white oak studio

Swoosh Mitten Pattern

2011-04-13T08:42:00.010-04:00

hi everyone! I know it's springtime (I can hear the birds singing right now) but I love to knit mittens anytime. In fact, this is the time of year when I am knitting mittens to give as Christmas gifts.

Can you think of a better, more touching gift than a gift of hand-knitted mittens? I can't! Creating mittens is really a labor of love and the receiver knows it.

"Swoosh" mitten pattern below is available for purchase by clicking the "Buy Pattern Now" button below or by going to www.ravelry.com and searching in "Patterns" for "Swoosh". After you make your purchase, the pattern will be delivered via email directly to your email mailbox. thanks! Jana

buy pattern now

whiteoakstudio.etsy.com shop is OPEN !!!

2011-04-09T09:36:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! my store is open again after a much-needed break. For now I have some old reliables like Gunsmoke, Honeymoon in Bali, The Color Purple, and more...

Next week I'll be dyeing more colorways and will also have some new creations so stop by the shop and take a look, thanks! Jana

Gunsmoke

"TV Sitcom" tvyarn yarn club!

2009-07-02T21:08:00.002-04:00

The third series of the tvyarn club will be “TV Sitcoms” (the first series was “Chick Flicks” and the second was “Romantic Comedy Movies”). There will be 3 shipments for this series. The yarn base will be my 100% merino wool superwash Louet Gems yarn.

signups at http://www.whiteoakstudio.etsy.com/

Each month, you may choose either fingering or sport weight tvyarn.For one of the shipments, members will have the opportunity to vote for the TV Sitcom for that month by using a poll on the club blog. If you refer-a-friend who gives your name as a referral during signup (under notes to buyer) you will get a special gift in the next shipment.

With each shipment you will receivean exclusive color of tvyarn as inspired by that month’s TV Sitcom.one other surprise gift related to that month’s theme (the first month will be a coordinating stitch marker)signups at http://www.whiteoakstudio.etsy.com/

The shipments will be the first week of August, September, and October, 2009. The price for each month is $28 plus shipping. Signups begin immediately.

There will be a limited number of spots available.

The club blog is http://www.tvyarnsockclub.blogspot.com/

Join us! Jana

Some happy colors!

2009-05-18T20:08:00.003-04:00

I'm back in the dye studio cooking up some fun color combinations! One of my favorite is "The Pink Panther" above. I just love that springtime pink.

I've also posted some shop updates for "Desperate Housewives" and "The Wizard of Oz".

I've lowered my prices from $25 for 2 skeins to $22 for 2 skeins. We all need a price break!

Enjoy!! www.whiteoakstudio.etsy.com

dyeing for the shop again, yay!

2008-06-15T20:34:00.004-04:00

Hi all, I've been so busy with life, my yarn club, and wholesale orders that I haven't updated my etsy shop in AGES. But this weekend I'm finally back to dyeing for the shop. And it's so much fun. See "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" above.

I think I'm doing to do a series of yarns inspired by a movie theme. Hmm... now I have to think of the theme. Maybe "Leading Men we Love" or "Oscar winners".... If you have a suggestion, let me know! Jana

YARN!!

2008-05-05T17:34:00.002-04:00

My (backordered) shipment of yarn from Louet's arrived at the end of last week, so now I'm blissfully yarn-FULL!

But I've got the next club shipment to get out plus a large wholesale order. So that yarn won't be around here for long!! back to the dye studio for now.......

Jana

Colorado here we come!

2008-02-05T20:09:00.000-05:00

So this is where I'll be tomorrow - Crested Butte, CO. OK, well, I probably won't be quite this high up. My adventurous skiing days, when I'd follow the guys anywhere on the mountain, are definitely behind me.

I'll be bringing 3 knitting projects along on the trip - a second Tweed Beret, the start of CeCe sweater, and my on-going Tree Jacket. Ya-hoo - give me a fireplace and a view and I'm happy to be knittin'. Jana

the latest

2008-01-14T18:34:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! We have a nice size group for the next 3 month sock club. There's about 40 signed up. I have a few more openings if anyone is interested.

And I'm having such fun using my tvyarn to knit a tam! I'm knitting the Holiday Lights Tam from the Interweave Holiday 2007 issue. See the photo above. I dyed 3 colors in my sport weight: varigated red, varigated greens and varigated chartruse. This morning there was a drive-by yarn injury though. I was vacuuming and one of the yarn strands got caught in the beater! Luckily, it snapped off neatly without hurting the tam. I might be able to finish it this evening.

And then I'm going to take it along and wear it in Crested Butte Colorado! We booked a ski trip for early February and we're very excited. We needed to plan some high quality family fun time. Sometimes it seems like it's just work, homework, school activities, other obligations, and then more work. But this will be a nice break and something special.

Now to decide what to bring along to knit during the trip. Hmm.. Today I ordered yarn for the Blue Sky Sunset Shawl so that might be a good no-think project for the trip. I'll surprise you with the colors I chose! I ordered from a new shop (for me) - Flying Fingers I found them when I was looking for a shop that carried the wonderful Tahki Donegal Tweed. Their shipping is only flat rate of $3.99. I ordered the tweed for the Tweed Beret from Interweave Knits Winter 2006. I'm lovin' hat knitting right now! (And my UFO sweaters can just take a rest)

Jana

signups for "Romantic Comedy Movies" tvyarn club

2007-12-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

For our next tvyarn sock club series, tvyarn will be celebrating Romantic Comedy Movies!

There will be three shipments for this series. The yarn base will be my 100% superwash yarn. Each month, you may choose fingering or sport weight tvyarn.For one of the shipments, members will have the opportunity to vote for the Romantic Comedy movie for that month by using a poll on the club blog. And there will also be contests now and then on the club blog.

With each shipment, you will receive
- An exclusive color way of tvyarn as inspired by that month's Romantic Comedy movie. During the series, you will receive two multi-color variegated color ways and one semi-solid color way.
- A theme-related stitch marker
- At least two more theme-related, fun surprises.

