Baby Stuff

Our furry little houseguest, Charlie, (see last post) brought his family along with him--our son Alex, his wife Jaimie, and their OOMBBIW (my original abbreviation, short for One Of the Most Beautiful Babies In the World).  His name is Ryan, age 9 months.  I'm completely under his spell and will do anything he asks (even worse than beautiful yarn).  Unfortunately, this toy didn't withstand his quality control testing.  I made it in basket class by coiling knit material around a cotton core.  He quickly found the outer join, and started to uncoil it.

 

This is the latest of many hats I've made for Ryan.  It's from a free pattern on ravelry.com called the Kurbis Baby Hat, done in Lorna's Laces worsted (very soft and nice to work with).  It will look 100% cuter on him, so I'll post that picture when I have one.  Hope he doesn't get snatched up by mistake at the  Pumpkin Patch.  

Next are booties made from felted sweaters.  Jaimie bought the pattern on etsy.com, called Whimsical Booties.  The button is fake; they're held shut with velcro.  The design is very good but I could offer some important suggestions in terms of the instructions.  If you're interested, leave me a comment with your contact info.

And here's a picture of the little angel himself.  Can you see why I'm his complete slave?!  I think part of the reason he looks so happy is that he has some of the most wonderful parents around.  Check out their blog: mfamilytales.blogspot.com.

Dog Tag and The Universe Provides

We had the pleasure of this lovely little house guest for a week; how could I resist doing a yarn tag?  His name is Charlie and he's very good about posing.  I've been wanting to design a dog sweater that is easy to put on and this one is.  It buttons under the chin and on the side.  It's crocheted from a 4-ply yarn, starting at the back.  I went around the buttonholes with red embroidery thread so they show up better. Very quick to make and I think he likes it.  I tried adding a hood just for cuteness but it didn't work out. 

 

 

   

The universe provides!

The Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild had their wonderful Fiber Frenzy sale, and I was being SO careful to pick out only a few "necessary" yarns. When I had almost made it to the check-out safely, I spotted four huge bags of Red Heart, for $5 each. Everything from Sickly Sweet Pink to Disgusting Gold; skillfully combined they're awesome.  There's something so primal about buying so much yarn that you can't even carry it to your car in one trip.   

 I also found a bag with 1.5 POUNDS of hand dyed sport-weight wool yarn for $10.  It was in one huge hank which I put over a large trash can in order to wind it into balls. Of course this took ridiculously long, but I'll do anything for a beautiful yarn.  I'm thinking about Daybreak or one of those great Ravelry shawl patterns for it.  

 

D and E:Decom and Emergency

This old house has so much character that just wanted to crochet everywhere on it. Alas, all I had with me was this little orange tag.  It's in a very cool and very steep neighborhood in L.A., on Clifton St. Our friend Alex had us over for a barbecue before the L.A. Burning Man Decompression Party, so this tag is named Decom. Note to self: always carry a few spare tags as you never know when you'll need them. 

Closer to home, a friend told me about a sign post that really needed a tag.  When I found it, I realized that this was an Emergency.  Even though CalTrans or whoever had already attempted a caution tape tag, this pole was in dire need of a yarn tag, so I obliged.  (BTW, sorry about the changes in font; they seem to occur randomly and I haven't figured out yet how to control this "feature". )

Is It Vandalism?

When I did my first few tags, a pesky voice in my head asked, "Is this vandalism?" Would people be angry that I was infringing on public property?  That concern quickly vanished when I saw that these little dabs of color in the landscape seemed to radiate good energy.  My feeling was confirmed when several neighbors made enthusiastic comments. Notice that "Ahem" acquired more layers.

 

So I started thinking of yarn tagging as an attempt to counteract the visual pollution that we're so used to. For example, not far from "Ahem" is this ugly sign announcing that a cellphone antenna is going to be installed, and it's been there for two months!  

On my walk one damp morning I discovered dozens of shimmering webs, and decided that this little green spider was my mentor.  These little guys have been adding fiber art to the landscape for millennea.   

B and C:Bodice and Chameleon

When I first considered tagging, I loved the idea of putting my little creations out in public for people to discover randomly, a fun surprise.  But for me art is a form of communication, and I felt the need for a bit of connection with my "audience".   My first answer to that need is to start this blog.  My second solution is to place tags where my friends will see them.  

My second tag is Bodice,  fashioned from a very happy Red Heart variegated yarn, with a purple ruffle at the top.   I'll confess a great delight in using Red Heart, which is like the junk food of the yarn world--super cheap, disgusting synthetic texture but tough as nails, and screaming bright color combinations which entice me like an illegal substance.  What better yarn could there be to stand up to the abuses of weather, birds, and stares by clueless people?

Bodice is along Vala Dr., very easy to find from the picture.

Chameleon, as the name suggests, was designed to blend in with its surroundings.  It's on Via Bolzano, along the side of a driveway.  It's knitted in a wave stitch.   Fun trying out different yarns and stitches on such a small, instant gratification piece. 

 

 

Tag--You're It! A: Ahem

Welcome to my blog!  Recently I was visited by the Muse of Decorating Public Places, who tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Tag, you're it!" Since yarn is my medium--knitting and crochet--rather than spray paint, I started creating fiber graffiti.  I installed my first tag very nervously on a quiet Sunday morning, sure that traffic would screech to a halt and police would appear to throw me in handcuffs.  To my relief, no one even noticed.  

My tags are named by letters of the alphabet, like hurricanes.  The first one, a very simple design, is "Ahem", because it draws just a bit of attention.  It adorns a pole on the corner of our street which was very sad because it had lost its identity.   It used to hold our street sign, but a new pole was installed on the other corner and took over that responsibility, leaving this poor guy topless.  He's much happier now with some decoration.

A standard signpost (stop sign, street sign, etc.) is about 7 5/8", so I make a flat piece with that dimension, and sew it together around the post with yarn and a tapestry needle.  A wooden post is often a 4x4, so 16" around.  

I live in Santa Barbara, Ca., so most of my yarn tags are there.  This one is on the corner of my street, Camino Cascada.