Crocheted Bacon Strips

After attending the summer Knit and Crochet Show in 2008, I was inspired to try my hand at a more freeform method of crochet. You see, my creative process tends toward heavy documentation. In other words, I jot down each and every stitch in my trusty notebook when designing something. My feeling is, generally, that I never know if or when I'm going to want to make this thing again. Or, at the very least, I may want to use a previously documented pattern as a jumping off point for a new design. So, freeform? Yeah, not so much. However, always open to new processes, in 2008 I threw caution (and my notebook) to the wind and embarked on a more intuitive journey...

Crocheted bacon strips!



As many of you may be aware (hello to my tweeps and FB friends!), I thought I had lost my stack of crocheted pork strippage during my recent move. It was all very upsetting as I have big plans for this treasure! To that end, I also hate having lots of WIPs around. So, finding myself settled into my new very teensy living space with bags of WIPs literally everywhere has been motivation to enter a finishing phase. (Metaphor for my current stagnant trials and tribulations? Uh, yeah.) At any rate, I have tons of ideas for these porky, thready beauties floating about my grey matter. Nonetheless, I'd love to hear any ideas that you may have for my strips, my peeps! Please feel free to share your visions with me. And, if I happen use your idea, I'll send you a few of my thready pork strips as a token of my appreciation!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Cougar Crest Trail

Took this at the top of Cougar Crest Trail last weekend in Big Bear. We made it to the top at dusk. I love the light at that time of day.

Hike-O-Rama

In an effort to vary up my exercise regimen, I've embarked on a few recent hiking expeditions. Friday night last was no exception as I found myself navigating about a darkened Santa Monica mountain trail with my Special Man Friend ("SMF") and a larger group hailing from the West LA Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Your mission, LadyLinoleum, should you choose to accept it is as follows:

• 5 mile hike beginning at roughly 7:30 pm PDT
• 2.5 miles to top of trail and back
• 1,100 foot elevation gain
• 2 hrs and 5 minutes from start to finish
• hike rating - moderately strenuous

Here's a visual of the route. I love you GPS!



So, the SMF and I pull up to the meeting place (near PCH and Sunset) at approximately 6:45 pm on Friday night. I scan the crowd. Most of the participants look to be in their 40s, 50s, with a handful a few decades older. I breathe a sigh of relief. I should be fine, right? I'm in relatively good shape and hey, if this crowd can handle the hike, I'm golden.

Uh, yeah.

Anyway, after signing in and waiving the SC of any responsibility should we injure ourselves at anytime during the hike *hint, hint*, the SMF and I are whisked away by the carpool wave and dropped off at the beginning point of our evening's journey. Requisite announcements were made by one of three group leaders (a guy who looked to be in his 80s and a little unsteady, I might add) and then we were off...AT LIGHTENING SPEED.

Really???

Could someone have told me that we were going to walk what felt like 10 minute miles from the start so that I could have done a few runner's stretches beforehand? Oh, and could someone have also informed me that the 1,100 foot elevation gain happened to be THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE HIKE? Yeah, there was no gradual elevation gain on this hike. No siree. First 45 minutes into the hike was all steep incline. I felt like a mountain goat on meth.

Worst part? That 80 year old guy who looked a bit wobbly? Yeah, he blew by me in the first five minutes of the hike.

At the top of the trail, the SMF and I were praised for "making good time". A few of the regulars seemed surprised by this and rewarded us by inviting us to join in their group Fig Newton break before turning around and heading down. We thanked them, but decided to forego the Newtons in order to snap a few shots of the view before making our way back.



I have never before enjoyed a downhill journey more than this one, peeps...

Anyhoo, upon reaching the end of our night's adventure, we received more praise for our hiking speed and prowess, the leaders thanking us profusely for NOT holding up the carpool (as some newbies are wont to do by virtue of their turtle-like hiking skills). In fact, the old guard even invited us to join them for their traditional Souplantation post meth-hike meal AND invited us back for next Friday night's jaunt.

Yeah, I need to think about that invite a little longer before I RSVP...

