Splurges, Silk, and Southern Ghost Songs

Sometimes a little getaway feels like you've been gone forever--in a good way. On Thursday, I boarded a plane to Chattanooga, TN, the first part of the journey toward the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. (If you haven't already read David Rakoff's great piece in the NYT about his week at the Folk School, do take the time to give it a glance. While my friend, SA, and I only dipped our toes in the water for a weekend experience, he dove in for the week-long adventure. It's a great read.)

SA drove up from Tuscaloosa to meet me in Chattanooga and the fun began. First stop was dinner at the Back Inn Cafe. Set right by the river, the Cafe is surrounded by an incredible array of sculpture. Everything was quite delicious, from the Salmon Cakes with Pickled Green Tomatoes to the Shrimp and Grits to the wine our waiter recommended for us. The menu only listed the wine by the name of the producer, Tait, so we were in for an unexpected surprise when the bottle showed up bearing a more interesting name:

Yeah, it says Ball Buster. Did they see us coming or what?

After a good night's sleep, SA and I ventured out to hit some of Chattanooga's hot spots before heading east to John C. Did we go to Lookout Mountain? Nope. The Lost Sea? Uh, uh. See Rock City? We did not, nor did we buy the t-shirt. Not even Ruby Falls. We went yarn crawling.

First stop, Great Balls of Yarn. Only trouble was it no longer exists. Oh, well. Then, across town to a new shop, a co-op called Yarn Works. It has only been open for a couple of weeks, and it is still seeking its identity. It is a great space in a former saddlery. There are big, comfy chairs, a large workspace they intend to use for workshops, and their neighbors are galleries and working artists. It has the potential to be a very nice destination, but because it is not intended to be strictly a yarn shop, the selection of knitting-related items might not be what you would normally expect. I bought a few skeins of colorful yarns for hats and such, and a lovely beaded necklace. I'm going to keep an eye on their progress and I hope that they develop a supportive clientele. We then headed across river to the AVA Gallery to check out a show that was opening later that night. One of the artists featured is a felter who does unusual wearable pieces. Last stop before heading out of town was Genuine Purl. This shop features needlework supplies as well as a good selection of knitting yarns. They had a nice selection of Koigu, including a newly arrived shipment still in the box that they let me paw through. In brief, Genuine Purl is a jammed-to-the-rafters kind of place that's great for getting many of the basics. Yarn Works has the potential to be the kind of place that you want to hang out in, sipping coffee or wine all evening, talking and working with friends. I recommend both places if you are in town.

After a fun morning of poking around, it was time to head toward our destination. It is a lovely two-hour drive, much of it through the Cherokee National Forest and along the Ocoee River. We passed a bazillion companies that arrange rafting tours and we stopped to watch the rafters at the starting point. (SA and I know nothing about rafting, nor has either of us been rafting, but we both noticed that Wildwater seemed to have the nicest looking equipment, including first aid kits for each raft. Some of the others seemed...well, less nice.)

We arrived at the Folk School at 3:30pm. We checked in, got our schedule for the weekend and our room assignment, and we headed to our home for the next two nights, Rock House. The rooms were clean but sparse. Fortunately, the house was air-conditioned because it was hot and very, very humid.

After making our beds (!), SA went in search of a grocery store while I wandered the grounds. I fell in love with this espalier bench by the flower garden.

After a group orientation, everyone moved to the dining hall for supper. All meals are served family style and are begun with a non-denominational blessing or song. The food was good, basic, homestyle fare. It reminded me of eating at my grandmother's house. Since there were no assigned tables, we met different people at each sitting. Most were from the southern region and most were returning visitors. I heard over and over again how the Folk School was practically an addiction.

Friday night was our first class in Nuno Felting with instructor Geri Forkner. In a little twist of irony, the assistant teacher, Annie, is a partner in Yarn Works and she recognized my new beaded necklace right away. We started learning the technique of working the wool fibers into the silk backing by making little dolls. We quickly leapt into making scarves. Most of us made two or three over the course of the weekend, but SA concentrated on one, painstakingly laying it out, felting it (she used cotton gauze as the background, a more difficult backing to use than silk), needle felting it with Geri's machine, and embellishing it with beads, rusty washers, and other findings.

