fly-by december

Somehow the making, the working, the dog-refereeing , the holiday cheer, and well,  life , edged out the blogging lately.

 

aerial views of Bobo & Gordo. I make Bobo sit and stay to get treats, then I hand one to Gordo and tell him he gets snacks just for still being alive. He's, like 94 or something in dog years, altho still maintains his frat boy attitude

Sister Lulu's granny square scarf request for chanukah was met. Her parameters: the colors in a photo of heirloom radishes she sent me, and "burgundy, and grey--menswear palette, please".

Sounds picky to you? Nah. I can work with it. Grow up in a family of artists and a scientist engineer, and you''l find this normal and suitably precise.  I wasn't sure about the combo myself, till I added the olivey acid green in there, then it felt OK.

All  except the purple  are Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Wool (colors 011, 015, 028 with 010 edging it all), and the (slightly heathery) purple is Berroco Ultra Alpaca. Great yarns both, but in my very limited granny square experience, the singles I used on this last crochet project were easier to crochet than these plied yarns. Splitty crocheter that I am.

Most importantly, Lulu  was  happy with it. I've seen her wearing it at least 5 times since then, so I know she means it, too.

my new dog is a metaphor

We're talking the Bobo factor.

A frisson of chaos . A sprinkling of energy. A sugar glazing of the unexpected . At any and every given moment.

Did I mention the whole point of that roadtrip last month was getting Bobo, the one balled American Bulldog to his new home with us ? Quite a bargain: not just a lovable gregarious  furry member of the family but also a whole circus of fleas, a case of heartworm and an enthusiasm for the lady dogs that matches only a 17 year old boy with his own species. Do you need to ask me how I know? I thought not.

So instead of showing the handcrafted gifts underway, accent on the under, way under, I'll give you a gift suggestion. The Color Scheme Bible.

For yourself , or for any knitter, or crafter  in your life. A friend hipped me to this at the library the other day; I can go on & on about why it is just exactly right. Starting with a spiral binding.

It hits the right approach to color theory and presentation for me. My problem with books showing color themes or combinations is they so often offer stripes of color, all even and glossy, then they show a decked out photographed room or outfit.  If I can't relate, like to a super-tztchotchkeed Victorian spread, then I can't get past the things to absorb the colors. Above is what most of this book is like.  A color theory.Like periwinkle gray as a neutral with accents. Or the pages below:

Simple  paint, flat and clear, with some size proportion to help the brain out.  There are also pages with equal sized full range color charts, but these examples work  for me, choosing  colors for knitting ( an Albers Cowl anyone? log cabin blanket? or colorwork mittens?)  . Or making pillows for a couch. Not that I sew much.  But after Bobo gets through testing how much sofa surfing he can get to while we're in another room, it may be ripe time to rev up the Singer.