Guerilla Knitting

I've heard and read about "guerilla knitting" and "Urban Inoffensive Graffitti"... But I've not seen the knitted lampposts for myself until just now. We just happened to be driving by the Art Institute and right outside the window was this happy "graffiti".  I have to say that I love Chicago for loving (and leaving) stuff like this.
Another amazing happy accident was yesterday when we were driving downtown and we paused under the el tracks to let j out for a quick errand and as I looked to the left I was staring right into the doorway to the School of Art Institute of Chicago...where I studied (and worked on a certificate in painting) while i lived and worked in Chicago. It was that doorway I walked through to study and learn in my collage class... And also my art journaling class... When I found I loved mixed media and collage more than painting, I nervously approached my advisors... And in true artsy "Art Institute" style - they informed me I was still painting... Just with different materials... And they were perfectly fine with me as I embroidered paper and wove magazines together supported by bamboo frames... And basically laid the groundwork for what I'd be doing these days...
Kind of reminds me of last year's happy excursion to my textile design studio in Florence, Italy.
I love the journey. And I love revisiting the landmarks, too.

Another cowl

It's coo-oooold in our house. Los Angeles houses were not built for any variation in weather... We have a tiny wall heater in our dining room that pretends it can heat the whole house. (it can't) I'm drinking lots of tea, baking, and doing laundry to get more heat... I wear fleece and hats and scarves just doing my stuff around here. But scarves get in the way. And I always need something to do when I finally do sit down and watch tv... I don't watch much, but since we
and a lot of our friends make their living via TV, we have to watch some... ( watch "Life Unexpected" a new show on CW... My friend Reggie is in it. - oh and while you are at it... Watch "Fringe" and "So You Think You Can Dance" too)
---yikes! Tangeant alert!----
Anyhow. I've been using up my scrap yarns to make cowls. This one has 5 different yarns in it. It's ridiculous, but cozy... And this way I don't end up with soup, soap and stitches all over my scarf. Next knitting project is a buttoning scarf/cowl.

Quilting- for real!

I kid you not, this is exactly where I am right now... With my knitting on the right and my (first!) quilt on the left... I'm sewing up the binding right now after finally working up the nerve to do the sandwich and quilt portion. My bff Amy (of this past summer's wedding)
is sitting across the table, chatting with me as I sew and knit and sew again. (She's in town for 2 days before heading back to Thailand) And yes, my collage and drawing journal is underneath the knitting... In case the mood strikes?
The other journal under the quilt is my personal journal (I fill up about 3-4 a year with daily writing). This one is one I got from Anna Maria Horner's shop...

I swear, they have medication for people like me.

I'll send pics of the quilt when it's done.

The cowl

Just realized the last post didn't have a good angle of the cowl. Here you go.
If you are a knitter... Easy recipe... 2 thick yarns used together as one. Thick needles. Knit in the round to measurement. (mine were on size 15 needles with 60 stitches around). K2, P2 for 6 rows at the bottom, knit to desired height then K2, P2 6 more rows. All done!

Green and red

Well, I couldn't find a way to post this without putting my face in, so please bear with the huge pic of my face. (have i mentioned how weird i feel about pics of myself? Let alone my huge face?) The intention was to show you my new Christmas gifts (the earrings and crocheted hat) with my most recently completed knitting project, the cowl. Why have I not knitted a cowl before? I love knitting in the round and with size 15 needles and two yarns at once, this thing was FAST! I'm also finding that a cowl is the perfect scarf to wear inside my freezing house. (subtract the earrings and this is how I looked in my house last night... Same pajama top and all)
The earrings were a gift from J's mom. They were made by a friend of hers in Beverly Hills that sells to Bloomies and Anthropologie. (I'll find out her name). They are a little heavy, but SO super pretty, eh? And the hat was an etsy gift. (When Ze Artiste saw it, he said, "momma, you used to have a blue one like that hat.") right-eo little buddy... Momma loves hats! And earrings. And scarves. Oh darn, I just love accessories in general... And I haven't even told you how much
I've fallen in love with fingerless gloves this winter, have I?

Ps. Green and red will continue to be put together LONG after the holidays are over. My two favorite colors? They have to work outside of December... Blast all convention...