Knit fast, die warm.

Sew! I made it through critiques somehow and boy do I feel relieved! I got my marks back today and I'm mighty pleased. The sleepless nights, caffeine addiction and bouts of insanity were well worth it. :)


I'm currently on midterm break waiting to return to for intersession next week. Though I wouldn't exactly use the word break to describe this point in time. Ya see, I'm just as busy as ever preparing for....

FRESH FISH! 5

A Craft Market showcasing young Newfoundland talent

Sunday, May 1st from 10am - 5pm

@ The Masonic Temple

I'm pretty pumped for it. It's going to be my very first craft fair, the first of many, so I'm excited and a little nervous about the whole experience. 

I'm working on such a random assortment of things that I'll be showing you throughout the week. At the moment, nothing has been completed yet, so you're just going to have to wait and see what I'm up to! 

But I will show you some of my knitting work from this past semester!

Some Fair Isle Patterns

Some Intarsia Patterns

and a bit of both!

and THIS was my final project. We had to knit an advertisement for pretty much anything. So I chose to advertise Lady GaGa's Born This Way.

This was my original design. It didn't turn out exactly as I had planned. I had a lot of difficulty with knitting the mask, so I had to scrap that idea, but I'm still pretty pleased! It's super fun to wear.

 My handsome model Mr. Billy Shea :)

That's all for now folks,I'll try to get lots of work done tomorrow so I can show you what I'll be selling a the fair. Hope you all enjoyed your Easter break!

Good Night!!

-KB

Eleanor Rigby

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?

Listening to this song while making doll heads is quite amusing. 

xo

KB

Birdy Bleach Dyeing

Just got home from a late night spent in the dye studio at school. I was working on my bleach dyeing project. The theme was 'x-rays' and I choose to represent the x-ray of a bird. This was actually my second attempt and it still didn't turn out the way that I had envisioned it. What do you think?

Shisha, Short and Sweet!

Shisha is a traditional Indian craft. It's an embroidery stitch that attaches mirrors to fabric, specifically brightly coloured clothing and domestic textiles. The word "shisheh" means glass in Persian and over time the word transferred to Hindi as well as other languages.

Though mirrors were used traditionally, you can pretty much use anything as long as it's flat - coins, buttons, pieces of jewellery etc. 

I finished my Shisha samples for school today and used a penny and two pieces of broken jewellery I had lying around.  I found this tutorial to be quite helpful. Here they are...

:)

Bleach Dyeing

I'm terribly sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been plenty busy and plenty lazy, it's not a good combination. On top of that I sprained my hand and have been getting really behind in my school work. Today was my first day back from Reading Week and despite my injury I didn't have too much trouble. Luckily, I have the sweetest and most helpful classmates ever :) 

Today in class we played with some bleach dyeing techniques. It's a lot of fun. Have a look, but keep in mind that they are just samples.

this is the reverse side

ans the reverse of this one

Interesting looking hey? I think some of them would look great as fabric for a top or dress even! That's it, I'm definitely going to have to make myself a cool summer dress!

Although I have so many cool things to tell you all about, I must get back to doing schoolwork and try my best to get caught up. When things cool down I'll have to write the blog of blogs to make up for not writing for so long...and to keep my sanity. ;)

Peace and Love,

Kay Bea

Mauve, Beige, and Ultra Marine, and Every Colour in Between!

Does anyone else remember this song?!? I believe it was on one of the Disney Classics tapes that my Dad always kept in our car. The Spectrum Song takes me back to 1995, a long, hot day of driving the TCH to Corner Brook to visit my grandfather. I distinctly remember gazing out my window at the summer sunset with all of it's beautiful colours while this ever so fitting song played.

I found this excellent list of colours earlier while stumbling. There are literally hundreds of titles, some of my favourites being School Bus Yellow, Tumbleweed, Banana Mania, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Jazzberry Jam, Laser Lemon, and Macaroni and Cheeseeeeee!

Kind of makes me want to extend my crayon collection!

Versace's Spring / Summer 2011 Womenswear Collection!!!!

IN LOVE!!!

Mah Weave is Done!

I've spent roughly 9-12 hours this week finishing my weaving project.
It's the monologue Boiled Dinner (or By'm By) by Andy Jones translated to tapestry. HA, it kinda made me go a bit mad but...


here it is!!

Some extra tidbits

Valentine's Tutorials

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

I don't know what's come over me, perhaps I've been hit by Cupid's arrow, but I'm all about Valentine's Day for the first time in years! The last time I was this hyped was probably in grade three when my mother sent me to school wearing heart patterned rights, heart-shaped glasses and cardboard hearts cutouts glued to the back pockets of my denim skirt.....I really was THAT cool.

So if you enjoy V-Day as much as I do, perhaps you'll want to join in the festivities by making your own valentine's and and valentine accessories.....

Danish Woven Paper Heart Tutorial

Here's what you'll need:

- decorative paper

- scissors

- marker 

- pencil

- glue

1. Start by making this template, it can be any size at all.

2. Next, pick two decorative papers of different colours or patterns. Fold your paper so that the width is at least as big as the length of your template. Place the flat side of your template along the folded edge. Trace and cut! 

