Harlot Sighting

I consider myself fortunate in many ways: I have seen Baryshnikov dance (granted, it was in the White Oak days and not in is prime ballet years, but, hey, it was Baryshnikov!), witnessed Michael Jordan fly to the net and make the shot to win a game at the buzzer, experienced Bruce Springsteen give it his all for 2-3 hours when most men half his age would not have the stamina to do the same, and I have seen The Harlot--twice! (I hope she is impressed by the company she keeps in my personal hall of fame!)

On Tuesday, The Husband and I trucked out to Oak Brook for her appearance at Borders. We arrived at 6:30pm for a 7:30pm event. I think a lot of people must have taken the day off or camped out or something because we were in the second-to-last row. We wedged ourselves in (it was pretty tight back there and The Husband is 6'5", so he does not "wedge" easily) and waited with eager anticipation. She did not disappoint.

Sorry you're blurry, Steph, you were much clearer in person.

There were some familiar faces that I'm sure I've seen in other places (lurking in yarn stores or at other knitting events), but few people I've met before. I did get a chance to chat with Emily of Sophie's Toes again (who will soon be achieving fame for her own incredible work) and I saw Franklin from a distance but didn't get a chance to chat. (Do read his post about his day with The Harlot--lucky guy, lucky Harlot!)

This photo of Franklin is a little stalker-ish. I didn't mean for it to be.

When The Husband and, I observed, the photographer hired to shoot the event both seem to be laughing and having as good a time as all of the crazy fiber fanatics in the room, you know you're on to something.

Square One

What you have been reading in other places is true...knitting miter squares is addictive. I started last night and worked my way through a bunch of TiVo goodness while knitting away. I did four miters so far. The Sonata is working out using a size 5. The gauge might be a tiny bit looser than I would like, but we'll see what happens with steaming and/or washing and blocking.
I know that there are all kinds of theories out there about how to best approach the color selection and pairings. I have decided on this method: I start with 4 colors. A is the dominant color on block 1, B is the secondary. On the second miter, B becomes dominant and C is secondary. On the third, C is dominant and D is secondary. On the fourth, D is dominant and A is secondary. I'm not sewing them together yet, so assembly may change things, but this way I don't have to spend an hour between miters deciding which colors to pair next 'cause I would. This way I pick four and go.

(Don't worry--not all of the colors are this superbright.)

My grandmother is a hand quilter and is still capable of making the tiniest little stitches. As I was working on my miters last night, I couldn't help but think that this is my version of a quilt. As I laid out my finished miters and saw the first block start to form, I flashed back on all of the beautiful quilts has has made over the years. She is an incredibly humble person and has never placed the value on her work that she should. I don't believe she has ever sold one of her quilts and even though she has quilted tops for others, she has never set a price for her work. In fact, I would venture to guess that she has refused any payment offered. She has kept some of her quilts, and my mom and aunt each have several, as do her four grandchildren. Others have gone to cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, and so on. I hope that each person who has one (or more!) of her creations treasures it as much as I do mine.

Another Fine Pair

I completed these this evening and they are happily blocking.

I finished the first one weeks ago and it sat alone in a project bag while other things took precedence. I vowed to cast on and finish the second one (the left? the right? Thing One...Thing Two?) this weekend. The incredibly nice weather today threatened to do in my plans, but I persevered. I did knit on the front porch for a bit, but the nice weather had everyone out and I ended up talking with my neighbors more than I was knitting. (We hardly see each other in winter, so we had to catch up and share the neighborhood gossip.)

The socks are done in the Crisscross Lace Sock pattern from Briar Rose done with Sophie's Toes Iced Coffee colorway. Here is a close-up:

Sock yarn has truly become an obsession, evidenced by the latest acquisitions:

There are more skeins of Sophie's Toes (I think Emily's color sense is quite fabulous), some STR (missing from the photo shoot is the Lagoon colorway from the recent sock club shipment), Jitterbug, a skein from White Willow (an Etsy seller), and Piece of Beauty, which I cannot wait to knit with. It may be the squishiest sock yarn I have ever felt.

Next up in the queue will be the Rockin' Sock Club socks. (I'm not sure how I feel about the colorway or the pattern, but I am looking forward to trying a toe-up sock.) I've added to the knitting book library recently, so a larger project may be in the offing, as well. I've also ordered bunches and bunches of Elann's Sonata to make a miter square blanket, inspired by Cara's efforts. The Sonata is just a hair thinner than Tahki Cotton Classic and a whole lot less expensive, so I'm hoping it will be a good substitute. They don't have black, though, so that's a bit of a drag. I'm thinking of it as a very long-term project, with squares completed in fits and starts.

Speaking of a bit of a drag (ahem), I am digging The Riches. I love, love, love Eddie Izzard, and he and Minnie Driver are quite fabulous. Try it...you'll like it.

Non-Knitters I Have Known

Not long after moving to Chicago 13 years ago, I began working at a world-renown arts organization that was a challenging place for many reasons, not the least of which was the physical space. Elevators often got stuck, strange people would be found sleeping in the hallways, much of it was un-air-conditioned (or, conversely, barely heated), light fixtures would occasionally start to smolder, and so on. Maybe we bonded over the misery of our circumstances, but a number of us became close friends.

