Writing and Knitting and Spinning, Oh My!

Nothing to See Here....Move Along

2009-05-25T19:41:00.003-04:00

At long last I have finally invested in a domain name of my own...and I have moved the blog.

For those of you who need to manually update your blog readers, you can now find me at www.writeknitspin.com

Everyone else can simply click here and then do whatever you have to do to update.

I hope you all join me over in the new space.

Clermont!

2009-04-27T10:56:00.008-04:00

The official name of the festival is The Chancellor's Sheep and Wool Show. It is held at the Clermont Historic Site and, in the fiber community, is known simply as Clermont. With 30 vendors (plus or minus) this event is tiny compared to Massachusetts Sheep &Wool (Cummington) taking place next month, or New York Sheep & Wool (Rhinebeck) taking place in October. However, In the capital district, this is the first fiber show of the season and the gaiety surrounding it far exceeds the size of the show.

We arrived early, at 10:30, for an 11:00 am start. This proved to be a great idea, as we got the first parking spot that was not designated handicapped. It's a bit of a hike to the grounds from the parking lot, and I could feel the excitement building as we got closer.

First, we couldn't ask for a nicer day. After seven months of winter, we in the NY State we get really excited at the site of flowers:

A view of the river that is not frozen over and surrounded by snow:

Even if the trees are still bare, the grass is green.

And then, of course, the first sight of the house itself, majestic and white:

Then, as we made our way down the path, the festival grounds open up:

The excitement builds. If we weren't lugging a picnic lunch, spinning wheel, knitting, chairs and blankets, we might have started to run. However, we were, so we had to content ourselves with taking pictures as we made our way deeper into the grounds.

And this is what we saw:

Spinners

Vendors:

More spinners:

Friends, Jess and Risa

Wendy (who spun for the first time, and Tina who taught her)

Llamas

We got to ask questions:

And last, but not least, we got to shop:

Now, being that we need to stuff more spinning fiber in our 700 square foot box (I mean town house), we kept the shopping to a minimum. However, we couldn't turn down the lovely, light and lofty Shetland being sold by Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool:

The delicious, buttery Cormo offered by Blackberry Hill Farm

Yummy Wool and Alpaca from Sandy at Longmeadow Farm (who doesn't have a website and really should)

Or the deliciously soft Shetland and Llama blend from a farm that did not have its name on their tag (but was tied by a black ribbon, and if anyone knows who they are, please let me know in the comments)

Although the temps were near 90 degrees, and no one was prepared for it. It was with joy that we, the fiber-addicted, got to shed our winter gear and dive into the 2009 fiber festival season. A wonderful time was had by all (even if everyone did feel the need to go home, take a cool shower, and nap.)

Weekend Update

2009-04-22T14:52:00.003-04:00

What a busy weekend! On Saturday I taught the 4th, and final, section of Knitting: Beyond the Basics. It was a truly great class. I lost a few students and that could have been that it was the last weekend of Spring Break up here and family obligations might have intruded, however, I still had 3 of the original 6 students and one who joined us for the last class only. I learned a lot as a teacher in doing this series and I will definitely teach it again...maybe in the fall.

First, I have to get through the CR-RWA Conference. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I underestimated the amount of free time I have. I have not written a word since becoming Conference Co-Chair. Of course, I'm not great at budgeting my time, so that may have something to do with it.

On Sunday, I drove down to Tina's in Catskill, where a group of women met to do henna tattoos and bless the belly of a woman soon to deliver her 2nd child. I love henna. I adore the opportunity to decorate my body and have it be semi-permanent. About the time I'm getting tired of it, it fades. What could be better than that?

I had 2 pieces done. The first on my chest:

This is with the henna paste still drying.

The next is what it looked like right after the paste finished curing and came off:

The other piece I had done was the back of my left hand.

Again, this is what it looked like with the paste on:

And htis was taken on Tuesday, after the stain had time to set for a few days.

I can't get a shot of the chest piece. Maybe after Tim gets home from work.

Stay tuned for details on the trip to Northhampton, MA and (of course) Webs. I would have posted it today, but the weather decided to thwart picture taking. How could I talk about Webs without posting pictures of stash enhancement?

Today's Post Was Brought to You by the Colors Blue and Green

2009-04-17T12:44:00.004-04:00

At Rhinebeck in 2008, I bought this:

And now it looks like this:

This lovely skein started out as 50/50 Merino/Silk with bit of Angelina for sparkle. Unfortunately, the sparkle isn't showing with my craptastic camera. But, it's a really nice 150 yards of sport weight. I'm kind of surprised that 4 oz of silk/merino had such a small yield, but what can I say? It's loverly anyway and I'm sure it will knit into something small but pretty.

This next lovely is actually purple, and again, thanks to my needing to be replaced camera (which completely didn't take 15 pictures taken with the digital zoom), looks blue. It is a sweater for a bear (a rather small bear) and is part of the Bear Hugs Project being done by Bridging People and Places. The original patter called for seaming, and that's not my thing, so I converted my favorite top down raglan pattern:

And down-sized it:

Yes, that's my hand it's sitting on, which will give you an idea of its size.

It was so much fun, I'm at work on another. What a great way to use up all that legacy acrylic from Mom.

On another note, my bag from Jessilu was delivered (by hand) on Tuesday night.

Again, the crappy photo's don't do it justice. But the fabric is called "Bad Kitty" and has a cat (much like my cats) chewing on computer wires and scratching furniture and altogether getting into mischief. The only thing tht could be truer would be cats eating plants and then barfing....But that wouldn't make for good fabric.

Residing in said bag are my Monkey Socks

Being made from Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino. I've turned the heels and am on the home-stretch...one would think I'd finish them instead of knitting bear sweaters. One might think so.

Tonight is knitting. Tomorrow is a knitting class (part IV) and the wrap-up. Sunday is a henna party, so expect some funky foto's next week.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Spring, Glorious Spring!

2009-04-16T16:25:00.009-04:00

Today is one of the 10 best days of the year. The widget on the lower right corner of my screen says "Now Mostly Sunny, 61 F". Can it get better than this after a long, cold, hard winter? Maybe it can, tomorrow is supposed to be just as clear and bright and 70F. Time to shave my legs. (Is that considered over-sharing?)

A bunch of you have been giving me crap about not blogging often enough. Maybe I would blog more if you would leave some comments! It's hard to know if anyone is reading if you don't say anything. Maybe I should get one of those widgets that counts hits on the page. Yeah, that's the ticket. Hey, Tim! How do I do that?

I also, finally, uploaded all of the pictures that were on my camera. I'm not going to overload you all, dear readers, with all of them...but i think I'll start posting them in groups and catching you all up on what's going on.

So, back in February, we needed a getaway, and so we went to the famous Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA.

It's been a continuously operating inn since the 1700's and I've always wanted to stay there. The economy being what it is, and tourism being down, I got a great deal for the weekend. What's more, we got upgraded from a queen-sized room to a king-sized SUITE.

Of course, the first thing I did was take pictures of:

The living room:

The bedroom:

Note the king-sized bed swathed in high thread count 100% cotton!!

The bathroom:

Now, what I'm not showing you (because the pictures don't do it justice) is the 2 person, walk-in shower with 2 hand showers, 2 rainforest shower-heads, and about 100 side-jets. Let's just say that between the tub and the shower, we were both squeaky-clean.

And the view from our room:

Yes, heated outdoor pool and hot-tub OPEN in FEBRUARY

So, that was February....and now it's April.

I'm trying to get control of my life, which for lots of reasons I feel like I just been returned to (already in progress), and some of what I'm doing is trying to take a daily walk. Today I added the camera, so I can show you signs of Spring in the North Country.

Winter is our predominant season, lasting from November to March, and now in Mid-April, we're just getting crocuses:

and Forsythia:

And the magnolias are just starting to bud:

And that's when my batteries died....sigh.

Tomorrow there will be spinning content and maybe knitting (maybe even writing...who can tell?)

Drive By Post

2009-04-07T11:43:00.002-04:00

Just a quick Drive-by post to let everyone know that I'm still alive. I've been busy, but that's not the reason I'm not posting. Frankly, I can't think of anything to say.

I know this means that there will be a lot to say as soon as I process it all. I've no idea what I'm processing, but I know when I go all internal like this, that's what it means.

Still not taking any piccies of yarnliciousness. Maybe I need a new camera, (no, really, I NEED a new camera), but the urge to photograph the finished objects isn't strong. Maybe later?? But I have been spinning, and knitting, not so much writing...OH MY!!!

Off to work now, and then maybe....who knows?

Time Flies

2009-03-26T13:27:00.004-04:00

The problem with having a life is that it doesn't leave much time for blogging. I don't count end of the day drooling from exhaustion plopped in front of the TV time. That's non-productive time, no matter how hard I try to make it different. The only thing I can possibly accomplish during those hours is knitting. There has been quite a bit of that going on, but there are no pictures.

In fact, this is going to be a piccy free post. (Yeah, I know booo hisss) But there will be links. Starting with:

Most of my life is being sucked up by this: The Capital Region Romance Writers Association Annual Conference.

What's that you say? What is this? Why am I doing it? Hell if I know.

Remember media vacation week? When I had all that free time to write and read and do all those loved thing? Well, at the end of that week, I was at my local chapter RWA meeting, and the VP of our Chapter voiced an appeal for someone to chair the Conference Committee. I'm not totally insane. I did specify that I would only CO-CHAIR. And someone else did step up to the plate with me. That was in February, and I've been overwhelmed with conference stuff since.

Of course, since the past chairperson is not helping, and won't release any information because she's a control freak; and the person doing our web-maintenance refuses to talk on the phone and will only communicate via email; this has not made for an easy transition.

Oh, did I mention that the conference is in June?

Onwards and upwards.

The first of the knitting classes, Beyond the Basics at Beau Knits in Cohoes, went smashingly. I had 5 students and although we didn't cover as much material as I would have liked, everyone got their project started. I can't wait to see what they come in with on Saturday. I've always known that I love teaching, and I'm totally stoked to be teaching knitting. I would really like to do more of this in the future.

;This past weekend was the Capital District Knit-in 2009 at the Troy Arts Center. Put on by 4 local area yarn shops. It was fantastic. The venue was great, the turn-out wonderful. There were door prizes and great conversation. There will be pictures as soon as I get them from my cellphone camera to the web.

The highlight for me was sitting a newbie down at Asherah with some good beginners fluffy fiber and teaching her to spin. I have a feeling there will be another new spinner in our midst. She seemed quite taken by it.

On the spinning front, I've been doing a fair bit of that, and will have pictures as soon as I wash what I've been working on.

Oh, and my dear husband has joined the ranks of the bloggers. You can find him at Geeky Fiber News.

On the writing front, I'm working on the new book. In fact, that's where I'm headed for now...to work on it.

Look for another post in a few days, and in the mean time, keep on giving those sheep a reason to give up the wool.

Washcloths and more washcloths

2009-02-23T12:48:00.002-05:00

I know there are those out there who will loudly attest that they will never knit a washcloth, or dishcloth or whatever you want to call it cloth. I used to be one of them. I mean, why would I, who was not raised in the mid-west, want to do that? I found my answer...stitch patterns.