3. Take both your cutouts and weave them together. This part can be a little tricky, have patience.

4. Now, we're going to make a love note to go inside. Trace your woven heart to use as a guide for size.

TA DAAAAAA!

Felt Heart-Shaped Button Covers

This craft is just precious, simple and quick! They look great on cardigans, overalls and pants with button-up pockets.

You'll need:

- sheet of felt

- a marker

- scissors

1. Mark a heart template out of paper (you'll use this the trace your button covers).

2. Trace as many hearts as you have buttons and cut them out!

3. Cut slits in the center if your hearts and slip over your buttons. :)

Cute, hey?

And now, I give you my most favourite virtue of all....The Virtue of Love!

Love is at the center of our being. It is the vital source that gives us energy and direction. it connects one heart with another. Love is irresistible attraction and affection for a person, a place, an idea, or even for life itself. Love is cherishing others, treating them with tenderness. Love thrives on acceptance and appreciation. it has the power to heal. It calls us to continually hone ourselves, while releasing the need to control or make someone in our image. Nurtured by commitment and seasoned by kindness, love is our greatest gift.

"Love is patient; love is kind...it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things."

- The Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians, 13:7

The Practice of Love

I allow myself to connect deeply.

I commit myself wholeheartedly.

I show love through acts of kindness.

I accept and appreciate the ones I love.

I do the work on myself that love requires.

I cherish the loves of my life.

I am thankful for the gift of Love. It is my treasury.

Tell the people you love, that you love them! Life is too short.

Hope you all have a wonderful day today :)

peace and love,

xox

-KB

The Skin Gun

This is incredible!!!!!!!!

Beating the Winter Blues

So, it's been almost a month since my last blog and I feel just awful about it! I've been terribly busy with school work and have been sick on and off for the past few weeks. To be honest I haven't really kicked the holiday lifestyle habits and my immune system and happiness is suffering because of it. That's something I plan to remedy as of right now....

My Plan to get out of my Winter Funk

- change my diet

I've been back and forth with the The Real Age diet titled You: On a Diet for about a year now. Since the spring I have lost 16 lbs. The food on this diet is absolutely delicious and so good for you, I'm really a fool to be eating anything else. So I started it up again this morning!

- exercise

I love using my Wii to workout! Thinking of rejoining the gym too...

- bathe in epsom salts

check out my blog on the benefits of epsom salts and for a tutorial on how to make colourful scented bath salts :)

- stretch

Lately, I've been feeling like I'm 90.  My back starts to hurt every time that I weave on the loom. I plan to start my mornings with a bit of stretching and yoga in hopes of fixing my aches and pains.

- drink more water and tea!

- replace liquor and beer with red wine.

- Vitamin D 

I take cod liver oil myself, but at school my teachers bought us students a huge container filled with chocolate flavoured chewable vitamin D tablets. I find them pretty sweet and candy like, so it's one  of the highlights of my day. Here's an article on the many benefits of Vitamin D. 

-get outside more

taking vitamins is great but there's nothing like getting the real deal from the sun. I hope to take a walk every day, even if it's just around the block for 15 minutes...and the weather isn't TOO cold. 

-get into a regular sleep schedule. 

this is what i expect to struggle with the most. I'm guilty of the worst sleeping habits, staying up late, sleeping in, not getting enough sleep, taking long naps, falling asleep on the couch, you name it. I'm going to try my hardest to get to bed on time, and even if I don't I'm going to try even harder to wake up in time to get ready in the morning with enough time for breakfast and a workout.

Yeah, so that's my plan! It sounds pretty fool proof to me, now I just need to summon my determination. I encourage you to do the same!

The Virtue of Determination

Determination is the power of intent that drives our dreams. It is the strength of will to act with resolve. We focus our energy on a purpose and persevere until we meet our goal. Determination is the commitment to follow through, until we accomplish our purpose. We care about something so much that even when difficulties arise, and things don't come easy we keep on keeping on. If one path doesn't work, we try another way. We don't allow ourselves to get distracted or to go off track. We complete the tasks we choose to do. With Determination we will succeed.

"The difference between determination and stubbornness is that one comes from a strong will and the other from a strong won't."

- Unknown

The Practice of Determination

I am clear about what I want to accomplish.

I am committed to meeting my goals.

I focus my full attention on what is important.

I do what it takes to follow through.

I am flexible and persevering.

I finish what I start.

I am thankful for the gift of Determination. It is the wind in my sails.

www.virtuesproject.com

These kababs are a one of many dinner options on the Real Age Diet. They are super tasty!! I wish I could say that I made this, but I haven't gotten past the toaster in months. My darling boyfriend does all the cooking. Thaaaaanks Billy. :)

Well I best get going and get a stretch in before bed. Though it may be hard to sleep with all that blowing snow. Who else is hoping for a snow day tomorrow?

Goodnight friends,

sleep tight.

- KB