Like many not-for-profits, the place suffered from tremendous turnover and, after a few years, our group all departed within a brief time. To ensure that we stayed in touch, we formed a book group. Ten years, several marriages, a few babies, and some comings and goings later, most of us are still together. (Our circle has expanded beyond those of us bound by the common workplace, but the overall chemistry has been maintained.)

One of the founding members went on to become a teacher, and several years ago she instituted a "star" system: gold if you finished the book in time for the meeting, silver if you finished it after the discussion, and blue for some other reason I can't remember. (As a bit of a book group slacker for some time, I have been lobbying for a star for having purchased but not yet read the book; I am not winning that one.) This is a low-key group; no worries if you didn't read the book, just enjoy dinner and conversation. Sometimes there is animated discussion and sometimes we barely talk about the book. What is more important is that we enjoy getting together.

I sometimes joke that if it isn't about dance or knitting, I don't read it. An exaggeration to be sure, but regrettably I don't read nearly as many novels as I used to. Last night I jokingly suggested that one of our next books could be a knitting book. Since none of them knit, I really was kidding. Maybe it was because they were in my home, or maybe because they are incredibly thoughtful, open-minded people, or maybe because they are my friends, they actually said they might want to do that--and maybe I could teach them how to knit, too. It may not happen, but the fact that they were willing means as much to me as if it actually does.

YARN

I made yarn! Oh, it is not pretty yarn, and I haven't taken a picture of it yet, but I spun up about 3 oz. of roving and plied it. Seriously...it's ugly but I made it. I'm not yet sure if I have all of the kinks worked out with the wheel (Toni helped a lot) but I have learned never to underestimate the importance or usefulness of a well-placed washer. While I was at The Fold, I also tried out the Ashford Joy, both the Single Treadle and Double Treadle. I really like the single since you can use your other foot for balance on the floor. And the Joy's treadle is centered so you can switch off easily. It is just a gorgeous machine and I may just have to own one someday.

It was a lovely day to drive out to Marengo and when my lesson was finished, I went outside and breathed in that warm, wet spring air. I should have spent more of the day outside, but I could not wait to go home and spin some more.

I really hope we have a long spring this year--we so often slide right from damp, cold yuck right into summer. These guys are just dying to get out on the balcony--as am I.

Anticipation

Since I closed the office for the day tomorrow (one of the perks of being the boss and payback for having been working like mad to get through our performances this weekend), I am heading out to The Fold in Marengo for a spinning lesson. I had arranged for a private class here at a local shop a few weeks back. Unfortunately, when I arrived, after having paid to park because I got stiffed on a street space because I very nicely let someone merge in front of me and then she snarfed the spot I was headed to--that'll teach me to be nice--and hauled my wheel down the street, not only was the teacher not there, but my appointment had never been recorded in their lesson book. I. Was. Miffed. Hey, things happen, but it will take a long time for me to return. I'll likely go back eventually, but I am a pretty good grudge-holder so it could be years. There are other yarn fish in the knitting sea. I think this was actually for the best since I am now going to take a class with Toni, a fiber legend. I am pretty excited. I'll let you know how it goes!

Doing anything this weekend? (Warning: not about knitting at all)

Work...the thing that keeps me from playing with yarn all the time. *sigh*

As referenced in my sidebar, I am the execut*ve direct*r of a contempor@ry d@nce company here in Chicago. This weekend, my company is performing downtown at the H@rris The@ter in Millennium P@rk. (Sorry to scramble and to be so mysterious, but I'd prefer not to get unintended hits from name searches of the company or the theater.) If you are interested in d@nce and will be in the Chicagoland area this weekend, email me at amcombe at hotmail dot com and I will send you a link to a description of the show and a code that you can use to get a discount on tickets. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 3.

Back to my yarn...

Giving It Another Whirl

Last Sunday Blogger ate my post. I was so annoyed that we didn't speak all week. (Note: I've somehow taken to assigning humanistic identities to things that don't have them. For example, now that we FINALLY have TiVo out of the box, I've begun saying things like, "I wonder what TiVo did while we were out." and "Why does TiVo think we would like 'Jackass'?". I know... I sound like a lunatic.)

So, MORE THAN A WEEK AGO, I attempted to counteract some pretty major work stress with yarn therapy. Emily Parson updated her etsy site and I dove in. I bought Rustic Cabin, Lush, Iris Garden, Muir Woods, and Midnight Sky. And, as some of you know, when a popular seller does an update, you have to be on it. I must have refreshed my computer forty billion times while Emily did her update to see what she was posting next. And I attacked it with a competitive zeal. I learned my lesson last time: just because it is in your cart doesn't mean it is yours. It can be snatched out from under you by some sneaky yarn ho someone else before you know it (just like the wedding dress sale at Filene's), hence five skeins. And this was after I'd already hit Blue Moon Fibers:

Oy. I am going to have to knit socks from now until the end of the time to get through the sock yarn stash, a stash that didn't even exist until less than a year ago when one day I woke up with the need to knit socks. I've heard that the same thing happens to some people about having kids. I'm sticking to socks. They'll never want to borrow the car even if I do start talking about them like they're people.

Valentine's Day S*x

Oh, yes. So worth the wait. And it feels so, so good.

Hey, what do you think I'm talking about? I finally finished my socks, see?

They're not complicated, they're not perfect, but they are finished and they fit. I love them!

I'm all ready to start my next pair. I've wound a skein of Emily Parson's Sophie's Toes (Iced Coffee colorway) into a ball and I am ready to go as soon as I go through my bazillion patterns and pick one.

