Zaz

Silk Bijou Cacheur des Rides du Cou

2011-09-16T16:46:00.000+02:00

I wanted something small like a fichu or less, in a fleshy colour to hide an older woman's signs of the time. you can use makup and facelifts but the hands and neck give you away.

So here's a little jewel i designed for everyday wear to wear gracefuly and quite quietly.

You can flount this around instead of both a Hermès from tante Alice and even skip that row of pearls aunt Céline gave you, this one has both the silk and the pearls and is muted, powder blush, just what you want.

Je voulais quelque chose de petit, un fichu peut-être dans une couleur chair pour cacher les signes du passage du temps...
On peut toujours recourir au maquillage et au lifting pour le visage, mais les mains et le cou nous trahissent.

Donc j'ai créé un bijou du cou à porter au quotidien avec grâce et subtilité.

Vous pouvez vous l'exhiber au lieu du duo Hermès de votre Tante Alice et même ranger dans votre tiroir le rang de perles de votre Tante Céline, ce Bijou du Cou, cacheur de rides du cou, est discret, couleur poudre, juste ce que vous vouliez.

spinning the World

2011-05-05T03:23:00.002+02:00

i have been on a quest for the perfect way and the perfect spindle those last few days.
it's been so mind blowing yet so calming and i got a blister from trying to spin a lace yarn but it is all worth it.
i read somewhere that you have to keep doing it till your FINGERS catch it, i am thinking it is a race between the hare and the turtle, between the spindle and the fingers, between the brain and the body, and then when the MIND rests is when you GOT IT, AHA!

Claire: BLF/Churro cross, LeAnn, DK, LeAnn flat top whirl spindle

Sugar Candy, le chat noir, Bulky, 28 gram flat top whirl spindle

Silver Mountain, le chat noir, Fingering, Britanny top whorl spindle

...more colors of the same spun unraveling

Chardon Series -thisle

2011-03-03T02:23:00.001+01:00

Chardon Cardi -Original (Bulky)

Chardon Cardi -Worsted

Chardon Top

Chardon Gilet Lacé -Vest

writing a pattern for "chardon cardi" bulky and aran/worsted

2010-06-25T01:48:00.002+02:00

après avoir tricoté mon cardigan au point chardon trés renaissance et rock and roll je suis revenue dessus, l'ai retricoté et écrit son modèle.
il a été testé et je suis trés contente du résultat obtenu par ma testeuse.
j'ai fait des vidéos tutoriels, tracé des grilles de points, expliqué des détails techniques...

after having knit my chardon (thisle in english) stitch cardigan that's very renaissance and rock and roll i came back to it, reknit it and wrote its pattern.
it has been tested and i am very happy with my test-knitter's result.
i made video tutorials, drew charts, explained technical details...

là je passe à la version plus légère du cardigan. j'ai retranscrit toutes les mesures en nombre de mailles et rangs pour qu'elles soint adaptées à mon fil coton, ma testeuse, elle, a choisi de la laine filée et teinte par elle-même de la même grosseur que la mienne.

cette version légère n'a pas de coutures sur les côtés et les tricoteurs trouveront plus facilement un fil adapté pour la faire. aussi, certains n'aiment pas nécessairement tricoter de la grosse laine et peut-être aussi ne conçoivent pas de la dentelle avec du gros fil (ce côté décalé, justement!)

i present to you a lighter version of the cardigan. i've rewritten all the measurements in number of stitches and rows to fit my cotton yarn, my test-knitter chose a handspun yarn, that she's dyeing herself, of the same weight.

this lighter weight has no side seams and knitters will more easily find a fitting yarn to make it. also, some don't necessarily like to knit with a bulkier yarn and maybe, even, they don't conceive lace with a heavy yarn (for its "twisted" daring edge!)

mon premier tableau à l'huile avait pour thème des chardons et des bleuets, j'avais neuf ans, donc c'est la nostalgie de la première création.

je ferai d'autres vêtements en maille pour l'été sur le même thème, j'adore.

my first oil painting's theme was thisles , i was nine years old, so i guess this is the nostalgia of my first creation.

i will make more knit wear for the summer on the same theme, i adore it.

Rambouillet

2010-05-05T03:21:00.002+02:00

it was the 2010 of the Rambouillet festival, its 10th edition too.
many europpean countries exhibited their wools in the europpean pavillion with fiber samples and knit examples and text on the walls of the open space to talk about the different sheep species.

we saw these "animals" as we walked down the isle towards the entrance gate. they could not be fawns could they?! we later found out they were sheared sheep!

a beautiful exercise in style knitting a hat with icord and pompons with spiralling stitch mittens and interesting simple shawl in vertical garter bordered with a crochet shell trim using up every last bit of yarn.

Estonian shawl knit from estonian fiber sheep, tassels made by twisting ends on themselves backwards then just knotted at the ends

different flower shapes in different plants color dyes labelled with the names of the plants used, also made with different fibers sampled in bags below hanging from the lower rod

i learned a lot about fiber and texture. i also now know better than to buy bits of fiber that are not in ribbon, they're left overs from it!!! i bought a tiny bit of yarn of the land or "laine du pays" as they call it in french that is very rough but i liked the colors of the solognette and the burel. maybe they soften with washing, i do not know but i sure want to try knitting them before i purchase a serious quantity.

Ah! and the funnest thing was making a "dream catcher" as i've always wanted to buy one but never could find any, so now i have my own handmade one i think it's very pretty.

i also took cards of farmers, i pretty much know what's available now in france, looking forward to contacting them.

sea castle no sand

2010-03-29T17:43:00.000+02:00

le manoir

granny mania motif throw

2010-03-17T01:25:00.003+01:00

granny

YouTube - A homemade zucchini spindle

2010-03-04T22:16:00.000+01:00

YouTube - A homemade zucchini spindle

Jenni Rope

2010-02-26T19:22:00.004+01:00

here Peintures animées animated paintings

je file le temps / holding a thread

2010-02-23T02:05:00.000+01:00

je file et file au fuseau, le fil se fait régulier et bien torsadé. ce que je regrette: la toison est un peu trop blanche, un peu trop débarassée de son soint. j'aime bien une toison jaune et quand ça colle et que ça sent le mouton, ça me met en contact avec l'animal et la torsion "accroche" mieux.

on se rend compte qu'on a des préférences bizarres quand-même...

i am spinning, it was supposed to be a 15 minute daily routine but i hand-carded and spun almost all day, this time just brushing the fiber i had washed and dried in a bag.
i think i should have left it a bit dirty so that some of that sheep oil remains, it does help with keeping the fibers together while spinning the spindler.
and i do miss that sheep smell that makes me have a "contact" with the animal while i am at my thread.

des fois dans la vie d'une styliste... /sometimes in a designer's life...

2010-02-12T20:17:00.000+01:00

... on a envie d'essayer voir ce que les modèles des autres donnent, s'ils sont bien écrits, bien coupés.
alors on essaye avec un fil qu'on n'aurait pas spécialement choisi et une couleur dont on a entendu le nom dans "Vogue": Céladon, ça sonne tellement Beau.

... we like to knit some other designer's pattern, see how they fit, if they're well written.
so we try along a yarn we'd not usually have gone for and also a new color that we heard of from "Vogue": Celadon, for example, it has a Beautiful ring to it.