I like trying out new stitch patterns, and I hate swatching. So, what do you get when you mix some cotton yarn, a new stitch pattern and the desire to make something useful? A dishcloth. Now, I don't do dishes. I have a dishwasher (and a husband). But I do take showers (on a regular basis, even) and I do like me a washcloth. I've discovered that hand made washcloths are the best. And why wouldn't they be? Isn't hand-knit anything better than its machine made cousin?

I'll get back to the discloth thing in a minute.

One of the benefits of my media vacation is that all the creative juices started moving around again, after the mind-numbing winter in front of both TV and monitor. I was flipping through Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury of Knitting Patterns and read the introduction (for the first time). In it she says (and I'm paraphrasing here) that many people learn to form a knit stitch and a purl stitch and think they now know how to knit, when in fact, they've begun to learn to knit.

It got me thinking. I go to Friday Night Knitting at Beau Knits in Cohoes on a regular basis. There are a LOT of new knitters there, and I realized that there seem to be many who have looked at the The Husband's intrepid dive into knitting with awe and wonder. Yes, he's pretty intrepid, but come on guys....it's only knitting. It's only sticks and strings and lots of loops.

I went back to the book and started looking at all the stitch patterns that are simply combinations of knits and purls, no increases, no decreases, not a yarn over in sight. I thought, aha, there's a class here. So I pitched a class on Beyond the Basics to Barbara Hildreth, the proprietess of Beau Knits and so I will be teaching a 4 part series starting in mid-march. What will be making?

Dishcloths!

What have I been knitting in preparation for the class?

Dishcloths!!

Piccies will be shown when they're all done.

In the meantime....keep giving those sheep a reason to part with their wool.

Piccies

2009-02-20T12:05:00.005-05:00

First, these are the beads that I made at Glass Beadmaking Class.

Did I mention that making them was SO MUCH FUN!!!!??

Something about working with a superhot torch and molten glass just lit up my soul. If you'll pardon the almost pun. Seriously, it was a blast. The most fun I've had since I learned how to spin.

It's all in the "making" I think. Creating something out of nothing...transmuting...I'm not sure I have words for it. All in all I made 6 beads. 2 cracked coming off the mandril. It happens. The photo is pretty crappy, but two of the beads are pretty well matched and will become earrings. I can't wait to do it again. Probably in April.

And then...the other BIG NEWS is the car. As some of you know, I've been driving around in a 1994 Toyota Corolla with 175,000+ miles on her. Tim's been driving something older with less mileage and more rust. Not anymore.....

Now Tim is driving the Corolla and I am driving:

A 2008 Kia Rio5. Isn't she a beauty!?

With help from Dad (thanks again, Dad), we were able to buy her and pick her up yesterday...which explains why I was driving all the way back of beyond, running errands all day.

And, because there must be knitting content, remember when I was in the midst of winter doldrums, bogged down by projects that wouldn't end? Many of you suggested that I do something small, immediately gratifying and that used some of my luscious looking (and feeling) handspun? This is what I did with less than 4 oz of dk weight handspun BFL. I leave you with fingerless gloves.

More reasons to shear the sheep....

I'm Baaaaak!!!

2009-02-17T15:27:00.005-05:00

Didja miss me? Didja notice?

I had a wonderful media vacation. In fact, so wonderful that I'm planning at least one day per week to be media free. It might even be electronic free. It sounds like Sabbath, except there will be knitting and spinning and both of those qualify, at least in Judaism, as work (I think).

Somehow I managed to get myself into all sorts of trouble, though.

It was very odd, I did my morning pages, ate breakfast and sat in the kitchen thinking...now what? On any other day, the answer would be "check email." Since there was no email checking I started to look around. I cleaned the kitchen.

I looked around some more and decided I wasn't crazy about anything I was looking at. I didn't feel like spending my entire "vacation" cleaning, so I went up to my office. I organized my desk. I threw out 2 large garbage bags of paper. I found all the pens that the cat had hidden in the far corner behind my desk.

More in next post

Media Vacation

2009-02-09T10:16:00.002-05:00

Although I haven't been posting regularly, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of media in my life. (read too much TV, internet, email, facebook, etc.) I've realized I spend more hours per day doing these things and not enough time writing, knitting, spinning, meditating or just plain ole thinking my own thoughts.

The other day it occurred to me that I need a media vacation. I need to unplug. And so, I'm turning it all off. The TV, the computer, the radio. I will spend the week catching up with friends on the phone, writing, reading, knitting and spinning. Perhaps I will get all the laundry put away or finally get the house really clean. Maybe I'll get to my office more than a half minute before my first client, and have a chance to get centered before I work. Maybe I'll get another 50 pages written on my book.

I don't know how this will play out, which is half the fun.

Look for "How I spent my media vacation" on February 16th or within a few days thereafter.

Have fun!!!

Further thoughts

2009-01-22T12:34:00.004-05:00

I want to thank everyone who commented yesterday for their thoughtful posts.

I did rip out the socks. As Tina said, life is too short not to knit something that makes me happy. I'm still using the Mirasol Hacho yarn, because I do love it; but I changed needle size, correcting the sizing issue that I should have corrected by ripping out starting over, and I'm happily knitting myself a pair of socks.

I have 140 yards of sport to dk weight, handspun BFL that I would love to make into something nice for myself. Any ideas? I'm not terribly into Cowls, because I always ending up sweating and not wanting anything around my neck (damn hormones). Other ideas?

I stayed up way too late last night reading Burn Out by one of my favorite mystery writers, Marcia Muller. I've been reading this series since it first premiered 1977 (youch!) and Muller has never disappointed me. If you want a mystery series that keeps its heroine edgy and yet takes her through character growth over time, get a copy of Edwin of the Iron Shoes and go forward from there.

Must update blog....

2009-01-21T11:16:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, when I sit down to write a blog post, I look back on my recent weeks and wonder what I've been doing. Frequently I can't find anything to write about. Today is no exception. But, since I'm rarely at a loss for words, I'll babble for a awhile, and you can stop reading when you lose interest.

I spent yesterday watching President Obama's inauguration with a dear friend who doesn't blog. I don't think she reads this either. All I can say is that it was really, really nice to just hang out with a girlfriend during the afternoon. It's been a long time since I've done that. Not since I had to cut A. loose.

I've been knitting, but I don't have anything to show for it. The hat for J. isn't done yet, I'm still in the process of the Mirasol Hacho simple socks . I'm about 1/3 of the way done and I don't like the way they're turning out but I don't want to start over. So in the spirit of deluded knitters everwhere, I'm forging ahead.

Mr. Greenjeans is still on the needles. If I read the pattern correctly, I misread the pattern about 81 rows ago. It's sitting in time-out until I have the presence of mind to read the pattern again, count stitches, see where I am and what I can do from here. If I have to frog it again, the yarn will become something else. I will accept that Mr. GJ is NOT for me.

I'm still working on Waves of Grain, which is currently the only project that I have on the needles that is pleasing to me. Although, truth be told, I kind of wish I'd used a different yarn. Don't get me wrong, the yarn I'm using is lovely, handspun merino, but I think it could have been better showcased in a different project. But again, I'm not going back. I'm also in the super boring section of repeating the same 2 rows SEVENTY FIVE times (and that's just for the first half...oh look! I get to do it all over again for the 2nd half!!!!)

And then there's The Luna Moth Shawl which is still in its embryonic phase and, as far as I can tell, looks like crap. True, that's the general issue with lace until it is blocked, but there's something about either the yarn or my general lack of confidence about the knitting (don't understand that one) that makes me want to rip it out and start over.

As I'm reading this, I can tell I'm not feeling very enthusiastic about anything that's on the needles. Maybe that is why I keep thinking about starting another project.

On the writing front. Wait is there a writing front? For there to be a writing front, I would actually have to be writing no? Ever since my crit group exploded last April, I have been writing only sporadically. Of course, the manuscript critique I received that said, "this book cannot be salvaged" didn't help. Nor did the rejection from the agent that said, "I wish there was someway I could have loved this book." (maybe not a direct quote). Maybe that hurt more than I've been allowing it to hurt. Maybe I've needed to put it out to the world that something that I thought may have needed some more work, but was essentially a good piece of work (and certainly better than a lot of crap on the market) was actually crap. Maybe putting that out there in this journal will help spur my creativity. Let's hope so, anyway.

Spinning. Yet another thing that has been languishing. After a fairly good start at the beginning of the month, in which I spun up a half bobbin of alpaco/merino blend, I've kind of been watching the wheel collect dust while I've been struggling with less than satisfying knitting. Is anyone seeing a pattern?

I am. And I think it means I need to dust myself off and get back to work. Thanks for reading this guys (if you've gotten this far), I think it helped.

A missed opportunity

2009-01-02T23:01:00.003-05:00

Because I didn't post it earlier, here is another picture from Yule and Yarn 2008.

Playing Catch Up

2009-01-01T20:10:00.010-05:00

As noted in my last post I've been busy, busy, busy.

A few weeks before the holidays, Tim and I took a ride to Kinderhook to pay a visit to Year Round Yarns. Where I purchased some Plymouth Suri Alpaca

On the way back we stopped at Wholly Cow Restaurant for dinner and had the best BBQ I've had north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

And to keep this fiber related, I did knit at the table.

The Suri Alpaca was purchased to make a hat for my friend Judith. The hat is not yet finished.

But that's okay, because our plans to see Judith on New Year's had to be moved because she was having some stuff go on with her apartment. We'll catch up later and the hat will be given. Since I have extra yarn, maybe a pair of mittens? Fingerless gloves?

On the subject of fingerless mitts, I made two pair. A goth version of Fetching

And another pair of my own design that remind of a Chanel suit I had a long time ago (in another life)

They are for two young friends, Maggie and Janet.

In the meanwhile an 11 year old girl in foster care wanted a pair of mittens, a hat and a scarf. Her favorite color is purple. We figured not many kids in foster care get hand knits, so....

We hope she had a very happy Christmas and stays warm throughout the winter.

At some point we went on a Yule Tree expedition, which included a Hay Ride

A magical grove

Freezing (if not for our wooly hand-knits)

And warming ourselves with hot cocoa around a bonfire (while waiting for the snow and ice to melt off our tree)

And the day ended with a beautiful sunset

The following week, I received email from my niece,

who is studying in Paris. At a museum, she saw some wool

And, naturally, thought about her aunt and took pictures, which she sent to me.

The week after that, was Tina's (formerly Pheonixfiberworks and now Rows Red) annual Yule and Yarn party. It was held at the Muddy Cup in Hudson (where it was hastily moved to after the discovery that The Muddy Cup in Catskill was closed for renovations), where a splendid time was had by all.

Tina is wearing the cowl that was my gift to her:

Since then, I got a chance to hang our with both my nephews and my niece who isn't in Paris

As well as my sister and brother and their spouses.

I've had a chance to spin.

