Dips in the Road of Creativity

I Got the Music in Me - But Where Did it Come From?

2011-11-11T00:03:00.004-05:00

by Caroline and Kathleen

Funny the random things that pop into one's head. I was thinking about my music choices and where I formed my tastes. Before starting this post I couldn't remember listening to much music in my teens (other than Pink Floyd on the jukebox in the cafeteria) but when I listen to 70's oldies I know I am listening to "my" music. So, where did the rest of the music come from?

- Johnny Cash - love - comes from my parents. We had an 8 track of his Western songs (Stampede!, The Streets of Laredo). And don't forget Marty Robbins and "El Paso" (Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, Ifell in love with a Mexican girl...).
- show tunes! My parents, once we were old enough, brought us to the theater many times. I remember singing "Jesus Christ Superstar" on car trips... we knew ALL the words. And I mean all... start to end. I... I think I still do!
-sea music, I can also thank my parents for.
- The Christmas album from The Harry Simeone Chorale that we listened to so much that I started singing Deck the Halls with the skip included.
- folk songs learned in school, well who didn't learn She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain? I went to Catholic School. I didn't learn "Comin' Round the Mountain"... I learned "Sons of God" (Including the unforgettable lines "Eat his body, drink his blood...").

I know we had the radio on in the car but I can't say I remember getting my music from the radio. I could be wrong here, but I believe most of my music memories and tastes come from my sister Kathleen.

- Kathleen who brought home the girl scout songs that we learned in the car (Sammacootchacatchacamma, Sipping Cider Through a Straw, Fried Ham). And Dad's "Goodbye Horse" and "On the Trail of the Lonesome Spine". And that deathless classic by Herman's Hermits... "I'm 'Enry the Eighth I am"?
- Kathleen who introduced me to "grown up" musicians like Peter, Paul, and Mary; Simon and Garfunkle; The Kingston Trio; The Carpenters; and The Beatles. Well... we have to give Mom and Dad the credit for PP&M I think. They had the album "Peter, Paul and Mommy" and that's where we first listened to them. Also The Kingston Trio was theirs. But I sure did play the heck out of those... I loved "The Hungry I"!
- Kathleen who, in more recent years, brought me Irish music (Martin Hayes) and Quebecois (Matapat) Okay. I'll take all the credit for this one.

I can't sing, well, I can but I seem to be the only one who enjoys it. But I have 2 friends to thank for giving me back my joy of singing out loud. A former co-worker, Mary-Ellen, who burst into bits of song all day long. And Lora, a member of my knit group, who can find a song for almost any subject that comes up at knitting.

Where did your music come from?

What I do vividly remember music wise, is Dad coming back from a tour of duty and bringing home a close and play stereo for me with a pile of records. Petula Clark, Nancy Sinatra, Beatles, Englebert Humperdink, 1910 Fruit Gum Co ("Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy..."). These were bootleg copies I'm sure... some were in colored vinyl with half the lyrics printed in Chinese. But I played them for years.

Ready for the Winter

2011-09-04T15:45:00.004-04:00

by Kathleen

Uhm... not really. No rush to leave Summer... take your time. Sit awhile...

But, just in case, we do have some cuddly wool goodness ready for the throwing on the couch...

Lizard Ridge is Done! (well... except that I decided that it needed a border of some kind, and yes that marker is a dropped stitch that needs to be caught, but it's out now and visually stunning as is, so done is done... ish.)

A closer look at the wavy goodness. Some of the blocks just melded together so lovely and others are more abrupt... but the whole effect is glorious! I am satisfied.

And...

Girasole is done! It was quite a slog at the end, and my needles were a pain in the buttocks; Addi interchangeable circulars, which I normally like a lot but not this time. The join both got hung up every time I had to shift stitches and the screw kept loosening. If I wasn't careful the cable just fell off... with all the stitches sliding off as well!

But it was mostly fun and I learned several new techniques and... well it's just plain stupendous. And talk about BIG! That's a large champagne bottle in the above photo.

These are large, heavy wooden deck chairs... It dwarfs them!

Here's a more color true closeup of the center detail. The center was seriously fun... love doing lace on size 10's!

That about covers most of the knitting. I'm on a sweater jag now... I've got one ready for sleeves and two I just cast on.

AndI also did some successful sewing during this last year. Costume and real life. Next time...

2011-06-20T13:31:00.004-04:00

by Kathleen

Don't really have too much to say... still slogging through life with occasional bumps, but more frequent periods of great joy and fun. Howzabout some photos of aforesaid fun...?

A leeeeeetle bit of fun...

About 2" tall, assorted leftovers.

Your more average sized (that would be a woman's 8) fun...

Claudia Handpaints in Pistachio and Boot Camp, alternating stripes of 2-4 rounds

Nancy Bush's Child's First Sock in Kramer's Sterling Sock

JoAnn's Sensation Bamboo and Ewe yarn from a swap, alternating purls and knits with the stripes

Cherry tree Hill, blocks of knits interrupted with slip stitches and purl rows

Woodland, Claudia Handpainted Shells on the Beach (only made one for a LYS display)

Some fun in progress...

Zauberball, alternating from the two ends... I'm on the second one now

And a whole whopping table full of fun...

Plus a sandwich. (I don't recall what kind now...)

And a little bit of teaching fun...

Assorted worsted weight yarns, changing at every "step" including the gusset pickups and kitchener.

Fun right? Well of course! Socks are always fun!

Next time it's afghan and scarf fun! And then (believe it or not) there was sewing fun!!! Wowza!

It's Just So Freaking Exciting!

2011-03-19T21:48:00.007-04:00

by Caroline

Knitting has been kicking my butt lately. It has been thumbing its figurative nose at me and laughing.

I had 4 projects going: a 6" mitered square, a pair of Hobbiton socks (3rd pair and not a one on my feet), Prince of the Wood Elves, and a pair of ribbed socks for a neighbor (size 12 feet).

- it took 3 tries to get that 6" square going.
- didn't have enough yarn to finish the neighbor's socks. They went to the frog pond.
- finally accepted that PotWE was not working. This was the second attempt at finishing the pair and I have decided to frog them. The yarn will be used for something else and I will try the pattern again when the karma is right.
- Hobbiton was going quickly till I hit the heel. The heel had to be done 3 times.
Things were dragging but I finally got past the heel.

Then this weekend, my mother and I went to Fiber Loft for a colorwork and steeking workshop with Kristen Nicholas (Mary, me, Kristen - yes, I didn't think to get a picture with my mother).

I didn't think I was interested in colorwork but I joined the Socks that Rock sock club this year and the first month's patterns: colorwork! This workshop was well timed. It was great, it was AWESOME! I'm a tight knitter and yet I managed to keep an even, loose tension. Then when I had my swatch finished . . . . I STEEKED! Holy cow, I steeked.

And even more amazing, I didn't find it as scary as that first dropped stitch in the clapotis.

Ho Ho Ho

2010-12-09T21:57:00.005-05:00

by Caroline

It's been a year (and a little) since I last posted. Like Kathleen I have so much to share, but I've been struggling with writer's block so let's see if I can break through with something simple and seasonal (and only a couple pictures - really bad pictures.)

Tonight I joined the army of elves who work in Santa's workshop - elf name: Cupcake (no, no picture available, thank you.)

You see, my friend Kathy's father is a real bearded Santa Claus.

And he is a woodworker. So through the year he (and awesome volunteers) make wooden toys. Then, for a week in December, he opens up Santa's Workshop to the public - for free. It used to be in his garage/backyard but it was getting cramped so last year a local business, Profile Self Storage, offered up their business office for Santa's Workshop. Friends and family volunteer to be elves and kids are welcomed by Mrs. Claus (Dick's wife, Donna) at the door.

Kids can talk to Santa and have their picture taken with him, decorate a small wooden ornament, and pick out a wooden toy (I can't believe I didn't think to take pictures of the toys, facepalm), there's even a little goodie bag with a snack. Some of the wooden toys are complete but others are in pieces and the kids can take the kit over to an elf and have the elf build the toy or even help the elf build the toy! It is quite an operation and Dick and his army of elves are amazing. I'm proud that this year I have signed up.

I'm making a list...

2010-10-09T18:25:00.006-04:00

Of all the posts I need to do to catch you all up on what has been... a... let's call it a challenging few months. Because it's not been all bad, but when it's been bad... it's been bad.

Positive side:
Reunions with friends I haven't seen in 27 years. People I loved dearly and am soooooooooo happy to have reconnected with.
I have finished some impressive (if I say so myself) knitting projects, designed and built successful costumes for work and a friend's one man touring show, and even (maybe you should sit down) sewn something for myself!
Got a new kitten!
Bought yarn! (okay nothing particularly new in that but it's still on the positive side.) And got a gorgeous custom made yarn cabinet for it all!!!

Negative side:
Had a very stressful, physically demanding, long hard move of my workplace. ALL areas... workrooms and storage areas and offices and classrooms. Packing and labelling and lifting and carrying and moving and carrying and lifting and unpacking and relabelling and we're still doing it two months later.
I broke a tooth.
DH broke his truck. (We hit a deer. The deer broke too...)
I broke my toe.
My car broke itself (before we had replaced DH's truck).
I broke my finger.

So there's a lot to cover. And I'll start here...
Meet Zeeba.

More later...

by Kathleen

Maryland recap

2010-05-14T17:51:00.011-04:00

by Kathleen

I'd heard that Saturday was the "crowded" day at the sheep and wool festival, but when I said huddled masses in the last post I thought I was joking... I didn't realize how teeming with bodies that crowd would really would be!
It was seriously packed, and seriously hot. It was pretty much impossible to do a whole day.

But...
Fun Fun Fun!!!!!

We (DH came with me) got to the fairgrounds around 1ish (after sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour and a half). We met up with my parents for a quick hello, and then a couple who were college days friends. The guys went to look at ~~pretty girls~~ who knows what and the ladies went shopping.
Well actually, on Saturday I mostly went through the animal barns... much less crowded and always interesting. The huge differences in size, fleece or hair, horns and coloring among the single species, Ovis Aries, is fascinating to me.

Why yes, thanks for asking, I do have pictures...

There were lots of lambs...

Rambouillet ram, shown with my Mom to show size... a big boy!

Don't remember who this was but such long curly locks (but not a Wensleydale)!

And a few non-sheepy types...
Newly shorn, but still majestic llama.
Cute as a button alpacas (the white one was named "Kitty" heehee).

That night we got together with my co-blogging sister and my parents for dinner. DH set up his tent close by my folks rig at the campground in Fort Meade, and I went to Guido's After Party (after some confusion about getting C back to her hotel... thanks to her friends she made it back there fine).
The party was... not quite what I was expecting. I'm not sure really what I was expecting, just... it was more subdued and less party-like I guess. It was outside the hotel so it was still hot and muggy and, unfortunately, there weren't enough seats for everyone. The food was delicious looking, but I had just eaten dinner (and I wanted a coconut shrimp so bad... though I manage to eat a few brownie and cake bits dipped in the chocolate fountain by the end). The prizes were amazing, and there were quite a lot of them, but I didn't win anything.

Oh well.

So I drove back to Fort Meade and spent the night in the tent. It is a very nice tent and the ventilation was good so it wasn't too stifling. But tenting is not for the weak of will. Or the achey of back.
As a kid my brother once made the astute pronouncment that "Camping is for suffering". Yep.

The next day was so different from Saturday. The crowd was thinned out by at least half. There was no traffic to speak of... and though still warm it wasn't as oppressive as the day before.
DH and my Dad went to play golf and my Mom and I came in and shopped. I was pretty good, but I did indulge in a bit of sock yarn.

Why yes, I do have pictures (so kind of you to ask)...

Bear Mountain Colors in Sun River

Cascade Heritage in the prettiest blue (I try not to buy yarns I can find locally but the color just grabbed me).
Persimmon Tree Farm

Zoe by Shalimar Yarns in Loden green ...
and in purple.
Persimmon Tree Farm

And it's just possible a couple of pretty spinning fibers might have fallen into my bag...
Blue-Faced Leicester
Merino silk blend

And two books including Knitwear design Workshop by Shirley Paden (which has to be returned as it came missing pages 33 to 48 but with an extra set of 17 to 32).

All in all a fun day with friends and family and a moderate amount of loot taken home.

See you all next year...

MDS&W

2010-04-30T17:16:00.003-04:00

by Kathleen

Hey y'all! My Sister and I will be among the huddled masses this weekend at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival!!! If you're there too and see us please say "Hi!"

I'll be wearing my KathleenC ravelry name button and(hopefully) ravatar button, Caroline will have her Kermit ravelry button.

Plus... I can't believe this even as I'm typing it... but I won a free ticket to Guido's After Party Saturday night. Woah! Many thanks to Juniper Moon for the contest!!!

And, because one can't have a post without photos (well... one can, but should one?)

A gallery of socks in various states of being...

Something with knits and purls in Cherry Tree Hill "Dusk" (the second is on the needles)

Knitty's RPM pattern in Colinette Jitterbug, "Popsicle" colorway. A souvenir yarn from Key West! (second sock is on the needles and to the heel)

A test knit of Circuitry for a Ravelry designer (I'm past the heel but no more recent photos)

Schaeffer Yarns Heather (wool and silk blend) in Knitty's Marigold Sock pattern (This has been... a challenge. We're not talking right now as we undergo a trial separation)

Jaywalkers made a couple of years ago and gifted to my MIL. I never got photos, but the other night we were there and she was wearing them. A totally sock worthy MIL.

Maybe I'll see you! (Caroline, I WILL be seeing you).

2010-03-08T15:09:00.006-05:00

by Kathleen

Things are finally slowing down for me after the standard crazy busy Winter/Spring season... we opened (and closed) our big musical, and the large Spring dance concert. After a few months with very few days off (including weekends) I'm taking it ~~easy~~ easier. I'll be working long days and weekends again real soon.

In the meantime a few photos of the several snowstorms we had this winter... we had two which dropped about 18"-24" each and then there were a few of about 6"-10". For a while we had to park up by the road and walk home... not far, about a quarter of a mile, but at night and coldcoldcold!
I guess that's the price you pay when you live "rustic".

The first big one came mid-December. Where we live it dumped about 20" over 24 hours. This photo was taken past the heaviest of the storm, but before it was finished.

The second storm came in February. It amounted to less inches, but since the first one hadn't melted the final accumulation was pretty high.

And it was prettier because it was sunnier afterwards. Though no warmer for quite a while.

We parked our cars up by the road figuring we could get them out easier up there...
Easy being a relative term.
We owe big thanks to our neighbors who came out with brooms and shovels and helped us dig to and out our cars.

Funny snow hats on the mailboxes.

Jeff fooling around. It wasn't really waist high...

Great icicles too! We had one on the back porch that grew down from the eaves and encapsulated our outdoor metal chair.
It stayed cold but sunny for quite a while. The snow compacted and most of it gently melted away until one week (yes, all week)... it rained...

The creek is about 40 feet away from the house in the back. It runs fast so we weren't really worried... it would take a dam break to flood as high as the house... but was it ever loud for while!

Comparative Fall level photo. Yes, those boulders are there under the water above...

This is only the second time in the three years we've been here that the creek has gotten this high. But then in the fifteen years I've lived in this area we've only gotten two other snow storms to equal those others. And only one of them per year. Lots of water in the ground this Winter.

This is good... the farmers need this precipitation.

Wishes for the Season...

2009-12-29T13:32:00.003-05:00

by Kathleen

Last weekend as I sat on the sofa, blazing fire in the fireplace, two feet of soft fluffy snow outside, cats curled and purring on my husbands and my intertwined feet, good drink and food to hand, knitting and reading abounding... I felt the joy that comes with a day of love and warmth and peace. And I sent, and send, those same wishes to all and every one.
Whatever your celebrations may be, or if they even be not, Merry Christmas or Happy Hannukah, Good Ramadan or Solstice... may the wonder of these and a Happy New Year come to all and everyone. May this new year bring more and even better of the bliss of laughter and the luxury of pleasure, of the expanding of knowledge and deepening of hope, of the serenity of acceptance and the delight of generosity, but especially... of the love of family and the comfort of friends.

Reflections on a Week in Virginia

2009-10-09T10:19:00.015-04:00

By Caroline and Kathleen

The first weekend of October is the Fall Fiber Festival of Virginia and for the 3rd year I traveled down to VA to visit with Kathleen and her DH (and to attend the festival) (S'okay... I know where I stand...) . The weekend was just awesome. Plenty of sun but enough of a breeze to make sitting all day watching the Sheepdog Trials comfortable. Neither of us signed up for classes this year so we made a lazy start and arrived near noon. We picked our spots to watch the dogs and settled in (after we picked up some cider donuts, (yum!!!) of course ). We understand the competition better every year and this year Kathleen was explaining it to the newbies (It's really pretty easy to understand once you watch through a few times. The dogs run the same course pretty much so you get to understand where they missed something or went wrong. The trickier part is catching the fine points... how straight a line and how clean the run is.) . I am always amazed by the connection between the dogs and the handlers, even if sometimes the dog gets carried away.