Fichu de Deuil/ "Burrial day" Fichu

2010-02-12T19:58:00.003+01:00

this one was made in a hurry because i needed something black in the graveyard, hats are too childish and a silk carré doesn't do it under snow.
i love it, it is so elegant.
just beware that with mohair you keep the gauge and needles are 11 US or 8 mm but you need 50 grams not the 25 that the angora requires. mohair is heavier: less yardage/weight.

j'ai tricoté ce Fichu la veille d'un enterrement, il m'a fallu presque 50 gr de mohair noir.
même recette que le Fichu Rouge à Fossettes mais tout simple, sans fossettes sans ruban, on voit mieux les trous-trous dans cette version: moins de poils que l'angora.

je ne sais plus qui m'a dit qu'on ne voit pas les défauts d'un mauvait tricotage avec le mohair, c'est tout à fait faut, au contraire, le moindre écart se voit mais le résultat est tellement beau et élégant.

knit a heart / tricoter un coeur

2010-02-01T23:24:00.001+01:00

mochimochiland tutorial
ideas for your hearts: many

mochimochiland tutoriel

idées pour vos coeurs: plusieurs

Fichu Rouge à Fossettes

2010-01-24T21:11:00.005+01:00

material: a 25 gram skein of 120 m of angora or a blend of angora and merinos (check yardage and buy more, you will be using every bit of the 120 meters.)
needles: US 11 or 8 mm straights or circulars
Vichy ribbon: 1 full meter or 39.5 " gingham in 1 cm or a bit less than 0.5 " in width
gauge: 11 stitches = 10 cm or 4 "

NOTE ON "DIMPLES" (fossettes):

those will be scattered randomly on the body of the scarf but it's best if they are alternated, they look like pinched fabric on the right side pulling outwards.

they are always worked on WS rows.

how to make them:

WS row: a few stitches away from the border or more catch a purl stitch say 3 rows below with your right-hand needle, hold it with your left hand, purl the stitch on your left-hand needle along with that hand held stitch.

do that again for the 3 to 7 next stitches as you please taking notice to catch the purled stitches from the same row you've caught before. repeat this along the same WS row in the same manner.

PS: i like to pick on a WS of my choice next time from 2 up to 5 rows maximum below the left-hand needle stitches row as we're using a large needle.

DIMPLES ARE OPTIONAL, YOU CAN FOREGO THEM

Pattern:

Cast on a total of 9 stitches, i use the long tail cast on.

set up row WS: p, k, p, k, P, k, p, k, p

RS: wyib slip first stitch knitwise, p, k, p, K, p, k, p, k

WS: wyif slip first stitch purlwise, k, p, k, P, k, p, k, p

this was the V lower ribbed edge

Body of fichu:

RS: wyib slip first stitch knitwise, p, k, p, YO, K, YO, p, k, p, k

WS: wyif slip first stitch purlwise, k, p, k, P, P, P, k, p, k, p

RS: wyib slip first stitch knitwise, p, k, p, YO, K, K, K, YO, p, k, p, k

WS: wyif slip first stitch purlwise, k, p, k, P, P, P, P, P, P, p, k, p, k

keep in this manner with an edge of 4 ribbed stitches, a YO on the RS, a Stockinette stitch center and again another 4 ribbed stitches.

for RS rows:

you will notice that on each RS row we are increasing 2 stitches (the YOs) and those are purled on the wrong side.

also, the rythm of the border starts always with k p k p (first k is a slipped looking k not a knit one) and ends with p k p k (the last k is a knitted k)

for WS rows:

on the otherhand on each WS row we are purling the YO and also the center of the body.

also the rythm of the border on the WS starts always with p k p k (first p is a slipped looking p not a purled one) and ends with k p k p (the last p is a purled p).

NB: we are always slipping the first stitches.

Long ribbed border of Fichu:

When reaching the end of the skein calculate that you need 5 more rows.

How to do that:

each row needs 3 times the lengths of yarn of the row reached.

starting from the end of the skein calculate for one (3x a row) and unfold yarn, you will need 4x more of this length.

make a one inch looped knot that can be easily unravelled by pulling when almost reached later.

now keep knitting RS and WS rows when the looped knot is in sight we need the holes row.

Holes row:

RS: RS: wyib slip first stitch knitwise, p, k, p, YO, *K2tog, YO* (repeat as many times as necessary), ending with YO, p, k, p, k (there must be an odd number of stitches)

Ribbed edge:

WS: wyif slip first stitch purlwise, k, p, k, *p, k* (as many times as necessary), ending with p, k, p

RS: wyif slip first stitch knitwise, p, k, p, *k, p* (as they present themselves knitting the kit looking ones and purling the purled looking ones) ending with k, p, k

repeat WS row once

RS: thread needle and do an Elizabeth Zimmermann sewed Bind Off (U Tube)

tuck remaining start and ending yarn inside.

run the ribbon through the long edge, i like to use a "baby-pin", (Bind Off one), tie on the head and wear with pride.

wyif: With Yarn In Front

wyib: With Yarn In Back

happy knitting!

FRANCAIS

Fichu Rouge à Fossettes

lexique:

m enD = maille enDroit

m enV = maille enVers

m l = maille lisière glisser une maille comme pour tricoter 1 m endroit à l'endroit, 1 m envers à l'envers en début de rang.

surj = tourner le fil autour de l'aiguille (ces surjets forment un trou et seront tricotés en mailles envers sur l'envers du tricot).

R enD = endroit du tricot (rang endroit)

R enV = endroit du tricot (rang envers)

2mEnsEnD = tricoter 2 m ensemble à l'endroit

Fournitures:

1 pelote de 25 g à 80% d' Angora Français en Rouge Hermès en 120 m de long au moins
1 paire d'aiguilles de 8 mm droites ou circulaires
1 m de ruban à carreaux Vichy en 1 cm de large
échantillon: 11 m = 10 cm

Note avant de commencer:

la construction de ce fichu est en V débutant par la "pointe".

le fichu est entièrement bordé de 4 mailles/+-rangs en côtes 1/1.

le "corps" du fichu est en mailles endroit (m enD) du côté endroit du tricot.

entre la bordure et le "corps" se trouvent les trous ou surjets (surj).

Fossettes:

elles se tricotent à l'envers du tricot en mailles envers quand on en a envie.

comment procéder:

[choisir un des rangs au dessus du rang que l'on tricote qui peut aller de 2 à 5 rangs plus bas, s'en tenir a ce rang choisi. tricoter une rang de ce rang choisi avec la maille suivante sur l'aiguille gauche en maille envers, répéter pour 3 à 6 mailles ensemble (une sur l'aiguille gauche avec une du rand d'avant choisi)]. faire une ou deux mêmes répétitions sur un rang de [ à ]

alterner en espaçant les rangs et les fossettes visuellement.

on peut trés bien omettre les fossettes qui ajoutent cependant de la texture et de la profondeur à la couleur.

instructions:

monter 9 mailles.

R enV : m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV

R enD : m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD

répéter rang envers une fois

R enD: m l enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, surj, m enD, surj, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD

R enV: ml enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enV, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV

R enD : m l enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, surj, m enD, m enD, m enD, surj, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD

R enV: ml enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enV, m enV, m enV, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD, m enV

vous aurez remarqué qu'à chaque rang endroit après et avant les 4 m côtes des bordures les deux surjets augmentent le rang de deux mailles.

continuer ainsi les surjets à l'endroit qui sont tricotés en m envers sur l'envers du tricot.

Longue bordure supérieure en côtes:

QUAND VOUS ARRIVEZ VERS LA FIN DE LA PELOTE:

vous devez ici calculer pour 5 rangs de fil, comment faire?

en commençant par le bout de fin du fil compter 3 x la largeur de votre tricot pour un rang, procèder ainsi pour les 4 rangs restants, faites un noeud coulant ( _0_ comme ceci) que vous pourrez facilement defaire en temps voulu).

Rang de trous avant bordure:

arrivés à proximité de votre noeud, un peu avant mais pas après, le défaire.

