As the Wool Turns

2011-12-02T20:00:00.172-06:00

iPhone Friday

A Chance to Relax After Work

"iPhone Wallpaper from App: "Backgrounds"
{Click on name for link to app}

While looking at someone else's blog, I saw the idea for posting a photo taken on your iPhone every Friday. {Sorry, I do not recall which blog as I was surfing the net and caught a glimpse of the idea, then was off to another site. I am sure you know how that goes.}

For my first iPhone Friday post I wanted to share something I enjoy when I relax, but first some background. I meet regularly with a wonderful group of friends who do Native American Beading. {Though not full blooded I have some Indian blood running through my veins. Mainly Cherokee, but I am sure I have some other mixed in.} I am learning from a fantastic teacher {a wonderful Osage elder}! The patterns are not written down, but instead are shared in the time-honored tradition of passing the information along by word of mouth. Someday I too will pass along this information, doing my part to keep this "art" alive. I will post in the future about some of my beading and I will ask my teacher permission to include a photograph taken of him in his full regalia at a PowWow.

Recently while we were beading I was offered a cup of Chai Tea Latte. I know my DS {Dear Son} loves Chai Tea but I had never tried it as I was thinking it would be strong and have a heavy spice taste. I was so wrong! Our hostess was making some for another beader and offered me a cup. Oh Wow!! How do you spell "hooked"?! It is possibly the best hot tea I have ever tasted.

Now I should back up and tell you that I am from the South so I love a very cold glass of ice tea and yes, "Sweet Tea please!" I "dabbled" with drinking hot tea when I was a teenager. I would drink it but it was not "Wow!" because I had not found the right tea. I had fun trying different teas though. During this time I heard about a cup called a "Mustache Cup" while I was at camp. When I got home I mentioned it to my father. Being the loving Father that he is, he secretly went in search for one for me. Dad lettered my name on mine before he gave it to me. I am not sure where he found it but I thought it was the coolest thing. I would still have it except I made the mistake of leaving it at home when I moved 500 miles away. Ooops! My parents have moved since then and so I am quessing it was either discarded or given away. {I really should ask though!}

Since I no longer have that cup and I knew some of you would wonder what one looks like, here's a photo from Stephanie Land Clicks' Blog.

I chose a more fancy one to show you. The one I had was a ceramic mug. You can see now why it is called a mustache cup - just right for someone with a mustache.

I thought the hot tea tasted better in my mustache cup because it had been lovingly found (and personalized) by my Father! The only thing missing from my hot tea was milk. At the time I did not realize milk was needed. Growing up in the South I had not seen anyone put milk in their hot tea. I was around so very few hot tea drinkers and actually did not meet a hot tea fan until I was away at camp for a week one summer. Even though it was hot and humid {a normal Southern summer} I drank a lot of hot tea that week because it was new to me.

Fast forward to current days and my first encounter with Chai Tea Latte. When it was presented to me I was told it was Chai Tea. I was not sure if the creamy taste was normal for all Chai Tea but as I inquired, they told me it was a Latte so it had milk in it. The milk smoothed it out nicely.

The photo I am using for my first iPhone Friday post was actually taken a couple of weeks ago. I went to Panera to relax and write a letter to one of my Fountain Pen Network {FPN} pen friends who is from the UK. I decided a cup of Chai Tea Latte and a slice of Babka would be a nice treat. {To read more about Panera's Babka, click on the name.} So without further ado, here is my iPhone Friday photo:

In my letter, I mentioned my new addiction to Chai Tea Latte and how the milk really added what had been missing {for me} from hot tea. For as long as I can remember, I have heard the British really know how to appreciate a good cup of hot tea. My pen friend wrote back that "milk is essential." Yes! Confirmation that I had finally discovered what had been missing from my hot tea experience! {And by the way, that is a normal slice of Babka. Panera is very generous. It is light and airy so some can finish this big slice in one sitting. I sometimes have to ask for a to-go box so I can take the other half with me.}

By the way, to block out the sounds of the cafe, I was also listening to a mystery via "Playaway" from one of my local libraries {thus the writing on the Playaway}. I could not resist taking a photo with the Playaway so you can see how small they are.

For those interested in seeing how Babka is made, I am including a video of Tom Gumpel, Head Baker at Panera:

Happy Friday!

from Studio Z

2011-10-05T18:00:00.019-05:00

Thanks, Steve Jobs!!

{Tribute to founder ~ photo from Apple.com}

I remember shopping around for our first personal computer and choosing an Apple IIe with Duo Disk Drive. {No, please do not try to guess my age.} The duo disk drive was brand new and came at a perfect time! No longer would the user have to pull out the program disk to put in the data disk. My Apple IIe served me well and helped to provide some of our income while I was home with our newborn son. I spent many an hour typing papers for people.

We have had Windows based computers since but when our last Windows PC died a miserable death, DH {Dear Hubby} gave me the green light to once again own an Apple product! He did not have to tell me twice!! I raced to the Apple store.

Since then I have been able to purchase other Apple products and dream of adding more. Yes, I am a Mac! I especially love a Mac for my photography! My sister and I put my iMac to the test shortly after I purchased it. While visiting our parents, we loaded over 700 baseball photos on my iMac, labeled each photo, created albums and burned CDs for each baseball player to have photos of himself and some of his team and coach {my sister's hubby}. Never once did my computer slow down or miss a beat!

Thanks for letting me take a minute to say goodbye to a man who enhanced my world!

This closing photo is a re-image of the famous Apple Logo. A teenager in Hong Kong, Johnathan Mak, presented this logo on his blog. I thought this was a fitting tribute to one of Apple's founders.

Thanks, Steve!

KZ

2011-07-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

The Tale of a Lost Lawn Mower

Click on "You Tube'" in the lower right hand side to view this in You Tube so my niece's son will get credit for the views. This one is short but it is so much fun you will want to watch it more than once. Enjoy!!

2011-07-13T21:20:00.001-05:00

DC Shuffle

Well, they have been busy again. Check out the latest video on You Tube by ijamskateonyourhead. As last time, click on the lower right hand side of the video where it says "You Tube" so you watch this on You Tube. This will allow him a more accurate count of how many are watching his videos. This will also encourage him to make more!

2011-07-12T20:13:00.012-05:00

The Magic Pole

This is a fun video to watch!! Click on the lower right hand side where it says "You Tube" so you can watch it on You Tube and give my niece's son, a very talented young man, your view counts!

>

KZ

2011-07-11T06:00:00.018-05:00

To Brighten Your Monday

Texas and Oklahoma are suffering from triple digit heat this summer. Here is how two baby elephants at the Houston, Texas Zoo are cooling off. They look like they are having a blast!

2011-07-10T08:43:00.000-05:00

Sunday Smiles

I had to smile when I saw this video. Too funny!!

2011-06-01T07:00:00.040-05:00

Springtime

Today starts summer break for some so I could not resist this interesting video of a robin's nest and all the work the Mom and Dad go thru raising their nestlings during a four week span of time. If you want to see Fred Margulies' Vimeo video on full screen, click on the 4 arrows on the right hand side, lower portion of the video after you start the video. Fred has titled his video "4 Eggs, 4 Weeks".

This video is a tribute to Mothers and Fathers everywhere. Parenthood is a full time job rain or shine!

KZ

2011-05-28T18:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Loving photography, I thought this was a neat video someone made. They took a photograph of their German Shepherd, Dunder, every day from age 8 weeks to his 1st birthday.

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

KZ

2011-04-14T00:00:00.001-05:00

Classical Music ala Rube Goldberg

This is an ad for a wooden cell phone case but you do not know that until the very end. They spend 99% of their ad time on the music. Enjoy!

2011-02-11T20:48:00.008-06:00

Winter Wonderland....?!

For the last two weeks we have been covered in snow. Yesterday the temperatures in our state were colder than the South Pole! Minus 11 Fahrenheit is not my idea of fun. Nowata, Oklahoma was Minus 31. We are not in the north and we are not talking wind chill! Baby, it's cold outside!!

This video was taken when my Border Collie/Chow mix went out into the early snow last week. As you will see by the look on her face she had a mission that snowy morning. It kept snowing, so every time she went out she had to blaze new trails. Finally when the snow stopped, her "sister" was so glad Sweetie had blazed those trails. Sasha is older and it was too difficult for her to trudge thorough such deep snow. She quickly found if she used the trails blazed by Sweetie she could negotiate the back yard and get to their favorite spots. I wish I had an aerial view of those trials!

Sweetie loved blazing those trails! The camera was shaky because I was not dressed appropriately for the weather. I was really cold, but I wanted to grab the opportunity to capture her intensity in the storm!

The piece of fence that looks like it is getting old is actually an additional picket section we propped up along side the fence in the summer. We used to have it out further so the dogs could go between the fence and that section for shade (a make shift lean-to).
I have not had a chance to blog much lately but I have some fun things I will be sharing with you soon. Think color, think art and think ink!
Warmer weather coming our way!Inky Zebra

2011-01-08T17:30:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!

January 8 is one of the special days on my calendar for a great reason - it is my Dad's birthday! This is a photo of my Dad and my sister taken today at his birthday party. Wish I could have been there but alas, no vacation time! Dad has always encouraged me to learn all that I can. I am sure this is why I enjoy taking classes and learning about anything that intrigues me.

Speaking of something that might intrigue, have you ever wondered what cats are saying to each other when they play? Let's listen in:

No matter how you play it, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

2011-01-01T19:44:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

Sweetie wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! It is 1-1-11!!!

2010-12-22T21:37:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here is a cute video to bring a chuckle or two. These goats a so funny!

2010-11-14T08:28:00.008-06:00

Weekend Chores

Weekends seem to be spent running errands and catching up on household chores. I like to mix in some reading, watching a good movie and carving out some time to spend on art to round out my weekend.

A retired co-worker sent me the link to this video recently. The "little guy" in this video is Jesse, a Jack Russell Terrier. I think Jesse could help those chores go a little faster. Enjoy! He'll bring a smile to your face!

Enjoy your weekend!

2010-11-05T22:10:00.002-05:00

Bill Kemp, Calligrapher Extraordinare, and Dr. Martens' 50th Anniversary Video

I just had the pleasure of hearing calligrapher Bill Kemp talk about his experience with his commissioned work to celebrate Dr. Martens' 50th anniversary. His calligraphy is so beautiful! The video is amazing how the artists incorporated Bill's calligraphy with some calligraphic style images and made them all flow thru the video. The fish you will see swimming in the video is from George Bickham's calligraphic script fish. George lived in 1700s. The talented artists who put this video together did some amazing things, including turning George's flat fish into a 3D "swimming fish."

I have embedded the High Definition version of the video but to get the full efffect, click on the 4 arrows in the lower right hand corner of the video (before you click on start arrow) to change to full screen to see the beautiful work by all involved! You can then press esc (far upper left corner of your keyboard) when the video is over and it will bring you back to the blog.

Enjoy!!

2010-06-20T21:17:00.022-05:00

Happy Father's Day!

I hope all of the fathers are having a nice day! When I called my Dad, he said he was having a great day! I am very blessed to have him for my father!

Since Mom and Dad live too far away for me to travel there and back in one day, I decided to take a short roadtrip with camera in hand this afternoon. The Blue Whale is a Route 66 Roadside Attraction I have driven by many times in the past without my camera.

Special thanks to Hampton Hotel's Save-A-Landmark program for repainting the Blue Whale and cleaning the grounds! (Right click on their name to find out more about their Save-A-Landscape program).

Hugh Davis, former Director of the Tulsa Zoo, built the Blue Whale as an anniversary gift for his wife, Zelta, in 1972.

I decided to go down a little trail behind the Blue Whale that leads to a pier from which people used to jump off into the water. Along the trail I found a colorful mushroom:

I also saw this plant along the trail. Is anyone familiar with what type of plant this is?

I have not made a movie in awhile so decided to set my Blue Whale photos to music. The music is "Electric Blue" (sorry I could not resist) by Mannheim Steamroller. Click on the arrow to start the movie.

