Urban Sketching

I made it to Draw Madison yesterday and I actually like my sketch -- though I have to give the credit to a fellow sketcher, Elsie, who helped me save a a disastrous drawing.

If you have ever wanted to draw, you should see if there is an Urban Sketchers group near you. There are groups all over the world, linked by a web site and a manifesto. It began as an online flickr group in 2007 and morphed into a nonprofit dedicated to drawing on location.

The manifesto holds, among other things, that sketchers draw indoors or out, depicting what they actually see. Sketchers can use any media and are encouraged to draw together and share drawings online. I love the 8th item on the manifesto: "We show the world, one drawing at a time."

That makes it sound so do-able, doesn't it?

I'm not sure exactly how famous Sheryl Thies is. She is a knitting/crochet designer who has published five books and is very well known around here -- but she's a local girl, so that doesn't tell me much.

At any rate, she was the speaker at last night's Knitting Guild meeting. Her two most recent books are about Tunisian Crochet, which completely puzzles me. She had Guild members model 16 of her garments, which was a great way to show off her designs. Some of them were breath-taking, but I'm not tempted to take up Tunisian Crochet, as knitting keeps me happy.

However, I really should finish this scarf:

 This is the Ocean Waves pattern from the book above. I started this a very long time ago -- and it was a bit too hard for me. I should be up to it now, though.

Not So Bad

I am admittedly a yarn snob. I generally look down my nose at the bins of Red Heart and Bernat at the big box stores, like JoAnn Fabrics. Still, I'm enough of a yarn lover to wander through the yarn aisles at the big stores. And a little while ago, I came across this colorful yarn, Bernat Mosaic. It's 100% acrylic, which would usually keep me from tossing it into my cart, but I loved the saturated colors in this enough that I searched my memory for a scarf pattern that would work with it.

I decided that it would make a pretty Honey Cowl and picked up two skeins.

So it wasn't until I got home that I had a chance to check out the low-down on Mosaic on Ravelry, and the news wasn't good. Many other people had been seduced by the color, only to be disappointed once they started knitting. The yarn feels like cardboard, some said. Many said it broke while they were knitting. There were complaints about knots, too.

The yarn did have its fans, I was relieved to see. And about 2 inches into my Honey Cowl, I've had a knot but no breakage. I do have trouble with most wool, so it would be nice if this yarn worked out for me.

Rejected

I actually did finish the red Rikke Hat, but I don't have a photo of it yet. Instead, I have this, which came in the mail this week:

It is a mini quilt, which I submitted to Somerset Studio magazine. This incredibly beautiful magazine has a theme for each issue. They announce the theme in advance and request submissions. I've submitted a few things over the years -- bus I have never gotten anything published that was on a theme!

One of the problems is that I don't start early enough. Looking at this now, I can see it isn't finished. Those few shells at the bottom look ridiculously random. And the sun is far too plain. No doubt those are only a few of its problems. I think I'll work on it some more, but that's going to ruin the back, which I affixed after doing all the embroidery!

Suspenseful Hat

I am worried about finishing my red Rikke Hat. I have quite a ways to go -- it's a very slouchy hat -- but I don't have so much yarn! The yarn is fairly expensive Madelinetosh, so I'd hate to have to buy a second skein just to top off the hat. I know I could make the hat shorter, but I really like the slouchy-ness.

I kind of like the idea of buying more Madtosh -- but my stash really is large enough.

Now the question is: Can I have this done for an FO Friday?

River Rocks and Sea Glass

Obviously, you won't find river rocks and sea glass in the same place, but then, these beads are not stone nor glass. Nope, they are plain old polymer clay. And I can't even claim originality. These beads are taken right out of this book:

For the most part, I like to make jewelry of my own design, but now and then I fall in love with someone else's ideas and want to make something for myself or someone I love.  That's how it was with these beads.

The trick to the stone-like appearance is to mix Tim Holtz distressed embossing powders into  translucent clay. I used Premo brand clay. My only twist was to make the stones small:

I'm trying to come up with some "matching" earrings that are not too matchy-matchy.