R enD: m l, m enV, m enD, m enV, surj, *2mEnsEnD, surj* (répéter autant de fois que nécéssaire de * à *) terminer par surj, m enV, m enD, m enV, m enD

Bordure haut côtes:

R enV: m l, m enD, m enV, m enD, *m enV, m enD* (répéter autant de fois que nécéssaire de * à *) terminer par m enV, m enD, m enV

R enD: m l, m enV, m enD, m enV, *m enD, m enV* (répéter autant de fois que nécéssaire de * à *) terminer par m enD, m enV, m enD

R enV: répéter R enV

R enD: enfiler une aiguille et "rabattre" en cousant comme Elizabeth Zimmermann (U Tube)

rentrer les fils.

enfiler le ruban dans les trous de la bordure longue (à l'aide d'une épingle à nourrice), porter le Fichu en le nouant à l'arrière (ou à l'avant selon l'envie).

bon tricot!

Un Nouvel an chaleureusement teinté

2010-01-24T02:49:00.003+01:00

par Jean-Christophe-

Quelle semaine riche en expérience nous avons vécu pour le nouvel an ! Le stage de teinture a ouvert mes horizons colorimétriques et m’a fait découvrir certains secrets de la nature, le tout dans une région chaleureuse qui réchauffait vu la température dehors.

Chaleur humaine également avec la présence de Joyce évidemment, être indispensable à mon équilibre de vie mais aussi de Marie-Pierre, toujours prête à se lancer dans des expériences arc-en-ciel et qui transmettait son savoir généreusement. Il y avait aussi Grisette et Ramie, deux adorables chattes qui squattaient la chaleur du chauffage et ne se levaient que pour manger ou profiter de nos caresses. Trois jours intenses pour finir l’année en beauté.

Et ensuite Laval...

Gîte les Falières rien qu'à nous

Mare aux canards aux Falièles

Une des tours à Laval entre les immeubles, mélange de Gothique, de Médiéval et de "contemporain"

le magnifique dallage aux coloris subtils au croisement de la rue "la Grande rue" -avec sa boutique pour le commerce équitable d'où nous avons ramené nos verres à vin- et de la "rue des Déportés".

repérage de jour et une merveilleuse soirée chaleureuse avec le maître des lieux qui avait concocté un canard à la sauce de graines de grenadine accompagné de riz aux accents de safran et de fleurs d'oranger parsemé d'amandes éffilées, digestif recommandé: une liqueur de roses.

Jean-Christophe en l'an 2010 avec ses "Folies à London et les Beatles qui chantaient au Tè-leu-phoâne: Won't you Please please help me"

... Le réveillon à Laval fut des plus agréables. En journée, ballade main dans la main dans les boutiques des rues piétonnes de la vieille ville. Ses jolis pavés au sol, ses ponts au dessus de la Mayenne, sa cabine téléphonique made in London ou sa boulangerie remplie de bonnes choses, que de bons souvenirs pour ce dernier jour de l’année.
Le soir, ballade fluviale sur la Mayenne avec passage d’écluses pour passer ensuite le nouvel an à Babylone pour un diner irano-grec simple et romantique avec la déesse de l’amour. Dur le lendemain de commencer 365 nouveaux jours en quittant cette région bretonne si importante dans mon cœur. On y reviendra …

écrit par: Jean-Christophe
commentaires idiots: Joyce

cadeau de technique ancestrale pour cadeau de technique moderne / old trade for new technology

2010-01-15T17:02:00.001+01:00

pochette de i-phone tricotée avec divers filages de moutons divers sur toison naturelle de mouton et teinte en orchanette bain "X"

this is all the first bits of spindle spun from different “white” sheep, so there’s purple-white, ecru-white, yellow-white, oyster-white.

i decided that it would be the pouch to my gift to chris: a white i-phone.
there’s a linnen yarn that he spun.

all the beads are mostly clear purple for the pouch lest some yellow i sneaked in.
the beads on the linnen closure part are however clear white.
i let the yarn decide for the bead color by accenting its original color.

i love the smooth glass beads with the rugged yarns

lien de lin / linnen lines

2010-01-15T16:12:00.000+01:00

un peu de lin filé par chris en S pour un lien d'AmourS en Z puisque doublé, scintillant en douce.

some spun linnen in S beaded halfway with clear beads then plyed in Z on a cashmir and cotton fabric

le fameux losange caché dans le grand carré / the hidden diamond in the big square

2010-01-15T15:41:00.006+01:00

diamant pas "rock" mais "roll" sur carré de voile de coton mordancé pris dans sa diagonale cousu plié et noué teint en trois passages dans des bains de feuilles de bouleau, de cochenille et d'indigo -diamants obtenus par réserve.

Bien sûr tu pris quelques couleurs
Il fallait bien du rouge du blanc
Il faut bien que le bleu exulte
Finalement, finalement
Il nous fallut bien du talent
Pour créer ce fameux losange

oh mon amour...

not all diamonds are stones or rocks, this could be called a phantom diamond since its presence is due to the abscence of indigo on its path, oh the Love... mysterious.

toutes les merveilles du blanc des moutons sur coton teint "nature" / shades of pale

2010-01-07T23:19:00.003+01:00

alignés comme cela en une seule bande vous intrigue.
c'est comme la scène du film la fille à la perle où Renoir demandeà la cuisinière de regarder le ciel et lui citer les couleurs et elle commence par dire: "gris".
il dit alors: "regarde bien". alors elle voit du rose, du jaune, du bleu, du mauve...

c'est pareil ici, je vois de gauche à droite du mauve clair, de l'écru, du blanc nacré, du jaune citron et du jaune.

bande tricotée à partir de toison de différents moutons en double, en Z pour les simples puis retordus en double en S, sur tissu jersey de coton teint à l'ocanette deuxième bain pour le haut et à l'indigo premier bain pour le bas, par méthode de trempage.

yarn spun from different bits of sheep in Z then plied in S.
the shell is from Bretagne and the cotton jersey was “nature” hand-dyed with indigo and orcanette.

it is unimaginable that white sheep could have so different shades: pale lavender, off-white, oyster white, lemon and yellow.

eco-fashion ou mode écolo

2010-01-07T04:28:00.004+01:00

j'aime beaucoup vivienne westwood, de passage à Londres je suis allée voir la boutique de sous-vêtements de son fils "agen provocateur".
elle est excentrique et classique à la fois avec une prédilection évidente pour les costumes d'époque revisités. cela donne des "tenues" d'une modernité folle.
je pourrais très bien me voir dedans. c'est la vielle dame de la haute-couture la plus jeune.

donc je tombe sur une lettre de nouvelles et elle y est, un click et je suis dans "ecouterre", un site dédié à la "fashion up^ " la mode qui monte: le bio ou écolo car c'est un peu confus.

ecouterre

les images des créations de vivienne westwood sont sublimes ici

un click plus loin et je suis sur des bijoux fabriqués avec des aiguilles de tricot ici, cela ne pouvait que m'intéresser. ce n'est pas une idée nouvelle, les bouts en plastique des brosses à dents sont diffusées sur le net avec leurs poils arrachés, le manche tordu à l'aide d'un bain dans de l'eau bien bouillante ainsi que les aiguilles à tricoter torturées de la même manière.
sauf que la créatrice a bien soigné les détails (la moindre des choses aurait-on envie de dire).

seul hic: peut-on parler d'écologie quand d'autres gens voudront rechercher ces aiguilles en plastique et les utiliser en quantité dans un seul bijou? c'est un peu comme l'histoire du sac écolo tricoté à partir de bandelettes faites à partir de dizaines d'autres sacs en plastique que vous demanderez à vos amis de garder pour vous et que vous enfoncerez dans vos sacs en plastique au supermarché pour en avoir suffisamment.

horreur si le sac est à votre goût parce que vous recommencerez et en fairez cadeau et tout le monde trouvera l'idée géniale, quoi, un seul sac pour les courses??? tu parles; des tonnes de sacs pour un seul.

le danger c'est quand le résultat est "beau" comme pour les bijoux-aiguilles à tricoter.

le but c'est aussi quand même d'arrêter d'avoir recours au plastique et toutes les matières synthétiques produites à partir de dérivés du pétrole. donc quelque chose m'échappe ou alors on ferme les yeux et on crée encore plus de besoins quant aux matières synthétiques?!

i am a fan of vivienne westwood and she has released a new line of eco wallpaper check it here
otherwise i love the vintage knitting needle-jewelry here on ecouterre a word that could stand for "earth-aware" écoute meaning "being aware/listening to" and terre meaning earth.

premier tricot avec premier filage et... ou first knit with first spun and...

