Busyboding Around

No need to speak too much. I just finished a couple of items I'd like you all to see. All the great sewing bloggers inspired me to start sewing again, so I did that. Had some jewelry that I finished a couple of months ago, so I'm posting that. And, I threw in a pair of extra special stitch markers, so there! Enjoy the pics.

OOOOh! Thanks for all the great compliments on my previous posts. Unfortunately, If you don't leave your email addy I can' t reply to you personally. But thank you just the same!

Pencil Skirt

Pattern: McCall's 5590
Material: Navy Blue Pinstriped Wool Suiting
Notions: 2 grey buttons from stash
Mods: Fully lined with Posh polyester from JoAnns. Since I have junk in the trunk I had to grade out to my size (will not be telling cause it's so far from my ready-to-wear). Have to go back and fix the hem in the front and send it to the cleaners for a good pressing.

Tangerine Pearl Bracelet

White pearls with tangerine and persimmon colored glass beads, sea shell lampworks, and gold wire wrapping. Given as a gift to one of my coworkers.

Earrings

Scrollwork Stitchmarkers

If you would like to purchase any of this jewelry, please email me at kamikak at msn dot com.

Kamika busybodying

Spoiled!

I couldn't tell it if I tried! Ya'll just dont' know how good God has been to me all my life. I can't tell you because there are no words in any human dialect that can express how much I love Him. God is truly my first husbandman and He spoils me with His brand new mercies everyday. Just waking up every morning is a new blessing I don't even have to think about.

As a single woman, whom God has kept directly off the dating scene for a number of years, I have never in my life been more spoiled by any previous lovers. Here's some examples:

1. I asked God in prayer for a vacation (eventhough I hadn't worked in over 2 years and had no money). God blessed me with a free cruise to Mexico.


2. In response to what I wanted for my 30th birthday a few years back I responded with "pearls." I got a full strand of freshwater pearls and earrings.


3. The birthday before that, some sisters and I went to one of my favorite restaurants in Beverly Hills. We were having a great time! At the end of our meal the waiters sang to me and told us to have a great day. Then our waiter went on about his business. When we asked him twice where our check was, he told us (twice mind you, cause we didn't believe him) that a gentleman across the room had paid our check. The gentleman also told the waiter to tell me, "Happy Birthday!" Talk about your heart burning because his motive was only to make our day and not pick up on anyone. I believe that man was my Lord.


4. During the season where I was losing everything in order to come closer to God, I almost got evicted from my apartment. God said no and the judge threw out the case because the landlord had overcharged me $2.50!


5. In that same season I lost my truck and God allowed me to go to a large well known car dealership and get a car that wasn't 2 years old yet for free. Yep FREE! I paid nothing for it and hold the title to this very day!

My most recent expression of His spoiling love happened this weekend. I had been thinking about buying some Gucci sunglasses (ya'll know I likes me some Gucci), but because I wanted to be a good steward of the monies I've received, I decided to wait until the end of the year. Well look what my beloved got me:

I was strolling through Tarjay on yesterday, looking at the sunglasses. I'm just trying on various pairs when I come across this pair and they fit me perfectly. I thought it was odd that they were labeled differently (a big fat sticker directly on the lens) instead of a hang tag. The logo looked slightly Gucciesque but for $16.99 I could only dream. I buy the glasses and think nothing of it until I get in my car this morning and decide to actually look at them. I got REAL Gucci Havana sunglasses that retail for over $200.00 for $16.99! Serial numbers and e'rethang. I know knocks when I see'em and these ain't them.

CAN YOU DIG IT?!!

He's so good to me! It's not about the material things He gives me. But the love I feel when I draw near to Him. He truly does perfect those things which concern Kamika. I would be a fool to not give Him praise.

Kamika not bragging just testifying

A FO, A Bed, & Some Hope

In Reverse order.

The Hope:

I'm counting down! Five more days until I'm emancipated from my life of serfdom at The Motel. I can't wait! I've been itching to buy all kinds of stuff to get ready for this move. I've already scheduled a day off, ordered the utilities, and assembled the move crew. I even bought a brand new high tech shower head. DM is a little surly about it but she'll get over it. LB and ST have moved back in as well as The Guest, Jeeves, and The Nut so she'll have plenty of company.