It was something to behold. It was so wonderful to see how different each piece turned out given that each of us started with the same choices of materials.

In a very short time, I learned a lot about creating different looks and what I liked and didn't like about certain effects. Of the three I made, I would wear two, but it was the one I didn't like that I learned the most from. It was the perfect amount of time to gain just enough knowlege to be dangerous!

We also hit the knitting/weaving/spinning shop in town, The Yarn Circle. Pam, the owner and a resident fiber instructor at the school, has a bit of everything. We went in specifically to stockpile of some of the Merino/Silk roving (Ashland Bay) that Geri had brought for the class.

Our work studio was just below one of the music studios where a musical saw class was happening. It was a mournful sound which inspired the "southern ghost music" comment from SA. They were a dedicated group, and a big hit at the closing ceremony where each group displayed their work from the weekend.

These are the woodturning instructors whose hats are, in fact, made of wood:

There were displays of glass beads, bookmaking, quilts, basketry (incredibly impressive, I must say), bonsai, rug hooking, and more. It was a very productive weekend in Brasstown. (I had a special moment when Merike Saarnit admired the sock I was knitting. She was there to teach the rug class.)

SA and I were in agreement that we would like to go back, but next time we might stay at a hotel in Murphy (a town about 5 miles away) for some additional amenities. It was nice to be so removed from "normal life" and not have television, but the shower was the smallest one I have ever been in--smaller than on a cruise ship--and the beds were a little sprung. (They did offer bed boards if you needed one!) There are a limited number of rooms with two beds and a private bath like the one SA and I stayed in. Many of the accommodations are 4-6 beds and a shared bath--not for me, I gotta say.

We had a fabulous time, and I'm really happy that we went. Now, I've got to get online to buy scarf blanks to use up all the fiber that came home with me! (Nuno felt scarves for everyone this Christmas.)

Knitting 911. What is your emergency?

The Knitting Niece: "Aunt Angela, it's me. I have a problem. We are in the car driving to Georgia today and I was knitting. The stitches on my needle are too tight and I can't get them to go anywhere and I lost my crochet hook and I don't know what to do. So, when you get this message, please call my dad's cell phone."

Aunt Angela, calling back after getting the message: "Hi, hon. Okay, your stitches are too tight? Are you pulling too hard when you wrap your yarn?"

TKN: "Um, yes, I think I shouldn't pull it so hard."

AA: "Okay, so take your needle and try to wiggle it in to the stitch. You might have to use your fingers to pull the stitch up a little so you can get the tip of the needle in."

TKN: "They're pretty tight. Really tight."

AA: "What are you making?"

TKN: "It's a headband I started in after school knitting. Oh, and it used to be 15 stitches and now there are only 14."

AA: "Well, if it is too tight and you lost a stitch, maybe you should take it off the needles and start over."

TKN: "Well...there's a problem. I can't remember how to cast on."

AA: "Yep, that's a problem."

Poor kid. 717 miles is really far when a knitting emergency arises. If I hopped in the car, I could be there in 12 hours...

Busted!

If you watch to the end, The Knitting Niece totally busts me on my yarn consumption. (The episode is Maryland Sheep and Wool part 1.)

http://letsknit2gether.com/blog1/?p=34

Monkey/Business

On the knitting front, the Monkey Socks are finished. I love this pattern, especially with the picot mod. I also love this yarn. It's Piece of Beauty and it is great stuff.


It took longer than expected to finish them, but I am thrilled with the result. (A 70-hour workweek will keep you away from the knitting, that's for sure.)

That's the Monkey part of the post. On the Business side, I am leaving my job. I told the board a week ago Friday, and I have given them November (December at the latest) as my end date. It was a really difficult decision, but I feel it is the right one for me. Depending on the desires of my replacement and of the board, I may take on project work for the organization. I'd like to keep my options open; the company has been a part of my life for so long, I can't see walking away entirely.