2010-01-07T02:43:00.004+01:00

premier essai de tricot du premier filage en "simple" et Z à Paris posé sur sac en coton bio teint en gaude et gaude oxidée, méthode "shibori" fait au Plessis-Balisson chez Marie-Pierre Puybaret.

this is the first trial knit with my first single spin "clockwise" adding beads. it rests on a bio cotton dyed by me shibori-style in Bretagne at Marie-Pierre Puybaret's workshop. -see post below for link-

j'adore la rugosité avec la finesse, le jaune de la toison nature, les aspérités, les trouées et l'opacité par moments.
j'ai senti le passé -avec les robes de bure peut-être?! je n'en sais fichre rien, il faudrait demander à l'archéologue du tissage- entre mes doigts qui étaient élimés au bout a force de tirer le fil par le trou de la perle, mais la souffrance était belle dans ce cas-là.

alors, après cela, comment pouvoir revenir à ses moutons oups! dans ce cas-là, comment pouvoir à
nouveau tricoter un fil tout droit sorti d'une usine, tout uniforme en couleur, à la texture "morte", aplati par des passages sous métal, robotisé, inanimé.

c'est jouissif de sentir un bout de vie d'un mouton tout jaune entre les doigts, c'est ce qu'il m'a donné, haha on voudrait dire: "Merci Mouton" et on se sentirait un petit peu comme une petite princesse, cela tombe bien c'est l'épiphanie, et je délire... et "il a neigé sur yesterday" et "today may never come".

see how yellow the white sheep is! it is very funny. i left the single unplied for the beads to fit and it was tough enough. this is so elastic and it's alive!

Teinture Végétale et Animale

2010-01-03T02:22:00.050+01:00

stage:
Pour les fêtes "mon Ange" m'offre un stage de filage de laine avec mon fuseau turc ashford et un apprentissage de la teinture du fil de laine et du jersey de coton chez Marie-Pierre Puybaret, waou!

j'ai passé un mauvais "vrai" quart d'heure (comment font-ils pour savoir la durée exacte?! :-O) où je tournais à droite et mon fuseau insistait pour tourner à gauche (en S au lieu de en Z comme Zaz, héhé)... puis nous sommes passés à la teinture...

entre Gaude, feuille de Bouleau (cliquer bou puis leau) pour le jaune -puis vert en oxidant-, Garance et Cochenille pour le rouge, Orcanette pour le violet et Indigo pour le bleu, sans oublier le brou de Noix pour un magnifique brun orangé.

le lendemain sans crier garde mon fuseau "tête de turc" tournait dans le sens des aiguilles d'une montre et mes mains retrouvaient en un quart de tour (encore ce fameux quart) un geste ancestral comme enfoui dans mes gènes -paraît-il?!).

"ZE DREAM" en gros, et en détails subtils, de quoi réveiller tous les sens et ce fut le Bonheur par la Beauté, mon âme en est encore toute éblouie et frémissante.

merci "mon Ange" et merci Marie-Pierre.

chercher l'erreur: "mon Ange" et son coeur n'ont pas de PRIX!

Marie-Pierre

toison teinte avec le deuxième bain d'orcanette

Ramie et Grisette qui nous regardaient en se prélassant sur le radiateur

*gaude, feuilles de bouleau, garance, cochenille, orcanette, indigo, brou de noix par ordre d'apparition et... Ramie et Grisette: yeux verts et yeaux bleus.

*weld, birch leaves, madder, cochineal, alkanet, indigo, walnut husks by order of appearance and... the two cats!

"my Angel" 's gift to me for the new year was class of spindle spinning and natural dyeing with flowers and insects (cochineal).
my sample pieces will be put to use in the near future on my knitted couture items.

Marie-Pierre Puybaret is my teacher and her website is here in France, feel free to contact her for classes, she also gives weaving and tapestry classes! her workshop is in a charming little town in Little Britany, France.
she will help with pointing you to lodging near by, we were three minutes away by car, how fitting!

la dame aux roses

2009-12-10T04:15:00.001+01:00

j'ai tricoté un châle avec des roses dessus en bleu et or.
c'est mon premier châle et aussi mon premier essai de la technique du tricotage en mosaique.
c'est trés agréable, on tricote en deux couleurs comme pour le jacquard mais jamais avec les deux couleurs à la fois sur un même rang.
deux rangs sont tricotés avec la couleur bleu roi et les mailles jaune d'or sont glissées, puis on tricote les mailles en jaune or et celles en bleu roi sont glissées.

le fil en mérino est trés doux, trés tordu, l'effet pointillé d'une même couleur de plusieurs tonalités sur du fil blanc est du plus bel effet: trés riche.

j'ai choisi de tricoter une bordure en motif de roses avec un centre en point de lin à côtes; et pour le côté technique, reprendre le nombre de mailles pas trop important ni trop juste était un peu périlleux, il ne fallait pas que ça gondole.

je suis assez satisfaite de cette pièce. vous remarquerez l'iris russe pendant au milieu du dos. j'avais déjà bloggué au sujet de la fleur dans mon post "oya" auparavent. la fleur est tricotée avec des aiguilles trés fines en utilisant du fil dentelle mohair. une perle d'eau douce irrégulière pend de la stamine.

this is the first shawl that i knit, i wanted it to be very warm and it is as it is not lace but mosaic knitting.
this technique consists in knitting two rows per color then alternating with the second one, knitting the next two rows with it. it is very enticing.
i chose to have a border of roses surrounding a linen stitch in the gold color for the main part.
this merino yarn is beautiful as much as it is soft. each color is various shades of blue on top of one another drizzled on an off white background for the royal blue yarn and different shades of golden yellow on an offwhite yarn for the golden color.
picking up the right number of stitches to do the border was rather fiddly, i did not want the piece to be bumpy nor to pull.

i am pretty pleased with this one. notice the russian iris hanging from the back, that's knit in very thin needles with a lace mohair yarn of matching colors that i already blogged about in the post "oya", a wild pearl tops off the yellow stem.

