Category Archives: Project Spectrum

Project Spectrum, Tales of the Neighborhood

Walking around the neighborhood and a possible scandal

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Whew, it’s been hot here in Minneapolis – 97F yesterday! When you consider we had highs of 45F only 10 or 12 days ago, I’m sure you’ll understand why we’re a bit stunned.

Anyway, here are an assortment of images from my neighborhood, taken over the past week. Most are Project Spectrum greens, but there are a few that just intrigued me.

A verdent mansion along East Lake of the Isles Parkway

Thomas Lowry Park, which is very small indeed.

Feet on a light post in the park

Mannequins – it freaked me out a little to get home from taking this picture and discover that Jeanne had just posted a picture of a mannequin from her neighborhood…

A control box for stoplights (pretend it’s April, since I missed taking this picture last month!).

Green, green Gulf

Van parked outside the local hip hop shop

And the possible scandal – pictures of a black cat… but not Chaos. Meet Richard, who was out for a walk when I was:

He was really too busy to stop for pictures or witty commentary.

I’m off to enjoy a lovely (albeit warm) day off from work. Chaos is enjoying the air conditioning, which I finally turned on late yesterday, having had enough of his dead kitty on the tile floor impersonation. Have a wonderful Memorial Day for those in the US (and I think it’s a bank holiday in the UK?)!

Project Spectrum, Those Cats

Project Spectrum craftiness (with even less knitting than ever!)

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The Craft Modster posted a very inspiring entry about t-shirt stenciling a few days ago and got me all excited to try stenciling some onesies for my friends’ baby. (You remember the fate of the onesies, right?) I definitely need to try something else for the lettering, but I’m pretty pleased with my first effort, made with emerald green Jacquard fabric paint. The owl is a stamp that my dad sells (it’s on the Rango Zoo 3 sheet).

I also tie-dyed several onesies, since the parents are tie-dye fanatics. I used dark green Rit dye. The onesie on the left (slightly obscured in this picture) had rubber bands around it in three places. The onesie on the right (also slightly obscured in this picture) was simply tied in a big knot. I like the big knot effect much better!

“If I sit on them, she won’t be tempted to put them on me, right?”


“Oh, well that sort of ‘putting on’ isn’t so bad, I guess.”


“Duuuuuuuude, I could sure use a hit of catnip and some tuna. Must be the tie dyes.”

Dyeing, Project Spectrum, Randonymity

This and that

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Wow, last week must’ve been my lucky week. I won a contest at Kristi’s and received one of her very cool sock patterns and I won a contest at the Crafty Modster’s and will be receiving a copy of her Project Spectrum May mix cd. Fun!

Hmm, looks like Kelly’s cat Sockies doesn’t approve of Chaos’ antics… Check out the gorgeous green yarn Kelly dyed!

Jeanne and I dyed yarn yesterday. It’s not quite photo ready, so I’ll just show you what my hand looked like after I forgot to put my gloves back on before rinsing the dyed yarn – please note that, due to the flash, you’re not getting the full effect. My hand was dark, dark grey.

“Mom? Why is your hand blocking my photo op?”

I drove past this very Project Spectrum building on the West Bank (the area around the part of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus that’s on the west bank of the Mississippi). I can’t remember for sure, but I might’ve worked doing telephone fundraising for nonprofits out of the upper story of that building back in 1990 – trust me, it wasn’t that color 16 years ago, or I would remember!

Chaos also had a busy weekend, following the sunspot around the living room.

“…………………………………………..”
Knitting, Project Spectrum, Those Cats

Back but blech

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Not blech regarding the weekend, which was very fun, but blech is how I’m feeling today. Plus Blogger is being difficult and not letting me add more pictures, so this is going to be a bit random and not at all about the actual weekend.

A last April PS image – the giant orange moose at the Black River Crossing exit from I-94 in Wisconsin.

And a giant whitetail deer from the same exit.

Chaos was pretty upset with me. He got into a cabinet and proceeded to strew tampons everywhere – apparently ob tampons are great cat toys. Who knew? I’m told he also managed to lock himself into the bedroom one day by knocking over some things that were behind the door. And he somehow got hold of my skein of Vesper, which is looking a little gnawed now. When I got my overnight bag unpacked, Chaos camped out.


“If I lie on it, you can’t leave again.”

But he did finally settle down after a few hours.


“All this mayhem has left me mussed.”

Over the weekend, I started my May Project Spectrum socks, from Sundara Black Lagoon, using a lace pattern that Maeve posted.

Hopefully both Blogger and I will feel better by tomorrow morning, so I can post more about the weekend!

