making messy art

I want to be drawing with charcoal. I need big new sheets of paper for this. I think I want to draw a field of bluebonnets for my grandma. Let us all recall how much I like my art-making to be dirty. Dirty as can be. This is why my favorite ways to "draw" are either with charcoal, or with watery clay slip (Missouri red clay is really good for this), or carving designs into batik fabric. Messy messy.

ETA for Bukharan stuffed pumpkin: Thursday evening. 2 hours it simmers in a water bath in the oven. Oh my.

When teaching someone how to knit ... does it make more sense to use worsted weight yarn, bulky yarn, or super-bulky thick and thin yarn? Do you go with whatever the recipient/student finds prettiest? Since really, some days, it's only the yarn that keeps me knitting. I kind of mutter over and over, "this yarn is pretty, it's pretty, it will be pretty, keep knitting." I'm really only deciding between Malabrigo water-colored yarn on 8's, or Malabrigo thick and thin on, say, 15's.

15's! Man, if I had started knitting on 15's, I would have definitely finished my first scarf in less than two years. Which I'm wearing today, horrible gauge, holes and all. The fringe on it is my favorite part.

Last thing: I could make something like this and sell it for $75 - $90, right?
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6962343