Finished Items for Friday

TADA! Voila! Finished items! Yes! Winning! (A Charlie Sheen-ism) The knitting marathon is done! And I must say I am very pleased with the outcomes. I didn't want to give it away in the earlier post, but these were birthday items for my sister. Working from the mohair yarn we purchased the hot pink and the pink, fire polished beads. The mohair became a scarf adorned with the beads at the fringes. The hot pink with sparkles became an adult bonnet-like hat with extra beads at the ends of the ties, and a pair of fingerless gloves. My sister is definitely a "winter" and these colors suit her perfectly. She likes a bit of bling!

I knit the scarf in a garter stitch pattern on really big needles to accommodate the loftiness of the mohair and rayon yarn. It's beautiful stuff from Fiesta La Boheme. Sounds beautiful, right? It does to me. This yarn is delicious and soft as anything. I must admit this yarn is a bit pricey, but it's justified due to the colors they offer and the great softness. Besides, mohair is a warm yarn. So while it looks gorgeous, it's practical too. The hat and scarf are acrylic blends and they will hold up wonderfully as hat and gloves.  Overall, it was a fun project to make and give.

On the painting front I finished two watercolors. Well, one is really finished, the second is finished in my head. I signed both anyway. The second work just needs a brush stroke where I know an apple stem is supposed to be, and I'm done!

Dark Apple (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x12 Watercolor on Arches paper

Dark Apple in the Afternoon (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x12 Watercolor on Arches paper

Good thing I keep the painting equipment out on the dining room table or they'd never see any action with the studio in my basement and the baby asleep upstairs! I've used up my favorite paint colors in the small travel set so this week I brought up my large palette. Now, I'm not thrilled with the paints in this palette, but I have to use them up before I buy more.

The travel set was Windsor&Newton, the large palette has MamieriBlu. Not thrilled with the later, more comfortable using the former. Although the MamieriBlu paints are really lovely on the paper, the colors are throwing me for a loop. Alizarin Crimson is not the same as the WN paints. This apple was a very deep red and I just wasn't feeling it with these colors. I did my best. I lifted out color. I added color when dry. I did what I could to make it feel right.

I set up the first painting and worked from there. For the second work I just shifted the paper the objects were laying on and painted the same items from a different angle. I think I will do that again at the next session. I think I moved the apple so I saw the top end instead of the bottom. A more pleasant view.

Finished work, non the less!