The Bed:

Yesterday I went out and bought a brand new bed! It's so FIYAH. I got it from Z Gallerie le outlet instead of the retail store and I'm so happy I did. I got it for 70% off and it's still in their current catalogue. Can you believe it?

This is my bed, called the Leslie Bed in Chocolate Passion Micro-Suede. The entire bed cost me $325 with tax. On the website it's going for $1,083 with tax and NOT including the shipping of $135. In total I saved a whopping $893. I just can't help but to pat myself on the back.

and lastly...

The FO: Reverse Halter

Forgive the "Front" pic. I have a serious issue with letting my niece's cleavage and belly be exposed and she didn't have time to put on a tank top before work. I believe in modesty, plus my niece didn't wear the collar up. Better pictures to come. Since this is a gift for my cousin Stacey, I'll try to catch her wearing it.

Time: June 2008, About a 2 weeks due to figuring out mods

Yarn: Vanna's Choice Worsted Weight Yarn, 4 balls in rust

Needles/Hook: J

Modifications: Instead of using Paton's Pooch as pattern calls for I used small wooden rings (about 72) from the jewelry making section of Michael's. Knitaholictoo suggested wooden beads. Thanks for the inspiration girl!

Kamika on the move

Your Opinions Needed

Okay I need your opinion. I'm just about done with the Reverse Halter from Doublestitch that I'm making for my cousin and I've come to a crossroads. You see, my cousin wanted the sweater in orange. I figured burnt orange would be more flattering for her so I knit the bodice in Vanna's Choice yarn in Rust. Unfortunately the pattern calls for the use of Patons Pooch for the bottom area and I decided that since the Pooch didn't come in a comparable color to the Rust that I would use a nice neutral color like Fleece to give her that Bohemian look she tends to like.

Here's my problem. I don't like it! I think the color contrast is too stark. Originally when I was at the store buying the yarn I had resigned myself to just knit it in creme like the picture but I couldn't find any creme yarns that seemed to match. The Patons Pooch is a very yellowy-cream wherein the other yarns were really dull and flat.

So what should I do? Do I keep crocheting to the end with what I've got or should I scrap it all together? I'm leaning towards finishing it because I won't be the one wearing it and it's not hideous, just not MY style. Even though I'll know this I may still be slightly offended if it never sees the light of day.

Kamika in a quagmire

Mi Trente y Dos Felicidades Celebracion!

That's my 32nd Birthday Celebration! It was so wonderful. I truly felt loved from my family and my coworkers. You would have thought this was a big birthday like 16, 30, 40, etc. But I've learned that every new year God blesses me with is a BIG birthday. Enjoy the pics!

An Older Kamika

Trying To Be Prolific

This weekend was full of knitting and creating. I had summoned all of my crafting power into my hands in order to finish off as many projects as I could. I was knitting like yarn was endangered. Alas, I didn't finish everything but a lot and I even found time to make some great stitch markers. Check tomorrow's post for pics of the stitch markers individually. Otherwise this would have been a very picture heavy post.

You already know I finished Buttony, and the Brother In Law Hat. I finished the Cycling Aran, zipper and all. I also swatched the Deep V Argyle Vest. I just about finished a scarf I was making to go along with His sweater and hat (I'm trying to use up the remaining 1/2 skein of Malabrigo and 1/2 skein of Blue Sky Alpaca's that I used on the last two projects, otherwise this is entirely to much coordination for me). I started the Oatmeal Jacket from Monkey Suits and I had to keep myself from starting a scarf for my secret swap partner.

Check it out! Here are some progress pics on the Cycling Aran and the finished project:

The zipper took me about an hour to put in. I didn't want to do it by machine and risk puckering or tearing the stitches ragged.

On my previous attempt I had stitched a simple stockinette lining. When I tried the jacket on a male friend, I noticed that the lining didn't stretch like the collar and wouldn't allow the collar to close. I ripped it out and decided to make the lining ribbed like the color to get the same amount of stretch.

Me modeling the finished product with hat.

