Krissie and Joe's Wedding

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday was a wonderful day for all of us, as we watched my nephew and new niece get married in the lovely ocean view setting of Blithewold Mansion, in Bristol, Rhode Island. It was just about the most beautiful setting for a wedding that I have ever seen! They were married out on the lawn, with a georgeous view of the Bay, across a lovely flower bed and grass that seemed to roll on forever! The reception was fantastic and the food, which was catered by Pranzi Caterers, was absolutely magnificent.

I will have pictures of the wedding soon and will post a few, but until then, I am posting a picture of the wedding cake that I made for them. I hope you like it!

Have a great day,
Barbara

Blocking Garments

Hi Everyone,

Today I want to talk about blocking garments. It always seemed so mysterious and hard to me, and I never thought I'd get used to the idea of taking a steamer or water to something wonderful that I had just created to make it flat!

Well, KnitPicks has a wonderful tool to help. It is a set of blocks, really, that are made of a durable foam rubber and they link together like a puzzle. The box contains nine 12 inch squares that are 3/8 inch think. You can fit them together for any size-- long, square, rectangle-- whatever you need. As you see here, I was working on scarves, one a new lacy scarf that I just finished for myself, and one striped scarf to go with a hat for one of my favorite charities.

Be sure to check to see which form of blocking works best for your garment. Not all can handle the direct contact of a steam iron, or can be soakes in water. If you ask your knitting specialist, they will be happy to tell you what might work best for your particular piece.

Happy Knitting,

Barbara

PS I am having some fun reading some knitting murder mysteries by Mary Kruger. Just finishing with "Died in the Wool," and will start "Knit Fast, Die Young," perhaps later today!

Fall Jewelry

Hi Everyone,

This week I have been working on design and creation of my Fall Jewelry. I am uploading some pictures so you can see what I have been up to!

Jewelry is one of those things that you can get really crazy about. I love designing and creating new motifs. As you can see, some of them reflect similar lines and pieces, but some are quite original and "one of a kind."

There are many places that you can go to learn how to make jewelry. AC Moore, Michael's Crafts and JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts are just a few suggestions where you can find classes and supplies. Of course, if you are in a business, you can get your supplies from companies like Fire Mountain Gems.

My next project in jewelry is to learn how to make a bead braid, so one day, I will show pictures of that!

Have a great day,

Barbara