Marché de Noël 2

2009-12-09T21:00:00.001+01:00

je suis partagée entre la satisfaction d'un travail bien accompli et la colère:

j'ai réussi à obtenir une bonne place cette année -quoi que, avoir le vendeur de chapeaux made in china avec les lumiéres dessus et tout et tout à 3 euros, manquait plus que la boîte à musique avec "jingle bells" incorporé, ne soit pas la meilleure chose pour mon stand puisque je vends essentiellement des chapeaux ou bonnets.
mon stand a hérité de la boîte électrique bien en face, trés visible avec les fils de tous les voisins, même s'ils sont gentils ça n'arrange pas le look du stand.
je ne sais pas comment ma tente est noire, il n'y en avait pas l'année précédente?! du coup tout devait être accroché à l'avant plan parce-que tout disparaissait à l'arrière. les années précédentes j'avais au moins profité des murs du fond pour accrocher de grandes photos qui attiraient le regard sur mes articles et la manière de les porter.
ils nous ont fait payer le double pourtant c'est beaucoup moins joli donc je n'ai pas pu faire de bénéfices.
la pluie s'est faite plus rare et je ne me suis pas retrouvée les bottes nageant dans une eau de quinze centimétres, il a quand même plu et cela a affecté le nombre des visiteurs, mais bon.
je dois prévoir des rallonges hyper longues, et certaines de mes petites lampes de noël toutes mignonnes ne fonctionnent plus.
je dois me rappeler que les parents ont peur de la couleur pour leur petits garçons encore bébés même (j'ai eu un: "le rouge fait fille"), alors, je me le demande, quand auront-ils le droit de mettre de la couleur, à 75 ans comme cette mammie mignonne qui a fait mai 68?
je dois prévoir un drap pour cacher les caisses puisque le plancher c'est le trottoir et que du coup elles doivent... oups non! je dois les mettre dans la voiture aprés les avoir vidées.
je dois arrêter de me prendre la tête et accepter qu'il y a aussi les AUTRES! que tout n'est pas "under my control".
je suis contente d'avoir fait de belles rencontres, c'est ça ma récolte à moi.

Marché de Noël

2009-12-05T23:47:00.001+01:00

il reste encore demain et plein d'autres articles encore.

1 2 3 Soleil

2009-11-09T03:29:00.000+01:00

Marie-Antoinette’s runs in the woods to and fro louis xvi, and others of the court: now you run: 1,2,3, now you don’t: Soleil!

i designed those legwarmers as a counter culture on the slouchy legwarmers. they’re slim, sexy and follow the curve of legs, great with skirts and high heels.

marie-antoinette i want candy -Bow wow wow

2009-11-05T03:58:00.000+01:00

marie-antoinette -kirstin dunst and sophia coppola

2009-11-05T03:30:00.002+01:00

marie-antoinette behind the scenes 2 -sophia coppola

2009-11-05T03:20:00.003+01:00

marie-antoinette return from petit trianon -sophia coppola

2009-11-05T02:59:00.002+01:00

marie-antoinette behind the scenes -sophia coppola

2009-11-05T02:57:00.001+01:00

knitting jogless stripes in the round

2009-10-27T17:15:00.000+01:00

here

trumpet oya

2009-10-22T00:36:00.000+02:00

i wanted to knit a flower that would look good either hanging down from a knit or facing one, so i chose trumpet, a long flower which i think looks like a morning glory, so dear to the scotts.

it is very elegant, knit with lace mohair, all of it. a small culture sweet water pearl forms the pistil end.
i will be making more of this, perhaps as hatpins, perhaps as oya in a row but then i'd have to make the flowers much smaller...
this is a rather big flower, almost 8 cms (around 4 inches minus...)

Marie-Antoinette bigoudis béret

2009-10-22T00:25:00.001+02:00

i have used the instructions for this from "knitting nature", by norah gaughan.
her look for it is very rustic, like a "sunflower tam" as she named it and you'd imagine a girl running in wheat fields.
my take on it is very sophisticated looking yet without frills.
the first thing i noticed is the tam looked interesting only to the guy behind you, and nothing happened near the face for you to see.
and that is what i changed. i charted a mosaic pattern of a flower, as good as can be done using "mosaics knitting", thus "squares" instead of circles.
i used two colors, one for the top and it's yellow to keep the sunflower reminder cabling, and blue near the face to highlight it. the mosaic flowers are in yellow on that blue background.
i also introduced a baby blue color satin ribbon and made a little bow on the ribbing because it would be a shame to have this sliding off one's head.

the look is very "versailles" and "monarchy" then.
it's just that a Marie-Antoinette is so coquette that she'd probably have worn it to keep her rollers (bigoudis) in place till her hair took on curls. she would not be caught dead "decoiffée", without a hair adornment.

i'd wear the bow at the back, but then it's a personal preference.

tulipe hatpin

2009-10-21T23:31:00.006+02:00

i've always loved hatpins, i prefer the system to that of brooches, they're long and elegant.

this one is my first, i used a shape that resembles a tulip, put a pearl above and tied a baby blue ribbon, glued them all.

the pin even has a "stopper" at the end. it's an old matt gold color, just right for this yarn that's knit in the back.

you can make one yourself, you need:

a hatpin in yellow brass with a closure end
some metal/wood/all purpose glue in a tube
a flower shape finding in matt old gold
a fake or culture water pearl just a tiny bit bigger in diameter than the flower
about 4 inches (10 cms) length of 0.20 inch (0.5 cms) wide blue satin ribbon

i suggest you take your knit item with you when shopping to best match the colors, shapes, motifs if any.

my knit piece had flowers on it. and the yellow in it looked like old gold, mottled.

put glue on the tip of the pin, enough for the height of the pearl and pearl you'll be putting in it together.

i suggest you try those on it before deciding how long your glue streak should be.

take your piece of ribbon and fasten it around the pin under the flower you just made, knot tight but not too tight, satin will slip and you will always be able to tighten later. do that a bit down from the flower, you always can put higher.

now make a nice knot do not pull too tight yet.

put a dot of glue right under your flower and pull the ribbon bow on top of it.

now you can tighten real hard, keep your hand firmly on for 5 mns till dry.

the best part: get your good sewing cissors ant cut both ends on each side at an angle, much nicer, no?

now a trick: get a box of matches and bring the flame in a parallel motion to the end to keep it from fraying.

this will form a bit of a "seal" to your satin fabric.

wear with pride, give away, enjoy!

put some glue the hight of the

put some glue on the top of the pin for about a

bubble stitch

2009-10-12T13:37:00.001+02:00

here's the link to a video tutorial on the bubble stitch over 4 rows.

Marie-Antoinette's Guillotine Cuff

2009-10-12T06:27:00.005+02:00

it is said that Marie-Antoinette had her jeweller design her guillotine cuff links after her favorite castle chef’s dessert: a chocolate “biscuit” drizzled with a “crème à la pistache” and topped with a “cerise confite”.

this is my crochet version of it, in homage to my gourmet sense of taste and let's hope for the best for me.
you will notice that the cuffs, having been on the woman's neck formed a "ribbon of blood" that was silky
yes, death "is sweeter" on the more gracious necks.

crazy stitch

2009-09-19T00:11:00.000+02:00

it makes a quilted fabric, like a chanel bag. here's the stitch

Ulla

2009-08-29T02:55:00.000+02:00

Ulla in English

halter rib top

2009-07-23T20:39:00.003+02:00

i have enjoyed a swap where we exchanged things of interest.

i got two shells among other things and i sent one too that i sewed on a chevron cowl that i knit.

i also sent a top in a sunshiny color.

we will further knit each other other things :-)

how to make chiffon flowers

2009-06-01T01:13:00.003+02:00

Roll or Bullion Crochet Stitch Instructions

2009-05-22T22:27:00.001+02:00

Bodhi Tree hat

2009-05-14T14:58:00.003+02:00

my idea was to embroider the OM sign somewhere. i knit a double leaf at the top, it is stuffed.

chakras doll

2009-05-14T13:33:00.011+02:00

i was in this yoga swap with a girl that did kundalini yoga. kundalini arising is when all chakras are awakened and aligned from your root one to your lotus one (top of the head). so the purpose of the doll is to show where the chakras position on the body and the colors associated with them.
i chose to knit the chakras in velvety soft and ridged round patches of thin mohair yarns held together to create the color that i wanted.

some yarns was dyed with kool aid.

the doll has her face all embroidered after my swapee.

she said she has "sunflowers" in her coloured eyes, so i embroidered sunflowers in them.

the purpose of this doll is Bliss in the body, healing the chakras:
this doll helps visualize the body chakras placement later when you're meditating.
touching its chakras is good as they are ridged (garter stitch) and fuzzy (mohair) and all the rainbow colors.
also, if when it's your face you cuddle it and like a soft toy you feel better and soothed :-)

cat bordhi: moebius cast on

2009-04-25T23:11:00.001+02:00

a video here

"Spaghetti Pomodoro" scarf

2009-04-04T16:06:00.003+02:00

this is a 2 meter scarf almost. it's crocheted with a red purple and orange variegated yarn held with a thin brown yarn to make a mottled effect.

you can wrap it round and round and leave no ends hanging. it looks pretty much like a boa except is it mose useful.