The Eternal Musings of Your Lady of the Linoleum

More blogging goodness courtesy of your Lady of the Linoleum. CHECK IT OUT!

Illustration Friday - Linked

Concrete Blond

Shorter and lighter...



Ahhh, I love my monthly visit to the salon.

Whiling Away The Weekend

Over the last few months, I have come to cherish my weekly 48 hour cube farm furloughs. This is due, in part, to the fact that I recently discontinued my weekend knit/crochet teaching duties (nine hours of yarn store play every Saturday just became too much atop my weekly full-time cube farm commitment). It is also due, in part, to the fact that I now have my own space, chock full of my own things, a new locale filled with the delightful hustle and bustle of a mother/daughter duo going about their respective lives. Combine those ingredients with a heap-load of good friends, a busy urban setting providing lots of events to partake in at week's end, the new found psychic space in which to spread my wings and I've got a recipe for weekend scenarios that have become nothing short of a delightful respite from my work week stress-test-like schedule.

As such, last weekend's menu o' fun stuffs began with a lovely Friday eve dinner amongst friends at Hae Jang Chon in K-Town. (Got to love a restaurant that sports a grinning pig on the sign!) Our little foursome partook in the all you can eat meatfest where we sampled HJC's Bulgogi (BBQ beef), Black Angus beef brisket, marinated beef short ribs, thick slices of Canadian pork belly (mmm...bacon...), and BBQ pork.

Does anyone see a knit Canadian pork belly kilt on my design agenda? Methinks that might be a must...

*Ahem*

Anyway, all of the usual yummy Korean BBQ sides were also present: Kimchi; cone tortillas; rice cake; bean paste soup; and lettuce with sesame paste for constructing your own, uh, Korean tacos. The quality of the meat was stellar, sides were delish, price per person super reasonable in addition to something you don't see much of in my hometown...FREE PARKING. Oh, and my new buddy, Heather, and I drank many a bottle of pomegranate wine too.

Bellies full, our little party headed over to the Wiltern for a screening of one of my all time fave films, The Big Lebowski, for none other than Lewbowskifest. White Russians, I mean, uh, Caucasians all around! By the way, many a said beverage could be obtained throughout the screening from the bar...Nice!

Saturday, I had the opportunity to join a group of friends for an evening cooking class at Simple Gourmet in Redondo Beach. We spent the evening drinking wine and playing with knives. It was great! At the end of the evening our little group of novice chefs enjoyed the fruits of our labors...a three course French-inspired vegetarian meal. I would go into more detail and oh, show a few pictures, but I seem to have lost the camera I was using that evening. You see, my brain seems to be a bit muddled these days. Oh well, at least I still have my little point and shoot.

Easter Sunday involved, yes, you guessed it, more food. Brunch with family and friends at Luminarias followed by a lovely motorcycle ride traversing a handful of SoCal canyon roads. Nice way to spend the day to be sure...

Genesis: The Sequel

The last few years have proven to be quite rough for me. In spite of the chaos I've found myself in, I've managed to keep making and blogging. However, over the last few months I have been unable to keep a stiff upper lip and motor through my life's meltdown with any grace. You are all aware that I have been navigating my way through a divorce process that could be characterized as glacial at best and completely stagnant a majority of the time, thanks to a very uncooperative counter party. In January, I also informed all of you that I have been witnessing my former home be foreclosed upon by a lender who has had little sympathy for my current plight, actually verbalizing that it would be more cost effective for them to take back my house than to lower the interest rate on my current loan, which had they chosen to go that route, oh by the way, would have enabled me to make my monthly mortgage payment unhindered. Go figure. Add to this pile o' crazy the stress of moving all of my little family's possessions to an apartment, literally a third of the size of my soon to be lost condominium, and the fact that my job is at a rolling boil due to our fiscal year end. To say that I'm having trouble keeping my head above the waterline would be the understatement of the year (and it's only April!). Needless to say, crocheting and knitting have practically ceased over the last few months and, well, blogging hasn't been on my to do list for some time.