416 yards of laceweight icelandic wool (singles)

And 4 oz of Carolyn's handpainted merino in the Jammy colorway.

And, I've finished a pair of socks for myself. These are Tina's "Baby Fern" socks, made with Pace Step yarn.

And, finally, for those of you who don't know why I'm called the Cat Whisperer, I leave you with this:

Holiday Knitting

2008-12-05T09:01:00.003-05:00

This could be a post complete with pictures and links and all sorts of wonderful stuff. But it's not. Because I'm buried under a pile of Holiday Knitting.

Notice that I capitalize Holiday Knitting? I do that because it has taken on Monumental Importance.

Because you see, I'm making ______ for _______. And also, _______ for ________ and _______ for ________ and _________ for ________.

If that wasn't enough Tim is making _______ for _________, _______ for __________ and we're both working on a hat and scarf set for a little girl in foster care who wants that for Christmas, in purple.

Not to mention another ongoing project for _________.

How many of these things are done? Hmmm. I've ripped out the ________ for _________ no fewer than 4 times. Then decided that I just didn't like the yarn in that pattern. So, I decided to make ________. But Tim was using the right needle tips on a _________ for ________, so I started it on a size down (since I tend to knit a little looser, anyway. But 'ya know what? I'm wondering now if that yarn is right for that pattern, or is just to heavy for the size 7 needles. Maybe I should recast on with the 9's (obviously the 8's are being used.)

Another's day knitting to be frogged.

Have we taken on more than we can chew... er... knit? Possibly.

Every year I swear I'm going to start in July. Every year I get started somewhere in October. All would be good, if suddenly, mid November, I didn't add 5 people to the list of knitted gift recipients.

So, obviously, I'm going to go knit. If I don't pop up until christmas, at least you'll know what I'm doing.

Where I've Been

2008-11-15T11:34:00.003-05:00

Mostly I've been sitting on my ass doing nothing. It truly amazes me that one fractured toe could sideline me so completely. Actually, I got back to work on limited basis, two weeks ago, and that has kept me busy.

As those who were at Rhinebeck saw, I finished Tim's sweater in the nick of time:

When I say in the nick, I mean it. At 10:30 the night before Rhinebeck, the sweater came off my needles.

Unfortunately, that's the last Finished Object that I have to share. I have 4, soon to be 5, projects on the needles and while I'm working on at least one of them every day, I feel like I'm making no progress at all.

I'll try to grap photos of WIPs to satisfy everyone's photo lust.

Did You VOTE Today?

2008-11-04T09:52:00.002-05:00

Today's election might just be the most important election we will see in our lifetimes. So many issues are in flux: Women's Health Rights, Marriage Rights for ALL People, the Economy, the War in Iraq (and Afghanistan) and maybe, soon, Iran.

Who you vote for today will shape the history of this country. You will be shaping the history of this country.

Of course, I want to tell you all to Vote Obama/Biden, because I think they're the best choice for this country, but more than anything else I believe that voting is the most important privilege we, as citizens, have.

We saw, in 2000, how just a few votes could make a difference. 2004 was also close. We're hoping that 2008 will be a landslide, but you just never know.

So, if you're registered, get out there and vote!!! You'll be glad you did.

Remember, if you don't vote, you forfeit your right to complain.

Startitis and Knitted Gifts

2008-10-24T10:16:00.003-04:00

Ooh do I have a wicked case of start-itis. I have started 3 projects in the last 3 days. Considering that I'm a fairly monogamous, sometimes a little polygamous, knitter, the idea of 3 new projects and one continuing project on the needles is a little overwhelming. To me.

I know, there are lots of people who regularly have that many, and more, project on the needles, but it's a new behavior for me. Usually, I have one fairly boring knit, that I can talk through and not have to pay too much attention; and something more complex that I can watch TV through, but not necessarily make conversation. I have both of those on the needles now. Plus I've added a beaded lace scarf that is taking all my attention (at the moment. That may change as I become more familiar with the pattern), and another beaded lace scarf that is going to be a present for someone (I'm not sure who...yet).

Which brings me to the next point. Knitted Gifts. Who to knit for? Who will appreciate it? Who won't...and why not?

These are the questions that rattle around in my head whenever I start a gift project. See...I like to give knitted gifts. Probably for the same reason I like to cook for crowds of people. It's a way I get to share my love. However, just like I won't cook beef bourgingnon for a vegetarian, I'm not going to spend the time and energy (not to mention the yarn) on a project for someone that won't wear it.

I had this conversation with someone a little while ago. This person said that while s/he would love and appreciate the time and effort put into such a gift s/he would probably not ever wear it. And while I appreciate knowing this, it makes me so incredibly sad that I will never have the joy of spending hours handcrafting a gift for someone I love...because honestly...I make garments to be worn, not stuck in a drawer and "appreciated."

Honestly, I don't understand why someone would prefer to wear something constructed from the cheapest materials possible, made by a machine operator who earns 30 cents a day, over something that was hand-knit, custom fit, and crafted with the best materials available, including my own handspun, handpainted, 100% 'soft as a baby's ass' merino wool? Is it that we all have visions of reindeer sweaters knit out of Red Heart acrylic yarn.

Maybe I have too much time on my hands. Maybe I know the difference between having my feet go through the sweat/freeze/sweat cycle of nylon socks vs. the warm, toasty and DRY sensation of wool socks. Maybe because I know that during the time spent knitting something for someone, I think about them - what they mean to me - what I mean to them, and somehow all of that gets knitted into the garment. Whatever.

I don't have any of these answers. So for now, I'm going to go downstairs and work on something soft and wonderful and beautiful.

The Doctor Says

2008-10-21T14:22:00.003-04:00

My toe is definitely broken. ;-)

Yeah, we knew that. He looked at the pictures and looked at the toe. He looked at me. Apparently the doc in the ER did a fantastic job of setting the break. Hooray!!! Also, I have two separate injuries.

1. There's the fracture in the distal (furthers away from the body) joint.

2. I "jammed" the proximal toe joint (where it meets the metatarsal), hence screwing up the ligaments and the reason I have pain there as well as the fracture sight.

Fortunately, that should just heal over time. In fact, both will. The bad news is that I already have some arthritis in the proximal joint and will probably develop arthritis in the distal (fractured) joint. Oh well. I'll be 50 next year. I guess arthritis is par for the course.

As for work. I can work when I feel like I can work. As a massage therapist that means I have to be able to stand on my feet for an hour at a time, 3 or 4 times a day. I'm not there. Maybe next week.

I can drive as soon as I can put a "closed" shoe on. I'm not there yet either.

On the knitting front.

I have cast on for Mr. Greenjeans which will be knit with Plymouth Galway Highland Heather in a dark green, color 703 on the color card. I got the yarn at Rhinebeck on Sunday. It's very soft and I hope will make a snuggly cardigan.

I have also cast on Falling Water Scarf in Tina's hand dyed merino laceweight, colorway Lady Sapphire. I love the rich blues, and it has been patiently waiting for me to clear room in the queue.

Also, I'm about to cast on Waves of Grain (which I think is drop dead gorgeous). I'll be using my own laceweight100% Merino, spun from Carolyn's Flames colorway.

I'm also working on the socks. Still. They were put aside when I realized that I couldn't finish them and Tim's sweater before Rhinebeck, and the sweater won. I have been trying to pick them up but have too bad a case of "startitis". Obviously.

There's litle more I can do these days but knit and listen to audiobooks...and write (but I haven't been in the mood). At least this week. Next week might be different.

More later....

Rhinebeck!!!

2008-10-20T13:55:00.004-04:00

Saturday was Rhinebeck! Thanks to my incredibly wonderful husband, I got to go, broken toe and all. Tim dropped me at the main gate, I hobbled from there to the Wheelchair Rental kiosk, and then got pushed around for the rest of the day. I had to get up a few times, in order to get into some of the booths, but for the most part I was able to sit in the chair all day.

For those who are not fiber afflicted, Rhinebeck is the NE Fiber Event of the Year. I look forward to it all year, and I would have been disappointed beyond belief had I not been able to make it.

Where else can I get the chance to see wool (still on the hoof, in some cases),

andLLamas and Alpacas

and angora bunnies AND all of my fiber friends

(although these are not all of my fiber friends) That is (l to r) Diane, Eric, Tina and me in the wheelchair.

We also saw, but didn't get pictures of: Jess and Risa, Carolyn (with whom I'm planning a surprise for someone). We had lunch with Tina and Kristina and her mother, Marian (who don't blog)

And we got to do all of this among the beautiful scenery that is the Hudson Valley in October.

Of course, I stayed about an hour or two too long, and had to ride home with my foot on the dashboard, and go immediately to lie down (with my foot elevated on 4 pillows) when I got home. Was it worth it? You bet!!! I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Stash pictures will have to wait until one of two things happen: I get better or Tim decides to photograph the stash.

Tomorrow is the Dr. appt. We'll see what he has to say about my toe.

View from the wheelchair

2008-10-17T09:51:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning. I woke up, went downstairs to get coffee. Missed the bottom step or two....and crunch.

This is me, in the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital, calmly knitting on Tim's rhinebeck sweater, waiting to be called in for x-rays.

This is the X-ray:

See the diagonal line that goes ALL THE WAY ACROSS MY BIG TOE?? That's the fracture line. Yes folks, a complete fracture of the right Hallux.

See the strange angle of said toe? Listing to starboard. That's not the way its supposed to be. Getting that set was the most painful experience of my life....even with the Novocaine block.

This is me waiting for Tim to bring the car around.

Will we be at Rhinebeck? Planning on it. I'll be the one in the wheelchair wearing a turquoise shawl, and the ugly black ortho-boot, floating in a haze of Percocet.

I may not get the sweater finished in time.

Where Has the Time Gone?

2008-10-15T12:37:00.008-04:00

I've been knitting. I've been trying to get Tim's Rhinebeck sweater finished before...um....Rhinebeck (this coming Saturday). There may be pictures later (when it's done) but not just yet. I have 3/4 of one sleeve left to finish. I'd rather have root canal.

There's something to be said for miles and miles of stockinette knitting. It's easy, especially when done in the round; you don't have to pay much [any] attention to it, so it's great to take to knit night or any other time you want to be talking and knitting; it even works when you're watching a movie with subtitles.

On the down side, it's mindnumbingly boring. It's knitting that can be done if you're in a coma. If you're not in a coma when you start, you will be by the time you're done.

On a top-down, raglan sleeve, sweater, after the yoke is finished, and you're no longer increasing for the shoulders/sleeves, there is nothing to do but knit. No increases to keep track of, no decreases to keep track of. Nothing fancy like yarn-over's; or my favorite double vertical decrease. Just knit, knit, knit, knit, knit. Not even the occasional purl to yank you out of your stupor, let alone a stray cable.

Getting to the ribbed cuff was jumping into a cool refreshing lake. Thee was something else to do beside knit. I got to Knit 2, Purl 2. Yeah, that's exciting. Not. So, anyway, hopefully Tim will be wearing a sweater with both of its sleeves on Saturday.

