I think the wheel is becoming my new friend - I made 3 bowls last night - 2 of them turned out pretty well (this is one of those) and the third one is OK enough to keep going forward with, but it was a little more wonky... I learned that the base of the bowl should be about 1/2" thick and the sides about 1/4" - I have a tendency to make the bottom too thin - but that makes it almost impossible to trim when it's leather hard...

This is the "first" pot I threw on day 1 of the class this semester... it's not perfect that's for sure - and too small for a "real" yarn bowl (it'd work good for sock yarn I guess) and the walls were too thin for me to cut the notch to the yarn feed hole... but it's still worth working on... someone may want it :) - I plan on making bigger yarn bowls once I know what I'm doing..

I like how this one turned out - you can't see the foot of the bowl but it's there - tucked nice and deep beneath the bowl... we learned the basics of trimming and what makes a good bowl - following the interior and exterior curves so they match each other is important... and it takes practice.  I'm happy at this point getting what I set out to do... that's not happening yet but the series of "happy accidents" has been fun!

I got a little brave with the trimmer on this one... the foot turned out good but as I was carving the lines up the bowl's sides, I got VERY close to cutting the piece in half!  You can see the mark pushing through on the inside of the pot... I don't know if it'll look good after it's first firing, but it's on the shelf, waiting to be loaded and fired! 

Please take a moment to take this survey that will help us all understand the perceptions of other knitters towards guys who knit in the United States!  Thanks! 
here's the link:

http://www.knittingmeninamerica.com/survey.html

also feel free to pass the info on to any of your friends - this survey is intended for anyone (male or female) who knits and is in (or from) the United States

Thank You!!!

email me at knittingmen@yahoo.com with any questions or comments about this survey.

 

IF you happen to have a blog or website or know of somewhere that I should email to get more participants, please let me know - feel free to link to this post or to the survey page itself and ask others to participate - the more information we have the better sense of our knitting society and the way male knitters are viewed!

For those of you who signed up for the "states" part of the project, you'll be getting a separate questionnaire - but feel free to participate in this survey as well.  Thanks!!

I was reminded by an email from one of my good friends in High School about some of the t shirts I designed or help design for the theater department at Deer Valley High School in Glendale, AZ during the years 1988-1992.  She has had shirts from the shows she has been in transformed into a neat quilt!  Her mom actually made the quilt - and I am sad that I don't have all these shirts any longer... I still have the "Into The Woods" and "Grease" shirts - if I had more I'd make a quilt of my own... but years have passed... I have moved many times... and I don't know that I'd be able to get ahold of any of these so many years later.  I appreciate having the images, though... it's nice to look back and remember...

Here's Kristen's quilt - I helped design five of the shirts on here - it touched me that she shared these images with me... I had forgotten about some of them!

I designed this on the bus on the way to school the day the submissions were due... a quick sketch - turned into a shirt... it could have been better, but I love that it has survived... this has been almost 20 years ago... can you believe it??

This one is a modified version of the sketch I used for the backdrop for this show... when doing the backdrop, I accidentally lowered the wrong drop and the day after sketching the design in magic marker (the drop was about 20' x 30') I was informed that I had lowered the wrong drop and instead of doing it on the seamed backdrop, I had drawn on a quite expensive lighting backdrop that was seamless.... a major mistake that was not repairable... I still have this shirt, thanks to my dad (rest his soul) who had saved it for years and years...

it's funny that I don't remember if I was in this play or not... I THINK I had a line or two at the end of the show.  I DO know I designed the shirt... some people may find the image of the bedroom window familiar - it's my bedroom window from the house I lived in as a kid... New Middletown, IN - I did a painting of it recently...

My favorite times in High School were on stage or rehearsing or spending my Saturdays working on sets... I don't know for sure if I had much to do with this shirt - I think I may have drew the knife... but that'd be it if anything... on the back, however, I did sign my name along with the rest of the cast - we all wore black and white for this play - with one accent of red somewhere on our costume.  (I wore red socks) - I was Plato in this play.... loved it and miss the fun of theater...

