Another geology lesson: Felted Novelty Yarn Cat Bed. And will Rudy use it? NOooooooo...  

Mamma's Baja

Momma got back!
Materials used: Filatura Di Crosa in Porto Cervo Print from a pattern found in Easy Knitting, Summer 2005: Shore Things. Super soft and comfy for sleeping in and as a pool cover up. I am about 5'8" (I was 5'9" before the 3 kids!!!)and it in long enough to cover my rump....Mercifully.

The pattern is worked from one sleeve to the next. It actually uses 4 different colorways of Porto Cervo Print in simple striping pattern. It was very easy to follow. Finding enough of the yarn was the hardest part.

Momma's Baja: Front View 

Hobo pattern prototype: needs steriods! 

Back view: comb your hair!!! 

Striped Surfer Girl Baja Sweater

Striped Surfer Girl Tunic: front view
I "improvised" this pattern for little Emma. Months ago, I had a bunch of Manos Del Uruguay cotton Stria without any idea of what I was going to do with it. I love the yarn but it is a little fragile. It is like a boucle with a thin string holding the cotton fibers together. It washes just great in the machine. I was a little afraid of bleeding. In my house, if it doesn't wash in the machine it isn't going to be around for long.
I just finished a beach Baja in Filatura Di Crosa Porto Cervo Print (see Easy Knitting/Summer '05/Shore Things) for myself and decided that Emma need one too! So I used my tired little brain to convert the pattern from an adult woman's scale to a 7 yr. old's. The thing I love about stripes: it helps motivate me. I tell myself to just do a little more with the promise of, "I'll stop after this color is done!" and then just keep saying that color after color until I fall asleep. Does anyone else sleep with his/her knitting? The thing I hate about stripe: All those ends that need to "disappear".
She looks great..But then again, she would look great in a potato sack.

who threw out the cat? 

Knitting Geology

Felted Sampler Bowl: Knitting Geology
This is my equivalent of the rock strata found in the Grand Canyon. This is made from the wool of my first 70 or felted bags. Being a mega yarn cheapskate, I could throw out my scraps. So I would add a round of color to a circular needle after each project was finished. I used the smaller remnants at the bottom/foot my work. I had no idea what it was going to be. I just kept adding more and more colors until I was satisfied. Then I added my trademark "fur collar" to the brim and felted the snot out of it. It took on a bowl shape. I found an old tomato basket and attached to it by sewing it onto the upper most Wooden ring of the basket. For some reason I felt compelled to wrapped the handles in black wool...It looked a little too rustic and then viola! I consider this piece to me a more sculptural object than any knitted project that I have done. LESSON: Save your bits and pieces!