well, it looks like this

Okay, the photo thing really holds me back, so I am just going to describe and you can make your own pictures in your head. If the sun is out and it is below 90 degrees (its 95 today) I am not sitting inside at a computer unless I'm at work. Also, as a proud citizen of OCD Nation, I make pretty good lists so here goes.

What I have made or finished since March 2009:

• 9 Dear Jane blocks, 3 were needle turn applique, plus 20 signature swap blocks
• Chunky Ruffle & Lace Scarf, my own pattern knit in Plymouth Llama Cotton Grande Apricot
• Twilight Socks from 2-at-a-Time Socks knit in Knit1 Crochet2 Soxx Appeal Oceana
• Prairie Blanket, pattern by Oat Couture knit in Lamb's Pride Worsted Frost White
• Flower Basket Lace Shawl pattern by Evelyn Clark knit in Plymouth Buckingham Periwinkle
• Yellow Brick Road travel themed quilt for Mum & Dad
• Yippy Strippy Tablerunner pattern by Allison Designs in all fruit & veg prints for Merry
• 6 reversible placemats made w/ fruit & veg one side, pies the other for Russell
• Owlings Mitts pattern by Kerrie James knit in Manos Silk Blend Olivewood
• Victory Multidirectional Socks pattern by Machelle Dotson in random Norwegian multi-primary color sock yarn, for a guild swap
• Manos Cotton Stria Log Cabin Blanket, 9 different bright colors
• Bent Pieces quilt, all black & white, with inner border & binding in Westminster Blue Waves BM04
• Bent Pieces table runner, batiks in blue & orange tones, inner border is a Kaffe woven stripe

Other news of import:

• Parents came to visit in May - had a lovely time. Lots of eating, visited several breweries, farmer's market, Taliesen.
• Got some pet goldfish for the backyard pond, started with 5: Buckshot, Flash, Motley, Tweedle-Dee & Tweedle-Dum. Still have 4, fat & happy, I guess T-Dum's name was a death sentence.
• Louis is home for the summer and has joined the majority ranks of unemployed college students. He is in training to be a domestic servant.
• Stitcher's Crossing will have a real website & online store soon, helping with data entry & writing copy.

That's about all I can think of at this very moment. More news later...

empty spools, knit-in, etc.

(random pinkish photos: (Mimi & I with matching toes on the beach in Carmel, Milanese lace mitts, Brenda & I at Asilomar)

Since my last post I've done a few things, so that's my excuse this time. I think I'm more of a plain old novel than a picture book or graphic novel, the camera is really my block so I suppose I should babble more and shoot less, which I already do.

Feb. 20-25 I went to Pacific Grove, CA for Empty Spools at Asilomar and met up with seven of my friends from back east. I took a Dear Jane workshop with Brenda Papadakis and made eleven 5" blocks, some only partially finished as needle turn applique is slow going for me. I have little to no interest in civil war reproduction fabrics so my work stood out in it's loudness, dressed in Kaffe Fassett, batik and what ever else I fancied from my palette. Learned many new techniques but didn't get to hang with my peeps as much as I wanted even though all 8 of us were sharing two rooms right next to each other. There was a little too much shopping as usual, The Cotton Patch was on site at Asilomar and Back Porch Fabrics & Monarch Knitting just minutes away in charming downtown Pacific Grove. So I came home with sock yarn, buttons, shawl pins, ribbon & fabric just because they were pretty, imagine that? The Monterey Peninsula was beautiful, it was lovely to see & hear the Pacific but the weather goddess could have been a little more generous, it rained off and on the whole time. The day I was to leave I sat in the sun, you know the kind that actually warms your bones but doesn't make you sweat unless you're running, so it made it all the harder to go. Everyone made something beautiful but Gile may have stitched her magnum opus. I miss you, my friends!

And so as not to be bored or unoccupied for a second I went to the annual Madison Knitters' Guild Knit-In. We were actually in the presence of knitting luminaries Yarn Harlot Stephanie Pearl-McPhee & Meg Swanson. Stephanie has more stamina than someone a 1/3rd her age, she spoke for just about 2 hours. She reminded all of us that knitting makes you smarter and I'm totally on board with that. Although I then left the auditorium and went straight away to the vendors and purchased many ceramic buttons with absolutely no plan to put them on a garment. I may not fall into the smarter category just the attracted to shiny things like a birdbrain category. Took a class on double knitting with Amy Detjen and learned to frog in stereo. Amy is Meg Swanson's assistant and a technical editor at Schoolhouse Press so Meg stopped by our class (we're not worthy, we're not worthy...). So the accomplishment was that by Sunday evening I had made two coasters which now host Gin's teacups in her office. I now know what DK is and I've decided that it will likely be a distant acquaintance, not a close friend.