I'll let Kathleen tell you more about the event (well, there really isn't much more to it... watch the dogs and buy some wool. Hehe... what's not to like?!); for me the weekend really boiled down to one thing: wheels. Kathleen had started me on the drop spindle last year and I had struggled with it to the point of thinking maybe spinning wasn't for me. I gave it a final shot in a class at Sock Summit and found that Abby Franquemont and Denny McMillan could teach a brick wall to spin (heh, no comment). But the spindle still didn't thrill me and I started thinking about wheels, in a vague, maybe sometime in the future kind of way. Friends brought their wheels into knitting and let me try them. I was awful but really intrigued. I got enough out of it to know certain things: I wanted a double treadle and I didn't like the tensioner that is a strap with the screw (can't remember what it is called) (I know the one with the spring is a Scotch tensioner...). Okay, you know where all this is going, don't you?

Buying a wheel was not part of my plan for the weekend; I was just going to look and gather up impressions for a purchase, maybe next year. We looked at Majacraft (a sheep owner gave Kathleen a lesson on Navajo plying (Well, I had done it before, but found it awkward. And she gave me some good tips... it helped a bit.)), I saw a Kiwi, the Ladybug, a couple really cool looking wheels from SpinOlution, and a few others. But the one that grabbed my attention was the Lendrum. Kathleen and I talked about it as we returned to watch the Sheepdog Trials. I wasn't sure that I was ready for a wheel, after all , I was only just understanding the spindle. Plus, my friend Kathy and I had talked about co-owning a wheel some day and this was beyond the price range we had considered. But, and this was a big factor, my little OCD heart loved that this wheel came with everything. Everything! It was ready for a beginner and would grow with you. I loved that! I gave Kathy a call and we talked about it; she was very supportive. Kathleen and I got on the computer and searched Ravelry for comments on this wheel (found nothing negative). Sigh, what a decision.

Sunday we returned to the festival. More sheepdogs (such an awesome dog!) and then time to shop. Each time we passed a wheel, we discussed its potential very seriously. Kathleen spun a little on the SpinOlution (I think when I'm ready for my next wheel I might look into the traveling SpinOlution. I didn't try it out, but I liked the feel of the bigger one, and the folding mechanisms on the traveler were amazing!) and then we came back to the Lendrum. This time, I sat down to spin and it just felt right. It felt good! Kathleen tried it out, too, but I just wasn't ready to decide. More shopping (yay) and back to the Sheepdog Trials and more discussion about this wheel. So, as you can guess, I bought the Lendrum . . . . the festival was over and vendors were packing up but our guy was waiting for us. Kathleen and I walked back to the car, holy cow, I had a wheel!

I just wanted to say that I hope I stayed neutral enough. I admit I liked the idea of Caroline spinning. I want everyone to love spinning and knitting too... But buying a wheel is a big decision and a commitment of money and time. I wanted her to be sure and to balance the pros and cons of the choice. I think I succeeded in staying objective. And she is still enjoying it so... win all around!

That evening, Kathleen and I sat down at our wheels and she started teaching me to spin. I was really bad (Uhm... yeah.). But I had fun and realised the learning curve would not be discouraging me. I continued to spin badly for the rest of the week but was happy every time I sat at the wheel. For the rest of the week, evenings were spent on the couch, in front of a fire, spinning or knitting, talking with Kathleen and Jeff and days were spent visiting with Kathleen at her work, dumping her CDs into my iTunes and running errands for her. It was so nice to have such down time; Kathleen, unfortunately, was having very little down time. It was a very busy week for her, which made it an interesting time to watch her work. It's very cool to see Kathleen out of her sister box and see her as teacher/manager/grown-up person.

And it didn't stop... in fact looking back now I can't remember what I was even working on because it's all starting to blur into one long unbroken length of busy-ness and stress.

One Friday I realized that I was doing laundry for our most recent show, fittings for one that opened in two days, having a production meeting for the one in December, and taking measurements for the big musical in February... on top of which I was making a shawl to match a wedding dress for Saturday. On Sunday I had a dance concert rehearsal in the morning , show strike in the afternoon and a dress rehearsal that night.

I love what I do... but I'm so tired right now. I can barely celebrate my newly finished socks (wheeee!!!)

Spring Forward in Socks that Rock Lunasea

Nancy Bush SKA Mystery Sock in Cornfed by Slackford Studio

ANYWAY... back to festival...

Caroline and I were pretty reasonable in our purchases I think. We both got some cool color changing cotton. I haven't decided what mine will be yet, but I wear a fair amount of scarves as accessories and I could use a nice light cotton (lace or other texture). And we both got a few bags of fiber. I'm using my pretty Creatively Dyed as a reward for finishing another skein of some boring, but useful, brown and white 2 ply. A few patterns, a couple bits and bobs, some gorgeous handspun and this was all our haul.

I got to watch a rehearsal, sort through costumes, and I even painted a wig. I continually marveled at the scenery around me . . . . Virginia is such a beautiful state. It was a great week!

And it was great to have Caroline here. Come back anytime Sis! Love you!

Almost forgot: for George T. . . . gratuitous John Deere photo. Enjoy.

Getting them the Goats...

2009-09-24T10:33:00.003-04:00

by Kathleen

This is a request I am making, for a good friend of mine.
Heidi owned a yarn shop here in town that was a homey, friendly, lovely place. It was there, and from her, that I really learned to expand my knitting knowledge and got into the fun and challenge of knitting and spinning. And is where about 90% of my stash has come from.
A few couple of years ago she made a difficult decision and closed the store... her little daughter was needing more time than she could give and still effectively run the business. But she never gave up her love of the fiber arts and her dream of owning and producing fiber of her own someday.

Fast forward to two weeks ago...
I saw a note on Ravelry that the CSA on Martha's Vineyard was looking to give away a small flock of angora goats to a worthy farmer wanna-be.
And it occurred to me... I knew one of those!
So the essays are up and the voting has started. It's a VERY short voting time span (by this Friday night)... please read her essay and consider voting for the Lantz-Trissel family.

The CSA blog is here

Voting page for Heidi specifically is here

Photos that didn't make it into the essay are here (including Lena petting a baby goat and Jonathon on his bicycle recycling vehicle)

Please note that the blog is loading rather slow. You can skip it and go straight to Heidi's essay, but if you want to read the others (about 50 of them) you'll need to go to the link on the blog. Also note that you can vote for as many as you feel deserving... but only vote for each one time only.

Thank you for considering helping Heidi, jonathon, Lena and Jesse get the goats.

Travelling Stitch markers, pt. The End

2009-09-13T16:38:00.020-04:00

by Kathleen

I know I've said earlier that Caroline and I decided when setting up the blog that we wouldn't get all grovelly in apologizing for lapses in posts. After all, we all have lives that sometimes call us away. But I have to face up to this...

Hoo boy, have we been quiet for a long time!

So I'd better start the catching up process because we have some fun stuff to finish and fun stuff coming up. Someone on this blog (who is not me) went to Sock Summit, and I had a last couple busy weeks with the markers. And soon we're doing our third annual VA fiber fest soon, and I'm doing two KALs, and getting yarn shelves, and all sorts of craziness!

So... I present the final voyage of the Travelling Stitch Markers in The Shenandoah Valley...

First they were in a parade! Yes, once again my fiber guild rode in the local Fourth of July Parade through downtown. We had a couple knitters, two weavers, a rug hooker and a spinner ...

and to my side rode the markers high atop a basket of red, white and blue yarn and rovings.

... my patriotic wheel .

And once again my guild won the top prize (all around best float). I think it was because of the markers...

After the parade the markers and I and some friends went out for yummy Mexican food and Margaritas and then watched the fireworks from a friend's porch.
Unfortunately the photos of the fireworks didn't turn out so well (too dark and too far away) so I present to you instead a photo of the food...

The other big event in the markers was our final show at the Summer children's theatre for which I designed costumes. The markers got to travel far and wide (well an hour away to Charlottesville and half hour south to Staunton) as I searched for the right kind of fake fur.

The big watering can in Staunton...

The walking mall in Charlottesville...

Local fabric store, Ragtime fabrics...

I finally found exactly what I needed... in our own fabric storage in the shop.
A little trimming and shaping, some ears and wigs, and tadaaa!
The Berenstain Bears!

Mama and Sis are pretty recognizable, brother in his red shirt and Papa in his yellow plaid shirt and overalls are in the back (I wish Papa had had his hat on in this photo). The others are the side characters from the books... Teacher, Farmer Ben, friends, and a character added for the play Cowboy Jo.

Now that the stress of dress rehearsals and deadline were over it was time to relax, finish up the marker's project (you can see how long the scarf was getting in that photo) and spend some down time at home with the cats and a fire (yes, in July) and the DH...

...not necessarily in that order

And here we are with the Finished Object!...

Shifting Hues Scarf... pattern free with the yarn, Bluefaced Bliss from Knitting on Impulse

This was fun, and I enjoyed showing the markers around (and by association myself) but it was time. So the Markers bid a fond adieu to the valley (who knew they could speak French?) and went on to their next set of good times with good people...

Au revoir pretty stitch markers, au revoir!

ps I apologize for the wonky registering... Blogger is refusing, utterly refusing to save my edits. I think it's mad I was gone so long. I recognize this behavior... I have cats. Next it's going to pee in my bed and leave me a dead mouse.

Traveling Markers, pt.3

2009-06-29T17:58:00.015-04:00

by Kathleen

The markers were totally psyched for the weekend… I had promised them some excitement and I delivered…

On Saturday morning we went to the local WWKiP. Hosted by On the Lamb in Staunton, with complimentary iced tea from Blue Mountain Coffee Shop…

About 20 plus (?) showed up to knit and spin a little…
And compete in the crazy hat contest… It was great fun and many thanks again to Joe and Angel from On the Lamb, Blue Mountain Coffee Shop (no website, but great coffee!) and Byer’s Street Housewares (who donated one of the contest prizes).

That afternoon I had promised a trip on the Shenandoah River but I had to renege a little… Instead the markers took a simply GORGEOUS trip down the valley and into Highland county…
To a friend’s cabin by Bull Pasture river…

Where they sat and soaked up the dappled sunshine, the call of the kingfisher across the river, and a very nice gin and orange juice… Later that night they helped me wind a skein of yarn by firelight.
The next morning, by sunlight, I fixed it… by myself…
There was fishing...( no really, there's a fish there... look closer... reallyreallyreally close.........)
and good food, and dancing (no photos), and great friends. A wonderful time, and the markers agreed… it was good as a riverfloat.

Then… last week the dentist, this week… the doctor’s office!

Where besides the bronchitis and plantar fasciitis (which I knew) I got x-rays…
showing a probable nerve pinching bone spur causing my arm pain.
The markers attempted to convince the doctor that the most plausible treatment option involved long days off of work doing nothing but knitting… but he didn’t buy it.
(and by the way… how cool is it that the x-ray tech was a knitter and thought the idea of taking a photo of my knitting with my x-ray was perfectly reasonable!)

A boring week of work rounded out the time… and we re-entered the new weekend with a nice dinner with the hubby (and the markers) on our candlelit front porch of eclecticism…

I'll have the markers for this one more week... I have a little treat planned for them on the 4th... and then they'll go on to their next host(ess).
I'll kind of miss them though... they certainly got me taking photos!

The Mojo Returns

2009-06-21T17:36:00.012-04:00

by Caroline

No, I haven't been to the blog in a while. You may have noticed that, considering the last 4 or 5 posts were Kathleen's. But really, how interesting is it to read: "started the Prince of the Wood Elves sock for the third time . . . fourth time . . . fifth time"? Or, "took 2 weeks to finish my wee tiny sock"? So, yes, there was little knitting mojo in me this last month. But I got better.

Let me refresh your memory on the Prince of the Wood Elves, April's entry from the Lord of the Strings sock club. I was feeling pretty cocky, having finished Hobbiton with a little over a week before the arrival of the next sock. And then, Prince of the Wood Elves was in my hands! Eeep!

So, the cuff is done sideways with a 3-needle bind off and then pick up however many stitches for the size you are working and begin the leg in the round. Three issues here: 1) never done a provisional cast-on, 2) gauge, and 3) never done a 3-needle bind off. I don't know if I can condense all the wrong things I did in just the cuff. I didn't check gauge. I jumped up a needle size. I didn't pick the right size to knit. I did complete the cuff once (there were a couple false starts before I got there) and ran into problems picking up the stitches in my provisional cast-on.

Actually, I had screwed up my cast-on so well that no one could pick up the stitches! And believe me, I passed that cuff around to many in my knit group. But I did notice that it didn't look like it would go around my leg anyway, so I pulled it all out. Jumped up another needle size and went up, oh, 2 sizes on the sock. Still no gauge check. Tried another cast-on. Knit too tight. Rip. Lost my place. Rip.

Finally completed the cuff again. Picked up the stitches from the cast-on with Gina's assistance. Yay, Gina! Tried the 3-needle bind off. Did it wrong. Got help. Did it right. Are you still with me? Are you awake out there? So, the sock was underway. I had almost 8 inches done of the leg. This is where I should have been starting the heel and I still had about an inch to go to complete the pattern. Mmmm, maybe, the sock is too big. In fact, it was looking rather odd. Have you ever seen on nature shows, where they pull up a squid and lay it out? That is what the sock was reminding me of, without the tentacles.

Can you say rrrrrrriiip! I took it into knitting and gave it to Laurin to frog. And then I had to take a break from this sock. I had 2 wee tiny socks to get out. And they were not going to make it for their deadline. It's ridiculous to think I had so much trouble with wee tiny socks. I mean, I've done 2 a month for a while but I couldn't seem to get these done. sigh

They finally went out to their patient recipients and I picked up Prince of the Wood Elves again. Dropped down a needle size, picked the correct size to knit, crossed my fingers, and began one more time. Finished the cuff, did the 3-needle bind off, picked up the stitches, and then began to knit. Also, I began to worry that I still hadn't checked gauge. So, I pulled some yarn out of the skein and did a swatch between the sock and the skein. Whew! All seems to check out. I haven't taken any pictures yet. I think I'll wait till I find out whether this time will really work.

Hey, Kathleen! Guess what I did Friday?

Heather brought in a wheel that she was selling and let me play with both it (a lovely single treadle Louet) and her beautiful double treadle Kromski Sonata. It is probably too early for me to be looking at wheels. I hardly touch my drop spindle. But the wheels were fun and educational. I tried some roving but had to switch to some bulky yarn as I couldn't manage the treadle and the drafting at the same time. Thank you, Heather and I think I might be going to SPA next year.

The third installment of the Lord of the Strings sock club is in: The Fellowship. OMG! If I thought Prince of the Wood Elves was challenging . . . . this one is just chock full of techniques I've never done: toe-up, new cast on, colorwork (and wait till you see the yarn). I haven't even read through all the directions, yet. There might be more! This club is one of the best things to happen to my knitting, ever! I'll get pictures up soon, I promise.

I also have some exciting news. I'm going to the Sock Summit in Portland, Oregon in August! Yay! I got through registration day: couldn't get in, didn't get in, then I got in. Had to fight the servers for a connection. You wouldn't think sitting in front of a computer would be so exhausting. But I finished the day with most of my top choices. I have a class with Cookie A (The Perfect Rib), a class with Cat Bordhi (Dancing with Socks), and a class with Abby Franquemont and Denny McMillan (Spindle Spinning Basics). I'm also taking KnitteRx (ergonomics) with Carson Demers and Hip Hems for Him and Her with Stephen Houghton. I'm planning as much sight seeing as I can manage between classes. I plan on coming back home seriously sleep deprived! Can't wait!

Traveling Markers, pt.2

2009-06-12T22:57:00.006-04:00

by Kathleen

The markers had a better time their second week here. A bit humdrum, but at least they got out of the house! The week started off with a busy Saturday…
I volunteer at the Virginia Quilt Museum and the markers stood duty with me at the door… I wish I could have posted photos of the exhibit… gorgeous floral applique! But, no photos allowed inside (I cheated with the one of the door).

After the morning stint at the museum we walked around back to the common green area where the city was having “Court Days”. This is kind of a recreation of Harrisonburg in the mid 1880s. With vendors, exhibitors, storytellers and the occasional person in period garb. My fiber guild was manning a small booth with rug hooking, and weaving (small floor and inkle loom) demos. Two of the spinners were from our guild too. I made it for the last hour and helped strike the tent.

