Scottish Referendum and a Kate Copycat Shawl

Have you been following the Scottish independence referendum with their vote yesterday?  I was breathing a sigh of relief (sorry, Nana if that was not your political inclination) that the vote was to remain in the UK. After 307 years of being in union with the UK, the Scots will remain so.  More articulate and well written articles that are in line with this thinking can be found all over the www and you can look for them if you are so inclined.  P.J. O'Rourke said it well in his article "Up to a Point: A Free Scotland" when he says in one paragraph

The Brits won’t let the Scots keep the pound. The EU needs another Greece or Portugal dragging down the euro like the EU needs another bureaucrat in Brussels. Scotland will be reduced to using the 16th century, value soon equaling the Zimbabwe dollar—to the delight of bean-counters employing journalists who have expense accounts.

But then, he is Irish, so ...

Furthermore:

Many saw it as a "heads versus hearts" campaign, with cautious older Scots concluding that independence would be too risky financially, while younger ones were enamored with the idea of building their own country.

source

On to the arts and crafts and a Fiber Arts Friday, also linking with Natural Suburbia and  Yarn Along and others.  My finished HRH Kate's Copycat Shawl:

Numma numma yarn (doppio) in the wintermint color ran out after 1200 yards, three skeins, while I was on the bind off.  Yikes, what to do?  Well, I brought out my Scottish yarn from Jameson & Smith that I have referenced many times, and then dyed it with acid dyes to finish the bind off.  The greens and blues made for a perfect match to the original yarn (20 percent cashmere, merino and silk so you know how it feels).  Although the Jameson & Smith yarn is 100% wool, you cannot tell the difference since it was less than one row of self dyed fiber).  Did I tell you that I emailed the designer and she said there were over 2300 stitches in EACH ROW of the ruffle?  And how many rows in that ruffle?  I didn't count, but two inches worth.  Finished size, from tip to stern, 7 feet!  *details here*

Giving those fingers a rest, I am off to finish my adult play room/office, or as the husband had dubbed it, "The Official Quarters of the Queen of All Things Domestic."       (except for cooking)

My First and Last Vogue Lace Knitted Shawl

On Ravelry here are all the notes about knitting this shawl.  Curse words were deleted for family friendliness, and just the facts were included; this is the end result.  Mind you, I will never, ever knit this pattern again.

But the hearts, once they were blocked out, do make an interesting motif down the center panel.  It is five feet in width, so the shawl will wrap around the neck/body with appropriate warmth.  Although I am not a big fan of picot edging, it was included as a part of the pattern, so who I am to argue with Vogue. (?)  So it was picot edged.

Linking with Natural Suburbia and Fiber Arts Friday where other fiber related crafts can be seen.

Art Submission to Heirlooms for Hospice

Taking color highlighting to heart, and working more on the Red Claret Day Lily painting taken from this snapshot I took a year ago at an Aukland, New Zealand arboretum... the artwork continues.

This is the piece (after highlighting and a few more brush strokes) I will be submitting to Hospice next week:

Next month, in conjunction with the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau "Arts, Hearts & Tarts" program, Heirlooms for Hospice will be hosting an art sale to benefit Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado.  Anyone who donates art to Hospice will become a member of the Hospice Art Guild.

Again, art submissions will be released for future use in the creation of cards or other applications, always providing credit to the artist.  Artists have until January 29, 2010 to submit their art donations to Heirlooms for Hospice to be included in this year's February Arts, Hearts & Tarts program. (All art sales benefit our local Hospice.)  The Arts, Hearts & Tarts program will occur in February, 2010 in Grand Junction, CO.

Arts, Hearts & Tarts in Grand Junction

Instead of starting a new painting project at the beginning of the year, I decided to dust off some previous oil paintings and make improvements to them.

For instance, here is The Poinsettia (an original 16" x 20"oil which I supposedly finished in 2006) that hung over our fireplace last month during the Christmas holiday season:

 (before tweaking)

After spending most of the morning and all the afternoon painting with friend Shirley last week, and with her helpful critique, more highlighting in yellows and oranges was added to the leaves. The center stamen was also expanded.  IMHO, this tweaked painting has more life to it:

(after tweaking)

This honing, sharpening and refining of the painting process  has led me to believe that there are a few more oils finished in my oeuvre that I'll need to review for additional brush and color work.

Next month, in conjunction with the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau "Arts, Hearts & Tarts" program, Heirlooms for Hospice will be hosting an art sale to benefit Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado.  Anyone who donates art to Hospice will become a member of the Hospice Art Guild.  Art submissions will be released for future use in the creation of cards or other applications, always providing credit to the artist.

Hmm...which piece should I choose, perhaps tweak, and then donate for the art sale?  Artists have until January 29, 2010 to submit their art donations to Heirlooms for Hospice to be included in this year's February  Arts, Hearts & Tarts program.  (All art sales benefit our local Hospice.)

Again, it is for a good cause, and it should be fun!  (I'll start this week on polishing up another oil work for Arts, Hearts & Tarts.)