Of course, this means that when I'm not knitting I'm looking for the next project. I've come into possession of Barbara Walker's "The Craft of Lace Knitting", copyright 1971. In it are the most lovely lace stitch patterns, and I think I'm hearing the call to design another shawl. I was so pleased with how Caribbean Breeze came out. I've gotten compliments every single time I've warn it, and not just by knitters. Strangers have stopped me to comment on that shawl. Ladies and Gents, we have a winner.

So now, my little creative brain is thinking about what to do next. I don't know, but I'll get there. But first, I have to finish the boring red sweater (which is so comfy, I know Tim's going to wear it all winter).

Whatever is next is going to be lace. It will be more complicated than what I've done so far. And, as much as I've queued a whole bunch of lace shawls...I'm kind of more interested in designing my own, so we'll see what this winter's projects are.

I know I want to knit Mr. Greanjeans, for myself. I'm going to do some kind of Aran pullover for himself (I must love him a lot), and more socks.

Also, I need, need, need to spin!!! And, I want to do some lace project with my handspun. Looks like I can keep myself busy all winter, and I haven't even been to Rhinebeck yet.

If, like me, you're appalled at the idea that Sarah Palin is qualified to be the President of the United States, check out this video. If you're not appalled, you've probably not been paying enough attention.

But on to other topics.

I was in the pool at the Y the other night and starting wondering about something. The pool isn't that big. It's a standard, olympic sized pool. 8 lanes. 2 lifeguards, one for each side. Now, each of the lifeguards has, strapped to him or herself this big red floaty thing. Strapped to them.

A couple of things occurred to me.

1. I know it's a flotation device, but why does a lifeguard watching 650 square meters of water need a flotation device? Personally, I'd like to think that someone guarding my life would know how to swim.

2. How long does it take a swimmer wearing nothing but a bathing suit, jumping off a 6' high chair to get to the bottom of the furthest, deepest part of the pool.

3. How much LONGER does it take for the same swimmer to get to the same place with a big, ungainly, red flotation device strapped to his/her back? I understand the need for flotation devices in open water situations, but the pool at the Y? Isn't that like hunting mosquitos with an elephant gun? Maybe I'm strange, but in a save my life situation, I think I'd prefer someone getting to me fast and yanking me to the top, rather than being hampered by the big red floaty thing with the long leash worn on the back of the person who is supposed to be saving my life.

4. I wonder how many lifeguards get tripped by the leash on the big red floaty thing when they're trying to get out of the chair in a hurry? (like in a life-saving situation).

These are the things I think about while swimming laps at my local Y.

On to the weekend recap:

This past weekend we went apple picking with friends, including 15 and 19 year-olds. There is nothing quite as good as an apple plucked directly from the tree. They're different. Crisper. Juicier. Sweeter. Tarter. Better.

I'll leave you with pictures.

Ciao!

Finished Objects and the Cold From Hell

2008-09-21T16:48:00.009-04:00

I hate when clients bring the plague into my office. Why don't they tell me they're sick *before* they've gotten their germy hands on everything. I washed my hands, I thought I'd washed down everything he'd touched with alcohol, but alas, I missed a rhinovirus which has taken up residence inside my sinuses, my nose and my chest.

What I hate is that anything that sends my immune system in overdrive also send me into fibromyalgia flare-up. So in addition to the whole cold/fever thing, I also hurt like hell.

With all this going on, we still went to BJ's yesterday and did the major monthly food shop, and stopped at Lowes to get styrofoam insulation boards for blocking the Pennance Shawl which is, indeed, done!!!!

There it is being blocked. I spent a good chunk of the early part of today grafting the sucker. I'd never grafted seed stitch before.

Unfortunately, you really can't see the stitch definition:

And, since it's raw silk, you can't even imagine the texture.

Is it okay to be that much in love with something you've produced yourself?

Speaking of love...

This is 4 oz, just under 700 yards of merino goodness. The dying was done by Carolyn and I'm just head over heels in love with it. I'm thinking of an oversized Clapotis scarf (not quite enough for the shawl.)

Just because I love it so much, here's another picture:

Speaking of finished objects, here is the cardigan for baby William, the very young son of one of Tim's co-workers:

Those are my glasses to show scale.

I just adore the little seed stitch collar and the bar increase on the raglan.

In fact, I loved the bar increase on the raglan so much, that I decided to use it on Tim's sweater.
You know how the bar increase is a very visible increase? And if it's not there, you really can tell?
Well.....The other night, I was looking at the sweater:

What you can't see in this picture, but what I could see...and once I saw it, I couldn't NOT see it, is that I missed one of those wonderful bar increases.

And so, I decided that I'm a good enough knitter that I don't have to rip back 15 rows of sweater, I can just fix it. So I put nearby stitches on stitchholders, grabbed a crochet hook and more needles, and proceeded to rip down to where I'd made the mistake.

Tim and Kali left the room

Morgan was pressed against my leg, lending moral support

I knit, I ripped, Morgan purred. I knit and ripped some more. Morgan purred harder. I knit some more. Between us, we persevered.

Morgan claims she was never worried.

But I think she looks relieved.

I have a cute new gadget. It's a row counter stitch marker, for when you do something every other row (like a bar increase on a raglan sweater).

Basically, it's two jump rings, each with a different color bead, joined by a split ring. On increase rows, I pick the green ring. When I come around again, and it's not an increase row, I pick up the red one. That way, if I put my knitting down in the middle of a round, I can just look at the marker and tell if it's an increase row or not. Or frankly, with the onset of menopause, if I get to the middle of the row and forget what I'm doing.....

And last but not least is another handspun that I'm in love with. This started life as two bobbins of laceweight spun on Phaedre. One was 100% wool (unidentified) and the other was 100% merino. In an effort to clear the bobbins, Tim plied them together. This is what resulted:

And unfortunately this does not do it justice. It's airy, it's light, it's freakin' wonderful and I only have 200 yards of it. I don't think I'll ever be able to spin more.

Right now, I'm still working on Tim's sweater (which will be done by Rhinebeck) and the socks, which I still don't want to talk about. Let's just say I've cast them on for the 7th time. I'm down to 60 stitches (from the pattern's called for 84) on size 1 needles. I think we have a winner.

Asherah has a 1/4 full bobbin of BFL in Lichen from Miss Babs

and the camera doesn't do the colors justice. Mauve and green and grey. Moody and autumny. Deep woods and rocks that don't get the sun. The roving is whistle clean and smells yummy and sheepy (in the best possible way).

That's what I've been up to.

Falling Down a Well

2008-09-18T11:17:00.002-04:00

No, actually, I haven't fallen down a well. Unless you consider falling down a well and falling through the hole in the page the same thing. I've been writing. Finally, the book has taken on its final shape.

Yes, yes, I know I've said that before. But this time I mean it. It's different. There's a different quality to the re-write. I'm reading the 2nd draft and cutting out huge swathes of materal. Even stuff I like. If it doesn't further the story....zap. If it's pretty but doesn't say anything....zap. If it doesn't give us information that is vital to the reader's understanding of the character...zap. I know how it ends. I changed a major relationship. I've cut out an entire story line, because it's not relevant.

It's a topic that has come up, in one way or another, in a few things I've written in the past 15 years, and I'm thinking it might need its own book.

And I've been knitting. I'm working on a top-down raglan sweater for Tim, that I hope to have finished by Rhinebeck. Yeah, don't laugh....Risa, make them stop laughing. It's miles and miles of stockinette, and perfect for zoning out in front of the TV. Tomorrow, after I upload pictures, I will show you The Mistake and fixing The Mistake. Suffice to say that Tim left the room, and Morgan curled up and lent kitty moral support.

Coming off the needles, as soon as I get a chance to sit down and Kitchener 80 stitches, will be the pennance shawl that you all saw at WOOL. Piccy's next post.

Then there's The Sock. I just went looking for a link to the sock, but perhaps Tina didn't blog about it.

Relaxing in a bath is 675 yards of 26 wpi merino that was dyed by Carolyn. I also plied (Tim did the spinning) an as yet undetermined (a lot) amount of mystery wool given to him by Diane (who, as far as I know doesn't blog...but should).

Also, there will be pictures of a lovely lace weight that happened by accident and we don't know if we could replicate if we tried. Hmmm.

So, just a teaser to let you know that I'm alive and well...and should be taking pictures and posting more in the next day or so.

Stop The Madness

2008-09-15T10:54:00.004-04:00

There will be regular blogging later, but for now, I need to spread the word about a movement that is taking place in our country regarding a woman's right to choose her own methods of health care.

The department of Health and Human Services is currently considering whether certain forms of birth control actually constitute abortion. This includes Birth Control Pills and IUD's. The following is from the Planned Parenthood website

We have until September 25 to raise an outcry.

President Bush's regulatory change lets health care providers define abortion, which could threaten access to birth control and broader reproductive health care, and allow federal funding for so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" that refuse to inform patients of or provide patients with a full range of reproductive health care options.

Now that the new rule has been issued officially, we need you to speak out during the official 30-day comment period before the rule can go into effect.

We need as many people as possible to submit comments to the Department of Health and Human Services before the official comment period ends on September 25.

Go here to make a difference!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

2008-09-02T10:17:00.009-04:00

What a great weekend. It helps that most of the time my birthday falls out on Labor Day Weekend, so for most of my adult life it has turned into a three day festival. This weekend was no exception.

There was one little glitch, my back went out on Friday, so I had to cancel plans to celebrate my dear friend Flame's 40th birthday, as I was flat on my back marinating in Vicadin and Flexeril. This was NOT helped by my chiropractor's long standing practice of taking the week before Labor Day as a vacation week. To make matters worse, this all happened too late for me to cancel my two appointments of Friday, so I worked through the pain. Not a really good idea. I paid for it on Saturday.

But Sunday...well...with enough pain-killers in me to withstand the journey, we drove down to Catskill, where Tina and Steve were gracious enough to host a little party for me.

First, I got to see Tina's new harp:

And to greet Nuala (Tina's parents' dog).

Watch Steve set up the new Flat Screen TV:

Then we went downstairs to hang out on the lawn, under a tree. Tina and Steve live in this awesome victorian mansion that has been carved up into apartments.

That's only part of the building. I love that building. One of my lifelong dreams is to own an old Victorian and restore it. One of my friends, Dave, is already in the process of doing it. Say hi to Dave:

Dave was at the party.

So was Diane:

And her incredibly sexy, knitting husband, Eric:

Personally, I think the only thing sexier than a man who knits, is a man who spins. The only thing sexier than that, would be a man who spins...while wearing a kilt. Oh...the palpitations.

Tina took pictures too, so I'm sure they'll hit her blog at some point in the near future.

Of course, when knitters and spinners get together to celebrate, there's loot:

There are books on spinning, and knitting lace and knitting shawls...and lace shawls. A wonderful writer's notebook from Katie, chocolate and fiber. My husband outdid himself by cleaning out my Knitpicks wish-list. Does it get better than that? Especially since he bought me my Kromski Sonata and that was supposed to be my present for the year. I think I'll keep him.