PLUS, in one of the three shipments, you will receive a cute - and useful - sock project bag or tote. The shipment it arrives with will be a surprise.

The shipments will be the first week of March, April, and June, 2008.The price for the series is $100 plus $13.80 shipping. SIGNUPS OPEN NOW. If you join, you will receive a paypal invoice for the entire amount during the third week of January 2008. To join send email to whiteoakstudio AT yahoo DOT com.

Signups will end when the club is full OR on January 15, 2008 (which ever comes first). Spaces are very limited. I hope you will join the fun! Jana

Sock it to me

2007-12-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

Hey, our knitting phenomenon has made the Wall Street Journal! I am not surprised, we are a force to be reckoned with! Here's the article.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

2007-11-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I have a colorway in the shop where all profits (plus some more) go to local charity. Ten dollars for each purchase of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" tvyarn goes to those in need in my local community. The funds will be administered by my church, Hope Community Church at http://www.gethope.net/ - I am so happy to be able to do this.

finished two-over-two vest

2007-11-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

I just finished my two-over-two vest! I love it!
size: small
pattern: two-over-two vest
yarn: Wool Cotton from Rowan
needles: US 5

more pics in ravelry

some knitting progress

2007-11-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Here's a peek at my two over two vest. This photo is a few days old so now I have only about 2 inches to go on the body, then the straps. I'm really loving the rowan wool cotton that I'm using - I've wanted to use this yarn for a long time and it has not disappointed.

I got my new Winter 2007 Interweave Knits and know I will knit at least two things from this issue: the Alicia Tabbard vest and the Logan River Wrap. Yarn for these two is already on its way here.

I wish I had more time to knit! I'm hoping to knit almost nonstop during the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend!

SAFF was AMAZING!!

2007-10-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

Here's one of the baby llamas (crias) that I met at SAFF this weekend! I had a booth in Barn B -- actually it was a barn stall, how cool is that? -- and the whole weekend was so much fun. I can't wait for next year! I already signed up so I can have the same stall. And next year I'll be much better prepared, now that I know what it's all about.

More photos soon, best, Jana

Back in town

2007-10-18T09:13:00.001-04:00

I'm back from NM and had to hit the ground running. I did manage to make some good progress on my Two over Two Vest so I'll post photos soon. Ciao! Jana

New Mexico here I come!

2007-10-06T15:49:00.000-04:00

This is what I'll be doing next week in New Mexico! See you when I return, Jana

Progress on Juliet

2007-09-27T21:10:00.000-04:00

I've been focused on Juliet so have not been able to start on the Waterfall yarn from the first shipment of the Woolgirl Sock Club. But I did manage to wind it and find an awesome Knitting Witch sock bag for it, from White Willow

I am loving Juliet and should finish it this weekend.

And, last but not least, I've wound my sport weight Thelma & Louise yarn and it also has its own White Willow sock bag!

I am really having knitting project fever this week; I've purchased several patterns and the yarn for them is on its way. More on those projects soon, but I'm also keeping ravelry up to date.

Knitting HAS and WILL happen!

2007-09-14T16:08:00.001-04:00

100_6497
Originally uploaded by whiteoakstudiotvyarn

Da mail has arrived! I've been not-patiently awaiting several yarn packages this week. Found this on my porch from WEBS - first, on the right, Debbie Bliss Stella yarn to knit Sanpoku sweater from Berroco. I've been yearning for a warm-weather, silk blend and this looks amazing. Then, below, some luxury Lantern Moon circular needles for - ta da -

Juliet from ZephyrStyle in Plymouth Royal Silk Merino! A gorgeous shade of jewel red. I'm going to cast on RIGHT NOW! TGIF!!

Christmas Around the World Knitter's Swap Questionaire

2007-09-06T17:36:00.000-04:00

1. Are you religious? I am a Christian.
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? I'd say I'm intermediate but I'll pretty much tackle any pattern and figure things out eventually.
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting? Oh my, too many. I dye yarn. I make jewelry and love home design. I make art quilts with handdyed fabric. I play golf and am always reading lots of books. bike riding, walking my dog, hiking, travel
4. Favorite color(s)? Red, oranges, lime and avocado greens
5. Do you collect anything? No, not really.
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? Nope.
7. Do you have any pets? Yes, my black lab Scout
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate? Coffee
9. Cookies or Sweets? Both.
10. Do you knit socks? Yep.
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits)Tank tops, light sweaters
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do?Usually we do.
13. Favorite holiday treats? Cut out cookies with icing
14. Favorite holiday smells? Spice. Vanilla, pine too.
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventionalway? Please elaborate. Fairly traditional. We live far from family sowe usually fly to either Michigan or Iowa for Christmas. We do notspend a lot on gifts, just spend time together.
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions? At our home we have atree and a few presents. We make a gingerbread house. We walk aroundour neighborhood and sing Christmas Carols and my son plays the trumpet.I attend The Nutcracker ballet with a friend and usually attend TheMessiah concert at Duke University. I sang in The Messiah, as asoprano, for many years. 17. Finish the sentence: "For me Christmas is all about...."family
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be.......? A lightbulb
19. What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given? We spend a lot of money and time to travel to family for the Christmas holidays, so every year I'd say that's my favorite gift.
20. When do you start your Christmas? December 1
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them? Formany years I made them. Now I write a note and put photos of our yearin it.
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish? Red jello with creamcheese
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do? Walk outside, smile,listen and maybe sing along. And always applaud afterwards!
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Eve. We attend church on Christmas morning.
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both? both

Sock Knitting bags in store

2007-09-02T18:50:00.000-04:00

Well after much research and several experiments I have finally figured out how to make Sock Pouches! Last month I bought one from H. L. Miller's etsy store and I just loved it. I tried to buy more in a fabric that I loved and search everywhere on the internet but could not find one to purchase. So I decided to try to make some myself. Let me tell you these are not easy to make but after many late nights I figured out how to make some that please me.

