Revisiting ZENTANGLES

Since the weather is getting nice my boys are playing outside more and more and since they are still too little to leave alone I sit outside with them.  Well if you are a crafter you know there is no such thing as "just sitting".  I have to always be doing something with my hands, whether it's watching my boys outside or watching tv inside, it just drives me nuts to sit still.  So I think that's how I got back into zentangling.  It's extremely portable... just my drawing pad and a pen.  Here are my latest creations:

I started this one a long time ago but didn't finish because I started knitting again.  I had to finish it before I took the picture! It is untitled.

This one I did while I was outside watching the boys.  It's almost too ridged for me, I like them a little more free flowing but it was an experiment.

This one is called DANCING TREES:

My latest two that I haven't named yet:

I should by stock in Sharpie Markers!

New ideas

I love buttons and I love painting on them but lately I've been knitting and water coloring.  Well I've revisited my buttons because I have some new ideas for them.  My first step was to collect aluminum can lids (easy, I had them leftover from another Christmas angel project).  Next I visited the hardware store for washers; big heavy washers.  Who knew that creative people LOVE hardware stores because we NEVER use the supplies for purposes intended.

The next thing I did was to glue the buttons on the aluminum can lids then prime them for painting: 

Then let the fun begin!

So this is almost the finished product.  I can't decide whether to make them pendants or put pin backs on them because some of them are rather large.  The diameter of these 3 measures about 3".  So the front is finished but the back isn't.

And here is another look at some of my creations drying in the sun:

Ideals Magazine

I have a few old issues of this wonderful magazine but it is no longer in print. 
Taken from www.thenewmagazinecity.com they said "Ideals Magazine has ceased publication. Ideals enriched life with inspiring stories, beautiful poetry, and touching reader contributions. Each issue of Ideals Magazine offered page after page of spectacular full-color photographs, wonderful drawings and paintings, as well as heartwarming scenes of seasonal celebration".
Now I know I could go onto ebay and find more Ideals magazines but I just like to stumble upon them every now and then.  I would like to share with you a poem taken from the January 1956 Old Fashioned issue of Ideals:

How Grandma Danced By Mary Mapes Dodge


Grandma told me all about it,
Told me so I couldn't doubt it,
How she danced, my grandma danced:
Long, long ago.


How she held her pretty head,
How her dainty skirt she spread,
How she slowly leaned and rose -
Long, long ago.


Grandma's hair was bright and sunny,
Dimpled cheeks, too, oh, how funny!
Really quite a pretty girl -
Long, long ago.


Bless her! why, she wears a cap,
Grandma does, and takes a nap
Every single day: and yet
Grandma danced the minuet -
Long, long ago.


"Modern ways are quite alarming,"
Grandma says, "but boys were charming"
(Girls and boys she means, of course)
"Long, long ago."


Brave but modest, grandly shy;
She would like to have us try
Just to feel like those who met
In the graceful minuet -
Long, long ago.


When I read this poem it reminded me so much of my grandmother.  She lived to be 100 years old and she was a wonderful woman.  She would tell me stories of how she and my grandfather would dance the night away at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach; oh how she loved to dance.  She went to be with her one true love, my grandfather, in heaven in 2007 and I believe they are still dancing up there too.

Fun, Fun, Fun

These are two of my favorite watercolors I've done in the past two weeks.  I've tried other subjects but I seem to get the most satisfaction from painting flowers.  My style is still evolving.  I want to try different techniques and styles.  And by that I mean more abstract or loosen up a bit.  In the past I've tried to paint like other people, or have tried to be a realistic painter, but that's not me.  I think my work is somewhere between realistic and folk art.  I like it and to me that's all that matters.

Black Eyed Susans

size 2.5" X 3.5"

Morning Glories size 5" X 7"

Selling on Etsy again!

