Skulls and Sweaters...

Pam LOVES skulls!! I asked my MIL to order for me, some of this cool Henry Alexander "Day of the the Dead" fabric from www.jandofabrics.com. (my computer wasn't cooperating at the time- thanks Barbie). I called Pam to tell her that her bag was ready and when she came in, she looked to the right and there it was on the shelf, her eyes lit up and she was so happy! She put her sock project into the bag right away, and off she went. It's nice to see people leave here so happy. The lining of the bag matches her orange VW bug, which by the way is what I want, but in red!
Joanne stopped by to share with us, her latest finished project. She knit the "A-Line" jacket from Runway Knits out of Farmhouse Yarns' "I'm allergic to wool". It took 4 skeins, feels great and it's heavy enough to wear into fall. I love it, I can't wait until my shipment comes, I am definitely knitting this for myself. I love the three quarter bell sleeves and the hand painted terra cotta buttons from One World Button Supply. This is a must have for fall!!

Yesterday, some of the girls came in with their most recent projects- finished and gorgeous. First came Carmen with her knitted yoga mat bag. This is absolutely amazing. The picture hardly does it justice. The pattern was featured in Vogue's Knit 1 Spring 2007 issue, page 58. Carmen chose a few Koigu colors and some of my hand dyed sock yarn, it turned out beautiful, and she really enjoyed working on it. Next walked in Jessica and her Entrelac scarf that she whipped up over the weekend (I thought I was a fast knitter). She used Noro Silk Garden, the colors are great. We are offering this class on November 5 and 12 from 7-9 pm. Visit www.angelfirestudios.com and check out the new knitting and crochet class schedule for fall.

Yesterday the last hurrah for us nd the beach. We took mum mum (my mom) to Pt Pleasant. Not my beach of choice (too crowded), but a great place to go for the day. Scarlett enjoyed the beach, the aquarium, and d the rides. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded. Here's a pic of my beach babe..She is obsessed with this camera. Could this be the start of something serious?She was just promoted to the next level in school, and her teachers at Blue Kangaroo have been so amazing, words can not describe the gratitude I feel toward them for showing Scarlett so much love and care. I want to make a little something for each of her teachers. I think Jade Sapphire neck warmers, or the Blue Sky Alpacas crochet scarf.. Maybe event he Suri neck warmer I did last year. That's so warm and yummy!! Remember, one skein, 60 sts cast on to a US13 16" circular. Knit every row until you done with the skien. Lofty and delicicous!! Perfect to throw on in a chilly classroom.On another note, some Malabrigo chunky just came in, along with some Art Yarn regal silk, holy moly, the silk is amazing and chunky, sooooo soft. Check out this regal silk colorway.

This is my bubble sock so far (Jitterbug in Popsicle). It's a good thing my ankle is shaped like, well it kind of was when I was pregnant with Scarlett, my little photographer... Here she is, with her new caplet and camera. I used the same pattern that is linked on the "finished project" page of my website. I just down sized the pattern a bit, and knit it on smaller needles. I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino chunky (2 balls). It's so cute and cozy. Anyway, she has her own digital camera, a gift from my bf. It really downloads, here are her first pics.This birdfeeder has turned our front yard into an animal kingdom. No exaggeration, 9:00 am sharp (when "Club Chirp" opens), chipmonks, blue jays, woodpeckers, squirrels, doves, and a few birds I haven't ever seen before congregate around this little birdfeeder, that Scarlett and I painted together as a birthday present for her dad. Boy, what a gift- we're going to have to remortgage to keep up with the amount of bird seed we buy every WEEK :) She was really excited about the flower shot too. Not bad for a 2 year old!!

Today (finally), I checked out the CD of pictures that my MIL sent from Arizona. Check these out, they're so awesome, they look fake... They only bloom at night!!

Beautiful things....

Every morning on the way to work, I call my grandmother to say hi, and see how things are going. My grandmother is the reason why I have this uncontrollable need to create things all day and all night (my mother refers to it as dementia - whatever). I remember her sitting me down at the sewing machine to practice stitching straight lines on my grandfather's white handkerchiefs. She taught me how to knit on teeny tiny yarn, and we crocheted with yarn as small as thread. Unfortunately, as a teenager, the only crafty thing I did was get into as much trouble as I could!! Thank God that's over- and thank goodness for grandmothers all around the world for inspiring us to make things by hand (instead of staying in trouble).The second beautiful thing that came my way today, was Tilli Tomas' "Flurries" and a ton of Stitch Diva patterns. The Stitch Diva pattern "Sahara" looks like fun- it's nice and sassy (ooh la la). Wait, what about the "Boob Tube", done in hair pin lace? We are featuring that class at the shop this fall. This is a beautiful pot made today by Janet in pottery class. She is fairly new to this, and I think she did an amazing job at her first attempt at a larger piece of clay. I am so proud of her and her girls. This felted flower is amazing!! It's Jessica's first flower, I love it!! She came in today with a bunch of her hand felted jewelry, each piece came out great, she is definitely taking Carol Cypher's next class (if she doesn't go into labor first).

No way!!