"Roman Holiday" coat

2009-04-04T15:57:00.003+02:00

this is a coat that's knit with chunky yarn, has a chevron lace border and a mosaic design at the bottom.

it's very toasty and is shapely around the upper arms and the waist.

pictures tell a thousand words.

OM

2009-03-20T19:19:00.001+01:00

ॐ

3 spiral conch cowl

2009-02-26T13:29:00.010+01:00

here's the recipe for those who have the book "the Opinionated Knitter" of Elizabeth Zimmermann and want to make a cowl to go with it.
it is based on the same stitch.

this cowl is designed to sit on the base of the shoulders and taper naturaly due to change of needle sizes.
it is tapered up at the neck so that it doesn't "fall" and hide the spiralling.

option 2) you may of course chose to have it wide on the top too by using the bigger size needle for the top garter stitch too and then you'd sew your conch shell to cinch or not.

you need:
10 mm circular needles
7 mm circular needles
a 5 mm hook

using circular needles size 10mm you will be starting by casting the same number of stitches as per the book for 5 rows in garter stitch, back and forth.
you will then proceed to get the stitches to be 60 as per the book.

using the 7 mm needles, proceed to knit 15 rows as per pattern.
turn work to start working in garter stitch back and forth and work this way:
WS: *K1 K2Tog* repeat till end of row = 40 stitches (using size 7 mm needles)
RS: knit
WS: knit
RS: BO all stitches using size 10 mm needles leaving a 15 cm yarn length.

stitch the casting on rows of garter stitch ridges.

with size 5 mm hook and the remaining 15 cms chain enough to fit your conch shell in for closure, i chained for 3 cms.

sew a pierced conch shell (naturaly pierced or drilled) on the facing side with a rugged yarn (i felted mine a bit) of the same color as the shell ( i used white) and knot in front.
i chose for my knot to be seen.

enjoy your cowl
if you make one of those, i'd be happy if you left me a comment with a link to your photo.

jane birkin

2009-02-22T13:54:00.002+01:00

i love rocks and pebbles

2009-02-20T19:41:00.003+01:00

look at what makes with them

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

2009-02-15T13:25:00.001+01:00

my sweet duck butt:

2009-02-13T03:01:00.001+01:00

XXL

2009-02-12T05:56:00.003+01:00

"Silver", the manifestation

2009-01-31T01:59:00.002+01:00

so here is a side of me you do not know.
here is "Silver", it told me from under the rock i was sitting on that it was going to come out and i stepped aside having told chris to get ready to snap a photo.

... to be continued

Mal à Brigo

2009-01-30T04:48:00.002+01:00

umph, chris helped me wind that beautiful vanilla Malabrigo skein. alas how could i have known it all cut threads? we had trouble and it was so sexy seeing him go through all that without whining.
i love those shared moments even if we had trouble and it was not easy.

i had been thinking for a while of making "Clapotis" to see how it is constructed so i am using this yarn for it. i've now got like 8 parts of the skein but i sure know how to not have knots *wink wink*

it's coming out fine, it seems, but i had to rip it like 6 times at the start because i was watching some silly soap at the same time.

7th time was the good one because i was alone, uninterrupted by any TV.

i don't belive in mindless knitting, knitting is the most mindful activity.

heart-shaped pompoms

2009-01-25T02:59:00.003+01:00

click on image for making them

the appartment

2009-01-21T11:44:00.002+01:00

i have been hoping for a house with a garden and wild cats living in it, and i’ve “disowned” this rented appartment in my heart.
so i’ve been going here and there on vacations and the pool and the exhibitions and coming back and leaving everything as is, just minding my knits and designs.
and i am like frozen and “It’s a hard mental place to be”.

so organizing is making me happy, they are small things still that only i can see but it’s decluttering my mind too.

my booth "Zaz"

2009-01-21T10:33:00.005+01:00

i had a booth pre-christmas under a yellow tent above water (not a submarine).
it was very much fun, cold, a donkeys' booth facing me and lots of other different "sentient beings".

my work was much appreciated, some was not "wearable" as to per the passer-bys' standards but "trés joli". they'd stop and stare.
chris explained to me that they can like an item very much but not visualize themselves in it.
my response was: but i have those on sale and they are small items, they can try without loss!

i guess people sometimes prefer to not venture into what they do not know. it is maybe like how it gows with the dying and them clinging to their body.
(this won't make much sense to some, i know but it's my rye humour).

even the baby booties did not all sell, but it's a bad bad year and whenever you have a chance to NOT take money out of your pocket then you won't.

it will teach me to give more of my time knitting more complex things for the same price. i have to offer my already very high quality yarn along with the complex stitches the new chinese machines are coming up with.

i do it already for the luxury items, it is fair that the luxury items have complex stitches "fait main" (handknit), understandable even because knitting time is money and physical effort (let alone creativity). they also are sold at a higher price because they are "pièce unique" (exclusive pieces).
but now i have to apply those crazy stitches unto my small items made by the bunch like hats and scarves without charging for my time.
and in no way am i going to cheapen my yarn.

ceci est mon stand de la periode pré-fêtes de fin d'année 2008.
c'était trés agréable malgré le froid et tout le monde a beaucoup apprécié.

n'oubliez pas ce rendez-vous l'année prochaine, c'est le premier weekend du mois de décembre, à bientôt!

chunky bright kid gifts

2009-01-08T19:57:00.003+01:00

i knit all of my nieces and nephews brigh, bold and fun item gifts.
nothing to be "worn" seriously, just to toy with and be merry.

i think i should have stayed with my previous choice of making three rolls for the adults to not hear disgracious commentaries but oh well, as dad would say:
"Christ himself did not find grace in the eyes in the humans: they had to crucify him".

j'ai tricoté à tous mes neveux et nièces des accessoires marrants et gais.
douze cadeaux en tout dont un que j'ai bien caché pour une chasse aux trésors (un bonnet: pièce de résistance).

au regard des parents j'aurais mieux fait de faire mes trois bûches à la place et éviter les propos déplacés.

comme dirait papa: "le christ lui-même est venu au monde et n'a pas trouvé grâce auprès des humains".

my love

2009-01-01T03:14:00.005+01:00

Noël Noël the angels did say...

2008-12-23T22:19:00.008+01:00

Was two certain poor sheppards in fields as they lay.
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
on a cold winter's night that was so deep.

Noël, Noël, Noël, Noël...
Born is the King Emmanuel

knit knot tantra knot

2008-12-15T16:14:00.005+01:00

much is happening for the coming year, most important of all is going to visit mom who's been sick and dad who's been ageing.

i feel as though christmas is gone because of my christmas fair having taken place already and because i am not in a festive christmas spirit. my gift this year will be seeing mom and dad.

one other important thing is related to the item i am posting here.
it was made as a tiny part of my big MAROON project. i wanted to come up with something to offer or to wear (depending on how shy or audacious i'd be), and i thought that Lama Gyurme might wear this.
Lamas are much cooler than all of us lay people put together, wether silver or gold or just yarn to them it's the Love and symbolism and beauty of an object that counts.
they are like kids: when a kid makes something, they always will run to show you what they've made, they have this "energy dynamics" that is not blocked, when an adult makes something they will be scared of "outside eyes".
Lamas seem to not have this self-consciousness so typical of adults.

in short, thank you Lama Gyurme for your Beautiful concert.

noeud tantra fait pour le concert de Lama gyourmé au Bois de Vincennes.

welcome back my friends!