I am so excited to be selling on Etsy again.  I love creating art and anything and everything inspires me.  There is so much great talent out there and Etsy is definitely the place to find one-of-a-kind pieces.  I am still in the process of uploading my watercolor ACEO's and button pendants to sell but please take a look-see: www.kimagination.etsy.com

The latest

Wow I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted!  I've got to do better.  Anyway, my husband and two children and I just got back from a wonderful vacation out to WI and IL to see family.  I could ramble on and on about our adventures out there but I'm trying to stick to my crafting adventures so here's the latest:

I've told you about ATC's and how much I love creating them.  Artist Trading Cards are 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" and they are made to be traded with other artists.  I trade, or swap, mine on Swap-Bot.  Recently while in IL visiting with my mother-in-law she showed me what she has recently started to collect.  She knew I would be interested because I love to paint.  They are called ACEO's.  I've heard of them and understand that they are like ATC's but I didn't exactly know the difference.  The difference is people pay for ACEO's!  I didn't know people would actually pay money for these little works or art but my mother-in-law does so that got me thinking...hmmm... I could try my hand at that... so right now I'm in the midst of painting ACEO's to sell.  ACEO stands for Artist Cards Editions and Originals.  I have an Etsy store but my mother-in-law buys her's on Ebay so I'm thinking about jumping ship and going over to Ebay.  Another new endeavor for me!

How my sock knitting is coming along

I finished my second ever pair of socks!!!

This pattern is called Syncopated Rib Socks from I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks by Cindy Guggemos for Leisure Arts.  It is a super easy pattern for a beginner like me.  It was just enough to challenge me but not so overwhelming that I got frustrated and quit.

Updates on the next two pairs of socks I've started:

I am doing a third pattern from the book  I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks.  I do have other sock books but I love the way this book is written.  My coral/pink pair has started out to be the little arrowhead lace socks (on pg. 50) but it doesn't look quite like the picture in the book.

The pattern is a little more complex so I need complete concentration (which does not happen with a two and four year old) and I need to be fully awake which is debatable after 8pm.  I haven't given up on it yet but trust me I've thought about it a few times. 

I think the reason why I haven't given up on my third pair is that I have picked a super easy pattern for my fourth pair.  Remember I said I always wanted to be working on two different pairs at the same time, one difficult and one easy. I found this pattern on Ravelry and it's called Thuja by Bobby Ziegler.

(I will post a picture in the next few days).

The designer is a man and the sock is really a man's sock but I'm using smaller needles.  The reason why I picked this pattern is because the pattern on the leg is carried down all the way on the top of the foot.  If you've noticed on my first two pairs of socks it is just the basic knit stitch once you turn the heal.  I'm challenging myself a little bit more each time and working my way up to the more difficult ones.

I had not planned on mentioning this book in this post (because it deserves a whole post all to itself) but I'm working my way up to this book:

It has some of the neatest designs!  I'll just share one with you in this post because it may be the first one I try from this book.  Again I emphasize MAYBE.

Stay tuned!

One hitch...

the way I knit.

Up until yesterday I had decided that in order for me to knit more intricate sock patterns I needed to knit on circular needles instead of DPN's.

Yesterday I moved my coral socks (see previous post for photo) onto a 40" (same size 4) circular needle.  I am still at the ribbing stage of these socks so after I moved them I knit one more round to get a feel for circular sock knitting.

Extremely awkward.  Why?  Because of the way I knit.  A few years ago when my mom taught me how to knit I just couldn't hold the needles in both hands.  It felt awkward.  Hold one needle in one hand and the other needle in the other hand.  Control tension by wrapping your yarn around one finger... and that's the finger you'll use to wrap it around the needle.  My mom was a very good teacher and showed me more than one way to knit.  We tried the continental and English method.  I couldn't get it.  I understood the mechanics of the knit and purl stitches but my fingers just weren't cooperating.  I was in my 30's.  

Finally I said "Couldn't I just hold one needle between my legs?"  My mom looked at me kind of strange and then said something like "whatever works".  And I've been knitting like this ever since.

This picture was taken on Monday while knitting in my car (no I was not driving):

 My work is in my left had and my yarn is to the right of me.  My needle is being held between my legs and my right hand, which was at the moment holding the camera, controls the tension.

Therefore it's almost impossible for me to knit with circular needles because I can't hold the right needle between my legs.  Like I said, I knit one round of the coral socks holding both needles with my hands but my tension was off and it took me forever to do just one round!

I went on Ravelry last night specifically looking for DPN sock patterns and they are out there.  So I transferred my coral socks back onto 4 DPN's and knit 2-3 more rounds to get the tension right again.

So again stay tuned for the development of my coral socks!