To read more about the Blue Whale on Route 66, click here.

2010-05-17T18:30:00.002-05:00

Wonder Where Life Will Take This Young Man?

It's great to see something good happen to a young man who has promising talent. He has only been playing piano for three years!

In case you missed his recent visit to The Ellen Show, here is the video from You Tube:

What impressed me the most was his composure. He appeared right at home in front of the audience.

KZ

2010-04-28T20:32:00.006-05:00

Oops!!!

Sorry for the ad at the beginning and end of the video, but this video captured the most.

This photo circulated quickly via email right after it happened. {Double click on the photo to see a larger view.}

2010-02-21T07:00:00.002-06:00

Camera Critters

There are some fun themed blogging groups that invite other bloggers to join them. I am going to participate in Camera Critters, If you have a few minutes, click on the name or the logo and visit their website to find other blogs with critter pictures. These are typically posted on Sundays. {As always, right clicking and choosing open in new window will keep my blog open in one window for you.}

Since this weekend finds us in the 40's (Fahrenheit) and it is raining, I thought these Flamingos would be a good picture to share. They all appear to be napping. It is a great weekend to catch up on your rest, reading, movie watching, blog surfing, music writing (or listening), or other creative endeavors.

I took this picture at our local zoo (on a much nicer day).

To see other photos of Camera Critters, click on the logo:

No matter what your plans are for the weekend, have a great one and remember:

2010-02-14T01:37:00.000-06:00

Gussy has a contest also

Hop on over to Gussy's blog: http://maggiewhitley.blogspot.com/ {I have hyperlinked the url so just right click and choose "open in a new window." It will take you on over to Maggie's blog in a different window. Be sure and come back to this window to finish reading my blog.}. Maggie's two prizes are related to my post yesterday about Where Women Create. The contest ends soon so do not delay!

Today is Valentine's Day. Our Sasha is part Samoyed and she talks to us all the time. I do not have any videos of her talking so for Valentine's Day I wanted to post another talented dog who says "I love you."

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

2010-02-13T22:57:00.000-06:00

A Fun Website, Great Book and Magazine!

One of my favorite librarians requested a book on my behalf a few months ago. (My librarians have spoiled me. Occasionally I will head to the shelves where the books I requested online are waiting for me to check them out and there will be a book with a note - "Thought you might be interested in checking this book out."} Where Women Create is a wonderful book showing the studios of various creative women.

I really enjoyed reading about the studios and seeing the wonderfully inspiring pictures. Shortly after this, I discovered there is a magazine with the same name. This is a picture of the cover of their current issue:

I recently purchased the current issue so am still making my way thru the magazine. Not only do the pictures inspire you to create your own creative space, it is fun to read about the variety of talent!

I am adding a link on my side bar to the blog for Where Women Create Blog. Below is the picture they have provided for me. Just right click on the logo and choose to view in a new window. This will take you to their blog while keeping my blog open for you in this window.

Check their blog often. Currently they have a contest for a gift from The Knitterly in California. On their blog you will find meet the owner of The Knitterly and you will also see the instructions for entering the contest which ends soon.

2010-02-07T10:54:00.001-06:00

Game Day

Many people are preparing for the Big Game today, so I thought it was a great day to post this video about an amazing seven year old boy who will "knock your socks off"!

2010-01-30T16:40:00.002-06:00

First Came the Ice

Here is my obligatory icicle photo (because icicles are so pretty!). Thursday evening we had lots of sleet and rain. It wasn't until Friday afternoon that the snow began to fall.

In our backyard we have a wheelbarrow that is turned upside down.

My neighbor's pine tree always looks so pretty when it snows! If memory serves me correctly, this one grew from a seedling she planted when she got married.

I close with Sweetie taking a break from playing in the snow. Sasha was camera shy today. My two "snow girls" have played and played outside today. They would come inside for a few minutes and then head right back out. The snow was a lot deeper (we received six inches of snow yesterday) but now that they have run all over the backyard the snow has become more compacted. The girls are finally inside, perhaps ready for a nap.

I promise fiber and paper posts soon!

Stay warm!

2010-01-29T19:26:00.009-06:00

As the Snow Falls...

I work downtown in a town about 25 minutes away. Last night we had lots of sleet and rain. This afternoon it started snowing a lot. This is a picture taken with my mobile phone while waiting on the bus.

Earlier in the afternoon I took this picture from the 6th floor of my building looking out at the parking lot by the Jazz Museum. Not very many people were still there, as you can tell from their parking lot. (Their building was a train depot it its previous "life." Trains still pass by all thru the day.)

My building is an all-glass building. In some places there are dots on the windows to "shade" the floor. I apologize but my phone did not come with a dot filter!

When I got home, it seemed we had more snow than at work.

After I greeted the dogs and hubby all at once (they all met me at the door - what a warm greeting!), I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures in the backyard. I apologize I did not have a chance to adjust the camera. My concern was grabbing daylight.

The snow really shows on Sweetie! She loves to rub her snout in it.

Picnic anyone?

We could throw something on the grill!

Still snowing - that is what those white slanted lines are
(If you click on a photo, it enlarges and you can really see the snow falling --
then click on your back button to come back to the blog.)

Even the Snow Girls did not seem to want to be out there while the snow was still coming down. I have a feeling it was stinging their eyes.

After they had their supper, the snow had fallen stopped falling. Now they are out playing in the new fallen snow -- yes, now that it is too dark to take pictures!

Stay warm and safe!

KZ

2009-12-14T21:26:00.003-06:00

For my friends who love canines as much as we do, here is a little Merry Christmas video! Even if there was someone coaching them, I think these "guys" did a pretty good job!

2009-12-06T10:39:00.000-06:00

My apologies for not posting more often. Thing should settle down soon. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

In the meantime, here's a video from You Tube that I get a chuckle out of every time I see it.

2009-10-31T22:00:00.006-05:00

Some Stamp A Mania Fun
and
Belated Unveiling of Birthday Card to DB {Dear Brother}

Last January I had the pleasure of going to Grapevine, Texas to the Heirloom Productions Rubber Stamp Convention. I made my first trip a number of years ago and was hooked! Sadly when layoffs came, I had to bypass on the trips. This past January I resumed a tradition a friend and I had for years. If you have never been to a Rubber Stamp convention, I should tell you the energy in the Convention Center is amazing! Stamp Companies spend hours setting up their booths with all the latest, greatest supplies and samples of the wonderful things you can do with their products.

Always being on a budget, I learned that first time many years ago to do a little homework before the convention and during the convention. You will see so many wonderful things that you will want to impulsively buy. The conventions are usually so large, you almost feel like you are in "sensory overload" - the wonderful kind of overload!! I always check out the Heirloom Productions website for the list of vendors for the show nearest me. Heirloom now has posted their 2010 {Wow ~ 2009 is flying by!!} schedule in case you are in the States and want to know if they will be near you. (Right click on their name above to go to their website.) As time gets closer to the event, they will have a link to the list of vendors who will be at that particular show. I like to spend some time checking out the vendor websites. Sometimes you find something you feel "you just have to have" and you make a mental note to look for that at the convention. So that's the pre-convention homework fun.

When the long awaited day arrives, I make a preliminary tour of all the booths, take in a few demos and then start formulating my game plan for the purchases I want to make that day. Knowing I cannot possibly spend all the money I would love to spend, I always ask for business cards so I can purchase online later if I find something that is perfect for future projects. I have fun seeing everything first and then deciding which booths caught my attention the most. I make a second round and go back to those booths that grabbed my attention. It gets even more fun as I decide what wonderful tool(s), supplies and/or stamps will be making the trip back to Studio Z.

One of the vendors who caught my attention the most in January was {right click on logo to visit website in a new window}:

Stamp A Mania utilizes calligraphers to hand letter their stamps. The beautiful calligraphy definitely grabbed my attention, as did the wonderful images! I really enjoy Southwest designs. Mark and Cynthia are also busy working on some exciting additions with Posh Impressions and Stampa Barbara. {Right click on name to open websites in new window.}

Part of the fun of watching demos at Stamp Convention is you sometimes become the lucky recipient of a demo card. Below is the card I received from Cynthia.

I shot this on a black background to show the moon template used, but the lighting in the room was not sufficient for you to also see the round portion from the cut out that comes with the template so you can ink around it for a different effect. Cynthia used two shades of Embossing Powder for the trees on a grey cardstock. If I remember correctly, she also used an Alabaster ink with the moon template. {Cynthia, correct me if I am wrong.} Whatever color it was, the ink pads flew off the shelf as everyone saw how great it worked for the moon. Each time I look at the card, I think of a cold winter evening and the "Warm Greetings" remind me of a nice, toasty home.

I have ordered online from Stamp A Mania since the convention and each time they are fast in getting the "goodies" to me!

DB {Dear Brother} enjoys buffalo a lot so for his recent birthday {I am really late in posting this on my blog} I made him a card with the Mimbres Buffalo by Stamp A Mania. Each time I look at this stamp I see more ideas on wonderful ways to use it. Below is a picture of the way their wood mounted stamps originally came ~ with a beautiful laser image. You can still purchase wood mounted images, but the index is no longer done with laser. One can only imagine the logistics (and the cost) of mass producing a full line of stamps with laser images! I love that Stamp A Mania offers all of their stamps in unmounted also. This is a cost savings, in addition to the storage advantage of needing less room to store your stamps.

I liked the look of the buffalo on the polished stone background, but the photo does not do it justice:

Along with cardstock in white and yellow, I used one of my Polished Stone pieces recently shown. The image was stamped with VersaMark Dazzle Frost using Ranger's Fine Detail Silver Embossing Powder.

The punch is a Corner Adorner Card Creator punch by Paper Shapers (a division of EK Success). As you can see by the shape, it is designed to punch thru any corner, including the two by the fold. This punch is called "Lotsa Slots".

On the inside of the card, I used Happy Birthday stamp by Hero Arts and on the back, I used "Original Stamp Art 1/1" by Just for Fun.

Hope you enjoyed the card. Be sure and check out the Stamp A Mania website!

For those arriving in search of fiber, I promise fiber content next post.

KZ

2009-09-19T08:02:00.004-05:00

From the mailbox...

Recently I posted about Polished Stone technique {Click here for link to that post}. My subtitle was "The Marriage of Alcohol Inks and Glossy Paper". That title elicited the following response:

Dear Twisted Reader,
You made me laugh! Thanks for adding some comic relief after a very long work day yesterday!

2009-08-28T21:42:00.009-05:00

Crochet Bowl ~ Pre-Felted Stage

Wanting to get an interesting shot of my Karaoke yarn by SouthWest Trading Company, I decided to have a photo shoot at Starbucks one evening. A friend was kind enough to loan me her coffee before she took a sip so I could try to grab some shots of my yarn. If I remember correctly she took this particular picture with her cell phone and sent it to me the next day. (Thanks Dawn!)

Karaoke is a worsted weight yarn, 10 ply (9wpi), 109 yards per skein. This particular colorway is #278 Mermaid. I purchased this 50% SoySilk/50% Wool yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool. As mentioned in a previous post I originally purchased these 4 skeins early in my knitting adventure thinking I would use this yarn for a Clapotis. It would have been very pretty but I soon decided I would be happier using it for knitted bowls.

When I learned to crochet I decided I wanted to see what crochet looked like felted. I chose Caffeinated Crafter's pattern for a felted bowl. She recommends starting with a "Magic Circle" and recommends tjw1963's video on You Tube:

I started my bowl with the Magic Circle and loved the ease of it. You also need to know how to decrease or sc2tog. The Caffeinated Crafter recommends the following video by KawaiiGurumi:

Here are two pictures of my bowl before felting. I need to do some more felting and will show the felted bowl in a future post.

I actually think I like the bowl better in the pre-felting stage. Maybe when I finish the felting I will like it better. I ran out of time while felting and so let it dry for now. I hope to come back to it by next weekend. I was so busy when I started to felt it and it was taking cycle after cycle (more than I had to with my knitted felting), so I put it in "time out" for awhile.

