If These Walls Could Talk

After a long period of hibernation and change in direction, I'm happy to be enjoying Spring in my new surroundings. I'm all settled into my cozy little place here in the grand city of Seattle... I sure haven't done a lot of knitting lately, but leasing apartments here has given me an entirely new perspective on space; not the cosmic kind but the kind that one lives in and headquarters their life from.

In the apartment industry, a person learns quickly about all the different ways that people live.

The place I moved into is fantastic; all things considered, I have everything I need -- nice neighbors, lots of afternoon sunshine, a low-key central location and some upgrades that I definitely appreciate. I'd even go so far to say that it has a lot of character, from the large bedroom to the creaky wooden floors to the solid porcelain bathtub.

The paint job (or rather, lack of paint job/wall repair) leaves a story of where people hung things up and how they decorated, if at all. In some apartments you can even tell if the person burnt candles or not. At some point, a person lived here that had great taste in decor. Someone that wanted twinkle lights around their windows. After that, a messy cook, and then a puppy owner.

Anyway, the walls of an old house can tell you some things about what's transpired in that particular space, if you look hard enough. Definitely not everything, but enough to make my imagination run wild on a sunny Sunday morning.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well hello again! It's time for my quarterly episode of What's Been Happening in the World of Kim :)

I know they (whoever "they" are) say time just flies faster and faster the older you get, but this summer went extraordinarily quickly. It's tough not to get consumed in the throes of student housing; September is usually the time of year when I start to see the leaves change and fall and normally I am much more productive this time of year. I don't suppose opening a brand new building from a company no one has really heard of before has anything to do with it... my dad used the term "selling a dream", which seems fitting to describe this year's venture.

Aside from all that, I am thrilled that things will be slowing down here soon and that it's chilly enough to start donning the winter woollies that I've missed all summer. I am still working on that shamrock green entrelac blanket for my sister and hoping to find the right shade of red yarn to work up into another moebius like the black one that I use in my profile picture. I've also been thinking about making some eye pillows -- having moved into a new (and very sunny) apartment that faces due east, I have a new appreciation for the sunrise and a new understanding of what keeps that sunlight out when I'm trying to sleep in a little. 

I recently posted about the first-ever Kimbarelli Original Funky Knits Stashbuster Event; it's something I've been thinking about since August or so, but I had to wait for the chilly weather, of course! Half of all proceeds for my sales this fall will go towards the medical & funeral expenses of Joey Morales, someone near and dear who left the earth too early this summer. 

Here's a list of items currently for sale:

cable-knit cowl in glossy black $37.95
snowboarder hat with pompons in vanilla white $34.95
moto-cuff in variegated green/black/brown $29.95
beanie cap in emerald green with heather gray detail $26.95
open-knit slouchy hat in winter white $26.95
open-knit slouchy hat in vanilla white $26.95

Only the first item can be found in my Etsy shop; most the others are so new I haven't even had a chance to photograph them! Below is a goofy picture of yours truly modeling the snowboard hat with pompoms... I much prefer pictures of everything modeled by my sister but this one will have to do! If you're interested in one of the other ones, just send a message and I'll get more pictures and details to you. Thanks for your support!

In Love With Entrelac

Well, it looks like it's time again for my semi-annual blog entry! As much as I love narrating my crafting adventures, it's been a challenge to contribute to this blog on a regular basis. New job, (the search for) new surroundings, and some new people for that matter.

My latest kick in knitting is entrelac, which I find absolutely fascinating. I had tried it several years ago and fell in love with how logical it is. Knitty.com had a great article on how to knit backwards it's become my obsession as I finish up each "tier". I'm on to the 3rd (of many) and the best thing about it is that it's fully reversible with basketweave knit/purl squares. The great thing is that with this technique I don't have to make a single purl stitch throughout the main body. It's made of this gorgeous shamrock-green wool/alpaca blend from Cascade Yarns; I bought it from Angelika's Yarn Store in Portland last Spring and it's been patiently waiting to be transformed into a throw for my sister. It's turning out beautifully. I project that I'll have it done by the end of summer. I hope.

I've also knitted a few slouchy hats and developed a great pattern for a (k2tog, yo) that looks great in just about any fiber. One of my favorite customers shrunk theirs into a felted bowl... Well, that's not technically accurate... she accidentally left the hat laying on the dirty laundry pile, then her husband washed it accidentally. Sigh! I love working with this yarn from Berroco, so I certainly didn't mind knitting up another version in brick red that you can see here:

Before we know it, it'll be knitting season again -- there's much work to do before then! I'll leave you with that for now and try to post again before November :)

Knitting Up Warm Fuzzies

Something about this time of year has me exceptionally thrilled to be doing what I'm doing --  the Willamette Valley has finally given into autumn and everywhere I look people are donning scarves, gloves, hats... which is essentially, the essence of inspiration for me! After much deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that as much as I love the sun, I'm happier in a moderate climate where I can find (cold-weather) knitted goodness all around me, for a good chunk of the year.

