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Mosaic in South Los Angeles

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This piece was created by Jose Robelo

It’s so inspring to see glass enrich the lives of people who wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to it. A really wonderful organization called Piece by Piece is bringing glass mosaic and other techniques of how to create with glass to low-income and homeless people. They are teaching the techniques as well as how to sell and market their work. I recently went to a class in South LA to see what was up. It was incredible. I saw the most amazing work! The fish mosaic pictured above was one of the pieces I just fell in love with. Another piece with a parrot as it’s focal was just awesome. 3D and everything…

This was created by Hugo Sulecio.

This was created by Hugo Sulecio.

Please excuse my hand. I love this piece! So cool. The story of the founding of the organization can be read on their web site at http://www.piecebypiece.org. I was enlightened about Piece by Piece by my good friend Leigh Adams, who teaches with them as well as a number of other facilities and schools. Through her I was able to donate a bunch of my scrap glass to Piece by Piece. Now it’s being used in ways I wouldn’t have necessarily have used it for. And the good thing is that I keep making more scrap for them. I will post updates and other information about this great group every now and then. There’s so much good to say!

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Knit the Coziest Sweater Ever

I’ve always wanted to knit a mohair sweater. It just seems to me like the ultimate in comfort and a bit of luxury, and I would probably live in such a sweater all winter long if I had one.

Now might be the time to finally make my mohair sweater dreams a reality, thanks to the Summer Lotus Blouse, a free knitting pattern from Hobbii.

Don’t take the “summer” in the title too literally, because it’s worked with two strands of mohair held together, so while it will be super light weight it will also be plenty cozy to wear throughout the year.

The sweater is worked from the top down in stockinette stitch with I-cord edgings for a super clean look. It uses a larger than expected needle to keep it airy and light, which also speeds up the process.

One thing that’s cool about holding two strands of yarn together is that they don’t have to be the same color. These sweaters end up looking like they use a solid color but they’re actually worked with two different colors, which gives you so many more options. Pick two harmonious colors or shades of the same color, or go wild and pick two colors that are quite different and see what happens. You could also, of course, hold two strands of the same color if you like, but part of the fun of knitting with mohair is seeing how the colors play with each other.

This pattern is available in six sizes, ranging from an actual chest measurement of 30.3 to 44.1 inches, or 77 to 112 cm. It’s meant to be worn with about 2 inches/5 cm of negative ease, but you can choose a different size if you don’t want such a snug fit.

You can grab the pattern for free and check out all the yarn options at Hobbii.

[Photo: Hobbii]