Knitting, Project Spectrum

A few more April PS images

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My Sunny Opals are nearly done – just a bit more ribbing on each of them.

I have some Mod Podge on hand for a decoupage project that Jeanne and I are going to do, involving our old yarn labels and some small wooden boxes.

A very happy cat food can cover…

My favorite parking lot at the mall…

A cheery photo shoot from Minnesota Monthly…

Some very battered sparkly mice (the yellow one has no fur on his back half and the orange one has no tail)…

A magnet from the fridge…

And Chaos waiting for the magic toy retrieving yardstick to do its magic.

“I can’t exactly remember where I last saw SRM… It might’ve been as he ricocheted under here.”
Knitting, Project Spectrum

A little of everything

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Very sleepy today. Set my alarm wrong and only Chaos being naughty and knocking something over woke me at anywhere close to my regular time. So be warned – I’m even less coherent than usual!

Another thrift store find – perfect Project Spectrum April colors, eh?

I’ve also started knitting (brace yourselves for the surprise) another sock, in a very Project Spectrum Opal that Christine sent me for losing a contest.

To reassure Marina, who’s concerned that I seem to be knitting nothing but socks these days, here’s a picture of the cage liner I started knitting last night. Chris is collecting 6″x6″ acrylic squares to be sewn into cage liners for her local Humane Society, although I decided I could certainly manage a 24″x24″ cage liner for some poor kitty looking for a home.

Halloween or Project Spectrum?

For those wondering if Chaos really is that curious (leading to many pictures with him in them), yes. He’s a very curious, busy guy and he keeps a close eye on me. Of course, that said, you’ll have noticed that he isn’t in any of the pictures above. That’s because he’s been very busy keeping an eye on birds through the window:

“Mmmmm…..”
Knitting, Project Spectrum, Those Cats

In which I actually knit something and also find some yellow and orange around the house

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Yes, the slightly misshapen object below is a “necklace” for my iPod shuffle, based on Kristi’s Nano Necklace. All the lumpy lopsidedness is my own doing – Kristi’s Nano Necklace is gorgeous! What I needed was something to hold my shuffle while I walk around the Lakes this spring and what I got is very functional for that purpose. It was knit flat on an Addi Turbo 2mm for the body and Inox steel 1.75mm for the i-cord. The yarn is Regia Cotton Jacquard leftover from the first pair of fingering weight socks I ever knit (awwwww…..).

Please excuse the lighting – it was a bit dark outside when I finished…

Moving right along to Project Spectrum’s April colors of yellow and orange, Peeve started things out right by sending me this fabulous color appropriate card:

See Chaos there in the middle, begging? I think he’s flanked by Jeanne’s cats Bugsy and Pud. 🙂

I didn’t think I had much yellow and orange around and feared I would be reduced to taking pictures of the lemon dish soap and the Saran Wrap box. However, I did find a few things. Here’s a little cat sculpture that usually sits way up high, out of Chaos’ reach:

And here’s most of the yellow and orange media I found. Heck, there’s even some yellow in the upholstery on my futon couch that I hadn’t really noticed before:

“Whoa, what’s all this stuff on the coffee table?!”

“And the winner of the Chaos Booker Sniffer Prize is Children of God Go Bowling by Shannon Olson!”
Knitting, Project Spectrum

Worth nine thousand words?

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Whew! Yesterday was a very fun and knitterly day for me. First, I met another knitblogger for coffee and (no surprise) knitting at the Riverview Cafe. Meet Renee of A Good Yarn, holding up the Nantasket Basket she just finished knitting as one of her Project Spectrum projects.

On my way out of the Riverview Cafe, I discovered that its restroom was rather Project Spectrumesque:

Then I headed west to Minnetonka to Charlene’s house (Charlene should drop me an email with her blog address) for an afternoon of knitting (me) and spinning (not me). Here’s Charlene, a lovely local spinner/knitter who shall not be named, and part of Kerry. (Very tricky, Kerry!)

Somehow Leah managed to not be in that picture, so she gets her very own picture (Leah, I didn’t get your LiveJournal address, either):

Hey, I was having way too much fun to worry about those blog address details.

I also finished my Rose Garden Dublin Bay socks yesterday. I think they got the Chaos Seal of Approvaltm.

“Hmm, I guess they’re ok. They’re not catnip socks, but they’ll do.”

And I got a good start on my April Project Spectrum socks – my Rainbow Jays. If anyone can tell me exactly what country Regia Nation color 5399 is supposed to be, I’d appreciate it!

The interesting shape of a toe-up Jaywalker reminded me of something and I finally figured out what it was: