My review of the book: Knitting Block by Block by Nicky Epstein

My visit to the winter "TNNA" show included a quick stop to the JHB Booth, to catch up with Nicky Epstein and see what was in her world.  How fun it was to learn that not only did Nicky Epstein have a new book but she also had a new line of buttons.

Nicky Epstein

They are really cool metal buttons with "Steampunk" and "Pirate" themes.  These would be great accents on costumes, journals, and other projects.

I also found out that Nicky was going to do a book signing over at the publisher's booth later that day.  

Her newest book is "Knitting Block by Block" and it is fabulous.

It is a visually striking knitting textbook!

Knitting Block by Block is not a book for just beginner knitters. 

That being said, the author has included some beginner level blocks in this book which are a seed stitch block, a stockinette stitch block,  a garter stitch block, a pulled ribbed block,  a basketweave block, a horizontal stripe block and finally a two color triangle block.

Chapter 2, offers some really fun and attractive blocks that can be made using the various blocks and adding i-cords, loops, etc. for accents which bring these projects to a visually pleasing  project like the “Highland Fling” (page 45).  This is a great project that just requires the reader to follow Nicky’s well written directions to create a lovely decorative square.  These blocks could easily be used to make a variety of projects for a beginner level knitter.

Chapter 3, is geared more to the medium level of experience knitter.  My favorite here is the “Seed Stitch Faire Isle Combo” on page 85.  There are a lot of color changes in this project.  However, if you are good at following patterns then this is a fun challenge for the newer knitter.

Chapter 4, is geared to the more experienced knitter.  It has both traditional stitches and some newer techniques (e.g.: domino, entrelac, mosaic, smocking,  Fair Isle, reversible knitting, and more).  The patterns are great but reading them would be challenging for a beginner knitter. 

Chapter 5, is one of my favorite chapters because it covers cables.  I love scarves, sweaters, hats, etc with cables in them.  Doing them in blocks is a fun way to learn some new techniques and design elements.

Chapter 6, covers “Eclectic Style” elements.  This section is definitely for the more advanced or adventurous knitter.  Nicky uses textural stitches, appliqués, accessories (zippers, beads, buttons), I-cords, along with some overlapping bobbles in her projects and patterns. There is some laying of elements involved in these projects, while time consuming they are worth the extra effort.  My favorite in this section is the “Cabled Bell Pull” which is not quite as fancy as some of the other projects but looks great when finished.

The rest, well, you will have to read the book for yourself.  

One great feature of this book is it covers the different techniques and projects in squares that can be put together to create what ever I want.  Why would this be important?  I work, go to school, and raise a family.  This is a great way for me to have an on-the-go project that works with my busy schedule.  I can accomplish this “one square at a time”.

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A collection of American Indian Hopi Handcarved Kachina or Katsina Figures.

I had a chance to talk to Norma from Stillwater Designs about her very beautiful Kachina collection.  Her information was so informative that I thought I would share it with you.  Keep in mind, I may have missed a few bits of information.....but I always recommend going to the different "Tribe" websites to get accurate information on their artwork, customs and their history.    I just think that her adventures are so lovely and want to take a moment to share them with others who love and appreciate this intricate work and it's historical value.

This is a Hopi Kachina or Katsina. It measures about 1 inch tall. This Kachina was purchased in Winslow, Arizona. Kachinas are stylized religious icons, carved from cottonwood root, painted and sometimes decorated with feathers, to represent figures from Hopi mythology.  They are spirits of the dead, intermediaries between man and the gods.  Authentic Kachinas are made only by Hopi artists.  The art of  kachina carving is done by a few Hopi Indians, who dedicate their life to this art and it is handed from down generation to generation. 

Above, Kachina figures are all Hopi.  They measure from 1 inch to about 5 inches. They were all purchased in Winslow, Arizona.  If you look at them closely, you'll see different animals represented, the one on the left, that is red and black with round eyes and mouth is called a mud man,  the one toward the right with the white top with black strips is a clown. The detail is amazing on these ,considering the are not very tall. They are all carved from cottonwood root and they on a cottonwood base.