2008-12-04T06:34:00.004+01:00

my "torsades" hats for the decembre exhibition.

my choice for this time is cables!

for kids in acrylic, boys and girls each their hat.

women and men have their hip hats in brown, lie-de-vin, grey and black.

"Tortue"

2008-11-12T02:21:00.003+01:00

looks like a turtle's shell. it is very soft and fun in colours. it sure wll bring some sunshine on rainy days.

if you wish to buy it hurry up because it is going to go in my exhibited collection!

"Tortue" porte bien son nom et est très doux à porter. vous ne vous cacherez sûrement pas dedans comme dans une carapace. fun, il est bon à porter les jours de grisaille.

si vous le voulez dépêchez-vous de me l'acheter avant mon exposition!

"Amazone"

2008-11-12T02:10:00.004+01:00

is a new vest of my own creation. it reminds me of tropical forests, it fitls from size XS up to size XL because of its extremely stretchy stitch.
the main body varies between the greens and the browns with a red bottom reminding of some exotic plant of rich reds.
it uses stranded knitting or fairisle or colourwork.

the open slit in front gives it a hide and seek sexiness.
if you hurry up you may be able to buy it before i exhibit it!

ma création, si vous souhaitez l'acheter avant mon exposition alors dépêchez-vous!

my friend james in australia

2008-11-05T14:10:00.000+01:00

he's funny!

multicolor knitting

2008-10-28T23:23:00.001+01:00

here's a fabulous link

bruges bobbin lacemaking

2008-10-12T02:38:00.001+02:00

it does look terrific but i'd need to be shown how and still... but it's quite a sight! here's a video of bobbin lace making in bruges

i like bullion flowers

2008-10-12T02:12:00.001+02:00

this is a demonstration of how to crochet a bullion flower
more infos here

how about using a crochet to create stockinette stitch?

2008-10-12T02:06:00.002+02:00

you can do it using a tunisian hook and making a knit stitch, here's a video of tunisian knit stitch

i love dentelle de bruges

2008-10-12T01:55:00.000+02:00

here's a link to a video of crochet bruges lace

i like hearts

2008-10-12T01:44:00.001+02:00

here's a solid crochet heart video

instead of weaving in ends later

2008-10-11T13:35:00.001+02:00

... here's how to knit in ends.

for TIBETAN babies

2008-10-06T15:27:00.005+02:00

i am making a whole lot of baby booties from acrylic for the babies in france to sell at the christmas fair to generate money to buy 100% wool yarn to make baby booties for TIBETAN babies.
fair trade, i think, with europpean mothers wanting to dump everything in the washing machine.
and tibetans having no washing machine and scarce water... and it's so cold up there, they only can get warm enough with 100% wool.

so far i decided to sell the pair for 5 euros and no pair is alike so you can have your own unique pair :)

i've heard it's very hard to find wool in india and nepal etc, as they export all they sheer to us in europe and other countries to generate some money.

RED FOR TIBET

est mon projet pour les bébés tibétains.

les bébés français en se chaussant "Zaz" contribuent à l'achat d'une pure laine de couleur Rouge pour tricoter des chaussons aux bébés tibétains.

fabric necklace tutorial

2008-09-28T21:20:00.002+02:00

i had seen this one in a magazine but i canot show it to you, so here it is on a blog.

i never made it yet but i will ask a guy and see if they like it, if it's not too childish.

commissioned work

2008-09-25T16:05:00.003+02:00

i met a person at a designers' exhibition where i had a booth full of knits (sweaters, luxurious). he bought all of his christmas and birthday gifts off me and we "designed" his sweater to be fo me to knit.
he commisioned orders where we discussed together for a year. this was my first time doing this.
i enjoyed the money as much as i enjoyed looking after his needs (alpaca, etc) at a fair price.

it was a question of trust, i looked for yarns, called to give different prices, and gave him the choice. he knew the value of handknitting (maybe because he's venitian aristocracy?!).

i miss it to say the truth. very little time was left for my own knitting but you have one sweater to keep you warm and the rest is superfluous. i remember i made fun stuff for me that were crazy and took little time because i had to be quick, i'd wear them to meet him and he'd sometimes want to buy them off my neck with the yarns still "out".

who did charity to whom? i guess we both were happy, i loved the putting ideas together...
the money was just a fact of life (you don't go through a knit project with just the price of the yarn redeemed.
he also got his joy: he knew he participated and could have what he had in his head and could not find in readywear market nor in highfashion market because he'd have to pay much more.

everything old is new again

2008-09-10T12:12:00.002+02:00

i am using scraps of yarn to make beautiful things with.
i find myself jumping into projects without this tightening in the stomack and angst and the pondering that many skeins of a new yarn induce in me:
is this THE project that i want to be knitting with this?
is this creative enough or is it very plain for all of these skeins?

it's so liberating to knit or crochet from "old" and make something "new", very satisfying. have you seen howbeautiful some children's drawings are? they just don't sit there wondering about a topic, they throw their hearts on a paper, when i "grow up", that's how i want to approach knitting.

more for PROJECT TIBET

2008-09-05T13:48:00.004+02:00

it seems that i want to go on with this idea that started at the OG. it's funny that ravelry had the idea of an olympics but for knitting: like you'd put yourself an aim to accomplish in a definite time lapse (ravelry's was 17 days).
but not knowing about it yet and with this dilemna of what's happening in tibet and the olympics being held in china i wanted to express my opinion using my own medium: knitting.

here's my project.

so i started knitting for TIBET with a hat in maroon.
now that it's done, i was in bretagne and in this huge yummy yarn depot almost so i picked a few skeins in maroon and safron for the winter to inspire me for more knits for TIBET.

on another note, i was telling someone about how the tibetans cannot wash because of the extreme cold conditions and i was surprised that he used the word POOR to define their condition.
i then noticed that "poor" was long banned from my way of thinking. we think we know what others want and how they should live but do we ever think if they think of themselves of "poor"?

i believe that in some countries where you grow your own food and milk your own goats and cook your own food, there is no room for thinking thoughts like: "i will not have money to buy Danone desserts for my kids".
this would be hilarious for them to hear. is Danone or the supermarket the God that drives their world? certainly not, is it to us in daily life? in some way yes. now who's more ridiculous?

i remember my mom making our yoghurt from the previous batch and every time we had an enormous quantity. people say that they have no time yet complain about cost, is it even feasable to make a comparison between costs? no i don't believe so, the difference is like between the distance between earth and the moon.

i don't know about you but, have you ever tried my grandma's dinner? at 70 + she used to spend time at our place and i remember her sweet self filling a bowl with yoghurt that her or mom had made and adding the rose jam she had made from rose petals. since i've never tasted any supermarket yoghurt that smelled or tasted so good. food was REAL. my own preference goes for yoghurt sweetened with heavy opaque white honey, at lunch time i may replace it with a dash of salt and a drizzle of olive oil and stir and eat: yummy!

this reminds me of my birthday dinner at my first tibetan/monghol restaurant, i ordered tchai and at the beginning of the meal they brought me an individual teapot with herbs and flowers and rose petals, it was a sweet tchai. during the meal it was a salty tchai with milk, butter and salt and ~~"orge"~~ barley flour, i believe.
are these meals "poor food"? i do not see it this way at all. in buddhism it is believed that people come live on this earth in different realms: the same things can be lived as being heavenly by a person of a certain spiritual realm while they can seem to be hellish by those of a different realm.

as many things in spirituality and religion this is an allegory (maybe more ;-) ) but one thing is for certain: the way we live life as good or horrible stems from "View" and View can be perfected. so this means that everyone (almost) has the potential to live (or view) a wonderful life.

i know this may be incredulous but i am firm about what i assert because i've had proof.

Short Rows Tutorial

2008-09-05T13:44:00.001+02:00

Short Rows: How To

good reference with photos.

Maroon JO (knitting for Tibet)

2008-08-08T10:15:00.003+02:00

i have bought cotton yarn ESPECIALLY for to knit TODAY for the opening of the olympic games in maroon: the color of the monks and nuns of Tibet.
while the opening takes place i will be knitting for the tibetans who just want a “no culture loss”. they speak not of torture but of freedom to express their culture.
i WILL watch the opening, because if i am equanimous then i know i am one with everything and that i cannot feel hate for the chinese for: would you chop off your own arm because it hurts?
in hope that they come out one day of their “ignorance” let’s pray for them too.

coach of OM

2008-08-08T09:09:00.006+02:00

i've not blogged in a long time, but i was writing whenever i could on ravelry, reporting my finished projects.

i've not spoken so much in here about knitted items designed by others as my first interest and aim is to express myself in my knitwear.

so, coachella is a famous design among people that knit (i prefer to call us this because some us us just knit and others both create and knit, they are not mutually exclusive but i believe that knitting is inclusive to being a designer of knitwear because you must know your technique and produce your first model of everything you design; in french that is called "createur-modeliste").

... coach of OM is my name for "coachella", because, i knit it in view of vacations in the hot hot south of france and it is in marseilles near the OM stadium, stade Olympique de Marseilles, that this photo was taken because that's where it was worn the first time.

most of the coachellas i've seen were made with much sleeker yarn but i wanted to try the pattern with some bit of linnen so that the draping at the front pulls down on itself and just "sits" there instead of standing up and swaying right and left.

bullion rose bud tutorial

2008-07-25T12:45:00.002+02:00

knitting letters

2008-05-19T16:56:00.000+02:00

http://www.lulu.com/content/1218821 bewitching gloves

Enchanted Feathers / les plumes enchantées

2008-05-19T15:36:00.004+02:00

visit the "Atelier Lemarié"

feathers: craftsmanship, haute couture.

les plumes enchantées de l'Atelier Lemarié.

french dessert coaching

2008-05-07T18:27:00.003+02:00

i found this site of Nestle that coaches you one month in making all kinds of delicious desserts that are confectioner's chocolate based with a Chef.
you can register by clicking on the icon above.

lace collar

2008-04-25T14:42:00.002+02:00

i thought a simple T shirt would look good with a lace collar. so i attached one in many yellows and white felt mohair on a egg yolk yellow T shirt before going to visit karen's parents on easter.
she would not stand straight facing me, sorry.

my submission to "Skull-A-Day" blog

2008-04-18T17:44:00.003+02:00

i love this blog's concept and it really has creative stuff in it.
you will find my my own skull art here, down at the bottom of the page.

"mon coeur" hat and "kool heart" necklace

2008-03-09T16:21:00.006+01:00

i made these a while ago but it was not until now that i took the photos.

the "mon coeur" hat is a bit pointed at the top. a little white heart was stitched on it using the double stitch technique. the earflaps were knit seperatly and sewn on lightly to keep the effect of layering. two staps made of long i-cords were added for extra wamth, to be tied under the chin.

the "kool heart" necklace is made of two hearts sewn together in raspberry red thin mohair used in double. the white i-cord is thick off white mohair, it can be left long or shortened by tying behind the neck.
both the heart and i-cord were fulled seperatly to hold stitches better together.
the heart is filled with very smooth material but i decided that i will only be using material that can turn to ashes when burnt from now on, so no acrylic and no plastic, etc...

i am planning to make a range of "kool" necklaces with forms attached to them, so if you have something that you'd like but cannot find it anywhere do not hesitate to contact me with your "wish". my email is righ under my profile picture to the upper left.

"marcia" set

2008-03-09T03:20:00.003+01:00

the bracelets i made for marc enticed me to make ones for girls so "marcia" it is- i salute catherine ringer.
the set started with a funny "boa constrictor" ring then two bracelets were made then finaly the necklace. each was fulled alone by hand under the tap, oh what fun!!!

Mesh hat

2008-03-09T02:59:00.006+01:00

i crocheted for the first time! i made a chain then proceeded to make the sc the dc etc, 3 times each then off to the mesh stitch.

chris is modeling a "chamois" one, then the second i made is the red variagated one then a thinner yarn one which is the variagated grey.

then i crocheted the blue variagated mesh belt that is just pinned in the photo, i think i will add two or even three closures to it, i felted it a bit (fulled it) so it becomes firmer in texture.

i am liking the blocking and fulling techniques now, with my head "form" i can stretch after wetting and then i can full to tighten, wow so many possibilities!

eggs cozies

2008-03-09T02:51:00.002+01:00

i knit eggs cozies using a pattern i found here.

i used a different weight yarn so cast on a different number of stitches and knit it in the round tapering it by knitting two together every other round at beginning of the four double pointed needles then i lead the left over yarn behind the stitches to cast on for the two ears and knit them.

that was my first embroidery, not too bad i guess, i also used one yarn that i lead behind the grey stitches.

2008-03-09T02:50:00.000+01:00

back at you

2008-03-05T16:22:00.003+01:00

u2?

2008-03-05T14:30:00.000+01:00

tu veux dire que toi aussi tu "love kiki"?

message

2008-02-26T12:59:00.005+01:00

"Marc" pendant

2008-02-23T00:23:00.003+01:00

i rolled the yellow and brick remnants of mohair into a ball and felted it then this idea came up and i made it straight off.
the cord is pretty long and hangs lower than this for a more rock and roll attitude; i definatly prefer long pendants on men.

i had an idea for a ring but did not have the hardware i had in mind handy (men don't seem to buy those anymore and i do or what?! - i do but for beauty's purpose).
i will make that one when i get the gear.

i also have to get some serious men tool as cutting gauge with a "worn out plyer" is not such an easy task. it all starts with perfect tools...

"Marc" bangles

2008-02-21T13:07:00.003+01:00

my friend marc likes working in pubs, partying, he's so Kool...
i knew exactly what would look good on him with his style of life.
the white and black colors are classics. their yarn is thick so it's used single.
the "orange" blangle is two strands yellow and one strand brick red of very fine mohair (lace weight).
the purple is also fine mohair knit together in four strands. i found the rondelle at a hardware store and knit it along.
i hope he likes them.

"Knitting Nature" interpretations

2008-02-19T19:32:00.006+01:00

i loved some of the patterns there so i knit them for fun.

the yarn for the cardigan is knit in double strand in 50% mohair 50% wool in "mohair de france" from a lady that herds sheep in bretagne.
i like the green at the bottom that makes it have more "weight".

the target mits were supposed to be for me. i knit the biggest size as they are meant for kids, but i just had to hand them over to chris who's very happy with them.
the wool is a french variagated yarn from my LYS for the brown and the yellow is 100% mohair in "mohair de france" from the same lady in bretagne. i had it waiting there for a fitting project.
they do look like a bee in texture and color.

"tatting" et dentelle de Bruges

2008-02-13T14:31:00.006+01:00

je suis tombée des tonnes de fois sur des merveilles faites à partir de ces techniques et voilà qu'un amie bloggueuse me donne un lien trés intéressant, d'autres ont suivi naturellement. donc ferai-je ou ne ferai-je pas? that is the question!

tatting

dentelle de Bruges