Catch up

Re-entry was hard after New York. Because of that trip and the trip to AL that preceded it, I worked 19 days in a row. I check email and voicemail while I am gone, but things pile up. It is a very busy time for me at work with grant deadlines looming, board meetings happening, and other things that keep me on my toes, hence the lack of postings.

I may finally finish the pair of Schaeffer Anne socks I have been working on since I purchased the yarn in Little Rock. I had one completed and realized to my horror and utter dismay that I missed a stitch while kitchenering and it took a quick trip toward the instep while I tried the sock on.

AAAAAAAAACK. @#**%! Undo. Rip. Rip. Rip. Re-do. Re-do. Re-do. And so on...

The toe is ready to go once again, but this time I vow to kitchener in better light. I am almost finished with the heel flap of its mate, so we may have sockage this weekend if the mailings I have to do for work go quickly (yes, being the boss is very, very glamorous!) and don't result in too many paper cuts.

Looking ahead, I'm not sure how 2007 is going to play out in terms of fiber-related trips. I would definitely like to go to Maryland again this year. It would be fun to go with the niece again while she is still young enough to think I am the coolest person she knows. Someday she won't think that anymore, so I have to gain maximum benefit now. (I hope she keeps up her interest in knitting because that child is going to inherit one hell of a stash upon my demise. Given some of my OCD tendencies, she will also very likely inherit a bunch of unworn clothes with tags still on them, ridiculous amounts of jarred condiments, boxes and boxes of unburned candles, a fabulous array of cowboy boots, and so on. None of it will make sense and I don't envy her the task of disposing of it.) I would also like to go to Michigan, too. Wisconsin was a disappointment (although they had WAY better shower and restroom facilities than Michigan), so I doubt I'll make the trip. I haven't yet checked to see if Rhinebeck conflicts with Kentuck , but if it does, Kentuck wins out due to my loyalties to S.A. and Sandra. (Not to mention my love of collard greens, purple hull peas, and sweet tea.) In July I am going to go to the Joseph C. Campbell Folk School for a Nuno Felt class. I heard about the school from some fellow campers when I was at the Michigan Fiber Festival and I was intrigued. When S.A. called about it the other day, I jumped right on it. I swear that I will count the days.

O yeah!

http://capitolconnection.sitestream.com/obamaforamerica/livewebcast.htm

He's in!

My Kind of Business Trip

Each year I go to NY for work. I'm there for an arts conference where artists, their managers, and presenters all gather in one place for the purpose of buying and selling shows. It is a busy event but the hours are odd, with chunks of time carved out here and there for various activities. I know that when you see the pics from my trip to NY you will find it hard to believe I was there on business and that I actually did work. I worked a lot in the six days I was there. But between work obligations, I carved out time for a bit of fun. Fun for me, as you might have already guessed, means yarn shopping. Whee!

First stop, Knitty City, a very nice and nicely appointed shop on the Upper West Side. So nice I went back a second time. I really liked this skein of Schaefer Anne:

I got a kick out of these little yarn dolls.

The Red Devil's job is to help you keep your temper!

Knitty City was hosting a book signing of The Friday Night Knitting Club. It was mobbed, so mobbed, in fact, that I couldn't stay. Besides, I was headed back downtown to The Point to meet Carrie in person. Alas, it was not to be as she ended up working late, but I did pick up a few goodies:

Yes, more Schaefer Anne.

There were stops at School Products and Seaport Yarn along the way, too. At School, I picked up cashmere to make Endpaper Mitts and some fun shades of Koigu.

Seaport yielded the biggest haul, with Blue Heron, Colinette Jitterbug, Ellyn Cooper Big Horn, and Joseph Galler Prime Alpaca making it into the shopping basket.

Last stop was Knit New York. More Koigu, on sale no less. (Sorry, no photo.)

In order to get the haul home, I had to shove skeins of yarn in every pair of shoes and boots that I packed. I was really hoping the TSA wouldn't open the suitcase. Skeins of yarn would have popped out like spring-loaded snakes in a prank peanut can.

Between last year and this year, I have been to almost every knit shop in Manhattan. Next year... Brooklyn!

Crazy in Alabama

I'm here in Birmingham, AL on a business trip. My company is performing down here and, due to a number of factors, I came along for the ride. It has been wonderful for our dancers to be performing in the same theater four days in a row (a rare luxury in our world), and I am taking particular pleasure bringing this group of artists and artistic product to a place where I have some history. (My time was spent in Tuscaloosa, not Birmingham, but we are here as the headliners at a state-wide dance festival, so we are in front of a large cross-section from all around the region.) It's going incredibly well--hurrah!

Of course I made time for a stop at a local yarn shop. Knit Nouveau is a cute store in Homewood, AL. It is surrounded by some really charming shops (Red Rain next door is a delightful, quirky find) and it has a nice, broad selection of primarily wool yarns, especially given AL's warm climate. (As a side note, it is HOT here. I have the A/C on right now in my hotel room, and I drove home from the theater tonight with the car windows down and I was STILL HOT. Can we all say "Global Warming" in unison, please?!) In the seemingly never-ending quest for a case for my DPNs, I bought a wool felt needle case. We'll see how this one fares. (I can't even tell you how many have failed the test for any number of reasons.)