So now I am making some for my etsy store and some to sell at the Southeast Animal Fiber Festival (SAFF) in Asheville in October.

And, on another note, the over-90-degree weather that we've had here in NC for the month of August finally eased a bit so we went for a long bike ride today after church service. It was wonderful to be able to breathe outside again! Jana

Southeast Animal Fiber Festival in Asheville, NC

2007-08-21T19:12:00.000-04:00

My son returned to school this week so for me it's officially almost Autumn. I'm still adjusting to leaving the lazy days of summer behind. But Autumn is my favorite time of year and this year it will be even more exciting. I'm going to have a booth at the Southeast Animal Fiber Festival in Asheville, NC in October! I really need to start loading up on inventory and planning my booth. No, I have no idea what I'm going to do for a booth other than have tables with lots of baskets full of yarn! So I need to get thinkin' on this. Here's the SAFF website.

There will be a bunch of bloggers and ravelry-ers at SAFF and I'm excited to meet everyone. Here's a link to someone who doc'ed SAFF from last year.

One Word

2007-08-13T18:44:00.001-04:00

ravelry

Christmas/Holiday Movie tvyarn contest results

2007-08-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

Meet "The Polar Express"!

I really loved all your entries but the colors and the amazing emotional appeal of "The Polar Express" intrigued me. It's not one that I would have picked on my own, so I loved the idea of it. After 3 tries and 2 failures, I came close to what I was trying to capture. Midnight blue, shades of violet moonlight on snow, hot chocolate and shades of golden yellow for the beaming light. Ah.

So, both "emicat" and "vegasangelbrat" contributed to the idea and colors - so BOTH of you win 2 skeins of "The Polar Express". And then for the other 41 of you I did a random number generation and "kimncocoa" won. So will the three of you please send me your name and address? To whiteoakstudio at yahoo dot com

thanks! this was great fun! Jana

Chick Flick Movies Tvyarn Club

2007-08-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

Hang on to your hats! It's time for a road trip in the convertible! I've decided to do a tvyarn club and for our first series we'll be doing Chick Flick Movies Tvyarn!

Details are in my etsy store - you can purchase month by month or for the entire series at once.

Come on and join the fun, Jana

You guys are awesome!

2007-08-08T18:13:00.000-04:00

WOW! I LOVE all the answers to my tvyarn contest! There are so many interesting answers and so thoughtful too. What I love is that they are such great ideas and many I would NEVER have thought of on my own.

So.... I'll post the winners and a photo of the new yarn ASAP :-)

thanks so much, Jana

Christmas/Holiday Movie TVYARN CONTEST!!

2007-08-04T12:07:00.000-04:00

Well, yes, it's August but just this week I started to get Christmas fever and I'm ready to create some Christmas/Holiday-themed sock yarn! I need help with ideas so let's have a contest. The prize will be 2 skeins of the yarn that you will help to create by participating in the contest.

So leave a comment and tell me
1) the title of your favorite Christmas/Holiday movie
2) what colors you would put in yarn inspired by the movie and WHY you would choose those colors for the movie. So give me an eloquent and passionate rationale. Or just a funny one.

I'll pick the winner based on what I think is the best Christmas/Holiday movie/colors inspiration and reasoning. Remember you can pick the same movie that someone else chose and give your own colors/reason. Then I'll dye the yarn and let y'all take a look. Make sense? (And do not choose Elf because I dyed that one yesterday :-) )

So leave a comment by 5pm Wednesday August 8, 2007. If I get more than 30 entries I'll give 2 prizes - one for best entry and one random winner. So tell your friends! Jana

sockapalooza sock #1

2007-07-30T23:19:00.000-04:00

One down, one to go. Two days to send off. I think I can make it. These are Crusoe sock pattern using tvyarn in CSI Miami colorway from my etsy store.

I really like this pattern - it's a fast knit and easy stranded stitch. It works wonderfully with variegated yarn.

2007-07-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

Next week I am on vacation. Again. This is for our family reunion in Michigan. We're staying at a cottage on Lake Michigan near Saugatuck. It's not exactly a carefree vacation for me, since I'm the "middle" generation and it's sort of my job to be "cruise director", as we like to call it. I plan activities and meals and "take the emotional temperature" every once in awhile to keep relationships running smoothly. Sometimes it's a challenge since we have folks from 2 weeks old to 85 years old! Mostly it's wonderful and this year we even have air conditioning so that will feel like a luxury.

My goal is to finish my sockapalooza socks while I am there! I am actually feeling too tired to get ready to go on vacation again, but somehow I'll pull it off and I know it will be worth it. See you in a week, Jana

My backyard

2007-07-17T17:56:00.000-04:00

As promised here's some photos of my yard, which I really enjoyed this weekend. These freshly-painted, chartreuse shelves are going in my dye studio. My studio is in the basement on the far right. And I love my adirondack chairs, in hot pink. We washed our windows last week - a big once-a-year job where the whole family helps!

thanks Lora!

2007-07-17T17:53:00.000-04:00

Lora did a great job "gifting" me for the June BLUE knitting swap. Gorgeous blue sportweight yarn from Sereknity. A beaded bracelet, did you make it Lora? And lots of other blue goodies. And a photo of Starsky!! yay!

slow, lazy, kick-back summer

2007-07-14T22:17:00.000-04:00

It's almost the middle of July. I'm trying to truly savor each day of the middle-of-the-summer. We finally had some rain here and I loved the dark evening of rain. And the garden enjoyed it even more.

I had made a bunch of stitch markers so I decided to take some photos and sell them on etsy. To sweeten the purchase and provide more functionality (I'm always misplacing stitch markers myself) I ordered some summery beach-safe screw-top containers and they will sell as a package along with the stitch markers.