The markers looked at women in hoop skirts, men in tall hats, blacksmiths, and big horses pulling wagons, and ate an entire bag of kettle corn. At least I know I didn’t eat a whole bag by myself!

The day finished with a beautiful evening spent on the porch of a good friend… eating dinner and sipping gin and tonics, watching the sunset…

From there the week got pretty boring…
Tuesday they came with me to our weekly knit night at our local coffee shop. There the markers consumed a panini sandwich and a grande skim chocolate turtle latte. Our friendly barristas…

And to finish the week out the markers came along to visit the dentist. Good news… they had no cavities!

This coming weekend I’ve promised them some real excitement… WWKiP day and a canoe trip down the Shenandoah!

Travelling Stitch markers, pt.1

2009-06-03T13:26:00.007-04:00

by KathleenC

Prologue: A Ravelry fun fling. This is a travelogue of sorts featuring one of the 50 sets of stitch markers which were made and sent to volunteer hosts in each of the 50 U.S. states. Each host takes photos showing the markers about their area of the state (while knitting something with them, of course). When their project is completed they send the markers on to the next eager host.
I am the third host in Virginia.

My first post acknowledged their arrival and wondered what their stay would include... what joys, what agonies?

My second post, a week and a half later:

I was, apparently, psychic when I asked what agonies might await the markers… I hadn’t planned what project they would participate in (not knowing exactly when they would arrive), so the first few days were spent deciding what item would knit up quick enough, but not too fast, be interesting to watch develop and still fun to do… and needed markers. And then, just as I was poised on the precipice of a decision…

The Plague Struck Me Down (cue the morosely maleficent music)…

The view from the couch for several days…

The view from the bedside table....

As I felt a little better I sipped chicken soup and ate Ben&Jerry's (neither of which I could taste sadly) and the markers browsed through inspiration with me…

I finally felt able to consider knitting again, and decided on the appropriate project, the simplest but prettiest of loose lace scarves, but the fever and the headache made it impossible to concentrate. Cast on and rip, cast on and rip… Drastic measure had to be taken…

An icepack wrapped around the head can do wonders for your ability to cast on.

Next… the markers venture out of doors!

Eeewwww.... cool!

2009-05-20T18:22:00.003-04:00

by Kathleen

(Just a warning for the squeamish... gross fake stuff ahead.)

The following photos are from a make-up workshop I gave last week. These are all middle and high school students who come into the University take a day of art workshops. For the past decade I've been involved, giving a Stage makeup class.

We start with basic application, followed by old age and then, in the afternoon... 3-D effects. In other words Blood and Gore. This is their favorite part.

Usually the kids are gung-ho and cover themselves in scars and wounds and bruises... to the point where the amount impacts the quality. This year it was different... they did very few pieces, but what they did... it was good. None of these kids had done makeup before...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

This is all work with liquid latex and simple texture (toilet paper, oatmeal) accented with makeup and fake blood.

They did some very nice bruises and scrapes and one severed neck... but I don't want to post their faces.

No one cleaned up before leaving. Not even the girl riding the bike home.

listen close enough and you can hear the ocean...

2009-05-13T18:10:00.003-04:00

by kathleen

Just some eye candy from this past weekend... three gorgeous days in the Outer Banks.

My view while doing....

this.
It's colorway? Ocean Depths (by Creatively Dyed, wool and seacell)

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go apply a little more aloe lotion...

Bork! Bork! Bork!

2009-05-11T20:02:00.013-04:00

by Caroline

I promised my mother a post on Mother's Day and I didn't make it. My computer caught a bug and I spent the evening hunting it down and hopefully exterminating it. Tonight my thoughts are bouncing all over the place and so, instead of well-written sentences, you are getting bullet points. I'm keeping the original title, though, just because I like it.

--and because, Swedish Ivy is thriving! Ericka, I think you may be right, you can't kill this plant (I'm only qualifying it because I don't want to jinx it). Ivy travelled back and forth with me as I worked in Vermont the last couple of months and she continued to grow. I pinched a few leaves off and she just spread. This picture is a couple weeks old and it is time for a new one but in the interest of getting a post up, this is the one you get

--Kathy, I just finished watching a marvelous movie: "Ladies in Lavender". What a great movie! I highly recommend it; in fact, I'm going to send it to you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, the English seacoast (Cornwall), and a story that is hard to explain just why you like it so much because it is all about character and faces and clothes and the time. Mom might want to see it first, though, so I'll wait to check with her.

--I took a class at Yarn & Fiber, last month. Interpreting Japanese Lace Charts, given by Sandy Terp. What a great class! I finished the class with a huge urge to go out and knit lace. I have so many projects in the way. I know, I know: "I am in charge of my knitting" but apparently I'm not in charge of my knitting list. I did start the Maple Leaf Shawl a while back, but that was put down to finish other projects. I'm coming for you lace, I'm coming!

--I finished my Hobbiton socks from my Lord of the Strings sock club. Love this pattern, love the yarn. I gave the socks to Lora and am now on the look out for a green that looks right for the pattern.

--did I show you my iPod Cozy? Sadly, I have managed to misplace it already. And I don't have my notes handy to give credit, so I hope I have posted it once already with the credit.

--the second Lord of the Strings package arrived. Legolas! Designed again by the talented lobug, here is a quote from the Unique Sheep about the colorway: "...colors that would make one think of the oldest parts of a birch forest." The pattern has multiple techniques I've never tried before and I have to admit, it's kicking my butt! I finished the first pair in time but I think I might receive sock #3 before I finish #2.

--I have to show you one of my cutest wee tiny socks. This elf sock was designed by Meggles (Ravelry link) and the group I swap with did this as a knit-along. This was another pattern that kicked a little butt before co-operating. Many thanks to all who helped me.

--and finally, a thanks to the ladies at Green Mountain Fibers & Yarn, in Rutland, for their welcome every Thursday night. I miss my knitting group, working on the road. Hotel living might give me plenty of time to knit but there is nothing like knitting with a group. There is no doubt in my mind that it has improved my knitting and helped my confidence grow. So, when I find a group on the road, it is a little like coming a bit of home. Thank you.

I covered everything on my list but I'm not sure I remembered everything I wanted to put on the list. That's OK, though, anything I forgot I can tell my mother in person because she comes home this week. Yay! Not to forget: Dad, too. Yay! Happy Mother's Day to you again, Mom.

and a little sunshine peeps through...

2009-05-01T09:56:00.009-04:00

by Kathleen

I wanted to post about how even though I've been stressed and down occasionally there have been many nice things that have come through for me as well but, you know... it's hard to post about how hard a period of time has been without sounding whiny... and my Mom gets enough of that on the phone.

So I shall simply show some really nice goodies I have gotten from the thoughtful generous people I have had the great fortune to meet on-line.

First off... Gaylen had a little contest on her blog... she posted photos showing tiny bits of her four dogs and challenged us to identify them. I did get which two were the bloodhounds and which the bassets, but except for that I got every single one wrong!

Whoohoo! I AM talented!

Only two of us showed that great ability to completely mis-identify dogs and she drew my name and I won...

The cutest pincushion! I'm not sure I own pins cute enough for this cushion...

Thanks Gaylen!!! (Oh, and I think she had a prize for the person who got the dogs right too, but that's so prosaic.)

Then I participated in a swap on Ravelry called Pill Bottle Swap. the idea is that you get one of the very large bottles that pharmacies get their vitamin and other pills in. you decorate it and fill it with goodies and send it on...
From Teri...

All sorts of goodies! Sparkly beads and stick-ons; vanilla scented lotion and spray; Reisen candies (gone by the next day); yarn! including the leftover from the cutest knit bag; a grow your own kitty (just in time... DH has been talking about getting another cat); all wrapped up in purple and green paper and bags and boxes with ribbon!

Cute bag! From recycled rayon... the softest I've felt yet.

Yarn! Not sure exactly what kind... fingering weight in a soft purple.

Last time I showed you the pretty yarn and rovings I got, but I failed to mention that both vendors included little gifts of thanks with their shipments.

From Susinok's esty shop Slackford Studios...
A sweet pair of stitch markers!

And from Impulse of Delight...
A pair of copper shawl pins!
Look how they glow against the yarn...

Now I know he's not not an online acquaintance, but still... a sweet mood lifting gift.
DH and I went thrift/antique store digging a couple weekends ago (one of our favorite ways to spend a weekend morning). We stopped off at a jewelry place to ask a question about pocket watches and they were having a sale on their silver. And in an estate jewelry box DH spotted something...

Mexican silver and dyed coral... a bold and artistic statement. LOVE it! Love him.

And this Sunday I'll be going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. No big purchase planned. In fact I'm planning on being very, very discrete. But I always get an uplift from petting the cute sheep and smelling the yarn fumes (or is it petting the cute yarn and smelling the sheep fumes?)

Well... I feel better.

But, I swear I'm hearing muffled cries of distress in... Swedish...? Caroline? Any ideas....?

2009-04-23T12:38:00.005-04:00

We apologize if you receive this post twice in Bloglines... when we published it it posted itself back down the list by several posts (apparently blogger posts in order of when you wrote it not when you hit publish?). Those who aren't following with a reader might not have found it so we're re-posting it.

by Kathleen and Caroline

Caroline and I are quite honored to have been given this blog award and I'd like to thank all the little people... except that there aren't any little people. You guys are all BIG people to us!

Seriously, it's always nice to know people enjoy our ramblings. This blog was started so that two sisters could share a common interest from miles apart (623 to be exact). And though you couldn't tell it from our infrequent postings we love the give and take, the sharing and the reactions.

There was a bit of discussion with this last run of "blog awards". If you've been in the blogosphere (love that word... seriously, fun saying it... try it... blooooogospherrrrre. Cool huh?) for any length of time you'll see several awards making the rounds. Sometimes it can make folks feel like they're not part of the cool kids and that's unfortunate. 'Cause award or no there are a LOT of cool kids out there!
So this is what we want to do...
1) Express our thanks for Beverly's noting her enjoyment of our blog.
2) And suggest some really cool blogs you might want to give a looksee to.
My bloglines reader has almost 200 feeds. Needless to say I couldn't name them all. And some of them have plenty of readers and others nominating them. I thought about what these awards do offer to all... and they offer, in the listing of other "nominees" the chance to find new sites. So my suggestions are smaller, or less well read, for the most part... but seriously interesting sites you should explore sometime. Then there are a few which aren't so small, but they're still fabulous eye candy. And then there are a couple that are just plain fun.

A Little Yarn on the Side ... Toni made a vow to knit only from her stash and to knit only WIPS for a year each. But here's the crazy thing... she did it! And the finished items are lovely! Check out her projects... and her cat Theo's water physical therapy. Talk about crazy!

Yarn in my Pocket ... knitting and sewing. Check out November's full 1770's Marie Antoinette outfit. From underpinnings to gown... gorgeous!

Knitting on an Island ... Janine is a wonderful designer and gorgeous knitter living on the Isle of Guernsey in the middle of the English Channel... I love how big the world is (and yet how small the blogospherespheresphere)!

SusinOK ... Susan recently got into dyeing and she's going for it big time. She just opened an etsy store and her colors of sock yarn and roving are gorgeous. She spins lovely yarn and she knits wonderful sweaters!

Stitches of Violet ... wonderful sweater and sock knitting and amazing photos of birds!

Beadknitter Gallery ... Wonderful knitting, but check out her beaded flowers (for her daughter's wedding bouquet) and her beaded beads in (February and March)!

Field Trips in Fiber ... Every week Vicki does a round up post of eye candy and finished objects and tutorials across the blogosphere (blogoooospheeeeeere...heehee). Mostly a quilter her quilts are amazing! And she tie-dyes better than I've ever seen someone do so.

Stitchworks ... a textile artist... her work is intimate in scale and layered with depths of color, texture and meaning.

Tini's World of Fiber Arts ... a knitter and garment maker living in Germany... she had a photo essay of her sock which traveled through Europe recently. It was mostly in German but you could see the joyous grin on the sock's face... er foot...

Yummy Goods ... A fabric designer, artist, store owner living in Cape Cod. She collects and thrifts lots and lots of coolness! shapes! colors! the textures! A feast for the eyes! Her studio is featured in the most recent ClothPaperScissors issue of Studios...

The Textile Blog ... An erudite and witty blog with information about designers, trends, styles (and more) in cloth, interiors, rugs, tiles (and more) through the past hundred years (and more). I learn something every time I read an entry... and I enjoy it as well... every time.

Bent Objects ... okay, not a knitter or sewer or textile person in any way (much) but what a funny sense of humour! Love the... well, the bent objects he creates!

So many more I would recommend... Knitting on Impulse (indie dyer who lives in the mountains of BC), Sarah in NYC (maker of Jewish ritual objects and sewing daredevil), Knitting Jung at Heart (lace knitter who posted a photo of her front view every single day of the year last year), and so many, many more... you'll end up with 237+ feeds too!

Caroline here - My blog reading has been much closer to home, lately. If you look at the left sidebar you'll see the ManchVegas Knitters. That's my group. These were my first blogs (other than the Yarn Harlot) and it was with these people that I first experienced that odd feeling of knowing complete strangers. Happily, they are strangers no longer. I have enjoyed both their knitting content and the bits of their lives they have shared in their blogs. Check them out, they are not all regular posters but they are fun.
A second shout out to Toni. She has a second blog, A Little Off The Beaten Path, in which she is documenting a year of no processed foods. If that doesn't take creativity then I don't know what does.

I suppose I should alert these blogs that I've mentioned them here in this post. I don't think of this as a nomination really (though if you wish to claim the award... go for it!)... just a recommendation. Surf a few of the photos. Read an entry or two. Explore and discover... there's so much to enjoy and learn! Here in our great Bllllllllogosphhhherrrrrrrrrrrrrre.
(Hah. Yes. I'm 12 years old.)

(If you would like to claim the "award" here's the "rules"... post the award photo, link back to this blog as the giver, and name a bunch of others that you recommend. Let them and us know you've done so!)

Retail therapy?

2009-04-11T19:00:00.012-04:00

by Kathleen

I'ts been a bit stressful here at Chez Overcommitted. I opened three shows in five weeks (one the largest show we've done to date in my 15 years here, and two within one week of each other), went without water in the house for a week (none in the kitchen for even longer) and sat with/on DH after minor foot surgery.

And how do the stressed deal with stress...?

Shopping of course!

First a few goodies from a couple of my favorite on-line indie dyers...

Impulse of Delight sock yarns in
Lupin Tweed, Bluefaced Leicester wool
Blackberry, Superwash Merino
Blackberry, Silk and wool blend (terrible photo, it's much more of a slate and grey purple)
Blackberry, Bluefaced Leicester

Why yes, I liked the blackberry colorway... a lot. Why do you ask...?

And a fingerless mitt kit, in purple and green!

Then from Slackford Studios two corriedale rovings. They're different colorways but very similar; one has some gold in it... I'm planning on spinning singles of each and then plying them together.

Then I picked up some nice manly blue green Trekking to make DH a pair of socks. I guess I was worried about his poor hurt foot.

And then, I'm walking into a going out of business sale in a local craft store and... they have yarn, wool yarn, on sale 75% off. It's a conspiracy I tell you!
This is a local sheep farm, Cestari or Chester farms I'm not quite sure...

Some superfine merino in Indigo

Some white and natural 2Ply, lots of lanolin

And some cotton, wool and silk blend in two colorways (I plan to overdye the two to blend the light tones into one color)

Well! Let's just not mention the little yardage tally numbers to the side there... the ones that haven't changed since forever? yeah...

So, not to change the subject, but... anybody hear from any swedish ivy plants lately.... hmmm ?

Fun with Sheep

2009-03-18T18:24:00.002-04:00

by Kathleen

I've seen this on two other blogs now... absolutely brilliant! Crazy Welshmen and their sheep. And, of course, their dogs...

Welcome to the House of Doom!

2009-03-09T21:37:00.014-04:00

by Caroline

cue ominous music

I kill plants. It's not like I run down the street with pruning shears, laughing maniacally as I slice plants to bits. And it's not like I buy plants with the intent to kill them. But, I kill plants. I was given some kind of low maintainance plant as a house warming gift. You know the kind: medium sun, water when soil is dry, and ignore. It made it, maybe, a month. I kill plants.

Ericka gave me a clipping the other day, from a plant she swears is indestructible. Her claim is that this is from a plant that revived time and again from the icy grip of death. It is a Swedish Ivy (and yes, that is a badly done, fake, faux-Swedish accent I hear in my head). I will call her Ivy (say it with the above accent, but only in your head). The most ironic part of this plant is that Ericka put it in a big happy face mug (as in, facing death with a . . .). Now I'll just feel guilty as I kill it. Also, because the mug has a face and not the plant, I find myself talking more to the mug.

