I can't see!

Oh my! I've been working on a little beaded purse design in black yarn and gold beads. It looks awesome (if I don't say so myself :-) but oh my! My eyes are so strained that it's hard to continue. I've been trying to do most of the work in the day light, so that hasen't been too bad, but as soon as the sun passes to the other side of the house, I'm stuck squinting and guessing. :-) I actually can't wait to take it to the company that I'm designing it for to see if they like it. I'm going to have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that they not only like it, but they won't ask me to make it again because of the mistakes that I made in this one. I mean, the mistakes aren't totally obvious, but to a trained eye they may.

Last night I went to a book signing at Tempe Yarn and Fiber for the new book by Jonelle Raffino called Purls Forever. I finished reading the book and I loved it! It's not like any other knitting and crochet pattern book - this book has all kinds of really cool stories on how knitting and crochet bonded so many generations of women. Jonelle talks about her great grandmother, her grandmother, her mother, herself and how all of their knitting and crochet has also influenced her own daughters. :-) How cool is that to have such a fun tradition passed down so many times. Since I did not grow up with any grandparents close by (they all live in Central America), I love to read about that special bond between grandparent and grandchild - especially when they are fiber freaks like myself. :-) :-)

Okay, my eye can't handle the computer for much longer so I better shut up now. :-)

Take care

How do you like?

Okay, I've been thinking of trying the self publishing route for this little crochet project. For anyone that has never crocheted with wire, this is the ideal project. It's easy and quick, and most people can complete it in an afternoon. :-)

I taught this class at a conference for the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) called Chain Link i 2003. It just happened to fall on the afternoon before the big banquet, and so many of my students came running up to me as we were going in to show me thier new little necklace bag and matching bracelet.

There are a few things I need to take into consideration for this little project. Do I want to invest in beads and wire to make this as kits? Because if I ask a yarn shop to carry this in their shop, and they don't have the materials for an interested customer would need, then my pattern may not sell, will it? This is something that I need to seriously consider because the initial investment may be more than I want... plus I need to make sure that it will even be profitable for me.

Well, it's just an idea that I've been playing with. Who knows, I may do nothing with it and just try to teach it again for the CGOA.

I love new yarns! :-)

In the past month I have been playing with yarns from South West Trading Company (www.soysilk.com) and I have to say that I'm getting quite addicted to the how incredibly soft this stuff is. I've been working with Love, Rock, Pure and Gianna. I think my all time favorite is Love - it's 30% Silk and 70% Bamboo. No wonder it's soft with that silk in there. I made myself a top out of this and love to wear it! It feels really good against the skin and I am very tempted to make myself another top. :-)

I made a little purse out of Rock. This has a little bit of wool and hemp - but I think it's the hemp that makes it a bit "scratchy".... well, compared to Love! I still prefer the feel of this yarn over some of the acrylics that I have in the closet. :-) Even the "softer" acrylics don't feel this good. :-) Well, that is my opinion and it will have to take 'feeling up' a lot of softer acrylic yarns before I can find anything that may compare. :-)

Gianna is a bulky wool blend that is probably one of the most fun yarns that I've played with in a long time. Well, it's been a long time since I've purchased new yarn, so I don't have much to compare. If you ever want to make a quick project, this is the yarn to use. I was able to make a petite purse for use as a dressy purse out of a ball and a half. It's not super tiny, but enough to stick your wallet, keys, cell phone and maybe even a coin purse. :-)

Right now I'm playing with Pure - this is 100% soy silk and I can't really describe the feeling of this yummy yarn. It's a bit 'sticky' like some cottons, but will not injur your hand while crocheting or knitting with it. I just can't describe this yarn, but the finished project feels wonderful! :-) I've made a hat, scarf and bagpack/purse with this. I'm swatching another ball too see if I need to use smaller knitting needles since I've become such a lose knitter these days. So far my gauge is still really loose and I'm using needles two sizes smaller than suggested. So, as soon as I complete the repeat of the pattern I'm using, I'll switch to an even smaller set of needles and continue working. It's a good thing that I like to swatch because if I didn't, I'd be in trouble!

You're probably asking why I'm working with so many yarns from SWTC - I'll let you in on a little secret... I'm making designs for them and hope they will take a few. :-) So far, three are being considered and I'm just waiting to see if they send a contract for them. If they don't accept them, I'm not afraid to try some other outlets. :-)

So, that is why I'm also not posting any pictures. But I will let you know if (and when) these little designs I'm working on come out. :-)

Take care,

Pinka