Other fun stops along the way in B'ham: Continental Bakery, Chez Lou Lou, and The Vulcan. Another treat: gettin to see S.A. two weeks in a row, last week in IL, this week in AL.

(Sorry, more Sidekick pics--forgot the real camera.)

Between shows and during marathons of Forensic Files (I LOVE watching tv late into the night in hotels), I'm knitting Clapotis #3. (It's a great break from the grant I'm composing while I'm here.) I have been wearing one of the other two almost every day this winter (weird spring-like, autumnal season?), so I'm gonna crank a few more out in various colors. This one is Malabrigo, brown on one end, blue on the other, and variegated brown/blue in the middle. Could be fun, could be a mess. I love the yarn despite the fact that it is a heavy worsted and may be a little less drapey than I would like.

Next week, NYC...

Knitty City

Well, now, when the city you live in creates a two month-long event just for you, you feel pretty special. Thank you, Mayor Daley. As part of the annual Winter Delights Festival (essentially a p.r. campaign to drive tourism in the normally cold, dreary weeks after the holidays), the city has created a Knitting Salon. It is a lovely space across from the Cultural Center with installations (some of them only tangentially related to fiber and some of them completely unrelated, but why be, ahem, knit-picky), classes, knitting related film presentations, and more. The grand opening was Friday and HUNDREDS of people showed up. The owner of Lorna's Laces was there and you could dye your own skein of yarn (which I did), and there was an interactive display where you could grab some needles and yarn and add on to the hem of a sweater.

(Sorry about the pics. I didn't bring my camera and my phone was all I had.)

You could also help this guy knit with plastic wrap on really large needles.

Finally! My tax dollars at work for ME!!!

On another note, my wheel arrived from Amsterdam. It is an older model Louet S10 in good shape. I put it together, but something is not right and I will need help. When I treadle and the wheel spins to the right, a bolt is tightening, slowing the wheel and eventually stopping it. (The opposite happens when I go to the left.) I'm sure it is a simple fix, but I am going to have to call in some reinforcements. Oh, and if you're looking for roving on Etsy, there isn't any; I think I bought all of it! (Okay, not all of it, but a lot...)

What Have I Been Doing???

I just looked at the date of the previous post and am shocked that it has been two weeks since the last time I made an entry. In a nutshell, I...

...have completed multiple small FOs. I made a pair of Fetching gloves as a gift for my cousin and made two Stirling Cloche hats. I have also cast on and frogged a sock using Black Bunny Fibers "Elf" colorway (I got caught up in the holiday spirit), and have twice knit and frogged the same section of the same sock I have been working on forever!!!

...made another of my now-common less-than-24-hour-trips to PA. My friend's husband threw a surprise 40th birthday party for her and I decided to go. It was a lot of travel for such a short visit, but I'm glad I went. I fit in a stop at Rosie's Yarn Cellar in Philly where I met Carol of Black Bunny Fibers. When Carol found out I was visiting from Chicago, her next question was. "Do you know Franklin?" Why, yes. Yes, I do!

...have been knitting at the MCA's Stitch n Bitch (hurrah, it's back for the season!), went to Bonne Marie's trunk show at Arcadia, met up with the Thursday night knitting crowd at Alliance Bakery, stopped by Corinne's booth at the AMAZING One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart, and popped in to Nina a few times.

...purchased one of these. I've been thinking about a wheel, and I am quite taken with the Ashford Joy for its elegance. But, while surfing on ebay, this one called to me. All told, the total price was less than half of purchasing a new one (including the skein winder), and I figured that if I don't like it, I can recover a good portion of the cost by reselling it. I can't wait until it gets here from the Netherlands. I will need to take a class, or at least read a lot about spinning, in the meantime. I think I'll take Spin to Knit with me to read over the holidays.

In a week we leave for PA to celebrate Christmas with my family. It's always a hectic time, running from place to place to see everyone. (And everyone is about an hour away from everyone else, so that makes it especially tough.) I'm really looking forward to the food! We'll be back here in time to have five days off before having to return to work, so I'll be able to decompress a bit.

S.A. is coming up for a visit just after the new year. We're going to expand her knitting horizons when I teach her to knit in the round using dpns. There are Fetching gloves in her future! And a week after she heads home to AL, I'm flying down to to see my company perform in Birmingham. There is a visit to the Highlands Bar and Grill in my future! YUM!

Lessons Learned

Well, the "events" contest did not turn out as planned. Perhaps tales of events gone bad are just too painful to share. No matter. I am sending ikkinlala some lovely sock yarn from the Etsy-derived stash for her comment. Perhaps the next contest (whenever that may be) will be more general.

Not too long ago, my work partner forwarded me an email from a colleague. She had lost her father in the past year and she had found comfort in knitting. Around the time her father died, she learned of my voracious appetite for knitting and would often call me for suggestions and advice. We took a few knitting field trips together including going to the MCA's Stitch and Bitch and visiting a yarn shop when we were at a conference in Little Rock. The email she sent to my co-worker told him of how I had been serving as her knitting mentor during the past year and that she was grateful because "sometimes the universe sends you the teachers that you need." What she meant by this is that she always had me to call or email when she wanted to talk yarn and since knitting was the way she was handling her loss, I was serving as her enabler (in a good way!) to help her feel better. I know that email wasn't really meant for my eyes--she sent it to him, not me--but it was nice to know that I had helped her through the difficulty.

