I've been trying to figure out what to knit next. Something small, probably -- fingerless mitts or a hat, socks, or something -- but I can't decide on a pattern.

Now I think I need to make a shawl pin....a copper pin would be beautiful with this shawl! And maybe a couple sets of stitch markers for my shop. Maybe I will try to do that today. Hmmm...

The ideas keep coming, but the time to do these things still escapes me. At least the weather is warming up -- that means more chance to get into the garage to saw and pound some metals!

My friend Ken reports that my work did very well at the auction Saturday night, and the group overall did raise nearly $7,000 for their trip! Yay!

Enjoy your Monday off, if you are off for the US's President's Day holiday!

Book Destash!

I've been cleaning out my extensive library of craft and sewing books, and I've come across a few I don't need. I'm building up my funds for classes and to pay off my kiln, so if there are any books you would like, please email me at ahotpieceofglass AT yahoo DOT com. First come, first served!

Here are the titles, all are in good or excellent shape, and I will be happy to ship for $5 in the US (let me know if you really have to have one of these books and are overseas, so I can figure out a good shipping rate).

$ 8.00, hardcover with dust jacket

by Wendy Rosen, $12

$10 (in new condition)

Beader's Bible, $12 (in new condition)

Advanced Beadwork, $8

If you've got any questions, please let me know!

January has been a month of hibernating and reorganizing and doing other things while it's too cold to work with metals and glass. February is starting out much the same, although I am working on a piece for a fundraiser. As soon as I am done with it, I'll tell you all about it!

Not much else is going on here; I feel unfocused on metal and jewelry stuff, and taking that lack of focus and directing it at other handcrafts that I enjoy -- like knitting and sewing.

Here's an in-process picture of the shawl I am working on. It's not meeting my need for instant gratification, and I should have chosen a smaller project to make my re-entry into knitting with, BUT I am determined to finish it. It's the Herb Garden Shawl, and it's on Ravelry.

Sorry for the unglamorous lumpy, undefined shot of it. I was outside in my jammies without a coat this morning, trying to get a picture of how it looked so I could post it here, and couldn't get a good shot! Ack! I need to practice photographing knitting!

Anyway, you can see the rows and rows of garter stitch. It's really pretty and it will be beautiful and warm when I am done. I am hoping I will be done before it gets too warm to really need it this year! Next on the knitting queue is a hat or socks or arm-warmers or something smaller. :)

I refuse to start another project, though, until I finish this one. I want to be able to say that I'm a knitter, and finishing a project is part of that! Right?

That's the update from me for now. I hope everyone is staying warm (if it's cold where you are) and enjoying the beginning of the year. More later...

Indoor Fibery Goodness

So no metalsmithing and no torching of glass or enamels....much too cold for all of that. And apparently, now that I have gotten to this age, my hands now swell and my joints hurt periodically. I hope it's just a function of winter, but regardless, it's annoying.

I've turned to my sewing machine for comfort. Bernina never lets me down.

What with the new year and all, I needed a new planner to keep track of all the things I keep forgetting. But the cheapie planner I got (which suits my purposes perfectly) was a boring as HELL plastic-covered thing that cried out for cosmetic help. Being the magnanimous person that I am (with a killer stash of fat quarters), I obliged my little planner. And now, no longer an Ugly Duckling, but a beautiful Swan:

It's perfect! I love it!

And then I decided that I HAD TO make a new purse. I just wanted one. I'm a bag lady and I love bags, totes, purses, containers of all kinds. So I saw this pattern in one of my RSS feeds, and although it was cute, I modified the entire thing to suit my particular tastes.

Originally the pattern called for the bag to be kind of tall and skinny, but I wanted something that would fit my planner and sketchbook, and be more like a messenger style bag. I also wanted the flap-over top. I did really like the easy interior construction, though, so I kept that. It's a fun bag and I actually completed it just about all in one day -- while ALL 3 of my kids were home on a snow day!! Unbelievable! That was about as astonishing as anything.

Plenty of room for 'stuff'. I love it!

And it's pretty cute to wear. I made the strap long enough to wear cross-body, but I am working on a way of making the strap adjustable for a shoulder bag and for a handbag, without using d-rings and buckles. Still thinking on it.

One of the best parts is that I got the home-dec fabrics for the lining and the outside of the bag for $3/yard at Hancock's the other week. I love that. And I couldn't help myself, so I bought about $12 worth of flat-fold fabric (remnants that were off the bolt)in the home dec department for my next few bag projects. I'm already thinking of a custom knitting bag/handbag/shoulder bag thing. Just got to nail down the design.

Anyway, this is what I have been up to lately. Much warmer than metals right now.