Kamika

Been So Long...

Wow, I didn't realize I had been away for so long. Crimson Purl had to bring me back. Thanks lady! It's late and I'm feeling a little under the weather but enjoy Isobel In Red by French Girl Knits and some shots of the completed Blanket Coat I crocheted. Didn't have a good enough model to model the coat but the candids are nice.

Isobel In Red

Time: Mid November- December 1st
Yarn: Sensations Cosetta, Just 6 skeins (350yds total doubled up)
Needles/Hook: US 17 and 19
Notions: 2 1 1/2" buttons

Blanket Coat

Kamika

Rwanda Knits...Get Involved

Hope rises up in Rwanda! After years of devastating civil war, Rwanda is rising up with hope through it's women. How so? Through knitting with an entreprenurial spirit.

Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the middle of Africa. Bordered by Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania it is an agricultural land with the highest density population in Africa of 9 million people. Most recently the country has entered into the world psyche through the infamous 1994 genocide between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes that took the lives of over 800,000 people. A vivid depiction of this was portrayed in the historical drama film Hotel Rwanda. The film is a very riveting and factual account of what happened in the land. Of course there were some fictional characters added for Hollywood's sake but all-in-all very accordant with the true story. Because of this war and the countries history of colonization, Rwanda is very poor.

Recently I stumbled upon the Rwanda Knits website while searching for some new knitting inspiration. Started in July of 2003 by Cari Clement, then president of Bond America, and with the approval of the USA for UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees), Rwanda Knits is a project that, "provides hand-operated, American-made knitting machines, technical and business training to Rwandan and refugee women living in Rwanda to enable them to increase their incomes through economically sustainable knitting cooperatives, producing garments for both the domestic and export markets." Rwanda Knits.org.

Under the FA'CED (Fibre and Craft Entrepreneurial Development) Rwanda Knits provides classes and technique training in fiber crafting for over 1,500 women. Some of the refugee knitters even made $3,000 net! That's a lot of money in Rwanda. Heck, it's a lot of money here! Just think about how much farther it goes over there when the normal per annum income is less than $365 (less than $1 per day).

In May of 2005, Rwanda Knits was awarded a grant from USAID totaling $99,000 but that was two years ago and is not enough to help these women rebuild their land's economy from the ground up. Donations of time and especially money are needed. Small amounts help! If you are interested in donating please visit the website here.

NOTE: All pictures shown were taken from the Rwanda Knits webpage and are the expressed property and copyright of that site and it's owners.

Kamika

Purple Sambuca Neat & Blocked Please?

I finished the Sambuca Jacket from the Amazing Crochet Lace book a couple of weeks ago as a gift for my mother for Mother's Day. My Mom has been my muse for a minute, not by choice, but because everytime I start to work on something she asks for it. This time she had seen a cardigan in Catherine's and asked me to make one for her. The ones in Catherines seemed cheapie and balloon like. I knew I could do one better. Once finished I had every intention of posting pics of it immediately but my memory card in the cammie became stricken again and I couldn't resuscitate it.

Anyhoo, I worked up the jacket with the Berocco Ultra Alpaca in the "Prune Mix" colorway. Some of you may remember it from here. I frogged that sweater and reused the yarn. No since in wasting good yarn on such an ill fitted garment. Besides, I'm not a Rockefeller and yarn AIN'T cheap. As usual I made my usual adjustments and cut the arms down to make them short sleeve. I also omitted the butterfly clasp because women with big tiggly biddys (read: breasts) shouldn't wear jackets/tops with single closures at the neck. It's obscene!
I really like the Amazing Crochet Lace book. I did notice though that the pattern did have a number of small errors in it. But once you learned the actual pattern repeat you really didn't need to look at the book again save for increasing points. I also didn't like that the charts on this pattern were blurry, small, and not complete. This of course will not hinder me from doing other garments out of the book.

Enjoy the pics and let me know what you think!


Kamika

Love Language #2: Gifts

I've had the book "The Five Love Languages for Singles" by Gary Chapman on my nightstand for over a year now. I bought it last year because I had heard how great his books were and the idea of Love Languages really intrigued me. Sad to say I still have not read the book but it has been in my knitting bag for a week now pushing it to the front of my reads behind the Bible.

