Leg Two: Kentuck

Kentuck is an annual event that I adore to the Nth degree. My first experience with the festival was when I was in grad school at the University of Alabama. Since meeting my friend, Sandra, here in Chicago and discovering that (a) she grew up in Tuscaloosa/Northport, and (b) that we were in school in the same program nine years apart and therefore know many of the same people, it seemed fate that I should schedule this annual return to Alabama. In another twist, her dearest friend from high school, S.A., who has since become one of my closest friends, is now the Executive Director of Kentuck. Life...a funny thing.

The beauty of Kentuck is that it allows people to meet the artists and collect art at fairly reasonable prices. (Reasonable is relative; there are things there for a few dollars and things that range into the many thousands. The nice thing is that you are purchasing directly from the artist without the filter of a gallery or agent.)

Sam the Dot Man

I adore having "real" art in my life. An actual painting is so much more thrilling to me than a print. And, while the art I select may not be the art you or someone else would choose (including the dear husband who tolerates some things he does not like in the least), it means something special to me. (Well, there are those questionable purchases, and I make at least one every year. The good thing is that I still love all of the "larger" acquisitions I have made.)

The festival is held outside in a local park, and the weather is generally warm and gorgeous. (S.A. lives in fear of the years when it is not, and there have been a few. A festival or two ago, it rained hard overnight, and they had backhoes in the park distributing mulch and digging trenches to direct the water flow. That wasn't so much fun, especially for her.) This year the weather was perfect.

There has been a consistent group of artists who are there every year, but this year, at the time when artists were being selected (it is a juried show), gas prices were at their highest. This was unfortunate for some artists who chose not to make the trip, but it resulted in a lot of new faces who hadn't been there before. It added a fresh dimension to the festival, and it was incredibly exciting for me. There were also many reliable favorites and it was great to talk with some of them again, and it was thrilling to see how some of them have evolved their work.

Several of the artists displayed their political views, primarily pro-Obama. Peter Loose had a big bag of "Obama Yes" buttons that he handed out. Some artists were equal-opportunity. Yee-Haw skewered both sides with their "wrestling-ticket" posters that were quite clever and Mike Hanning (scroll to bottom of link for a pic of Mike) had both McCain and Obama depicted on clay face jugs.

Each year I select an artist from whom I will make my first purchase the following year. Last year I didn't actually make a pick which turned out to be fine since there were so many surprises. Next year, I aspire to get a large face jug from Tim Flinn, whose work is incredibly unique and has great detail.

A Velvet Ant on the Kentuck grounds

Another wonderful aspect of this annual adventure is spending quality time with Sandra and S.A., though S.A. has very little free time and is generally exhausted. Another friend, Buggie, came with us for the second year in a row, and she is so much fun, so energetic, and adds an incredible amount of laughter to the adventure. This annual trip is one of my favorite things in the world and I hope I will continue to go for years and years to come.

'Cause in Chicago, It's Vote Early, Vote Often

Voters in my household: two.

Votes for Obama: two.

The hopeful feeling that we may elect this man President next Tuesday: priceless.

Leg One: New Orleans

We flew into MSY on Sunday morning, October 12. After a quick lunch at Mother's, dessert at Cafe du Monde, and a brief walk, the husband was off to work and I was left to my own devices in New Orleans. I spent a lot of time on my feet. I traversed much of the French Quarter, although I only walked down one block of Bourbon 'cause I'm 42 and over it. As I always do, I visited the amazing collection of Newcomb Pottery at The Historic New Orleans Collection on Royal. (I harbor a dim hope that someday I will find a piece of Newcomb at a yard sale and it will come home to live with me. Fat chance of that, but I can dream.) I slipped into the Marigny. I took the streetcar way uptown and walked down a long strip of Magazine (I had the blisters to prove it), and back through the Garden District. (Some Creole Cream Cheese gelato helped to ease the pain.) I procured some pre-1955 Czech Mardi Gras beads and doubloons. (Prior to 1955, glass throws were made in Czechoslovakia. They were stockpiled and used after then, but they were no longer being imported.) I enjoyed some of my walks with portable Bloody Marys in hand. (I love sipping a fine adult beverage out-of-doors, don't you?)

We have stayed in many different places on our many trips, and this time I got a great deal at Le Pavillon. It is a gorgeous, fairly formal hotel that is about four blocks from the Quarter. It has excellent access to the St. Charles streetcar, and free WiFi. I usually don't do room service, but I exhausted myself walking the first day, so I ordered a cheeseburger and a Sazerac and tucked in for some quality time with MSNBC. I am not kidding when I say that it was the most magnificent, juicy, delicious burger I have ever eaten. (I think the bun was spread with a stick of butter before toasting.) The staff at the hotel was very friendly and responsive and I would recommend it highly.

We had dinners at Luke, a John Besh restaurant that was merely okay but not fantastic despite the hype, and Cochon, which rated a return visit after my trip down in March. If you go to Cochon, keep in mind that everything on the main menu is quite delish (they even have a Moonshine menu--try the Catdaddy), but dessert is just average. Either save the calories or go somewhere else for dessert...another order of beignets at Cafe du Monde, perhaps? Upperline never, ever disappoints, and JoAnne, the owner, was there and so excited because they had just installed new paintings on the facade that very day.

The ones there previously had been ripped away by Katrina and JoAnne had spent the past three years deciding what to do about replacing them. They are very different than their predecessors, but they compliment the restaurant well. I cannot recommend Upperline highly enough; it has become a must-go on each visit to NOLA. I adore the eclectic collection of art, the attentive service, and I always have the same thing: Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade, the Roast Duck with Ginger-Peach Sauce and Sweet Potatoes, and Bread Pudding. To. Die. For.

The husband had Wednesday off, so we did the museums at The Presbytere and The Cabildo as well as the Museum of Art in City Park. We quite enjoyed (though probably not for the reasons intended) the tribute to Louisiana collector H. Speed Lamkin. The piece de resistance....a portrait of Speed and his sister that he ripped in half because he thought the artist should have included framing in the price. The painting was eventually hung over the fireplace in the family manse without even the slightest attempt to conceal the gap; in fact, there was a 1/2" tear separating the siblings. It was one of the greatest monuments to The Hissy Fit ever. I just find it hysterical that someone in the house hiked up their big girl panties and hung that thing on the wall as is.