2009-08-23T13:09:00.024-05:00

Polished Stone ~

{The Marriage of Alcohol Inks and Glossy Paper}

Where do the days go? It seems like I blink and it's Monday all over again! Before my weekend is but a memory, I wanted to make sure I carved out some time to blog. I apologize for the long delay. I spent some of my time trying to get decent shots of Polished Stone over multiple days and finally settled on these pictures as the best my camera could do. (Perhaps it could do better, but I chose to say "enough already!" due to a thing called "time.") I rejected quite a number of pictures. Polished Stone is one of those things that you have to see in person to get the full effect.

I used Ranger Adirondack Alcohol based re-inkers, Adirondack Blending Solution, Blending Tool with felt and glossy card stock.

The felt piece can be "washed" with rubbing alcohol (or the Blending Solution) to "clean it" a few times. You will know when you need to toss the felt and replace it with a clean one.

The spray bottle contains alcohol and the black container has Kosher salt in it.

In the bottom sample on this picture after the ink was applied and blended, I lightly sprayed the paper with alcohol and dropped some Kosher salt around. Leaving the salt to dry on the paper for awhile, the salt interacted with the ink and added an interesting look. This is a watercolor technique some of you may have used before.

On the next two samples and the bottom sample in the top picture, I used Stream, Wild Plum and Butterscotch (pictured above in the photo of the supplies). Ranger sells them in a package of three and the colorway (using a fiber term) is called "Nature Walk." By varying the amount of one color over another and the amount of Blending Solution you can come up with light or dark.

I used one drop of Adirondack Silver Metallic Mixative on this one. You can see 1 drop goes a very long way. I was using someone else's reinkers at this point and did not have the chance to write down the colors.

Here's one way to use Polished Stone. I was using someone else's stamps so I apologize that I did not make notes on the stamps used. This is the outside and the envelope. I always like to tie the envelope and card together in some way. For this card I chose to stamp part of the swirl stamp on the front and back of the envelope. I used embossing powder on the swirl stamped image on the card, but did not emboss the design on the envelope.

I also wanted to tie the front of the card in with the inside, so I included a couple of small strips of polished stone.

Here's a video by Tim Holtz of Ranger Industries demoing the technique. Enjoy!

For those who arrived here in hopes of a "fiber fix," there will be fiber content next time!

2009-07-07T06:00:00.004-05:00

Addi Turbo Circular Needles

Skacel, the American distributor for Addi Turbo Circular Needles, played this video at market. This is a "short" version.

I learned to knit on Addis because I did not like the feel of straight needles. I have never regretted that decision. I especially enjoy their lace needles.

2009-07-05T10:16:00.048-05:00

Somehow last month was a blur! I blinked and June was history! Please accept my apologies! I feel like I spent the month (when I was not at work) letting the four-legged children in and out! Some have suggested a doggie door, but when your home is guarded by Samson Security Service a doggie door would have to be very large.

This is a guy who takes his job seriously! He is a lot bigger now than in this picture. Samson is all muscle and quite the athlete. He runs and runs in the backyard, constantly building up those muscles.

He can open the back door when he is outside (unless you slam the door really hard and have your foot on the bottom of the door when you slam it). If he hears me leave the room he comes in to make sure he is not missing out on anything! So I immediately have to stop what I am doing and go to the back door to close it. He beats me to the back door and is out in the yard again.

A doggie door does sound nice but it would be so expensive to have one made that did not allow a human being to also come in. If someone was crazy enough to crawl in, I seriously doubt they would be leaving in the same condition. Samson is one lovable guy, but being all German Shepherd he would immediately let the intruder know they made perhaps the biggest, most stupid mistake of their life!

Samson's favorite thing is to open the back door, come in and sit down to eat while intently watching the backyard. Maybe I just need to install a nice glass door (that opens and closes automatically) for him so he can see in when he is outside and see out when he is inside. LOL! I think Sasha and Sweetie would enjoy that also. Hmmmmm... wonder if that would cut down on the wear and tear of my body and on the door? Dreaming!!

Somewhere in the blur of last month, I found a little time to knit. Never enough time though!! I need to take a picture of a scarf I made last month. It was so much fun that I am going to make another one but use three colors instead of one. It involved knitting in the round and cutting my knitting at the end. Have I peeked your interest?

Does this give new meaning to "spinning" yarn? Or perhaps knitting in the round? DS (Dear Son) asked us to send him some pictures of his turntables. As long as we had them out, I could not resist the chance for a different backdrop.

I finally had a chance to send my Mom the dishcloth I knitted for her to "put thru it's paces." I had waited a long time to decide to knit the proverbial dishcloth and have now discovered how fun it was to have a quick project! I plan to knit more (in other designs) after I receive feedback on the durability. I used "tried and true" Sugar 'n Cream in the Buttercreme (#19222) colorway. For those who have already knitted dishcloths, you probably recognize this as being "Grandmother's Favorite Washcloth" pattern.

Somewhere I tucked away the left over yarn so I am unable to measure it to let you know how much I had left from the skein. When I come across it, I will update this blog and also list it on Ravelry. The remnant bag was small so it must have fallen down behind something near the computer. I really want it so I can put the ball band and info in the FO (Finished Objects) notebook I am starting.

Paper Arts have been a source of enjoyment for many years for me and I am going to start including some on my blog. Next weekend I have set some time aside to do Polished Stone Technique with a friend and will post pictures. I have added Paper Arts to the header of this blog since that media has shaped the tapestry of my life for many years.

Seeing the dishcloth on a turntable reminded me I took some other fiber related photographs the same day. I am incredibly late in posting this one:

I am in a group called Whoduknit. As you can probably deduce, we all enjoy knitting, reading and solving mysteries. I won the Easter Egg Hunt from a drawing of all who correctly answered the questions. We had to search on our group blog and Yahoo group site for answers to 12 questions posted on our Whoduknit blog. I had a lot of fun. As you can see I received a felted Easter basket, a dishcloth (illusion knitting with a bunny face), a knitted hand puppet, some yummy candy and some KnitPicks Shadow in Snorkel colorway.

For those who are interested in the turntables, here is a picture without the fiber. The only time we had to take the photos was when the sun was in full force.

I promise more fiber for your daily diet in my next post.

2009-05-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

"Just for Fun" Friday!

This couple knows the secret to 62 years of marriage ~ they have not forgotten how to have fun! Check this out:

This young man just turned 90 in February.

2009-05-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

Tulsa's Other Buried Car

Recently I alluded to Tulsa's other buried car. Some of you may be wondering what type of car did Tulsa bury the 2nd go round. Additionally one would wonder what changes were made (now that technology is more advanced) to insure this car will be in pristine condition when it is unveiled. The following video will answer those questions.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2009-05-07T22:46:00.005-05:00

Model A Car Show

Recently there was a Model A Car Show in our area. DH {Dear Hubby} took some photos to commemorate the day and also to share with some friends and relatives. I had fun putting his pictures to the music he chose.

If you were unable to attend, here's a taste of what you missed:

Carpe Knitting,

2009-04-30T06:00:00.004-05:00

Miss Belvedere, One of Tulsa's Buried Cars

Where is She Now?

It is hard to believe that we are almost two years out from the unveiling of Miss Belvedere, one of Tulsa's buried cars {yes, there is still a buried car in Tulsa}. The first video is a trailer to a documentary that was made about Miss Belvedere.

This next video will bring us more up to date on how Miss Belvedere is looking these days.

More knitting to come... I promise!

Carpe Knitting,

2009-04-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Frank, the Working Duck

When I was in elementary school, Mom and Dad bought me a pet duck for Easter. This duck grew up to be best buddies with my toy poodle. The two of them spent so many hours playing together. Anytime I was outside, my duck would follow me everywhere. So when I recently saw this news story about a man who takes his duck to work, I could not resist posting it on my blog. It takes a moment to load the video, so be patient.

2009-04-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

Music Monday

It's time for another Music Monday. My DD {Dear Dad} sent me this one so I could share it with you. He knows I enjoy musical collaborations. Someone very artistically combined the talents of a number of musician from around the world.

2009-04-18T23:15:00.008-05:00

Green Eggs and "Ham"

A co-worker has some chickens that lay different colors of eggs. DH {Dear Hubby} is holding a couple of green eggs. {My apologies for the color on the photo. It was a downcast day and it was hard to get a photo that showed the true color.} Only the shells are green, the yolks are a normal color. I recently purchased a dozen from her. If you have never had fresh, free range eggs you are missing out! What you buy in the grocery store is not anywhere near as fresh as you might imagine. I recently read when eggs reach the grocery store shelf they are anywhere from two weeks to one month old. Another article suggested that eggs may not even be packaged until they are six weeks old.

Cage free/free range eggs taste so much better to me. I have heard some who grew up in another country and moved to America say they can only eat the cage free/free range eggs because the other eggs bother their stomachs. My son first told me about the difference in taste. Once I tried them, I have stopped buying any eggs that are not cage free/free range. Add fresh from the chicken to that and you have a winning combination.

Sometimes my co-worker finds some eggs with light turquoise shells also. None of these eggs have been dyed, nor have the chickens been fed special food to produce colored shells.

Thinking of Dr. Seuss' famous book "Green Eggs and Ham" I had to do a "play on words" with the green eggs and DH {Dear Hubby} playing the part of the "Ham" {for those whose first language is not English ~ one definition of the word "ham" is "one who overacts."}

Carpe Knitting,

2009-03-28T19:09:00.010-05:00

Spring Snow

Once again this year we had snow in late March. We had so much rain yesterday and this morning around 8:00 a.m. it started snowing. I grabbed the camera and rushed outside when I heard it was snowing.

The snowflakes were really large. I made a little video with snippets from the day to give you an idea of the size of the flakes. Apologies for the grainy videos. As mentioned previously, a better camera is on my list!

Our six inches of snow was nothing in comparison to the blizzard that pelted Kansas! We had a little bit of thundersnow at the onset of our snow. That is a phenomenon where you have thunder and snow at the same time. By nighttime the snow is still around but beginning to melt. Tomorrow's higher temperature will make this snow begin to become a memory.

The snow gives a whole new meaning to "White wall tires" ~

Someone recently asked me what "Carpe Knitting" meant so I realized many are probably wondering. I really like the Latin phrase "Carpe Diem" ~ "Seize the Day!" I tried to locate a Latin word for knitting but could not find one. So I just had to settle for "Carpe Knitting" ~ "Seize the Knitting" In other words, enjoy your knitting and make the most of your knitting {or crocheting} time!

2009-03-02T19:00:00.007-06:00

Don't You Just Love the Sense of Accomplishment

with Finished Projects?!

I am finally having a moment to post some finished projects on my blog. One of the items on my "to do" list was to take a new picture of my very first knitted scarf and replace the horrible picture of myself wearing the scarf. The angle at which the photo was taken was such that it was one of the most unflattering pictures ever taken of me {LOL ~ Laugh Out Loud}! Here is my neighbor's pine tree sporting the very first scarf I knitted. {My neighbor has no idea I caught her tree wearing my scarf!} Some of you have been reading my blog since day one. For those who joined me later, I knitted this scarf with size 8 Addi Turbo needles.

Variegated color: Noro Silk Garden Lite

{45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair and 10% Lamb's Wool}

Solid color: Noro Cash Iroha

{40% Silk, 30% Lamb's Wool, 20% Cashmere and 10%Nylon}

I crocheted the edging {with some help from a friend} to add an accent to the scarf and to keep it from rolling. Some friends could not believe I chose such nice yarn for my very first project. I knew I had to use yarn {and colors} I would enjoy knitting with or I would grow tired of it before I completed the project. I had to be "proud" of my choice to want to keep knitting thru the awkward beginning stages of learning something new. I have never regretted my choice.

Speaking of crocheting, back in the Summer while at a Knit-In at Gourmet Yarn Company in Oklahoma City, a fellow Raveler Sakae {Sorry the link will only work if you are a member of Ravelry.} was showing everyone her first crocheted project - Tea Scarf by Pixeldiva. Now if you read my first post, you know I used to think I never wanted to learn to knit. Well, I wanted to learn to crochet even less! haha!

