Things That Have Recently Caught My Eye

Vintage Typing Table Painted and Repurposed by Maize in Montana

Log Bowls from Loyal Loot Collective

Milk and Bread Pendant by Melanie Favreau on etsy

Annamoa Fabric Line from IKEA

Stachin' Bottles Corkscrew from Mod Cloth

DIY Canning Workshop in Seattle

This looks really fun. I have been doing a bit of canning this summer and so far nothing has exploded or appears to have gone bad. Yippee!!!

Time Travel Photos

These are some of the most amazing photos I have ever seen. They were taken in Russia in 1910 using an experimental color photo process. It's like going back in time. I was enchanted!!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1_HP

Random Recent Eye Candy

Early morning self-portrait (on the Mac) with Bucket Kitty
(she is way too cute to not have a company named after her!)

Our insane volunteer poppy, back for another year

Jellies at the Vancouver Aquarium

I Heart Zines

I had such a fun time participating in Alma Stoller's I Heart Zines project last year. If you haven't checked her or the project out, I would definitely have a look. Here are some of the entries from last year, including mine, Z is for Zine.

http://i-heart-zines.blogspot.com/2010/03/visual-review-i-heart-zines-2009-part-1.html

If you are interested, she is taking sign-ups for this year. You have to sign-up by July 30 and have the zines to her by September 13. It was a lot of work, but getting all the zines back from other folks was so much fun. I highly recommend it!

Painting Extravaganza with Mr Bucket and Co

The hubby and I had a blast a few days back working on a large painting to be used as the background for one of my mixed media projects. We started with some scrap ephemera, matte medium and a big piece of posterboard. Once we got to painting, we would take a TV rerun break to let a layer dry and then come back, rotate the painting and make the next layer over the side that the other person had just been working on. It was so fun to work with Mr Bucket and Co since he is usually being a programmer when I am doing my art/domestic goddessness. I love that the textures and colors are so different than what I would have just done on my own. He had a lot of fun and found it to be relaxing, so I am hoping I can con him into it more often. Pics of finished project coming soon...

Dead Fly Circus

This is proof that you really can make art out of anything...

Dead Flies Circus

The Amazing Maree, my graphic goddess

A few people have asked who did the new graphic design work for my site. I have been so overjoyed to work with Maree Truelove. I saw her work on etsy awhile back and when I was ready to rebrand and get my company up and running again, her site was gone. I was so sad! I managed to track her down via the miracle of the Internet and as it turns out she had just done some rebranding of her own. So, needless to say, she has done a bang up job. So, if you need some cool clip art or custom design, she's your girl.

http://mareetruelove.blogspot.com/

Bulb Garden One Month Later

May 12

At first I was kind of bummed that my bulbs didn't all come up at the same time. However, it is so fun now to have a totally different garden. These 2 pictures were taken exactly one month apart. What a different color combination and feeling!

April 12

Kitteh + iPad

Since I have recently published an iPad cozy pattern (look a few posts back) and Bucket kitty is our mascot, I thought this would be a good video to share. Enjoy!

The reluctant foodie

I know this blog is more about my art, but I do consider crafting a beautiful meal to be art. I am a rather reluctant foodie. I am a very picky vegetarian for starters and secondly I am known to be a horrible cook. So, this year I decided to change that.

I got a lot of flak for making a weird batch of brownies 15 years ago, back in my stoner days, that had a ton of unusual crap thrown in them. I think I added some fizzy lime water, brandy and nuts. Of course they were gross and I never lived it down. I allowed myself to believe that I was a bad cook and turned that into a self fulfilling prophecy. So, this year that has begun to change.

I have made it my goal to cook every night and I am finding that I really love it. I have added some new dishes from cookbooks and television and invented some of my own. I am really using it as a way of expressing myself.

So, where is this conversation going? I guess I would like to make the point that if you make yourself believe you a not capable of something, then you won't be. What do you think you can't do?

Mark's Cabled iPad Cozy Knit Pattern

UPDATE: I have a friend who just got an iPad today and I was able to check the size. It works just perfect!

UPDATE (5/12/2010): I missed a line in the pattern and have corrected it as of today. Row 7 of the cable is to be knit the same as the other rounds (except 5 and 11). Sorry about that and thanks to Wendy for pointing it out.


This is the first pattern I have ever written to share, so I hope I don't miss anything in the details. Since the iPad was just released yesterday, the dimensions are based on the iPad specs, but I don't have one to try it out on yet. I made this one for my hubby Mark who had his birthday yesterday and will be getting the 3G as soon as it comes out next month. Please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks and enjoy!

Mark's Cabled iPad Cozy
by Sarah Davis of Bucket and Company

Yarn used: 1/2 skein Paton's Classic Wool in Gray
Gauge: 4 stitches per inch
Needle size: US 8 (16" circulars)
Other supplies: Yarn needle for sewing up bottom
Stitch marker
Row counter
Cable needle

1. Loosely cast on 72 stitches on circular needles and join without twisting
2. K 2 rounds as a base
3. Knit 4 repeats of the cable pattern, plus an addition 6 rows. End the cable pattern on the 6th row.
4. *K16, bind off 20* repeat
5. *K16, cast on 20* repeat (this will give you the slit for the handle)
6. K 4 rows and bind off
7. Stitch up the bottom of the bag and enjoy!

Cable Pattern:

This is an 11 row repeat

C8B = Put 4 stitches on cable needle to back of work. Knit next 4 stitches on main needle. Then knit the four stitches on the cable needle
C8F = Put 4 stitches on cable needle to front of work. Knit next 4 stitches on main needle. Then knit the four stitches on the cable needle

Rows 1,2,3,4,6, 7, 8,9,10 (everything except rows 5 and 11): *K16, P2* repeat
Row 5: *K16, P2, C8B, C8B, P2* repeat
Row 11: *K16, P2, K4, C8F, K4, P2*repeat

I reserve all rights to this pattern. This pattern is for personal use only.

The best knitting commercial (maybe the only one)

Welcome to Our New Home!

After several different incarnations, we have finally found a home! Picking a new name for the business has been a year long ordeal. Nothing seemed to fit the spirit of my artwork and my life. Bucket is my muse. Her name alone makes me giggle, so she seemed a natural choice as a mascot. However, I didn't want to leave her fuzzy brothers and sisters out of the mix (hence the "and company"). I have just set up my etsy shop, but have yet to finalize things and get items up for sale. I guess what I am saying is stay tuned and thanks for reading...