I'm really enjoying making my socks for my sockapalooza pal. I had a rocky start and some panic-y moments with the first pattern I tried but now I've got yarn and pattern that I love. I'll post pictures soon. The pattern is from Knitty and has some bad errors and since no one has posted the solutions (only lots of posts about the problems) I am hoping to post the pattern WITH the solution so others can benefit.

So I need to take and post photos of
- my garden which is now refreshed - today there were two goldfinches and a cardinal at the birdbath (really a bird fountain with water I keep fresh for them) at the same time! I loved the color!
- my sockapalooza socks and pattern
- my studio which will have new shelves that my son and I painted today in LIME GREEN :-)
- my lab Scout who has a fancy-shmancy hairdo after a bath and brush this week, she is gorgeous

I am also having a wonderful time getting in a lot of reading time this month. I'll update my reading list on my sidebar this week. Our library has a wonderful webpage where I can just "order" the books I want and they send me email when they have transfered them from another county library to my local library. Then I just stop by and pick them up. Same for renewal, automatic email that a book needs to be renewed and the 'click' I renew it! The libraries in the U.S. are just wonderful.

A new addition to the family

2007-07-04T20:55:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, my husband phoned me at worked and said excitedly "a friend of mine will sell me a 1965 Mustang for 3K below blue book. Can I buy it?".
I replied "Uhh, no.".
A week later he asked "I really want to buy that car. ok?".
I said "no".
Two weeks later same thing.
Last week it made its grand entrance into our garage. Sigh. I did get a car stall full of hubbie's junk cleaned out, at least. Or did I?!

thank you secret pal!

2007-07-03T20:08:00.000-04:00

thanks for the great package of goodies, secret pal! I'll post a photo soon. Hmm... I know you gave me a hint but so far I haven't figured out who you are. But I will keep trying :-)

Vacation in Grand Tetons NP and Yellowstone NP

2007-06-16T22:06:00.000-04:00

This is where I'll be in a couple of days! We're off for a vacation of hiking, rafting, driving, reading, eating, relaxing, and sightseeing. And I'll be taking several knitting projects along, so I can get back to knitting again and away from the dye studio (which is always calling my name when I'm at home).

I shipped off my order to woolgirl so Jen should be putting it up on her shop next week sometime.

I plan to knit Cookie A's Hedera socks in the Gunsmoke colorway! Hey, I guess it's fitting to knit with this while I'm out west. I'll be casting on while we're waiting for our flight to board. Can't wait!

And I'll be taking several books to read too. I think I'll start with The Outlander. Hmmm... haven't decided what other books to take along.

a fun weekend dyeing new colorways

2007-06-11T10:29:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, I had a fun weekend dreaming up new colorways. I love greens and have been working to get a rich, deep avocado plus I decided to pair it up with an awesome, mixed violet! I am so happy with how it turned out. Meet "Casablanca"!

The colors kept reminding me of North Africa, Moroccan colors so I decided to name it "Casablanca". Yum!

a tour of my dye studio

2007-06-10T22:22:00.000-04:00

I thought you might be interested in a small tour of my dye studio which is in the basement of our home. This photo shows the dye area where I presoak the yarn, mix the dyes, and and dye the yarn. I have a view of a 80 foot white oak directly out my windows, thus the name White Oak Studio.

This photo shows how I dye the yarn in small batches.

I'll post more info and pictures about my dyeing soon!

Knitter's virtual vacation questionnaire

2007-06-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

I grew up in Michigan, but I currently live in North Carolina, and the American West owns my heart!

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why? Montana - I love the west and Montana is simply breath-taking.
2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why? Greece. I've never been there and think the Greek islands look amazing.
3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries? oh yes, many times, my family drove from Michigan to Washington every summer. We took different routes, even via Canada several times.
4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it? I visited Prague in 1986 while there was still an Iron Curtain ala the Soviet Union and it seemed very exotic at the time.
5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why? There have been many but one amazing one was a 3 week trip from NC to Chicago via plane, from Chicago to Seattle via train with a stop in Glacier National Park, biking and camping from island to island in the San Juan islands, and then back to NC. During the trip we visited my brother in Chicago and my wonderful aunts and uncles in Washington, where my parents also flew in to visit. Quite a trip.
6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain. When we first moved to NC we visited the entire state - the Outer Banks, drove down the Atlantic coast, and also went all over the NC mountains on the Blue Ridge parkway.
7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker? definitely not amusement seeker. probably a bit more beachcomber than museum visitor but that is a close call, in general we are more outdoorsy than museum folks but we definitely do both.
8. What's your favorite type of yarn? right now it's sock yarn, any kind, although I have been wanting to try a cotton blend or a bamboo blend.
9. What's your least favorite type of yarn? not into mohair
10. What items do you like to knit/crochet? sleeveless tanks and socks
11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation? whatever I'm currently knitting
12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet? right now my other crafts are art quilting and oil painting
13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise) nope.
14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite? favorite is red. least is...pastels
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)? savory
16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know? I love coffee! And I love to read.

woolgirl will be carrying my yarn!

2007-06-02T22:48:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited to announce that woolgirl www.woolgirl.com will be carrying my yarn! Jen is running a contest related to my tvyarn on her blog http://woolgirl.typepad.com/woolgirl/2007/06/woolgirl_wants_.html so be sure to go over there and place your entry in the contest.

www.woolgirl.com has an amazing selection of hand-dyed yarn by indie dyers and I am flattered to be part of this gang. woolgirl also has a monthly newsletter - here is the newsletter for may http://www.woolgirl.net/Wooly%20Woolgirl%20Newsletter2.pdf

thanks secret pal!