So, I'm in a state of flux, poised to hit the reset button, yet waiting for the aftershocks to cease before I flip the switch. Meanwhile, I've been trying to glean how this reset will take shape and have begun to feel a twinge of excitement about the myriad possibilities before me, which I think, is a very good sign. You see, I tend to be a pretty positive person, despite the orange cones littered around the wreckage of my past mistakes. I tend not to be a dweller, but a doer. As a result, I am itching to get beyond the painful present, gain a bit of wisdom in the process and for all intensive purposes, live.

My mantra has always been, jump off the cliff and deal with the landing later. Oftentimes, this ability to ignore fear and just go for it has served me well. Other times, I've jumped right into a red hot mess. However, it is safe to say that my life is never boring and regrets? No, not really. Taking chances and throwing caution to the wind has provided me with so many amazing experiences, meaningful friendships and unexpected wonders that I could never, would never, change a thing.

So, another new direction? Another reset? Bring. It. On.

What do I have in store for you, dear reader? I have no clue. But I'll tell you, whatever appears on this blog as I embark upon this new chapter in my life will be tinged with a bit of humor, a smattering of wisdom and a vision of the future, my future, that will honor the independent spirit you've all come to know over the last five years.

Love to you all!

Yours in craft,
LadyLinoleum

Happy Birthday Lena!

Seventeen years ago today I gave birth to this gorgeous creature. At that moment, my life was forever changed. Warmest birthday wishes to a young woman who always inspires my admiration, constantly challenges my sanity, provokes me to peals of laughter, delights and surprises me by her incessant creativity and is one of the most caring, compassionate and loyal individuals I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I love you my darling daughter. Enjoy your day!

I'll put a hex on you...

You all know by now that I'm obsessed with small lap looms. Until recently I've been using my four Hazel Rose diamond looms more often than the rest. Oh yes, you read that correctly. My toolbox is full of lap looms in a variety of shapes and sizes other than diamonds. I have triangles, squares, rectangles, tumbling blocks, and my newest acquisition, the hexagon loom (which Hazel had laying around her workshop and agreed to sell it to me upon my request...Thank you Hazel!).

You see, I had a wild idea stuck in my craw, which entailed weaving on the hex loom in a similar fashion to that of weaving on any other small frame loom. I envisioned a straight weave, working warp and weft simultaneously, thereby eradicating the complicated warping method previously promoted for hex shaped lap looms. My crazy contemplations were definitely not in vain for I was eventually able to figure the weave out...

Ta-da!





Not bad eh?

Here's the hex freshly liberated from it's frame....



Methinks I see a woven hex throw or bedspread in my future....

Lumberjack Hats All Around!

Every year I attempt to make each of my family members and close friends a holiday gift. My attempts at mass craftage have been mostly successful over the last few years (starting early is the key to holiday knitting, crocheting and sewing, in my humble opinion). This year was no exception as I bestowed upon each valued recipient their own version of my Lumberjack Hat from the January/February 2009 issue of Crochet Today magazine...


My family is not exactly camera shy.

Needless to say the hats were a hit and so versatile too...


Thank you to my sister, Steph, and SO, Jason, for hamming it up in their hats.

After crocheting a pile of these warm wonders, I decided that I should also make one for myself as well...



Mine matches The BoBo's (the nick my daughter bestowed upon my niece, Zoe)...



All in all, a successful round of Christmas crocheting to be sure! Oh, and finished just in time to begin the cycle again...

Mom's Quilt

Hey peeps! Happy, Happy New Year!

Can we all say good riddance to 2009??? It was a rough year for many people. As such, I wish you all much love, prosperity and merriment in the coming year. Let's put some distance between us and 2009, shall we?

I so wish I were beginning this year with my divorce and loss of my home behind me (don't think I've shared this ordeal with you all as of yet), but alas, unfortunately, this is not my current state of affairs. However, I have every hope that 2010 will bring about an end to the destructive forces that have plagued me during the previous year. It's about time this crafty chick caught a break you know???

At any rate, the holidays were a lovely respite from an otherwise dismal year. I crafted my butt off prior to the festivities so that I might bestow upon my friends and family a bit of LadyLinoleum handmade goodness. As such, my mother was the recipient of my third quilting project...



