Elevate Your Graphic Design
This is a pair of illustrations that started as four separate colored pencil drawings, were scanned-in, finessed and assembled in Photoshop. The names come from the skin care line that I’ve worked on branding with Red Silk Essentials. The helpful images below, from the internet were my muses, thanks to google images and the photographers/websites, since I don’t have a real koi pond to sit beside and sketch all day. Did you know the Japanese word koi not only represents carp but love as well?
“…But I turned sulky and wouldn’t. (Yes, sulkiness, that’s the right word for it!) I sat in my room like a spider. You’ve been in my den, you’ve seen it.… And do you know, Sonia, that low ceilings and tiny rooms cramp the soul and the mind? Ah, how I hated that garret! And yet I wouldn’t go out of it! I wouldn’t on purpose! I didn’t go out for days together, and I wouldn’t work, I wouldn’t even eat, I just lay there doing nothing. If Nastasya brought me anything, I ate it, if she didn’t, I went all day without; I wouldn’t ask, on purpose, from sulkiness! At night I had no light, I lay in the dark and I wouldn’t earn money for candles. I ought to have studied, but I sold my books; and the dust lies an inch thick on the notebooks on my table. I preferred lying still and thinking. And I kept thinking … And I had dreams all the time, strange dreams of all sorts, no need to describe! Only then I began to fancy that.… No, that’s not it! Again I am telling you wrong! You see I kept asking myself then: why am I so stupid, that if others are stupid—and I know they are—yet I won’t be wiser? Then I saw, Sonia, that if one waits for every one to get wiser it will take too long.… Afterwards I understood that that would never come to pass, that men won’t change and that nobody can alter it and that it’s not worth wasting effort over it. Yes, that’s so. That’s the law of their nature, Sonia, … that’s so!… And I know now, Sonia, that whoever is strong in mind and spirit will have power over them. Anyone who is greatly daring is right in their eyes. He who despises most things will be a law-giver among them and he who dares most of all will be most in the right! So it has been till now and so it will always be. A man must be blind not to see it!”
This illustration, Brooding, is from High School, sometime between ’95–’97 in my junior or senior year. We were reading Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment, a book I remember having a hard time reading. I had to look up the passage that inspired my moody, teenage self.
I’ve talked about starting a daily sketch practice for a long time. I’m still not in any way practicing regularly, but I have finally got a few together that I’d like to archive and share here.
Wolf rules was also the first drawing on my tablet with Adobe Sketch. I’m not sure that it’s finished. I kind of envisioned a border around it, dark silhouettes of wolves and trees and… The words belong to Clarissa Pinkola Estés from Women Who Run With the Wolves.
Guess who the model was? Not a wolf, BTW.
Do you have a stack of projects in progress PLUS a mind full of all your next great works? I sure do. I’ll try to catch up here on some better photos from my last roundup, what’s done, what’s in progress or temporarily on hold, and maybe a peek into some future ideas.
Better Photos
As promised in the last textile post, better photos.
What’s Done?
Technically, these next three fall into the category of ‘done,’ but as you’ll see with the last two; they are telling me I’ll probably revisit their design.
Bee HatHave I mentioned that Hubby has been ‘bitten by the bug?’ He’s not ready to take up the needles, but he is very supportive of my habit and contributes suggestions for projects, mostly for him and mostly hats. During a trip to Durango yarn, he picked out a malabrigo yarn, Mechita in Aureo, that screamed, “BEES!”
When the knitting blogs I follow all started touting Andrea Rangel’s book, AlterKnit, I knew my knitting was going to take a more colorful turn. What do you know, it includes a Bee pattern! Synchronicity at its best.
At some point, I picked out a navy to contrast with the flecked gold, but Hubby wanted Brown. So when we were on vacation in Taos this Summer and stopped in Mooncat Fiber, he picked up another skein of Aureo and Wonderland Yarns, Queen of Hearts in Tulgey Wood—we’re both guilty of expensive tastes.
I mostly followed Andrea’s Bikey Beanie pattern at an intentional, larger gauge (Hubby prefers at least a 22″ hat circumference), and added a fancier ribbing pattern that reminded me of a honeycomb from my other favorite new book, Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida. Now I just need to snap a photo of him wearing it.
Tanzanite LingerieHubby turned 40 last year, and my gift to him was a lingerie set for me. With the help of Lucy Hague’s Illuminated Knits, I figured out how to add some color to the shorts and top. I love the shorts, and will some day make another pair. The stockings are comfy, but I’m not sure that I like the elastic in the tops, and they still slouch if I try to wear them around town. Guess I will have to look into some garters or keep ’em for the bedroom and around the house.
I also hastily created a halter top, based off the bodice in my Vintage Sweater, and with fancy cables inspired by the aforementioned Japanese stitch dictionary; but it is stretching more than I’d like with wear. In hindsight, if I’d added cables to the back, it probably would have given the back more structure, combating its tendency to curl. I can’t remember if I’ve washed/blocked any of this yet, so we’ll see if I need to take a tuck in the middle or figure out some other alterations to pull it back together.
Pattern: Tanzanite Stockings, Tanzanite Shorts
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky & Dewberry from yarn Durango (oops! I don’t remember how many skeins I used.)
Seashore Eclipse ShawlThis is the other one that I think needs some alterations. I enjoyed knitting the body of this in a circle; but I’ve decided I don’t like wearing it. I want it to open up like a more traditional shawl. Maybe I did something wrong at the beginning, but even after blocking, it pooches out like a cone or nipple in the middle. Hubby jokingly refers to it as the cosmic bung hole. 
I’m flirting with the idea of trying to do an after-thought steek along one of the spiral ‘arms’ and cutting it open. I’ll probably have to add another edging to clean-up, finish off that edge. If I do, I’ll be sure to snap more pics and post an update. For more details about this shawl, see my last post.