I didn't get to the Garden District yarn shop on this visit. They, like many businesses, have shortened hours since Katrina and are only open the second half of the week. I did stop at Quarter Stitch and had a lovely chat with the owner. (My Obama-wear invited many excellent conversations on this trip.) It turns out that they have a knit night around the corner at a gelateria on Sunday nights, but I didn't find out about it until it was too late. They have no Internet presence (not even on Ravelry), so info about this little shop can be hard to come by.

The husband flew home Thursday morning and I wasn't leaving for Birmingham until Thursday night, so I went to the Ogden Museum, had another artery-clogging lunch at Mother's, and went to see a documentary about Katrina called Trouble the Water. It was there as part of the New Orleans Film Festival and I recommend it highly. I had been obsessed with the events and coverage of Katrina. I watched CNN compulsively, and I have continued to follow the progress (or lack thereof) in the years since. This documentary shows a perspective of the disaster that I had never seen before. It follows one couple from the Lower Ninth who started video taping before the first drop of rain fell. They continued to tape as the water rose and they were forced to take refuge in the attic and, later, as they were helped out of the flooded house by a relative who used a punching bag as a flotation device. It documents their attempts to restart their lives in another state, and their eventual return home. It was incredibly powerful to watch this film just yards from the Convention Center where so many people suffered for so many days. It is an interesting and worthwhile piece of historical documentation.

The cabdriver who took me to the airport, Betty, is a 64-year-old raising two of her grandchildren in the Lower Ninth. She told me tales about neighbors who took their compensation from Katrina and who have spent it recklessly and those who have used the funds to pay off mortgages and get their lives back on track. I knew an awful lot about Betty, her family, and her neighbors by the time we got to MSY. What a character. It was a fascinating end to a marvelous trip to a place I enjoy so much.

Next stop: Northport, AL

Time Flies (and so do I)

I have just returned from a two-week trip of such incredible fabulousness that I can't believe it was me who was on it, and it is going to take several blog posts to share everything.

Firstly, I tagged along with the husband to New Orleans. He had a conference, and I took the opportunity to enjoy five days in a city that I love. From there, I flew to Birmingham, AL, and met my friend Sandra for our annual trip to the Kentuck Festival in Northport, just outside of Tuscaloosa. Our dear friend, S.A., is the Executive Director of this amazing event and it never disappoints. From there, it was off to Seattle on my way to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island for a four-day retreat with Cat Bordhi. Really, it shouldn't be legal to pack this much fun into a two-week period. And, because of Southwest's customer friendly change policy, I was able to add the New Orleans and Seattle trips on to the original Birmingham trip with incredible ease and no change fees. My flight plan of Chicago-New Orleans, New Orleans-Birmingham, Birmingham-Seattle (via Nashville), Seattle-Chicago cost under $600 (which I though was incredible), and every flight was either on time or early. Plus, Southwest is one of the only carriers that allows two checked bags without additional fees. Still, I wish they would do assigned seating, but there are many other pluses that offset that inconvenience. (Here ends the commercial for Southwest. We now return to our regularly scheduled post.)

I hope to blog the entire trip this week before I head out on the road again to spend the last four days leading up to the election working for the Obama campaign in Waterloo, IA. I'll admit trepidation about going door-to-door (I personally find it intrusive when it happens here at home), but my desire to see Obama elected far outweighs any nerves that I am feeling. I hope I don't annoy too many of Iowa's good citizens in the process.

Here are three pictures, one from each leg of the journey, that capture a bit of the flavor of the last two weeks:

In Which I Snarkily Accuse Another of Snarkiness

I am loathe to give the McCain/Palin ticket any play, but SP's interview w/ Katie Couric made my head want to spin around until it popped off and went flying into orbit. Seriously, when SP licked her finger and held it up to say that Obama sticks his finger in the air to test the political winds before making decisions, I said bad words to my TV. Lots of bad words. I stuck my finger in the air, too, but it was a different one. I gotta give props to Katie, because she was on SP like snot on suede. I have had it with the "aw, shucks, I'll get right back to ya on that one, Katie" folksy crap. (The paraphrasing is mine, but that's what I hear when she speaks.) Our current president was lauded for his folksy, everyman appeal, and look where that's gotten us. I'm not interested in voting for everyman/everywoman. I don't want to have a beer or go on a moose hunt with the president or vice president. (I certainly wouldn't want to go on any kind of hunt with the current vp.) I want someone who is smart, not a smartass.

(Okay, I lied just then. I would totally want to have a beer with Barack Obama. So sue me.)


Now that I know the recipient has gotten her package, I thought I'd post pics of the most recent reverse applique shirt that I made. I donated it to an Obama fundraising raffle on Ravelry and the winner has promised to wear it to a debate party on Friday night.

I am so fired up to go to Iowa to volunteer for the campaign for the four days leading up to the election. I am going to get in my car and head west and I am going to put my Dar Williams cd in and turn the volume up really loud on the chorus. (Yeah, I know the song has nothing to do with a politcal campaign, but there aren't many state names that sound so good sung over and over again.)

CSI: Pre-School

There are two adorable little girls in the neighborhood who have spent a good part of the summer decorating the street with sidewalk chalk. Sometimes we open our front door to find toddler graffiti scrawled on the stone staircase that leads to our porch. We've been told that the girls think our steps are really cool (?!), and it has been fun to see their drawings getting more detailed as they get older. Today, I left to have lunch with a friend and was shocked to find that Chicago's Major Crimes Division must have been called to the scene.




It's a bit hard to see, but there are 7 or 8 chalk outlines of the girls, some feet to feet and one set holding hands. It just cracked me up.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It is September and that means it's Halloween. (I am in the camp that believes it is a season, not just a single day.) I love, love, love Halloween: pumpkins, ghosts, witches, all of it. Okay, not ALL of it. I like it all except the dressing up. I know that sounds strange, but it comes from a very logical place. My mother HATED Halloween because she despised costuming my brother and me. Over the years, her dislike of costumes began to rub off on me, and something I used to enjoy became not-so-much fun. (Don't get me wrong, Mom is a fine person, she just hated Halloween.) The other issue with costuming was weather-related. Growing up in Pennsylvania, it was often cold at the end of October, and Mom, being a sensible, responsible mother, required the wearing of coats when it was cold. As you know, Dorothy Gale did not wear a yellow puffy jacket with blue and red trim when she was skipping off to Oz. The wearing of cold-weather gear messed with my sense of verisimilitude and put a big, fat damper on things. (Chattering teeth probably would have taken the fun out of it, too, but who could tell when one was all hopped-up on a Sugar Daddy and Dum Dum buzz.)

So, anyway, I am deep in the throes of Halloween preparations. There are skeletons, rats, pumpkins, black cats, spiders, and artfully draped pieces of cheesecloth (appropriately tattered) everywhere. (I always have to tell my husband when I have put out the rats so that he doesn't have a heart attack.) I haven't put up any of the crows and ravens, yet, but they're coming.

Halloween is a huge deal in my neighborhood. Many of the houses on the three streets to the east of us do it up big. There are graveyards, webs, giant spiders, and ghosts everywhere. My street, though, is a bit of a downer. When our neighborhood was developed in the early 1900s, it was done in three phases from east to west. The first phase, three streets over, had mostly large, single-family houses. As the construction moved west, more multi-family buildings were incorporated into the plan of each street. Our side of our street was the last part of the development, and is comprised of mostly two-flats, three-flats, and some larger buildings. The other side of the street was not part of the development and has an even higher percentage of multi-unit buildings. Long story short, most of the trick-or-treating takes place on the three streets east where the single-family homes are. Kids are bused in (no, I am not kidding, busloads of kids are dropped off) and they go from house to house loading up. It is wall-to-wall superheroes and princesses over there. I know one house that had over 1000 kids before she ran out of candy. How did she know exactly how many? She is strictly a "one-piece-per-person" candy-giver. (No reaching into the bowl at that house; it's a hold-out-your-bag-and-I'll-drop-it-in operation.) She knew, based on the number of bags she had bought and the number of pieces per bag exactly how many she had. That same year we had seven. No, not 700. Seven. See, the kids don't do the street with multi-family buildings because most people in condos don't answer their bells. Never mind that I sit glumly on my porch, a big bowl of Snickers and M&Ms on my lap, ghost-shaped candles flickering all around me...*sigh*.

All this decorating is cutting into my knitting time, but I have got to get moving. I have a lot of stitches to get in before the end of the year. I finished Mr. Greenjeans.

I'm fairly happy with it, though it isn't as fantabulous as I wanted it to be. I found and (sorta) fixed a mistake. (Nope, it's not a cable issue, and if you find a cable issue, DO NOT TELL ME.) I doubt that you could find the flaw unless you examined the sweater very carefully (yea! for the slubby yarn that aided me in my time of peril), but I know that it is there. I found it after the sweater was washed and blocking, and there was no way I would have been able to get to it without ripping out a massive amount of knitting. My OCD tendencies, however, will not let me forget its presence, and it makes me crazy. (I find myself touching the spot where the problem lies almost constantly. If you ever see me wearing it, you will be able to find the problem because I will practically be pointing to it.)

I've got a few pairs of socks going, and I am casting on a Cat Bordhi pattern for a bag to hold my Denise needles. No sooner did I order the yarn for that project than I found out about the new Denise organizer which immediately my must-have item from the current issue of Knitty. Oh, well, the organizer will go into the bag. I am also planning to make a vest (waving my big, fat, geek flag here) sporting the Obama campaign logo. I am going to go to Iowa to work the final Get Out the Vote push, and I wanted to have something special to wear while I am there. I feel so strongly about this election, and I've convinced myself that if I have enough Obama-wear, there is no way he can lose. (I guess I'm kind of into dressing up after all.)

Stitches Midwest

It has just been a big, yarn-y blur around here. Last weekend was Stitches, and I did a semi-immersion, taking just two classes (though one was all-day), and shopping a bit here and there. No fashion show, no student fashion show.

I cannot say enough positive things about the new location in Schaumburg. (Take note as I am about to rave about a suburb.) The new convention center/hotel is lovely. While I didn't stay at the hotel (I cheaped out and Hotwired for the two non-consecutive nights I was going to be there and ended up with great deals at two decent places), I heard that the rooms were gorgeous, and the public spaces were fab. The decor was modern and beautiful. You could have picked that hotel up from the giant parking lot in which it is situated, plopped it down in any big city, and it would look like the chic, upscale property it is. (I even suggested that--gasp--the husband and I go out there some night for a little getaway, it's that nice.) I had dinner and drinks one evening in Gather, the bar upstairs. It is open, light, friendly, had fantastic food, and was so much more delicious and less expensive than any meal I have ever had in a hotel bar/restaurant. I was shocked. Now, I'd like to try their steakhouse, which, I believe, is called Sam & Harry's.

The convention center itself was fine. (It's a big, huge room with cement floors and fluorescent lights, a typical scenario.) The food was less expensive and better than is common in these places (I had a grilled veggie wrap w/ boursin cheese that wasn't bad as compared to the dried-out pizza featured in Rosemont.) Also, there were tons of restrooms, so there was never any line. (Some things are disproportionately important to me.)

My classes were spindle spinning with Mereike Saarnit and an all-day sockitecture class with Cat Bordhi. I've heard some grumbling about the spinning class over on Ravelry, but it met my expectations. Cat's class was, as all of her classes are, inspirational. It was similar to the one I had with her at Sock Camp, but it got to go a bit father since we had 6 hours. And she just keeps finding new ways to do things that make our knitting so much better. This time it was a new way to make our decreases look neater. She is so generous with her knowledge. I find her to be remarkable.

What's also remarkable is that I am going to be spending five days with her in October! My husband had secretly been emailing with her about her knitting retreat in Friday Harbor (on her home island), and I am going! My friend, Liz, and I had spent one day at Friday Harbor on our way to Sock Camp, and it is a gorgeous place. We went to Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm, shopped in the stores downtown, had drinks and dinner at the waterfront, had breakfast at a charming local hang-out, etc. Now I get to go for five days to see the things I missed, which hopefully will include some aquatic wildlife, the lavender farm, more alpacas, the camel that I have heard lives on the island, etc. Plus, five days of learning from Cat. Do I not have the nicest husband ever?!

(An alpaca, not a picture of my husband, btw.)