I'm getting more and more proficient on my very handy knitting machine, which has made life a little easier this last year. There was definitely a learning curve, and I've got a lot to learn yet, but it has made a world of difference. Don't get me wrong; I still adore hand-knitting and there's nothing like the feeling of soft, snuggly fibers on my fingers that re-kindles my love for yarn again and again. But the beauty of a knitting machine is that it allows me more time to embellish (by hand) the pieces that come off of my needles. It's a beautiful thing! I liken it to snapping pictures on 35mm film versus on a digital camera... there's something special about making the most of each shot when you know that you can't go back and edit/delete/photoshop it (very easily, anyway). The energy and time and love put into something hand-knit has always been one of my favorite things about knitting.

On the subject of handcrafted love, my favorite sale is happening here in just one short week -- the Bliss Handmade 2012 Holiday Boutique Sale is always a hit and I'm excited that I've been invited to participate as a vendor again this fall! I've still got lots of loose ends to weave in this week... so it's back to work for me! Hope to see you there! :)

It's that Time of Year Again!

I'm a self-admitted lizard when it comes to sunshine; I feel like living in the Northwest has trained me that way. But I couldn't be happier that I no longer feel a pang of guilt if I'm not out soaking up the vitamin D while it's around. Daylight savings time for 2012 will be no more here in a few weeks, but hopefully I can either a) figure out idea lighting in this place or b) get a better camera so I can snap better pictures than the one at left! Every corner of my little studio seems to be consumed by crafting stuff everywhere I look, but it's absolutely perfect that way... and a month-to-month rental agreement suits me just fine.

the Month of May, Episode No. 32

The Temptations sang about it... the perfect time of year that lends blue skies and flowers to those who have missed it... I've said it before and I'll say it again -- May is such a  beautiful, beautiful month. This year it brought 3 weeks of sunshine that was much needed in these parts. There was no time to complain about the weather; I had some of the best weekends I have had all year, including the Bliss Handmade Sale I posted about last time. I had my wonderful lovely mother to help me and sold a good-sized bowl full of these very cute washcloths:

The next weekend, I spent a weekend in Portland catching up with the Holloway crew there, which is always a fantastic time. Aside from the good quality family fun, I attended a machine knitting and hand knitting seminar where I learned some amazing tips from the knitting master, Lily Chin herself. Her contribution to knitting and incredible talent is my newest inspiration for my own endeavors. I'm so very glad that I took the opportunity to learn alongside such an amazing instructor; I even won about $70 of super-luxe Cascade Lana D'Oro and a couple of new patterns to play around with on my machine.

A trip to the rhododendron park at Hendrick's Park had been on my list of things to do for a very long time, and the following weekend I took along some wonderful company and checked out tree after tree of gorgeous blooms. This was our favorite view (even if it wasn't quite as sunny that afternoon):

Memorial Day (aka our birthday) weekend was a crazy good time -- Mom and Dad rented a 4-bed, 3-bath house for their 40th anniversary overlooking the ocean in Lincoln City and we had a blast, from 10pm on Friday night when we arrived, to Monday around high noon, when we finally hit the road back to Eugene. We even made a detour to Mary's Peak, and although we didn't hike to the top this time, it was a small preview of some of the outdoorsy-ness I'd like to re-visit this summer. I could write a blue streak about everything that went on those three days at the beach house, but I'll spare you the journal entry and instead post a sampling of photos that depict some of the madness that ensued, including this modern remake of an old-school Polaroid:

I didn't get much knitting done over that weekend, even on the car ride there and back... but I spent an equally-good amount of time laughing, eating, hot tubbing and just enjoying all the good company that was around :)

In light of the warm fuzziness I feel when I look over these pictures, I would like to end this very long entry with a nod to this video by the Beatles in my late cousin Cary's honor, because I think of him a lot this time of the year, and just hearing one line of Yellow Submarine puts a huge smile on my face each time I hear it. It's perfect music to knit to!

Oh, Spring, Where Have You Been All My Life?

I'm not sure how else to describe this last knitting season. In a nutshell, it's been interesting. to say the least. Full of ups, downs and all-around wintry winter-ness. Serious thoughts of design school, knitting seminars and pretty things to make have been swimming through my head the past few months and all of a sudden it's almost summer again -- sure to be different than any summer I've had in a really long time. Once again, knitting proves to be my steadfast fascination through it all, along with the good company of good friends and a little tabby cat, too :)

On the machine knitting front, I'm all signed up for the knitting seminar that is being offered by Angelika's Knit Shop over Mother's Day weekend and pretty darn excited about it. I may not be really for a full-on education in machine knitting just yet, but it will be good to fill my head with some newly found knowledge of how to knit things better.

I'll be joining lots of other craftistas at the Bliss Handmade Spring Boutique Sale this Saturday May 5th, about which I'm also very excited! There won't be too many warm & cozy things on my table, but nevertheless I've had a ton of fun dreaming up cute cotton-y items on the lighter side that will be for sale. I really ought to be working on items to sell instead of procrastinating, so I'll leave you with this flyer that's got all the details: