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So Many Things Going On!

We are open for business! I have had a 'soft' opening for the Match Factory as I work to figure things out. Yarn is rolling in everyday, customers are finding me and my regular clients are happy to have a store front to come to.


This link got me really excited.Berroco's website



I know my updates have been sporatic. More updates to come as I get things under control. So exciting!

Extreme Knitting

Oops, second inspiration video in a row. This is pretty interesting though. Knitting with 1000 strands, totally an exercise in extremes. What I find interesting though is the statement that is below the video (click to get to the you tube site). The yarn used was all deemed excess and garbage. It really is a wonder what our society throws away.

Raleigh Denim

Check out this cool video. It is totally possible to be the little guy, work hard and suceed.

Raleigh Denim: Handcrafted in North Carolina from David Huppert on Vimeo.

Colour Choices

Ok, I`ve been convinced to keep this light green colour in the shop. It`s nice, fresh paint and way less work to keep it! Here`s my problem, this isn`t a colour I use a lot, what could I use to accent it? I need paint in an alcove, probable the main door as well. Any thoughts? It`s a nice light leaf green, very airy. And a metric tonne of white trim.

A New Day, A New Blog Post

O boy, life changed a whole lot over the last few months I've been absent around here. Where to begin for a short synopsis? Met a fantastic guy, had surgery on the leg again, renovated the little house, built a garage, expanded the coop, raised my biggest ever flock of meat birds, quit my job for the man and today... today I am picking up the keys for the new and improved Match Factory. Just a little busy huh? Oh, I also went for a quick visit to Vegas, a canoe trip, to Ottawa..mmm...4? times, Toronto a couple of times, have a tenant in the Little House and got a motorbike.

I really will try and update a little more often!

Moose IV

I'm still around. I've been incredibly busy on things that aren't very exciting. Check out finished Miss Moose. YAY!

Crocus are blooming, chickens are getting frisky and I'm getting the bug to do some gardening. Check out Sharon's blog. Independence days are back up and rolling for the season. I just kind of petered out last year along with the growing plants. Stay tuned for ID2010... coming soon!

Moose III

She's almost done! My portion is anyway. Matt is going to have to do some detail work but first many layers of latex need to be built up and dry on the shoes.



I helped work out fit issues mostly today. Of course we're hoping the average girl guide is taller than me! Another six inches and things look much better proportioned!



So shoes, belt and shading work on her fur and Miss Moose will be ready for her international debut.

Moose II

Well, Moose is growing nicely. I arrived to this gorgeous head already built and ready for some fine tuning, and yes, I believe that is a moose with a nose ring.

The usual working conditions were in place her at Matt's. Decapitated heads, brains and weird squishy things watching you work.



I built hooves....

Over all, she's coming together nicely. Lots of pieces to put together tomorrow. I'll be sure to take pics when we put it on me to check the fit.

Moose

I'm in Ottawa for a mascot build this week (and, well a specialist apt for my leg but that's another story.) More importantly I am here to assist in the building of THIS...



Girl Guides Canada is getting a new moose for their international camp this summer. She doesn't have a name, the contest is still going on to decide that.

I'll post pics when I get a break and get to sit.

Heirloom Knit Baby Blanket

I'm really not sure what possessed me to knit a baby blanket. A some point I got thinking about all the knitting my Gramma Fearnley did and how so much of that knitting was baby things. This certainly wasn't out of a quantity of babies in my family! They are pretty few and far between really. So many women of her generation knit baby things compulsively it seems. I can see the attraction of those small, portable projects, you only have to look at my socks to see that. Also, often vintage style baby things are lace knitters Mecca, so much details in such a small space.

So I ended up picking up some cream coloured yarn. Apparently the yarn fumes got to me and it's not wool. Not sure how that happened?! Then I landed on the Heirloom Baby Blanket (rav link), a pattern by the Craft Council of America.

What attracted me was that the blanket is knit is strips. Sounds good huh? Small portable just became even more portable. It never occurred to me that all those strips needed to be knit together. Then the lace edge, knit separately, then sewn on. Yup, that's about 4 billion miles of seaming. So, the blanket sure wasn't done for the fall fair 2009, maybe I'll still have it around for 2010 because I don't see any bellies developing in my immediate vicinity.

Check out this pic though.... that's me working on the blanket last summer!

A Great Little Knit

I have been rolling along finishing a bunch of projects this week that are hanging around both physically and emotionally. I agreed to knit this little hat up for a friend's Mom for a Christmas present. She has lost all of her hair to chemo and is finding things a little cold.

From "hats gloves scarves" by Louisa Harding (rav link) this is a great hat. Knit out of Lang Silk Dream it's going to be super warm and extra soft on her head. I hope she enjoys it!

What's On the Table 2010

I have spent a few days working in an area I'm not always completely comfortable in. Home dec and upholstery. Now that it's all wrapped up, I'm pleased. Curtains are always a challenge working in the space that I have. Throw pillows are something I could do more of though, each are little pieces on their own. I'm not sure if there is a market around the area for this kind of work though. Making them is time consuming.

Revival "The Making Of"

Before Christmas I spent a bit of time helping out my friend Matt with his latest Creepy Puppet Project. He bases many of his zombies on a 1/4 scale molded skeleton. Conveniently, in school I learned to draft most of my flat patterns using 1/4 scale slopers and still have them. So, making zombie clothes is just like making real people clothes only using less yardage. Excuse the bad photos of these, they were meant more as a visual communication between Matt and I as we live 6 hours apart.







I'm sure Matt worked his butt off for weeks in the interim but when Jenn, Paul and I arrived at his place he got us to give him a hand doing some green screen dancing skeleton work. This is a screen grab of what we were up to. For three non puppeteers that's a lot of limbs to get moving in coordination.




Ultimately, this is what things ended up looking like.



Please, take a minute to go and subscribe to Matt's channel on Youtube. He's working hard to expand the CPP and those numbers help.

A Slow Start

It really is better to creep up on the new year isn't it? Where have I been? I've been resting a lot, I think I am fully recovered from night shift over the holidays, trying to get lots of exercise and get my strength back to where I was before my car accident, working on the back log of sewing jobs that seem to pile up. As well I have been keeping up with my schedule of therapies to get my bod back. In my defense of my lack of blogging... I give you a Year in Socks....

mmmm.... only eight pair. That's less than one a month, I'd better get crackin'. My goal this year is twelve pairs of socks.