Earlier last week I had come across a show on OnDemand entitled "Everyday Woman." This is a Christian show fashioned like the View where 4 women of different generations and backgrounds discuss the issues of the day but from a Christian perspective. At first it seemed a little sappy but I liked it. On this particular show Gary Chapman was the guest and what he said about the Love Languages really touched my heart.

Gary says that every one has a primary love language and possibly 2 to 3 secondary love languages from which they operate in order to give love and feel the most loved. The five languages are:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Gifts
3. Acts of Service
4. Quality Time
5. Physical Touch

I plan to touch on all of these in the future as I read the book but today I wanted to touch on my primary love language and that is the language of Giving.

A gift is a tangible object that says, "I was thinking about you. I
wanted you to have this. I love you."...Anthropologists have never
discovered a culture whre gift giving is not an expression of love. Giving
gifts is one of the fundamental universal languages of love...The important
thing is not the gift but the emotional love that was communicated by the
gift. The right gift is any token, big or small, which speaks the
emotional love.

The Greek word from which we get our English word gift is charis, which means "grace," or an undeserved gift...A gift is given without strings attached or it ceases to be a gift...It is no longer a gift when you use it to soothe a wrong commited.

I love to give gifts! Those who know me IR would probably say this goes without saying. I love giving presents, time and my service. I love it when others recognize that I have taken the time to learn something that is dear to their heart and they benefit from it. I like to see the look of "I'm loved" on their faces.

When someone is a gifter, then they also love to receive gifts. Loving to receive gifts is totally different than expecting something in return for a gift given. When I give gifts I don't expect anything in return. I could care less if someone bought me anything. I often cringe when people feel the need to return a present given with a present. I don't feel that that is thanks but that that person doesn't want to owe me anything. Moreso guilt. A thank you card or a sincere thank you spoken would suffice. I want to see your eyes sparkle.

For a gifter to truly feel love you must give them gifts. It doesn't have to be anything big. Just something that lets them know you were thinking about them, that they were not forgotten, and that you are concerned about them and their life. A card, a handmade item, a pretty bookmark, etc. I don't care how rich a person is. No one ever has everything they could possibly want. If he/she is having financial trouble, offering to pay a bill, pay for lunch, take them out for a fun evening, or giving them a cash love gift goes a long way. Make it sincere! Gift givers have such a hard time when they don't have the means to give gifts like they would like.

I was so blessed this week. I got an opportunity to give gifts and I received a couple of great gifts. I give much love to my church family. Especially to my Pastor who always gives from the depths of her heart. Thanks to Dee Dee who gave me this great bag of makeup. I love makeup and it was so sweet. I got many of the colors I had been wanting. I can't wait to try the creme blush.

Now look at what the Lord has done! It is the Curacao Shawl from the Amazing Crochet Lace book. I'm excited that I get the opportunity to present this love gift to my church sister Jacqueline tonight. I hope she loves it. Would you believe it only took me 12 hours to make. I'm ecstatic!

Kamika

Ribbit! I Think I Hear Frogs In The Distance

I don't like it! I don't like it one bit! I finished the Garn Studios bolero today and my response is, meh. I could think of a whole host of other projects I could have used all that beautiful Berocco Ultra Alpaca on. I don't like the shaping on this sweater at all. It's totally off and doesn't suit anyone with at least an egg for a boob.

I'm sure if I blocked this AGAIN that it would probably hang better and be the right size (after killing it of course) but I'm really not feeling it. I originally started this as a gift for my mother. I gauged it in the largest size and swatched it. I blocked before seaming all the pieces together and look what I got. It was a nice exercise in increasing my knitting speed but a terribly designed sweater.

And another thing! Who needs that much ribbing on the sleeves. I really should have adjusted more than the size when I started this. I had already lengthened the sleeves and adjusted everything else. I should have cut the 8" of ribbing at the wrist area down to about 5 or 6". Frogs, toads, tadpoles, whatever. Ribbit is all I hear.


Maybe you all can see something in this I don't. Tell me what you think!

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

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