What am I going to do with all my new found free time? I'm looking forward to spearheading the plans for renovations on the house, cooking again, and getting back east to see my grandparents more often. I'd like to lose a few pounds, too, so I'll need to dust off ye olde treadmill. Oh, and I'll be knitting more, too.

Doing It in Public

You dirty birds--I mean knitting, as in Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Unlike last year which was dreary and cold, we had a warm, stunning day on which to flaunt the craft. The crowd was a bit smaller than 2006, but every bit as enthusiastic. I had a great time with many of the regular Thursday night KIP-sters, and it was really fun to see so many gorgeous WIPs on the needles of others. I made some progress on the second Monkey (crazy week--no knitting until today), and I should have a pair soon.

Knitwerks was offering a discount to WWKIPD attendees, so I took the opportunity to stop down. Cheryl has done a nice job with the space, and she has some great yarns. I picked up two skeins of Dream in Color sock yarn. Gorgeous looking stuff.

Speaking of Dream in Color, I received the Tulip Cardigan kit I ordered from Lettuce Knit on Friday. Adorable. I want to make one for me, only I'd need much, much more yarn.

I didn't take any pics of Knitfest 2007, but I did add a picture to the "Husband Pointing at Things" gallery.

Monkey See

Like everyone in the blogosphere, I love this pattern. I cannot wait to make it again. (Well, first I have to finish the second one of this pair.) I am really happy that I saw the picot mod. I think it adds a lot of polish to the finished item. And, for the next pair, I am going to do a different heel. Since this one is only stockinette, I fear for its longevity.

I just packed up a fairly large box of yarn to go to Interim House in Philadelphia. They have what sounds like a really wonderful program for women in recovery, and they can put some of the yarn from the stash to better use than I have been. So, if you want to de-stash and feel good about it, send donations to:

Interim House

333 W. Upsal

Philadelphia, PA 19119

Slow, Slower, Slowest

I wish there were more progress to report but, alas, things are s-l-o-w. Sitcom Chic is coming along. I am up to the part where you put down the body and cast on the sleeves. So, I did as instructed and put it down. l'll be back to it, but I needed a break from the stockinette, and so I decided to monkey around...

I have cast on and ripped that Monkey more times than I have ever ripped anything else. First, I screwed up on one of the YO rows, went to backtrack and mucked things up terrifically. Then I cast on and knit all of the ribbing only to have the dear husband accidentally yank out one of the needles when (the nerve!) he tried to make some room for himself on the couch. I could have picked up the stitches, but it almost seemed easier to start over. So, I cast on, knit 4 repeats of the lace pattern and THEN decided I didn't like the way the ribbing looked. Rrrrrrrip. I really think I need to do the picot edge mod that's been making the rounds. I believe that will make me happier. This yarn (Piece of Beauty) also tried to be a plain old stockinette sock with an Eye of the Partridge Heel. In fact it WAS a sock, finished, kitchenered, and everything, but I decided to rip that, too. (It's not me, it's the yarn! No...it's me.) I love this pattern, and I simply can't stand for the sock not to be perfect when I finish.

UPDATE: Yes, the picot edge is the way to go. Don't ask how long I fiddled with that until I got it looking like I wanted it to. But now all is right with he world--the Monkey loves the picot.

I hope you had a great weekend. I didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but that's pretty typical. Just for fun, here are my "8 Things":

1. I love watching the Indy 500. I watch no other races throughout the year and I could care less about IRL standings. It's all about the engineering on the Indy cars and the strategy for me. I have no desire to go to The Brickyard and I would refuse the chance if offered.

2. My favorite play is The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen. (I just did a Google search, and those words put together in a sentence do not produce any matches. Huh, go figure.)

3. A few months ago, I was obsessed with the song "Kentucky Rain" by Elvis. I'm not sure how that happened since I've never been a huge Elvis fan.

4. That being said, I have been to Graceland twice. Both times it was because work brought me to Memphis. If given the chance, I'd go back again even though the Lisa Marie (his plane) seriously creeped me out.