Yes, while simultaneously working on our wedding quilt for Jenny and Rich, Jenna and I were also working on individual quilting productions.

I know, crazy talk right???

Right. Or at least I thought so while spending many an eve sewing into the wee hours of the morning. But just look at the results...



I am just so pleased at how much better I am getting at this whole quilting thing. AND I have developed such a love for Double Irish Chain during this process, I cannot begin to tell you. I love a piecing challenge, what can I say?


Check out them borders!

It's good that I am falling in love with quilting, because my family and friends have begun a quilt queue, sending me color swatches for quilts that they assume I will be making for each of them this year. No, they're not pushy or anything. Jeesh.

Love you all!


Lining.

Anyway, Mom loved her quilt and I loved being able to make it for her.

Definitely more quilt projects to come in 2010!

Where did December go???

Heya kids!

How's tricks?

I know, I know. I've left my blog unattended again. December has been rough. What can I say? This month has been alternately plagued by myriad divorce proceedings, health issues (which I'm sure can be attributed to the stress surrounding my myriad divorce proceedings) as well as strangely pleasurable (despite all of the divorce and health misadventures) holiday endeavors which have included much eating, drinking and making merry with family and friends.

Can we all say hallelujah for family and friends??? There is NO WAY I would have gotten through this year without my peeps. I love you all to the depths of my soul!

Group hug!

Ahem...

Yes, well, in addition to the peepage lending me their shoulders to cry on, shoving platefuls of holiday goodies in front of my face AND keeping my wine glass filled to the rim, I've also been able to draw comfort from my craft. I mean, you should see the piles of stuff I've made this year that have yet to be photographed! It's nuts. Hell, I may have been a mess in 2009, but a productive mess no less and this week has been no exception. Yes, I been alternately in the kitchen making cookies with my Mom and sisters or sitting in front of one of my spinning wheels making yarn. As such, here is this week's homespun bounty...

I call this yarn, affectionately, The Christmas Catastrophe!



It's purty, no? Okay, it's weird. But it is also sparkly! My favorite color is sparkly...

Ooooooooooh...Ahhhhhhhhhh....

And here is the more sedate spinning experiment of this week...



After looking at the image above, I cannot believe I just characterized this yarn as sedate. I am losing my mind...slowly...but surely.

Anyway, the lovely, shiny yarn above was spun from pulled silk sari fiber. Neato, right? It's shiny! I like shiny almost as much as sparkly...

Can I get another Ooooooooooh?

How about an Ahhhhhhhhhh?

Thank you very much...

Okay, I have tons more stuff to show you guys so I promise to be better about posting. Also, since there seems to be widespread interest in the critter-sized Lumberjack Hat, I will be posting the pattern soon.

Stay tuned!

Hugs and kisses all around!

Baby Lumberjack Hat

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Mine was good despite my mood being a bit subdued due to the many, many December divorce court dates looming over my head. Tomorrow is December date numero uno. Keep your fingers crossed peeps as I will need as many good vibes coming my way as I can get!

The holiday was nice nonetheless. I was on turkey, stuffing and gravy duty so my workload wasn't heinous. In fact, in between basting my bird every half hour, I was able to modify my Crochet Today Lumberjack Hat pattern to fit my niece's little noggin...



How cute is she in that hat???

Yep, worked up this little headgear in a few hours. I used the yarn mandated in the original pattern. Bubble gum pink for the interior lining and a brilliant magenta for the exterior. You can kind of see the exterior color in the pic below...



It was a satisfying and super quick crochet indeed!

Just look at the smiles I was met with after putting it atop her head...



Absolutely melts my heart...

Hey, if you guys are interested in the pattern for this baby sized Lumberjack Hat, just leave me a shout out in my comments. I'm happy to write up the pattern if there seems to be an interest.