Getting there is going to be fun. I was already flying home to Chicago from Alabama (I'll be there for the Kentuck Festival) on the 20th. Thank goodness for Southwest, and I was able to change my flight (and keep the full value of the ticket) so that I will be flying from Birmingham to Nashville where I change planes for one bound to Seattle, and my bags will be checked through. I'll pick up a car there and stay in the city (at a cool hotel in the U district called the Hotel Deca), and I will drive to Anacortes to the ferry the next morning. I bought a separate, one-way ticket home. It worked out great. Then, when I get back home the 26th, I will have a few days to rest up before I ship out to Iowa to help the Obama campaign Nov. 1-4. (I have volunteered but have yet to get an assignment, so that is still a bit up in the air, but I'll be damned if I will sit idly by without doing all I can--besides writing checks--to see the election conclude the way I hope it will.)

Michigan Part II

It has now been so long since my first post about MI that I no longer remember what else I had to say. Here are some of the highlights:

• A couple of evenings, I hung out with Jennie the Potter and Dawn (Jennie's "roadie" for this show), both of whom I'd met on the SeaSocks cruise. I love, love, love Jennie's work. I added one of her new yarn bowls to my pottery collection. It was great to see both of them again.


• I also got to spend time with Chris of Briar Rose and her daughter, Amy, who was helping at the booth. She is a nice as her yarns are gorgeous, and she graciously offered to have 6 of us piled into her RV so that we could watch Michael Phelps win gold #7. Seriously, if you believe that spirit and intentions transfer to the thing someone makes as she is working on it, you cannot do better than to get some Briar Rose.


• I acquired mostly roving and top on this trip, and I have plenty of fun new stuff to spin. I also got two itty, bitty Bosworth spindles (20% off!) and a new Kundert spindle for the collection.

All in all, a fun trip, though perhaps a day too long. I missed my boys (the tall, human one, and the four-footed, fuzzy ones), and I missed my shower. (It isn't the most glam bathroom on the block, but at least it is mosquito-free!)

It was home for a few days, then off to...

Scratching the Fiber Itch (Michigan '08, part I)

I had a great time in Michigan, and judging by the number of small-but-itchy welts on my wrists, hands, feet and ankles, the mosquitoes enjoyed my visit, too.

On my way over on Tuesday, the jam-packed Jetta had a blowout about 3 miles from the Michigan border. Hanging out by the side of I-94 waiting for service wasn't the best fun ever (I should have been counting semi-trucks whizzing by to pass the time), but the tow truck arrived pretty quickly and I was on my way on the spare in about 90 minutes. (There was no way I was going to try to change a driver's side tire given how busy it was on the highway. That decision turned out to be a good one because, as we discovered, my tires have some kind of special wheel lock caps for which no tool was included in the tire kit. The mechanic ended up prying them off the tires with a big ol' knife. Good times.)

When I arrived at the fairground, I selected a nice spot not too far from the marginally better bathrooms and proceeded to set up the new tent. My test-run in the backyard had gone much more smoothly (less wind, I think), and it took a bit longer to get set up than the first time. I managed to nip my finger between a pole and a clip and I christened the entire tent with blood droplets. (Come to think of it, perhaps that's why I was so popular with the mosquitoes.) Fortunately, once the tent was up, the rest of the week was a breeze.

I cannot recommend the Cobb Portable Barbecue Grill highly enough. It is lightweight, easy to use and clean, and the outside stays cool when the fire is lit. It attracted a lot of curiosity, and I was super-popular with the over-65 male demographic. I enjoyed a number of grilled meals, including portabellos, zucchini, peppers, and brats. (This was a vast improvement over the all PB&J diet of trips past.)



I took three classes, Mechanics of the Spinning Wheel, Two Socks on One Circular Needle, and Felt Shoemaking. The sock class was just "meh." It was an all-day class, and it was a technique I could have figured out on my own had I devoted the time to reading some instructions. Amy Tyler taught the spinning class, and it was different than the one I took with her at Midwest. She has a laid back approach and I enjoyed this one as much as I did her previous class. Kelly Brandt taught the shoe class and it was a lot of fun. (I had taken a class with her last year.) In the morning we made our felt and began to make our shoe pattern using some formulae she had developed. In the afternoon, we cut the felt and the leather soles and stitched the felt to the bottoms. I don't think anyone finished by the end of the day, but we did get to a place where we could finish on our own. I've got a few steps to complete, but I was pretty happy with the results for a first-time effort. I doubt I will be cobbling on a regular basis (or ever), but it was a unique experience.

More to come in part II...

In which I prepare to return to nature

True, so long as returning to nature is withing proximity of flushing toilets (public, but flushing), showers (a bit more rustic on this front), and a new tent tall enough to stand up in so that I no longer have to lie on my back to wiggle into my pants.

Tuesday I'll be heading up to Allegan, MI for the MI Fiber Festival. This trip is many things, including a self-imposed challenge as to just how many things I can fit into a Jetta.

New tent. Check.
New air mattress that (hopefully) doesn't have a slow leak. Check.
New Cobb Portable Grill and various accoutrement. Check.
Various tables and camp chairs. Check.
Wine. Check.
Projects. Check.
And so on and so on.

Every year I try to improve my little nylon home-away-from-home a smidge, and this year could be a charm. Not having to hunch over in the tent will be a vast improvement. Too bad I don't have a satellite to pull in Olympics coverage--I have been glued to the TV like snot on suede since the Opening Ceremonies. I do need to 'fess up: I am not a sports fan. I watch one annual sporting event, the Indy 500. I am, however, and Olympics junkie. I want desperately to go to Vancouver in 2010, and I am really excited that Chicago is in the running for 2016. That being said, I may either have to cozy up to someone with TV in their RV or hit a local bar to watch some of the games while I am in Allegan.

I'll be taking a few classes that I hope to report on, including a shoe making class which incorporates creating custom felt to make slippers, shoes, or boots with leather soles. Could be fun, could be a soapy, wet mess.

So I will be off the grid (my cell doesn't even work up there) until Sunday. The dear, sweet, oh-so-tolerant husband and the cats will keep things running smoothly in my absence, I'm sure. See you next week.

Coming to you from the Craft Dungeon

There is still fine tuning to be done on the basement, but it is now in a condition where I can actually use it. I have my sewing machine and a cutting table set up, and I've got another area dedicated to messier, wetter projects like dyeing. Now, I just need to start making stuff.