5. I have a collection of over 450 floaty pens. I love them. (Yup, I have some from Graceland.) I also have some floaty toothbrushes and keychains but no lighters or (huh?) orange peelers. My favorite ones are advertising pens. And I only buy the original Eskesen floaty pens made in Denmark.

6. I also have a collection of penny medallions. I prefer the hand-cranked machines; the fully automated ones feel like cheating. Clearly, I've got a serious kitschy streak, at least when it comes to travel souvenirs.

7. My favorite summertime meal is fresh sweet corn-on-the-cob, tomatoes straight off the vine with a touch of salt, pepper, and apple cider vinegar, and my grandmother's home fried potatoes with plenty of Heinz ketchup. I think I need to take a trip back home to PA during corn and tomato season.

8. When I was born, three of my great-grandmothers were still alive. The last one passed away when I was 17. Three of my four grandparents are still alive. The younger of my two grandmothers became a grandmother at 38, three years younger than I am now.

Distracted

I remain on hiatus from the miter square blanket. No, I have not fallen out of love, but I was yearning for something that could actually be finished before the 2010 Winter Olympics. Enter the Chevron Scarf. She is finished after about two weeks of very inconsistent knitting. (Pics will follow.)

I needed to cast on for something else immediately and I chose a handtowel inspired by those in Mason-Dixon. I love the waxy feeling of the linen although it is requiring frequent breaks for the sake of my hands and--oddly--my elbows. In fact, I've now put it down because my elbows are throbbing. Strange.

Tonight I started Bonne Marie's Sitcom Chic. This one has been calling to me for a while and its time had come. I'm making it in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Violet. This is my first project using CE. I like how it is knitting up but I am reserving final judgement until it is done and has seen some wear. I know that there are a lot of passionate CE fans out there and I am willing to be pulled into the fold should it meet expectations. While I like the new color palette (the colors are very "adult"), I wish they would incorporate some brights, especially since this yarn is great for kids' things. I stockpiled some of the old colors when CE was discontinued but I'm longing for a really good green, for example.

Now, for some non-knitting content. In my workplace, we "hire" unpaid interns for the summer, and occasionally also during the school year. One of our interns from a few years ago happened to be in town and we went out to lunch with her today. She was a great summer intern: intelligent, engaged, responsible, enthusiastic. She was also still in college and was finding her way in the workplace. Fast-forward three years. She graduated and went to work for a PR firm in New York. Now, she is a professional with lots of interesting, diverse job experience under her belt. She is still that same young person we met and worked with three years ago, but now she has a new skill set and a really great air of confidence about her. The fact that she still makes it a point to get in touch when she is in Chicago tells me that she valued the experience of working with us, and I take satisfaction in knowing that we have contributed something to her professional development.

Alas, the universe has a way of making sure things balance out. Also today, I tried to educate a departing employee about behaviors that burn bridges. It would have been far easier to let this person go without addressing the issues, but then I wouldn't have been doing my job to mentor. I hope that the advice will be taken to heart and that it will help him make different choices in his next workplace. I don't know if my words will be accepted it in the spirit in which it they were intended, but I had to try for his sake as well as mine.

More Images from Maryland

Sheepish

Highlights of this year's MDSW festival included:

• getting to spend a day solo with the knitting niece

• meeting several other knit bloggers including Frecklegirl Jess and VibeGrrl (who was particularly sweet to the niece)

(That's Jess (on the right) and a friend being interviewed by Kat for the Let's Knit2gether video podcast. A certain niece may also make an appearance on an upcoming episode.)

• purchasing a Golding spindle (I may never own one of their wheels, but this spindle is a thing of beauty.)


• going back for a second day, which was far less crowded


• and adding some more Moving Mud to the collection.

I did add some fiber to the stash, including Kiparoo Farms (many beautiful colorways to choose from),

gorgeous sock yarn,a shawl kit from Morehouse Farm and a Nuno Scarf kit.

There were a few other goodies, but all in all I was (for me) fairly restrained. (Fortunately, the people at Brooks Farm did not charge for fondling the yarn.)

Out of the Box, uh, Square...

