July 2010-2018

7/28/2018

July Dragonfly 2018

Focus on living IN the moment 'The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis.'
Knitting in the moment Living in the moment ... Not dwelling on the past ... Being in the present ... Wait! It's exactly what you do when you knit. You are staying in the moment creating something. It's meditation, innovation, positive thinking.

Good advice, dragonfly! Knit in all seasons and knit in the moment. Happy knitting!

Summer and the Sox 2017

Perfect Fit Do you see this happy face? It's because Andrey is wearing these amazing socks. They fit perfectly!
Perfect Feel They are so soft. They feel great!
Gift These beautiful socks were made by my sister-in-law and a friend Nina from Russia.
Socks The socks are made of the melange yarn, and it takes Nina a couple of evenings to knit a pair. I like them!
Thanks Like it? Yes!!! Happy knitting!!!

Sea-to-Sky Scarf 2016

The Name Sea-to-Sky is the name of the famous route 99 from Vancouver to Whistler. The beauty of it is in the name - you drive along the magnificent ocean to the sky-punching mountains. We did this route from 'sky' (Whistler) to 'sea' (Vancouver). And that's how the scarf I made during the trip got its name. To me, 'Sea-to-Sky' was not only Highway 99 route. This water-mountain blueness started in Banff with its heaven-touching peaks and continued to Okanagan Valley with its stunning Okanagan Lake and amazing wineries and then to the BC Coast.

Art of Yarn Yarn for the scarf was bought in Kelowna (Okanagan Valley) in a beautiful shop
called Art of Yarn.
Yarn Shop I try to visit local yarn shops in all places I go. This one impressed me by how organized the yarn and the accessories and other things for knitters were.
Be Sweet The yarn is from Be Sweet boucle baby mohair collection: Made in South Africa. 50 g (200yards) - one ball is enough for a pretty long scarf.

Sea The scarf was crocheted on Route 99. It's just the basic crochet stitch - double crochet. Hook 6.0.
Sky Since the yarn - baby mohair - is soft, the scarf is soft too. It's light and airy, and it feels warm.

Summer Knitting I was blown away by the beauty of the West of Canada, but was also happy to come back to the Great Lakes. Knitting by the Lake Ontario is so inspiring.

July Little Stars 2015

Beautiful Baby Booties Even though babies are not able to walk, we can still adorn their pretty little feet with shoes.
I started with the stars .... and started a while ago. The blue cotton stars were supposed to be for the other project. Now, they are a beautiful embellishment for these summer sandals. Baby shoes make a great gift for a baby :-)
These booties were made for Amelia's 6th month birthday.
Summer Sandals They look adorable on our Amelia's.little feet. I am not sure if she likes them though. The intention is to take them off right after I put them on :-)
Cute Cotton They are easy to knit. You need a hook 5,5 and two colors of yarn. No buttons - just crochet small flowers.
Yarn for these sandals is one of my favorite - cotton. I used this yarn for several other projects
Beautiful Blue The color is great too - like the sky in July.

Cotton Content 2014
Cotton is a fiber we all wear, knit and use in our daily lives.
It is a source of endless variations for clothes and accessories.

5 summers Five summers ago was issued the first Artisaknity newsletter, and my knitting journal began. I started with blue cotton and a very simple pattern. This small crocheted summer purse was made in Aruba (the button-stone from the Eagle Beach is the silent witness to it:-))
Cotton: Habu From the Habu Textiles website. We carry “slow” materials, not flashy, not necessary pretty, not cheap, not easy, but those that will give a soul to the fabrics. Sounds like the description of this top below: not flashy but with a certain character. This azure top is made of Japanese habu. I mixed the aquamarine with yellow and shades of blue. It feels great on a hot summer day.
Cotton Comfort Cotton is the most popular yarn for the summer knits. It's comfortable to wear, pleasant to work with and easy to care for. This top was made more than 30 years ago and is still in pretty good shape!

Cotton for Cozy I love this cotton wine bottle cozy. This time last summer I had to knit something really warm because I spent it in Southern Hemisphere where July is a winter month.

Going Green Green grass, green yarn... It's a pattern sample. The knit itself is yet to be done ... may be for the next summer... but it already looks like something earth-friendly, doesn't it?!! Russian village(where I spent some of my summer time this year) is a source of infinite inspiration for cotton knitters.

Kuna Knits or winter knitting in Chile in July 2013

Yarn Brand
Kuna is a Peruvian lifestyle brand with a unique prêt-a-porter collection made of Alpaca, Vicuña and Pima Cotton. Kuna is part of the Inca Group, the pioneer in exporting Alpaca products to the world. My alpaca vest, which I knitted in July, is made of KUNA yarn.
KUNA Stores
I bought this Alpaca yarn for the jacket in Santiago. Next time I am there, I should get some more and knit the sleeves :-) This yarn is amazing. It can produce knits that are soft, smooth, and comfortable.

Winter Knits Winter has come to Southern hemisphere. And even though there are no bare trees here, in the north of Chile, the brisk breeze is whispering - wrap yourself in warmth ... it's time for winterwear ... and I am thinking: something thick and cozy.
Warmth for the Winter Blues You really need something warm in the Andes in the winter. This yarn is super warm! Di no al winter blues!
Alpaca Turunku The yarn is called Alpaca Turunku. It's bulky big stitch yarn. I used 8mm(US size) needles to knit. And it's so-o-o natural: 91% Alpaca, 7.5% Wool, 1.5% Nylon. Loops that spring out of the core yarn make it a bit tricky to knit, but this "curly" textured surface feels good.
Artesanía North of Chile is mining. Copper is gold here. In the local arts and crafts shops - tiendas de artesanía - you can find all kinds of jewelry - all made of copper.
Chilean Blue Sky Saying No to winter blues, yours, Tanya P.

July - Blue Sky 2012
Sun is shinin' in the sky There ain't a cloud in sight It's stopped rainin' ev'rybody's in a play And don't you know It's a beautiful new day hey,hey (Mr. Blue Sky lyrics)

Blue Cables
It has all knitted together this summer - warm weather, blue sky, brigantine, and my cotton cable bag (which looks nice on the boat ropes:-))
Canadian Sky carry-all
This blue cotton carry-all has been transformed from the unfinished pull-over which I started many years ago.
I unraveled some of it this summer, stitched the side seams, crocheted around the top, added a fabric lining, attached the handles - and got a new summer purse.
Aruban Sky Purse
This small summer purse is made of Aruban sky blue cotton. The button is a stone found on Eagle Beach.
Florida Sky
I crocheted this small key-holder during my trip to Key West, Florida last year. It made a nice summer gift.

German Blue
Die sommer ist fantastisch! Das blaue meer ist wunderbar! This dress on the cover of German Verena (which comes first, after that European, and then international issues) resembles the cotton dress I made last month. Dieses blaue kleid ist naturlich viel besser!! :-)

Russian Sky
This top was made 30 years ago when I was 20.
Guess how old I am today :-)

Out of the Blue
Out of the blue we are in the Vogue Knittingmagazine with the jewelry collection for knit lovers. We called it Sisters Knit, and the playfu sheep you see below is the "face" of it :-)

Summer-licious Knits and Cardmaking Craft 2011

Wishing you blue skies
This sheep might look a little blue, but in fact it is quite happy and really enjoys the view of Lake Ontario's beautiful water :-) Every proud Canadian :-) knows that the word "ontario" comes from the Iroquois word "kanadario" meaning "sparkling" water. Happy belated Canada Day!!
Hey there mister blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Ev'rybody smiles at you

(Mr. Blue Sky lyrics)

May you be loved and knit together in true friendship under the blue sky. July 2012

Summer-licious Knits and Cardmaking Craft 2011

Summer knits
Summer knits are light, airy, and water-colour. So is this summer newsletter. Not so much text, just pictures and links. Summer Headband. Yarn: Habu, Cotton, Gima ("fake linen" in Japanese)
Summer pullover
This summer pullover is perfect if you want to give your skin a break from the sun for a few hours.
Yarn: Cotton. Pattern: Cables.