Jenny Lee's Quilt

Several months ago, my girl, Jenna, had a brilliant (read "cracked") idea, which she posed to me during our last set of quilting classes at the Sewing Arts Center, while I was under the influence of a divorce induced stooper I might add. This, err, clever conception of hers surrounded our mutual friend, Jenny Lee, and her upcoming nuptials in October. Oh yes, dear reader, you can guess what's coming next...Jenna went on to say that seeing as how we have become such expert quilters (Can you all say coercion?), having recently completed one quilt apiece (you read that correctly...one...quilt...a...piece), that she thought it a splendid idea that we show Jenny just how much we adore her (and her betrothed of course) by making the couple a wedding quilt, a queen size wedding quilt that is. I believe I just stared at her, deer-in-the-headlights like, drool dripping from the corner of my mouth, responding somewhat unintelligibly, "Uh, okay."

Despite my, err, reservations about our collective abilities to tackle such a gigantor project, in hindsight I'm happy to report that Jenna's idea was indeed a masterful one. Not only did we make an awesome heirloom for our beloved Jenny and her man, but Jenna and I found out that we make a pretty darn good quilting team. Before going into the gory details, feast your eyes on the results of our laborious journey...



Oh, and yeah, that would be the Double Irish Chain quilt pattern...I know, we're nuts.

Here are some detail shots...







Now for the gory quilting details!

As it turns out, I rather enjoy cutting PERFECT strips of fabric over and over and over again. Actually, it's kinda meditative. Jenna, on the other hand, doesn't mind chain piecing strip after strip after bloody strip. Oh and pressing? We both are good with a steaming hot iron. Go figure! After having the strips assembled, I sub-cut 'em for more assemblage. This time we both took to our machines for an anal exercise of matching up corners and seams. Once the individual blocks were assembled we both laid them out on the floor and simultaneously gasped at the size of the behemoth we were putting together. I then went back to my machine to assemble the top. Jenna was on iron duty at that point. Once assembled, we tag-teamed the borders and backing, readying ourselves for the homestretch, pinning the layers. Quilt pinned, it was time for Jenna to machine quilt the top (not my favorite portion of the program) and she did a wonderful job I might add. Top quilted, I attached the binding around the entire front edge with my machine. We then put an end to our co-quilting journey by spending a week's worth of lunch hours hold up in one of the cube farm's conference rooms, tacking down the binding to the back of the quilt with needles, thread, thimbles and thousands of hand sewn blind stitches.

Whew, makes me tired just writing all of that! But I gotta tell ya all, it was so worth it. As not only did I have the privilege of spending myriad Sundays in craft with Jenna, but I was able to witness the joy on Jenny's face when we presented her with her gift...



It just doesn't get much better than that...

Holiday Diamond Shawl

I know, I've made tons of these at this point. Nonetheless, here's the latest one...



I am calling this woven and crocheted wonder the Holiday Diamond Shawl for obvious reasons. Methinks I might need a gnome hat to go with it. I see a bit of felting in my future...

Ahem.

What can I say? I am addicted to lap looms, diamond shaped lap looms to be specific. I really should move onto a different shape. After all I have lap looms in various shapes at my disposal: rectangles; squares; tumbling blocks (yes, just like the quilt of the very same name); triangles and hexagons. Ahhhh, so many looms, so little time!

This latest version of my now ubiquitous diamond shawl was woven from many a skein of Jo-Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle. I had a box of this stuff. Okay, so I have a thing for textured acrylic. Don't judge.

Anyway, I like the way the weave of the fabric just seemingly disappears into a mass of bumpy goodness...



I crocheted all of the diamonds together with some coned black wool that I had laying around and voila, one more diamond shawl gracing the dedicated shawl shelf in my closet.

All in all, a satisfying project, made sweeter by the fact that I used up pretty much all of the stash boucle in the box! Woo Hoo!

Costumeology: The Knitted Pirate

Pirate garb is de rigueur at ChezLinoleum. As such, I've been knitting and crocheting my pirate-y stripes for the last few years in an attempt to create a fully knitted pirate look.

My costume began with this piece...



Draping oneself in one's flag is the ultimate display of one's pride methinks.

In succession, came the crocheted and knitted versions of this sweater...





I currently have three of these little sweaters in my closet. Great with skirts. Fantabulous with jeans. And absolutely amazing with...BLOOMERS!





Oh yes, upon immediate discovery of this Knitty pattern, I knew that I must knit a pirate-styled pair.