In the photo above, the 3 Kachina Dolls in the back are all Navajo.  The Navajo ones are usually not as detailed as the Hopi.  Notice the smaller ones in the forground are all Hopi and much more detailed.

He is a Hopi hoop dancer with rabbit fur, leather, shells and beads and was purchased in Cheyenne , Wyoming. He measures about 10inches tall.

Above:  The one on the left is Hopi, he has rabbit fur and leather, and was purchased in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The one on the right is Navajo, with a rabbit fur collar, feathers and leather.  The smaller ones in front are all Hopi, notice the detail.

Above is a "kachina" made by the Navajo.  So according to the Hopi's it is a copy.  I purchased this in Tucson, Arizona.  He measures about 24 inches tall. He is surrounded by Turkey feathers and his arms are covered with rabbit fur and his clothing is made from leather. He is dancing on a cottonwood base.  To give you an idea of the diffence in prices between a "real "Hopi kachina and a Navajo copy,  I paid $25 for the 1inch Hopi kachina and $75 for the 24inch "copy."

The clay figures to the left of the basket are Storytellers, from the Navajo and Hopi (Arizona and Utah) tribes.  In front of the basket are Indian fetishes made from different polished stones and turquoise. Each one has its own meaning.  I think these are all Navajo.  To the right of the basket are Kachinas made by two different Indian tribes. The two in the back are made by Hopi Indians and the two in the front are made by Navajo Indians.  

These are all so beautiful!  The next time you are in the southwest, make time to visit the galleries and/or visitor centers of the tribes to purchase their work and support the continuing education efforts of the different tribes.

Raw Food Non-cooking class!

With the weather warming up, the idea of adding greens and fresh fruits to my diet is appealing.  Plus the idea of finding ways to conserve gas and electricity are always appealing.  So I decided to check a local "Raw Food Non-Cooking Class" which is one of the vegan cooking classes offered at the "Piecemakers" Quilt Store in Costa Mesa, California (714) 641-3112.  No this is not a "Raw Food Movement" kind of thing.  The class is centered around improving your health through the addition of more fresh veggies into your diet.

The picture above is a beautiful presentation of the different items that we learned to prepare in class to create a tasty spring rolls, cabbage salad, fresh beets, and slightly steamed green beans.  Yes, slightly steamed is not raw....but the teacher understood that a class full of newbies are not going to necessarily embrace raw string beans right away.  So she thoughtfully prepared a recipe for us to lightly steam the string beans to make them more palatable to us.

Eating raw is about keeping as many nutrients in your food as possible.  What I liked about this class is that the instructor did not preach to us about the "Raw Diet" but explained the health benefits of incorporating more raw fruit and vegetables into our diets.

So what were the ingredients?  We used zucchini, daikon, red & yellow peppers, fresh garden greens,

Red Pepper, Daikon, Zucchini

greens and herbs

red bell and yellow bell pepper

and of course spring roll wrappers.  I have to admit I do not like the spring roll wrappers, the texture just wasn't for me.  I enjoyed the dressing and veggies without the wrapper (so yes it was just a salad for me).

As someone who rarely cooks anything that does not come pre-frozen.....this was a totally new concept.  Normally, I avoid the vegetable isle (it can be overwhelming if you do not know what to do with them).  Shopping for me usually consist of a quick trip to "Fresh and Easy" and their already prepared meals section which tend to be quite tasty.

Now that I am armed with the knowledge of how to prepare and serve veggies, I will now give the fresh fruits and vegetable isle a visit. I will also use the ones that grow in my own back yard.  Taking a hands-on food preparation class really helps to understand the concept of the "Raw Food" diet.  By the way, next month they will be teaching "Italian" inspired recipes (Raw... of course).


However, there are also other types of classes offered there (including apple pie baking....yum....and yes it is with an oven....but I bet it could be done with one of those solar contraptions I keep reading about).