At the Knit-In I was sitting across the room from Sakae, but she had my attention with her beautiful scarf! If I ever wanted to learn to crochet a scarf, this was the project for me. I waited a few months and then decided I definitely wanted to crochet a Tea Scarf. My reasoning is perfectly logical to me. If I learn more about crocheting then I will feel comfortable putting crochet edges around my knitted shawls and scarves. What better way to learn crochet than by making a scarf! Plus crocheting gave me another excuse to buy yarn... Did I say that out loud? I meant to say it gave me another venue for using my stash. {That's my story and I am sticking to it!}

I used approximately 1 1/3 skeins of Baby Alpaca D.K. Paint by Plymouth Yarn in Colorway 8817, Dye Lot 672.

I had fun learning to crochet the scarf.

I am considering making a cowl that involves quite a few stitches on the needles at one time. Not wanting to have to figure out how long of a tail to start with in Long Tail Cast On, I am contemplating the Cable Cast On Method. This method eliminates the worry of miscalculation.

Special thanks to Gingerly4it for the instructional video on Cable Cast On.

2009-02-23T06:00:00.002-06:00

Music Monday

This young lady has her keyboard part memorized and does not appear to miss a beat! Enjoy!!

I am delighted that at this point in time people from 112 countries have viewed my blog, Thanks everyone for making my day!

I promise knitting contact next post!

2009-02-14T21:25:00.027-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today's Valentine tribute is for Avery {right side of photo} and Oliver {left side}. Their Moms have been great friends for awhile but Avery and Oliver were only recently introduced to each other. Here is the little movie I made for their relatives to see their reactions when they first met. I have also added a few still shots in the movie for their enjoyment. {Turn on your speakers to hear the music.}

Will there be "wedding bells" in their future? Stay tuned for another exciting episode of "As the Wool Turns"...

2009-01-07T21:28:00.015-06:00

Happy New Year

and Some Mid-week Enjoyment

It's been such a crazy week already, so I wanted to take a few moments to share a couple of cute videos.

The first is from a news story about the unusual bond between a dog and an elephant (sorry, there is an ad prior to the video):

Next I could not resist leaving you with a chuckle. Ever have an itch you just could not reach? Well this little dog seems to have found a way:

Join the fun by checking to see who else in the world was looking at my blog today. Over to the left you will see a list of which countries have viewed my blog recently. Also check out the map noting recent visitors. If you want to know if someone is on at the same time as you, click at the bottom of the list on "watch in real-time." For those who are interested you will even be able to see if they were on a Mac or Windows. Thanks everyone for adding to the fun of having a blog!

2008-12-21T10:43:00.015-06:00

Merry Christmas!

The S-Kids wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, but not knowing which style music everyone prefers they decided to keep on dancing to cover more musical tastes. So here, for my ~ uh, I mean your ~ amusement, I present the S-Kids!

{Well, the Elf videos have been retired for the year, so you will no longer be able to see the dancing dogs. Sorry about that!}

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

2008-12-16T20:16:00.015-06:00

Knitting and Dogs ~

A few of my favorite things

Wow! The time has flown by! So many times I had plans to write a blog post but life got in the way. It's bitter cold here and the roads are very icy in my town, so I set tonight aside to finally have a chance to blog.

I had great fun knitting some scarves for my Mother and DS {Dear Sister} this summer. The pattern is by Prism: FP1 Openwork Angora Scarf designed by Laura Bryant. Both were knit with size 11 needles using one skein for each scarf.

Mom's scarf is Prism Kid Slique {Color Sierra, Dye Lot #H0806} 66% Rayon, 26% Kid Mohair and 8% Nylon, 88 yards per skein.

DS's scarf is Prism Indulgence {Color Highlands, Dye Lot #H0814} 68% Silk, 15% Wool and 12% Kid Mohair, 92 yards per skein.

Hopefully they will receive many years of enjoyment from their scarves.

In getting ready to relocate to another state, DS {Dear Son} had to find a new home for his female German Shepherd, Gabi. The apartment complex where he will be living has a 25 lb. weight limit. Gabi's new family lives near us so DH {Dear Hubby} went to the City and picked up Gabi. She spent the night with us and had a wonderful reunion with her brother. DH wanted to grab some pictures of the four playing, but every time he opened the back door to take a picture the play stopped. His solution was to shoot the pictures thru the back door {glass and screen}. I am so glad he grabbed the photographs even though the glass and screen combination make the photos grainy. I could not resist calling this one: "Thru a Screen Door." Turn on your speakers so you can enjoy Mannheim Steamroller playing "You've Got a Friend in Me." {I thought the title of the music was appropriate!}

2008-10-23T20:24:00.016-05:00

Have you seen these driving around your area?

We are beginning to see them in our area. Over the last two weeks I have seen at least five out and about.

These pictures were taken at a local dealership and are not counted as any of the five I have seen around town.

The car only seats two people. I believe it is sometimes called a Smart ForTwo.

I have been rear-ended three times {none my fault}, twice by pickups and once by a semi. If you have ever been in the back seat of a car that is rear-ended by a semi and you get covered in glass as it shatters, you want a lot of space between you and the back bumper. So for me, this would not be a car I would choose. However, I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the car.

I will be curious to know if you have seen any in your area. Send me a comment if you have and let me know where you live.

If you live in another country and have a similarly sized car, leave a comment with a description of your "small" car.

I hope you have had fun viewing these pictures. If I hear from other countries with interesting fuel-economy cars, I will locate some photographs for a future post.

This car actually looks even smaller in "real life" next to all the full size vehicles out on the road.

I promise fiber content very soon!

2008-10-19T14:37:00.011-05:00

Enjoying the Day

An Afternoon in the lives of Sasha, Samson & Sweetie

The dogs are definitely enjoying the cooler mornings and warm afternoons. Here's a compilation of pictures DH {Dear Hubby} took recently. I thought the family might enjoy watching them. Be sure and turn on your sound so you can enjoy the Mannheim Steamroller songs in the video.

2008-08-31T15:00:00.014-05:00

Belated Birthday & Anniversary Wishes from August

{I did say they were belated!}

We have two anniversaries and two birthdays to celebrate in August, so I decided a Zebra Cake would be fun. This is to be enjoyed virtually... but if anyone reading this lives in Broward or Dade Counties in Florida, you can purchase a real cake from www.ilyscakes.com. They deliver to several towns in the area. Isn't this a spectacular cake? Wow! I wish I could buy one. Visit her website {click on her website url above} and check out some of her other wonderful creations!

Here are the two happy anniversary couples enjoying a rare visit together. Mom and Dad are on the left and my Aunt and Uncle are on the right. They wish the miles were not so far apart between their homes. I think it is neat that Mom and her DS {Dear Sister} share the same month for their wedding anniversaries because my DS and I share the same month for ours!

A few days after celebrating their wedding anniversary, Mom had a birthday. This is a picture of Mom with Avery, who enjoys life with my DS and her family. {Out of courtesy and respect for privacy, you will find that I only post the names of our beloved pets and not our human family members.} Grand-dogs are grand indeed!

A few days after my Aunt and Uncle celebrated their anniversary, my DB {Dear Brother} celebrated his birthday. This is a picture of him with Dad at the family August celebration. As you can see, my family shares birthday months in addition to anniversaries {DB and Mom share August. Dad, DS & I also share a month}.

Best wishes to our celebrated August family members!

Special thanks to my DS for the wonderful pictures! She keeps me up to date on family events when I am not able to be there.

P.S. Once again I was holding off thinking I would start a website and have a blog as an offshoot of the website. I have started a website, but am waiting to unveil it at a future time. I finally came to my senses and decided if I did a blog as an offshoot, I will just put the teasers or first part of these blog posts on that site and have a link over to this blog... that way I will keep posting and not lose valuable time thinking about where to blog. In other words, I like my little blog home right here. LOL!

2008-08-07T01:53:00.033-05:00

Kudzu ~ Southern all the way!

For anyone who has lived in the South at some time or other, Kudzu is an ordinary plant you see almost everywhere you go. It is quite prolific. In case you are not familiar with Kudzu, here is the definition:

If something does not move in the South, there is a very large possibility Kudzu will overtake it. When Kudzu covers plants and trees, it chokes them to death by blocking their sunlight. It is not uncommon to see miles and miles of Kudzu. On my trip back home, I wanted to capture some of the "flavor" of Kudzu on the vine. DB {Dear Brother} had remembered me commenting on my trip last summer that I would love to get pictures of some Kudzu for my blog. A week or so before my trip this summer, DB and DSIL {Dear Sister-in-Law} scouted out some places for me.

I am not exaggerating when I say if something does not move, with all probability it will be taken over by Kudzu. Proof positive:

Look closely at the grey in the picture above. Yes ~ that is the roof of an abandoned house that is almost totally covered in Kudzu! It is not uncommon to see abandoned vehicles covered also.

Wonder what the homeowner is thinking with the Kudzu getting so close to their home?

If you think I have lost my mind, perhaps you should know that Kudzu can literally grow a foot a day during the summer and there is actually one herbicide that increased the growth instead of killing it! Right click on the word Kudzu below and choose 'Open in a New Window' so you will not be directed away from this blog post. The University of Tennessee produced this video with some interesting information: Kudzu

With such an abundance of Kudzu, perhaps the man in this next video has hit upon something {Once again right click and choose 'Open in New Window'}: Channel 9 Newstory

I will close with one last little bit of Kudzu info you might find of interest:

Just remember ~ if you decide to make a salad with Kudzu, you better eat it fast...

2008-07-18T20:26:00.011-05:00

Guess Who Came to Dinner?

Samson {the one on the right} is staying with us for a little while. Sasha has a lot of winter coat she is still shedding. In honor of Samson's visit, I made a movie of him this week. Can you guess what his favorite pastime is? Please forgive the poor quality on the video. My camera is giving me fits. When I am able to get better quality video, I will change to the newer video. In part of the video you will see Sweetie partaking in two of her favorite pastimes: running and herding (she is part Border Collie). At times when Samson does not see where the ball goes, Sweetie will run toward it and bark for him to head that way. Hopefully I can catch some video of that soon. In the meantime I wanted to post this for family. {Be sure and have your sound on.}

2008-07-14T18:30:00.007-05:00

Memories Monday

I originally placed this under Music Monday but have now decided to periodically have a Memories Monday for those times when I find something that elicits a memory. A friend had a link to this video on her blog and when I saw it, I knew I had to share it with you. Enjoy this duck and dog who are obviously inseparable:

This reminds me of some pets I had when I was younger. I had a poodle who grew up with my pet Easter duck. They were the best of buddies and would play together every chance they had. I wish I had pictures to show. Here is a video that reminds me of the two of them:

Fifi and Gomer would take turns chasing each other and sometimes they would roll over and over together like they were wrestling. People who came by to visit would often comment about seeing the two of them play. One time when Granddad was visiting, he was walking his dog in our backyard and while they were standing there, he saw the funniest thing.

Gomer quietly waddled over to Fifi who had his nose buried in the grass investigating something. Fifi was so intent on what he was looking at, he did not hear Gomer coming. Granddad said it was very obvious Gomer had this planned and was trying to be very quiet because a lot of times when Gomer and Fifi played Gomer would be quacking while he waddled. This time Gomer was in stealth mode. Fifi had the typical short poodle tail and when his nose was to the ground, his short tail was straight up in the air. Gomer got right behind him and just as he got to Fifi's tail he put his beak right over Fifi's tail and let out the loudest quack Granddad had ever heard. Fifi shot up into the air because it was a total surprise. Granddad said he laughed so hard at their antics. That would have been so funny to see!

Hope I have brought a smile to your face as you finish out your Monday.

2008-07-13T08:00:00.011-05:00

"That's Something" Sunday

Those who know me well know animals are also a part of my life's tapestry. I recently learned about a lion named Christian and the wonderful reunion he had. I thought you might like to see it also.