OK, the plan is not to kill the plant. Therefore, I will give weekly updates on Ivy's health. Of course, since I am working up in Vermont, Ivy must come with me. Now I have to confess that, distracted by the weather this morning, I left Ivy behind. Not off to a good start. Maureen will do her best to keep Ivy going till I return Friday. Say hello to Ivy (remember the accent).

On the knitting front, I've been busy. I had finished several projects some time back that needed blocking before gifting. I took care of that this weekend and 2 scarves and a pair of socks will be out of the house by next weekend. Yay!

I joined my first sock club. From The Unique Sheep comes The Lord of the Strings! The first kit arrived; pattern, Hobbiton by LoBug Designs and yarn, Footprints by The Unique Sheep. They are awesome, both pattern and yarn! The first pair goes to Lora and here she is modeling the first one:

I will be making this sock for myself later. I really enjoyed the pattern.

The Lisha Lace Scarf from Sleepy Eyes Knitting continues to grow, but slowly. I do a repeat or two and take a break. This is another pattern I am enjoying, but it takes concentration.

I took a class this weekend at Yarn & Fiber. Double Knitting, taught by Alasdair Post-Quinn. Sorry, I have no link for you. It's too bad because this guy's work is amazing! Here is my unfinished swatch (I had issues, but I'm not giving up):

Well, that's about it. I've got some children's socks lined up but I haven't started them yet. I've frogged the Sleepwalker socks I had started. There wasn't enough yarn for this pattern. I'll probably make fingerless mitts with the yarn.

Click to make big the small pictures.

2009-03-09T12:51:00.007-04:00

Caroline and I are quite honored to have been given this blog award and I'd like to thank all the little people... except that there aren't any little people. You guys are all BIG people to us!

Seriously, it's always nice to know people enjoy our ramblings. This blog was started so that two sisters could share a common interest from miles apart (623 to be exact). And though you couldn't tell it from our infrequent postings we love the give and take, the sharing and the reactions.

There was a bit of discussion with this last run of "blog awards". If you've been in the blogosphere (love that word... seriously, fun saying it... try it... blooooogospherrrrre. Cool huh?) for any length of time you'll see several awards making the rounds. Sometimes it can make folks feel like they're not part of the cool kids and that's unfortunate. 'Cause award or no there are a LOT of cool kids out there!
So this is what we want to do...
1) Express our thanks for Beverly's noting her enjoyment of our blog.
2) And suggest some really cool blogs you might want to give a looksee to.
My bloglines reader has almost 200 feeds. Needless to say I couldn't name them all. And some of them have plenty of readers and others nominating them. I thought about what these awards do offer to all... and they offer, in the listing of other "nominees" the chance to find new sites. So my suggestions are smaller, or less well read, for the most part... but seriously interesting sites you should explore sometime. A few aren't so small, but they're still fabulous eye candy. And a couple are just plain fun.

A Little Yarn on the Side ... Toni made a vow to knit only from her stash and to knit only WIPS for a year each. But here's the crazy thing... she did it! And the finished items are lovely! Check out her projects... and her cat Theo's water physical therapy. Talk about crazy!
Yarn in my Pocket ... knitting and sewing. Check out November's full 1770's Marie Antoinette outfit. From underpinnings to gown... gorgeous!
Knitting on an Island ... Janine is a designer and knitter living on the Isle of Guernsey in the middle of the English Channel... I love how big the world is!
SusinOK ... Susan recently got into dyeing and she's going for it big time. She just opened an etsy store and her colors of sock yarn and roving are gorgeous. She spins lovely yarn and she knits wonderful sweaters!
Stitches of Violet ... wonderful sweater and sock knitting and amazing photos of birds!
Beadknitter Gallery ... Wonderful knitting, but check out her beaded flowers (for her daughter's wedding bouquet) and her beaded beads in (February and March)!
Field Trips in Fiber ... Every week Vicki does a round up post of eye candy and finished objects and tutorials across the blogosphere (blogoooospheeeeeere...heehee). Mostly a quilter her quilts are amazing! And she tie-dyes better than I've ever seen someone do so.
Stitchworks ... a textile artist... her work is intimate in scale and layered with depths of color, texture and meaning.
Tini's World of Fiber Arts ... a knitter and garment maker living in Germany... she had a photo essay of her sock which traveled through Europe recently. It was mostly in German but you could see the joyous grin on the sock's face... er foot...
Yummy Goods ... A fabric designer, artist, store owner living in Cape Cod. She collects and thrifts lots and lots of coolness! shapes! colors! the textures! A feast for the eyes! Her studio is featured in the most recent ClothPaperScissors issue of Studios...
The Textile Blog ... An erudite and witty blog with information about designers, trends, styles (and more) in cloth, interiors, rugs, tiles (and more) through the past hundred years (and more). I learn something every time I read an entry... and I enjoy it as well... every time.
Bent Objects ... okay, not a knitter or sewer or textile person in any way (much) but what a funny sense of humour! Love the... well, bent objects he creates!

Caroline here - My blog reading has been much closer to home, lately. If you look at the left sidebar you'll see the ManchVegas Knitters. That's my group. These were my first blogs (other than the Yarn Harlot) and it was with these people that I first experienced that odd feeling of knowing complete strangers. Happily, they are strangers no longer. I have enjoyed both their knitting content and the bits of their lives they have shared in their blogs. Check them out, they are not all regular posters but they are fun.
A second shout out to Toni. She has a second blog, A Little Off The Beaten Path, in which she is documenting a year of no processed foods. If that doesn't take creativity then I don't know what does.

I suppose I should alert these blogs that Ive mentioned the here. I don't think of this as a nomination really (though if you wish to claim the award... go for it!)... just a recommendation. Surf a few of the photos. Read an entry or two. Explore and discover... there's so much to enjoy and learn!

2009-03-06T14:43:00.025-05:00

by Kathleen

My Mother informed me today that "there hasn't been any knitting" being shown on my part.

Well! She asked for it...

Here we have (being modeled by my lovely assistant [hey, I haven't shaved in a while but my legs aren't that hairy! {what's the record for the most parentheses inside a parentheses?}])
Noro socks!

I did a small pattern of purl rows and slipped stitches to make bricks and then squares (I changed my mind after the first one) that run (more or less) along the color change. They're easier to see in real life without a flash...

A new sock!

This is the Leyburn pattern. I loved the version that the Harlot did out of her Eye of Jupiter Sereknity yarn... liking the way the bold color worked with the slipped stitch pattern. Knowing I had some bold colored sock yarn of my own...
This is my skein of the Connery colorway (named for me! Whee!) My Mom has made herself a pair of socks from this colorway, I made a pair for my SIL this Christmas (which I haven't been able to get downloaded off the memory card yet), and now it's Caroline's turn... (Maureen, if she ever puts more of this colorway up I promise to get you some too. Oh, and I guess we'd better plan on making Debbie a pair...)

Closeup of the pattern... Ooh... purty.

And two scarves...

The first is a made up pattern consisting of rows of stockinette alternating with rows of eyelet. This is made in two colorways of Brown Sheep's NatureSpun.

I don't know that I'll keep it as it's really a bit short to wear as a winter scarf and a bit heavy to wear as a decorative scarf. It would be perfect for a child and I know there are a couple of charity drives going on...

And a Manly Scarf for DH.
Made in Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky in pattern of alternating knit and purl, rows and ribs. It's a free pattern on Shifting Stitches website... check it out... she's got some nice free "Manly Scarf " patterns"

Closeup...

I'm still sewing the Lizard Ridge squares together, and adding rows to DH's sweater sleeves. Plus I've started something else. Something for me (besides socks) that knits VERY fast and easy...

Tailored Scallops by Ann Budd, from Lace Style. It's being done in Noro Silver Thaw on big needles and it's fun!

And, finally... I got myself a new bag.

This was a HUGE splurge for me... I've never spent this much on a bag before, but I really needed something big enough to handle my knitting and regular purse items that didn't look like a tote bag!

My LYS had a trunk show of Jordana Paige bags, on a good discount that night, and this one said "Buy. Me. Now." Just like that... most emphatically...

Outside pocket holding keys and cellphone at the ready ( I suppose that those were DPN pockets, but I needed key and cell phone pockets more).

Carrying this bag makes me feel like a real live grownup. It's nicely made and I love the color!

What's that... what does the inside look like? Oh, it's nothing special, it's... no wait... don't touch that don't open up........

AAAHHHHHHHH!!!! knitting explosion!
Well okay it's not that bad, but I have found the limits of this bag... wallet, necessities bag, digital camera, 3 checkbooks, one sock and two sweaters... it is a bit much....

2009-02-26T17:37:00.005-05:00

by Kathleen

Our big, big, big musical show opened on Tuesday and I'm now fighting off the plague that has laid low most of our students for the last month (and DH for the last few days). So though I have lots to blog (socks and scarves and a new bag!) I'm taking the easy way out and posting a meme.
But I like this meme. Or rather I like the theme of the meme. I believe that reading is essential for being able to use language well and I believe that it is important to be able to use language well. I do question some of the choices (why so much Jane Austen? Why so much Dickens? Why repeat single books and the series as well? Alsmot no Sci-fi... what about Fahrenheit 451? I Robot? And no non-fiction?).
But... still some classics.

"The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The concerned citizen in search of good news about American literary culture would study the pages of this report in vain.
They say the average American has only read 6 of the following:"
Key
1) Bold the books you have already read
2) Italicize the books you intend to read
3) Notes in parentheses next to note-worthy titles.

1) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2) The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (sixty bazillion times)
3) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4) Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (except for Prisoner of A.)
5) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6) The Bible (even all that begetting)
7) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8 ) Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
9) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
10) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
11) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (twenty bazillion times)
12) Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
13) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
14) Complete Works of Shakespeare (every single goldurn one of them… even the histories)
15) Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
16) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
17) Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
18) Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
19) The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
20) Middlemarch by George Eliot
21) Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
22) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
23) Bleak House by Charles Dickens
24) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (I started it)
25) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
26) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
27) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (I started it)
28) Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
29) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
30) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
31) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
32) David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
33) Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis (sixty bazillion for some of them, twenty bazillion for others)
34) Emma by Jane Austen
35) Persuasion by Jane Austen
36) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
37) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
38 ) Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
39) Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
40) Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
41) Animal Farm by George Orwell
42) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
43) One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44) A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving
45) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
46) Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (and the rest of the series)
47) Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
48) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
49) Lord of the Flies by William Golding
50) Atonement by Ian McEwan
51) Life of Pi by Yann Martel
52) Dune by Frank Herbert
53) Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
54) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
55) A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
56) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57) A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
58 ) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
59) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
60) Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
62) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
63) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
64) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
65) Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
66) On the Road by Jack Kerouac
67) Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
68) Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
69) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
70) Moby Dick by Herman Melville
71) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
72) Dracula by Bram Stoker
73) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
74) Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
75) Ulysses by James Joyce
76) The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
78) Germinal by Emile Zola
79) Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
80) Possession by AS Byatt
81) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
82) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
83) The Color Purple by Alice Walker
84) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
85) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
86) A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
87) Charlotte's Web by EB White
88) The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
89) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90) The Faraway Tree Collection by Enid Blyton
91) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
92) The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93) The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
94) Watership Down by Richard Adams
95) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
96) A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
97) The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98) Hamlet by William Shakespeare
99) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
100) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

That's, what... 56? (hey it's reading, not math) That's better than average, but I need to read more... most of these I read before I turned thirty. And let's just say that was some years ago.

What Else Have I Been Doing?

2009-02-19T18:39:00.011-05:00

by Caroline

The last time I showed any of my knitting on this blog was back in November during the Disney trip. I had about an inch and a half of sock on the needles. That sock, a basic sock pattern in Trekking, slowly grew to the heel and a little past (maybe almost to the toe). It was a real slog for some reason. Well, I'm about to frog it. I like the yarn, a bright stripey colorway, and I have always enjoyed knitting socks but the basic sock pattern just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I think it is time for patterned socks. I've done only one patterned pair so far. So, I'll frog it, let it rest, and begin again with a pattern.

I've kept up with my monthy wee tiny sock swaps; I don't get those up on the blog often enough. September's Back to School was followed by October's Halloween theme.

I forgot to get pictures of November's wee tiny socks. Oops!

For December's swap I wanted to make a peppermint sock. I double stranded red and white cotton. I didn't get the look I wanted but I liked the effect. It was a killer to knit, though. I think the second sock is Trekking. The picture is awful, I apologize, Orange formica and fluorescent are not the best for pictures.

January's theme was winter and I chose a nubbly white to represent fresh snow, a blue-gray to represent the winter sky, and a metallic silver for sleet. By the time I was done I was steeped in cold. Too much cold.

For February, I decided to warm things up: Watermelon, Pink Lemonade, Dayglow, and Blue Hawaii. I threw some patterns and textures in there, too. I'm very happy with them.

I started and frogged a ski hat for a friend's brother. I was hoping to get it done this winter but I don't know if it will happen. I started a baby sweater in Sokatta; the sleeves and ribbing around the edge are left. Well, also I need to block and sew the pieces together. I still have the Doctor's Bag from Knit2Together on the needles. I started the Lisha Lace Scarf from SleepyEyes designs while I was in Chicago and absolutely love it! I am using a green Suri Alpaca that I bought in VA at the Fall Fiber Festival. I started the Dream in Color Sleepwalker Socks (what a great pattern) using an awesome pink on pink from Spunky Electic, but I don't have enough yarn for this pattern. I'm going to frog this as well and use the yarn for Fetching Mitts. I did manage to finish a project: the iPod Touch Sock, a free pattern on Ravelry from smariek knits. And now I am also starting a couple pairs of kids socks for a co-workers daughters with Sereknity's Watermelon.

I don't seem to be finishing much, except for wee tiny socks, but until I started listing everything I hadn't realised how many projects I had going. Oh, and on top of all that, I picked up the drop spindle again. I haven't touched the drop spindle in months. This is not a skill that can be allowed to sit. It took me a while to get going and, not that I was real consistent before, but I was all over the place with thick and thin. But I did enjoy my spinning.

Yay! It's Christmas!

2009-02-05T08:17:00.006-05:00

by Kathleen

Well, actually it's February... but it's time to recap Christmas.

DH and I alternate families each Christmas and this year it was my family's turn. So we drove the 11 hours up to the snowy north for the four days we had available and drove back.

Worth it!

We left Tuesday night and got as far as Wilkes-Barre where we stopped for the night, leaving the next morning so as to get to my brother's house for the Christmas Eve family celebration.
Back when I was in High School my Mom went back to work as a nurse. (I say back to work, but actually after graduating she took on the job of Mom for about 16 years. This was her first outside the home job.) She worked Christmas day so we started celebrating on Christmas Eve. We continued this as people married, had kids and started their own family Christmas Day.

The adults draw names and my drawee (drawer?) was my brother. I had given some suggestions which included several knitting books and here's what he gave me...
Mason-Dixon, Knitting Outside the Lines; Yarn Harlot, Free Range Knitter; Skolnik and MacDaniels, The Knitting Way. Yay! Fun knitting reading! Patterns! Stories! Laughter! Tears!

Thanks Frank!

I had put in a particular request with my Mom...
She knits/crochets potholders, and they work so well... so I requested those. She made one for just about everyone, but I made out like a bandit... a potholder bandit...
Four potholders! Whoohoo! FOUR! Also I got two really nice bamboo tea towels, a biodegradable plate (still haven't figured out how we're supposed to clean that), and a bar of hand made soap.

Yeah... speaking of soap...
Between gifts and stocking stuffers DH and I got... 5 handmade soaps, 2 commercial soaps and a softsoap.
What are you guys trying to tell us?

I also got a ball of Noro sock yarn in my stocking. I can't show you the ball anymore but I can show you these...
Thank goodness Caroline gifted me with this! I got in the car for the 11 hour drive home and couldn't find where we'd packed my other knitting! I'd worked on a pair of socks that I'd gifted to my sister-in-law and had sock needles handy. And the Noro yarn! Yay! Travel time saved! I'm decreasing down the toe on the second right now.

Thursday we drove a couple hours to my Uncles for Christmas dinner. As always so nice to see everyone... cousins, aunts and uncles, all from my Dad's side. And a delicious dinner.

Friday I went to a knit night with Caroline and my Mom. A good sized group of people who meet at Yarn and Fiber Company store. There was a nice surprise there as well... someone was destashing and bins and bags of yarn were out looking for good homes. I was hestitant to dive in (after all I was a visitor) but I was generously encouraged and I brought a few orphans back with me...
Includes some cones of Classic Elite mohair in various blues, and a couple large cones of some sort of cotton type, and a few other odds and ends.
Yay yarn! Thanks Fiber and Yarn people!

