oh mama!

I blogged a few weeks ago about my mama's new Etsy shop and lots of you commented that you liked her work.

Well, the enabler in me is not sorry at all [:-)] to let you know that mama has cut her prices on almost everything in her shop. Rather quite a lot, actually.

Each necklace is one of a kind and now they're so much more affordable, it's kind of nuts. This amethyst and yellow druzy necklace? It's now just $45. That's crazy talk.

Mama gets the pendants and other elements from a variety of craftspeople in Africa and Asia. Buying one of my mama's necklaces helps to support these artisans and their extended families. Which I think is seriously cool.

Here are a few of my other favorites from mom's shop:









And if you buy that last turquoise one, don't be surprised if you see me wearing its sister. I asked mama if she could find another pendant like this one and she's making me my own version of this baby. She says it looks chunky, but is really almost light as air. The pendant is actually dyed yak bone! I can't wait for it to come!

I <3 Laura + Ysolda

Ysolda designed the sweater.
Laura took the picture [and did a great job. I haven't liked a picture of myself in I don't know how long, and I like this one very much.]

i've got a Liesl!

One of the bonuses of having a world-famous knitwear designer stay in your house for a few days is that you can browbeat her for a pattern she's designing and knitting right in front of you.

This is the reason my Liesl is done, even though the pattern was just released today. My version is knit from Araucania Nature Cotton [7 skeins] and I just love it. It's not a BGK-styled big girl knit, but it's quirky and I like wearing it. I just try to channel Denny when I've got it on, Denny being the queen of asymmetry in clothing and layers of knitwear.

Laura and her new camera will be taking pictures of the sweater on me at Ysolda's request later today.

p.s. brother, do our floors need refinishing. sigh.

my shop is actually open [no, really this time]

So if you'd wanted to buy the Montego Bay pattern, now you can! Actually, I just made my first sale while writing this post! Thank you, Melissa!

[eee! this is fun!]

uh on.

i went to the store for these [I knew I'd run short]:

because they're having a 20% off sale that ends today -- tonight at midnight for web orders [I'm just saying].

One aside: I asked for a rough estimate of how many beads I'd need to complete a simple inch-wide peyote stitch bracelet. Several employees -- one might have been the boss -- said, "I dunno. I don't do peyote beading," seemed annoyed at the question, and didn't go any further to help. In a yarn shop, wouldn't you direct someone to a book or magazine that might help if you didn't know the answer yourself? Anyway, a few other employees did at least try to help, but really we ended up guessing.

Then I saw these:


Which led to these:


Want closeups?






Whut? Did I do something wrong?

[Notice that, after I finish the tiny peyote piece, I'm moving on to a more reasonable, less-headachy size of bead. It may not be as exquisitely slinky, but I bet it'll be nice just the same. And it won't make me cranky.]

For Theresa, and anyone else interested, some peyote stitch tutorials to help you!

This is the best video I could find on the subject. (wait for the closeup at around 4:30 -- it helps you understand where the needle goes)

This is a cool animation that's quite clear. It's just not something you can take away from the computer.

This is the one I printed that finally explained it for me [I didn't use the videos, because I like to make things hard for myself].

There you go. Let's see your peyote!

i am like this.

I go to a craft show in the Beach on the weekend. I see beautiful peyote stitch beaded bracelets. Little shimmery lengths of tiny Japanese Delica beads in beautiful colors. They are $25 each [and up]. I remember the tubes of Japanese Delica beads I have in my [small, but reasonably useful] bead stash, bought just because the colors were so pretty and I'd figure out what to do with them later.

So, of course, I couldn't buy the bracelets. I had to make one of my own.

I started with google and found several pages of instruction. Sat down to do it and failed. Next morning, tried again. Failed. Searched Etsy for a finished one, because the amount of time I was wasting had to be worth $25. Didn't find anything I wanted. Searched for better instructions. Tried again in better light.


This time, I got it.

Yes, it's that tiny. Hub watched me adding rows to this little piece last night and called me Insane. With a capital I.



So I am, then. Oh well. At least I'll be Insane with a really cool bracelet.

dood.

I have one of these. I hesitated to buy it at $80 when new, but the shop owner reminded me there were only 400 of them. The guy knows his stuff, so I listened.

Plus, it's Joe Ledbetter, who I love, and IT'S A BUNNY!

I have GOT to watch this auction. Except I don't want to sell him, and I'm pretty sure I tossed the box. But I am dying to see how much it sells for.

[yes, I'm especially bloggy today. what of it?]

My mama made an Etsy!

She's over there on the right sidebar --->
She makes gorgeous chunky necklaces. The elements come from different parts of the world and she has a real talent for putting them together in the most beautiful way.

Go mom!

a little more of TNNA

So you saw I got to spend a little time with Franklin. Then I read his blog and found the image at left...which was part of the best post on TNNA I've ever read. You must read it. It's here. The cartoons made me snort in my chair. Out loud, even. I believe I scared the rabbits.

As usual, lots of the stuff I got to peek at will become parts of future issues of Knitty, so I can't talk about them here. Here's what I can tell you.

