I've Been Tagged!

Dag nabbit. I've been tagged by Sheilaz Crochetz. I must reveal 7 unknown things about myself. Wow! That's hard. I try to live my life as an open book so anything I'm keeping hidden is probably for good reason. LOL! But here goes:

1. I don't like poetry. It's either too sappy or too esoteric, out there or whatever you want to call it. I usually don't get it.

2. When I was a baby I was on the Romper Room tv show. Do Bee Do!

3. Whenever I'm at a high altitude (ie. in the mountains, plane) I tend to want to cry because of the awesome majesty of God. Just to look at how beautiful creation is overwhelms me.

4. Sometimes I have so many thoughts flying around in my head that I lose track of what I was talking about and how I got to that point in the conversation.

5. I used to hate people and everything about them save for myself.

6. I hate that I like to be needed.

7. I don't think I'll ever have enough money to support my yarn habit.

So now it's my turn to tag some folks. I wonder who they will be.

Kamika

One Down & How Many To Go?

I finished my Julia Cardigan by Designs by Donna. I really like it and plan to wear it out this weekend. I went to JoAnn's yesterday looking for buttons and some lace to make a sash. I settled on some simple pearlized 19mm buttons and decided to make my own sash in the remaining blue yarn. I crocheted the sash using the Front Cross Stitch and trimmed using a picot edging on the bottom only. It's nice and stretchy and turned out really well. You may also notice that I shortened the sleeves to a 3/4 inch style. I also decreased the collar area to form a higher collar line and added 3 extra shells to get a pleated look in the back . It fits my style better with these adjustments. Enjoy!

Kamika

Coffee Swap 2

Hey Hey! Ho Ho! It's off to the tea shop I go!

I joined my first every swap on Tuesday and I'm so excited. It's the "Coffee Swap 2" organized by Knittymama. Although I don't drink coffee, she was generous enough to let a few of us tea drinkers (you know the other caffeine) in. I can't wait to go shopping for my partner and make a new friend. So here are the questions/answers for my partner. I've modified them to suit a tea drinker:

1. Whole loose leaf or bags? I prefer loose leaf tea. It usually has more flavor.

2. Fully-loaded (black) or herbal? No preference

3. Nutty or fruity flavored? No preference

4. How do you drink your tea? Blacks, usually with heavy cream and honey with an equal and or a syrup for added flavor. Herbals, usually just with honey or agave, an equal and maybe a splash of lemon juice.

5. Favorite tea ever? Almond Milk tea and Rose Tea from the ABC company.

6. Are you fussy about your tea or will any old leaf do? I'm not partial to assam, pekoe, rooibos, etc. I just like a good tasting tea.

7. Favorite treats to have with your tea? Shortbread cookies, chocolate or maple scones, english muffins, a good cake (no fruit), anything chocolate with nuts.

8. Anything else about your tea preferences? I prefer tea filters to infusers (probably because I've never had the chance to use an infuser).

9. Yarn/fiber you love? Alpaca or wool blended with silk (especially Rowan's Alpaca Silk), brightly colored mercerized cotton, other soft wools that can be felted. I also love the Amelie by GGH but surprise me!

10. Yarn/fiber you hate? ACKrylic (unless blending with another more dominant fiber), fun furs, anything splitty.

11. What's on your needles? Uhh, see 2 posts down. LOL

12. Favorite colors? Black, purples/lavenders, yellow yellow and more yellow, reds and greens.

13. Allergies? None that I know of.

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I can't wait to get started!

Kamika

Some Days...

The problem:
Some days you just feel really under-appreciated, disrespected, worthless and almost hopeless. Today is one of those days. I'm almost completely in a mood of listlessness at the prospect of my immediate future. Not my long term future, just the here and now. When I think about my life at times I just want to cry. So much promise, so much passion, so many seemingly attainable dreams. When will my dreams come to fruition? When will my desires start to line up completely with God's so that I will be content in all things and wherever [stage of life] I may be found. NOW!

The Revelation:
*God is good and His mercy endureth forever! I Chr 16:34
*Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. I John 4:4
*For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6
*You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Is 26:3
*My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. II Cor 12:9
*The LORD will perfect that which concerns me. Ps 138:8

The Plan of Action:

*The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
*He makes me lie
down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, *he restores
my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's
sake.
*Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your
staff, they comfort me.
* You prepare a table before me in
the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup
overflows.
* Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my
life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Jm 4:8

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Jm 4:10

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time... I Pet 5:6

I hope this helps someone today. I already feel cleansed and a lot better. God Bless You all!