In Progress…
Birch Goddess SweaterThis is one of those projects that has been years in the planning. It’s been so long, I’m not sure if I’ve got the origins right, but I think I first picked up the book, Northern Knits, during my first visit to yada yada yarn in Silver City, New Mexico; mostly because of the Pia Laceweight Pullover on the cover, although I was also intrigued by the Fair Isle patterns and learning more about knitting (and the culture) from this part of the world.
I believe it was that trip that I also picked up a couple of balls of Plymouth Yarn’s Kid Gloss. This is a super luxe mohair and mulberry silk blend. I’ll admit I shop for yarn with my senses and little regard to my pocket book, which I have to watch out for when I get to the register. If it’s not the color that catches my eye, than it’s the texture or super soft feel. I’ve spoiled myself with this yarn. Everything else feels rough and heavy in comparison.
I’ve never knit with something so light! Some of the specialty yarns in the Wood Nymph hank exposed me to similar yarns and gave me the confidence to try. I stared at these balls for months, thinking I wanted to wrap myself in a fluffy, cloud of a sweater, yet knew that the two or three balls would not yield enough yardage. I searched for patterns, so I could calculate how much I’d need. And then I realized the sweater I wanted to make was right in front of me.
By chance, I found a few more balls in Durango; but the shopkeeper there said she couldn’t get any more from her supplier. I think that’s when I decided to add the gray and white to the teal and mint color palette. But it still wasn’t enough… This yarn does go a long way with just a little, but the lacework pattern is a fairly dense yarn-eater. Lucky for me when we returned to Silver City last November, the colors and yardage I needed were there waiting for me. I dropped all the other projects I had in progress and am now one sleeve away from finishing this dream of a sweater layer. I made up the color transitions myself. I was tempted to blend them more, but I like the blocks of color that show off the subtle, yet complex shades within a single color. Why is it that the second sock or mitten or sleeve seems to take for eva…
Geodesico from malabrigo book 4While I was on a binge buying books this year, I also ordered this one because I love malabrigo yarns AND it had a wide range of patterns that I liked. Everything from head (hats) to toe (socks), and bits in between (shawls and sweaters). I’ve almost completed the band on this hat and need to go back and double check my gauge before I work on the crown. Not sure how I got so far without paying more attention to that, but I can be a bit of a maverick when it comes to gauge.
yarn: malabrigo rios in teal feather from yada yada yarn
Dragon Scale MittsLast but certainly not least, I need to finish the mate to this mitten and add the i-cord edge to the bottoms. Inspired by AlterKnit, I adapted some of Andrea’s patterns to create this design, and changed the cuff based off that Japanese Stitch Bible. I originally thought I might line them and stuff them with some Turkey down to make them super, fiery warm; but they have turned out very snug without much room for that. Who knew Dragon skin could be so fuzzy? I guess the ones who live in the North are.
yarn: Feza yarns Nico in black from yarn Durango; and Schoppel Laceball in Footnote from yada yada yarn
Whew! That’s probably enough for today. Just know there are a slew of projects already in mind beyond what I’ve listed here, and a stash of yarn that is still waiting for me to decide what they will become.
Looking back at 2018, I definitely expanded my knitting library, skills and abilities. I’ve also been working on some illustrations and jewelry. Can’t wait to see what comes out of the creative crucible for 2019.
I’ll admit, I’ve been dragging my heels to make a post after my last one about fire season, lest I jinx us. We held our breath for an awful long time. Since I started writing this, the Camp Fire and other wildfires in California showed us that those fears can be well founded. Neighborhoods are not immune, and I know ours has a big forest, wild-land interface.
Seemed like we couldn’t go to town this Fall without coming home to a fire in the neighborhood (there were at least 3). From what we heard listening to the online radio traffic, seeing their response time, professionalism and talent, those fire crews and our local PFPD are amazing.
When the remnants of hurricane Rosa drifted our way in early October, we finally got a little relief, but the drought map still looked bad. I started to see the sprouts of weeds rejuvenate along the driveway, and the grasses I thought were goners began to emerge, just in time for frost. The Fall seemed somewhat mild and quick for the colors to peak. We stayed extremely busy with chores and projects in the transition between seasons this year.
A lot of the work (not done by me) was to get the new engine in the bus, and get a few miles on it before we high-tailed it down to the Gila to celebrate hubby’s 40th. It was the slow-down, camping time we needed and exactly how he wanted to celebrate. We started the trip this time by meeting up with some friends at Snow Lake, where the best gift ever was the final custom fitting for some new bus awning accessories; and ended with working from the road for just one more week at our favorite cabins in Pinos Altos.
I don’t know why I haven’t written about the Gila yet? Maybe because I get bogged down in culling pictures from our trips, and then get distracted from writing the post to support them?
We were first introduced to the northern and easterly most parts of this National Forest during a series of winter-time, VW shenanigans in 2012 & 2013. Since then we’ve been drifting further and further south every year and have fallen in love with Silver City and the surrounding areas.
Since our first trip on our own in 2015, we’ve come back every year to camp, try new hot springs, and explore the forest and attractions like the WNMU museum’s collection of Mimbres pottery and the Gila Cliff Dwellings. There’s a lot of history, character and creativity here.
The bus and its new engine did great. There were a few hiccups but nothing that stopped us for very long or can’t be tuned/corrected. We barely made it home before snow covered the driveway. Now the bus is back in the garage and all of the camping interior and gear is removed and stowed. Hubby’s got her mostly torn down to the bare bones as he replaces some much needed rusted out body parts in preparation for next summer’s adventures.
2019 Alaska bound…