Saturday night we had a most wonderful celebration and the real strong reason we went north (in spite of our limited time off)...
My Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

50!
It was a wonderful dinner with parents, children and grandkids. About 15 all together eating,laughing, toasting, crying... so much love...
Congratulations Mom and Dad. And thank you.

It was at that dinner that I got the best gift of all.
I hadn't shared this before... Now, it's not exactly what it looks like... unless you think it looks like someone who has lost their wedding band down a drain, never to be seen again. In which case that's exactly what it is.
I was washing stage blood out of a costume blouse backstage... it took about 15 minutes of continual scrubbing with soap and dawn and rinsing, and by the time I turned off the water, dried my hands and notice the bareness of the third finger on my left hand... it was too late. It was gone. I think I cried for several days straight.
This was last October.
I told DH that all I really wanted for Christmas was a new ring. Which was fine, but he was working 60+ hours a week and wouldn't have time until after the Holiday. No problem.
Except... he lied. (Well,he prevaricated)
After dinner, sitting at the restaraunt table during toasts he launches into this attempted roast of my forgetfulness and recent trend towards losing things. And then pulls out this box. It's identical. Identical! We got the first one at an antique's store and he found the exact same ring. Only this one fits. It's not going anywhere. Ever.
I think I cried for several days straight.

Wicked Good Time

2009-01-18T21:23:00.023-05:00

by Caroline

I need to finish up my Chicago trip before I forget the details! Quick recap - Thursday night: Wait, Wait . . . . Don't Tell Me! Lots of fun and a great time!

Friday night: Wicked. I don't know if I can do this show justice! I had several people tell me what a good show it was, but, WOW! I loved it! I laughed, I cried! I rooted for the wicked witch. When the show was over, I could only turn to Mary and say, "Ooh, what a good show!" Over and over again! I can't wait to see it again. I say again, "What a good show!"

The show was the best part of another fun evening. Mary and I had taken the El in to the city again (we got very lucky that both evening's locations were so close to subway stations). We walked around the theater block (even in the cold - thank you, Mary, for bringing the extra hat) and stopped at a sandwich shop, Potbelly's, for dinner. Yum! And then we ran across the street to Ethel's Chocolate Lounge for dessert. Yum, yum! And then to the theater for a wicked good show!

Friday was a late night but we were up the next morning for our trip to the Field Museum. What a great museum! I was about to write that it wast the site of the movie, Night at the Museum but I just checked and it wasn't! The American Museum of Natural History was. So never mind. We went through the Aztec exhibit, Ancient Egypt, Gems & Minerals, Southeast Asia, the jade exhibit . . . . but so much to take in, after four hours, it felt like our brains were too big for our heads and we needed to decompress!

Saturday was our worst weather day but we left the Field Museum and walked over to the Shedd Aquarium. It was packed! But we stayed for three hours. We were toast when we left. Such a great time!

Whew! I'm tired just looking back at the pictures. We left Chicago proper and found our way, first, to The Container Store and then to the Weber Grill Restaurant for dinner. So good! I had the filet with a baked potato the size of a Nerf toy football. I could eat only half. The steak was incredible, so tender and juicy! But we were exhausted and I was leaving the next day.

Thanks again to Mary for letting me stay with her and for taking all my pictures! I had a great time!

Fun with Felt!

2009-01-18T15:10:00.004-05:00

by Kathleen

I've got some catching up to do... so this is the first in a series of short posts...

In December (well, really it was November, but I was slow) I participated in an ornament swap, done by a group I'm in, on Ravelry. I posted about what I received but here's what I sent out.

Snowpeople couple... felt shapes cut and sewn together with slight stuffing; embroidered faces, felt carrot noses and googly eyes, knit scarf and skirt; braided arms to hug and hold each other.

Needle felted sheep with knit scarf and hat.

For the "Kid's swap"... felt (stiffened with timtex) reindeer with googly eyes, painted details and bells around their necks; oh, and clothespin legs!
Better picture... this idea was brought to a guild meeting as a kind of off-hand suggestion... and we all loved them. Sometimes the simplest ideas are so fun!

Wait, Wait . . . . I'm blogging!

2009-01-09T14:30:00.014-05:00

by Caroline

So here I am in Chicago; cold, snowy Chicago. Last night Mary and I took the El into the city for the taping of NPR's Wait, Wait . . . . Don't Tell Me. I can't tell you how giddy I was. It didn't seem real that I came all the way to Chicago specifically for this show. But I did! *squeal* What a geek:

The show was sold out and we joined the line that snaked around the waiting area. You can't tell from the picture but, as the line began moving to the auditorium, everyone stayed in congo line formation without the aid of posts or ropes. Good little NPR listeners.

We had brought our knitting, Mary and I, but were so excited to be there that we couldn't concentrate! Then the show began! They came out in a sports-like style: flashing lights and high fives. The panel was Adam Felber, Roxanne Roberts, and Mo Rocca. Peter Sagal talked about the taping and Carl Kasell gave the cues. It's a little weird, they all have headphones on and we don't hear the signals from the booth. So, sometimes, they would just stop talking and stand there a minute. After the taping they fix any stumbles and they do a Q & A.

I will restrain myself from giving you a word by word account of the show (you are welcome) but I will tell you that I laughed enough to get light-headed. That one of the funniest moments was when the subject of the porn industry bailout came up and they riffed on turning Senate names into porn star names. That might be edited out. I will tell you that I have had Peter Sagal's voice in my head all day today (I so wanted to call out "Peter, I love you" but I was afraid of being thrown out). Also, Carl Kasell's voice, in person, is a powerful voice. Adam Felber seems like he is having a ball up on the stage. Roxanne Roberts is very lady-like but she started some of the risque bits. Mo Rocca, as funny as he is, really impressed me after the show. He is a very gracious person, who seemed honored when I thanked him for the entertainment.

I didn't get Mo's picture. By the time I got to him, he had his coat on and I didn't want to hold him up. What a great evening!

Poor Mary, she had a class the next morning but waited patiently while I got my pictures, autographs, and souveniers. Tonight, we see Wicked! But right now, I am going to hit the hotel hot tub. Aah, hotel life.

Disney

2009-01-08T15:12:00.013-05:00

by Caroline

Greetings from Chicago! But wait, the title says "Disney" . . . . what's that all about? Well, back in November I went to Disney with my friend Kathy, her 2 boys, and various members of her family. I think I should cover that trip before I begin this trip.

So, as I said, I went to Disney with Kathy and her family, including her father. Her father, by the way, is a Santa Claus. A Santa Claus who spends the year making wooden toys that he gives away at Christmas! Can you imagine going to Disney with Santa? Kathy tried to warn me but it is something that has to be experienced to be believed. He gets as much attention as the characters walking the park. The kids, staring from a distance, not really sure; their parents, "we don't want to bother you, but" . . . Dick was great with them all. The cast members loved him, the characters had a great time playing off him.

But the best of all, was Cheryl. She was the character handler at the Crystal Palace breakfast. Cheryl, who sees behind the magic every day, was thrilled to death to meet Santa! She brought over kids, other adults, and co-workers. She had us laughing the whole time and we certainly seemed to make her day.

I also had a great time at that breakfast because it was Winnie the Pooh and friends (my faves). A while back (sorry, no link to the particular post), the Yarn Harlot challenged readers to get pix of elected officials holding their socks or other projects. Well, elected officials are not in my circle but . . . .

We did a park a day, several character meals, and SeaWorld. We walked our legs off! I got to ride some of my favorite nostalgia rides: Snow White, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, and Pirates (I couldn't talk anyone into Small World); some more recent faves: Buzz Lightyear, Muppets (not actually a ride, I know), Space Mountain (took me a long time to ride this one - I'm a chicken); and new rides (new to me, it's been a while): the Speedway Test Track, Woody's 3-D Arcade and Atlantis (SeaWorld).

We were there for Disney's change-over to the Christmas season. We went to the first night of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The park closes and a limited number of people (56,000 pre-sold tickets) are allowed to stay till midnight. Most of the rides are open and the counter service eateries are open with a section set up with free hot chocolate and cookies! The castle was, well, magical.

Tonight, in Chicago, I go to the taping of NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. I can not tell you how excited I am.

Tagged!

2009-01-04T18:24:00.004-05:00

by Caroline

Well, my 4th folder has only 3 pictures and they are copies of reciepts for Wi-Fi at Barnes & Noble! So, I'm going over to the 5th folder. Symmetry demands that I use the 5th picture in the 5th folder; it is almost identical to the 4th one anyway, but a better shot.

So, 4 facts about this picture (or should that be 5?):

-That is my mother (for those who don't know her) in the center of the picture, finishing a half marathon (13 miles).

-The marathon was in October 2006 and she had been training for the previous year (time lines are estimates). She worked on her endurance and miles even as they traveled.

-She tried to get her daughters to join her (in training, at least) but my SIL, Brenda and my sister, Debbie were the only ones who managed any discipline.

-I walked with her and Debbie only a few times but I really did enjoy those times. They, meaning my mother, slowed her pace a bit for me; Debbie, however, would outpace us and then walk back. But still, the conversations during these walks were good.

-I was, and am, very proud of my mother for this feat. We are a fairly sedentary group and it isn't easy to break that habit.

Let's see, I'll throw this to Gigi, Lora, Gina, and Jackie. They can go back to the 4 facts about the 4th picture in the 4th folder format.

A tag-a-long fill-in

2009-01-03T15:28:00.004-05:00

by Kathleen

While I finish the old year and prepare for the new (all right... I know that technically I'm three days into the new already, but only in body not spirit) I will take advantage of a quick and easy post by responding to Toni's photo challenge (though the challenge was actually posted on this blog).
* go to my 4th picture folder
* go to the 4th picture in the folder
* tell you 4 things about that picture
* tag 4 more people

*This is a photo taken by DH of a run done by a group of his good friends with whom he does white water canoeing. Note that they do not kayak, they canoe... up to class IV. They're crazy.
*The river they're on here is only runnable once a year or so. On wet years they may get to go twice, some years they can't run it at all. It is FULL of strainers and scary stuff. They're crazy.
*They're so into canoeing they go on the water every month. Even in January. In fact they usually do an overnight canoe and camp on New Year's Eve. In the freezing cold and snow and icy water. Did I mention that they're crazy?
*I don't actually know who that is in the red boat then, but DH owns that one now. He didn't feel up to running that river at that time (this is probably about two years ago), but he would now. He is crazy.
And I love that they all get so into this, and talk about gear and plan trips to special rivers and gorges. Reminds me a bit of some fiber obsessed people who shall go nameless...

I'm not going to tag four other people, though I'd love to go to your blogs and read your photo stories. I'm only going to tag one person...

Caroline... this post requires very, very, very few words. You can do it... come on... come on...

Always look on the bright side of life...

2008-12-17T15:50:00.005-05:00

by Kathleen

(whistling)...

Marcia was right... there I was chastising the Universe for all my perceived mistreatment and totally ignoring all the good things that have come my way recently.
Like the afghan of course.

And some lovely birthday gifts last November.

From my MIL. A little china sewing lady that her mother had in the house she grew up in, sometime back in the 40's. I can't tell you how it moved me that she presented me with this. She has the sweetest painted face (very 30's) and she's sitting on a chair with a length of fabric in her lap and scissors in her hand.

Then a big gift that DH and I gave myself (with help from Mom and Dad actually. Thanks guys!) A Louet S75. I found it on craigslist with help from a posting to a Ravelry group. The owner had decided that she wasn't going to spin anymore (she just didn't have time for it and it wasn't that vital to her) and she was selling to move it fast. Less than half price. Wow.
It's a very nice wheel and I'm enjoying it very much so far. It came with four bobbins, several of which had singles still on them. I played with the wheel while I plied them up. I won't post photos of the yarn since she wasn't very pleased with it... but it plied up okay and I think I might knit her mitts from it as a thank you for the wheel.

Then there are some cool ornaments I got as part of a swap hosted by a group on Ravelry...
From Chillyfreetoes I got a really lovely knitted wreath. It's leaf shapes accented with pearls and I think the yarn has some angora in it because of the halo.
And some extra goodies (there was a snickers in the wrapping. But it didn't make it to the photo shoot).

And from Pryorjennie some mistletoe! Immediately after this photo it was hung with care... DH never knew what hit him.

And, as part of a kid's swap, I got this gorgeous tree from Butterfly. With glitter sparkle ornaments on it. I hung it in a window and the light glowed through it.
All in all... some things to turn around a crabby grouchy mood.

Dear Universe,

Sorry. And thanks.
Love (and I mean it this time),
Me again

ps But I'm still not happy about that wasp.

Why yes, I would love some cheeze with this whine...

2008-12-13T10:57:00.006-05:00

by Kathleen

I suppose I should feel embarrassed for this... my siblings (including co-blogger Caroline) and a whole host of you all are barely digging out from under a nasty ice storm; and my grandmother is still without power in Massachusetts.

But I wish to complain.

Dear Universe,
In the past two weeks you have chosen to smite me with one fried and one scrambled computer, a corrupted photo software program, one broken down vehicle, a lost filling, a whacky acting gas heater (the only source of heat in our house), resumed an annual Holiday party (by request) and no one came*, two late-night-jump-out-of-bed-horrific-noise-can't-get-back-to-sleep disturbances (courtesy of our cats), and a wasp sting. On. My. Nipple.
What have I done to deserve this?
Please stop. Please?
Thank you very much.
Love,
Kathleen

*Okay I exaggerate a smidge. 6 people showed up. And I didn't actually mind eating the whole French Onion dip and chips by myself, but finishing the veggie tray is a drag.

Okay. Got that off my chest (and believe me... the last one definitely hurt my chest. A LOT).

I've done knitting!

The "CanDo" socks are can done! Wool/Bamboo yarn dyed by Sereknitty in a special colorway with proceeds donated to Can Do. Pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Socks.
FlatFeet socks in plain stockinette. Waaaay too big. I wonder if anyone on my Christmas list has size 10 feet and loves neon green...?

All the Lizard Ridge squares are done! Time to sew them together now!

Babies' hats! Finished this October for two little ones born last March/April.
What...? It's not like they needed them earlier.

I've also got the DH's sweater body done and I'm on to the sleeves.

More to come...

WooHoo!!!

2008-12-06T13:56:00.005-05:00

by Kathleen

So... quite a few months ago I made a square for an afghan, The American Aran Afghan, being raffled off by a LYS to support a local Arts Center.

After it's completion we were in the area one weekend day (DH, MIL and I had gone to see a play at a local community theatre). I wanted to see it done so we stopped by the store to take a gander. For knitting a square I was given a raffle ticket, and both my DH and MIL who were with me bought tickets.
Guess what...

MY MIL WON!!!!

I am so pleased!
She says that she never wins anything, and this is a gorgeous way to start! She wants us to keep it, but we're thinking that it might come in handy this winter to help keep her warm. Either way it's in the family.
She's out of town right now, but we'll take her down to pick it up next week.
What a treat for me... that I put a square in, that we saw it together, and that my very dear MIL won.
Hooray!

Christmas has come a little early here.

Oh how I know the feeling...

2008-12-05T10:30:00.007-05:00

This was sent to me in an email by a friend who got it from a friend... it appears to be "Author Unknown"... though clearly she/he is a knitter (or a knitter's spouse patiently waiting on the sweater started and promised from last Christmas supposedly to be finished for this Christmas maybe... not that I know anyone like that.)

Knitter's Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.

When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.
And although I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.

Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.
"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!
Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite!
Move over!

Lopi, don't circle, just stand there in line.
Pay attention, you sheep, and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."

I peered over the sill. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.

I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.
As I turned around, St. Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his heat to his toe
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.

A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.

The scarf on his neck must have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.

On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:
"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU knit all this stuff?"

He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit back when I was a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair!

He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He began then to knit, first one cap then two--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a Scotch on the rocks.
So quickly like magic his needles they flew,
Good Grief! He was finished by quarter to two!

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"

Yeah. June. Or April maybe.

With many Thanks...

2008-11-26T17:05:00.005-05:00

by Kathleen

Thanks for my parents who have always loved and supported me. (My Mom saved canned goods for years so I wouldn't starve in a garret. Sure she may claim now that she was joking, but I think she really did it.)

Thanks for my siblings who I bossed about mercilessly in my know-it-all oldest child manner, but somehow managed to love me anyway. (Of course... I do know it all so maybe that's why.)

Thanks for my DH. A good man who makes me happy. Enough said.

Thanks for the roof over my head, the yarn and fabric in my stash, the sweet kitties who are at home right now laying a fine mist of fur on the aforementioned stash, dear friends, and the yummy food with the welcoming in-laws tomorrow.

Life is feeling good right now. Not perfect (whatever that would be), but truly, deeply good. And for that... I'm thankful.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, love filled Thanksgiving with whoever and whatever you are thankful for.