Kamika

What's On the Sticks!

So here's what I'm working on now! I have a lot of WIPs. Most are about 90% done some a little less. Many just need to be finished with lining, sashes, buttons, etc. Enjoy!

Garn Studios Shrug

90% - Just need to finish the cowl ribbing and re-block. Did I mention that I hate ribbing?Materials:

*5 skeins Berroco Ultra Alpaca (Prune)

Julia Cardigan - by Designs by Donna (Knots & Loops)
95% - Needs buttons an a sash

Materials:
*6 balls Sensations "Stellina" (Wool/acrylic/nylon) (Cream)

*1 ball Sensations "Stellina" (Sea Blue)

*1 ball Patons "Brillance" (Golden Brown ?)

Pastor's Lapghan - My own design

15% - Just started
Materials:

*6 skeins Lambs Pride "Homespun" (Granite)

Ruffle Tank - My own design

15% - Needs work.
Materials:

*700yds Cotton/Rayon yarn from eBay (Variegated)

Truffle Clutch - by Sophie Pitcher

95% - Lining and mattress stitching
Materials:

*2 balls Debbie Biss "Alpaca Silk" (Deep Lilac)
*1 ball Rowan "Felted Tweed" (Phantom)

By showing you all this I guess I'm trying to keep myself accountable. My new rule is, for every project I buy new yarn for, I have to create a project using yarn in my small stash. BTW, the stash is starting to grow on me.

Kamika

Hair it is

I do remember before telling you that this blog is about K&C and natural hair care. I've been slacking concering the hair part. I also distinctly remember saying that I would tell you all about my henna experiment. Well SHAZZAM! Hair it is.

In early March of this year I put a henna treatment on my hair. Henna has been proven to strengthen your hair, give it more shine and body and on occasion relax the curl of natural hair. All of this in addition to adding color deposits. I'm quite happy with my nappy hair but I am always looking for ways to become a red head.

On the recommendation of a nappy friend, I opted to go with all natural "body art quality" henna rather than synthetic store bought brands. I read up on it and bought samples from Hennaforhair.com. The samples are about 1g of henna so I bought 2g just in case I needed more for my hair texture. Once received I mixed the sample with red zinger tea, lemon juice, and paprika and let it sit for about 4 hours to oxidize (sorry I don't recall the exaxt measurements of the mix-ins as this was only a sample). I then took hair that I had harvested from my combs and brushes and covered completely in the mix. I placed the hair in a plastic sandwich bag and let the hair sit overnight on top of my stove. The next day I opened the bag and rinsed the hair completely. I then let it dry. Below are pics of the sample process.

Harvested Hair

Hair w/Henna in a baggie

Hennaed hair

After the sample went as planned, I ordered 200g of Jamila Henna from the summer of 2006 crop (I guess henna crops are like fine wine grape crops) from Mehndi Skin Art. The henna came in 100g boxes of which I decided to use only 1 for my just below the collar bone hair. Just as above I created a mixture but this time I used 1 Red Zinger tea (infused with 3 bags instead of 2 to make the red deeper), approx 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tbsp paprika, and approx 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar.

I let the mixture cure overnight and I applied it in the am. I let it sit on my head for about 8 hours wrapped in saran wrap and a plastic cap. I then rinsed it completely out and no-poo'd (washed hair with conditioner instead of shampoo). Here are the results of the treatment.
My hair is shinier and has more depth. The color is really vibrant and rich but not bright because my hair is black and henna doesn't dye the hair but deposit color into the shaft. I have much less shedding now, my curl is slightly looser and my hair looks fuller. I plan to do this treament every 6-8 weeks for the health benefits and to deposit more color. I believe that overtime the color will become brighter.

If you are interested in learning more about henna, please visit the links above. Here's a great book (free online) with more info. If you would like to see my complete album, with step-by step instructions on how to apply henna, please feel free to drop me a note at kamikak at msn dot com.

Kamika

I'm Back!

