Before I left the lovely state of California with my boxes of fabric and cartons of books, my friends had a party for me!




Here is Martha leading everyone in a rolicking drum circle!



You really dont get the full effect with these photos as there was quite a bit of movement and rich noises! Thank you guys!



This is the truck that arrived in front of our house and that was the weather... yes, gloom...



BUT this is what is out there right now! Transformation from the deepest greys to the brightest pinks in the time it takes to fill out a good collection of days...



and here am I... I think I am adjusting well, what do you think?

Love to all, LI

The Atlanta Airport...

Here I sit in the Atlanta Well, the cell seems to be not working but I went through this long process and figured out how to PAY for wifi. All the other airports have free wifi... Not only do they make you pay for the air, but they gouge you for okra laden confections, strangely named "Okra Crisps" I watched in fascination as a man lifted the heavy Okra Pod Up to his mouth and it slowly bent into a L shape as a bead of glimmering slime meandered through the little hairs on the pod and dropped languidly off the tip of the "vegetable" He put it down and went over to stand in the line for MacDonald's.... I hightailed it to star bucks where there is nothing to consume that involves... Buggers.

So LiHertzi Design is moving to Ohio via Atlanta... See Ya there...

Traveling the Holiday Train

Hey Everyone, Happy holidays, every one of them! The above pix is of me at the airport in Phoenix sorta, I don't remember it being that blue, but that's what it felt like.



Speaking of blue... This is Danny explaining how he is going to run for the Peace President! He is going to be in the spider man party so everyone better switch affiliations so you can vote for him in the primaries! He really is the best choice.

Here is Danny's full crew making double chins! We are sure we are ready for the presidency because between us we have the ability to solve all manner of Rubik cubes, put on our socks and shoes and knit a beanie. There you have it, the ministry of mastery, the department of looking good and the caucus of hooks and needles.

Vote For US!

Enjoy your holidays! LI

Crocheting a Barbra Chapman Frenzy!

Marty's Raucous Purse, by LI Hertzi 2007

I am just in love with the textural quality of the wild-winging-it-but-deeply-artistic style of crocheting called "scumbling". I learned this technique from Barbra Chapman in a class at the Black Sheep in Encinitas, CA. Basically, you free form the stitching as well as the yarns, adding and dropping colors in mid-row, changing the stitch, bobbling, circling, backing-up and generally playing around as you go. How perfect for relaxing! No counting! Only noodling and "feeling" for what comes next.

Look at the texture! Now, this is a semi-monochromatic yarn selection... mostly oranges, reds and some purples, all huddled together on the color wheel, so it isn't as easy to show the tactile richness on a flat screen, but it is there.

I first heard the term "Scumbling" from my mother who used it to mean putting a light glaze of watercolor paint over a darker color to soften or give a glazed effect to a painting. This was when I was doing my graduation project in illustration and was flummoxed by making water ripple around a floating teacup!

The Free Dictionary by Farlex pontificates thusly:

scum·ble (skmbl)

tr.v. scum·bled, scum·bling, scum·bles

1. To soften the colors or outlines of (a painting or drawing) by covering with a film of opaque or semi opaque color or by rubbing.

2. To blur the outlines of: a writer who scumbled the line that divides history and fiction.

n.

1. The effect produced by or as if by scumbling.

2. Material used for scumbling.

In crochet, I like the idea of blurring the outlines, and I encourage you to get wild and fuzzy with those hooks this holiday season!

Visit my other fiber-delighted blog here: Art Doll Adventures Blog!
Visit the site for my book: Li's Book!

Thanks for reading, LI

Beautiful even in Death, our Beloved BDC lay enshrined in eternal slumber

BDC
Born - 1992

Passed into the sleep from which there is no awakening - 2007

For your service and loyalty you will be missed. Rest in Peace.

I am so aggrieved to let it be known that my dear and faithful BDC passed away this morning just before 8 O'clock in Carlsbad, CA.

BDC served diligently and without complaint until the very last day of his life, enduring grueling hours of labor in excruciating heat and never uttering even a whimper of discontent. No, He was my loyal companion of 15 years, spending every morning (except vacations and Christmas) serving my needs. Never did he grouse when the winter days in my Colorado studio meant working all day to cheer and warm the frosted denizens of that altitudinous state seeking graphic contentment. Never did he complain when he was unplugged from his life force and boxed in the dark for yet another journey, ah how he trusted me, yes, he trusted me completely. Never, Never, Never did he shirk his responsibilities even in the face of my heartlessly commenting on his worn out state and pondering right there in front of him, the allure of others of his kind. Oh How shamed I am! Ohhhhhh.


We believed that he was suffering only from the ravages of time and an injured power cord, but alas, as I lifted him this morning to lovingly load him into the car to visit the esteemed electrical healer, Billiam, for the laying on of hands, his bottom detached with a wrenching sound, and his poor innards were exposed to this cruel world. What pain he must have felt, but at least it was swift. The official cause of death is Consumption.

For his good service I am thankful.

(BDC was his familiar name, his given name being Black and Decker Coffeemaker)