We go together... like ramalamalama da dinga de ding a dong... oh yes.. I was in Grease... I was asked by our director, Ms. Surloff, what role I'd want to play (we were all asked) and instead of saying, "I'd like some sort of lead - anything with a solo, please" - I said "I want to be the Teen Angel!" - I loved the song, Beauty School Dropout and knew it was a solo... what I didn't know was that it was the only time the Teen Angel appeared in the show... so I got what I asked for, and was annoyed a bit that I didn't have a larger part... but I was onstage... in the background, dancing on top of "Greased Lightnin'" and having a GREAT time with my friends... especially Kristen, who shared a "picnic" with me on stage during the show... every show we packed our prop lunch boxes with a real picnic and I loved drinking Yoo Hoos during the shows.... aah the memories. 

I did the lettering and ring border for this design, and the comb I had added was removed to add the boy and girl in the car, drawn by another student... the collaboration worked really well and it's now a bit of history.

I have this show on videotape - and I have played it to remember the fun times... I have Grease, Into The Woods, Rebel Without a Cause and Brigadoon from Deer Valley High (on VHS converted to DVD) - I wish I had these shirts still... but the photos mean even more because my dear friend Kristen has reminded me of the fun I had in High School.

On another note, I was also in the Positive Force Players (sponsored by Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona) for I think 4-1/2 years and even though during that time I had probably 20-30 t shirts with the logo, I don't know that I have one any longer...

So there you go.... bored yet?  anyone reading about my High School t shirts?  I know, I know... it's not knitting... not clay... not painting... but it's part of my life... and remembering the moments that still make us smile is important... so there you go...

The photos are from my cell phone - I am VERY proud of my first bowl that I made tonight (with the help of a few amazing fellow students) - Nick (right beside me) has been making me laugh all night and when I "just do it" I am learning that it's easier... don't worry so much!

Ricky also helped a lot.... and I'm happy to say I have 2 bowls made... it helps to have people around you that have years of experience to guide and teach...

Here's the second bowl I made - the inside is finished much better on this one.  I have miles and miles to go before I'll be able to make a bowl and know what I'm making before I stop the wheel, look at it and say "that looks pretty good; I think I'm done" - but even though it's like a "lucky start" I am SO happy!  I can't wait till next week when I get to get muddy and messy again! :)

I received the best valentine EVER from my good friend Chuck - he's way too clever - he found a valentine of a girl KNITTING with YARN and a KITTY! - The only thing that could have made it more perfect would be if it were a boy knitting... but how thoughtful!

Since it's so amazing, I'm sharing it with you - wishing you the best of Valentines days - (or "V day" as some call it!) - hoping that you are able to take time out of your day to hug someone... (probably a good idea for that someone to be a person you know) haha

I am excited that my buddy Home-Spun gave me this award and I'm glad to spread the love to 8 of my blog pals!  Feel free to copy and paste as needed... and congrats!

Here are the rules for the award.

1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 8 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

I am nominating some of the hundreds of blogs I love to read and look forward to reading.  You don’t have to do forward or continue the award if you don’t want to - but it's fun to give and get 'em!  Either way, know I admire you all for your creativity, enthusiasm, and immense talent. 

 

VTKnitboy

Under Sask Skies

The Boy Who Knits

Through The Loops

We Do Not Have A Knitting Problem

Librarysarie

Ask The Bellwether

My Virtual Sanity

Thank you for filling my blog reading with exciting and interesting stories and photos - for inspiring me to create and sharing the joy and woes of daily life!

For those of you who know me - you probably have heard that I have always wanted an old sewing machine - and when the time was right I'd probably get one.  I found this one today in Pasadena at the swap meet -  original bent wood case, it has accessories stored under it... the wiring needs to be replaced, case cleaned up, and so far, I know for sure I need a manual and the knee control bar (whatever THAT is!) and probably someone who can show me how to use it

I have not touched it yet... took a few photos just to show what it looks like and to share it with you... I want to work on it and get it restored - I did some searching online and so far I think it's a 99-13 Singer machine - probably made around 1929-1930's - and if the little bit of research I have done seems to say that I spent about $50 less than the original $70 this might have cost in its heyday...

If anyone has any suggestions as to where I can go for manuals, parts, or how in the world to use this thing, please feel free to comment or email me - If nothing else, I really like the case - and once it's cleaned up it'll be gorgeous! - I just found the key (hidden under the machine) which locks the top into its base - yippee!! - I can lock it up...