Arabesque Aruba 2010

The title of this newsletter was inspired by the word Arabesque which means resembling Arabian. I am using this word here for the sound and alliteration effect and just to play with suffix -esque:arabesque-arUbesque-picturesque-Picassoesque. Etymology. From French -esque (“‘-ish, -ic, -esque’”) from Italian -esco (“‘like’”) from Medieval Latin -iscus, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *-isc (“‘-ish’”) from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz. Akin to Old High German -isc (German -isch), Old English -isc, Old Norse iskr, Gothic -isks. More at -ish.

Arabesque

Arubesque

Arabesque font
I told you I like words. This time it's Arubesque. The original word is, of course, arabesque, but for us who have just come from Aruba it's with a U. The -esque words here turned out to be a surprisingly close-knit word family that resembles Aruba:-)
Aruba. This picturesque place has become a synonym for paradise. By the way, as I learned from Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat Pray Love, which I am rereading at the moment, the word paradise comes from the Persian and means literally "a walled garden" (p.236)

Definition 1. As you may probably know one of the meanings of this word is a ballet position in which the dancer stands on one leg with the other extended to the back. I wish I could do it (as I used to - in the first grade :-), but now ... my lovely bones (which are knitting well I guess) can't do this.

Man ice skating on outdoor ice rink doing an arabesque. Some of you might think that it's Andrey doing his free dance Hey, Rulla-te-Rulla-te-Rulla-lala (Russia, 60s) - he is famous for this dance and for portrait similarities:-) but it's not him.

Like a statuesque dancer in a graceful pose, the watapana, or divi-divi tree, is one of Aruba's hallmarks. The divi-divis are always bent toward thewest (where the best beaches are).

Definition 2. The next definition is about design. An ornate design of intertwined floral, foliate, and geometric figures.

The arabesque patterns can be very beautiful.

My design is not intricate at all; in fact, it's pretty simple, but you can see geometry there :-)
This small summer purse is made of Aruban sky blue cotton. The button is a stone found on Eagle Beach.

Definition 3
An intricate or elaborate pattern or design.

"the fluctuating shapes of a cloudscape, the complex arabesque of a camera movement, the blink of a character's eye" (Nigel Andrews).

"the fluctuating shapes of a cloudscape, the complex arabesque of a camera movement, the blink of a character's eye" (Andrew Preobrazhenskiy - my shot).

Definition 4
Music An ornate, whimsical composition especially for piano.

Debussy’s Arabesque. Debussy is a famous French composer. His arabesque is a popular piano piece.

Beautiful Aruban dance. Very PaulGauguinesque!!

Arabesque Art
There are two modes to arabesque art. The first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles include the bare basics of what makes objects structurally sound and, by extension, beautiful (i.e. the angle and the fixed/static shapes that it creates).

In the first mode, each repeating geometric form has a built-in symbolism ascribed to it. For example, the square, with its four equilateral sides, is symbolic of the equally important elements of nature:earth, air, fire, and water. Without any one of the four, the physical world, represented by a circle that inscribes the square, would collapse upon itself and cease to exist.

Geometric arabesque tiling on the underside of the dome of the Tomb of Hafez in Shiraz.

Beautiful palapas on Eagle Beach.

The second mode is based upon the flowing nature of plant forms. This mode recalls the feminine nature of life giving.

Beautiful lines of plant forms

Aruba has its own aloe farm and factory where they show you how the gel is extracted from the aloe vera plant and used in a variety of products. We all know the healing powers of this plant. It makes a good skin toner too!

In addition, upon inspection of the many examples of Arabesque art, some would argue that there is in fact a third mode, the mode of Arabic calligraphy.

For some cultures, calligraphy is a visible expression of the highest art of all - the art of the spoken word (the transmittal of thoughts and of history)