My company just premiered a large piece that we had been working on for months. In fact , it is our largest undertaking to date, with collaborations with other artists and organizations, and other complex elements. The piece came about because a composer approached us about a funding opportunity. The grant required a well-rounded concept and the organizational capacity to meet the objectives of the program. And we had two weeks to pull it together to get the grant proposal in. After 10 days of nearly daily conference calls, we landed on our concept and I wrote the grant. Fast forward...our project was one of just nine selected nationally to receive the funding. This summer, the program coordinator for the lead funder came to our studios for a site visit. We had met briefly once before, but on this visit we truly hit it off. I happened to mention that I use knitting to unwind from the stress of my job. It turns out that she does as well. Since that visit, we have been exchanging gifts of yarn, pattern suggestions, knitting tips, etc. While it still would have been an excellent business relationship, because of knitting we have developed a true friendship, one that I'm positive will endure.

On a professional level, this work project was challenging but incredibly rewarding: the piece itself has proven to be a really wonderful piece of art, the collaborators have all been spectacular at what they do and marvelous to deal with, and the funders have been generous and nurturing. (It's almost frightening that it has gone so well.) Those points alone would have made this particular project meaningful to me. But to have also found a new colleague and friend who shares many of my professional interests as well as knitting has been the icing on the cake.

It's time for the next contestant on...

...PurlsBeforeWine.

Okay, the first contestant on my blog, but who's counting.

I am currently up to my eyeballs planning and executing a gala. It is an annual event at my job and it is quite a to-do. We generally have 550-650 guests (we're up to 640 right now), two parts to the event at two venues (with very meticulous seating requirements at both), transportation issues, a sit-down dinner, etc. It's like throwing a really big wedding every year without the wedding gifts.

I am asking for tales of event planning going awry. (Geez, I hope I'm not jinxing myself...) Here are the rules:

1. All stories must be true. I trust you.
2. The event can be large or small, from a birthday party to a gala.
3. You must be the event planner (or one of the event planning team.)
4. The story that elicits the greatest response from me (whether it be raucous laughter or sympathetic winces from someone who has been there) will win. (Yes, it's all very subjective.)
5. All entries must be posted in the comments to this blog entry by November 16. (This date may be of some significance...) The winner will be announced at some point during the following week (when I recover.)

So, here's the important part...what you win! Sock yarn. Delicious, beautiful sock yarn. I have been on a mad binge, collecting sock yarn from many independent Etsy sellers. The winner (and perhaps a randomly drawn entrant) will get something wonderful plucked from the sock yarn stash.

I just hope there are enough of you out there to make this a good contest.

Today I...

...spent my second day at work toiling at a task that, when it is finished, will, without doubt, make someone mad at me. Ah, well, it happens every year.

...went to see Shawn Colvin in concert. And, I have someone new to love, her opening act, Brandi Carlile. Leaving the venue, I heard some whining that she had not done "Sunny Came Home." (I've said it before, I'll say it again: if all you wanna hear is the hits, stay home and play your CDs, people. Sheesh.) You gotta love a folk singer who can close her show with a kick-ass version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

...got a package in the mail from Emily Parson. She had promised to mail me a skein of yarn that I ordered and, as an added bonus, she sent along an extra skein as a thank you for a suggestion I had given her about promoting her Etsy shop. I told you she was nice!

...and

Like, The Best Day Ever

Here is a list of reasons why yesterday was, like, the best day ever:

1. I got up early and popped online and discovered that the Fine Art of Fiber Festival was happening at the Chicago Botanic Garden. On my way to the event, I was driving up Lincoln Avenue on my way to 94 when I was simply struck by how fortunate I am to live in a place with so many fun, exciting things to do and that I have the freedom to do them.

2. At the festival, I acquired two hanks of handspun, a really cool felted scarf that I bought, in part, to try to replicate, and some fun, funky felted wool garland for my Christmas tree. (Since we are going to be away for Christmas, we are not putting up a real tree this year. Instead, the tree is of the wrought iron variety (a very cool piece from my days as a shopkeeper) that is adorned with only fiber-related decorations. (Yes, I KNOW it is too early. Too bad. It's not like the needles are going to fall off of it.)



3. After the Art of Fiber Festival, I headed to Evanston for Franklin Habit's Dulaan gathering. It was amazing to walk in to the place and see 50-60 knitters already there and clicking away. And, to be so warmly greeted by Franklin and his amiable team was icing on the cake. What a nice group of people, some of whom I knew from KIPs or Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Franklin was the consummate, thoughtful, jovial host who made everyone feel incredibly welcome.

I spent a lot of the day feeling lucky to be there and grateful for the opportunity to make something for someone in need. Oh, and I won the first doorprize of the day. (Lucky twice in the same week!) (Side Note: I met Emily Parson at the Dulaan event, a quilter and sock yarn dyer from St. Charles, IL. Her sock yarn is beautiful and I recommend visiting her Etsy store. Three of her skeins came home with me, with a fourth to follow. It is really lovely stuff and the colors are really beautiful. And she was really nice. Buy her yarn.)