In researching this story online, I learned the reunion took place in 1974. The gentleman who walks up at the end is George Adamson. The two men who raised Christian had contacted George because he had devoted his life to working with lions and they felt Christian would have better success if George assisted. Perhaps you will remember this wildlife conservationist if I mention the movie "Born Free" which tells the story of George and his wife Joy raising 3 lion cubs.

John and Ace had made sporadic trips to Kenya to learn how Christian was doing in his relocation but mainly had to be content learning about it from a long distance. Christian and his parents were born in captivity, so this was no easy feat to introduce a captive born lion into the wild. When John and Ace decided to make one last trip to Kora in hopes of seeing Christian and saying goodbye, Adamson wrote them to say it would probably be a wasted mission as no one had see Christian for at least 9 months. John and Ace insisted they were going to come there anyway just on the off chance they could locate him.

Even George was surprised when Christian and his pride showed up right outside of camp the night before the British born lion's two former "roommates" arrived. Isn't it amazing how a lion who had not been seen in months shows up at the exact spot where John and Ace were going to be the very next day. Now "That's Something!"

2008-07-08T21:00:00.003-05:00

Sophie Bag ~
My First Felted Bag

I am finally having the opportunity to post about a fun FO {Finished Object} that did not cost very much money to make. I used Cascade 220 in colorway 8891. Here is a picture of my pre-felted Sophie Bag:

The twisted i-cord handles knit up fast and I had my two i-cords before I knew it. At the onset I wondered if I would have enough yarn to make the twisted handles; however, I had it on good authority not to worry as either style of handle was doable with one skein.
This picture will give you an idea of how much yarn I had left:

I only needed 80% of my skein, so this bag costs less than $7.00 to make. Here is a photo of the felted Sophie:

As you can see, the color stayed vibrant after felting. This will probably be used as a project bag. More felted bags in a variety of styles have been added to my future want-to-knit list.

2008-07-04T22:47:00.022-05:00

Happy Independence Day,

America!!

2008-06-09T16:57:00.005-05:00

Music Monday

Some of you may have picked up on this, but most of you will not know that music is an important part of my life's tapestry. {For the really astute, you have already noticed I added "music" in the heading.} My parents encouraged me to broaden my musical interests for which I am eternally grateful. I have diverse musical tastes thanks to their motivation. I enjoy almost every type of music, but hope I will not offend you though when I say I do not appreciate most country music. I do admit there are a few country songs that I have liked, but over all this is not a style of music you will find me listening to on any given day. It takes an incredibly special country artist to get my attention.

As you have noticed, from time to time some of my posts have contained music. I have decided to set aside at least one Monday a month to post some music that caught my attention. For my first Music Monday, I have chosen to share with you some music brought to you by modern technology. I have mentioned before that I am proud of my international friends {made possibly by the internet}. Two guitarists from different parts of their country "met" online and decided to collaborate on a song. The intro will give you more information about Keiju and Sakata. They have spent some time on this guitar duet. Not sure which one sent the other a recording to study, but the results are great.

Euphoniously yours,

2008-06-08T21:30:00.003-05:00

That's Something Sunday

For this month's "That's Something" Sunday, I thought you would get a kick out of this very talented walrus. I am sure you all have seen videos of seals, sea lions and walruses that were supposed to be able to dance. I think this "guy" can show everyone how it is really done. So sit back, relax and enjoy this quick dance by a walrus with rhythm!

Carpe knitting,

2008-05-30T20:53:00.019-05:00

Pay It Forward ~ Knitting Style

I am really late posting about Pay It Forward~ Knitter's Style. I am not sure when the knitters version started, but in researching it, I have located links to various blogs who posted about "Pay It Forward" in 2008 and 2007. Perhaps this started long before 2007. I have also seen different versions of it ~ some include crochet in addition to knitting and some are designed to be paid forward in a shorter time frame.

Have you seen the movie with Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey?

Many people have embraced the "Pay It Forward" concept after being inspired by the movie.

Here is a movie trailer for those who are movie buffs:

Somewhere along the way knitters {and crocheters} came up with their own version. I signed up under vis2vas. {If you click on her Ravelry name, you will be directed to her current blog url and if you click where I have typed "blog" below you will be directed to where she posted about Pay it Forward.} Here is how she describes it on her blog:

"Jeg vil sende en håndlaget gave til de 3 første personene som legger igjen en kommentar med ønske om å delta i PIF utvekslingen. Jeg vet ikke hva gaven vil bli enda og du får den kanskje ikke i morgen eller uken etter.. men du vil motta den innen 364 dager, det lover jeg! Det eneste du trenger å gjøre i retur, er å "Gi det videre" ved å love det samme på din blogg".

Vil du være med?

Don't you love how global the internet has allowed us to become?! I could not resist the international flavor because I am proud I have friends from many countries!

For those of us who do not speak Norwegian, here is her English translation {Thanks! I needed that!!}:

"I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week.. but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

Do you want to play along?

As you have surmised, I have promised to Pay it Forward, so to the first three bloggers who agree to "pay it forward" in exchange, I will send something I will knit for you within the next 365 days. Please do not be expecting a sweater or shawl! I already am "booked up" for a long while on a number of shawls and blankets. I will post pictures after I have sent each PIF and know it was received (definitely do not want to spoil the surprise by telling the world first and the recipient last!).

I would like to allow people the opportunity to follow up on where my "Pay It Forward" is going by having a PIF link over to the left hand side of my blog. People will be able to click on your blog name and go to your blog after you have let me know your intentions. In addition to receiving my knitted gift for you, you might have an added bonus of picking up some new readers for your blog. I know I always enjoy finding a new-to-me knitting blog to read.

With that in mind if you are would like to join the fun, be one of the first 3 people to comment on this post letting me know you want to play.

Additionally please send your private information to me via email at:

with the following information:1) Color(s) you like2) Color(s) you do not like3) Your mailing address ~ international knitters are welcome to play4) Your blog url
The first three people to comment here and then email me will receive a confirmation from me letting you know the "fun has begun"!
If you would like your own free email icon {spammer software is unable to harvest your email address from an image}, please click here to have the fine folks at Nexodyne generate one for you.
Carpe knitting,KZ

2008-05-07T13:09:00.005-05:00

While I Was "Out" I Received My First Blog Award

Have you ever seen those phone pads designed for taking someone else's message? The heading says something like "While You Were Out." Well, while I was "out" contemplating moving my blog to a different location, I received my first Blog Award from Kat at Creative Popoffs {Click on blog name to go to her blog}. Thanks, Kat for the award. What fun!

What makes it even more fun is that I now get to bestow the award on some other bloggers {who have not yet received the award ~ as far as I can tell} who "make me smile." I enjoy reading blogs and so this is no easy task. Here goes, in no particular order {Click on blog names to go to their blog}:

1) In a Happy Camper ~ You inspire me constantly to knit more! Can hardly wait to work on my Argosy Wrap again. Thanks too for all the "Show and Tell" when I met you in person a few months ago!

2) Spunkyprism and her Gourmet Yarn Co. blog ~ Thanks so much for the friendship and providing a wonderful "OKC" knitting home for me! I love reading your blog and finding out what my OKC friends are knitting. Of course finding out what is new in the store is detrimental to my checkbook!

3) Knit Addict ~ One of my OKC friends who also inspires me to knit more. I definitely have more projects in my "soon" list because of you! And I have a feeling with time there will be even more! hehe!

4) Bella Gubbio ~ You made me feel so welcome at my first night at GYC Knit-In! I laughed so much! Always enjoy reading your blog because you never know what you will be blogging about! Always a good read!

5) hazelnut reflections ~ So glad I have the opportunity to knit with you occasionally at GYC, even though it's usually a "school night" for you! I enjoy your blog about faith and fiber. I always get a chuckle out of the thought of you being staff to two cats! I think a lot of people who have four legged "bosses" can relate.

6) Your Mirror or Mine ~ Thanks for showing us the beauty that is all around us. It is always fun to see what you and your family have been doing. It's fun to have the chance to knit with you and "the gang" at Loops when my schedule permits.

7) Simplified Life ~ One of these days, we are going to have a knitalong! I think you are the Swap Queen!

8) Addicted to Knitting ~ Another OKC friend whose blog I enjoyed reading. I always enjoy knitting with you at GYC. Looking forward to more posts to keep up with what you are knitting.

9) Grammieknits ~ What fun reading you blog and the Whoduknit blog! You do a great job on both blogs! Thanks for all the smiles you bring!

10) Vaerkstedet Vigdis Marie Design ~ I always enjoy seeing what you have been knitting. So glad you include English on your blog!

Thanks to all for the joy your blogs bring to others!

Carpe knitting,

2008-05-06T21:00:00.007-05:00

In the Mood for some Musical Fun?

I just came in from a birthday party at one of our LYS {Local Yarn Stores}, Loops {Click name to go to website}. A lot of the Sunday bunch were there. We celebrated in style with good food, knitting and laughter.

As I tend to do when I come in, I checked my emails and found that a friend had sent me the link to the following rendition of "Argument to Beethoven's 5th." Having grown up in a household who appreciates good music and the talent involved in producing that music, I can also appreciate the talent in choreographing the "argument." Thought some of you might enjoy it too:

One of the friends who rode with me tonight is a fan of Snoopy, so I could not resist throwing in some Snoopy. Thought I would close out the night with "Baron vs. Beagle - The Original Dogfight". This one's for you, R:

Carpe Knitting,

2008-05-03T19:00:00.008-05:00

Time for Something Beady

I realize for those of you who have known me long before I learned to knit, you are wondering where the beading content is. Not to disappoint, here is a pic of some of my work "b.k. ~ before knitting."

The caterpillar bracelet is made with 5 different colors of size 11 seedbeads. The beads were purchased at a store called Supernaw's Indian Supply Store {Skiatook, OK}. I was going to provide a link to their website, but their website is no longer available. When I taught beading, students would ask me how many hours this bracelet took. I stopped counting after 18 hours because I did not want to know just how long it took. LOL {Laugh Out Loud}! While making this bracelet, I was going for a Monet Garden kind of feeling.

I had fun taking a wire wrapping class and a fused glass class I took. The two middle items are from those classes. Here are some close-ups. Sorry for the glare which makes the stone look pitted and hides some of the color. It looks prettier in real life.

Yes, that is dichoric glass underneath the hearts. I need to do some shaping on the glass and then do some wire wrapping around it.

The beadweaving on the right {top picture} is a bracelet made from Swarovski Glass Pearls and Delicas. They were too shiny for a closeup. Sorry about that.

Carpe knitting ... and beading,

KZ also known as Beaded Zebra

2008-05-01T22:25:00.012-05:00

Time for a Finished Object {FO}!

My apologies for the long wait between posts. I was giving some serious contemplation to creating a website and having a blog connected to the website. After much consideration, free won out. {Stands to reason if I do not spend the money on the annual fee for a website, then that money is freed up to be spent on yarny things!} While I was contemplating, I held off from posting here. Sorry to have left you hanging there.

Hopefully showing a FO {Finished Object} will make up for it in some way. This project was started and completed during my "contemplation." While visiting Gourmet Yarn Company

{Click on name to go to store website} in Oklahoma City, I kept noticing the FishKnit Scarf from the Morehouse Farm Merino Knits Book {page 89}.

The Baby Alpaca Grande Paint was also calling out to me. This bulky weight, 100% superfine Baby Alpaca by Indiecita is distributed by Plymouth Yarn Company. I had been wanting an excuse to try out this soft yarn and it was a pleasure to knit with!

I wanted a skinner version of the scarf, so I only cast on 17 stitches using the backward loop cast on. Click here for a video on how to do this cast-on that is also known as the Single Cast-on: Knitting-Help

Using size 10.5 needles, this was a quicker project than I have been knitting previously. Part of the fun comes when you have completed the knitting and it is time to bind off. I had never dropped stitches on purpose. Here is a shot of my first row after I dropped a stitch and pulled it down to the cast-on row.