I lost my voice suddenly, while talking to co-zone-of-funner Shannon Okey on Friday night. Yes, the night before the trade show. It just suddenly went pop, and was gone. Some time after this photo was taken. [BTW, I may look pensive in the shot, but really, I'm just thinking. :-)]

This photo shows that I didn't need to have a voice to have fun. This is the gang at the Tip Top again, posing for miss Mim.

Meanwhile, between the shmoozing and the business card swapping and much of what Franklin chronicles in that blog post above, there was also some surprise gifting.

Beth, who owns and operates the delightful Spinning Loft in Howell, MI brought little pouches, branded with her adorable shop logo [my favorite sheepies!] for a whole bunch of us. My pouch was filled with 2 oz of undyed Seacell. Yes, I buried my nose in it. I can't wait to spin it. On a spindle, even. I wrote more about my new love affair with my spindles in my most recent Knittyspin column, in case you missed it. So Beth, thank you for a kickass and super-timely present!

And then there's Abby, she of Abby's Yarns? I have no idea what I did to deserve this [probably nothing :-)], but she gifted me with her handspun. HER. HANDSPUN. There was nearly an embarrassing moment which involved plotzing and the aftermath there of, but I managed to hold it together.

Hang on. You can't really see the yarn [did I mention it is Abby's handspun?] in that shot. Look here:

Laceweight singles so delicious you could eat them with a tiny laceweight-enabled spoon. Public additional thanks [beyond my hugging and stuff] to Abby for this beauteous eye candy.

And now, I've got to run out to The Purple Purl [this is not a hardship, let's be clear on that]. It's time for the June Yarn Roundtable and just WAIT till the knitters see what I've got for them tonight!

[Tomorrow is all about the Harlot, Franklin and knitting in public. Let's hope the rain holds off, because wet knitters make a funny noise when you squeeze them.]

---

p.s.! did you know? The Purple Purl is having a KIP day event tomorrow, too! So after I go nuts at Lettuce Knit, I'll be heading back to the Purl to knit in the park with my girls. Join us!

my japanese sheepy likes the B-52s

Dangit, you guys left so many cool comments about the contest that I finally learned Blogger comments has a feature for multiple pages. To celebrate the celebrating about our celebration, I bring you a dancing sheepy!




I bought this little dancing sheepy from some place in Japan [online, of course]. I have no idea why anyone [but me] would want one of these, but it does make me giggle. The blue base? It's the same size as the top of a plastic soda bottle and it's threaded on the inside. Does that mean you're expected to take your dancing sheepy with you as you drink your Tab?

I love Japan. Maybe one day I'll get there.

um, wow.

This is Tracey. This picture pretty much sums up yesterday's launch party at Threadbear. People walked in as normal folks, tried on sweaters, and turned into coquettish vixens of Big Girl bounty and beauty. Click on Tracey's name above to read her account of the afternoon. She's not on our publisher's payroll, promise.

It really was a beautiful thing to see everyone stripping in the middle of a yarn store [down to t-shirts, people -- there was no nudity :-) ] and trying on all the sweaters from the book. Some were quiet. Some were squee-machines. All were smiling at one point during the day [for some, it was ALL DAY]. Here, look:



And here is Jillian, getting a huge, long hug from a knitter [I'm sorry I don't remember your name!] who tried on Cable Love, walked right over to J and thanked her for making her feel beautiful. We all welled up. It was a seriously beautiful moment, and she DID look super fabulous, too. So many smiles. So many women surprised at how they could look in a sweater that was designed to fit them and flatter their figure.

We laughed, we gave advice, we picked colors, and then picked new ones because the selection was so big it was hard to choose! We ate cupcakes without apology. We had an absolutely fabulous day.

Thank you to Rob and Matt, our beloved Threadbear boys. They give the best hugs, and the cupcakes were MORE than promised. We wanted to eat one of each flavor, but managed to top out at 2 or 3. We gave out new Big Girl and Knitty buttons and we mostly laughed until our sides were sore. More pictures can be found on my Flickr, but I leave you with this:



We're going to try to do it all again in two weeks at Lettuce Knit. Will you be there?

a rare and beautiful destash

I hardly ever do this, but I went through my stash this weekend with a tough-love eye and pulled out what I thought I wouldn't use.

I only came up with this: a sweater's worth -- 15 balls -- of Rowan Cotton Tape I bought when Elann had it on closeout.

Price: $80 for 15 balls of sullen (dark brown) + 1 bonus ball of swish (aqua) to use for tipping at the edges, if you so desire. Shipping extra. sold!

---

Also, this spindle still needs a home:



Cascade Mount Ranier spindle, 26g/.91oz
The signature spindle from Cascade...brand new, used briefly by me, excellent/like new condition.
Price: $40usd sold!

Shipping extra. Paypal, please.

a winner!

it's damned good i didn't have to choose a winner based on why you wanted the discount, because so many of you told stories that made me all warm inside. you guys are good people.

instead, i did as i said, and went to the random number generator. plugged in 57 as the total (inclusive, of course) and the number it chose?



so the 12th comment gets it...and that's Sarah! [what's your e-mail address?]**

thanks to everyone who commented. i knew there were more lurkers hanging about. hi to you all!