The store has independant teachers who teach on a variety of subject matters from furniture making to jewelry making.  One of my favorites is the sewing classes which are taught by Diane Maffris.   She is an excellent instructor and her classes are a lot of fun.  There is also a man who teaches making furniture from willow tree branches which I have been wanting to learn.  So you may find that there is something you want to learn being taught at that location.

For more raw food ideas, I am recommending some books that cover things from healthy eating, raw food recipes, to using salads as a meal.





Also if you are going to try the zucchini pasta, you may want to try a spiral vegetable slicer.  They are really fun and cut up your veggies to create pasta shapes.  I bought one of these and my kids and I love it!

If you have picky eaters in the house or just wanted to take healthy lunches to work.  Try Bento Boxes. There are some great books with recipes and directions on Amazon.

Craft Super Show Re-visited.

I never had a chance to post the pics from the last "Craft Super Show" that I attended.  It was a fun day filled with crafting celebrities, like "Carol Duvall" (below), demonstrations, crafting supplies, kids craft ideas, scrapbooking supplies, and so much more.

The producer from the television show "The Carol Duvall Show" on HGTV and the DIY network,  Ms. Kelly Chafee Ehrlich.

The fun part of the show was that there were plenty of retailers present who were selling many fun and exciting supplies, that one normally can not find in local craft stores.  Barnes and Noble set up a store
with over 100 crafting titles.  Those of you who are familiar with this store, know they never have that many books on display at their retail locations.

The "Crafty Chica" was on hand to demonstrate her new product line for the public.  She has many fun paints, glitters, markers, and other craft supplies and project ideas.  Below is a very cool part of her booth, that offered a photo opportunity to the various guests.  I uploaded this in a slightly larger file so you could enjoy some of the fun and eclectic items she put around the frame of this cut-out.

Needless to say, celebrities and guests took time to get photographed in this iconic piece.  Including Carol Duvall, who has a fabulous sense of humor and truly enjoyed the spirit of the event.

The "Craft Chica" was also signing copies of her new fictional novel "Waking Up in the Land of Glitter" which is a crafting related romance novel.


The "Crafty Chica" has some great re purposing projects on her u-tube, blog, and website, using her product line and tools.

  

Crafty Chica and her mini bobble head doll.

Below is a picture we took of "The Crafty Chica" and her new crafty chica art supply line at Michaels where she was doing a book signing.  As you can tell, they have a hard time keeping those shelves stocked with her product line.  Especially her fabulous glitters which are so fun to work with.

There were also jewelry making craft supply manufacturers on hand to demonstrate their product lines. They also gave out some jewelry making patterns and design tips.  This is a great idea, since it creates a demand for the items from the consumer to the retailer.

Plaid was on hand and featured their "Modge Podge" product line, along with some great crafting tips and designs.

Cathie Fillian was on hand doing demo's of cool projects.  I loved her show "Creative Juice" because it had some really useful project ideas of things to do with recycled stuff.  They were very well made shows and I truly miss them.

She was also signing her book "Bow Wow Wow" which is loaded with darling costume and outfit ideas for your favorite pup.

As you walked down the isles, there were an abundance of product demonstrations and such.  Below is a great picture of one of the plaster artist who took paper mache and plaster to a whole new level of fun and creativity.

The "Craft Super Show"really offered something to interest a variety of crafters.  You could literally learn new crafting skills just be watching all the demonstrations going on in this show.  I sincerely hope they bring back this fun show with all the cool learning opportunities that this last one provided.

Recycling E-Waste

As technology advances, new products are invented and sold to the public at an amazingly fast pace.  So that great television or computer you bought yesterday may be obsolete within a two year period.  The lifespan is even shorter for computers and cell phones. 


Recently, I looked at the area of my garage that was dedicated to obsolete electronics (instead of my car).  I knew I had to do something with all this e-waste if I ever wanted to be able to park my car in the garage again.

So I had to ask myself, when it comes to electronic waste how do I safely dispose of it? 

In California, the disposal of e-waste in landfills was found to have the potential to cause severe human and environmental health impacts.  In order to stop e-waste dumping, the California Senate passed the “Electronic Waste Recycling Act (Senate Bill 50) which came into law in 2004. 

Ok, so I don’t want to break the law, so what now?  Thankfully, the SB 50 established and funded a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure safe disposal of e-waste.  You should know there are different types of e-waste, so you need to check with your local e-waste program to find out what covered electronic devices (otherwise known as CEDs) are allowed.  

F.Y.I.:  Cells phones may be returned to retailers who sell them. 

The 10 year old computer monitor,  hard drives, collection of obsolete vcrs & dvd players, coffee maker, printers, etc. still needed to go.

the impressive mountain of e-waste at the drop-off

So I set off to find out how to properly dispose of them.  I found out that the “City of Fountain Valley” was holding an e-waste drop off event.  Not only was this convenient but the actual process of dropping off the items was so easy.  You load the stuff up in your trunk, you drive up to the specified location and they take it right out of your car for you. These guys are fabulous.  They are very organized and get you through as quickly as possible.  I took some pictures of the event so you can get an idea of how much they collect in just a couple of hours.  

Organized, efficient, and most importantly....eco friendly.... program!

By the time I had come through to the front of the line, the event handlers had already filled up one very large truck full of this e-waste. By the way, the organization also has pick up available for a small fee which is a pretty good deal if you do not have a way to transport your e-waste.

One of the trucks being loaded with the e-waste.

What can companies do with the waste?  Well below is a picture of how one company (Two's Company) recycles keyboard keys into useable household decor pieces such a photo frames.  

That same company also sells some very cool purses made from soda can lids.  

Additionally, I found out at my local e-waste collection event that batteries which are considered “household hazardous waste”, are not allowed to be dropped off at this type of event.  That forced me to find out where one can properly dispose of them. I do utilized re-chargeable batteries but even they have a limited amount of times you can re-charge them.  So I called my local trash company and found out they have a special facility to handle this type of waste. 

As for plastic containers, well below is a picture of a lamp from a store display that stops to make you think a bit.....

The light fixture is made up of clean empty plastic containers.  I don't think they actually touched the light heat source because I could not smell that distinct plastic smell. If nothing else, it was an interesting display piece.   However,  you can always place your empty plastic containers in the specified recycle bins provided by your local trash company.

Recycling can be fun and there are unlimited options on what to do with all that stuff piling up in our homes.  Just remember to recycle responsibly!

If you have other things you would like to recycle or upcycle, you should check out ecosalon .  They have some great ideas and links. 

Disclosure

Walking the floor at the Winter 2011 "TNNA Show".

The TNNA (The National Needle Arts Organization) trade show is an opportunity to become more educated in the field of needle arts, yarns, and fashion/market trends.  It is also a dynamic area to meet designers and manufacturers and see the new and innovative ideas they have come up with.

My first stop was the "Crochet! Magazine" booth.  Stefanie Girard had brought along the Amineko dolls with her which are two crochet cats, named Stan Amineko and Jane Doe Amineko.

It makes sense they would start off their day at this particular booth.  They are darling to see in person and I enjoy photographing their antics whenever I can.  By the way, if you want to make your own, then you should check out the book "Hello My Name is Ameniko by Nekoyama".    The book has great photographs and  straight forward "Step by Step" directions.  There are also some fun suggestions for personalizing your own Amineko cat with accessories.


The next stop was the "Lorna's Laces" booth.  This booth had yummy colors and the specialty yarns are hand dyed.

Their displays were orignally and fun looking.  I just loved the way this booth presented it's yarns.
Below is a picture of the wall of yarn at the back of the booth which was so colorful.  Of course they had some fun knitted critters, so we took some pictures of theirs and the Amineko dolls on the wall of color.

Aminko

The next stop was more fiber at the "ArtYarns" booth.  If you have not had a chance to work with her fibers, go to her website to find out the nearest retailer.  ArtYarns has some beautiful yarns made of the most amazing materials, including cashmere, wool, silk, mohair and others.

Here are some of the lovely books that Iris Schreir (of ArtYarns) has written:

"Reversible Knits", "Little Lacy Knits", "Modular Knits" and many more.  Iris also appeared on the television show "Knitty Gritty" and others.


The next stop was the "Alpaca With A Twist" booth.  I enjoy working with Alpaca, the yarns are not only beautiful but I know that my project will keep me warm when I wear it.

The above are some cool pics I took at a local "Alpaca" craft fair.  It was fun to see these cuties in person.


Speaking of someone else who likes to use Alpaca yarns in her designs, Robyn Chachula was at the show and was scheduled to do a book signing.


Of course, I just had to have a copy of Robyn Chachula's newest book called "Baby Blueprint Crochet".  If you have a chance the next time you are in a book store, check her books out.  She is a very talented designer and her patterns are very easy to follow.  I highly recommend to spend a few minutes to peruse the books because you may just be surprised at how appealing her designs are.....and......maybe you will get caught up the "create something" bug like I was.


By the way, Robyn has a really cool blog called "Crochet by Faye"  at: 
http://www.crochetbyfaye.blogspot.com/ 

Robyn Chachula

As you can guess, I am going to make the cute robot toy "Robot Burt" on page 135.  The baby booties and her other projects are darling to see in person.




We stopped by the "Unicorn Books and Crafts, Inc." booth to see the best possible selection of craft books ever!  They are distributors for needlework and textile craft books and sell to retail stores.  They had a bunch of these book towers with the biggest selection of craft and textile books ever. 

Amazon is great but you do not get to turn the pages of the books to see if the projects appeal to you which is why I enjoy going to book stores.  However, they normally have a very small selection of books in stock.  So this was a fabulous experience, they even had books from other countries.  


The best part of this booth is that they had book signings all day long.  This was a great opportunity to speak to the authors and ask questions about their books and designs.  I got to spend time with Carri Hammett and speak to her about her new book.  Carri Hammett owns a successful yarn shop and has an extensive background in fiber arts.  She wanted to design patterns that were accessible by knitters of a variety of knitting experience levels..while still being stylish.  

Carri Hammett

This particular book is good because it is specifically for knitting in the round.  My enjoyment of knitting in the round is the projects travel well.  The first few pages review a variety of techniques.  The rest of the book is patterns for mittens and hats.  Her projects are great and they do vary in design and techniques (which is helpful to me when trying to knit projects for different personality types).  My favorite pattern is on page 90, a "Rustic Stripes Hat with matching Mittens".  The hat is not a the typical cap style, it is has some fun details that change the shape and make it a really flattering hat style. 



If you want to know about Carri, the Craftside blog has a mini video interview with Carri on their blog site.  Plus they have a list of the many different titles that Carri has written.

Recycle ...... Bird House Makeover!

If you have an old birdhouse around or even a newer one in the wrong color scheme or perhaps you just want to use it in your home decor, a little paint and a little hard work is all you need.  Below is a way to update or just change a colorful birdhouse to use in your home decor.

Start by cleaning up the birdhouse, then give it a good sanding to prepare it for painting.  Make sure to remove any dust and particles.  The cleaner the house is....the better the surface will be for the paint to adhere to.  Use an old box as a work station to control possible over spray.

I love using "Krylon" indoor/outdoor paints.  It coats well and is true to color.  It also has the lowest amount of "scent" than the other spray paints.  What little it has, seems to disappear fairly quickly.  I found that spraying the lightest colors first, seems to work best.  Don't forget to let the piece dry between coatings.

After you paint it, then just add some ribbon, a faux plant spray or two.  To add snow, then place some Plaid texture paint where ever you think snow would look good.   If you want to give the faux snow some bling, add a small amount of glitter to the paint and mix it.  It gives the snow some sparkle that reflects light to add more fun to your birdhouse.

Let the texture paint dry according to the manufacturers direction.  To protect it,  you can spray it with a sealer or Krylon's Crystal Clear Acrylic.  There you have it.

A simple and fun craft project that makes an old bird house new again. With a few adjustments, this can be an easy kids craft project or an upcycled project.

Remember to recycle responsibly.