Where can I go next? Knitting Camp is supposedly impossible to get into. I would love to go to Portland for the Sock Summit in August. It might be more realistic to go someplace closer to home like Sievers School of Fiber Arts. It might be really realistic to stay home, go to work (oh, yeah, I have a job...) and clean my studio. Sigh. Maybe next year.

evolving weekend

It's Darwin Day at UW and we were invited to join M & D for a short lecture given by Patricia McConnell titled Darwin, Dogs & the Emotional Life of Animals. She gave examples of the similarities between the expressions of humans & dogs and how the corresponding emotions for both were identical. She also showed this video clip of a colleague who was doing a study on whether animals laugh. He was tickling rats and recording them at high frequency and they were actually giggling! And by the rats' body language they were clearly having a good time. Who knew this was a vocation?

Then we took a detour to Penzey's Spices , a favorite haunt of Chef D. I was hoping to get inspired to cook something & picked up some Chili 9000 which has a tag line on the label stating "The Future of Chili is Here." Maybe Jane Jetson & Rosie the Robot will stop by to whip up dinner. How can I love grocery shopping so much but be so unmotivated as a cook?

I just finished writing my pattern for the sock class I'm teaching starting next week. It's four pages and includes a glossary, references and a diagram of sock anatomy. Writing it felt like doing a term paper. I didn't even pull an all nighter to get it done, a first for me! I just hope the students don't take one look at it and run screaming from the class.

Here are some random fiber photos from the shop. We're trying to get some advertising shots on the cheap to go in a great local magazine called Knit Circus. Also, a detail of my class model drunkard's path quilt. Warm & sunny inspiration, hope it leads to the real thing.

let's catch up, shall we?

Well, I'm back. From what you might ask? Well, the short answer is: Thanksgiving, brain surgery, Christmas, New Years, upper respiratory infection & now my birthday! Yay - everyone in my household is still alive! I'm starting the year off right with a positive spin.

I know nothing about numerology but I'm taking it as a good omen that our 44th president has been inaugurated the same month & year that I turn 44. It was two days before my actual birthday but he was sworn in twice just as a prelude to my special day. Oh, and today Hillary took the reigns and as a gift from her I no longer need to be ashamed of my nationality. Much gratitude for all.
So, back to that little brain surgery reference. It wasn't me, I was just present for the pre and post surgery festivities. My partner is the one that got the actual craniotomy experience. In a nutshell, the prognosis is that the surgery has more than likely eliminated her seizure disorder and she is doing extremely well. Of course my favorite part of the whole ordeal was the fact that the surgeon sewed her scalp back together with the most beautiful, even blanket/buttonhole stitch. As a result her scar is fading quickly. I really admire fine handiwork in all it's forms.
I did quite a bit of knitting for the holidays - hats & felted slippers mostly. Right now I'm finishing a seamless cardigan, pattern by Dovetail Designs and working on a sock for my Magic Loop sock class. I made a Drunkard's Path quilt as a model for the curved piecing class I'll be giving in February, right now it's hung badly at the shop but I'll post a photo of it soon. So for now here's a visual sampling of a few items, finished and un.
I was able to go on a post inventory yarn buying spree at the shop and many of the shipments came all at the same time. I spent 13 1/2 hours yesterday unpacking it all. It was like Christmas at the beginning of the day and a hangover by the end but the shelves are full of beautiful, colorful fiber. Oh, and we brought in Brittany needles & hooks, made in the USA of sustainable birch - affordable and beautiful. We also brought back Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride and picked up Artyarns Supermerino and hope to order again from Schaefer Yarns, trying to support more American made products. Is my patriotism showing yet?
An auspicious start to 2009, may you all prosper & your fabric and yarn stashes yield many wonderful FO's this year!

quick trip

Last Saturday was my nephew's Bar Mitzvah so made a quick Friday to Sunday trip to Philly with College Kid for the festivities. The hand made tallit for Nephew J. and Sister in law N. were a big hit although the fringes never got tied properly before the service. They are knotted and wrapped a certain way so that the wraps and knots equal the number of commandments in the Torah which is way more than ten. I didn't do it myself because I'm not Jewish and thought it was only kosher if the owner of the tallis tied them. Cantor Denise said it was perfectly fine for me to tie them so when I make one for Niece L.'s Bat Mitzvah I'll do it. I told her that she could help me design her's so she immediately said she wanted it to have a rainbow and horses on it. I said we'd make it a little closer to the time of the event because perhaps her taste might (hopefully) change. Sister in law Steph and I had a good laugh over that exchange. It was great to catch up with family I hadn't seen in a while. My two quilting aunts who are NC transplants from ME were there so we talked stitching. Of course the food was delicious and there was way too much - can one ever get enough lox I wonder?