Welcome Home

2008-11-17T17:25:00.006-05:00

by Caroline

If a picture says a thousand words then I certainly don't have to say any more:

Welcome home Jonathan and thank you.

Happy Blogiversary to Us!

2008-11-13T13:01:00.002-05:00

One year (and a couple of weeks) ago my fellow fiber enthusiast sister Caroline posted the first entry to this our shared creation.
We didn't know how it would go or how well we'd do with it... we're still not sure about that. But since that momentous occasion we have manged to average a post a week! Not that we've posted every week... or even every month... but if you average it out...
We've gone to Fiber Festivals, learned to spin, taught others to spin, taught others to knit, designed and constructed huge period Shakespearean shows...
It's been a busy year.

Now many on the blogosphere have contest and give out prizes on their blogiversary. Uhm... we'll get back to you on that...

In the meantime, Happy Blogiversary Caroline!!! (who is apparently celebrating it by going to Disneyworld this week).
Happy Blogiversary to me!!! (who is celebrating it by... making spaghetti last night. Hey wait a minute...)

Remembrance Day

2008-11-11T11:15:00.007-05:00

(The firing of the cannon across the street, followed by taps)

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month...

With gratitude and respect to all veterans every where...

To my dad (in for 20 years, a Retired Navy pilot)

and my Nephew (Army Reserve, back in the states as of this week) (with his team, second from left)

Thank you.

Fall Fiber Festival of VA '08 and more!

2008-10-07T12:59:00.044-04:00

by Caroline and Kathleen

I've been so eager for this vacation! Both a chance to visit with my sister and her DH and to return to the Fall Fiber Festival. Last year was the first time Kathleen and I went and it was such a good time, so I was really looking forward to this year. (And I was excited to have Caroline visit! I really enjoy sharing the festival with her. We used to go to a music festival in VT every summer back when I lived in the Northeast. Now I'm in VA and we have the fiber festival!) We had another beautiful weekend, although thankfully, a little cooler than last year. (And a lot less dust!) I didn't sign up for any workshops; I had decided to dedicate Saturday to the Sheepdog Trials. What an amazing animal the border collie is; so eager to be out there that they are turning in circles waiting for their people to catch up to them. They look like they are in motion even when they are standing still! I was able to ask questions as I watched and learned a lot about the trials and the dogs. I think you can click to make bigger. (I had a workshop on Saturday morning... Nalbinding. It was very interesting and I thought our instructor did a fine job with us. I guess I'd describe the technique as a mix of sewing and braiding; it produces a very nice textured cord. Doubt that I'll use it again, but since I'm on a mission to learn everything ever... that's one more technique! Only about a millionbillion to go!
Then I joined Caroline at the dogs...)

The festival food offerings were varied and tasty but I went for a hot dog and chips. (I had chicken teriyaki and LoMein... just okay. Better than starving. I don't know why I didn't get the lamb sandwich... I love lamb! And I happen to like the macabre irony of eating the lamb while admiring cute sheep.) Then, it was time for the highlight of the festival food: fresh apple cider donuts, tossed in cinnamon....mmmmmm! (Yummyummyummy!)

(After lunch, while Caroline continued to watch the dogs, I went browsing with Angie, who used to come to our Knit Night sessions when she lived down here but we never see her anymore now that she's left us and moved far away. Almost two whole hours away! She was looking for a drop spindle, but she bought half-price silk yarn instead... close enough!)

Saturday night we went to a concert, a fundraiser for a local musician who is ill. The music was great! I wish I had a music clip to put up for you all. Unfortunately, we had to leave at intermission so we could get up early for the festival. I have no links ready for these groups, they don't all have one so, in brief: 1. Faster Than Walking, 2. Danny Knicely & Burt Carlson, & 3. Neal Knicely, Steve Parks, & Bob Driver. (I met Steve when I first moved to this town. He's a musician and luthier, a fixture in town here, and a hell of a nice guy who has touched so many people's lives. This is a recurrance of his cancer... and there's not much they can do this time, but manage the pain.
So the community that he has touched so deeply, the huge and spread out group of friends and acquaintances, are pulling together to do what they can for him and his family. Dinners and concerts and CD sales all to try to help with the inevitable mountain of medical costs.)

After the concert, I did something that I thought I would never do:

Kathleen has been spinning for a while and as soon as the fiber fumes got me, she offered a lesson. (Bwahaha) The next day I bought some roving and a spindle (Bwahahaha). I'm extremely inconsistent but really enjoying it (Bwahahahaha).

Sunday I went shopping at the vendor's tents. I was glad to see Dianne ("creative" on Ravelry) from Creatively Dyed Yarn had returned and bought several skeins from her (she has added cashmere to the mix, whoo hoo!). I have a lovely fall-colored, wool & nylon skein from Bransonas (can't get their link to work) and a wonderful green Suri Alpaca (going to grow up to be the Lisha Lace Scarf) from My Favorite Yarn Shop.

And then there was the roving (now that I am a spinner LOL [Bwahahahahahahaha])! I bought several different colors but not a lot of any. Some Marshmallow & Fudge, a blend of corriedale and border leicester from Steam Valley Fiber Farm. I got several strips of corriedale from Carodan Farm Wool Shop.

Leaving the festival, we stopped in at the open house at Lagniappe Farm (another link I couldn't get to work [fixed!]) to view the alpacas. Raveler merianb and her husband raise alpacas and Kathleen and I enjoyed a visit, getting just about every alpaca related question we ever thought of, answered. (Did you know that alpacas don't give birth at night or in bad weather? They just hold it! And that they go into heat triggered by the sound a male makes? They had four pregnant females, two of which should be giving birth any day now... so we talked a lot about alpaca's sex lives...)

Finally, a picture of our combined haul, showing that we had more control this year than last. (Most of that is Caroline's.)

Wait! The spinning isn't done yet....it has to be plied:

And now we have yarn:

(Unfortunately the week has slippped by so fast... just like last year we're saying "We need more time!")
Yeah.

Quick again and it's Caroline's fault...

2008-09-30T17:35:00.004-04:00

by Kathleen

This is a very quick post, but I wanted to share this (click for bigger)...

My LYS, On the Lamb, has put together The Great American Aran Afghan. It's going to be raffled off to benefit an arts center in Staunton (and yes I have my ticket, DH has his and MIL hers). It was made with by volunteers using yarn donated by Claudia Handpaint.
Volunteers including yours truly who did this square...

The Tipsy Cable Square! (By the way... check out that gorgeous cabled edging!)
An additional volunteer was Marcia from my Tuesday night knit group who did two squares...

Now, I've got to go home and clean the house because somebody is coming to visit for the weekend so that we can go to the Fall Fiber Festival!

psst... Caroline remember, it's THIS weekend not next!

OCD much?

2008-09-27T20:13:00.008-04:00

by caroline

9 Amanda hats, 4 or 5 Pretty in Pink baby blankets, & 30+ wee tiny socks...yes I'm project obsessive. But for this last swap, September's Back to School theme, I really let go. School colors was the suggestion, either mine or my swap partner's. But I thought school supplies was a little more fun so I knit a pencil:

But the pencil seemed to need an eraser. Remember those half & half erasers that erase pencil & pen?:

Oh, but if you are going to knit a pen & pencil eraser then you need a pen as well:

You know what's next, don't you? Pencil, eraser, pen....it just needs paper:

I packed them all up with the real objects and sent them off in a pencil case. I had such a fun time making these (I am so easy to entertain) but I am feeling like I set my bar a little high for the next swap. How will I go back to normal wee tiny socks, now?

Slap and Dash...

2008-08-24T13:42:00.006-04:00

by Kathleen

When Caroline and I talked about setting up a blog together we both agreed that we shouldn't feel we had to apologize if we didn't post for a while... to each other or anyone else. (Pretty cocky weren't we? Assuming there would be anyone else reading this... though we knew Mom would.) We never felt that other bloggers needed to apologize to us... they didn't need to feel bad for having a real life.
Funny though... how you do start to feel kind of guilty for going away.

So...
I mentioned (somewhere back there) that I had gotten a spinning wheel from a colleague here. It was an odd wheel made in a four post frame manner with an antique cast iron wheel...
Here it is...

It's beautiful. Really a work of craftsmanship. And heavy as all get out to treadle.
We've fixed a few problems (the bobbin was split and it spun loosely on the spindle without activating the flyer), but have a few more to go before it spins well (the leather belt is too loose and doesn't have a good enough grip on the wheel).
I don't know how much spinning I'll do on it as it's made for making thick yarns. But it sure is pretty.

Then in the "If everyone else jumped off the bridge would you do it too?" category...

Yes, apparently I would. This is "Flat Feet", a different way of dyeing yarn for socks. It's a machine knit blank that is handpainted. Then to knit it you unravel it from one end and knit as you go.

The pattern changes based on the size of your sock and your gauge. It's really just another kind of variegated yarn... but it is kind of fun to see what the pattern as dyed does when it gets knit. However I'm finding it not so much fun knitting with bumpy pre-knit yarn. It's not terrible, but it's not a great feel.
So I'll probably only jump off this bridge just the one time.

Other knitting news... I'm up to 17 of the 20 squares needed for the Lizard Ridge Afghan. The second Can-Do sock is close to finished.
And I'm knitting away on DH's sweater...

I've been working on this for over two years now. It's my first full size sweater and I'm making up the pattern as I go. I also had some issues with basic math and lost a skein of yarn in a port-o-potty (I was NOT going in after it).
It will have a full post of it's own someday. It deserves it.

A while ago my guild had a synthetic dye workshop. We made a colorwheel, mixing the dyes by a percentage based formula, and then immersing the fabrics in cups to get the mottled effect. It was quite fun...

My first few reds are too similar in color, but the yellow to green to blue worked out well.

Our guild had a picnic at the end of July and there was a challenge due to be judged that day. Unfortunately I got really, really, really sick, and couldn't make it. So I can't show my challenge project until the next meeting but here are the ingredients...

By the way... the 4th of July Parade we were in?.. We won first place! We beat out the float with the kids in the pool! Nobody ever beats out floats with kids on them... especially flatbed trucks with a bunch of middle to elderly ladies decked out in red, white and blue while knitting, spinning and weaving. Hmmm... must have been the hooking that did it. (Rug hooking that is!)

And this is why I've been off the blog and am going back off for another few weeks...
I'm doing costumes for a production of Shakespeare's Richard II at the American Shakespeare Center. The show opens in a couple of weeks.

I need to go sew now.

BYE.

p.s. A big "Thanks!" to all the members of the ManchVegas group who were knitting that night I called Mom about our spaghetti sauce. Adding sugar did the trick (but we boiled a potato in it too just to make sure).

p.p.s. To the left at the bottom of the sidebar you will see a little white egg labeled "My Dragon". If you would not mind clicking on it I sure would appreciate the help getting it to hatch. Thanks!

Blogging In My Mind....er....On My Mind

2008-08-07T20:20:00.019-04:00

by Caroline

You know, blogging is so much easier in my mind. All my imaginary commenters think I am so witty.

A Blog in Three Parts

Part I: Yarn on the move!
I've been going to The Yarn & Fiber Company in Windham for Friday night knitting for a long time now. We managed to fit a pretty large crowd into a not large space. There were nights where, if you didn't arrive early enough, you sat on the floor.....good times! Last month, it was time to move to a bigger shop, this one in Derry. Yes, Yarn & Fiber was not only growing but it was moving closer to me! From 1/2 hour to 10 minutes. Yay! So, on a Friday afternoon, knitters arrived to help pack up. It was amazing how many times you heard someone say, "I haven't seen this yarn before." As a group of motivated knitters, we had that shop moved in one weekend. They were closed only 4 days! And that Friday, we partied in out new digs. Lauren documented the move much better than me so I am going to send you here, here, here, here, here, and finally, here. Several were heard to comment that they have never enjoyed moving a friend so much. And I have to admit that I feel so much more possessive of a store that I helped to set up. My LYS, indeed.

Part II: wee tiny socks continue
The addiction grows. Again, I am sending 2 little socks at a time. The theme was heat wave so I knit up an Amanda sock with some red Cambrio. I used the lace pattern from the Amanda hat, dropping the K sts at the beginning and end of their rows. I'll post the directions if anyone is interested. So, I knit that up but looking at swap pal, I noticed she was a Girl Scout. In honor of G.S. I knit up another sock, Sereknity's Campfire. I'll have to post the sock I received later. I thought I had a picture of it but I can't find it. It is an awesome little sock.

Part III: Knit & Crochet Show

I went with the plan that I would not buy anything. Meaning, of course, that I would allow myself maybe 2 or 3 purchases. Look what I got:

1. Duets Flying Carpet Socks: Lorna's Laces & Mountain Colors and a Cat Bordhi design. So cool.

2. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, edgewater. I am compelled to buy blues & greens.

3. Habu, 100% bamboo. Softest thing ever.

4. Habu, spiral slub color 7. That's some copper color running through it, yum yum.

5. Sereknity, beachglass in superwash merino

6. Sereknity, dragonfly in superwash merino & seacell

7. Moonrise shawl pegs

There's those blues & greens again and by my favorite, Heather of Sereknity. I am compelled, just compelled. Then, when I was all done....Gigi of Adventures in Crochet showed me this lovely booth where Moonrise was set up. I could not turn away from these two shawl pegs. On the left is the Triskele with, I think, a turquoise bead. On the right is the Goddess with a mother of pearl bead. OK, a bit more shopping than I had planned. But to finish it all off: Jess & Casey of Ravelry walking by the Yarn & Fiber booth. Groupie time!

Is This Thing On?

2008-07-05T18:17:00.010-04:00

by Caroline

Boy, once you stop posting it is really hard to start again. But Kathleen is really piling up the posts (and FOs, as well) so I guess it is time to try to catch up.

I've been indulging in a little project obsessiveness again: wee tiny socks! I blame Lora for this. I saw the adorable little socks she knit up for a swap, way back in March or April (way back, anyway) and decided to sign up for the next one. My first swap I sent to RunningKnitter in AZ (I forgot to take a picture first) and I got mine from .... NH! From Lora, in fact. I don't know how she kept it a secret at knit night. I would have been smirking and giggling each time we talked about the swap.

I fell for these little socks immediately and when discussing baby shower plans with friends I opened my big mouth and said, "Wouldn't these little socks be cute favors?" *insert forehead slap here* One of those friends had just learned to knit and jumped right in with me in this foolhardy notion. We needed 60 wee tiny socks and agreed to knit 30 each. She got lucky with her sister-in-law who offered to help and quickly became addicted to the little socks. I got lucky with friends in my knit group who helped, as well. So, a big public thank you to Beverly, Jackie, Lora (linked above), and blogless Amanda. Below are: (left) socks I knit and (right) socks my friends knit.

During this time the famous (infamous?) crochet hook incident happened. And during all this, I did another swap. Why? Cause I'm just that crazy. This little sock (left) went to wenat (Ravelry) in Canada and I received one (right) from Andi in AZ.

You know what comes next ..... the next swap. This time I sent 2 socks (I just couldn't decide which to send) to springermama (Ravelry) in NC and got one from gaylet (Ravelry) in Scotland.

I also knit one up as an angel to send to kwesty (Ravelry) in MI.

Yes, I think you can say I am addicted. There is one more swap coming up. I wonder who I'll get?

I'm working on several other objects, too. But they are all bigger than wee tiny socks and are taking me longer to finish.

Three cheers for the R,W & B

2008-07-04T18:36:00.005-04:00

by Kathleen

Thanks all for the nice compliments on my scarf. I admit quite freely that I'm darned proud of it.
I enjoyed the process, am very happy with the final product, and learned a lot meanwhile.
Jersey... I used my Lantern Moon straights in a size 8. I had seen laceweight done on size 4-5, so I figured going to an 8 would work with the worsted. And it did!

And in important breaking knitting news, I have discovered a perfect use for all those giiiiiiiinormous knitting needles...

They're just the thing for fake knitting a large fake flag while riding down main street on a flat bed truck.
These are a size 50. In red plastic.

My guild rode a "float" in the 4th of July parade today. We all wore red, white and/or Blue and tricked out our knitting, spinning wheels, loom and rug hooking stand.
I wanted something that would read, but I wasn't interested in actually spending the time to knit a 4" long red white and blue thing (no matter how many balls of yarn it would have used, Toni!), so I cheated...
I sewed three woven wool scarves together and then sewed some yarn loops at the top and knit into those as we road along. (psst... I know it looks like a french flag... but those were the scarves I had to work with and I wasn't doing intarsia stars!)
It was pretty fun. We got a lot of cute kids waving and saying "Look Mommy, she's sewing!". And a few of the usual "Can you make me a pair of socks?" I called out "They'll be done at the end of the parade!", but no one showed up to get them.

