May Photo Challenge Pics

A few highlights

 Starts with J- always room for it

Collection: reproduction paper doll books

Big Hair

An imaginary book cover (part of an imaginary series including: Weed, Root, Plow, and Prune)

Favorite

Lines (lots of them)

Lily Pad (taken at The Getty Villa)

Waiting

Cards, post

Sunrise

 Meal (waiting for one)

Inspired by the artist Paul Cezanne, photo altered in the BeFunky app

Sideways

Sunset

More This 'n That

I finished the first medium-size finger-down glove prototype. I have the fingers and thumb already knit for the mate, so it won't take long to finish the pair, especially since I'm not spending two nights a week live-blogging American Idol.

I think I'm getting a handle on the sizing. And how to tweak the little finger instructions. This little finger is still too long, and too loose at the end. But by the time I get done with the large-size prototype, I should be ready to get it written up. I may try this one as my first Ravelry pattern for sale. We'll see.

My wonderful daughter-in-law Cassy, and the SoDak grandgirls, planted pots of flowers for our back deck. They're beautiful already.

We have had tranquil, foggy mornings lately. Of course foggy mornings mean humid afternoons, but that's how it goes on the plains. And humid afternoons often mean storms. Again, so it goes...

My June Julep Maven box arrived. The purples are as gorgeous in person as they were online.

I'm wearing Colette already.

And I bought this pattern- after I finish the Medium Glove, I think I'll knit one. He is way too cute to resist.

Wordless Finger-Down Medium Glove Prototype

This 'n That

Nothing coherent today, just odds and ends.

Q: When did David Beckham turn into Ricky Gervais?

PSA: Hip Waders don't keep water out, they just let it warm up a little bit inside the boots and pants. A week ago, my pool looked like this. And the water was barely 70 degrees.

Now, the water is crystal clear, and it's already 80 degrees+. We've been swimming every day, but not today. Today, it's going to storm. Today, tomorrow, Monday. Storms every day. Sigh.

I finished the Regia Fluormania socks and I love them. I don't get to keep them, but they were great fun to knit. However, when I soaked them to wash, the pink bled a bit into the water. That didn't stain the other colors, but if you knit with this stuff, wash them alone a few times, just in case.

More Julep polishes arrived (not the regular Maven box, these were extra orders). Choices, choices...

I went with the orange glitter. It's lovely, but I might like it better over a solid color. I'll try that next time. I'm also very curious about the crackle. And the June purples will arrive in a week or so. Woot!

On the work front- I'm waiting to hear about my proposal, and I'm working on the medium size finger-down glove prototype.

And I'm waiting for the sun to shine so I can go swimming.

and I'll leave you this this, just because.

Finger Down Prototype

I finished the first pair of finger-down prototype gloves (in-progress pics here and here). I'm happy with the technique, which worked pretty much the way I hoped it would. The pattern itself needs some tweaking- for some reason the little finger is almost 1/2" too long (and I have long fingers) and this construction makes taking it out and shortening it pretty much impossible. This size is also too tight for me, but it works for a small adult (or regular youth). I'll grade the pattern out for medium and large adult soon.

I am already getting requests to teach this as a workshop, though I'm not sure how that would go. Unless it's a several day workshop, students would have to knit all four fingers and the thumb in advance, and folks don't much like homework. I'll have to think that one through a bit.

Anyway- voila!

Follow up to yesterday

So, yesterday was day 4 or 5 on the Sydney va-va-voom orangey red. It was looking very good still and I would have left it on for more days, but even the most miracle of polishes won't hold up if you're chopping celery and hit your nail with the sharp edge of the knife. Since I chipped it, I decided to redo...

This is Julep Amy. And that ring was an eBay steal- real gem opals (as opposed to the pinkie ring, with a lab opal), and white topaz and gold plate for... are you sitting down? $13, including shipping...

Anyway, the blue went with what I wore yesterday...

And yes, I will buy clothes to go with my jewelry... heeee

And as an adjunct to yesterday's commercial, I want to say that I've been using Seche Vite base and top coat. I'll try the Julep versions, and I may switch, but both are essential to a good mani. And even with a fast dry top coat that feels solid to the touch, the polish isn't entirely cured for a few hours, so it's easy to smudge or mark the nails during that time. After it sets totally (by the next morning at the longest), you're good to go.

This is going to sound like one long commercial...

You all know that I've been fascinated (obsessed) with fingernail polish lately. After living 60 years without even noticing the stuff, I suddenly need to have my nails polished at all times. I've even let them grow a little bit, and I've learned to type that way.

Over the past year, I've tried many brands, and I've been happy enough with most of them, though none of my home manicures lasted more than 3 or 4 days without needing a touch-up or a complete re-do. That is, until I started noticing other Facebook friends' mentions of Julep.

Julep is sort of a Nail Polish of the Month Club, and all of my friends who are members rave about the quality. It's not inexpensive, so I had to mull it over for a bit before joining. But I figured- hey, the first Maven box is free, and there does not seem to be a minimum number of purchases, and... all of my friends love it. So, I took the style test and:

This is not just the Maven box- I ordered a couple of extra polish colors- every month there are add-on sales and other polishes for $5 or so a bottle. I could not resist. Usually you get 2 polishes and another product (or 3 polishes, depending on the style you select, for around $19-$24) in a Maven box, which is shipped once a month.

I could not resist trying all of the colors out the first night.

I am seriously in love with this glitter (side note: this stuff does not come off easily).

First Julep home-mani. Color: Natalie. I love this creamy solid pink.

This is what it looked like 5 days later! It finally chipped on the morning on the 8th day! 8 days on a home mani! This is miracle stuff. (oops- I have the above 2 pics switched- this one is the newly applied polish, and the one above is 5 days later- not a big deal, but I see a little bit of edge bloopers in this shot, which tells me it was the new one). Seriously, the mani lasted 8 full days, and I wasn't easy on the nails either. I wrote an entire book proposal with this mani, and did a lot of yard work, and the nails looked great throughout.

Next color: Isla, a pearly white

After 5 days, still beautiful. But I had already proven my point about how long the polish lasts, and I was ready for a change.

Next up Sydney- which is an orangey red.

This stuff is seriously 50's glam (and it's more orange than it looks in this shot). I'm on day 4 with this color, and the long-lastingness of the others was not a fluke. It still looks brand new.

It's also great for Gma/Girlie afternoons!

In short- I love love love this stuff and give it my highest recommendation. And I have more colors coming. I promise, Julep did not pay me to say any of these things...

Oh, their customer service is great too- the blue polish arrived with the lid partially open and the polish thick and gooey. They sent a replacement immediately.

These are the colors (plus Julep base coat) coming for June. I cannot wait!