Day 304-365: Tick or Treat!

What's more fun then trolling the suburban streets with a Kitty, Fairy, Mario, Luigi, a Death Bride and of course my Monster High Werewolf.

Day 303-365: Marshall

A corner of the house is designated for the Rockers in our family!

Day 302-365: It's All Good

Seems the computer needs a fan upgrade. Found it kinda cool to see this note;)

Day 301-365: Carving Complete

She wont touch the icky stuff... claim it feels like dog slobber. Hahahaha.

Day 300-365: Rake

I love that my neighbor has this beauty in her backyard... get to appreciate the colors without the need to rake!

Day 299-365: Alley

It's dirty, smelly and creepy. But I Love It!

Day 298-365: Nichols Bridgeway

The bridgeway rises over the Lurie Gardens and crosses Monroe Street connecting to the Art Institute third floor of the new Modern Wing.

Woobie Zebra Pattern Testing

I just had to share these photos of the New Woobie Zebra! I'm super smitten!!

If your interested in testing for the Zebra come join the test thread on Ravelry.



I Mean Seriously, how could you not resist the Mohawk! Look for this new pattern out the end of November.

Day 297-365: People Watching

Love just sitting drinking some hot tea while people watching. It's great entertainment.

Day 296-365: Pumpkin Patch

Made it out to the patch for our Halloween Pumpkins... didn't meet the Great Pumpkin though;)

Day 295-365: Angel

It's a little depressing to know this is from a graveyard, but I just love the fancy stonework.

Day 294-365: New Woobie

Working on a new project during lunch and getting excited to show this off.

Day 293-365: FO Baby Sweater

Now it's only a matter of what to do with the leftovers;)

Pattern: Telemark Pullover by Erika Flory

Yarn: 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Multi (alternating)

Needles: US 5 circular needle

Started: September 28, 2011

Finished: October 17, 2011

Quick. Easy. Would totally make this again. I alternated the multi yarn so it wouldn't pool and added side slits to the bottom hem. Totally have enough leftovers for booties;)

Day 292-365: Brilliant

I don't get tired of see these trees "On Fire!".

Day 291-365: Caution

Makes you wonder what kind of story is behind this photo, huh? I think I'll leave it up to your imagination;)

Day 290-365: Colors of Fall

The one great thing about Fall is the intense colors. Just stunning.

Day 289-365: Whole Again

After 13 years of being separated, father and daughter have been reunited.

Day 288-365: Rainbow

What a sight to see...

Day 287-365: Tile Mural

A wonderful city tile mural tucked under the "L" tracks.

Day 286-365: Rain Drops

Heading home from work and I loved how the color of the sunset reflected the rain drops on the window.

Day 285-365: Busy Bee

Another walk in the garden and they are busy over there these days removing the dead foliage. I think I must get a hat like that.

Day 284-365: Fronts

With the back completed...I'm on to the fronts of the vest and both at the same time. Sweet. This whole vest thing is magic... No Sleeves Peeps!

Day 283-365: The Winged Victory

The Winged Victory of Samothrace is a copy of the original which is in the Louvre Museum, Paris. This replica is put on display for all passerby to admire, just don't try to take a picture from the inside of the building... you will be shooed.

Day 282-365: Baby Sleeves

After finally locating my size 5 DPN's I'm now off and running with baby sleeves. I love baby knitting, so quick and cute.

Day 281-365: Goodies

I never did get to show off the goodies I purchased at Yarn Con some weeks back. I knew I wanted a Piddleloop bag, but was pleased to find mini skeins all bundled together like a pompom from Evermore Studios. Couldn't resist.

Day 280-365: Fisher

Don't you just love Cherubs?

Tourbillon = Whirlwind

Someone asked me the other day, “How do you pronounce the name of your pattern?”

“Well,” I said, “you should drum up your best French accent and try: Tour • Bee • Yon.”

It’s not necessary, of course, but it’s fun. I love accents, but if your like me -- from the Midwest, specifically Chicago -- then it would be more like: Tour • Bill • On

Picking a name for a design can be hard. You want something that stands out, something that people won’t forget. What was important for this pattern was a name that stood for the visual complexity of the design.

I just couldn’t name the design Swirls or Twirls, even though they were my inspiration. You see, as a kid I loved it when the wind would kick up bits of leaf or snowflakes and twist and twirl them about. I would imagine being super tiny and riding those swirls around like a roller coaster. I suppose it was the fascination that you couldn’t see the pattern made by the wind until little bits were captured by random gusts and carried away. 

It was back in the summer of 2010 that I first started sketching my design for the swirls. I would pull out my sketchbook and make notes about how I could incorporate the color work to be non-repetitive. The whole concept of swirls in general is their random movements, and this posed a challenge in the construction. How could I get the swirls to keep moving and yet have a repeating chart that flows? I exhausted my supply of graph paper, but a solution was found. The next step was to think about applying the chart to my intended projects.

I’ve knitted so many creatively designed accessories focusing on a single object that when I dress for the weather I’m always left feeling like Punky Brewster -- not that there is anything wrong with Punky Brewster, I LOVE her style. Yet as a grown woman, I feel the insatiable need to match. I knew that I wanted a tam and mitten set, but when the Twist Collective Fall 2011 mood boards were released, I knew adding a cowl would really make this set complete.

Off I went to swatch. The great thing about stranded color work is that by simply picking contrasting colors you can make stuff POP off the fabric. Once I knew how I wanted the design to flow, then I started to think about construction. There are different applications you can use to make brims, borders, and edges, but I needed one that was uniform for all three pieces. The picot edge is what won me over. It was a perfect edging for all three projects and added that extra finishing technique that makes the set complete.

I feel so honored to be among the selection of talented designers for this fall’s Twist Collective. I do have to say, though, that the one thing that I found quite hard to get over was sending in my samples. I wanted to keep them for myself! So, I’ve cast on for my own set. If you’d like to join us for a Tourbillon knit-a-long then please join us on the Twist Collective Ralvery Group.

Day 279-365: Bridge

The BP Pedestrian Bridge connects Millennium Park and the Daley Bicentennial Plaza by crossing over Columbus Drive. Everyone was out today with the weather being above average.

Day 278-365: Ink Blot Test

The "bean" draws me in every time and when I took this shot it made me ponder...what is that?

Day 277-365: Tips

I love to see the tips of trees start the fall color changes.

Day 276-365: Looking Up

Was out and about taking pictures of a design I can't show you. I know...highly disappointing right? I'm sorry. Hopefully soon all will be revealed.

Day 275-365: Vest Update

Since deadlines have slowed I've made some great progress on the Vest. I love the texture and feel of the yarn is super soft. Not a bad way to spend the day.

Day 274-365: Homecoming

Nothing like embarrassing your son when he's off to his first Homecoming dance. I think I was the only parent out there taking pictures.