Now what am I gonna do with a big funky flag and ginormous needles?

Happy Fourth to all who celebrate it and a great weekend to everyone!

A Finished Object! Hurrah! (Pay no attention to the UFOs behind that curtain...)

2008-06-27T15:56:00.008-04:00

by Kathleen

I got possessed. That's the only way I can explain it. I had a yarn that was lovely and squishy and fun and a pattern that was crying out to be made in it... so for a week this is all I did.

Presenting...
Twinings by Anne Hanson (highly modified to be a scarf in worsted weight rather than a shawl in lace)
Everyone may now go "whoaah duuude" at the awesomeness that is my grafting.
I tried to get what Anne calls the "money shot" and show you the full view, but we couldn't get high enough or far enough away to get the full length in.
The yarn is Crystal Palace Merino5. It is soft and sproingy and was a joy to work with.
I loved the pattern. It's lace patterning on both sides and takes some concentration... and I may not have felt as smug if I was working in the suggested laceweight with 11 pattern repeats (instead of worsted with 2). But I wasn't. So I am.

I'm challenging myself with another of her patterns Cluaranach in Malabrigo laceweight. I'm just finished with the first pattern section and am on to the middle.

It's slow going as it takes some real quiet, no interruptions, concentration time... and that's hard to come by. But so far I'm liking it. A lot.

I also started some socks...

I had some fun yarn from an Internet yarn dyer that I wanted to make into CookieA's Mingus (part of my Scavenger SWAP package). So I cast on...
And couldn't find the dang pattern! I know had it somewhere... but I looked through assorted piles and no go.
So... I had some Colinette Jitterbug I got as a gift from a lovely sister (or did I pay you for that C?) and I had designed a sock pattern with cable and leaf lace patterns. Cast on and...
Oh, come on! Two? How could they both disappear? They were just here, together, on the table... snuggled up close.... Waitaminnit... what if my sock patterns have eloped!?
So. Third times a charm. Sereknity's Can Do (wool and Bamboo blend) in a Charlene Schurch pattern called Cable Rib.

Oh. And no worries y'all about the missing patterns. Though I was rather hoping that I would have lots of cute little baby sock patterns as a result of their weekend away, I found them later. They were hiding right where I had put them. In another knitting bag.
Sneaky little rascals.

Final purty purty shot...

ETA: Oh no! I can't believe I forgot two whole other finished objects!!

Charlene Schurch's Garter Rib pattern socks in Handmaiden Casbah (bought at On the Lamb, my LYS)
The Tipsy Cable square from the Great American Afghan. Made from unknown yarn (donated by Claudia Handpaint) for an afghan being raffled off to support a local Art's center by my LYS.

WWKIP

2008-06-24T16:16:00.013-04:00

by Kathleen

Two Saturdays ago, June 14, was World Wide Knit in Public Day. I would like to report that I feel I fulfilled my public knitting duties thoroughly and with vigor.

In the morning I headed down to Staunton (that's STAN-ton), to a gathering arranged by On the Lamb, my LYS (that's Local Yarn Store). It was a blast!

There were about 40 people who showed up through the morning (from about 10 to 2). We even had a spinner bring her wheel.

We were hosted by Blue Mountain Coffee, who very generously gave each participant a free coffee drink (iced anything being the favorite of the day). And Shenandoah Spring Water donated lots of cold bottles of water.
We had lovely goody bags put together by our OTL (On the Lamb) team which had pen and notepad from BB&T bank, discount coupons for Rachel's Quilt Patch and info from other fine sponsors.

Plus yarn!
This is a skein of Noro Silk Mountain that was in the bag!

I put it to immediate good use...

And this is a skein of Icelandic sheep's wool, a lopi style single, from a local farm, Green Fence Farm, that I won as a door prize! They were very generous donating three skeins to be given out.

In fact, the day was supported generously by many wonderful sponsors giving out prizes of dinners at Shenandoah Pizza, yarn, gingher scissors (for the hat contest winner) and more!

There was a hat contest with very clever entries... Claudia wound a skein of beautiful yarn about as if it were a braid of hair; Tonks knitted a tiny sweater; Angel had an real live sheep on her head! (well, maybe not really...)

The participants...

Angel's Under the lamb hat...

And the winner!

After the festivities in Staunton quieted down I traveled back north to help out at my guild's, SVTGM (Shenandoah Valley Textile Guild and Museum. And I promise... no more acronyms.) monthly fiber demonstration. We had spinning, rug hooking, tapestry weaving and me... I continued knitting until 4:00.

Next time I'll show you what all that knitting time accomplished.

It's reeeeal purty.

Cute times three

2008-06-19T15:45:00.017-04:00

by Kathleen

Thanks for the nice comments on my handspun. I'm really very proud of it, even the "run awaaay..." parts (btw... that's a Monty Python reference in case you couldn't tell), as I learned so much. My only class experience was one workshop last September, so trying to recollect how to ply was... challenging.
Unfortunately the wheel I spun that on has returned to its rightful owner as it was only borrowed for the time.
I *do* have a wheel as I got one as a gift from a friend who no longer spins on it. And it's very cool... but different. I'll post a photo after I get it all cleaned up (it's been in her garage for some years). It's a wheel designed for thicker yarns, made in a four post frame with a cast iron fly wheel... very interesting.

Meanwhile how about some pictures of cute stuff?

My knit night went to a nearby alpaca farm a couple of weeks ago. Three babies had been born within days of our visit. Oh my! So unbearably cute!

This little guy was barely two days old....

This little one was closer to a week I think...

Even the "grown ups" were adorable...

Here we feed the alpacas their favorite food... baby fingers! No, no, no... I'm kidding. Alpacas don't eat baby fingers they eat alpaca food pellets.
Llamas eat baby fingers.

The animals were all quite friendly, although the Mamas stood guard carefully and the cria hung back in their safety.
Thanks to (name to be filled in when I can find the brochure) Alpaca Farm for letting us wander about and ooh and aah over the gorgeous animals and the oh-so-very-cute cria.

ETA: Massanutten Alpacas, in Keezletown, VA.

Hmmm... I wonder how my cats would feel about an alpaca friend?

Spinning a Few Dollars More...

2008-06-18T14:26:00.008-04:00

by Kathleen

While I wait for approval (due to a raging case of camnesia) to use another's photos of WWKIP (World Wide Knit in Public for the non-knitters) Day I would like to amuse and/or horrify you here with some photos of my first ever, by myself (the only other spinning being in a workshop) spinning wheel handspun!

Ta Daaaaaaa!

The Good...

The Bad...

The Ugly...

And the Run Away!!!!

So sorry. I should have better warned you. Hope everyone is okay? At least I fuzzed the picture out. Didn't want to do any permanent damage.

Here... let's finish with something nicer...

Back to the Good.

#4

2008-06-05T17:05:00.023-04:00

by Kathleen

About 40-something years (and a few weeks) ago the Gypsies left on our doorstep... I mean... Mom came home from the hospital with a new baby.

I don't remember whether it was this one's or #5's fault that Dad burned the peas, but I knew when I saw her she was nothing but trouble.

Check out the shifty eyed one on the right. No, no... not the angelic faced one on the upper right... the lower right.

*I* had to wait until college to grow my hair long (and dye it red). And I never looked that cute with my freckles.

Look! Look! She's upstaging me! No respect for her elders.

But, I suppose after a while she started growing on me...

I even forgave her going to Prom (which I never did. Cue the violins.)

We sang together...

We did hard manual labor together...

We had visions... Well, only she had them and it was for her church play.

We buy waaaaaaay too much fiber together (can't wait to see our haul next October!)...

And finally... we blog together (though some of us blog more than others...)

Happy 40mumble-mumble Caroline!!! You'll always be my little sister!

(See, I did not forget! Well... maybe I did... but just for a little while. Proof I love you though... none of the questionable permed hair pictures!)

Back Again

2008-05-31T21:43:00.013-04:00

by Caroline

Where to begin.....I'm so behind I'm forgeting things. I'll start here:

The Cruise

My knit group has already seen the pictures back in March but here are a few for Kathleen and the rest of you. I loved the cruise! I did try the parasailing in Grand Cayman and it was awesome! I don't think I could use enough exclamation points. I swam with the dolphins, I snuba-ed, and best of all, I spa-ed! I loved the ocean; I loved it in the sunlight, the moonlight, when it was calm, and when it was choppy (boy did it get choppy). And, as I stood on the balcony of my private room, I thought a lot about my father and his years at sea in the Navy. I don't think they'll ever be comparing carrier life to cruise ship life, but I felt oddly close to him that week.

I'm marinating in a seaweed wrap right now

hanging out on my balcony

I could stare at this view for hours

how awesome is this?

The Yarn Harlot

Let's see, she was back in April. I drove to WEBS with Heather, Chris, and Erica to listen to her talk and get her new book. We got off to a good start by digging through Heather's (then) recent dying efforts and I promptly reserved several skeins (4 or 5) for our return. The Harlot, speaking first at the Calvin Theater, was great. She sets what appears to be a killing pace on book tour but I don't think she ever holds back. At one point she stopped to ask for water and didn't mention till later how faint she felt at that point. At WEBS for the book signing, I was brave enough to ask if I could get a picture with her and she suggested we hold each others' socks. What a thrill; I am such a groupie! Erica got to tell her about her walking team, "Team Cumulative Action" and Heather gave her a skein of her new color, "Eye of Jupiter", inspired by Battlestar Galactica. Then I bought yarn...YAY! A big thanks to Erica for leading me to the best deal of the night: Jaeger DK silk, 10 balls. If I am remembering correctly, Jaeger is being shut down and brought back out by...Nashua? The balls that I bought for about $9.00 each will be something like $30.00 each! I hope I remembered that right, a deal like that should be remembered.

Edit: (for those who don't read the comments) Jaeger Pure Silk is now a Rowan Classic Yarn. Sorry for the mix-up.

I can't believe I'm holding the traveling sock! I can't believe Stephanie is holding my mini sock!

Erica tells Stephanie about Team Cumulative Action

Stephanie loves the Eye of Jupiter

yarn! yarn! yarn!

I've been finishing projects and I promise to get those up. Are you preparing for June 14th, Worldwide Knit in Public Day?

A Weekend with Yarn...

2008-05-16T17:59:00.006-04:00

by Kathleen

I mean with DH and friends! And maybe a little yarn.

Last weekend we went to a northerly section of the North Carolina Outer Banks. We left after work on Thursday and got in a little before midnight. Although the drive was a bit of a drag, I'm glad we did it that way as we got to enjoy all of the incredibly beautiful Friday. Followed by a chillier but still sunny Saturday, and finishing up with a big chunk of the cold and windy, but still gorgeous, Sunday.
The best day... Friday.

And I may have brought a little bit of fiber works with me.
Friday all day ... socks. (finished by Sunday)

Friday evening... spinning.

Saturday morning... afghan square. (still working on this one)

Saturday afternoon... baby hat. (finished by Sunday)

Saturday evening... spinning. (look how full the bobbin's getting!)

And Sunday, on the way home...

Finally... One of my favorite photos from the weekend. Partly because I don't take good photos and this is pretty good... and because I love the juxtaposition of knitting bag, parasol and fishing pole.
What a great time. Can't wait to go back. Must bring more knitting!

MDS&W08

2008-05-06T16:57:00.006-04:00

By Kathleen

This past Sunday I went to my second ever sheep and wool festival.
My first one was last October; Caroline and I went to the more local Fall Fiber Festival in Montpelier. This time I went with the local fiber guild to a biggie... The Maryland Sheep and Wool festival bills itself as the largest one in the states.
Could be... it was pretty dang big. But we deliberately went on Sunday to avoid what we've heard is a madhouse on Saturday, and I found it very pleasant and easily doable.

I saw some sheepdog demonstrations, caught the end of the sheep to shawl, and of course... I saw lots of wooly creatures...

Looks like he/she's smirking doesn't it?...
Scottish Blackface. Beautiful sheep, very rough wool.
These are Wensleydales. Yes, like the cheese. Yes, they've heard the Wallace and Grommit reference. Yes, about a million times.
Some very cute coated lambs (Black merino, I think)...
And... oooh... a bad haircut day. Bet she wishes she could borrow one of those coats.

So, you ask... where's the loot? Where's the haul? What did I buy?

Uhm...
Two pair of lantern Moon in size 6 and 8 (I have a seven already).
And a book (the Yarn Harlots first... The Secret Life of a Knitter. Hadn't seen it anywhere else).

That's it.

Really.

No, I mean it.

I have such a lot of yarn already (no snickering out there) and nothing I saw was prettier than what I own. I was looking a little bit for fiber, but I wanted bold colors and handpainting... and I didn't see any. It was all either natural or muted and heathery.
So I got the needles as planned, and a book. Done deal.
I think my fair lunch cost more.

Feelin' Dauncey

2008-05-02T15:47:00.002-04:00

DH and I first met one Saturday afternoon when he stopped into the Virginia Quilt Museum where I just happened to be docenting. He was new in town and thought the museum might be of interest when his Mother visited, as she quilted.
Recently he turned 50. And when his mother asked if he wanted anything special for his birthday he said yes... he'd like one of her quilts.

"Spring Daunce"
Daunce is a term I'd not heard before. If you look it up it means ill, but to her (and her Mother who used to say it) it means dizzy, crazy like... a version of Spring fever.
The colors are mostly pastel spring-like, but with shots of darker richer tones. And the blocks are all mixed up... curves, triangles and squares, all set in here and there. Hand pieced and hand quilted.
It's truly lovely. DH calls it her masterpiece. And we are honored to be the caretakers of it.

Pretty pictures

2008-04-27T18:35:00.010-04:00

By Kathleen

While Caroline heals her craft-inflicted wounds (what some people won't do for blog fodder!) I'd like to distract and soothe by presenting some more pleasing sites. (Unless you're more of a George Romero horror flick kinda person in which case you can go back and look at Caroline's photo again.)

Spring has sprung down in our holler in the Shenandoah Valley...

While downtown it's been Spring for a couple of weeks...

The valley is stunning at this time of year... the Bradford pears come first with their oval shapes of white, followed immediately by the pale pink cherry trees. Hot on their heels come the fuchsia colored redbuds and the dogwoods (both pink and white). And everywhere is the bright yellow of the forsythia, and the multi colored riot that are the tulips and daffodils. Soon we'll have wide white petaled magnolias and the yellow and orange lilies.

It's Spring on my office window too...

I found this mostly withered up plant in a pot to the side of the driveway at the last house we lived in. I nurtured it back to life, but it wasn't until last year that I saw a bloom group. One. This year... two simultaneously! And what's that around the back?... another bud!
I had to image search the Internet to identify it as I'd never seen anything like it before. This is a Hoya Carnosa. It's a tropical vining plant, also known as the Porcelain flower or wax plant. So cool!

And finally, it's Spring on my feets!...
Charlene Schurch's Baby Rib in Handmaiden Casbah, and
Cookie A's Monkey in Claudia Handpaint, Ocean Depths Because what says Spring better than hand knit wool socks?

OUCH!

2008-04-20T20:32:00.004-04:00

by Caroline

I have fallen prey to blogging in my mind, lately. Kathleen is still waiting for vacation pix and I have become addicted to mini socks, thanks to a mini sock swap. But, since none of you have ESP, I suppose I had better get something typed up. There is a picture at the end of the post; you can decide for yourself if you want to look.

So, there I was, innocently knitting a mini sock. I was using a steel crochet hook to pick up the loops of the heel gusset (cue ominous music). For some reason, instead of putting the hook down when all the loops were on the needle, I held it in my fist. You know how you tap something against your thigh to slide it up higher in your grip? Well, it's not really a good idea with a fine point crochet hook. I felt it slide (surprisingly with no pain) into the pad at the base of my pinky and, without much thought, I tried to slide it out. But, it has a hook (D'OH)!

It would seem that the emergency room at the Elliot doesn't get too many crochet hook impalements. While waiting for it to be removed, I had a couple nurses coming in to look. "Cool," says one and I could hear a bit of their conversation back at the desk, "no,no, it has a hook on it!" Obviously, a crafter explaining why it can't just be pulled out. After Novocaine was administered, the hook was removed. I didn't watch but Debbie did and said it was done with a great deal of twisting.

A band-aid, a tetanus shot, and a series of one-liners later and it was time to go home. Yes, the medical people had fun with me: going down the check list, "no allergies, no medical problems besides being a danger to yourself....."; the clerk at the admin desk, even an hour later, referring to me as "crochet lady"; my own sister suggesting that maybe there should be some kind of dexterity test for knitters. So, here is the picture:

2008-04-05T18:37:00.002-04:00

How odd is it to get tagged on your own blog?