I've come to the realization that I needed to resolve some photography issues. My yarn p0rn left something to be desired. I've ordered a few mesh pop-up cubes to construct a light box and hopefully that will help. I was getting so frustrated with the lighting conditions--either the flash was too flashy or the pics were dark and slightly out of focus. Neither condition is very useful.

I'm still stalled on the two sweaters, Ribby Pulli and Mr. Greenjeans, that are on the needles. Frankly, I often hit a wall at about 70% completion. And, given the season, the urgency isn't there at the moment. I want to finish something I could actually wear right now. I've got a simple pair of ribbed socks that should be done today, and I plan to cast on for a simple top for the waning days of summer. I also need to commit to having a brainless pair of socks going at all times. Too many times recently, I left the house empty-handed for lack of a simple, portable project. Bad planning on my part. Yesterday I stash-tossed for some skeins perfect for ribbed or stockinette socks to have on hand ready to go. New Rule: as soon as the last pair is kitchenered, cast on the next. Do not pass go until this step is completed. Also marinating in their own project bag are the Hydrangea Socks. The Flat Feet yarn is so unpleasant that I just can't get motivated to continue. I think I am going to destash the other two sheets I have because it is just not making me happy. I doesn't make sense to force myself to knit that way when I have so many other choices.

After weeks and weeks of waiting, I am finally going to be getting some ripe tomatoes! There are BLTs in my future, my friends. In fact, I think there are some ready to be plucked now. Mmmmm...BLTs + iced tea = nirvana. (But only if you use real mayo and not that fauxnnaise or light mayo which is too sicky sweet.) BLTs are really important around here because we used to have a few moderately-priced diner-ish places that excelled in them. As the neighborhood has gotten swankier (yea! higher property values, boo! goodbye to super-cheap, good food), they have gone away. My only recourse is to stink the joint up by frying bacon up here at home. If that's what it takes, then I shall do it.

The Glamour Never Stops

Hello again. Things just haven't been all that exciting around here, so there hasn't been much of anything to write about. We continue to have gorgeous weather (except for a few hot days), and I am anxious for the 14 tomato plants in my backyard to start producing. I go out every day to check for ripeness. I did get two tiny yellow cherry tomatoes a couple of weeks ago, but since then, it's been wait, wait, wait. One year I forgot I had planted a variety that was green, and I just couldn't understand why they weren't getting red. Silly moi. That's not the issue this time around.

Now that I have plenty of time, I am getting around to some of the domestic projects that have been requiring my attention. I have spent several hours a day for the last two weeks or so cleaning the basement. (I know, the glamour never stops.) The prior owners of our house ran a wood shop out of the largest room in our basement (which has 4 rooms), and they did not clean the shop when they left. Add to that the general ick of a 99 year-old basement--eew. In typical Chicago-style architecture, about 2/3 of the basement is actually below ground and 1/3 is above so there are windows which allow for natural it light. We're also fortunate that the basement is dry, so storage isn't much of an issue. In fact, the stash is housed down there (in many, many plastic bins) and I am about to set up a sewing area and a dyeing/felting area. It isn't the most aesthetically pleasing place to be, but it will be nice to be able to leave the sewing machine up and to have a workspace for messy projects.

This past weekend I went to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair in Crystal Lake, IL. It was a somewhat strange set-up, with booths in hallways (it was at a community college), in the gym, and outside. It felt a bit disjointed, but there were a lot of really good vendors. Since I was also there to take an all-day spinning class on Saturday, I focused primarily on spinning fibers. I picked up some really soft alpaca batts,

tussah silk from Miss Babs,

wool and seacell from Creatively Dyed,

and merino/silk from Redfish.

I couldn't resist the colors of the Plain & Fancy singles,

and I can never walk past Brooks Farm without having something follow me home. This time it was their new bamboo blend in two colorways.

I also got a few ounces of wool courtesy of a sheep named Peanut from Jennie the Potter's booth. She and her mom Lucinda had both been on the SeaSocks cruise and it was great to see them again. I added a few of Jennie's buttons to the notions stash. I'm looking forward to visiting with her again at Michigan Fiber Festival.

The spinning class was worthwhile. I learned a few new things and continued to sharpen my developing spinning skills. I've got the S10 working pretty well now despite its wonky beginnings. It was an Ebay purchase that came directly from the Netherlands. It is an old model and didn't have directions for assembly. (The newer S10s have a different mechanism, so the PDF on the website wasn't all that helpful.) It took a few tries to get all the washers in the right places, and for a while the nuts on the moving parts would unwind themselves as I spun. That seems to have resolved itself and it is working pretty well now. I need to keep practicing because I somewhat impetuously ordered a Bosworth Journey Wheel. It won't be ready for delivery until March '09, so I have time to get my skills up to the level that piece of machinery deserves. (Don't get me started on my lustful yearning for a Golding Flock of the Shepherdess Triple Flyer wheel. I may never spin well enough to justify that, but it is gorgeous to look at.)

I finally finished the Magician Scarf.

I am not a big fan of the Alchemy Silken Straw (splitty stuff), but I did buy the materials to make two, so I will have to deal with it again in the near future. After jackrabbit starts on both the Ribby Pulli and Mr. Greenjeans, things slowed down. I am about 2/3 finished on both.

Tomorrow it is back to the basement. I need to tackle the three smaller (and icky-er) rooms before I can call it good. I can haz Shop-Vac...

Horizontally Challenged

Saturday morning: It is 4:01am and I am up. I am suffering with some vicious 4th-of-July-barbecue-induced acid reflux and remaining horizontal is not an option. (Didn't the Stones sing "What a drag it is getting old?" Yep.) I like to say that I have a complicated relationship with digestion. (The A.D.D. Knitter boldly and hysterically disclosed her recent intestinal escapades. I could SOOOOOOOOO relate since I know well the feeling of "the burning fire of a thousand suns." It's why I don't get in/on any vehicular transport too small to have a bathroom that I can not quickly exit if need be. No small planes, helicopters, hot air balloons, tiny boats, etc. Nope. No way.)


Pre-ATL, I was busting on the projects, I got to 70% on Mr. Greenjeans and 40% on Knitty Ribby and then I hit the skids. I have now pulled out the Magician's Scarf which had been relegated to the deep recesses if a knitting bag due to the fiddly nature of the Alchemy Silken Straw. (Splitty stuff, that!) I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend for a little project closure action. (Update: It is now Sunday afternoon and it is NOT going to happen. Knitting at night wearing a headlamp because you want to try out your new tent in your backyard is not a good time to work with Alchemy Silken Straw. Frogging will ensue--make a note.)