I wore this lovely ensemble to our annual Stitch N Witch gathering last night...



Even though I am just a mere deck hand at the moment, I did win the coveted "Best Use of Yarn" Prize while making merry at our fete. Yipee!

I see a knitted frock coat and perhaps a crocheted tricorn hat on my list of projects to complete for next year's Halloween season...Aaaarrrrggggghhhhh!

Costumeology: The Dark Fairy

NOTHING makes me happier than donning a pair of wings (or fangs, or tutu, or pirate garb, etc.) before hitting the streets of LaLaLand to go about my daily routine. Now, under normal circumstances, I would be looked upon as a few eggs short of a dozen if I decided to show up to the cube farm sporting a clown fro. However, October cannot be considered "normal circumstances" so digging the tutu(s) (yes, I have more than one) and wigs out of the back of the closet became priority one a few weeks ago for this is the most spooktacular time of the year!

This particular Halloween season brings three dress-up opportunities for moi and y'all know I'm not about to wear the same costume three times. Mon dieu! So, lets take a looksee at what I've thrown together for one of my upcoming alternate egos, shall we? Without further ado, I present to you my Dark Fairy garb...



Now, every femme fairy needs an ethereal little skirt, don't you agree? Yeah...So, even though I have a plethora of tulle in my closet, I didn't have any tulle related vestments in this keen red and black color combo and no standard pink sparkly fae wardrobe would do for me this Halloween. Nope, I'm looking to personify the classic trickster fae folkette. As such, I worked up this cute little dark netted number last night in the span of hour...And what a satisfying hour it twas too!



These beauties have been adorning the wall of my closet for months! Oh, don't worry, they weren't at all lonely for I have LOTS of wings.

Anyway, are they not spectacular???

You know you want a pair...And you can purchase them here along with many other amazing versions. Her wings are awesome and really well made.

Anyhoo, as I said, these lovelies were sitting in my closet for eons, urging me to marry them off to a sampling of perfect accompaniments. I was obliged to comply. Just look at how amazing my wings look with their tutu comrade...



But wait, there's more!



No self-respecting fae would be caught dead with the ears of a human! Nope, only pointy elfin ears will do this All Hallow's Eve!

Um, am I the only one around who has spirit gum in her cosmetic case year round???

Ahem...Let's move on.



Lastly, I purchased this very cool kit from Sephora to aid me in achieving each of my spooktacular looks this season. Methinks the store should offer these boxes of wonder the rest of the year as well. Come on, you can picture it. Ice Queen makeup for winter. Flower Fairy makeup for Spring. Golden Goddess makeup for summer. It would be amazing right? Yeah, I agree, retailers have no vision.

My Dark Fairy costume just needs a little liquid leather and fishnet to top it off. Then I'm good to go!

Ahhh, Halloween, how I love thee!

Stella Circular Shawl

OMG, October has been a blur! So much so that I have been unable to post during what has to be my most favorite time of the year. I haven't even had a chance to unearth my harvest decor for goodness sake!

*Sigh*

Despite the current madness, I have still managed to maintain my daily fiber regimen. Oh yes, still designing as well as randomly crocheting, knitting, spinning, weaving and sewing, albeit in a lower gear. As such, I have a FO from an OPP (other person's pattern) to present to you...



This is my version of Kristen Omdahl's Stella Shawl. The pattern can be found in her book, Wrapped in Crochet, one of my current favorite crochet tomes. Upon first inspection of this book, I knew that Stella would be my first project. I mean, check out the pic below direct from the book's pages...



The shawl is simply gorgeous. Further, the project gave me a perfect excuse to purchase an entire bag of Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino! What a lovely yarn to work with, so soft and luscious.

I had a blast crocheting my Stella. The directions were clear and without mistakes. As such, I motored through this WIP, completing the shawl in less than two weeks. I am very happy with the results and intend to make another after the craziness of the holidays subsides.

Happy Monday everyone!

Holiday Cover Girl

My tree skirt made the latest Crochet Today cover! Woo Hoo!

Tons of retro goodness to be had in this issue peeps. Get thee to a newsstand...stat!