2007-06-02T14:00:00.001-04:00

My secret pal from sp10 sent me another awesome package! Look at all the goodies! thanks pal!

knitters coffee swap

2007-05-29T20:49:00.000-04:00

I'm running my first contest for the Knitter's Coffee Swap. I have a name in mind for the tvyarn above and whoever guesses the name (and reason for the name) will win the contest. Should be fun; I expect several correct entries so we'll have to pick a name out of a hat to decide.

knitting in the dark

2007-05-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

My purple swap package arrived.. from Sonya. She really got into the purple theme! I loved it all - take a look at the purple knitting needles that glow in the dark for all the times that I really need to knit in the dark! And she knitted an adorable coin purse too.
THANK YOU, SONYA

Golfing to support Breast Cancer research

2007-05-26T19:01:00.001-04:00

This week I took a day off work to support a great cause - to support research for a cure for breast cancer. My husband and I played as a foursome with some dear friends. None of us are particularly good golfers since we don't have time to play often. Luckily for each shot we only had to use one shot of our four shots! So we'd have 3 balls in the woods and one in the fairway. Then 3 balls in the lake and 1 on the green! We ended up playing very well and everyone contributed. A wonderful day.

Knitters Coffee Swap

2007-05-26T16:58:00.000-04:00

Sunne sent me a great coffee swap package! There were 4 skeins of a yummy cotton/cashmere Noro yarn, some of her coffee-themed stitchmarkers from her etsy store, fresh roasted coffee beans, chocolate cookies, a an awesome "protector" dog-angel charm for my dog Scout! thanks Sunne!

7 things

2007-05-23T09:20:00.000-04:00

Sonya tagged me with 7 Things
List 7 random things about yourself.
Tag 7 others.
Leave a comment on their blog to direct them to your site to get the rules.

1. I am purebred Dutch even though I am 3rd generation to live in the U.S. My maiden name is De Vries and my married name is Van Wyk. And my son will be the 4th generation "purebred", rather unusual.

2. I skipped kindergarten and went straight into first grade, so I was always the youngest in my class by almost a year.

3. My husband and I lived in Germany for a year.

4. I hate answering or talking on the phone.

5. My husband does all the grocery shopping and cooking for our family.

6. I put myself through college and grad school by cleaning homes and waitressing. It was hard.

7. As I was growing up, during the school year we lived in Michigan, and during the summers we lived in Washington, which I loved. My Dad was a school teacher. We always drove between the two states and camped. With three kids, how did my Mom ever manage that?

My "Mary's Garden" crazy quilt is on tour

2007-05-20T14:41:00.000-04:00

In the spring of 2006 my art quilt "Mary's Garden" was juried into the ARTQUILTimages show sponsored by Profession Art Quilt Alliance-South. This show has been traveling ever since - after visiting 5venues in 5 states the final show is at CK Media Gallery in Golden, Colorado. My crazy quilt "Mary's Garden" is featured on their website.
This quilt is dedicated to Mary Dozeman, my maternal grandmother, and features several photographs of her, my mother June De Vries, and one photo with the three of us - taken in Montana in 1960. I transfered the photos to fabric and then used the fabric in the crazy quilt motif.

flash your stash

2007-05-20T14:38:00.000-04:00

Here's part of my yarn stash in my big, old, white stoneware bowl - flashing this stash for the secret pal 10 contest!

Artists' Retreat in New Mexico

2007-05-16T16:40:00.001-04:00

Last week I was in southern New Mexico at a week long painting retreat. The workshop, led by Kim English, focused on painting figures in the landscape and we worked primarily outside - en plein air.

It was very challenging and since it was my first opportunity to paint figures... I don't think you'll see any of my workshop paintings displayed here!

I do know, though, that in the future I will definitely be confident enough to add figures to my paintings. Small ones.

The photo is of my good painting friends and I. We meet only once a year or less but drop right back into our good friendships whenever we are together. We talk about our art work for HOURS on end! I'm the one on the far left.

look at what my friend knitted!

2007-05-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

Look at the amazing sock that my friend Cheryl knitted! Isn't it amazing? She is SO talented. She knitted this sock out of my hand painted yarn in the colorway named "Sex and the City". I have been so busy dyeing yarn and updating my etsy shop that I have not had time for any knitting lately. Hopefully that will change in a few weeks.

The pattern is Metropolis from Wildhorse Farm Designs.

Thank you, Cheryl!

thank you secret pal!

2007-04-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I got an awesome package of goodies from my secret pal. I love everything in it! There were 2 skeins and 2 balls of alpaca yarn - can you believe this is my FIRST alpaca yarn??!! I didn't know what I was missing; it is soooo soft. The blue is hand painted. And there's a cute travel-theme tape measure - in honor of my upcoming trip, right? very nice! Plus some air freshener, lip aid, and hand creme. thank you SP!!

My baby - Scout

2007-04-24T22:29:00.000-04:00

Here's my gorgeous girl, Scout! She is our second black lab. She was supposed to be a fancy-shmancy show dog (she has quite the pedigree) but because she has some white hair on her legs and muzzle (called brindle), she became available for us! She is very loving, has the run of the house all the time, and sleeps in her own twin bed in my son's bedroom :-)

Guess who she's named after.

coffee swap 2 questions

2007-04-23T20:35:00.000-04:00

1. Whole bean or ground? either is fine but prefer whole bean so I can grind it
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? extremely fully loaded
3. Regular or flavored? regular, love roasts
4. How do you drink your coffee? hot and black
5. Favorite coffee ever? I love it all as long as it's good coffee and not weak or watery
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? any good coffee, i.e. not maxwells
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? pastries!!! donuts!! sweet breads, muffins, YUM
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? for a treat I do occasionally get a latte preferably NOT from starbucks. We have 2 Java Jive indies near us that have drivethrough. Oh and in the winter a friend and I will get peppermint mochas during a girls night out of shopping.
9. Yarn/fiber you love? pretty much anything. love cotton or cotton blends. prefer weight lt. worsted or below (hot in NC)
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? acrylic, not too crazy about hairy mohair
11. What's on your needles? socks, cardigan for arwen
12. Favorite colors? love red, browns, greens, love any non-kelly green, denim color, I like lots of colors
13. Allergies? nope
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I cannot wait to go on vacation. I need a break! I'm off to an artists workshop with Kim English instructor in Ruiodoso NM - meeting a good friend there and we're staying at the artist retreat which is a cool adobe house next to a mountain stream. It'll be the first time I've painted from live models - oil painting. I'm actually kind of nervous since I haven't done much figurative work at all. I might just set up my own still life and paint that! I can paint a bowl and a pear!!

joining knitters' coffee swap

2007-04-21T16:17:00.000-04:00

round 2 of the knitters' coffee swap has begun!

