I've made a lot since my last post. I'm working on a novel (or maybe novella, we'll see). I've written more poetry, and even got one published! I've completed a Sith robe, a certain impending grandchild's nursery, and several smaller projects that I'm hoping to add to my etsy shop soon.

I make Food!

blackberry cake w/ cream cheese frosting

chicken tacos

peach upside down cake  

strawberry parfait

pasta bake

pulled pork arepas

This is just a sampling of tasty foods I've made recently. I really enjoy cooking, and would love to find a signature dish. I watch the food shows and people talk about their signature dish and I ponder it and I think, "Man, I can't narrow it down. There's so much I love to make." And then I realize how very much that applies to me in all things creative.

I make Photos!

  

           

            

I got to play with a nice digital Nikon while visiting friends, so I got goofy/creative with it at times. From top left: antique bookshelf in an old plantation house we visited, blueberries, a flower, steampunk art installation outside a Memphis club, dragonfly (there were dozens of them in this one area, I managed to zoom and crop the photo to get this), random license plate I saw, museum Texaco sign (my grandfather used to own an old Texaco), and petrified wood. 

I made Friends!

I already knew all these people, but some of them didn't know each other and now they're friends and it's awesome. :)

I make stuff from Fabric!

Basic tote bag with interior pockets and stabilized bottom. I'm planning a small quilt (baby or lap sized) to match this and hope to sell them as a set. The bag was fun, especially since it's from a book with a lot of variety and flexibility in bag options. I look forward to making more of these.

 
Sith Robe - a commission
This was interesting - a learning experience in creating patterns from instructions, but I made it work and it came in at the estimated budget and the customer is happy, so all is well.

Baby Quilt - for sale

I loved working on this baby quilt because of picking out all the fun, colorful scraps. It was originally going to be my first hand-quilted item bigger than a pot-holder, but I soon learned that my hand doesn't like that grip + motion, so I'll keep machine quilting things instead.

The back of this quilt is a soft, light-flannel type of fabric. I bought it so long ago I can't remember what it was called, but I think it would be lovely for any baby wrapped in it.

Large carry-all bag

Funny story - about a decade ago when I first started sewing, I decided to make a funky patchwork/strip skirt for Heather. I picked out all sorts of fabrics that probably "shouldn't" be used in the same garment, but I was using my artistic eye, not any kind of sewing knowledge.

The skirt turned out okay, got worn once, and then we realized it was fraying too much to continue being used. I didn't have a serger back then, didn't zigzag the seams, (again, still learning). So I made it into a bag - created a lining for it, to hide all those raw seams, attached some handles, stiff interfacing in the bottom for a little stability. It reminds me of a Mary Poppins bag in a way.

How I knitted a picture from my brain...

Once upon a time, I looked at a tam pattern on Ravlery. I can't remember which one, but it was the first time I understood the construction of a knitted tam, and suddenly, I had a picture in my head and I knew I needed to duplicate it in yarn.

I'd only done a few colorwork projects but I felt pretty sure I could combine that with the basic tam pattern and make it work. I had some beautiful hand-dyed yarn in a colorway very appropriately called "Elemental" that had been calling to me for a color work pattern. I'd searched around and ordered some creamy-colored fingering weight to go with it.

Yes, that's a bunch of math and factors on that page under the yarn. Turns out I really can use math after high school! I worked out that I wanted to have the dragonfly repeat eight times, and the gauge times the size of the tam gave me the number of stitches I would need.

I worked out the design of the dragonfly on some graph paper, then transferred it to an excel chart, but before I could actually knit these dragonflies, I needed something for the brim. I charted out some small, repeating patterns (there was more math involved) and I finally got to work!

I was thrilled that the edging patterns turned out well, and not long after the above photo, I was finally starting the dragonflies heads. I remember doing a little happy dance for myself when I got to that point in the charts. I was so excited to see this come to life! It's that feeling of creation, of bringing something out of your imagination and into reality, that's what really drives me to Make things. I'm realizing more and more that I feel better and more alive on days that I do something creative, even if it's a little thing. Working on this tam, though, that was a thing that was both little and big at the same time. I was making this whole new pattern (and at the time, I had only found one other tam pattern using fingering weight and stranded color work) be an actual, wearable object, but I was also just doing a little knitting every day. 

As the images grew and I could make out the shapes and see that it was working, I got more and more excited. I also began to notice how even just one row of knitting, seemingly such a small thing, was enough to add to the design, to give a hint of wings, or to add to the lacy effect within the wings, or - as in the above photo - to show the first hints of the second wing. Not long after those second wings, it was time to decrease, and before I knew it, my first design was complete.

I almost decided to leave it like that, beanie shaped instead of tam shaped, but I ultimately decided that tams look better on me. Into the water it went, and then stretched over a plate to dry.

Remember those edging designs? Here's how they turned out...

And then you can see how it looks when worn...

And for those with smaller heads, here's a version with only 7 dragonflies instead of 8

That last one - the smaller sized one - it was knitted by someone else. I actually had a handful of fabulous people who tested the pattern for me on Ravelry, and it was only thanks to them, and a wonderful graphic designer friend, that I was able to take this whole thing and not only create a physical hat, but also a hat pattern .pdf that I could sell. 

I remember when I first posted it in my Ravelry shop, and how I thought it would be completely awesome if someone actually bought it! And then, someone did! And someone else! And another! I couldn't help my moment of "they like it! they really like it!" It's now available in my Etsy shop as well.

I've currently got another tam pattern in progress, and even had some yarn custom dyed for it! I don't want to say much about it yet, because I'm still a bit worried it will turn out looking horrid, but I promise to post with lots of pictures once I've got it done!