There was cake:

Then, as if that wasn't enough, Monday we went to one of our favorite farm stands down in Valatie, Golden Harvest Farms.

It's bittersweet for me to see farm stands in early September. On one hand, I love the abundance represented:

But on the other hand, the end of Summer is fast approaching. Autumn is so lovely but so short here, and then we dig in for the Long Dark Winter.

Oh, and did I mention that we hit a destash sale and more fiber arrived while I was at Wiawaka?

I am about to get ready to go to the chiropractor (thank heavens), so I will leave you with some shots of late summer abundance:

Until next time.....

2008 W.O.O.L. Wrap-Up

2008-08-28T12:18:00.005-04:00

What a weekend!!! Amazing! Wonderful! Fabulous! All these words come to mind when I think of our retreat at Wiawaka, but none of them actually captures the essence of it. When I think about it, 22 women (+/-) got together and did nothing but spin, knit and talk. A few read, a couple played scrabble. One played scrabble while knitting (which was amazing since before she started this weekend she was an anxious knitter!)

My weekend actually began on Wednesday when I picked up my dear friend Rosemary and her sister Carrie, at the train station. You need a little background. Rosemary and I were very close friend for a bunch of years. We had met through a mutual friend, but had become close during the time he died and later sharing our grief, anger and other emotions. Then 9/11 happened, and neither of us could be there for the other, and we parted ways. A few months ago, while doing The Artist's Way, I wrote to Rosemary and we reconnected. That she, a veritable non-knitter, and her sister, an addicted knitter like the rest of us, should come to this retreat, was truly a gift from the Gods. Reconnecting with Roses was truly the highlight in a weekend full of light.

Thursday was arrival day, and I had the joy of seeing Wiawaka presented to two people who had never been there. We were a bit early, so we couldn't check in. Rosemary and Carrie went to wander the grounds and I went in search of Tina. It didn't take much time for me to find them, as they were walking up from the lake:

Yes, that's Tina with her wheel on her head. Millie, her mother, is behind her carrying the empty spinning wheel bag. Go figure.

We got to settle into our rooms. The accommodations at Lake House are....shall we say...rustic.

That is along one wall. You're looking at the desktop which has three dresser drawers beneath it.

Now you're looking at the wall at right angles to the wall with the desk. Notice how the room is only wide enough for the bed (twin) and the door, and the width of the desk (14 inches). Hmmmm.

Now you're looking at the other corner. Note. I have not moved. That is how small the room is. I'm estimating 5' x 9". Which always makes me feel like I'm in a rustic convent in the woods. In a good way.

That evening there was dinner, then much talking and get to know one another.

The next morning I decided to forego the 8:00am breakfast and get some alone time. I was prepared for this possibility and brought coffeemaker, coffee, cereal and yogurt. I spent a great hour alone writing in my journal and slowly waking up before the rest of the house returned. It was a good move for me.

I spent more of that morning, walking the Labrynth (a new addition) and sitting at "the point" which conveniently has 2 adirondack chairs. Of course, you'd think I could have pictures of this spot, but I didn't.

I spent some time with Katie, and read to her from an Anne Lamott book. Who, despite being Christian, is one of my favorite spiritual writers.

The rest of the weekend is a blur of knitting and spinning and laughing. Oh yes, much laughing. Actually, I didn't do nearly as much knitting as I'd expected, but I spent a lot of time on the wheel.

I finished the green merino just before going up, the grand total is 1200 yards. Sounds like enough for a nice shawl for myself. I'm currently in the process of spinning Carolyn's (Seekay Crafts) sherbety/firey merino, and then on to.....so much more that I can't even begin to describe. In the next couple of days I'll upload pictures of the ~~crack~~ roving that I purchased from Carolyn and Jessica.

If you want more accounts of the weekend (and much better pictures) go here, here, here, here and here. Really, do click on all those links because the pictures are great (and so are the blogs).

Until next time (when, I promise, there will be more pictures).

Oooh Those Dirty, Dirty, Dirty Sheep

2008-08-28T00:57:00.001-04:00

AC/DC probably weren't thinking along these lines....but.....this is the funniest sheep thing I've ever seen.:

I promise a W.O.O.L. update tomorrow...but I couldn't wait to share this.

Bruised

2008-08-15T13:54:00.002-04:00

So far I haven't blogged about writing. On most days there's really nothing to write about. People ask me how the books going, and I say "okay." Most days that's how it goes. This week has been another story.

See, there's this book. A not ready for prime-time novel. I know it's not ready, because it's not finished. Oh, I finished a first draft. I have written 500+ pages of this book, but it needs a rewrite...at least one. But....last winter, when ~~I was deluded enough to think it was going to be finished~~ it looked likely that I was going to have it finished by April, I signed up for an appointment to pitch it to an agent. As it got closer, I realized I wasn't going to have the rewrite finished by then, but I allowed myself to be convinced to pitch it anyway. As practice. As those things go, I guess it went well. The agent requested the first 50 pages. I sent it. I haven't heard back from her yet, despite a follow-up but that's how things go in publishing.

That same weekend I "won" a critique by another major industry agent. It was a door prize. At the time I thought it was the best thing, since it would put my work in front another agent. Well, this past weekend I received the critique.

Before I go any further, I was told it was a critique of the first three chapters. Not the first fifty pages. Because I included a "prologue" which was a whopping page and a half, she chose not to read the third chapter. Of course she didn't understand what was going on, or how the prologue tied into the rest of the book. All that comes together in chapter three. Maybe my chapters are too long. Maybe the fact that the conversion from Wordperfect to Word changed the spacing and increased the page count by 30%. Maybe I should have taken the time to fix all that.

Maybe its me. Maybe I need to grow a thicker skin? However, in the past when I've found myself thinking I needed to grow a thicker skin, it turned out that the situation turned out to be abusive. I'm not saying this agent was abusive. In fact, she told me in a subsequent email that I had a lot of talent, which was why she took the time to give me such an indepth critique.

Wait, I thought that was the point of the prize? That it was an in depth critique. I'm confused. What I know is that, on the basis of the critique, I drastically changed the my plan for the book. In fact, I started from Chapter One, Page One. Again. I wrote a new first chapter. It sucked. My pre-publication reader told me she felt bereft because I'd dropped all the good stuff out.

Which is what brought me up short. The last time I'd gotten a harsh critique, I did the same thing. I stopped what I was doing, went back to the beginning, and rewrote the first chapter....AND IT SUCKED. When I get hurt and/or scared, I lose my voice. I start trying to write well - to write for the reader, instead of from my heart. I realized that what I'm trying to do is not feel the pain of getting a harsh critique. It hurts, damn it.

I re-read the critique today, for the first time since receiving it on Saturday. There was a lot I was able to tell about the reader from the comments. That was helpful too. It helps take the sting out of some it.

My job, is to take a step back and let it all settle for a bit. Let the comments settle. Let my emotions settle. So, I'm going to take a break. I'm going to a fiber retreat next week. In the meanwhile, I'm not going to work on the book....at all. I'm going to take really good care of my inner artist.

Tonight is knit night at Beau Knits. I'm going. I will spend the weekend helping a friend move, maybe....if it's dry...helping Tina skirt fleece (if that's still the plan) I'm going to spin, I'm going to knit, I'm going to read. I'm going to recharge my soul.

Sigh.

No Pics Today

2008-08-04T15:09:00.004-04:00

I can't believe how busy I've been. This is a good thing, I think. First of all, we're still in the process of "Mission Organization." If any of you are not familiar with the show on HGTV, a professional organizer comes in and "does" a particularly chaotic/messy/unusable room. Well, to be honest, if feels like my whole house is a collection of chaotic/messy/unusable rooms. Or should I put that in the past-tense.

Friday night, Tim and I spent 3 hours in the basement, moving things around, throwing stuff out and transferring things from cardboard boxes to clear, plastic storage bins. Now, I'm probably more green conscious than most folks, and hate using a lot of plastics, but sometimes...ya just have to bite the bullet. Or, at least I did. Sorting, organizing and labeling is going to make my life much easier down the road, and I'm all for that.

Riding on the wave of accomplishment from the basement work on Friday, we tackled the kitchen and hall closet on Saturday. This was really enlightening. We realized that when we moved into this place we never intended to stay this long. In fact, we only intended to stay one year, and it's already been two, and we've decided to stay for a third. But because of that intention, we never really unpacked. We, sort of, set up camp; unpacking only essentials, but leaving many things packed away.

This has been good and bad. There are things I've missed (like my mother's fruit bowl, which has been found and upacked) and things I haven't. A HUGE bag of stuff went to Goodwill. Another bag of stuff is in Tim's car, going to Goodwill.

I discovered many plastic containers that had no lids, as well as many lids that had no containers. They do not match. I do not know how this happened. It has been fixed.

The other issue was canning jars. We do a lot of canning, and use stuff up throughout the year. Unfortunately our current kitchen doesn't have a lot of storage, and clean canning jars tend not to have a place. We now have a "canning jar depot" (read plastic bin) in the hall closet that can hold clean canning jars before a load of them can get downstairs sorted and stored.

It's all been pretty amazing. I know all of this attention to home means something, but I'm not sure what.

The other big issue is the neighbor's dog. Don't get me wrong. I like dogs...to a point. Really, I'm a cat person, but I'm okay with dogs. In fact, I'm pretty sure my problem is with the neighbor, not the dog...because these people insist on letting their dog pee in my garden. Fortunately not on the veggies, but in the front on the impatiens. Impatiens do not like dog urine. I have big holes of rotted impatien stems.

So, this morning, I went out and purchased replacement impatiens. I also purchased one of those hose attachments that you can use for plant food. I filled this with a small amount of peppermint soap, as the basic nature of soap should dilute some of the acid in the urine. Next, I'm going to sprinkle a mixture of cayenne pepper and flour. The next time someone comes sniffing around, he will get a snootful of cayenne. That should solve the problem without doing harm to the dog...annoying yes...harmful, no.

There are 8 lbs of cucumbers and 4 lbs of onions being salted in the kitchen in preparation for bread and butter pickles, which will get up up tonight. Canning season is definitely underway!!! Next come the peaches, then tomatoes. I adore this time of year. Unfortunately all this canning and organization doesn't leave that much time for fiber, but, well, such is life.

Well, I think that's all the news that's fit to print. Off to poke at the cucumbers.

It's finally blog-time

2008-07-28T12:43:00.009-04:00

The paradox with blogging is that if I'm going to have anything to write about, I have to go out and do things. If I'm out doing things, I have no time to blog about it. What is a good blogger to do?

Anyway, I wrote about J coming up. Well, as promised, we went blueberry picking.

While none of us should be giving up our day jobs in order to become migrant farm workers, we did okay, hauling in about 12 lbs of blueberries.

OMG, they were delicious. We made blueberry jam

We had blueberry cobbler, and blueberries on cereal in the morning. It was freakin' blueberry heaven. I like blueberries.

Blueberries always make me think of my mother, who loved them. Not surprising that she sould be on my mind, it was this time three years ago, that we found out that she had terminal cancer. Where ever you are, ma, this blueberry's for you!