4. My husband came home from his business trip to San Francisco. Yay.

Lucky Monday

Oh, I was dreading it. I SO did not want to get up and go to work this morning. I had a work-related event Sunday night, and I always feel a little cheated when my nights and weekends get sucked up by work, even if it was a pleasant work-related event. If I'm not home curled up on the couch with knitting or in my Sock Monkey or cowboy pajamas communing with my cats or my husband, then it's work. (What I do for a living is hard, time-consuming, far from a 9-to-5 schedule, not wildly lucrative, and stressful (I now have gray hairs to prove it), but it is also rewarding and sometimes even fun. I shouldn't complain; I still do.) I woke up early (darn you, time change!) so I got on the computer to surf while the husband occupied the shower. That's when I saw this. It made Monday a whole lot easier to take. Thanks, Bonne Marie!

Meme, which I never do...

1. FIRST NAME? Angela
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I know.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I get choked up but don't cry often. The last time was two weeks ago having a serious chat with a colleague about his health.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Absolutely not.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Smoked or cajun turkey.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Just the blog.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Oatmeal.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I'm trying to think if I have any shoes with laces...
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Pretty strong.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Cherry Garcia or Green Tea or Vanilla Peanut Butter Swirl or Roasted Marshmallow (from an ice cream store across the street from the ROM in Toronto).
14. SHOE SIZE? 8.5-9.
5. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? IBS. Not the best fun ever.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandparents. I don't see them often.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? N/A.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black skirt, white and blue striped shirt, denim jacket, black boots.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Beef with broccoli. And a fortune cookie.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A colleague talking in the other room. He's from LA but he still has his South Carolina accent.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Green-Blue.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? The ocean.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Our accountant at work.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Large-ish, distinctive noses.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS from? I like her blog a lot; I've never met her in person.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Cran-Raspberry LaCroix. Mint Iced Tea. Mojitos. Coffee would be on the list, but I have had to stop drinking it and decaf sucks.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? The only sporting event I watch is the Indy 500. I watch it every year in my pajamas. I don't watch any other sports or sporting events, just Indy. It's weird, I know.
29. EYE COLOR? Blue.
30. HAT SIZE? ?
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Raw oysters with mignonette.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Neither, really.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer, but not when it is really hot.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Too many to name. My homemade sweet potato pie is pretty high up on the list, though.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? All knitting-related, natch. I have huge stacks of other books to read, but I cannot knit and read at the same time, so knitting usually wins.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? My husband's firm's logo.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Dancing with the Stars, which I never watch despite my profession.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Springsteen music, waves crashing, my cat, Pitch, "talking" to me, and both my cats purring.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Not wild about either, but I guess the Beatles edge out the Stones.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Hubbard Glacier, Alaska.


46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I'm a jack of all trades.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Reading, PA.
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I lifted it from Carrieoke.

Kentuck

While many of you were at Rhinebeck (yes, I am a little bit jealous!), I made my annual trek to the Kentuck Festival in Northport, Alabama. My friend Sandra and I left for the airport at 6am Friday for our 8am flight, anticipating lots of art finds, turnip greens, purple hull peas, and warm weather. One of those things was not to be. When we landed, the flight attendant cheerily announced the outside temperature to be 42 degrees! Not what we had in mind. (It is usually in the 80 degree range for the festival; the big weather dilemma is not usually temperature, but precipitation. Oh, and it rained all of Saturday night, so while it did warm up in Sunday, there was mud puddle navigation and the occasional slog through a pile of wet mulch to contend with.)

Sandra eating fried pork rinds.

Every year Sandra and I choose the first big purchase for the following year. At the end of last year's festival, we chose painter Patsy Blake as this year's first stop. Here is the painting that will hang over the mantel in the first floor living room:

Some of her work reminds me of Edward Hopper's use of shadow, although the subject matter is very different.

I also purchased several pairs of earrings (and a future Christmas gift that cannot be divulged here) from Nancy at Conceits. I debated long and hard and did purchase a second painting from Bethanne Hill. (She was my "first purchase artist" last year.) It is a small painting of a bottle tree. I've also decided to start a small face jug collection. (I should have done that years ago when I first started going down to the festival.) This one came from potter Jerry Brown. Paper artist Katy Dement's work kept calling our names. We stopped by three times and made purchases each time! We bought candle hurricanes, light boxes (mine has these marvelous mermaids devised from old corset ads and drawn tails), and lampshades. All are made from handmade paper, dried leaves and flowers, and are coated in sweet-smelling beeswax. (That's the draw for me--I love beeswax!)

The lampshade has hydrangea flowers and a big hydrangea leaf on the other side.

Despite the weather issues, a good time was had by all. My friend SA, who is the Executive Director, did a great job as always. Here she is wearing a marvelous straw witch's hat from Best in Show winner Ignatius:

This festival is a marvelous little gem and I am so fortunate to be able to enjoy it every year. So, while I really wanted to go to Rhinebeck, Kentuck, at least for the time being, owns the third weekend in October for me!

Back with a Vengeance

Not really. In my next life, I want to be a Bermudian. Knitting would not play as large a role...

...although there is at least one yarn store in Bermuda, but my new-found love of snorkeling would fill the void. (No pictures of that; I was too busy swimming among the fishes. Tons of them. It was amazing. I swam through and with a school of squid that was incredibly beautiful. There were Parrotfish, Sergeant Majors, Slippery Dicks (really, that's their name), Bream, and others. It was fantastic.) If you have a chance to visit Bermuda, go, and have a Dark and Stormy for me. It was a really nice getaway and Mom had a good time (the whole point of the excursion.)