I know I've been gone for a minute. For some reason I couldn't come back and write without pictures. Go figure? My camera's memory card was on the blink and I wasn't able to upload any pictures to my computer. You see I still use a very reliable and fast Win98 system that has stayed virus free and fully functional since I bought it. I refuse to buy into the Windows Vista hype especially since I know it's a 6 month filler program anyway. Microsoft has stated that they plan to bring out a newer more fully functional version of Vista in about 6 months much to the chagrin of those who've already plopped down the $400 to buy the current version. Not only that. Apple products have been getting the coy look from me every since I got my iPod last year. I like the sleekness and the all inclusive functionality of their platform. It's a cult I know! But it sure is pretty on the outside.

Anywhoo, back to what I was saying about my camera and my system pre-digression. My new Sony Cybershot's drivers don't run on Win98 nor could I find a work around so I had to buy an external card reader. It works great and takes up to 23 different memory cards; which came in handy last year when my old camera went on the blink and I had to use it to read my old card or the pictures of my Frohawk would have been lost forever. It kept saying "improper format" so I blew on it a couple of times and massaged it (no really I did) and it started to work again. Maybe it just needed a rest! I'm happy it got one because I was not about to shell out another $40 to get another one anytime soon. My readers would have just had to imagine what I was saying. Not always an easy thing.

Kamika

More Stash Photos

I forgot to share with you all the additional yarn I had ordered around the time of my birthday. I also picked up some from a LYS to do a mock up of a shrug I bought at a cheapie store.

Cotton Rayon blend from Wild Skein

This yarn has great color but now that I'm working it up into a nice tank, I'm not all that happy with it. It gets really fuzzy. It's almost as if it wasn't spun tightly enough to retain it's texture. At times it feels as if I'm knitting with roving. I bought 1400 yds of this for about $16 on eBay.

Deluxe Worsted 100% WoolI bought 3 220 yd hanks from the LYS. I may need to double it to get the thickness I want or I may need to scrap that project all together.

I hope everyone had a great Resurection Sunday! I sure did.

Kamika

Mom's Bolero

I finished the bolero!!! I decided to do some extra work and bead it with seed beads and then give it to my mom. She's going to wear it for Easter. I beaded completely around the body opening and at each wrist.

I'm really excited and relieved at the same time. Just so you know. I've been promising to make my Mom something for a long time now. I just hadn't gotten around to it because I was too busy making stuff I thought was more fun (read: for me). To my credit though I did start a previous sweater for her but I didn't have enough yarn to complete it. The LYS that I originally got it from went out of business. I finally found the yarn on eBay and am waiting for it to come in the mail. Enjoy the finished project pics modeled by Moi and let me know what you think!

Kamika

Beautiful Words

I was checking my Fotki hair album today and noticed that a friend had left some kind words about my hair in my comments section. As I went back to hers tp give thanks, I noticed that she had just recently started to blog and so I checked it out. The premise behind her blog is intriguing. In short it's about doing good things for our fellow man and giving of our time and strength to worthy causes to benefit others and in turn ourselves. In Caymanian's (Teri's) words:

...I want to challenge you (and myself) to act on your thoughts - thoughts geared toward helping individuals in need. It doesn't matter who it is (a neighbor, the homeless woman outside your office, the co-worker you can't stand, the malnourished family across the ocean) act on the thought you had about him/her.

I thought this was both noble and inspiring. We need to do more things to help others. We need to step out of our routines and comfort zones and reconnect with our fellow man, our neighbors, and those we pass on the streets. We don't have to do much more than be observant, provide kind words or maybe a meal, small monetary assistance, a prayer, smile, or maybe just a listening ear. These little things go a long way. I invite those of you who are interested to visit her blog at Thinking and Being.

Another thing I found on her blog was this great word Quixotic. I love how it flows off my tongue. I really enjoy etymology, which is the study of the meaning of words, their origins and how they are sounded. Quixotic is a very sensual and tickley sounding word that makes you want to whisper the last two syllables while daydreaming with a big grin on your face. I thought it would be nice to share it with you:

Quixotic:
extravagantly chivalrous or foolishly idealistic; visionary, impractical" or " caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality; capricious; impulsive

Sometimes we need to get off the speeding train that is our life and be more quixotic. Say it with me: q-u-i-x-o-t-i-c. Quixotic indeed!

Kamika