No way can I knit a pair of socks in that purple Robitussen yarn that I dyed last week. On the shelf it goes, and bless the knitter who decides to knit with it without thinking about bronchitis. I am gagging with flashbacks every time I look at it. I am hardly impressed with the last batch of yarn that I dyed. None of which are even blog worthy!! It's so difficult to dye yarn in your kitchen without being overly concerned with dripping dyes all over your white cabinets. Pop better get his +&@ on a plane and install a slop sink in my workshop downstairs. Then I will be a dying fool. Until then, I ordered some of Colinette's semi solids in Jitterbug. The colors are really beautiful, I love "Wasabi Squeeze" in particular.
I wanted to take a picture of the last batch of pottery I fired for myself. I teach more than ever in the summer, so there is very little time for me to throw for myself. I wanted to throw some simple pieces and glaze them all white with the rims dipped in shades of blue and green. Take a look...

"Cindawella"

So, it's not my new socks that are keeping my feet warm right now, it's the little rascal sitting on them. She's talking to "Cindawella" on her cell phone (sigh). Here is a picture of the 2 skeins that I dyed the other nght. I might use them for my first pair of lace socks, we'll see- I have 8 more skeins drying at home. I guess it's time to I admit that I like purple. I can't quite admit that I love it just yet. I don't know what it is, I think of the smell of cough syrup, the kind that my mom used to make me take as a kid, it creeps up on me when I see purple- well certain shades I guess. Anyhooo, today, I ordered Lorna's Laces, sock and worsted. I haven't picked a pattern for my next pair yet, any suggestions? Cookie A's sock patterns are always a hit, I'll have to check them out a little later. I love her pictures on Knitty, they're so wacky.
On another note, I wanted to post my "Clover Fan Jacket" from Loop-d-Loop crochet. The pattern is pretty easy for those who are interested in starting it. It called for 10 skeins of Blue Sky's cotton, however I only used 8 for the small size- here it is. It fits great, and it's the perfect jacket throw on in the fall. Hope you like it...

Accessorize!

So, I started my first pair of socks this week, and now I am totally hooked. Of course knitting your first pair of socks on Lantern Moon's new "Sox Stix" are always a plus. They are smooth like buttah!! Here is the finsished product, so cool. I decided to dye some gems merino last night for my next pair. While my yarn was soaking, I felted another bracelet (huh, not enough time in the day to do it all!!). This weekend, I think I'll torture my husband and make him drive me to the surrounding bead shops for beading thread and seed beads, and I loved the drop beads that Carol Cypher brought in this past weekend. Oh yeah, before I forget, Carol will be returning for another workshop on December 8th. For the first session, we will work on the "Bead Implosion" technique. For part two, we will either felt over silk, or felt a bracelet around wire. Here is my bracelet collection so far. I think I am going to keep felting bracelets until run out of room on my arm (I wish that I could say that I'm joking about that).

I love Carol Cypher!!!

On Saturday, Carol came to the shop to teach a hand felting workshop. When I saw her in the parking lot, I thought I was going to cry- her aura is so beautiful, and to top it all off, she gives big warm bear hugs to start the day- who does that anymore? She was as grateful to be here, as we were to have her, (well maybe except for me, I have never been so excited- it was overwhelming). Her workshop, "Felted Bead Diva's Lariat", was amazing. The shop was silent, everyone worked so diligently on their pieces. Her enthusiasm and passion about fiber is so intense, and it really comes through in her work. She brought some bracelets to show us, along with this unbelievable ring involving a ton of bead work and a "bead implosion", a technique she will teach next time. What I loved the most, was how different everyone's finished piece was, and some of us went further to felt bracelets. I have mine on right now- I love it. When it was time to say good bye, I think I had to hold back a tear or two. It's so hard sometimes to find inspiration, and she was so incredibly inspiring, it was hard to digest it all it once. So, she will be back though- hopefully December 8th- so stay tuned for that. A few of the students from Saturday were in this morning, purchasing roving for more jewelry. I just hung up with Ashland Bay, so there will be a MASSIVE supply of that here too- YEAH!!!

Do I really have a blog now?

So this is Angelfire's new blog. How exciting!! I didn't think I would ever get this blog up and running. Let me warn you now, I CAN'T SPELL!!!! We are getting ready for Carol Cypher to visit the shop in the morning for a hand felting workshop. She is so lovely over the phone, I can't wait to meet her. I stocked up on Ashland Bay roving for the class, the colors are absolutely gorgeous. Yesterday, the shop received a lot of the Unikat pencil roving, that stuff is really cool too.
Anyway, a friend of mine surprised me with a sewing machine for my birthday this year. I have been pumping bags out like crazy. I started sewing these cute drawstring project sacks and utility cases for the store. They are so adorable. Thank goodness my mother inlaw is here for the week, I have been keeping her up all night (every night), cutting fabric for me. She is used to going to sleep by 9. Not in my house!! No sleeping until at least 1:30 am! It's a good thing I married into a family of quilters. The fabrics are so great, and this is all new to me, so I get extra excited to come home with a few new yards of fabric. I haven't bought online yet, I'm afraid I would lose control. Plus, it's an excuse to go to the city!! Here is a picture of the project sacks. I'm no master sewer, but I love it- it's an instant gratification with each finished piece. This week, l learned about putting zippers in- cool-o. I also tackled knitting socks this week, those aren't so bad either - (yes, I own a yarn shop and I am knitting socks for the frst time- I love it!!) Perhaps, this week was about trying new things.