In honor of the Yarn Harlot, the sock posed for a photo.


Not 12 hours later, I ripped back much of what you see and everything I had knit in the hours hence since the heel flap was going to be just too big. Ah, well.

Yesterday, the husband and I trekked up to the Chicago Botanic Garden to the Country Living Fair. Artisans, antiques, etc. Corinne was there and her booth looked great (see good pics of it here). We managed to collect a few goodies, including several varieties of honey, some delicious hand-blended teas, a Christmas gift for Mom, and a little bit of handspun. The pumpkin and gourd display at the entrance was fantastic.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Halloween and its accoutrements.

One more treat followed: a concert by my other Bruce.

If you think Bruce Hornsby is just about "Mandolin Rain" and "The Way It Is," you should check out one of his concerts. He is a really fantastic musician with amazing facility. He is constantly reinventing his music which keeps it interesting. For those in the audience who only know the songs that get radio and Lowe's commercial play, it baffles the hell out of them. (I was at my fourth or fifth Shawn Colvin concert not long after she had her breakthrough hit. About ten minutes in, she said she was going to play "Sonny Came Home" for the people who just came to hear that. Not long after she did, a number of people left. I am always amazed at those who come to a live show and want to hear exactly what they can hear on their car radios. I love an artist who can switch it up, make it new, and keep it fresh.) As a bonus, the price of admission included his new box set which I enjoyed this morning while I started knitting my Briar Rose Rosebud Vest.

No one is sadder than me that the real world is calling and it is back to the salt mine tomorrow. (There is no Columbus Day holiday in the not-for-profit world.)

Temptation, Thy Name is Etsy

I've been a little low lately. So, what do I do when I'm feeling blue? Buy yarn, of course. This particular yarn buying frenzy was fueled by listening to Lime and Violet podcasts. Between the giggling and double entendre, there is yarn content. Yarn porn, to put it in their words. So, when they mentioned a few Etsy sellers recently, I popped online to check them out. OhMyOhMy. So far, my Etsy experiences have been lovely. Friendly emails. Prompt replies. Nifty little extras tossed in. And the yarn (which all arrived today!) is n-i-c-e. Squishy. Soft. For the most part, the colors were what I expected them to be. (A couple were a little darker, but that is the risk buying online with the vagaries of digital home photography and monitors.)

I have been realizing that those who read my blog must think that I only buy yarn and do not actually knit with it due to the lack of FOs. This is a conclusion one might reasonably draw. Yes, I am now the owner of probably 25 skeins of sock yarn (could be more) and not a single finished sock to show for it. (I'm working on it.) We can't even talk about the rest of the stash. It has its own zip code at this point. (It doesn't. It should.) My "Summer of Stash" went up in smoke. But I have plans. There will be more knitting and less working. There. Must. Be. It may mean radical changes will need to be made. I'm gearing up. It may take a few years, but I'm starting to lay the groundwork. Right now I've got a little too much invested in what I do for a career and not enough in anything else. (Well, if you don't count what I have invested in yarn.)

I am off for some relaxation. And knitting. That's the plan, at least. I'm taking my mom on a cruise to Bermuda for her 60th birthday. After more than a week of inactivity, today a storm began brewing in the Atlantic. Fab-u-lous. I've got the Dramamine.

NOTE: The Etsy yarns pictured are Fearless Fibers, Yarntini, Gypsy Knits, and Twisted. There might be another one that I'm not remembering.

I Miss Bill*

This week I was in Little Rock, AR for a conference. Never one to pass up a fiber op, I found the two yarn stores in town, rented a car and headed out. Let me just say this: sometimes, inexplicably, yarn shop owners and staff can be a little strange, a little unwelcoming. Not the case in Little Rock. In both shops, staffers and owners could not have been nicer, more eager to help, or more welcoming. The two stores are distinct in their personalities: The Yarn Mart is well-stocked with a nice variety of yarns. They also feature needlepoint canvases and supplies. I would categorize this shop as more conservative, but an excellent resource nonetheless. Handworks Gallery is in an old house. When I entered, I was a little taken aback by the bags and tubs of yarn everywhere; it looked like someone had picked the place up and shaken it like a snowglobe. Turns out they were changing over the stock for the season. (Even the bathroom is used for yarn storage.) Despite the chaotic appearance, it was clear that this place had tons to offer. And, again, the staff could not have been nicer or more eager to help. I bought a few books. I made a second trip back a few days later with some other fiber fiend colleagues and bought the only skein of Shaefer Anne they had in stock. Handworks is a little funky. If the shop were a person, she would be described as eccentric, but in a good way. If I lived in LR, I'm sure I'd visit a lot.

Speaking of LR, my conference had a party at the Clinton Library. I didn't get to walk around a lot, but I did take a bunch of pics of the Oval Office. The security guard (who could not have been nicer-- a theme in this town) assured me it was to scale. I gotta tell you, it looks bigger on The West Wing!


I stayed at the Peabody Hotel while in Little Rock. It was all about the ducks: the 11am & 5pm duck march, the duck-shaped soaps, the duck shirts, the duck hats. (Thoughtfully, the hotel restaurant does not serve duck.)

Nice rooms, and I had this great view:

*Clinton, that is.