Kali took a bath:

Morgan watched the birds:

After the blueberry extravaganza, Tim and I took off for camping. We went with the same group we always go with, The Clan That Says AEHH!!, but we chose a different venue. For reason I won't go into on the blog, it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I'm still processing. (no, there aren't any pictures).

However, while on vacation I spun a lot, and taught my friend Maria to spin. It was so much fun watching her working at it, then suddenly getting the hang of drafting. Now, she wants a spinning wheel too!! Another convert! My work there is done. ::smug smile::

On to the most important stuff, the fiber:

One half of the Traveling Vine shawl is DONE and has been moved to a stitch holder.
It is being knit from raw silk that was purchased 2 years ago at Clermont, and hand-dyed by Tina and myself. (really, Tina did all the work, I just watched and bought the chicken wings).

The stitch pattern is from Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls, by Martha Waterman. This is unblocked (and really a bad photo, but hopefully you can see what it looks like)

The other half has been cast-on.

Over halfway done. This would have been done if not for the Tour De Fleece, of which I did not make my goal; and my sojourn into Farmer's Market Bags.

Speaking of Tour de Fleece, I've been spinning and spinning and spinning my legs off. This is some of it, washed and drying. There is more on the bobbins, waiting to be plied, and more in the bag, waiting to be spun. Oy....that's a lot of fiber to spin this fine. I'm getting tired of looking at blue and green, though.

I'm so excited about this. It's super-soft M-m-m-erino (as Jessalu says).

And I'm really proud of the even-ness of the yarn. When I plied it, unwashed, it hung completely straight and balanced.

Tim has been spinning! Here's his first handspun, super-chunky weight. I'm so excited.

It's so much fun to share something I love to do with someone I love. We spent part of the afternoon spinning together. Me on Asherah, and he on Phaedre.

This is the view of what I came downstairs to see this morning. Ignore the mess, I was focusing on the two spinning wheels and the knitting projects.

And yes, that is another market bag in the lower left corner. It's in shades of blue, and I swear, it's the last one for a while, because I've fallen in love with the Seascape Shawl

and can't wait to get started on it. It's going to be in one of the two hand dyed laceweight yarns that I bought from Tina.

That's the news that's fit to print. Will try to update on Friday (or Monday....you know how it goes.)

Friday Evening

2008-07-11T20:12:00.003-04:00

It's Friday, and I'm thrilled. Yes, I know it's been less than a month since we got back from Cape Cod, but we're going away again next week. Every year we camp with a group of friends, who we call "the Clan". Usually we go far away, this year, not so far, but it will be a great time nonetheless.

My friend J. lives in NYC. We've been friends for almost 15 years, from when I used to live in NYC. Well, last year she was lamenting about getting out of the city for a while, and I was lamenting that I didn't have a cat sitter to take care of the girls. Aha!!! I, jokingly, asked if she wanted to come up here. In fact, she did. She had a great time, we had a great time, the cats were pretty happy, since they adore their Auntie J.

This year we have a local cat sitter, but J. still needs to get out of the city. This time, unlike last year, we'll actually get to see her. She's coming up tomorrow. We don't leave 'til Wednesday. This is going to be fun.

Today a client was telling me about a great place to pick blueberries. Really cheap (less than $2.00/lb). Hmmm...might there be great blueberry jam in our future? I wonder if J. wants to go blueberry picking. I know she likes making Jam. She's been here for canning season in the past.

I'm way behind on my Tour de Fleece spinning. I think I took on more than I can spin in the allotted time. Even if I don't get all of it spun up, I will ahve accomplished more spinning in a short amount of time than I have ever spun before, so I will consider it a success. Yes, I'm taking my wheel camping. That's one of the reasons I got the Sonata. Gotta remember to take an extra bobbin and some cheaper fiber with me. I know at least one person who is going to want to take her for a spin.

That's about it for today. I'll try do get a few more posts in before we leave.

Yikes...How Did It Get So Late So Soon?

2008-06-30T13:41:00.010-04:00

I started writing this on Thursday, and it's gotten to be Saturday? Yikes!! First I have to catch you all up on LAST weekend. And what a weekend! When weekends are like this, it reminds me why I love my life so much. Friday afternoon I met Tina at BeauKnits, my Local Yarn Store (LYS) , which was participating in the town of Cohoes Farm to City Fest. We set up our wheels outside on the sidewalk and spun, and spun, and spun to our heart's content.

It was a blast. I'm continually surprised by the people who ask "what are you doing?" To me, it's so obvious. Even before I knew how to spin, it was pretty obvious. The other questionwas "What are you making?" Um...yarn?

I know this sounds snarky, and I really don't mean it that way. The most fun was, of course, the little kids who are mesmerized by the wheel. I love to see the fascination as they try to figure out how it works.

My favorite question of the day was a little one, maybe 4 or 5 years old, who asked, "why do you have to do this?" My answer was, "Because I want to." But in retrospect, maybe he was picking up something else. Do I have to spin? Yeah, in a way I do. I'm drawn to the spinning wheel like a moth is to flame. I love doing it so much.

A group of us are going camping in a few weeks. Tim was musing, on our private mailing list, about things to pack. He included my spinning wheel. No one else understood why it was so important to me to be able to take my wheel camping. He, however, did....and that's what makes him special. I lurves him.

Saturday was Hudson River Knit and Spin. Oh....My....God!!!! It was so much fun. We got there around 12:30, and it was HOT AND HUMID. My least favorite weather in the world. But...we got settled in around the tree in the shade, and the breeze was coming off the river, and it really wasn't too bad. But really, the humidity is horrid for spinning. The merino I was spinning kept wanting to felt in my hot, sweaty, palm. Ewwwwww.

If y'all remember Tim was learning to spin last week. He brought Phaedre along, and planned to spin on her. Unfortunately, we grabbed the wrong bag of fiber, and instead of the Corriedale/Romney cross (which is so easy to spin), he ended up with Merino, which just wouldn't cooperate for him at all. I felt bad. For two reasons. 1. He was having such a hard time. Merino isn't easy to spin in good weather, and this wasn't. 2. He was going through a startling amount of Merino (but he's so good to me, I don't feel too bad...he's worth it).

If you want some other write-ups go here, here, here, and here.

Here are pictures:
The only thing sexier than a man who knits:

Is a man who spins (of course, the one spinning is mine, so I may be biased).

'Chelle and Carolyn were there:

Then we went to my niece's High School graduation party!!! Go Rachel!!!! At which I gave her a pair of Fetching in her favorite color, Pink. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd. She's modeling them here. (Note the perfect nails)

And the lovely, sherberty colored market bag is off the needles, and beta-tested. The farmer's market this morning was lovely. I adore that fresh produce is coming in from the local farms. Here is some lovely Kale:

I spent a good chunk of today, after the market, and shopping at the dreaded Wal-mart, reading Nevada Barr's newest book, Winter Study. Ms. Barr is in top form. So often as series drag on, the author loses some of her spark and we keep reading because we're invested in the world. Not so this time. Winter Study is as fresh and wonderful as Track of the Cat, the first Anna Pigeon book. If you like a good mystery, and love the great outdoors, this series is wonderful. I can't say enough good things about it.

Not so the book on CD that played in my CD player for last week's commute. Austenland might have been a better read than it was a listen. I wanted to love it, just as I love all of Jane Austen's books, but maybe it was because the narrator kept switching between british and american accents, or maybe the story was too predictable (being almost a direct take-off of Pride and Prejudice without Helen Fielding's sense of humor), but I listened all the way to the end becuause I didn't have anything else to listen to.

Yesterday was the first bike ride of the season...a short toodle around the neighborhood as muscles that haven't been on a bike in at least a year got shocked in remembering that they exist. Of course this was preceded by the 2 hour search for the patch kit and the patching of my front tire, and followed by a good washing down and oiling of all moving parts as we discovered that a year of disuse is not kind to bicycles.

I always approach my bike with trepidation at the beginning of the season. It's as if a part of me is sure I have forgotten how to ride....and then within a half block, I'm remembering why I love it. The first time I go down a hill...and tuck to cut the wind resistance, and feel the wind in my face, I remember.

So, prepare for more bike posts.

On the other hand, the rewrite of Second Chances is almost done. I know I've been saying that for a month...but really, I'm close. Tina...be prepared for the rest of the book in the next week or so. I'd like to get it done before we go camping on July 16th.

Alpaca Love

2008-06-22T13:02:00.007-04:00

Life has been so hectic, I've not had a chance to post about the Alpaca love that came my way.

The story:

Just before we left on vacation, I joined the "Spin for Lace" forum on Ravelry. A little while later, I found myself in a conversation with the delightful Caroline who asked me if I've ever carded/combed my own fiber. I hadn't. And then she asked me for my address.

When I got home, there was a priority mail box waiting for me!!!

I opened it up and there, to my great surprise was alpaca goodness:

A great big bagful of the sweetest, softest, creamiest fiber from "Thor".

.

And another bag of really, gorgeous honey brown fiber from an unknown alpaca. They are so lovely, I'm looking forward to learning how to card them, and then spin it up. I'm so excited about it I can't begin to express it.

By the way, what is the name of the darker alpaca? I love knowing the names of the animals who contribute their fiber to my obsession.

Caroline, thank you so much. You have no idea how insanely happy this makes me!!!

I will continues to post pictures as the fiber moves through the process of prep to spinning to being knit into something wearable.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'm off to pet the alpaca fiber now.

Thursday Musings

2008-06-19T12:46:00.005-04:00

I know I promised Wednesday updates (did I? I meant to.), but yesterday got way out of control. There's this festival we attend every year. The organizers started a process three years ago, and now that they've realized they're in it, decided they have to fix it. However, not everyone is agreeing with the fix. I'm one of the dissenters.

I wrote one email, stating my opinion and voicing my concerns. This was Tuesday night. You'd think I told them all that their mother's dress them funny. By the time I woke up yesterday, my inbox was flooded with everything from polite responses to scathing, vitriolic, attacks. Yikes. So not pretty, and so not what I intended and so making me not want to drive 5 hours to go there. There may be a change in summer plans. We'll see.

Yesterday was also the work day from hell. I have this client, and he works 15 miles away and doesn't get out until 6 or so in the evening. Which means he doesn't get to my office until 7:00, which means that I don't get out of the office until after 8:00. It makes for a very long day. He is very nice. He and his wife have referred numerous people to me, but it makes for a long day. At least its only once a month.

So that's what happened to yesterday's update.

I haven't done any spinning or much knitting since the weekend. I've started another market bag, I think I mentioned, and it's halfway done. This one is NOT the ugliest market bag...in fact, it's kind of cute. I thinking of calling it Sherbet Stripes, because that's what it reminds me of.