New Mexico here I come (again)

2007-04-14T13:41:00.000-04:00

For the past three years I've attended an artists' workshop at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. The workshop is with Ann Templeton and we paint outside all day long. It's an amazing experience. The retreat is rather remote and very rustic - it's almost like camping. I've met some great friends there. Here's a picture of some of us (I'm on the far right).

I'm on may way there for a fourth time in May07.

Also, on the knitting front, I've joined the sockapalooza4 sock swap. Can't wait for it to begin!

ideas for new tvyarn colorways?

2007-04-13T10:57:00.000-04:00

This weekend I think I'll try out some new colorways for the tvyarn line in whiteoakstudio. Maybe some oranges/reds, yellows, and violet/purple. And there's a new navy bluish color that I've been wanting to try out.

If YOU have any ideas for colorways for your favorite tv show or movie, leave me a comment and I may just try it out!!

Jana @ whiteoakstudio

whew!!

2007-04-11T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well I've opened my etsy shop. I wasn't quite ready but decided to just jump in and figure things out as I went along. It's going pretty smoothly. I'm offering special freebies to SecretPal10 members and the 52PairPlunge KAL. Should be lots of fun! I have one more colorway to post, hopefully tomorrow. From then on I will send an announcement to my http://groups.google.com/group/whiteoakstudio whenever I post new items and colorways. Come join the fun!

STEP AWAY FROM THE YARN

2007-04-05T09:17:00.001-04:00

step away from the yarn
Originally uploaded by whiteoakstudio.

Do you ever get so enamoured of yarn that you think someone should force you to leave it alone? I do. I hear someone using a bullhorn shouting "STEP AWAY FROM THE YARN."

I have mountains of yarn almost ready to sell. Just have to neaten the skeins and take photos. What fun!

Color Swap March - from Sonya

2007-04-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

Look at the goodies I got from Sonya in the March Color Swap. My Mom is modeling the goods, along with her dog Charlie. Aren't they cute? Sonya spoiled me with:
- an awesome felted vase, which I will use to hold my knitting needles. See her blog for the whole story.
- the book "Socks, Socks, Socks", has gorgeous pictures and patterns
- 2 balls wildfoote sock yarn
- neat ball of bamboo yarn
- green tote
- beautiful, reversible green knit-tote. Just the right size for sock knitting.
THANK YOU SONYA!

First SP10 Contest for Robin's Group

2007-03-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

When I joined SP10 I didn't know we'd have fun contests! I'm in Robin's group and our assignment is to answer this

Please post (on your blog) about your favorite yarn and your least favorite yarn (if you have one!) What have you made with it? Tell us about your experiences!

Hmm...this is a hard one. My favorite yarn is usually the one I'm knitting with at the time. Really. We all put so much time and effort into our knitting crafting that I hope we all love the yarn we are using. So, that said, I'd say my favorite yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I'm using it for Cardigan for Arwen (almost finished) and simply love working with this yarn. It's soft, great stitch definition, and slight sheen.

Least favorite? 2 years ago I made 7 scarves for Christmas presents - out of eyelash yarn. At the time it was fun but.. I think I don't need to knit with that yarn anymore :-)

knitted, felted tote

2007-03-27T20:28:00.000-04:00

Here's a tote I made for my Mom - I used the wonderful Baby's Got a Brand New Big Bag pattern but I made it a bit smaller. The yarn is Knit Picks "Wool of the Andes".

This is a great pattern. Fun and a quick knit.

book questions

2007-03-22T16:27:00.000-04:00

I found this questionaire off the SP10 website in this member's blog http://hooknneedle.livejournal.com/ Since I haven't written about books before - and I'm a big reader - thought this would be a good post.

In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
6. The Two Towers (Tolkein)
7. The Return of the King (Tolkein)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
*9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
+17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
*18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkein)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
+25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
*36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
*37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
*38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
*40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
*43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
+45. Bible
+46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
49. The Promise (Chaim Potok)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
*53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
*65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
*72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
*76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
*79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
*81. Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphe DuMaurier)
*84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Cold Mountain (Frazier)
87. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
*89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
*90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
*91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

My knitted purse has arrived!

2007-03-18T16:39:00.000-04:00

For the knitted purse swap II Chrissie (from Singapore) was my secret pal. She made me a wonderful purse that I've just received. Take a look here for a picture. Jana

My Dye Studio

2007-03-13T16:37:00.001-04:00

My dye studio
Originally uploaded by whiteoakstudio.

Here is one area of my dye studio - I have a wonderful view of our enormous white oak out of my window, thus the name White Oak Studio. Hopefully the next photo you see will show it more organized and fully stocked with supplies! I put in several orders today and have one more large one to do with a new supplier.

The drying area is to the left of the photo, and I can also take the yarn out the door (to the left) when the weather is dry and warm.

Click here to view some of the colorways I am designing.

March Color Swap - Green

2007-03-13T16:26:00.002-04:00

For the March colorswap I'm sending to Chris whose blog is www.mama-murphy.blogspot.com and I'm receiving from Sonya - www.intheskeinofthings.blogspot.com

I love green so this will be a fun swap! And we're really having wonderful spring weather here in NC already, so I'm in the mood for springtime colors.

yarn dyeing success!

2007-03-13T16:26:00.001-04:00

yarn0307 004
Originally uploaded by whiteoakstudio.