The Rules: Post the rules on your blog. Link to the person who tagged you. Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1... I play with my food. Always have and prolly always will. Have you ever had a Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookie? I eat the outside ridges first, then nibble all the cookie away from around the motif, then eat bits of the motif down to the final solid inner shape. Oreos? Screw off one side from two separate cookies. Eat the bare sides. Smush together the other two sides with cream for a make-it-yourself double stuff. Sure you could buy double stuff in the store... but where's the fun in that?

2... My feet are not ticklish. As a youngster my brother, next oldest sister and I would gang up on each other and tickle feet mercilessly. As a result mine are no longer susceptible to tickling. Let's not discuss my sides or armpits though... I said no! get away!!! AAAAAHHHHHHhahahahaha...

3... I love Nick for Kids morning shows. Cartoons for three year olds... just my speed. I'd watch some every day if I could. Except that...

4... I don't have TV. By choice. We don't get reception so we'd have to buy a satellite or cable package. But when you consider the bucket loads of crap that comes along with the minimal dollop of good stuff, and the mind suck that being drugged into watching all that crap is... cable isn't worth the money.

5... I'm a packrat. I could dress it up by calling it collecting... but it's still packratting. The bad news... I married a packrat. The bulk of our "collections" is mind numbing to contemplate. And yet... there's so much cool stuff too! I've set myself the task of sorting out the cool from the dregs bit by bit. It's hard, but I don't want to end up the old lady who gets smothered, not by her piles of decades old newspapers, but by the stacks of old cameras, and cat figurines, and antique books, and costume jewelry, and juice glasses, and textiles, and vintage hats and shoes, and on and on and on...
Clearly I must get rid of the cat figurines.

6... It took me until I was in my mid forties to get married for the first time, a year and a half ago. And we met... in a quilt museum. He had just moved to the area (his Mom quilted) and I just happened to be docenting that Saturday afternoon.
I'm so glad I was at the right place at the right time. And he was worth the wait. Totally.

Okay.
But I think I'm not going to tag another 6 people... One tag-out per blog seems to be sufficient. Thanks for doing the hard part Caroline!

Overdue

2008-03-30T17:50:00.006-04:00

by Caroline

I've been spending so much time on Ravelry lately (I've been seeing that complaint a lot) that it is cutting into my knitting, never mind my blogging. I was tagged by Debbie of calicokitty6 back at the beginning of the month and I kept putting it off. These things look so easy till you have to fill one out. So finally, here it is.....

The Rules: Post the rules on your blog. Link to the person who tagged you. Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

#1- I eat Chinese food for the soy sauce.

#2- My toolbox at work is so neat that people think I don't use my own tools.

#3- It is hard for me to walk into a group of people I don't know.

#4- I love the color brown and have been buying a lot of brown yarn lately.

#5- Sometimes I crochet till my hands cramp and even that doesn't always stop me.

#6- I struggle against a strong tendency to procrastinate.

Whew! Done, now I have to pick the next suckers....I mean, interesting people. I see Gina at Sleepy Eyes is also doing this meme and she has already tagged Ericka so here are my 6:

Kathleen @ Dips in the Road of Creativity (heh heh)
Lora @ Lora's Keyhole
Sarah @ Persnickety Sarah
Gigi @ Adventures in Crochet
Heather @ Yarnophiliac
Chris, who doesn't have his own blog but sometimes guests on his wife's blog, Armed With Pointy Sticks

I'm off to leave comments and apologies on the above blogs. Vacation post is coming, I'm still waiting for some pictures from my niece's camera.

Jumble

2008-03-23T22:17:00.015-04:00

by Caroline

Public Service Announcement #1 - over at Armed With Pointy Sticks, Ericka is asking for a little help. She tells the story better but this is a woman who, when hit with her first MS episode (no sensation in her hands), taught herself to knit. She doesn't talk much about her continuing battle with this disease but right now she is getting ready to walk in the April 20th MS walkathon and is asking for donations, or if you are in the area, walkers. Check it out!

Public Service Announcement #2 - over at Yarnophiliac, Heather is also asking for a little help. Once again, her version is the better but she discovered an old high school crush on Oprah's Big Give. She learned that he had started a charity called Can-Do (Compassion in Action Network - a Direct Outcome organization). Using the colors of their website she has created the Can-Do colorway! $10 of every skein goes right to Can-Do. She has dyed it up in several different yarns and it is awesome! I have my skein, pictured below in superwash Merino and also, a picture of the yarn worked up in a sock. Check it out!

Rhode Island - I'm home from RI but I did get to meet up with Some Bunny's Love before I left. No time for a yarn crawl but I did get to visit her knitting guild meeting and after, we (somebunny and calicokitty6 and I) went to Panera to knit and talk. I forgot my camera, but somebunny had hers and you can find my picture there. I was supposed to take pictures with her camera that she would send me but I was so busy talking and knitting......well, that's why you have to go to her blog! Calicokitty6 is planning a yarn crawl in my area and she's supposed to call me. I was so eager to get home but I regret leaving such nice people.

Amanda Hat - I taught my friend Kathy the Amanda Hat pattern and found out that I wasn't quite finished with Amanda Hat mania. Here is #9! Lamb's Pride Bulky - Cafe Au Lait. I love this hat! My sister, Maureen, made the comment that she was surprised I wasn't in the double digits yet....mmmmmm.

Also Amanda related - Gina sent me an awesome prize for making the most Amanda Hats. I send her my thanks for a pattern that is like chicken soup, warm and comforting. Also (jeez, didn't think to get pictures) I happily let her her and blogless Amanda (for whom the pattern is named) pick out their faves. Gina picked the Manos and Amanda, the Sheep Shop Yarn Company. You should check out her gallery of Amanda Hats, and if you haven't made one already, I strongly recommend it.

My Nephew - I am so pround of him and yes, I think he might be channeling a little Elvis in this picture.

Fellowship Craft Night - we had our first craft night at church this month and plan to make it a monthly event. We had lots of beaders, a couple knitters, a few scrappers and a hooker and a wood-worker. It's funny, how sometimes we are more productive in a group.

swaps swappingly swapped

2008-03-20T10:09:00.005-04:00

I didn't want to post anything until I knew my swap recipient had her package as I was late because of this respiratory bug I got. (I'm much better now, though I still have some coughing and ick. But I no longer sound like Minnie Mouse.)

This was the Scavenger Hunt Swap and the idea was that we had seven categories; Something... Hard, Round, Local, Funny, Green, having to do with the letter "T", and a spoiler's choice.

Lot's of fun options there!

My swap sending partner was Lesley from Nova Scotia. I loved her swap box! And it came at a much needed time in the midst of getting the flu bug and feeling awful.
This is a link to the post I posted about it on the swap blog. And here's another photo of the stitch markers.

Seriously I was laughing so hard and with the no voice and raspy cough I must have sounded like I was dying. No wonder DH came into the room asking "What's wrong?"
I can't wait until I have some breathing time (after next week's opening) and I want to start that sock pattern. Whoohoo! Thanks so much Lesley!!!

Because I was feeling so bad and so out of it I was late sending my box off to my swap recipient partner, Diane in Alaska. And I totally forgot to take photos of my own before getting it off finally. But here's her slide show post.
I had a lot of fun putting it together. And I've still got some chicken knitting fabric to make some bags for myself!

All in all I had a great time doing this swap and I'd love to do one again. This was my first one and I learned some valuable lessons. Like... Don't figure you've got time to get it in the package. It takes longer than you would think to get it all labeled and packed and something (like a mind numbing virus) can always happen at the last minute.
Of course that's what I tell myself about everything in my life... but do I listen?
Or do I instead live by the quote (paraphrase) from Pogo " Nothin's so urgent today, that won't be urgenter tomorrow"?

You can answer that later.

ETA:
I can't decide if I'm more embarrassed or excited. I finally sat down to leaf through the Mingus sock pattern that Lesley sent only to discover... the Marilinda Sock pattern too!!!
Lesley... wowwowwowee!!! Thank you so much! I'm so sorry I didn't catch it at first... and it's so cool!

But now the problem... which do I do first? Oh the dilemma!

Is it safe yet...?

2008-03-10T22:54:00.000-04:00

Well, my brain grew back, took one look at the projects and deadlines coming up and promptly, and most conveeeeeniently, got sick.

A few light brushes with a stomach bug flu that's turned into a sort of bronchial thing.

I'm not seriously complaining. I've still managed to go in to work each day (yay. not.) and sort of function. I know plenty of people here who've been out for days with these bugs (respiratory and stomach). Hey... in fact... it's probably their fault I'm sick now!

I do think that one thing that might really cheer me up would be to see fabulous vacation photos posted here by my sis, Caroline. Hey C! Where's the cruise shots?!

In leiu of that I offer some WIPs.

Some knitting...
a mixed weight scarf of laceweight and boucle...

The Ida vest by Vivian Hoxbro...
And some sewing...

A lace overlay skirt with several different color linings...

An Issey Miyake skirt and top (rather tame for Issey really)...
Several tops with assorted necklines and sleeve lengths in some lovely rayon lycra knits...

Rhode Island & Ravelry

2008-03-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

by Caroline

Vacation post is coming. I finally sat down and loaded my pictures on the computer. But before my vacation, I went to Rhode Island. 4 days before! Grrr!

Anyway, when it comes to road time I am more familiar with VT. I know where everything is and the cheap places to stay. But Rhode Island was a blank slate so I turned to the Rhode Island group, Ocean State Crafters on Ravelry for help. A big thank you to all who sent in suggestions. That first week I went out to meet some knitters. Below are, from left to right (Ravelry names): MickeySews; a friend of hers, CeeCee (not on Ravelry); and Calicokitty6. I really enjoyed myself and look forward to seeing them again.

(calicokitty6 brought in many pretty things to show)

Now I'm also trying to meet up with Somebunnyslove this week and she is talking yarn crawl! I don't know if we'll be able to make that happen but it is also a treat, when you are on the road, just to have people to spend time with. How nice it is, to know you can meet knitters wherever you go.

Living On The Edge

2008-02-23T23:45:00.000-05:00

by Caroline

depart for vacation: 5am Sunday, 2/24

passport in hand: 6pm Friday, 2/22

shop for clothes: 8pm Saturday, 2/23

write blog: 11pm Saturday, 2/23

pack for trip: 12am Sunday, 2/24

I am a little insane at times.

Mi Job iz Eated my Brane

2008-02-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

By Kathleen C...

First... thanks for the kind comments on DH's Valentine's bouquet. He earned major props from me for that gesture. The more so because, although he didn't realize it, the flowers are some of exactly the same kind as we had in the centerpieces at our wedding... exactly one and a half years ago that day.
He's got good instincts, that man has.

Now... about that post title...

I work as a Costume Designer/Shop Manager at a mid-sized university. Have worked in costumes since I graduated with my MFA in 1986 (1987 by the time my thesis was done). I love it. It's creative and exciting and rewarding. It uses both the analytical engineer part of my brain and the creative artist part of my brain. I love the designing and the teaching and the patterning and sewing and the color, texture and feel of costumes. I just love it.

And I usually get quite a reaction from people when I tell them my job. Much of it along the "You can make a living doing/They pay you for that?" vein.
I'm not criticizing that reaction... sometimes I ask myself that same question, amazed at my opportunity to do the work I love.

But it comes with it's downside. The big one being... the hours required as you get into tech and dress, before opening. You're at rehearsal until late and you come in early and you do this for almost a week and by the end of it... you're beat.
We opened our musical last night.
And I'm beat.

And I don't get a break because I'm designing costumes for our next production, the Spring dance concert. One piece of which is going to a competition early... so I'm trying to get the costumes done by this weekend.

So I'm going to be knitting simple things and sewing nothing for myself and writing very little intelligable stuff. With minimal grammar. And, apparently, no spell check.

I will leave you with a picture of my most recent FO... the last one you'll see for a couple of weeks. Maybe the last one *I'll* see for a couple of weeks?

Phiaro Scarf from Knitscene:
Closeup of dropped stitches...

And the award goes to...

2008-02-14T13:04:00.000-05:00

DH for the best husband in the world!

So, the guy walks in the door with the bouquet and all the students in my class go "Ooh, someone's got something pretty" and I say "Ha ha. He's probably got the wrong office". I figure they're not mine. I'm apparently not the kind of person who gets flowers. And I've never had Valentine's flowers before. Never. Ever.

I get teary. The students get teary. They said I made their Valentine's Day.

Well, I know who made mine...
Oh, now I'm crying again.

Random Eye Candy

2008-02-08T17:41:00.000-05:00

By Kathleen

First off... I never win things anymore (I had an amazing lucky streak as a preteen, but not for years now).
But see what I won in a blog contest by Summerset ...

This fiber art postcard is made using fabrics and embellishments from one of her amazing art garment outfits (Midnight in the Garden). She embossed the velvet on the bottom and quilted the silk on top half, appliqued the silk flower at top, embroidered the cricket, and beaded the embossed flowers. Wow! It's so lovely! My photo definitely doesn't do it justice.

Thank you so much Summerset!

Then...
I'm a rock star, baby! Well, at least I feel a bit like one. I have a yarn colorway named after me!

A few years ago I was taught to knit socks by Christine, a local spinner/dyer/knitter. She also helped me pick out some yarns to make a sweater (I'll get to it someday) in my favorite colors... purple and green.
(oh, Purple and Green! How I love thee!)
Well I just happened to bump into her again on Ravelry and not only did she remember me, she runs a dyed yarn business online and... she named a colorway after me!

This is a photo of two skeins of yarn died in the "Connery" colorway (well, all right it's not how I spell it, but it's still named after me! Ahhhh, purple and green...)
Oh, and Mom and Caroline... don't bother rushing to get yourself some of the Connery lusciousness, but you might want to check your mailboxes in another week or so...
Do you think Maureen would like some? It's sock yarn...

And finally...
Last Saturday the dyeing study group of my Fiber Guild had a work date at the studio of a local dyer... Claudia's Handpainted yarns. Yes, Claudia lives and dyes (heehee, I slay me!) right here in my hometown. And she's a member of our guild. And she's great! And she let a rambling group of dyer wanna-bees invade her shop and use her facilities and dye up a whack of cool yarn! (we supplied the yarn, she supplied everything else including brownies).

Lace and fingering weights in a medley of pinks and reds; fingering weight in a variation of "Ingrid's Blues";
worsted weight in a subtle group of geens,blues and olive; worsted in lilac, plum and pink;
a very heavy felted single ply in a variation of "Walk in the Woods".

(And I just thought I would point out that the above dyed yarn was already in my stash. Just in white and natural. So I didn't have to buy any new to add to the total. Which I know I haven't updated yet with the new supply bought at Rocktown's closing sales. And I will... as soon as I get a few things finished so as to help balance the numbers...
Arghhh... Who'm I kidding... it's like a few hundred out, but a thousand in!)

And one final eye candy photo...

I Will Not Be A Guppy!

2008-02-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

When it comes to knit & crochet, I can found, mostly, at the shallow end of the pool. You know, where the basic scarves, baby blankets, & even simple socks are swimming. Oh, I've dogpaddled out to the deeper end once or twice. I made a pair of "patterned" socks (Elongated Corded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks) and a lace scarf, and I really enjoyed making them both. But, when done, I paddled right back to the shallow end with a bit of relief. When looking at other people's projects I'm likely to say, "Oh, I'm not at that level yet." What? Like I'm going to wake up one morning with the ability to do Fair Isle implanted in my brain? I am a hands-on learner; I know this about myself. Why am I waiting for some sort of notification: You may now proceed to Level 2?

This came clear to me the other day while talking about my upcoming vacation, a cruise. I was telling a friend about the activities I wanted to try. I like to do new things on vacation; things that I would not normally do. In St. Martin's, despite a fear of drowning, I took a hotel training course and went scuba diving. In England, I tried my hand at steering the long boat I was staying on. I was at the rudder when we went through the narrowest, twisty-est section of canal on our route, with boats moored on both sides. With sweaty palms, I got through without hitting anyone. Now, despite a fear of heights, I am planning on trying parasailing. So why do I save this "devil may care" attitude for vacations only? Why, if I am willing to hang by a scrap of fabric and lengths of rope, am I unwilling to challenge myself in my crafting? So I have to frog a piece; what am I afraid of?

A year ago, I bought the yarn and pattern for a sweater. One of Elsebeth Lavold's designs, Aud. It isn't a scary sweater, but OMG, I will have to learn seaming. I began and stopped the doctor's bag from Knit2Together because it needs a lining and I've never done that before. NO MORE FEAR! I have restarted the doctor's bag. I have chosen my cruise knitting: a lace project kit from Just Our Yarn for the Maple Tree Shawl by Karen Joan Raz. And I will start that sweater this year. I can do this. I may make mistakes, but that is how you learn and move to the next level. Or the deep end of the pool.