After you get over the initial uneasiness of dropping stitches on purpose, it becomes fun. Here is a shot of the completed scarf. Sorry this is not a very good picture. I did not have anywhere "artsy" to take the photo so I had to settle for a bench on a really sunny day.

Carpe knitting,

2008-01-23T20:22:00.009-06:00

Happy Birthday to my DS {Dear Sister}

I feel truly blessed to be a member of my family! I love my parents, brother and sister. Today is my day to say Happy Birthday to the best sister a girl could ever want! Wish I could have been there to say it in person! We share a lot of common interests and I wish we lived closer so we could get together more often.

I just knew DS was going to be born on my birthday and she almost was ~ she arrived to greet the world 2 days before my birthday {same parents, same hospital, same doctor, but a number of years apart}. Because of our age difference we did not have very many years together at Mom and Dad's. I moved 500 + miles away to attend college and here I have stayed.

Before I moved I was always playing the piano at home, so when I learned DS was taking piano lessons I proudly assumed I was part of her inspiration. Ahhh, how family can keep us humble. One year when I was back home visiting, I sat down to play something and soon I heard my sister run thru the room to find Mom so she could tell her that I knew how to play the piano. It seems my ability to play the piano was a total surprise to my Dear Sister. Oh yes, I had really made an impression on her when I lived at home! LOL {Laugh Out Loud}!

Fast forward years later when she and her now hubby were setting the date for their upcoming marriage. When they chose the same day as my wedding anniversary, I thought it was so sweet they wanted to get married on the same day. Surprise ~ when they chose the date they did not know it was the same day as my anniversary!

I know if we were together today, we would be laughing and having fun! By being a number of years apart in age and my moving away when DS was young, we bypassed a lot of the squabbles and sibling rivalry that others go thru. We headed straight for the fun times!

Time is so precious and all too short when we are together! So on this your special day, Dear Sister, I send to you my love and birthday greetings across the miles.

To celebrate your special day, here's some toned down Guns 'n Roses for your birthday:

And if you want a little more Guns 'n Roses:

Love,
KZ

2008-01-15T20:28:00.018-06:00

Gourmet Yarn Company

{click the link to visit their website}

Several months ago DS and DIL {Dear Son and Daughter-in-law} moved into Oklahoma City. Naturally I wanted to check out the yarn stores in OKC. Somehow I only made it to one. I have so much fun at Gourmet Yarn Company that I just keep going back every chance I can when I am in The City.

Every time I have started to take pictures outside the sun has been shining brightly, so getting pictures without too much glare was the best I could hope for. I apologize for cutting off the hours, but if you are in the area, they are also open 10 to 5 on Saturdays and 12 to 5 on Sundays.

When you walk in the door, your eyes are greeted with eye candy every which way you look!

My pictures do not do it justice. There are only a few shots here because I was too busy having fun to take pictures of all of the store.

Recently they mentioned they had some Mrs. Wilson in. I was intrigued. LOL!

Here is a close up of one Feza Oriental Alp, aka Mrs. Wilson {my apologies that the close up is blurry}:

Have you figured it out? Here is one of the movie trailers from Cast Away where Tom Hanks is on a deserted island for a number of years:

For those of you who might still be wondering who Wilson is, here is someone's fun compilation of scenes from the movie with Tom Hanks and the infamous Wilson.

No, he is not in love with Wilson, but I guess when there is no one else to talk to while being cast away, a Wilson ball works nicely!

For more fun reading, click here for Gourmet Yarn Company's Blog and find out what keeps everyone coming back for more GYC!

Carpe Knitting,

2008-01-08T19:22:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest Dads a girl could ever want! Dad, you have been a blessing to me my whole life!! You watched over me and protected me when I was growing up. I know you still have an interest in my well being and though I am an adult now, it is great to know I will always be your "favorite older daughter"!

I have always appreciated how you encourage me to learn as much as I can. I remember one particular summer day when you were so willing to let me learn, you did not even yell when I took the spring apart in the lawn mower. I know that cost you money to have it rewound! I thought that was so cool when you said I could take the lawn mower apart to see how it worked. I am sure you never dreamed I would unwind that coil. While this was not the start of a lawn mower repair service for me, I learned not to be afraid of finding out how things work.

When I came to you as a 5 year old and said "Dad, I want to sing a solo in church." You so wisely asked "What would you like to sing?" To which I replied, "I don't know." You lovingly told me to let you know when I decided what I wanted to sing. Then a few months later I came to you and said, "Dad, I want to sing a solo in church." Once again you asked, "What would you like to sing?" "I don't know." Still being the wonderful Dad you are, you replied, "Let me know when you decide what you want to sing." In my memory I asked you this multiple times over the coming months. While this was not the start of a singing career for me, I learned not to be afraid to ask.

I do not recall being afraid when I gave my first public speech in the high school auditorium the night I graduated from kindergarten. Public speaking comes so naturally to you and Mom that I probably did not know some people have a fear of giving speeches. I learned that I was merely speaking to friends, albeit quite a large number of friends, while on stage. That has served me well thru the years.

So on this special occasion, I wish you a happy birthday ... and many more!! {I blurred out the number candles so your age will remain a secret.}

Love you Dad,

2008-01-01T09:42:00.000-06:00

It is 2008!

From the S-Girls {Sasha and Sweetie} and Knitted Zebra:

Special thanks to tinboxtwo and their two dogs for the video!

I am updating this post to include a big "Go Blue!" for DH {Dear Hubby}:

He is a happy camper since his team {Michigan} won the Capital One Bowl Game today:

May this new year be filled with friends, family and all the things you enjoy!

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-12-27T12:05:00.000-06:00

Sweetie sends Birthday Greetings to Nana

I asked for permission to post on Mom's blog so I could send birthday greetings to someone very special to me. With a little help from a "friend" this is for you Nana:

Happy Birthday Nana! I love you!
Sweetie

2007-12-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

Oh Clapotis,

Oh Clapotis,
I wonder what yarn you'll be
{Sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree" }

A friend is having a Clapotis Tea in a couple of months. In order to attend you must have knit a Clapotis shawl or scarf from the popular pattern designed by Kate Gilbert and voted Design of the Year in 2005 by

I have decided to knit the scarf instead of the shawl. I found a beautiful colorway in Karaoke called Mermaid and I just knew I was all set.

I wound one of the skeins into a yarn cake and set out to cast on. When working the setup rows, I was tired and my mind could see the purl in front and back, but my hands were just not cooperating. I wanted to see someone do this, so after surfing around, I discovered the following video {special thanks to Gingerly4it}:

I cast on and began my first couple of rows, only to discover that my Karaoke was breaking on me. My hands were so warm, it was felting as I worked the Purl 1 in the front and in the back. So back to the drawing board I go.

Part of the beauty of

is you can check to see what yarn others are knitting or have knit a particular pattern in. As of today, 160 people have listed having a Clapotis as a WIP {Work in Progress}. That number is possibly low as there are probably many like me who have not noted this as a WIP since we are just casting on. This next number will probably surprise you if you have not surfed around Ravelry much: 3581 Clapotises have been logged. Ravelry has also detected 510 members' blog posts that mention Clapotis. This number should go up by one once I publish this post and their software has time to pick up on the theme of this post.

I have been looking at the yarn chosen by others on Ravelry and have emailed a few to inquire about their honest opinions of the yarn they used. Their replies have been so helpful! Soon I will make a yarn decision as time will be flying by if I am not careful. If you have suggestions, feel free to leave me comments.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

P. S. You can also visit Kate Gilbert's blog:

2007-12-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

When I originally started on this post it was a few days before Christmas. I blinked and today it is Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful day and was warm, happy and healthy.

This song from You Tube is for DH {Dear Hubby}. He loves to hear Porky Pig at Christmas.

When DH was a Radio Disc Jockey, he called my sister up and played this next song for her. We always think of her whenever we hear this song:

When I talked with DD {Dear Dad} tonight, he provided some Christmas humor. He asked me if I knew about the Four Stages of Life:
1) You believe in Santa Claus
2) You do not believe in Santa Claus
3) You are Santa Claus
4) You look like Santa Claus

He also wanted to know if I heard about the weary traveler who saw mistletoe hanging right above where he was placing his luggage to check it in prior to his flight. Curiosity getting the better of him, he asked the Counter Agent about the mistletoe. She politely informed him it was so he could kiss his luggage goodbye.

Never fear ~ knitting content in next post...

Carpe Knitting
KZ

2007-12-15T13:04:00.004-06:00

We interrupt this blog for....

an ice storm!

What a week this has been! My heart has always gone out to anyone who was without power, but this time we were one of those experiencing the power loss. It definitely gets cold in the house! There are far worse things that can happen in life though and we are thankful we had a roof over our heads and we were all safe.

With that said, I hope we never experience this again! We knew we would be okay and that the S-Girls {Sasha and Sweetie} would make it just fine. Sasha is a Samoyed and German Shepherd mix, so with her Northern heritage she has one thick coat. She had been "practicing" for this by spending more and more time outside the last few weeks. I was amazed how much time she wanted outside before the ice storm. This gave her great insulation! I wonder if she sensed this was coming?

The first couple of days in the dark, the girls seemed puzzled. Since their food dishes and water bowl kept refilling as needed, they decided this was an adventure we were on. When the lights finally came on Friday afternoon, we started cheering. Sweetie got so excited at our jubilation she started running up and down the hall. She would stop right in front of Sasha and bark, then race down the hall and back to Sasha, barking again as she briefly stopped. DH {Dear Hubby} finally opened the back door, went out with Sweetie and let her run outside where she did some more laps around the backyard before coming inside again. He lovingly calls her our "lap" dog because she enjoys running laps.

The family member we were most concerned for was Bonzo, our Okatee Corn Snake. I put two folded towels over him and then scrunched up every sheet and pillow case we were not using all around the outside of his enclosure. I was going for a cocoon effect hoping all of that would provide some protection from the dropping temperature. We did not move anything until the heat had been back on for almost 8 hours. Late Friday evening I took the first towel off, then moved a corner of the bottom towel. When I saw instant movement, I was so elated! This is my buddy and I did not want to be burying my friend after this ice storm. I then moved the bottom towel totally off of him and saw that sweet face looking at me, flicking his tongue all around to catch the scent particles in the air. I covered him back up and left the towels over him until the next morning when he started coming out from underneath the towels on his own. Then I knew he felt warm enough to have the towels removed.

Bonzo started his life with us as a Christmas gift for DS {Dear Son}. Since college dorms and many apartment complexes do not allow reptiles, Bonzo has remained with us. He has always appeared to be interested in what I am doing. Since we are not going to breed Bonzo, we have never had him {or is it a her?} sexed. His abode is near my desk. I will be working along, look over and there will be my friend with his head raised up looking at me.

Bandit, our son's iguana passed on this summer. It would have been so difficult to keep him {another guess on the gender} warm during the outage. We probably would have lost Bandit. I am thankful all in our household are doing well!

Here is a video from the storm. The beginning is at a grocery store where the store director is showing the long lines of people who were stocking up after the ice storm first hit and the store's power was restored. After the grocery store shots, our newspaper added someone else's video {the music starts there}. They drove around and captured the aftermath, so do not stop watching during the middle of the long grocery lines:

The picture below is a common site this weekend, with tree limbs covering almost all of a lot of people's yards.

One of our neighbors has really had tree destruction this year. The tree to the right of the tree that was ripped apart during this storm, was hit by lightening this summer and that tree sustained a lot of damage on one side:

As we drove around, all over the place we saw trees that were ripped apart from the weight of the ice. Here is another neighbor's tree:

Instead of ripping apart, one neighbor's tree just came out of the ground.

Trees limbs are laying in just about every yard you see:

We are so fortunate as we do not have any damage.

Here is our rose bush that keeps on surviving. You can see the weight of the ice has pulled it almost to the ground.

Today the ice is gone and snow is in it's place. Our rose bush is beginning to come back up off the ground and will no doubt produce many beautiful flowers when the warm weather again returns next year.