So, what is the obsession with market bags? Well, it's this green thing, and the obsession I have with the Troy Farmer's Market. I love the market. It gets me out of the house early on Saturday, I support local agri-business, and I get organic produce and hormone free/antibiotic free milk and yogurt every week. (I have a personal theory that the increase in breast and ovarian cancer is somehow linked to the hormones used in American dairy products but have no evidence to back that up)

Every time I'm at the market and purchase something for which I have not brought my own bag, I get a funny look from the vendor. Not nasty or snide...just curious. Like, if I'm bothering to shop at the market, why am I wasting all these plastic bags? And they have a point. Why am I? It's not in keeping with my personal philosophy about how I want to live on the planet. I knit, so why can't I knit myself a shopping bag, or two? You can extrapolate the rest.

For those who wonder why I've been spending so much time developing a pattern of my own, let's say I've not found a pattern that incorporates everything I, personally, want in a bag. So, I decided it was time to take a little of this and a little of that and put together something that I love. And I have. When I finish this, I'll probably post the pattern on Ravelry, and everyone can try their hand at it....if they want to.

On the writing front, not much is happening. I came back from vacation pretty charged to write, and then, bam, life got in the way. I'm shaking my head too. I'm 100 pages from finishing the re-write and stopped dead in my tracks. Sorry Tina. I'll get back there, I promise.

On the spinning front, pretty much that's where I'm heading for the afternoon. I need to spin. My wrists hurt (from work yesterday) too much to knit, and I've put out a lot of energy (to my clients and family) in the last 4 days. I need some down time, and spinning is the best way that I know to focus inward.

Oh! I forgot to mention. My husband, who has only lacked the knowlege of knitting and spinning to make him the perfect man, has expressed a desire to learn to spin. Oh frabjous day!!! I guess Phaedre is going to teach someone knew. This makes my heart sing. Although, Tim, if you're reading this...keep your hands off the Sonata!!!

Tina, Phoenix Fiberworks, has jumped into community service in a big, big way. She has organized the first (annual) Hudson River Knit and Spin. For those of you who don't know her, check out her blog. Tina's amazing. She taught me to spin, does community service, is active in her guild...organizes retreats...she blows me away.

Anyway, come out to the Hudson River Knit and Spin next Saturday. It's going to be a great day.

Home Again, Home Again

2008-06-14T17:22:00.017-04:00

Hmm. Did I tell ya'll I was going on vacation? I meant to. I also meant to post from Cape Cod. I brought my laptop, I even had hi speed internet. But I lacked motivation. I did, however, spend at least some part of every day on the beach. Hours on the beach. Hours spent watching the surfers, watching the waves, listening to the surf. I discovered something I forgot about myself: With the sun on my shoulders, sand between my toes, the ocean in front of me, the sound of the surf in my ears and the scent of Coppertone in my nose, I am a happy girl. There is very little that makes happier than that.

So, on to the news...

We arrived at The Southfleet Motor Inn, in South Wellfleet on Sunday. It was an okay place. Unfortunately I immediately disliked the desk clerk who tried to stick us in what had to be the worst room in the place (right next to the service storeroom and had a trash can right outside the door). When I complained, he gave us a different, smaller, room. This all in a motel during the middle of the week, before high season. In fact, for most of the week, we were the only people in OUR BUILDING. I'm going to write to the owner.

Anyway, the first night we were there, we unpacked, went out for dinner at Arnold's Restaurant . Calling it a restaurant is going a little far. It is a Cape clam shack. And I had the best fish and chips I've ever had and got to eat with sand between my toes. I agree with Anthony Bourdain, food tastes better with sand between my toes.

Then we were treated to the most awesome sunset. This was taken from Marconi Beach. To get to Marconi Beach, you descend two flights of wooden stairs from the top of the dunes down to sea level. The picture doesn't even come close to the stunning fiery display that the sun and clouds put on for us. It felt special. It felt like the powers that be were saying, "yeah, you've had a sucky three years since you were here last, but that's over."

See, the last time we were on Cape Cod was for our honeymoon in June 2005. A month after that my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer that took her life three months later. So the happy, happy, joy, joy of wedding and honeymoon kind of got lost in the really sucky next four months.

This vacation was, now that the initial stage of grief processing seems to be behind me, was a honeymoon do-over.

Monday found us....on the beach! Nauset Light Beach this time. Nauset Light Beach had 3 flights of stairs descending from the dunes. You have to realize that these dunes are 80 feet high. That's really, really, tall. After sleeping late (we were on vacation after all) we spent a really tough day watching the surfers and the waves. I kept thinking about taking a book out of my bag, but then another wave would come along and I had to watch it crest....and then another....and another....and then four hours had gone by. Dinner that night was at Moby Dick's where we enjoyed a mixed "clambake" of steamers, lobster, corn and coleslaw. Calling Moby's a restaurant is also stretching things a little. It's also a clam shack. Are you starting to see a pattern?

Tuesday we went into Wellfleet. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I had channeled the description of this town when I was creating Westham, the fictional town that my novel (yet to be published) is set. Wellfleet is exactly what I think of when I think Cape Cod fishing village. Here are some photos:

In town, we found a thrift shop and hiding in among the needlepoint books was this gem, which I bought for $1.00. Some really gorgeous patterns in there. Some will make my brain bleed, but gorgeous nonetheless.

After that, we went .....to the beach! We spent four or five hours....watching the surfers, etc. on Coast Guard Beach. Coast Guard beach had fewer stairs. None, in fact. Just a steep path. Needless to say, this became our daily beach destination. We stayed at the beach so late, and were so tired when we got back to the motel, that we brought in dinner from the clam shack next door to the motel. I don't remember its name, it's not important. We had sauteed calamare and grilled scallops. They were delicious!!

Wednesday we hunted for yarn stores. You knew it had to happen, didn't you? We started at The Yarn Basket in Eastham, MA.
Yes, that's an Ace Hardware sign above the door. Don't ask me, I don't understand it either.

But I bought some lovely Araucania Ranco Multi. Again, the photo is not showing off the lovely colors. I fell head over heels in love with this yarn. Yummy.

Then, we headed over to Ladybug Yarns. What a delightful shop. I had a long talk with the owner, during which time, I realized that Tim and I have decided that when we retire, we're going to move to the Cape. Of course, this being 16 or so years in the future, it is subject to change.

There, I had to have...absolutely HAD to have...a yarn magnet for my car. Oh yeah!!! In fact, I bought two. One for my car, and one for the car of one lucky friend. So...what's it worth to you?

Thursday we headed down to Chatham, MA.
Yeah, it's lovely there. The general store sells YARN!!!

And then we drove to Harwichport and Adventure's in Knitting. Which was ALSO a lovely shop, well stocked with Noro, but I didn't find anything that really screamed my name. maybe I was just getting tired and couldn't hear it. But we had lunch and then we....went to the beach.

Dinner that night was again eaten at Moby's. Lobster twice in one week. Yummmm.

Friday morning we spent 3 hours on the beach before hitting the road for the loooooong drive home.

On the way, I finally finished (with the exception of grafting the handle - because I can never remember how to Kitchener without instructions) the World's Ugliest Market Bag Between the numerous mistakes that I didn't bother to go back and correct, along with the two tone yarn (same dye lot, but one ball was in a plastic bag for a year, the other wasn't) I think it is perhaps the ugliest thing ever to come off my needles. However, it will be functional, and that's its purpose.

I have started another market bag which will be rainbow striped, using up all the different colors of kitchen cotton that I have lying around.

We reached Albany at 6:00pm. Just in time for Tim to drop me off at the Capital Region Romance Writers of America conference, from which I just got home.

Phew.

Tomorrow is Father's Day, so we drive 2 hours to my brother's house for the annual FD barbeque.

I think I need a vacation from my vacation!

Scary Moments and The Market Bag From Hell

2008-06-05T12:14:00.004-04:00

This week's scary moment:

Yesterday started out normally. I got up, had coffee, spent some time online, and began to get ready to see clients in the afternoon and evening. I got into the shower and began to wash. Then it happened. There. Under my right arm...in the armpit. A lump.

There's something about discovering a lump in a previously lump-free area. I don't know about anyone else, but it kicked my body/mind into major fight or flight mode. I finished my shower and picked up the phone. My doctor's office...yes, everyone in the office...was at lunch. The answering service asked if was an emergency, and I couldn't say yes. I then spent the next half hour watching the clock, waiting until lunch hour was over. When I finally got through, the receptionist asked me if I could be there at 3:00pm.

Damn straight, I could be there at 3:00pm. I canceled my afternoon clients and went to the doctor's office, where I didn't get seen until 4:00. By this time, I was experiencing jolts of adrenaline every 10 minutes and my vision was starting to blur.

I got into the office, whipped off my shirt and the doctor said...Hmmm...Looks like an ingrown hair to me.

Just to be on the safe side we're going to mammo it, and maybe do an ultrasound (for which I cannot get an appointment until AFTER vacation next week), and in the meantime, hot compresses with epsom salts to draw it out.

Altogether, exactly the diagnosis I was hoping for.

Statistically one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. The discovery of a lump in an adjacent area, struck terror right down to my soul. So, while this was something simple, it just reminds me of how important that annual mammogram is. If you've been putting off making that appointment, don't. Pick up the phone.

On the needles:

I've been trying to make a market bag for a year now. I know...it's insane, a woman who can knit lace and complete lace shawls, cannot finish a simple market bag. I, too, shake my head in disbelief.

Here's the story:
Last year about this time a new Farmer's Market was starting near Beau Knits a LYS where I am a sometimes attendee at Friday Night Knitters, and Barbara, the wonderful proprietress suggested we make market bags. Instead of finding a tried and true pattern, I decided to start designing my own. I mean, really, why by tires when you can reinvent the wheel?

I had a bunch of false starts, and then I really got on a roll. Enter my friend's 2 year old. Before we mention this, I must say that said friend is NOT a knitter. Never has touched knitting needles before. I was at her house and her two year old dove into my knitting bag while I was in another room. (I know, my fault for leaving my knitting unsupervised). By the time I got back into the room, all the knitting was on the needles, looking mostly as i had left it and I didn't think anything of it. I was knitting by itty bitty booklight in the car on the way home and didn't realize, until I was in better light, that they put the damn thing on the needles backwards and inside-out. Fortunately I realized this after only about 2 rows, so Iwas able to tink it back.

Then....a bizarre thing happened.

2. A brand new Susan Bates #15 Circular needle exploded! Well, it didn't actually explode. Fell apart is more accurate. First, one point came detached from the cord. Ok, this happens, I thought, and hurried to push all the stitches back on the cord so I wouldn't lose. Just as I managed to do this, without any dropped stitches, the other point fell off. Unable to contain itself the bag went crazy with stitches jumping off the needs and cord faster than you can say Rumpelstiltskin.

I salvaged what I could, taped the ends of the cord together (remember there are now no points on it whatsoever) and tossed the whole thing into the "current project basket". Before we go any further, you need to know what the current project basket looks like. It's a large wicker hamper that sits by a corner of the sofa....and breeds. Yarn finds its way in...half-done projects also find their way in...but rarely does anything find its way out. I now know why.

In our attempt to protect stash from moths, the entire basket got organized last week. In doing so, we discovered The Glob.

