Beeaaddddsss!!

Stuff I have been working on:

1: Freshwater pearl necklace with lampworked glass pendant. So far, my favorite.

My next Favorite:

Seed beads, large accent beads, and GORGEOUS copper/black pendant! oooh this was fun to design!

This is all glass beads and such. I re-string the seed beads to make sure the necklace lasts a long time.

Haven't quite decided how to put this together yet, but the colors are fan.tas.tic!

Such a sweet combination of purple and green. Some young lady will love this when it's done!

This is dyed agate. It resembles Larimar, or Dolphin Stone as it's more comonly known. One of the rarest stones in the world. You can only get it in the Dominican Republic. I have some real larimar, but it's very expensive. up to 20$ a gram in some places. I'm still playing with the idea of multi-strands to go with it, not to over take the beautiful colors.

The Pendant is a shell, dyed and features a gold overlay with a clear gloss finish. I really liked the big gold beads at first, but after taking the pics, I'm thinking about just using the smaller fire-polished Czech beads, so as to not overtake the pendant.

I have quite a few more ready to put together, but wanted to share with you, the reader, some of what I've been doing. It's so much fun, and very rewarding. I enjoy the challenge of changing gears by switching from knitting to beads, to sewing and crochet.. it's my therapy, I suppose.

This might be a good time to plug the "it's okay to have a huge stash of in- progress projects..".. it keeps your mind busy as well as your hands, and I rarely ever watch TV, therefore being blissfully igorant of the world falling apart around me. Ha!

Never be afraid to try new things.

I'm on Etsy!

www.etsy.com/indianpaintbrush

More to come!

Happy Independence Day!

Raiding the stash

Not sure why the photo is elongated. I think the blog code changes on a daily basis. One time, I can't upload photos. Other times, it won't let me edit text (hence, the spelling/grammar/formatting errors in previous posts)..

What you see here is some wool I found in my stash that was actually a part of my mother's stash, which makes it pretty darn old. It's soft, yet wooly, and my grand mother's birthday is coming up (okay, I missed it by two days..so far..) and I decided to "whip up" some comfy house socks for her.

The phone and Beer are 'props'.. hahaha. The book is "The Knitter's Book of Patterns" which is one of my most-used books. I like to take yarn, needles I want to use, knit a swatch, and use this book to get my gauge for the item I want to make. Then, I use other patterns that will fit into my stitch count, and Voila! My original creations!

I still think the camera has too much blue in this. I wonder if Blue is the hardest color for a camera to re-produce. It really is a turqoise colored yarn.

 Just about halfway through the first sock, I will update later.

I wonder how many other projects I have on the sticks.. hmm. there's the sweater, a couple of dishrags. some other socks..a baby blanket to bind off..mumble mumble..

proud moments

This is acrylic. Red Heart everyday stuff. It wears well, crochets up quickly with a big hook (I'm using N hook), and the varigated yarn adds interest to a simple pattern.

This is "Pink Ripple" pattern from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns by Jan Eaton. It is a lot of fun to do and easy to memorize after a few rows. I like the way the blues all fade in and out. So far, there hasn't been too much "bunching" of color.

Damn! This camera does some good close-ups! Here you go. A row of double crochet, then a row of single. Easy. Fun. Fast.

From the previous second hand store post, This is the progress I made while on vacation. I am now thinking it is a cotton/linen blend, but still haven't ruled out bamboo. I am posting it on my Ravlery profile to see if anyone else might know what it is. I cast on 100 stitches with 10.5 needles, and did a 5-stitch garter border, and 2k,2p pattern. ( I think it's called double moss stitch. Not sure here..I just started knitting.)  I didn't want to have the pattern take away from the beautiful colorway. just enough texture to enhance.

The closer look shows the wonderful sheen this yarn has. It is has such a soft hand and buttery drape. A joy to knit!

Here's a good close look for you. What do you think it is?

Aaand, the finished product two days later! Ta-dahh!! Thanks to Aunt Marian and Uncle Mark for their wonderful background view of Lake Washington.

And another closer look. I want to find more of that yarn and knit these until I lose the baby blanket bug.

On to more projects!

Hitting the Stash

I've been knitting like a crazy lady since school got out for the summer.

I joined the Oregon Knitter's group on Ravlery and there's a "UFO" (unfinished objects) event going on, and I'm trying to see what I can finish.

This is Lion Brand Cotton yarn, and I'm making dishclothes for a friend who loves purple and is having a bridal shower. They are easy to knit and fast, and I can crank out three or so in a day or two.

Second hand store score!

 Persistence pays off once in a while.

Ever visit second-hand stores? I go every couple of weeks or so. Mostly just to look, always on the hunt for a treasure or two. My girls like to find clothes. My son plays with the toys. I look for linens, yarn, dresses made from expensive fabrics, and anything that looks like something I would collect.

Today, I found yarn. Wool. Fine gauge. Good quality. Score!
also, worsted-weight varigated cotton. It looks like fiber tape, actually. but there's enough to make a summer top. (it's summer colors).

All in all, a good find. Keep searching!

Drewsey, Oregon

This is a sample of where I grew up. Drewsey, Oregon.

It's in the Northeast corner of Harney County, the largest in the state (with the smallest population). High Desert Country, it hosts hunting, fishing, hiking, ranches and rodeos.

This is my father's mother, Kathleen. She is 100 percent Irish. We like it that way. She'll be celebrating her 87th birthday this coming November.
I wish I lived closer a lot of the time. She always has good stories and advice for  anyone who will listen.

My "Little" brother, Cody. He was lucky enough to get a BLM job out in Burns, about 45 miles west of Drewsey. He took his and my kids fishing.

Joe learning how to fish. He had a great time! That's the Middle Fork of the Malheur River behind him.

My neice, Cailyn and Emily, catching bass like there was no tomorrow!

Sadie and Skye finding a better spot to 'hang out'

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This is wild onion. It grows all over the place. I love seeing them among the Sagebrush. It smells like onion though. ;)

Joe is showing you, the view. So pretty!

I hope you enjoyed my little presentation. If you are ever feeling crowded, or just need a quiet place to think, come out to Oregon's Big Country and leave your troubles in the hills.