Speaking of splitty, I succumbed to the lure of Flat Feet and have started a pair of Hydrangea Socks from Eclectic Sole. That, too, is a splitty yarn and I won't be adding any more to the stash. (I have 3 including the one I started.) While the concept of the product is fun, I'm just not cracked up about the quality of the yarn.

Can you knit me a pair of capri pants?

This past weekend I was in ATL with the (formerly) knitting niece. (There were other people there, too, but she's the really fun one.) I say "formerly" knitting because she hasn't really caught the knitting bug despite my best efforts. The kid likes to read...a lot. (She also likes the D*sney Ch*nnel, but we don't hold that against her.) I always like to take a crafty project or two along with me when we visit, and this time it was dyeing with KoolAid and Wilton Paste Food Colors. Color selection was up to her, so we did one skein of Lamb's Pride in grape KoolAid and another in burgundy Wilton. We also did two small skeins of sock yarn in four colors each. The first was lemonade, pink lemonade, blue raspberry and cherry KoolAid and the second was blue, kelly green, red, and purple Wilton paste. We tried to set the colors by putting the dyed skeins in ziptop bags in the sun, but drought-plagued Atlanta had some rain. (Not enough to help the drought, but enough to foil our plans.) The damp yarn travelled back to Chicago in my suitcase where I used the microwave to set the yarn. (The Wilton colors refuse to run clear, so multi-colored feet could be in the kid's future.)


I took a little oat grass kit along so that she could plant some for her cat. She has called me each day since I returned home to ask if the seeds are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Day one: "Nothing's happening!" Day two: "There is some fuzzy stuff on the seeds. Is it supposed to be there?!" I explained that I planted some for my cats before I left home to visit her. The day we went to the airport, the seeds had sprouted tiny blonde hairs. When we returned three days later, the grass was four inches tall. That oat grass is some crazy stuff.


During one of our chats, I asked what she would like me to knit from the purple and burgundy yarns. She requested a pair of capri pants be knit from the worsted weight Lamb's Pride. I have talked her into mittens and a Panta (Ravelry link) instead. (Can you imagine wool and mohair capris? Eeeew.) I may consider making her some capris like Witches Britches in a more appropriate yarn. (This pair is fab.)

Don't Cry for Me, Suzy Homemaker

I am having the best summer evah. (Well, so far, at least, and now I've gone and thumbed my nose at fate.) Aside from one sweltering week, the temps have been amazing. The boys and I have been packing in the balcony time. The balcony, incidentally, has been prepared for Our Next President (ohpleaseohplease) should he decide to give a speech or stop by for tea or wish to sing a little something from "Evita" to the inhabitants of our street.

I've warned the neighbors that they might need to get used to the bunting (there's more on the side railings, too) not just through July 4, but straight through November.

If the weather holds this week, I'm going to bring the wheel up there to practice my spinning. I need to bone up for the classes I've signed up for, and it would be so lovely to do it outside. Just me, the cats, the fiber, some iced tea...

Speaking of iced tea, I have been drinking it by the gallon. Every other day I brew a big old jar of the stuff (mostly decaf bags of Luzianne with one high-test bag thrown in to add some depth of flavor) in the sunniest part of the backyard. (Very green, using solar power, dontcha think?) A few hours later, I transfer it to a pitcher, toss in some fresh mint from the garden and a few slices of orange and I am good to go. I am feeling a bit jittery, even with the decaf bags, so I think I may need to cut back a tiny bit.

I haven't finished any projects lately, but I've got two sweaters going (Ribby Pulli and Mr. Greenjeans), as well as some socks. I think I have everything I need to finally get going on my sewing projects, and the garden is thriving. I can't wait for those 14 tomato plants to start kicking out some fruit! This weekend, the niece and I are going to dye some sock yarn with Wilton dyes and Kool-Aid. We're going to rely on the power of the sun to set the color. One of her Christmas gifts will be socks made with the resulting yarn. I've been stencilling Obama shirts for friends.

Finally, on the horizon, my friend, Amy, emailed to let me know that their six little Romneys are being shorn today and she would like me to knit something for her son, Reid, from the fiber. Since my spinning skills are still in development, I've directed her to some processing companies and I'll knit him something from the resulting yarn.

Jeez, in just a year I've gone from urban warrior to being eyeball deep in domesticity. My Home Ec teacher never would have believed it.

Blog Post Wherein the Stash and I Have a Big Meeting--or Three

The Stash and I have been due for some face time for a while now. Yeah, she has been flashing parts of her tarty self around for some time, so a "come to J*sus meeting" was long overdue. For a good part of the last three days, I have been sorting, rearranging, discarding, photographing and databasing. Here's where it gets ugly--I'm not done yet. It's been a bit of a personal archaeological dig. I clearly had a sparkly era (so sue me--you didn't?!), and I have gone through distinct blue-green, pink-brown, and red-olive periods. Here is what I have learned thus far:

• "Pity buys" get me nowhere. You know those "Jeez, I am the only one in this place and I feel like I have to get something" purchases? They are dogs almost every time. So are a lot of clearance bin finds.


• I take a strange amount of comfort from the "virtual" projects in the stash. Just because I haven't actually knit the yarn into the sweater doesn't mean it doesn't exist in my head. (Don't say it--I know what you're thinking.)


• I really, really like sock yarn even though I don't always wear socks, even during Chicago winters.


• One must be very wary of Internet yarn photography.


• I need to knit a whole lot faster. Or maybe shop a whole lot slower...

The husband has often said that he wouldn't know what to do with the yarn if something happened to me. After this weekend, it will all (with the exception of the bin I have set aside for charity projects) be stashed in Ravelry. Should I meet an untimely end, it would be one hell of an eBay listing, that's for sure.

Oh, and YES WE CAN WILL!

Channeling My Inner Suzy Homemaker and Calling Carrie Bradshaw

Despite how much I sucked at Home Ec (I kicked ass in shop), I have a pretty strong domestic streak.* I enjoy cooking and baking, and my love of fiber seems to know no bounds. (I will learn to spin, I will learn to spin.) All of a sudden, I am itching to sew. I have been bitten by the Amy Butler bug. So...I ordered a bunch of patterns and some fabric (Purl Soho had a very nice 40% off sale on some charming textiles), made the rounds of local fabric stores, and I am going to oil up the Singer and, hell, yeah, I am going to sew. We'll just have to see how that goes.