Spent the week working on dyeing every night. I'm surprised I had that much time available... I doubt that will happen often! For the most part, I expect to spend the weekends on it.

gifts for me

2007-02-26T19:22:00.000-05:00

On Saturday morning, I discovered a box on my porch, just for me! Cheryl is my February Color Swap 2007 pal and she really spoiled me! This month's theme is Brown and Tan and here's what she sent me:

- 2 skeins Lorna's Laces shepherd sock yarn in a blue/tan colorway, so soft!
- 2 balls Regia sock yarn, grey tweed, gorgeous
- 3 balls Daletta sock yarn, tan
- Hershey's kisses lipgloss and keychain - :-)
- Milk chocolate bar (gone already)
- a cute brown monkey stuffed animal
- Milk chocolate Lindor truffles YUM!
- interesting, DELUXE needle holder from KnitCare
- Circle of Friends sock pattern
- clover needles and holder
- Eucalan woolwash
- brown measuring spoons

Isn't my treasure wonderful? Thank you Cheryl!

Yosemite

2007-02-25T14:46:00.000-05:00

This photo is from Oct 2005 when our family was fortunate enough to visit Yosemite for a few days. We love to hike and ride bike on our travels. It's a great way to get up close and personal with nature. I took this photo of my son and husband.

Secret Pal 10 Questionaire

2007-02-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love cotton/wool blends and have started to use smaller and smaller guage yarn. I haven't tried wool/tencel yet but would like to. It's hot here in NC and heavy wool it too warm. I've been craving sock yarn lately. I have stopped liking fuzzy/novelty yarns.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? They are disorganized - in my knitting basket.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I'd say I'm intermediate, but there is not much that I won't try if I get interested.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, amazon under "white oak studio"
5. What's your favorite scent? oh, I love so many. Right now I love sandalwood, citrus, eucalyptus. I love soaps, lotions, candles...
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? yes, I love hot tamales and junior mints. Tootsie rolls, milky way, and on and on... you really can't go wrong here
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? No I don't spin - I dye fabric and create art quilts (fabric collages). I make jewelry and polymer clay beads and buttons.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I can play mp3s but still like getting regular cds. I love country music and jazz right now. Celtic is great and other new age is good for yoga background.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love color - strong, bold and lots of it. Red is my fave. Love lime and avocado greens. Love unusual, interesting color combinations. Don't like pastels.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I live with my husband of 26 years and my 12 year old son. And our beloved black lab. I work fulltime as a computer scientist/software developer.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Not so much since it's warm here in NC. I do love vests and summer knits, even sleeveless. And socks.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Sweaters, socks
13. What are you knitting right now? Socks
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Sure
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo, circ
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Just ordered a swift.
17. How old is your oldest UFO? 20 years. I started a sweater in 1986 when I was living in Germany. Can't bear to part with the yarn or the pattern which is in German.
18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween, because of the autumn weather and it's 2 days before my birthday.
19. Is there anything that you collect? Yarn. In general, have too much stuff in my house already so try to buy things that can be used up.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? No knit mag subscrip yet, but buy all the Interweave so I should subscribe. Would love multi-color koigu sock yarn. Colinette looks great too. Love all debbie bliss yarns. Would love a sock book, don't have one yet.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? knitting two socks at the same time on one circular needle!!
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Uh, not sure how to measure since I'm fairly new to sock knitting. I wear ladies' size 9 or 9.5 Will have to figure out how to measure. I have a high instep.
23. When is your birthday? Nov 2, 1959 - I'm still 47!!!

Color swap goodie bag is in the mail

2007-02-21T20:05:00.000-05:00

Whew - I packed my Color Swap goodie bag for my swap partner and it's in the mail. It was fun, except that finding brown and tan items was too challenging to me. Next month is green and that will be even more fun.

now a sock knitter

2007-02-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

I never understood the obsession with sock knitting until recently. I used to read knitting blogs and when I'd see all these photos of people's feet I'd think - why do these people want to show off their FEET? Feet are NOT attractive.

Well now I understand the sock knitting craze. It makes perfect sense. The wonderful yarn is what drew me in.

Much more interesting than a scarf and much less expensive than a sweater. Perfect.

Crazy quilt on tour

2007-02-14T09:07:00.000-05:00

Early in January 2006 I was suddenly struck with a desire to create a crazy quilt. I had already done scrapbooking and stamping so taking those ideas and applying them to cloth seemed natural to me. I discovered an art quilt group that was located nearby and their deadline for an upcoming exhibit was exactly the motivation I needed to finish the creation. This is a closeup of a portion of the quilt. This quilt is named "Mary's Garden" after my grandmother, and it is on tour with this show PAQA-South ARTQUILTSimages.

I love to shop

2007-02-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

Well I'm hot on the trail of some wonderful surprises for my Color Swap pal and my Knitted Purse Swap pal. I am a serious shopper - really. After I had spent an hour at T.J. Maxx once, digging through the piles of clothes looking for the magic red clearance tags, I sighed loudly and said to the well-dressed woman next to me "Why do I do this? It's hard work!". With a straight face, she wisely answered "It's a sport.". So true.

I have to admit I'm finding it harder than I expected to decide on my swap gifts. I want to give something that's "just right". But I am enjoying the process and am glad that we have deadlines to make our decisions.

One of my husband's businesses is a packaging/shipping store so he'll be in charge of shipping my gifts when they are ready. I love delegating.

And today I made a big yarn purchase for me. I've decided to learn how to knit socks. I've been seeing hand-dyed sock yarn around that is just pulling me in. I've ordered Monarch sock yarn from Angora Valley after seeing some bloggers post about their purchases. Of course I had to order 3 skeins so now I'm committed!

On the top left is one of my art quilts made with my hand-dyed cotton. This one is titled "Color Study 2" and it's about 18inches wide and 5 feet high. It was in a show at a local art center for the month of October 2006.

Happy shopping!

