heylucy

Lady Eleanor

Here she is:

Lady Eleanor on Porch with Cute Car in background.

Lady Eleanor artistically draped on porch railing.

Lady Eleanor with sun streaming through oak tree.

I would like to do this again in a more subdued palatte, but I think the silk garden was a good yarn choice. It's certainly eye-catching in these colors, and I've gotten a lot of compliments. She will be living at my desk at work for the afternoons when the tempurature suddenly drops 15 degrees. And she really does go with everything, even my new $15 bright pink corduroy pants from the outlet mall.

mitts

Not only did I finish Lady Eleanor this weekend, I made myself some mitts:

Action shots! I used a pattern in the latest Interweave Knits and some lovely alpaca/wool yarn. It's cold in the morning, but I need to drive, so it's helpful to have my fingers free. It also gets really cold at my desk at work sometimes, so I think they will come in handy there too. I'm working on a little scarf to match. "What about your Olympic Knitting socks?" you may be asking. Yeah. That's not working out right now. I think it's okay to change events, isn't it? I'm feeling pretty good that I've finished a couple things, so let's just be happy about that and call it a success. The socks are still on the list, but the circular needles? Aren't working out so well. I'll try again, but I was getting a big gap when switching needles, so I need to practice a bit more.

I was not too smart and left Lady Eleanor at work last night, so no picture today, maybe tomorrow. To make up for my broken promises, here's some music to listen to (requires Quicktime):

Lullaby by Cary

materialism

This is me being completely materialistic, but I really would love to have this and this. I also really like this one. This one isn't pink, but it's just so cute. Here's the thing. I don't drink café au lait, or even coffee, but I just love café au lait bowls. Would it be wrong to start a collection of pink ones?

P.S. Lady Eleanor? She is fini! Pictures tomorrow.

flickr favorites

Sometimes I just like to look at my favorite photos by other people on Flickr. Don't they look good together?

I think I've figured out this Art for Art idea that I was talking about yesterday. I'll post a more definitive explanation within the next few days. Meanwhile, I'd still love to get input from others, please leave a comment if you think this sounds like something you'd be interested in, and maybe even spread the word on your own blog?

Art for Art

I have this idea, but it's not fully formed yet, so I'm sitting down and typing it out and hoping that I can make sense of it all.

I created an Etsy account for myself, and the plan is that I will put some things up for sale and the money will go right into my Paypal account and then it will go right back out again as I buy some cool original art from some other Etsy sellers. I want to fill my home with original art, some of it mine, but it would be boring to only have my own creations displayed, I want to collect all kinds of stuff. So, while I think my plan is good, it's going to take me awhile to have enough to sell to be able to buy what I want and I want more immediate gratification.

What I want to do is exchange art for art, but I want each artist to be able to specify some parameters for the art they will receive. Size, color, medium, subject, any and all of those categories. I would most likely create some sort of textile art, because that is what I do best, but I wouldn't mind having a patron, for lack of a better word, that will give me an idea of the sort of thing that they would like, and I would do the same, based on what sort of art they generally create. I think this exchange could also involve some sharing of materials. Does this make sense? I know I don't have a huge audience, but are there any artists/craftspeople out there up for something like this? Leave a comment or send an e-mail, I would love to hear from others about this, and suggestions would be welcome as well. I'm not sure if this would work on a larger scale, or if I should limit it to me and one other person. I'm just sending this idea out into the internets and will be waiting to see what comes back.

woo-hoo

#4 at awarestore.com and featured artist on the home page!
I'm going to the cd release party in L.A. next week, I'm very excited.

I like

Today I like my Votivo candle (scent: Clean Crisp White)

I like using my Mrs. Meyer's Counter Top Spray (scent: Geranium)

While I'm spraying my counter tops and cleaning, I like to listen to my iPod with my Bose Sound dock.

I like my dog Reggie, even though he is getting old and crotchety.

I like my cat Gigi. She likes masking tape, scotch tape, packing tape and envelope glue. When I peel off a new layer on the lint roller she comes running and I give it to her to nibble on. She's a little weird, but in a good way.

I like the salt and pepper shakers my sister-in-law sent me, just because she knew I would like them.

giftwrap

gift
Originally uploaded by heylucy.

Someone has a birthday tomorrow, and this little package is on it's way to Boise. I am trying to be more conscientious and thoughtful about these things. Sometimes I think I've gotten a little too involved in online swaps and mail exchanges and not spent the same amount of time and care on family and real life friends. That makes me a little sad. So I've invested in some packing tape and sharpie pens for addressing cardboard boxes, and updating my address book and birthday list and will be sending pretty little packages to those I love this year. It's been so rewarding already, to know I've sent a little unexpected surprise someone's way and brightened a day here and there.

night lights

oooh, fun! I wonder if you could take them into a movie theater.

Reading is Fundamental

I'm showing off all the books I got for Christmas this year:

The husband discovered how to use my amazon.com wishlist, and pretty well cleaned it out. Luckily, I've already been working on filling it back up. These aren't all from him, but he got me proabably half of what you see. He also discovered amazon marketplace, and bought a few used, which doesn't bother me at all, but what's the deal with the library book? That one arrived after Christmas, and we were both a little puzzled. Should we call the library to make sure no one is selling their books? There's nothing that says it's been marked out of circulation. I also got a cd in one of those thin cases, with no label. Since I've had cd cases stolen out of my car twice, I have to wonder about this seller a little too.

I've also been getting books from the library, since I paid my fine last month, so I'm just a reading fool so far this year. I have enough to keep me busy for a while.

I've joined the knitting olympics, and my original plan was to make Lady Eleanor, but I was 'training' (trying out a swatch and learning the technique), since I'd never knitted entrelac before, and it was so fun that I just kept going. Six balls later, I don't think it would really be fair to use that as my project. So I'll be knitting a pair of socks using 2 circular needles, and knitting them both at the same time. I've only made one pair of socks so far, so this will definitely be a challenge for me. I picked up two pair of Addi turbos, size 3 today. Those suckers are kind of pricey, but I got a 16" and a 24", so I'll hopefully be able to use them for other things. Or I'll just keep making socks.

Has anyone else noticed how many good blogs there are out there now? I have to update my links. Meanwhile, here are some recently discovered blogs that are lovely, inspiring, and just plain wonderful and have earned bookmarks on my computer:

• Posie gets Cozy
• Twelve22
• Ingrid's HobbyBlog (I can't read it, but I sure do like the pictures!)
• Sugarloop
• Lisa Solomon

Doh! I totally forgot! If you're looking for some good music, my brother's newest CD is now available! It's really really good. You should buy one. Click the banner:

It will also be available on iTunes in a couple months, but I wouldn't want to wait that long, I'd buy the CD from him today. Of course, I don't have to buy one, he gave me one for free.