The glob was comprised of many half-finished projects, many started balls of yarn and many left-overs from other projects. Somehow, they managed to get themselves twisted together, with stitch holders, knitting needles, crochet hooks, blocking pins....and morphed into The Glob.

In the middle of the Glob was the market bag. Painstakingly we dissected and dismembered the Glob until all of its components were tamed in individual zip-lock bags. I looked at the market bag in its half-finished state. I thought about the guilt I experience every time I am at the local market and when asked if I need a bag, I hang my head and say "yes". I resolved to finish the market bag (now known as The Freakin' Market Bag).

I began to pick up the stitches, and those who knit will immediately understand how difficult this is when knitting *k2tog, yo, k1* in the round. After a half hour spent trying to make this look like it hadn't been taken apart and put back together by a 2 year old, and then having survived exploding needles, I decided to frog the whole thing back.

The next day, while in the car on the way to a funeral (I wasn't driving), I started the bag again. It was going to be great. I wanted a fairly firm bottom, knitted a rectangle in stockinette, picked up stitches all around, and began my pattern stitch. (Remember, I'm still not working from a pattern). I knit. I knit. I knit some more. I knit even more. I attached the 2nd ball of yarn (purchased at the same time) and discovered it was either a different dye lot or the first ball of yarn lost half its color while involved in The Glob. No worries...I decided this was about function, not form, and I knit intrepidly on.

Got to the point where I started binding off for the handles....and discovered that through some cruel twist of fate, I had not knit a market bag...but instead, as my dear husband pointed out, I had knit a hammock. For a very small person. Maybe a cat.

I frogged back the whole thing.

Back to square one. Or should I say, stitch one.

Deciding to change the design, I opted for a turkish cast on and magic looped until I could comfortably knit in the round again. And I'm knitting. Now, I don't get it. I've looked at other patterns for market bags...each and every one of them has said that it takes a few hours of knitting to produce one.

Not so much, in my experience. I've been working on this thing, in this incarnation, for a week. I'm not a slow knitter. I produced a lace scarf in 10 days. WTF????

So...the lavender market bag is still on the needles. I have lost hope that it will be finished for this week's farmer's market. Once again, on Saturday morning, I will buy organic produce and put it in a plastic bag. ::sigh::

While I soldier on with the Market Bag, notice I am NOT knitting the Traveling Vine shawl that I want to finish by Sirius Rising in July. My excuse is that I needed a break from knitting lace. I needed to be able to watch Top Chef while mindlessly knitting the market bag. I needed knitting that was not frustrating, that didn't take concentration. Right. See how well that's working?

Until the next time.....

Party!!!!

2008-06-01T10:44:00.011-04:00

I suppose that when some people think of parties, they think of booze and music and that sort of thing. In my circle of friends, when there's a party there's fiber. Yesterday was Tina's 30th birthday party (Phoenix Fiberworks for those of you in blog-land).

We were only 20 minutes late, which is practically on time for my husband and I, and the grill was already fired up and Steve's brother was grilling up the burgers and dogs. Food! What a great way to start a party. We ate, we laughed, we made small talk. Then we got down down to some serious partying.

Out came the equipment:

Left to right is Tina's Lendrum, my Kromski Sonata and Becky's Kromski Sonata.

Then, we sat down to Spin:

Of course, some people came to knit:

Note the knitting needles in the left hand, and the drink in the right hand.

Notice the smiles on people's faces.

It being a birthday party,
there were presents:

And cake:

I guess there were some non-fiber people there...but for some reason I don't have pictures of them. I wonder why? It couldn't be that I'm obssessed with all things fiber-y, could it?

Finished Objects:

Amazingly I managed, in only 10 days, to produce Mist. This is a pattern written by Lisa Dykstra for Crystal Palace Yarns

I knit this with my own handspun, a mystery 100% wool fiber that was in my stash. It spun up so fine in lace weight, but I only had about 200 yards of it, so a scarf it was destined to become.

On the needles:

I'm still working on the silk Traveling Vine Shawl. Actually...no, that's misleading. It's been on hiatus while I finished a whole bunch of projects, not the least of which was Mist. But, I'm resolved to finish it before Sirius Rising (2nd week in July). I maybe be overly optimistic, as we knitters are wont to be, but I think I can pull it off.

On the bobbins:

Same as before...Blue Green merino on Asherah, Flame merino on Phaedre.

No one is commenting on my blog yet. I suppose no one is reading it. ::sigh::

Happy Birthday

2008-05-28T12:43:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday to Tina !

May the fiber fairies bestow gifts upon you!!!

Moths and Spinning Wheels

2008-05-28T10:30:00.001-04:00

For reasons I don't understand, we are being beset by moths. I feel like an Egyptian during the reign of Ramses, experiencing one of the ten plagues. Of course, being a fiber junkie, moths are public enemy #1. We hatses them!!! Hiss.

The cats, being 10 and 12 years old, are virtually useless when it comes to moths. Oh, back in the day, Kali would have been leaping into the air to catch the buggers. Morgan would have been working ground patrol. But now, my middle-aged ladies sit on the couch being ornamental. Oh, once in a while, one of them will spot a deadly creature and stare fixedly at it, but that's the extent of their help.

On the other hand, Tim, my husband, is as obsessed with killing them as me. He will leap off the couch at the mere suggestion of fluttery wings. He has progressed beyond smashing them when they land, and now goes for degree of difficulty points, grabbing them out of the air. Go Tim!!!

The good news is that we have organized the stash. Oh yes! Everything that is wool is now hermetically sealed in its own zip-lok bag. The Yarn Harlot recently mentioned that knitters use more zip-lok bags than any other demographic. I concur.

But on to other things.

I spent Saturday at the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair (hereafter known as Cummington). What a delightful fair that is. This was my first year, and I found it much more manageable than Rhinebeck which is enormous and overwhelming (and I still won't miss if I can possibly help it).

At Cummington we hooked up with Tina, 'Chelle, Carolyn and Becky. (If Becky has a blog I don't know it yet) to flash stash and gather for dinner. A wondrous time was had by all, even if I only bought 10 oz of undyed Shetland roving and 12 oz. of blue/green Merino roving. Pics will follow later or tomorrow. A wonderful time was had by all.

The other thing I did at Cumminton was try to fall in love with a new spinning wheel. I currently own, a gift from T., an antique Ashford Traditional, Phaedre. I love her. She spins her heart out, and I can spin lace weight on her (even if I do feel like I'm treadling hard enough to take flight), but she doesn't travel well. She's a homebody. So, deciding I needed (need is such a more urgent word than want, isn't it?) a travel wheel. I checked out many online, and decided that I wanted a Hitchhiker . First of all, I can't say enough nice things about the man who makes them. I spent an hour of his time, trying to fall in love with this wheel. I tried and tried and tried, and eventually, decided that I was trying to hard. Kind of meeting a guy who has all the right qualities, but there's just no spark.

To say that I was really bummed out would be to be understating the obvious.

On Sunday, we decided to look at a Kromski Sonata at The Spinning Room in Altamont, NY, just a half hour from here. So...off we went. I sat down at this wheel and fell head over heels in love. Madly in love. I hesitated (it's a lot of money). I hemmed (really, do you think we can afford it?). I hawed (Maybe later...in September...for my birthday). He said, "You know you want it."

I did. I wanted it. I wanted it badly.

So, with a racing heart, I handed over the credit card.

SHE'S MINE!!!!!

And she spins like a dream. Beyond a dream. Her name is Asherah, which she shares with the Hebrew Mother Goddess, and consort to Yahweh.

On the needles:
1. The current time sink is the project that I can't talk about. Let's just say it is one that I'm very excited about. It will be a birthday present to someone who (I hope) will be reading this blog, and will be discussed (and yes, there will be pictures) after the weekend.

2. Traveling Vine wrap which I am knitting with hand-dyed raw silk. It is about halfway done, and I wish to get it finished by Sirius Rising in July.

On the bobbins:
1. On Phaedre, 100% Merino hand dyed by SeeKay

2. On Asherah:

100% Merino hand dyed, bought at Cummington

And that, dear readers, is this week's installment of Writing and Knitting and Spinning, Oh My!!

Fiberholic

2008-05-26T14:08:00.001-04:00

Hi, I’m Harriet, and I’m a fiberholic. I wasn’t always a fiberholic. I used to be able to knit socially, and spinning wasn’t even an option for me. Then, something happened. Somewhere I crossed that invisible line, and then, well…there was no going back.

Like many people, it started at home. When I was five or so, I would watch my grandmother knit and crochet. Then, one day, she put a crochet hook in my hand and taught me to chain. I chained, it was fun. Then, a few months later, she gave me knitting needles. That was okay, but since I didn’t know how to cast on, I was able to keep it under control…there always had to be a more experienced knitter around to get me started.

Then, I put the stuff down for a long time. I knit in college, on and off, strictly on weekends. I made a couple of scarves, nothing serious…nothing dangerous. I picked up crochet again, when I was in my 20’s and a lot of people around me starting having babies. I began crocheting baby afghans. Then…I got off the stuff for a decade or more.

Then, in 2001 I moved back to the northeast (from Florida). It was cold. We were both unemployed. I figured a little acrylic yarn and a crochet hok…and I could crochet a throw for the living room. A scarf and hat for my husband and the same for myself. It was acrylic! It was cheap. What harm could it do?

Well….

If I had known then what I know now, would I have ever picked the needles up again? I can’t honestly say. But I do know that my friends started to change. I started hanging around with fiber people. Slowly, I was convinced to put down the hook and pick up the needles. I moved from acrylic to wool blends…then to 100% wool, then to more exotic fibers and better quality wool.

I don’t have to tell you how it goes. We All know how where it goes from there

But honestly, I was holding it together. I was knitting up a storm, but I still felt like I could handle it. I wasn’t missing work, or important social engagements. I didn’t need to knit first thing in the morning. I was okay.

But, as it happens for a lot of us, a friend gave me a spinning wheel and some fiber. That was it, I knew the fight was over. From the first time I felt the buttery soft, slightly sheepy scent of freshly scoured fleece, I knew I was hooked. There was no going back for me.

I’ve progressed. No longer am I content to spin various grade, undyed blended roving on a rickety Ashford Traditional.

The first real indication that I was out of my depth was when I needed to upgrade the Traddy to a 3 speed flyer. I was content with that for a short time, but the progression was exponential at that point. In a few short weeks, I had to have a new Kromski Sonata. I went to a sheep and wool show and had to have hand dyed merino fiber.

Now, I almost only associate with fellow fiberholics. My family doesn’t understand me. They know something is different, but they can’t put a finger on it. If I let them into my house, and they could see the yarn and fiber stacked in the corners, the knitting needles on every flat surface, a spinning wheel upstairs and one downstairs….well, then they’d know…and I can’t let them know.

My husband is an enabler. Last week, at the Local Yarn Store, when I sat down at the Kromski and started spinning…I almost had enough self control to walk away..but..he looked at me with that special look and said, “Babe, you know you want it.”

What could I do???? How could I say no???

So, it’s true…I’m a fiberholic. I can’t control my fiberlust. For me, one skein is too many, and a thousand is never enough.