After a few weeks of nothing but miters, I am taking a little break. I have decided to walk down the well-travelled road of the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.




This morning I went down into the basement (otherwise known as the home of the stash) and went shopping in the sock yarn bins. (Yeah, I said bins plural.) I went with the intention of finding something to pair with the Foofaraw that had made me a little bit sad when it went from the swift to the ball winder. It should really be called Peas and Carrots in my humble opinion. (I am a STR fan, but I have discovered that what I love on the skein does not always hold the same magic for me in the ball.) Someone on the Chevron Scarf Flickr group had paired Foofaraw with a skein of Lucy to very nice effect, so I decided to see what I could find down there. Trouble is, I like the Lucy and I didn't want to use it for this project.



While pawing around, I rediscovered another ball with which I had a love/hate relationship. I think it may be Chanticleer or perhaps Rocktober, but I lost the label. When I wound it up, it looked like the skein of multi-colored Red Heart I had through my ENTIRE childhood. (Seriously, that skein never seemed to get smaller no matter how much I used.) The Red Heart had more prominent greens and blues, but it was pretty close. Trouble was I didn't think there was enough contrast between it and the Peas and Carrots. I went through all my STR, but couldn't find two to try together.



So, I suppressed my OCD tendencies and went to the "Miscellaneous Sock Yarn" bins to search for a something from another yarn purveyor. After some fishing about, I pulled out a skein of Sophie's Toes Jean Jacket and thought, "We have a winner!"


The Sophie's Toes is a bit thinner than the medium weight STR, and it took me several rows to come to grips with that. Even though it looked good, my compulsion was to rip because the rows were not exactly the same. The blue rows are a hair lacier than the multi rows. After a few inches, I have come to like texture I'm getting. It might be a little Rainbow Brite-ish, but I think it's workable.





In digging around, I also found a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock in Indian Summer that I think will look good with the Peas and Carrots for a second scarf.



The squares will just have to take a back seat, at least for a little while.

Less than a week until MDSW!

(I'm not sure what the deal is--probably user error--but I am having a hard time the spaces between paragraphs. Between the time I hit the publish button and the post goes up, they sometimes disappear. It makes me nuts, so I end up editing and republishing several times. Blech.)

Heat and Humidity

It was a gorgeous weekend--warm and sunny--but there's a dark side to the approaching warm season. Just when winter's dry air had made me believe my hair might be manageable after all, BOOM!, and now I look like this:

I guess it's back to the Japanese hair straightening.

I continue to knit more squares. It was an extremely busy work week, so I only got 3 1/2 miters done. I am realizing I need to start thinking more strategically about the colors: which ones should I repeat, which miters are not making me happy, etc.

MDSW countdown...less than two weeks.

Cornered

I'm feeling a bit cornered these days, so it's no wonder the knitting should reflect that. I want to work on other projects but THE SQUARES WON'T LET ME!!! I finished no. 21 this afternoon and, zombie-like, cast on for no. 22. (Cara is right; you must cast on the next one before you get up from the couch or all momentum will be lost.) Twenty-one means I have passed the 25% mark of the square-making process. I do dread the sewing and weaving, but I will have no choice or all that I will have is a big ol' pile o' squares, and who needs that?!

Elann updated their stock of Sonata, so I have a new order coming. I was starting to feel limited by the colors that were available and then, like magic, an email arrived with an inventory update. (I love the Internet!) I am happy with my decision not to assemble squares at this stage of the game--a choice I may come to regret when I spend weeks doing only that--because it leaves me more options for arranging the squares.

Maryland Sheep and Wool is just a few weeks away. I always approach these festivals and events thinking I'm not going to buy a lot of yarn, but I seem to fail miserably on that front. Since I now know I will see a lot of the same vendors at multiple festivals, the immediacy is somewhat reduced. Brooks Farm, however, always presents a serious temptation despite the fact I have yet to knit any of the yarn I purchased from them at MDSW or at Stitches. I think I am going to be at the festival both days this year. I plan to come up Saturday by myself and return Sunday with the knitting niece and her parents. This year, we will remember the sunscreen.

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.