I've started and finished a few small knitting projects in the last couple of weeks, including some socks and a few cowls. (I hope cowls don't become the ponchos of 2008--I'm investing far too much time and $$ only to abandon them in a season or two. I have some Quiviut versions in the queue--yum!)

This week I have to choose my projects carefully because the combination of the Alchemy Magician's Scarf (that Silken Straw is unforgiving stuff) and some gardening has wreaked havoc on my hands. After a few rounds, they start to ache--not good, not good at all. So, I am taking it easy and maybe I will use my "down time" to practice spinning.

Yesterday, I went to see "Sex and the City." (I have a serious thing for Mike Logan/Mr. Big, both flawed but very hot characters.) I left wanting to toss all of my Danskos and Borns and invest heavily in Jimmy Choos and Manolos. Not gonna happen, mind you, but it was tempting. I actually have a pair of Manolos that I have never worn. I got them on clearance from Neiman's several years ago (I just totally blew my style cred by admitting they were on clearance), but I never had an outfit to wear with them. One thing I have learned from those Sex girls, your shoes do not have to match the outfit at all. Watch the feet--you'll see what I mean.

After a very cool spring, it looks like the nicer weather may have arrived. Today was absolutely perfect: sunny with an occasional cloud, warm but breezy, and not humid at all. So long as it stays this way, this will be my view for most of the season:

We are so, so very lucky to have a large balcony on our house. Our next door neighbors to the north have one, too, and it's a very good thing we get along with them because we're only about 5' apart. It is quite a luxury here in the city--both to have neighbors you love and a great outdoor space.

The husband, the boys, and I all got a big dose of quality balcony time today. Actually, Pitch lost privileges for eating flowers and Papel got sent to the dugout for having a battle of wills with a terribly brazen pigeon. There was no contact--just a fierce staring contest that threatened to turn ugly for somebody. Considering I found a squirrel's tail--the entire tail--on the sidewalk next to my house this week, I do not want any part in wildlife carnage. (My cats were cleared of all charges in the squirrel case; they are always limited to strictly supervised balcony time and therefore have ironclad alibis.)

(Get a load of all of those tree seeds. There was a solid layer of them covering the floor before I swept up as many as I could. There were times today when it looked like a blizzard.)

P.S. Those clear plastic shoes are not Carrie Bradshaw-approved. I know that, but they amuse me nonetheless.

*My domestic skills DO NOT include cleaning. I. HATE. TO. CLEAN.

Back on Land

I've been home for a few days two weeks , but I have been flying below the radar. It's hard to readjust when the twice-a-day housekeeping services come to a crashing halt. (Hmmm...methinks I hear the sound of tiny violins.)

The trip was great. The two days in Seattle at the beginning were particularly good. It was just me and the husband hitting many of the spots we enjoyed the summer we lived there together. (Could it really have been 1993? Yikes.) We stayed in a great place directly across the street from The Hammering Man. It was a quick trip down the hill to the waterfront and a short walk to Pike Place. I don't know what they put in the water out there, but I swear I was jonesin' for coffee ALL THE TIME. Seriously, I wanted a cappuccino every time I passed a coffee joint, and since they are 3 or 4 to a block (tiny exaggeration), it was a little crazy. We took a liking for Tully's, and I wouldn't mind it at all if they built a few out here.

We walked around Pike Place Market (where the flowers were so gorgeous and so inexpensive), visited the aquarium

(where we took 4000 pictures of otters, 3998 of them blurry),

had dinner at Cascadia (where I had, among other things, super-tasty mini-burgers slathered with truffle butter and an Alpine (Douglas Fir) Martini and the husband finished his meal with "The Catch of the Day"),

took a ferry to Bainbridge Island so that I could visit Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (which has the best English Breakfast Tea and some of the nicest staffers in the universe), and, most importantly to SOMEONE on this trip, had sausages at The Frankfurter. (The Italian Hots live up to the name, that's for sure.)

On boarding day, I went on the yarn crawl organized by the travel agent. It was a little crazy (okay, a lot crazy), because the bus had to make three trips to get all the luggage to the ship before the crawl. (I kept my Bossy Girl Badge in my purse and did not get involved in the mayhem, though there were a few things I was itching to suggest that might have made the morning a tad smoother, IMHO.) We managed to hit three of the four planned stops (Tricoter, Hilltop Yarn, and So Much Yarn; Acorn Street had to be dropped due to the late start.) Hilltop was my favorite shop of the day because of the atmosphere. It is in an old house with Arts and Crafts detailing. It is a cozy little place that is full of charm. Then it was on to the ship.

Celebrity really did a disservice to the passengers on this sailing because the ship did not arrive in port until 7:30pm. Instead of a relaxing day with staggered boarding, all passengers were corralled in a no-frills terminal, given cardboard boxes of packaged snacks, and crammed into too-small waiting areas with too few plastic lawn chairs for seating. Frankly, the experience did not live up to Celebrity's branding and marketing efforts. We did not feel as though we were "treated famously" unless they meant to treat us like D-list celebs just booked on a DUI. We were lucky and boarded by 8:30pm; some people didn't get on until 10:30pm. Not a relaxing first day of cruising by any stretch of the imagination.

The first day at sea was a little rough, and though I had never gotten seasick on a cruise before, I was down for the count. I made it through half of Amy Singer's "Plug and Play Shawl" class before I had to go back to the cabin. Not pretty. By day two I was fine, and even though we had some really rough seas (outdoor decks were closed, shows were cancelled, and warnings to wear flat shoes were issued--that kind of rough), I felt great the rest of the trip.

Our first port was Ketchikan. It's a small place with the requisite Junque Emporia, Tanzanite Forever Outlets, etc., but there are some locally owned and managed places in the downtown, among them, two yarn shops/art galleries run by the same woman who just happened to be vacationing on the same cruise. I went a little overboard (I'm buying yarn in Alaska! I'm buying yarn in Alaska!), but I only purchased things made or dyed in-state. I purchased several things from Raven Frog Fibers (Sitka, AK), some Pink Carrot (dyed in Ketchikan), Rabbit Ridge (Anchorage, AK), and, even though I said I wasn't going to get any, several (okay, five) balls of Quiviuk/Merino/Silk. While I was on a yarn binge, the husband took a float plane to Misty Fjords. (Misty Fjords, by the way, is a character in the book he claims he will someday write; she joins the madcap Bananas Foster and others I cannot currently recall in wacky antics sure to delight. Coming soon to a bookstore near you.)