Final Fiber Festival 2006

On Friday afternoon I left work early and drove up to Jefferson, WI for the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. Alas, I will not be attending either Taos or Rhinebeck (next year!), so this past weekend was my final yarn outing of the year. (At least I think it is--things can change!) This festival is clearly geared more toward the animals that produce fiber than the fiber itself. Witness the following:

I knew that this was going to be different than Michigan when I arrived and saw only one other tent. And the place was teeming with Border Collies. I quickly set the tent up under the threat of an approaching thunderstorm. (That one passed, but another made a direct hit around 4am.) After "making camp" I went to the Country Store preview. There were some interesting things to be had: wool mattress toppers, very cool recycled sweater coats (much nicer than the pictures I took so I'm not going to post a pic), and my new favorite fiber crack dealer, Briar Rose. (A note about Briar Rose: her colors are muted and inconsistent--a good thing in this case. I love the subtle shadings and the crazy ways you can combine seemingly unrelated skeins into a garment. I first found out about her company because she is a sponsor of the wonderful Cast-On podcast. Please visit her website but know that her yarns are so much more wonderful in person. I now own enough of her Sonoma to stretch from here to Sonoma...)

Outside of the vendors, I saw no knitters. There wasn't a place to really hang in the evening like there was in Michigan, so at 8pm I was ensconced in my tent ready for sleep. I put on the headlamp (!!!) and spent the evening reading this. I looked around, thought "I've been in this tent for two hours and it is cluttered. How in hell am I going to unclutter my whole house?!" I'm on chapter six and, while I don't go in for the new-agey aspects of the book, there are a lot of good ideas to be had. I'm starting with a major re-do of my yarn storage--a formidable task--first.

I decided to take one more pass through the Country Store in the morning, walked through the animal barns, and packed up. I was on my way by 10:30am. I did get this butternut squash-colored yarn for my attempt to replicate the Anthropologie Pendulum Vest:

I decided to stop by The Fold on my way home. Toni had been at both Maryland and Michigan as well as Stitches, so I was surprised she wasn't at Wisconsin. Now that I've been to WI, it makes sense; I'm sure she does more business at home on an average Saturday than she would do at that show. When I pulled in, there were already nine cars in the driveway, and more pulled up while I was there. Her shop is connected to her house and it is jam-packed with anything and everything a fiber addict could want. There were bags and bags of fiber, loads of spindles and wheels, and a huge rack of Socks that Rock. Amazing.

I picked up a ball of Trekking XXL and a couple of skeins of STR, including the one on the right that I had to have, not because I particularly liked the colorway, but because the name is "Prove It All Night." My Bruce Springsteen-loving heart could not pass it up.

So, the long and short of it: I'm glad I went, but Michigan will be my Midwestern fiber festival of choice in the future.

Parallel Play

For a long time, I resisted the siren's call of the iPod. I, who rarely has my cell phone on (mostly because I let it run out of power and forget to recharge it), did not need another palm-sized object to encumber me. Then one day I became aware of a phenomenon that had previously alluded me, the knitting podcast. A broadcast about knitting, something I could listen to while doing other things?! I was intrigued. As those who know me understand, I do not enter into a new hobby or interest lightly; if I decided to make/collect/attempt/experience something, I get all the equipment. I need my props and costumes. (My background is in theater so it makes perfect sense. You should see the pile of "provisions" needed for my little fiber camping adventures. Insanity.) So, I bought the video iPod. And two sets of earphones. And two different iPod cases/skins. And...I am hooked. I spend more time in bed with this thing than I do with the husband. (Make of that what you will, but I listen to it when I am going to sleep which presents its own set of problems: I often fall asleep before I finish listening to whatever I've started; I sometimes get tangled up on the earpiece cords; and I wake up in terrible pain because the over-the-ear-hook is pressing into my skull in a most uncomfortable way.) Still, I love my pod. (I love the husband, too.)

The husband has a Saturday morning ritual: he gets up, showers, reads the paper for a little while, goes out to his favorite neighborhood breakfast joint for a Viking Breakfast (we live in what was once a Swedish neighborhood, and Svea is one of the few Swedish establishments left), and he listens to Car Talk and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. He works long hours, and I hated to see him get up so early on a Saturday in time to get his morning errands done so that he could get back to the house in time for the Tom and Ray hour of automotive hilarity, so a few years ago I suggested he get a receiver with headphones. He is kind of a low-tech guy, so he went to the local Radio Shack and bought a $15 model that has served him well. What I didn't realize at the time (but I should have) was that, because Car Talk is laugh-out-loud funny and the husband laughs REALLY LOUDLY, he might look like a madman laughing to himself when he was out and about in our little neighborhood. These days, at least he is not alone. There was a time, before earpieces and Bluetooth, when the people talking and laughing to themselves on the street were the ones likely to be in need of some psychiatric assistance; now you have to look for the cords and earclips to see if someone is truly talking to him- or herself or to someone else. (I did recently hear a statistic that said up to 25% of cell phone conversations are not actually conversations at all, but are the "caller" staging the conversation to look important. Hey, you people who do that, you don't look important, you're just adding to the noise pollution! And what ever happened to just being alone with your thoughts; do you really have to talk loudly about your bad date last night in the produce aisle at the Jewel? Really...you do?! Huh...)

Anyway...
Now that I have my little pod and he has his Saturday morning radio appointment, we spend a fair part of the morning sitting on our balcony immersed in our own worlds, not speaking, and each of us laughing out of synch with the other. It's a little weird.