Special thanks to all who helped restore our power and other services! Many live here and many came from a number of states! Please accept our heartfelt gratitude!

It was way too cold {and dark} to knit this week, but I did get some good reading in by flashlight. I am looking forward to some knitting time this week!

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-12-09T18:43:00.000-06:00

All Things Zebra ~

November & December combined

When is a Zebra not a Zebra?

What a strange question you might ask. Perhaps the question should be "When is a zebra not a mammal?". Being fascinated with zebras {the mammal, that is}, I started thinking about how many other things have "zebra" as part of the name. How many can you come up with? Here are a few that I came up with. Were these on your list?

When is a zebra, not a zebra?
... when it is a crosswalk

Someone called this a "proper" zebra crosswalk:

...when it is a zebra tomato:

... or in this case a zebra tomaten:

...when it is a paint scheme on a train:
...when it is a zebra goby:...or a zebra fish:...or a zebra lion fish:.... when it is a zebra finch:...when it is a zebra mussel:
...when it is a Zebra Longwing:
The list goes on. How many did you come up with?

With the holidays, I combined my November and December post on zebras. Hope you enjoy them.

More knitting content up ahead.

Carpe knitting,
KZ

2007-12-05T19:29:00.000-06:00

Brrrr! It's Cold here!

It's a great day to surf around Ravelry

Hope all of you who are experiencing winter are staying warm! I am reminding myself:

and

I am so ready for Spring and Summer! {By the way, these banners will keep tracking the days, so if you are looking back on a day other than when this was posted, it will show the current number of days until Spring and Summer.} When I was younger I enjoyed winter. Now that I have to drive in it, I dread the ice! Dad and Mom, thanks for all the times you carted me around with "winter mess" on the roads!

With it cold out, it is a great day to surf around

When I first heard about this fun new site, I mistakenly thought it was only a place for knitters and crocheters to store their stash information. I was not really interested in that, so I stayed away. Then as friends began to receive their invitations and tell me about it, I realized it was more than an online stash journal.

For those who have not taken the plunge, here's a taste of the waiting process. On August 22nd, I signed up and took my place in line. They have a wait checker and here's what I discovered when I checked it that first day:

patiently awaiting your invite? Found you!

You signed up on Today
You are #27784 on the list.
17736 people are ahead of you in line.
0 people are behind you in line.
35% of the list has been invited so far

Thus began my checking back in from time to time. On September 28, I learned:

You signed up on August 22, 2007

You are #27784 on the list.

8653 people are ahead of you in line.

9192 people are behind you in line.

51% of the list has been invited so far

Finally October 13th I received the long awaited email "Frecklegirl has invited you to Ravelry!". Just for grins I had to check and see what Ravelry had to say:

"You already cashed in your invite and joined Ravelry! What are you doing hanging out with the impatient alpaca?"

I love their sense of humor! Recently when I went to log in, I found the following:

Ravelry is taking a coffee break - it will be back in 5 minutes or so.

That's Bob in the picture. You see him a lot on the website.

I am KnittedZebra {did you expect anything else?} on Ravelry. If you are there, send me a note and let me know what your Ravelry name is.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-12-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas ~

from my studio to yours!

Click the Zebra photo above for a special Christmas 2007 greeting
from Knitted Zebra and the "S~girls" {Sasha and Sweetie}
Do not despair if it takes awhile for the site to load.
{It loads the fastest for me on Firefox.}

{I am getting reports that there are times it is busy and does not load.
If you run into that, just check back another time.}

May you have a blessed Christmas Season and a Happy New Year!

{A very special thanks goes to OfficeMax for the wonderful link on their website which made my special greeting possible!}

a Knitty Christmas to all...
KZ

2007-11-29T22:00:00.000-06:00

Introducing the Newest Member of our Family

Sweetie {Chow and Border Collie Mix}

Sometimes a special animal comes into your life and you feel blessed to spend time with them. Sweetie is definitely a blessing! My niece and her family are moving and will not be able to take Sweetie with them. Wanting her to have another home full of love, they asked if she could come live with us. Having lots of room in her heart, Sweetie loves her first family and her new family.

The night before we were to leave for Oklahoma, Sweetie and I spent the evening with DB {Dear Brother} and DSIL {Dear Sister-in-Law}. Sweetie really enjoys their backyard and pool area too!

Sweetie has been with us for a little over 3 months now and DH {Dear Hubby} agrees we are doubly blessed again with two wonderful girls. Sweetie and her new big-Sis Sasha have a lot of fun together. Recently we spent time at a local park that allows dogs on leashes.

While I was in Mississippi, another dog caught my eye and I had to shoot this video so I could show everyone this "Working Dog" {click on the arrow to start the video... right before the video starts, the word buffering will appear in the upper left hand corner ~ if it does not appear, click on the arrow one more time}:

Happy Tails to you....
KZ

2007-11-23T19:59:00.000-06:00

Do you like contests?

A WhoDuKnit friend of mine is having a contest in celebration of her 300th blog. I am enjoying reading the comments everyone is posting there and I think you will also. Surf on over to GrammieKnits for your chance to win some cool prizes. The price of admission is to post something weird about yourself. Be sure and tell her KnittedZebra sent you.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-11-10T14:00:00.002-06:00

Yarniverse ~ Memphis, Tennessee

When I was planning a trip to visit family this past summer, I immediately put a stop in at Yarniverse on my list of things I absolutely had to do. I first heard about this fun two-story yarn shop when I became interested in the Lizard Ridge Afghan. {Click on the name or the picture for a link to the pattern. Click on the name of the store. for a link to their website where you can hunt for "free patterns." Only some are listed under "free patterns." Part of the fun is the hunt.}

The pattern to this beautiful afghan can be found on

and right above the pattern is an advertisement for Yarniverse's Kureyon Club:

Clicking on their link above the Knitty pattern, I discovered Brenda and her always-helpful crew are in Memphis, Tennessee ~ now that caught my attention! Wish I lived closer so I could go in and knit with them. Knitters are always welcome at their table.

If you are a fan of Koigu, they also have a Koigu Collector's Club for you:

Their aim is to have in stock all of the colors from Knits from a Painter's Palette:

That is probably no easy feat with the ever-increasing popularity of Koigu.

While I was at Yarniverse my DB, DSIL and DGN {Dear Brother, Dear Sister-in-Law and Dear Grand-Nephew} were with me. My creative brother wrote the following poem about his first experience in this wonderful yarn shop:

The Magic of Knitting
by KZ's Brother

Traveling from Galaxy to Galaxy in the Yarniverse
Watching shooting beads: red, yellow, blue and brown
Dodging falling meteor buttons as they spin by
Then up ahead an exploding wool star
Thousands of brightly colored wool blast off in every direction
As we continue to sail through the magic Yarniverse.

I went there early on my trip so I could take advantage of an in-store sale they were having on Tahki Stacy Charles Cotton.

My plan for these colors is to knit a blanket. I need to add some more colors to have a full complement, but I have a start.

Looking at these pictures taken this summer at DB and DSIL's pool brings back wonderful memories of my trip to Mississippi.

Soon after I got to my parents' home, I wound the cotton into yarn cakes. I owe a special thanks to DM {Dear Mom} who visited with me thru most of the winding and a very big Thank-You-So-Much to DD {Dear Dad} who sat with me tirelessly helping to get the knots out when a couple of skeins proved to be extra challenging. I am sure many of you can relate with your own experiences of yarn that did not wind willingly {I know that is quite an understatement ~ In fact many of you have your own names for just such yarn and just such an occasion!}.

{Special thanks also go to KZ's Brother for the poem and for "going out on a ledge" to help me show off some new yarn stash.}

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-10-29T06:30:00.000-05:00

Do Ghosts Knit?

Something Knitty to ponder this Halloween

by Knitted Zebra's Brother

Ghost seem to be a hot topic on the late night radio talk shows. I did a search on the internet for ghost pictures. After looking at several hundred pictures, I came away with more questions than answers. All our lives we are told, "you cannot take it with you."

As I looked at all the pictures I realized something was not right. All the ghost had clothes on. They say a ghost is made up of high energy. We know that clothes have no energy. I looked at three ghost pictures of the same great grandmother taken three years apart at an annual family reunion. In each picture she was wearing a different color dress!

Now here is a thought to weave this Halloween ~ Do ghost knit? Maybe that explains it. Ghosts that knit continue to appear in their family photos. The ones that cannot knit do not have the guts to stand naked in a family photo. Could it be that simple? I hope when I die some friendly ghost will knit me some Boo-jeans for family photos.

KZ's Brother

I think talking about ghosts has scared the Zebra!

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-10-28T06:51:00.001-05:00

That's Something! Sunday ~ October

Having heard that squirrels can be quite cunning, I was amazed at the lengths this squirrel went in order to get to the bird feeder. When I saw this video, I thought "That's Something!" and knew I had to share it with you. After the obstacle course, you will have a bonus view of a sneaky squirrel stealing something he worked to get. Double click on the arrow to start the video:

I am sure all of us will agree Moms say a lot in the course of a day. A friend from Texas recently sent me the link to the following gem set to the tune of the William Tell Overture:

In a couple of days I will have a guest writer with a special knitting related query for you to ponder this Halloween. In the meantime I leave you with the picture of a cat painted up for Halloween. In case you have not heard, for years people have been paying large amounts of money to have their cats painted.... for real! How would you like this furry kid walking around your house this Halloween?!

Carpe knitting,
KZ

2007-10-25T05:33:00.000-05:00

All Things Zebra ~ October

A new wallpaper resides on my computer thanks to National Geographic Magazine. This picture definately grabbed my attention when I saw it. I have been fascinated with zebras for quite a long time. One of the things that captivated me the most regarding zebras was the fantastic facial features of a zebra at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas about 20 years ago. It was a special moment with the sun shining just right. This one zebra had the most spectacular facial features ~ the kind of features that make an artist, sculpturer or photographer want to capture the spirit of that zebra in their media.

This picture from National Geographic was taken 100 years ago and was used in an article published in March, 1909. The black and white photo captures the character of this zebra resting in the Savannah in Kenya, Africa:

I had to chuckle when I saw a zebra-stripped mouse. This mouse was made by Logitech and is probably no longer available. I thought it went well with the zebra-striped laptop "skin" cover I showed last month:

Have you ever needed a good back-scratch? It seems these zebra have located a great roll-in-the-dirt-and-scratch-your-back place. Double click on the arrow to start the video {sorry no sound on this one}:

Carpe knitting,
KZ

2007-10-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, DS {Dear Son}!

Happy Birthday to my favorite son!!! {Remember I told you in an earlier post that we play favorites in my family!} Well even if he is my only son, he is my favorite!! This is a picture taken of DS at work. We are very proud of him as he continues to pursue a college degree while working full-time. Yes, he cleared his desk for this picture. Normally he has a ton of files out that he is working on. Also, this picture was taken on a Saturday when dress is more casual.

He tells us it is a rough job, but sometimes someone has to move the golf cart. We arrived as he was "closing up shop" and it was very windy. Proud Dad, DH {Dear Hubby}, was wind-blown from the blustery Oklahoma wind, but obliged by hopping on board for a photo op with his favorite son.

On the way home from his first day of work there, DS called to say it was by far the most bizarre first day of a new job he had ever had. Someone was on their way to visit them and pressed on the accelerator instead of the brakes, driving down some steps and into the front door. As you can see by the plywood below, repair work is still being done on the entryway. Luckily there is another entrance they can use until this entrance is totally repaired.

Ever feel like the two days of your weekend are waaaayyyy shorter than any two days during the work week?! I had to chuckle when I saw the address right above the listing of their office hours:

So that is why my work week seems so long ~ it is 1000 hours long!!! Well it does feel that way!!!

DS became my hiking buddy at an early age. We share a lot of the same interests ~ trying new foods, love of nature and animals, hiking, music, and writing ~ just to name a few. Gone are the days of him living at home, but there is a special place in our hearts for him and we are so very proud!!