Now it's time to move once and for all. The floors are finished, the painting is getting there and I need to unpack and find the rest of my winter clothes because it's freezing here. There has been a skim of ice on the pond the last few mornings. We'll be visiting the dreaded storage unit many times this weekend. Yesterday I raked leaves which wasn't such a chore because they don't have to be bagged. They just get piled along the curb or terrace and the city picks them up. Also pruned a few trees and shrubs and got a little better acquainted with them. There are two trees with huge leaves, I think one is basswood and the other is sweet gum. The decorative wall paintings are going so take a last look. The whimsical fairy in the dining room and the dancing mice in the guest room are soon to be history.

Knitting goes on through out all of this. On my second hat for a shop sample, working on birthday socks for a certain sister in law (I have 6! but not a single plain old sister), and trying to figure out how I want to do the fabric lining for my knitting needle knitting bag.

Hope to post more consistently in the near future, too. See ya.

stay tuned

I'm still here, just fiercely busy. Somehow I still found time to knit and help my niece piece a quilt top. The new house is great but had to deal with a gas leak right after closing and I'm still working on cleaning the refrigerator. It was left closed and turned off while the house was on the market so there was a little mold situation. Two scrubbings with bleach but it still needs going over with a toothbrush. Floors will be refinished starting this Wednesday, painting is already underway. Should take some photos of the decorative wall paintings before they get eliminated. There are some lovely plants in bloom in the garden right now even at this late date. The only one I can positively identify is hydrangea.
I have a tiny quilt published in Quilting Arts October/November issue, part of the "Go Green" challenge. Looking forward to Monday night and the Madison Knitter's Guild meeting. Vivian Hoxbro will be the guest and there is a brown bag yarn exchange. You bring yarn from your stash in a paper bag - this time is for socks and/or mittens - and it is assigned a number and anonymously exchanged with another guild member who knits it up for you using whatever pattern they choose. The finished project knit from your yarn is returned to you at the May guild meeting. I actually have friends to got to the meeting with - yay!
I dyed fabric yesterday for tallit (prayer shawls) for my nephew and sister-in-law for nephew's Bar Mitzvah later this month in PA. Will post photos when the project is finished. Sorry no photos this time. Gotta go get ready for work now - Happy Saturday!

studying anthropology & archeology

Some of us decided to drop in on our native son last Saturday for Beloit Family & Friends Weekend and explore campus. We took a guided tour of the indian burial mounds that are in various locations around campus with Logan Museum of Anthropology director Bill Green. The mounds were most likely constructed by the Ho-Chunk (aka Winnebago) people between 400 - 1200 CE (aka AD). The mounds did not photograph well, unfortunately their proud history is reduced to looking like hillocks on a golf course. Back then, pre-campus, the landscape was an oak savanna not a grassy quad. Sister-in-law Suzy, who is a science teacher, was able to identify some of the trees on campus as bur oaks which have a very prickly umbrel, the top part of the acorn. Fun fact: Beloit graduate Roy Chapman Andrews is said to have served as the inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones.

After the tour we visited the Logan Museum and Wright Museum of Art both located on campus and then went to the Bel-Wah "Museum" (aka cafeteria) for lunch. The Bel-Wah is famous for it's cereal collection and serves Jell-O everyday, essential staples according to our student. College Kid introduced us to two of his friends and we got a gander at his room which was not half as messy as we anticipated. He asked if we could bring him a vacuum to hoover up all the pizza crumbs on his floor so we gladly invested in a small rechargeable stick broom on his behalf. He appeared content so we bid him adieu and headed home.

Caution: Fiber Wonk update. Working on a two color stranded sock, pattern is Moorish Stripe from "More Sensational Knitted Socks" by one of my heroes, Charlene Schurch. The charcoal yarn is natural color alpaca and the provenance of this yarn is very interesting. It was given to me by good friend, Mimi Winder, who is a quilter on sabbatical in order to pursue a masters degree and become a proficient sock knitter. Anyway, Mimi picked up said alpaca yarn in Peru several decades ago and unearthed it while cleaning her barn several years ago. It was pristinely preserved, apparently alpaca is very rugged. Mimi is so smart that she had enough foresight to purchase two skeins, enough for a pair of socks. The blue contrast yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn in Lunar Zazzle. Knitting on my favorite size 0 addi Turbo needle. This pair's for me so don't even think of asking for them, okay? If they end up being too good to wear, they'll go into my personal sock museum.

House update is that we are closing in a week, September 30th! Hooray! Can you tell I'm excited? I'll write at you next week with the latest...