The Ascension

2007-01-30T21:02:00.000-05:00

This is one of my art quilts; it measures about 50x80 inches. During January and Feb of 2006 I started collecting batiks in the red/orange/yellow color range. Since I was making the quilt during the time between Easter and Christ's Ascension, I was inspired by my devotions to symbolize the ascension with the colors fading at the top. The red lines depict the blood shed and the black lines symbolize how the ascension conquers death for all who believe. The quilting does not show in the picture but this was my first attempt to do machine quilting with my old Kenmore. The thread is a luscious variegated red/orange.

Art quilting is simply an original (no pattern) quilt of any size, usually to be used as a wall hanging.

knitted purse swap 2

2007-01-20T21:17:00.000-05:00

knitted purse swap 2 questions
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I like merino wool or cotton blends the best - wool/cotton, silk/cotton, etc. I do love to knit with wool but NC is warm so I don't wear heavy wool sweaters. Lately I prefer good stitch definition so have been knitting with solid colors. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? acrylic, nylon, or extremely "fuzzy"
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a plastic case for knitting needles, but it's full.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I learned before I was 10, from my mom I think. But I've been actively knitting on and off for only about 5 years. I'd say I'm intermediate and teach myself by looking at good reference books.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? yes, amazon under the name "White Oak Studio"
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) Oh I love lots of scents - right now I really like citrus, orange, etc. I also love eucalyptus, sandalwood, and jasmine.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Chocolate covered caramels, Junior Mints, Hot Tamales and Cinnamon Jelly Bellies... mmmm Dots, Milky Way
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? No I don't spin (I don't need another hobby, my closets are full!!) I dye my own cloth and make art quilts (improvised quilts for wall hangings). I make jewelry and beads and buttons. I also do oil painting, sometimes outside.
8. What's your favorite color(s)? deep jewel tones. RED is my fav., alone or red and white or red and black. I also love lime green (alone or with black or purple) I love stripes or polka-dots. Earthy colors are great too. Any colors you just can't stand? Hmm, can't think of any. Maybe real neon colors and pastels.
9. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I've been married for 26 years to a wonderful man and we have one amazing son who is 12. Our black lab is also an important member of the family - she is an indoor dog.
10. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Right now - sweaters.
11. What are you knitting right now? Totes, Cardigan for Arwen and Nantucket Jacket from Interweave. And chemo cap for a friend. I've been eyeing sock "how-to"s lately so that probably means that will be my new obsession!
12. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I love bamboo and I'll use circular but only when required.
13. Is there anything that you collect? no, not really. yarn. easy, easy recipes. beautiful table napkins (to use).

Color Swap 2007 Questionaire

2007-01-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I usually prefer natural fibers. I do use Lion brand for scarves and totes. Knitters put so many hours into their creations that I think we should knit with the best and most beautiful materials we can afford.
2. Do you spin? Crochet? No and no
3. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I'm always deep into something. I rotate among knitting, oil and acrylic painting (landscapes, floral, still life), dying fabric, and art quilting. I am trying to focus more and so I'm in the process of selling and giving away my stamping, scrapbooking, beads, and polymer clay supplies.
4. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? There are so many great yarns available! I love Debbie Bliss and Rowan. Right now my favorite yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I also love cotton and cotton blends and want to try Rowan Wool Cotton soon. I've been eyeing Noro. (added 3/1/07 - Hand-painted sock yarn is now one of my obsessions).
5. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I usually don't like acrylic or metallics. I've also gotten away from using eyelash yarn and bulky yarn.
6. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Knitalongs and swaps!
7. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Sweaters (and socks (added 3/1/07))
8. What are you knitting right now? A tote.
9. Are you a sock knitter? Not yet but I hope to try this soon (update: started knitting socks feb07).
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Are there any colors you hate? I prefer jewel-tone colors, deep rich colors. I love red. Black and white is so classic. I'm also liking lime green, grey-green, avocado green, teal right now. I usually do not like pastel colors much - or neon colors.
11. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, Amazon under "White Oak Studio"
12. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) No.
13. Do you have any religious prohibitions or restrictions? I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. No dietary restrictions.
14. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I love citrus, eucalyptus, and jasmine. Right now my favorite is Eucalyptus Spearmint from Bath&Body Works. I love their entire line of aromatherapy products.
15. Do you burn candles? Yes, often.
16. Do you have a sweet or salt tooth? Probably more salt than sweet, although I love both.
17. Do you drink coffee, tea or cocoa? I love strong, black coffee. And hot cocoa too. I love Starbucks lattes!
18. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I've been married 25 years and we have a 12 year old son. I like to joke and say I'm in my second marriage since we were married 13 years before having a child - so the "first" marriage is very different than the "second" :-) !! We also have a very loving black labrador retriever who has the run of the house.
19. What are some of your favorite things? Mountains, hiking, biking, singing at church, watching tv (I admit it), reading in bed, books, music, traveling (I've been to most of the national parks)
20. Is there anything that you collect? I've grown weary of having so much "stuff" so I'm not collecting anymore; I'm actually purging. Now I like to get and give beautiful things that are useable, wearable, eatable or consumable in some way.
21. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween, only because I love the autumn weather.
22. What is your birthday? (You don't have to tell the year) November 2, 1959 - I'm 47 years old! YIKES.

Stash

2007-01-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

I bought this Knit Picks "Wool of the Andes" a couple of months ago and intended to knit a fair isle sweater with it. I love the color combination. But now I'm concerned the sweater will be too hot to wear in our Southern climate, so I'm using the yarn for a striped knitted tote. If it turns out well, it will be a gift for someone. I might have enough yarn for two totes.

2007-01-16T08:31:00.000-05:00

This "Garter Cardi" is from the "Big Fish, Little Fish" book. I'm knitting the adult version in Lamb's Pride worsted. I love how the simple garter stitch borders set off the stst. This is the first time I've knitted buttonholes. I'm working on the sleeves now - almost finished with the first sleeve.

2007-01-10T20:52:00.000-05:00

This is the left front of Cardigan for Arwen. I had to rip it out twice before I got the hang of the cables. Isn't the sheen from the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran yarn amazing?