But not today. It's the last day of spring break and I need to work on my teaching license. Like most states, Wisconsin has implemented a complicated system requiring us to design a Professional Development Plan every five years -- and mine is due!

And a note on my last post: There is a lot to see and do in Northeastern Iowa, but not in March and certainly not on Easter Weekend! We cut our trip short by a day because so many things were closed and the wet weather made hiking less attractive. However, the company was excellent, so we enjoyed the trip.

FO: Simple Socks

It's been quite a while since I could proclaim an FO, so I'm happy to present a completed self-patterning  pair of socks. It appears that I never registered this on Ravelry and I have no idea what brand the yarn is. I can tell you isn't Opal or Trekking. It's one of those sturdy sock yarns, though.

I knew I'd keep this pair for myself. I love these muted colors.

I'm well into the second half of my spring break -- and I am truly enjoying it, though I have a hard time turning off my teacher brain. I spent the last few days at my parents' house. My dad has some ongoing health issues, so I've been trying to visit more frequently and help them out. Yesterday my visit overlapped with one from my brother Mike, so that was a treat.

Today I'm heading out on a road trip with my friend Lisa. We have no idea where we're going, but we are going somewhere!

Spring Break Is Awesome!

I love my job teaching middle school Really, I do. But it isn't easy and I'm often exhausted. So, it's no wonder that I'm enjoying our spring break.

Yesterday I had to cancel all my plans so I could stay home to get our boiler fixed. It's still winter here, so we did not want to be without heat. I made the best of it by trying my hand at a new (to me) craft:

Carving my own rubber stamps. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's obvious why a coffee cup was my first project! I don't know if you can tell, but the pattern on the cup is supposed to be Holstein -- as in the cows. Black and white Holsteins is the main breed you'll find in Wisconsin because they produce a lot of milk.

I decided to do the cupcake because I need to make up a new batch of birthday cards. It was a lot harder than the coffee cup.

Here's a bit of my process. I used square blocks that were really easy to carve. They don't have any packaging, so I can't tell you what they are or how to find them. I get them at a local store.

 Everything I know about stamping, I learned from this book:

Author Gennine Zlatkis is a fabulous and inspiring artist. You can check out her blog here.

I Should Not Need To Wear These

Really? I have to wear a hat and mittens in the second half of March? This just doesn't seem fair!

My friend Lisa snapped this photo while we were out for a walk on Saturday. We drove to the edge of town and walked along one of the bike paths. It was just a bit above freezing! A year ago, we were having highs in the 80's.

I love winter, but this is even too much snow and cold for me.

It's especially disappointing to have cold weather now, as my spring break begins. I was hoping to do a lot of bike riding and spring cleaning. I actually don't mind riding my bike in the cold, but there is still a lot of ice on the roads, and I'm not in the mood for any broken bones.

I Am Smitten

After a long wait, I finally got to the top of the queue at the public library and was able to pick up this book:

I'd become kind of lazy about cooking lately, so I really needed something to kick-start my kitchen activities.This book was the perfect solution. The pictures, the descriptions, the recipes -- all of those elements make this book inspiring.

No doubt, some of you are already with the Smitten Kitchen, which began (and continues) as a blog. Author Deb Perelman lives in New York City and makes her magic in a very small kitchen. She churns out recipes that produce flavorful results without using exotic ingredients -- and she succeeds.

Every one of the recipes I've whipped up has been fabulous:

• Tres Leches Rice Pudding
• Wild Rice Gratin with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Baby Swiss
• Tomato Glazed Meatloaves with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have finally found a kale recipe that is delicious -- not something I'd eat for health reasons only. And I don't think I'll ever make mashed potatoes again without browning the butter.

One thing to note: This is not a "health" food kind of book. Deb Perelman does not shy away from cream or butter or sugar. That said, there are many healthy recipes, including the Gratin I mentioned above.

And if you think you don't like rice pudding, try the tres leches version. It is amazing.