Sorry to have been absent for so long. It was all for good reason, but I need to be more attentive to the blog lest the corners get as dusty as those in my house!
So, what have I been doing? More dyeing, dyeing, dyeing. I will be trying out some exciting new bases soon, including Frog Tree's Pediboo. It feels divine in the skein, and I can't wait to see what happens when I add color. I also have some new 70/30 Merino/Silk and 50/50 Merino Silk, and 70/20/10 Merino/Cashmere/Silk to play with. I'm waiting for a shipment of silk hankies (aka mawata) and an Angora/Silk yarn. It's a wonder I ever leave the Craft Dungeon!
Leave the Dungeon I did, for my fourth Sock Camp. It was, as ever, a lovely time, with friends old and new. The weather wasn't so delightful this trip, but that's okay. Hula Hooping in the rain adds to one's character. I got to spend my birthday dyeing with Tina Newton, and that's just about as good as it gets. Classes with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Anne Hanson, and JC Briar were just great, too. Anna Zilboorg was a special guest this session, and it was nice to see her once again, having had the pleasure of spending several days with her at the last Cat Bordhi retreat that I attended.
The Husband had a conference in Boston, and I tagged along. I hadn't spent any time in the city (except for a brief stop back in the touring theater days) in about 18 or 19 years, back when I lived in Waltham and worked downtown and in Harvard Square. As in every city, much has changed, yet much remains the same. The swan boats still float in the lagoon in the Public Garden, and the city is still daunting to navigate, but it was great to be there, though the weather was less than welcoming. We were also there on the lead-up weekend to the marathon. We arrived Wednesday, and on Friday--boom!--all these skinny people in Spandex arrived. For a bunch of fast runners, they all walked very slow, and the area we were staying in (Copley, which was also the finish line for the marathon) got terribly crowded. We did catch the Chihuly exhibit at the art museum, and that was more color inspiration that I can describe here. (Those photos are on my phone, and it takes forever to upload from the phone to Flickr, so no snaps here for now, but it was glorious. There is a slideshow on the link I provided.) I have now seen Chihuly installations in two very different venues, a museum and a botanical garden (a glass conservatory), and both have been spectacular. An added bonus to the trip were getting to see Sir Eli of Northampton, who was in Boston overnight with his mom and dad in anticipation of his trip to London with his grandma. (Lucky kid got to go to The Globe, do a Harry Potter walking tour, see the sunflower seed installation at the Tate Modern, and a million other cool things. No word yet on whether a Royal Wedding floaty pen was secured, per my request.) I also took the train to Natick to see my old roommate. I toured the arts school where he heads the Theater Department, and we squeezed as much catching up as we could in the couple of hours before I had to train back and he headed into rehearsal. I did get to visit a delightful new yarn/fabric/crafting shop in the Central Square area called Gather Here. It is a great concept and I hope they're really successful. I wish it were closer so that I could up my sewing skills, which are sorely lacking.
I have finished several projects, but the cutest by far is the kimono I knit for my friend Kelli's new arrival. I will be meeting Eloise next week and will be delivering her new sweater, both knit and dyed by yours truly.
In exactly a month I head to New England again, this time for the Squam Arts Workshop. I am very excited because it will also be my first retail show for my yarns. There is a one-night marketplace at the Workshop, and I am thrilled to get my goods out there! Added bonus: a few days in Northampton with Sir Eli and his folks, a stop at Webs, and who knows what else!