In closing, I leave you with two options for drum music {DS is one fast drummer!}.

For the younger taste, here is a drum solo by John Bonham of Led Zepplin. Double Click on the arrow to start the video:

For the older taste in drummers, I give you a drum battle that took place in 1966 on the Sammy Davis, Jr. show. Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich showing off their talent:

Carpe knitting,
KZ

2007-09-30T20:09:00.001-05:00

"That's Something!" Sunday ~ September

I cannot believe it is the last Sunday and the last day of September. I guess Summer 2007 is but a memory now. When I saw the following clip, I thought "That's Something!" and knew I had to share it with you. {Double click on the arrow to start the video.}

A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing crisps from a neighborhood shop.
The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos. Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of crisps. Since then, he's become a regular. He always takes the same type of crisps. Customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips because they think it's so funny.

I am sure the golfer in the next clip did not think the following incident was funny. It gives a whole new meaning to "birdie" in golf:

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-09-25T09:20:00.000-05:00

All Things Zebra ~ September

I have been contemplating adding an "All Things Zebra" post each month. There are so many interesting zebra facts and videos around. You never know what I might "dig up" for the post. Feel free to email me if you come up with something Zebra for a post and I'll credit you in my post.

I have never been on a safari, but it's on my list. Here's what happened to a couple of people who ventured out one afternoon. {Double click on the arrow to start the video.}

I am dreaming of a MacBook. Wonder if one of these would fit it?

If you like animal prints, check out aspoke.com and see the fun laptop skins. {I have never purchased anything from them, so cannot speak for the company. Just thought this was fun.}

I close with my all-time favorite zebra cartoon:

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-09-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

Knitted Zebra's Aunt

by KZ's Brother

I have to say a word about the Knitted Zebra's Aunt, who just returned from a week of vacation in Alaska. She is the one who taught me about multi-tasking. This was long before any books were written about the subject. As a family we had always made gifts for each other.

KZ's Aunt was on her way home from college one weekend and passed through a small Mississippi town. The local policeman did a double take. Our Aunt was driving perfectly and within the speed limit; however, she was knitting while driving. {Please do not try this yourself.}

The policeman drove up behind her and turned his lights on. The Knitted Zebra's Aunt kept going. He turned his siren on to no avail. Finally the policeman moved over to the lane beside her, rolled his window down and yelled, "Pull Over"! KZ's Aunt responded by saying, "No ~ it is a pair of socks for my sister!"

KZ asks, "How does he come up with this stuff?! "

Our Aunt really is very talented ~ and that's no joke!

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-08-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Colonel

{a.k.a. Knitted Zebra's Brother}

While I was growing up, we celebrated birthdays two months out of the year. Dad, Knitted Zebra's Sister and KZ were born in January. Mom and KZ's Brother were born in August. We also play favorites in my family. So on this last day in August, I am sending birthday wishes to my favorite brother and our parents' favorite son.

My apologies that I do not have a better picture to share. I have inserted his face from the blurry picture we took at Mom's birthday party into a picture I took when he did not know I was taking his picture. Right after I took this he asked me not to take his picture ~ for the record though I took this before he said that. I have included this secret picture so there is something knitting related in this post and to also show how kind he is to KZ. {That's my story and I am sticking to it!} Next post you will find out more about what he was doing for me out on the rocks.

The Colonel would walk with me to school when I was in Kindergarten and in First Grade. His school was next door to mine. In First Grade I remember hunting for him sometimes when he was heading home for lunch. One of the local teens would occasionally break into the school at night. The next morning some of the older kids would tell the first graders that the person who broke into the school was waiting on us and was going to grab us. Since this scared me, I would tell my brother I did not feel good and needed to go home.

Early on my brother would receive Elvis records for Christmas. After hearing Elvis all thru the holidays, in my young mind I decided Elvis music was Christmas music. Little did we know years later the Colonel would be the only telephone company employee allowed to install a phone in Elvis' hospital room each time Elvis was there.

Being several years older than me, I was heart broken when my brother joined the Navy and I could not go with him. I remember my parents explaining to me that the Navy did not allow young girls to enlist. I did not play with dolls very often but I really liked the Ken doll with the Navy suit my parents bought for me shortly after the Colonel headed off to Boot Camp. He sent me one of his Navy hats and my parents took a picture of me wearing the hat and holding Ken the Sailor. I included the picture in my next letter to him so I could let my brother know I missed him. Years later I learned that picture went with him on four tours of Vietnam.

During the four years he was in the military, he sent me the coolest letters. I recall one where the writing was all in wavy lines like the ocean. We moved to Corinth while he was still enlisted. I remember looking out the window of our new home one afternoon and seeing my brother, dressed in uniform, getting out of a cab. It was a surprise visit so my Mom thought I was hallucinating. I went running to the front door and was so excited that I could not get the door open. I think I was calling out my brother's name over and over. My parents came running when they realized he really was on the other side of the door.

So for the Colonel's birthday, I close with Elvis on tour in Hawaii singing "American Triology." I chose this one because it shows some pictures from Tupelo, Missisippi. You will even see a couple of pictures of Elvis' birthplace which was across the street from where we lived for five years. Double click on the arrow to start the video.

Carpe knitting,
KZ

2007-08-15T17:53:00.000-05:00

It's a Fig, Newton!

My week in Mississippi is flying by way too fast! My parents were expecting me on Monday; however, Saturday {08.11.2007} was my Mom's birthday. Knitted Zebra's Brother, Sister and I planned a surprise for Mom and Dad. They told Mom they would take them out to eat for Mom's birthday and Mom & Dad's Wedding Anniversary. After most were gathered inside the house on Saturday, I walked in and said "Happy Birthday!" Mom said she thought she was dreaming when she looked up and saw me there. She had been trying to figure out a time when all of us could be together through the week. I live 525 miles away, so it is an all day journey to "pop in."

We are enjoying laughter, great times together and wonderful food. Some of the best food comes from the fruits of my Dad's labor. He loves to work in his garden now that he is retired. I am early for the figs and muscadines, but wanted to show you what I will be missing. Above is one of the figs. Below is a shot of one of Dad's fig plants. I am sure his figs will be so tasty!

One of my all-time favorite Southern foods ~ muscadines ~ is shown below. Muscadine Jelly and Muscadine Juice fall right in line with delicious muscadines right off the vine! I did get to taste a couple of muscadines. One was ripe, but the other was evidence that I was too early for the harvest.

I have really looked forward to some of Dad's delectable green tomatoes fried up and served hot. Yum! Green fried tomatoes are so good!

Another Southern tradition, besides Mom's outstanding cooking, is a bowl of Boiled Green Peanuts. Sometimes it is hard to find them fresh, but believe it or not Peanut Patch Green Boiled Peanuts are the next best thing. {I did not believe Mom until I tried them.}

Yes, I call them Boiled Green Peanuts and they call them Green Boiled Peanuts. To me they are green peanuts that are boiled, to Peanut Patch they are Boiled Peanuts that are green. Somehow though I am not going to let semantics stand in the way of enjoying them. {Rest assured, no peanuts were wasted in the making of this photo!}

While speaking of the South, I have to mention Elvis, especially in relation to tomorrow {anniversary of his death}. While growing up I lived across the street from Elvis' birthplace for five years. {Click on birthplace to go to a link that shows pictures of his home.} At that time the birthplace served as a "rent house" and was owned by a local lady. This type house is known as a "shotgun house" in local terminology. It is a small two room house with wooden steps and a small porch the width of the house. The front door opens into a small room with another small room immediately behind the first. The back door is at the end of the second room.

When I lived in Tupelo, I had a memory of why they called it a shotgun house, so I "Googled" the term to see if I was correct. "The Shotgun house is a narrow one-story dwelling without halls. Each room is placed behind the other in single file. The roof ridge is perpendicular to the street. The traditional description of why these houses are called "shotgun" is that if one fired a shotgun through the front door, the shot would pass through the lined-up doors of each room and out the back door." {Definition from bywater.org}

I did not live in Tupelo at the time, but Elvis held a concert at the Tupelo Fair Grounds in 1956. The following statement was made by Elvis as reported in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, August 16, 2007: "Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together."

Knitted Zebra's Brother worked for South Central Bell in Memphis for over 30 years. During this time he was assigned to handle telephone service to the downtown medical center. It was his assignment {and pleasure} to "hook up" the private telephone for Elvis each time he entered the hospital. Elvis would always be admitted after midnight. On one occasion, Elvis left him a short note as he was being discharged: "Thanks, first name of KZ's Brother, for your help." One thing that made this note unique was Elvis wrote this at 2:00 a.m. on his doctor's prescription pad. This is to the memory of Elvis as we remember him 30 years after his death.

It is amazing what some wizards can do! Tomorrow {08.17.2007} on spinner.com and on itunes, you will be able to see a duet between a now-grown Lisa Marie Presley and her father, Elvis, who died when Lisa Marie was 9 years old. In anticipation, here is a replay of the American Idol duet of Celine and Elvis. Elvis' image was taken from a concert in 1968, the year Celine was born. Double click on the arrow to start the music.

This afternoon I went to a place my sister told me about ~ The Fillin' Station at the corner of Fillmore and Wick Street in Historic Downtown Corinth. When you walk in, it is very evident the owner is a true Elvis Fan!! A number of people were enjoying "Dogs on the Run" with slaw, homemade chili and Sweet Vidalia onions. If you are in the mood for a thick slab of bologna in a cheese sandwich or a Grilled Cheese freshly made, you have come to the right place. If I am not mistaken, those are some of the sandwiches Elvis enjoyed. I stopped in for some ice cold Dr. Pepper and picked up a couple of glass bottles of Soda Pop for memorabilia from Corinth. If you are ever in the area, I know they would love to have you drop by The Fillin' Station.

The picture above was taken at my parents' home. All of our guitars are at the homes of Knitted Zebra, KZ's Brother and KZ's Son, so a piano was substituted for a musical instrument. That is a menu from The Fillin' Station though. My apologies that the pic is blurry, I needed more light.

For those who have waded thru this for the knitting content, I present to you the start of "My So Called Scarf" which I found on Sheep In the City's blog. I first saw this scarf on Stacey's blog when I was just learning to knit. I knew someday I would knit one of these. After a few projects on my knitting needles, I went in search of the beautiful Manos del Uraguay yarn she had used. It was well worth the wait! This is the Wildflowers colorway and I am using Denise Needles, size 15. I found the yarn at my LYS, Stitches.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-08-13T15:02:00.000-05:00

I Won!

What fun to win a blog contest! This is my first chance to post about my good fortune. Kat had a contest on her blog Creative Pop-Offs to identify the difference between her Swallowtail Shawl and the original from

Kat treated me to 4 skeins of fun yarn!

Kathmandu, Aran, Greensland Collection, Color 133 {twead brown}, 85% Merino Wool, 10% Silk and 5% Cashmere

Moda-Dea, Zing, Color 1887 {sparkly black and silver}, 100% Polyester

Persia, Ladder, Shade 900 {blues and blacks}, 100% Nylon

Trendsetter Yarns, Aura, Color 8298 {black, silver, grey and white}, 80% Wool, 10% Nylon, and 10% Polyester

I will enjoy finding the perfect projects for these yarns. Thanks, Kat! {Apologies that the picture does not do them justice.}

Speaking of Interweave Knits, have you checked their updated website for free knitting patterns? While you are there, be sure and sign up for

Carpe Knitting,

2007-08-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

What Kind of Knitting Needles Are You?

Here's a little quiz I took. Click on the word "quiz" below where it says "Take this quiz" if you would like to see what kind of knitting needles you are.

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are bamboo.Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You love the craft and beauty of traditional things, and you value the comfort and experience of knitting as much as the results. But while you are reveling in your warm cozies, don't get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is the whole wide world!
Take this quiz!

Quizilla
Join

Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

More knitting tomorrow.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

2007-08-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is a place marker to correct problem
with overhang of needles post.

The overhang is running into Mom's
picture.