Our other Alaskan port was Juneau. After asking for directions to the yarn shop, we were first sent to the Ben Franklin (not exactly what I had in mind), but a second person got us where we were going. At Skeins, I got another skein from Raven Frog (supersoft silk/merino in Cabin in the Woods), and a ball of 100% Quiviuk. (When she told us she still had 2006 prices on it, I couldn't resist.) The husband and I also got alpaca sweaters (totally imported from S. America, but gorgeous nonetheless--and they're not matching sweaters, just in case you were wondering) from a boutique down the street. After dumping the booty back on the ship, we took a whale watching excursion. We saw 5 or 6 humpbacks, a porpoise or two, sea lions, and bald eagles.

I would have loved to have spotted a bear on the shoreline of Admiralty Island, but it didn't happen. (I did see a bear at Mendenhall Glacier the last time we were in Juneau, so that will have to do.)

Our third Alaskan destination was a visit to Hubbard Glacier. As we did last time, the ship was able to get within a mile of the glacier (through a dense ice field this visit), but it was really cold and nasty on deck. Freezing rain and gusty winds made it a bit rough, but it is an amazing thing to see 6-7 mile-long, 300' tall wall of ice in front of you.

Our final port was Victoria, BC, a place we'd been several times before. The ship was a few hours late docking due to the bad weather and reduced speed, so the travel agent called ahead to Beehive Wool Shop to make sure they'd stay open. The husband said the scene at Beehive was like watching zombies looking for brains to feed on, and I have to say that he wasn't far off. (Someone actually grabbed a skein of yarn that was in my my hand. 'Nuff said.) Beehive has an astounding array of Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden, and that's what we zombies were out for. I tried to get out as quickly as I could. When the call went out that the bulk of the knitters were arriving--we didn't take the group bus so we got a bit of a jump on things--I got to the register and hightailed it out of Dodge. (It was crowded before the bus arrived; it must have been madness after.) We spent the rest of the evening strolling around the harbor, browsing in Munro's (a local bookstore with an amazing contemporary tapestry exhibit on display), eating fish and chips and hoisting a pint at Swan's, and reminiscing about our last visit there.

The next morning we woke up docked in Seattle. Disembarking went much more smoothly than getting on, and we were off and had our luggage by 10am. Since our flight wasn't until 2:40pm, I suggested we drag our luggage (4 suitcases plus carryons!) a half-mile or so to The Frankfurter so that the husband could have another sausage or two before heading home.

All in all, it was a great trip. We made some new friends (shout out to VicKnitChick and KnittingonCall and G, in particular), nabbed some great fiber, and had a fantastic time together.

We're booked for Sea Socks '09, departing Baltimore with stops in Boston, St. John, Halifax, Bar Harbor and another port in Maine. Amy Singer and Jillian Moreno are scheduled to be on board. (If you ever get a chance to hang with Amy Singer, do. She is very, very cool.)

Last but not least, thanks for your comments. The winners are: Abbeykins and The A.D.D. Knitter. I will email you both to get snail mail addresses to send your winnings!

A Tourist at Home...and a Contest for Tourists.

I am exhausted! My oldest friend (well, she isn't my oldest friend, but the friend I've known the longest) was here with her youngest son this weekend. Here is a quick run-down of what we did:

• walked around my neighborhood.


• took him on his first El (and subway) ride.


• went to the Shedd aquarium where we saw the Komodo Dragon, the dolphin show, and a 4-d movie. (Think water spraying in your face, air jets on your neck and feet, and things poking you in your back. Fun, actually.)


• went to the Field Museum.


• posed for hysterical pictures (none of which are on my camera) with the globe exhibit at the Museum Campus. (Think young boy as Atlas, pretending to spin an 8-foot globe on his finger, etc.)


• came back to my house for a dinner of homemade crabcakes, salad, celery root puree (which the 9-year-old tried!), and strawberry shortcake.


• ate lunch the Signature Room on the 95th Floor of the Hancock Building.

• took him on his first cab ride.


• went to the Lincoln Park Zoo where he and I indulged our penchants for penny medallions (flattened pennies.)

• ate at a Chicago landmark, Geja's, an atmospheric fondue restaurant. Gruyere and Swiss fondue followed by lobster, beef tenderloin, and vegetables in an oil fondue, and ending with dark chocolate. Sorry to those near us hoping for a romantic evening--fondue with a 9-year-old does not lend itself to romance, though no one was injured during the consumption of this meal despite the presence of pointy objects, hot liquids, and flame.

• watched the Simpsons movie, which he narrated with every line prior to its actual delivery by the characters on-screen.


• ate at a Swedish restaurant in my neighborhood so he could try Swedish pancakes.


• went to Millennium Park to see Cloudgate, aka The Bean (which he kept calling The Lima Pea), the Crown Fountain, etc.


• walked to the river to see the Wrigley Building.


• saw the famous Chicago puppet bike.


• went back to the Lincoln Park Zoo again. (The Lion Building was closed the day before for a special event, and there was an untapped penny machine which caused great yearning.)


• walked through the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

• had Chicago-style hot dogs.


• ate paletas, Mexican popsicles sold from pushcarts and quite prevalent in my neighborhood.

I am beat. Now that I am done being a tourist in my own city, I need to quickly pack to be an actual tourist. I am off to Sea Socks.

While I am gone, I was hoping to entice some of you to de-lurk with a little contest. I am a prolific collector of souvenir yarns, skeins I have procured on trips. What is your favorite vacation yarn or, alternately, your favorite fiber-related field trip? Post your answers in the comments to win a fabulous hand-selected skein of sock yarn. I promise really good stuff. Pinky swear. (Ooops, that was the 9-year-old rubbing off on me.) One skein will be awarded for my favorite answer and one will be awarded at random, one prize per person. (The last time I had a contest, only one person entered, so she was the sole winner. I hope that a few more people will comment this time.) Winners will be notified the week of May 19.