**p.s. Sarah is currently unreachable. If I don't hear from her by Friday morning, I'll pick a new winner! Because dangit, this code needs to get in the hands of another bag ho. :-)

a contest!

Okay, so I recently entered the Moo cards Egg Hunt contest [multiple times] and got one of the prizes, but I just can't use it. So I'm throwing it up here for you guys!

It's a 20% discount on anything at the Timbuk2 shop, and the code is good till May 30 this year.

How can you win? Simple. Leave a comment with the name of the thing you'd buy if you got the discount code. I'll use a random number generator and pick a winner! Make sure you're contactable in your blogger link or with an e-mail address so I can get the code to you if you win!

Comments entered before midnight Pacific time today are eligible. Go to it!

Shazam! with extra pinkness at the end

When I visited Scout on her home turf last year, we had a massive dye party and the result was a new colorway we called ZuluKnitty -- a collaboration between the two of us. She offers it in her shop, and I've seen many skeins pass through her Flickr stream, so I know people are ordering it, and that makes me happy and proud. :-)

Well, someone special was having a birthday and I wanted her to have some Scoutness, so we put our heads together again and here's what Scout came up with: ZuluKnitty Shazam [it's the skein on the left]! The same basic color palette as the original ZuluKnitty, but with extra shazam, oomph and general joie de vivre.

You'll also notice that the yarns look different. That's because, when Scout painted the first skein of ZuluKnitty [on the right], she didn't yet offer silk in her shop, so we bought retail stuff. You can now get this gorgeous 2-ply cascade silk directly in her store, in whatever colorway you choose. And she has a lot of them. Power couple is my new favorite.

Thank you, Ms Scout! This skein will be the one I use to teach my special SeaSocks class with.

---

I didn't mean to fall in love, but I did. Apple released a new pink [peeeeeeeeeeenk!] version of the new Nano just in time for Valentine's Day. And I might have walked around, squeeing "peeeeeeeeeeenk!" for an entire day. Okay, I actually did.

So when a small box came from Apple today, addressed to hub, I should have known, but I didn't. This little pink jewel was inside. He spoils me, my boy, and I am very grateful.

The first thing I listened to was Cast On. It's fabulous, and now holds my favorite playlist, a few choice movies I've yet to watch and lots of Neil Gaiman.

Life, she good.

why we're not leaving the house today

out our front window
Originally uploaded by amysinger

damn, i love days like this, especially when we can just plunk ourselves in place and not leave the house.

it's really dangerous driving, but it's safer than safe to just sit at home in pajamas and do stuff.

here are some of the things I want to do:

- finally play with my new Inkle Loom. the unbelievably sweet Denny gave this to me after we returned from SOAR earlier this fall

along with beautiful handmade shuttles

gifted to me by my sweet friends.

[i got really into the inkle weaving class at SOAR, so much so that i took it two days in a row. here is what i made on the last day:

a little woven band. nothing extraordinary, but damn, it was fun to do.]

i was stunned by the gift of this loom from Denny [it came from out of the blue, and i can't thank her enough!], and have been thinking about what i'll do with it since the moment it arrived. i've got a book on inkle weaving and stocked up on perle cotton at JoAnn's, so i think a little warping is in the cards for today. maybe something a little wider? woooooot!

- now that emergency chanukah knitting is complete, i am leisurely finishing up a few little things that need doing. one took a day and is for someone who reads this blog, so shhh. the other will take a bit longer, but it's so enjoyable [a 2nd djevellue cap, this time for hub's friend's new grandbaby] and looks so deeply cool when finished. [this is the first one i did that's been gifted to my new 2nd cousin Noah]


- i might have mentioned the new wheel that now lives with me. i want to get to know it much, much better. :-)

- i want to start doing things with my handspun, but that may take more percolation time. i don't feel quite ready yet.

oh, there are other things, and most of them involve garbage bags and big recycling bins and trips to the goodwill drop-off depot, and despite how i feel before i start actually doing what needs doing, i know that after it's all done, i'll feel so much lighter.

i'm also making lists [i can hear Jillian cheering in the distance] and working to actually cross things off them, too. it's all good.

right now, i'm going to get warped. see you later.

catchup

So we're back. Hub and I returned last night from a week at my folks' place. We celebrated dad's 70th [THAT was a party, let me tell you...no one can organize a shindig better than my mama], ate a lot of really good food and I rediscovered Mr Pibb.

Did you know? They're making it again, except it's now Pibb, and the diet version is Pibb Zero. Whatever.

My sister and I loved this stuff when it was just Mr back when we were kids. This new Pibb incarnation seems to be only available in a portion of the US. It's like Dr Pepper, but more subtle. I love it.

---

So for this trip to Chicago, we drove. We've got a little Subaru [it's a 4wd car], so travel on possibly slippery roads is less scary to us than it might have been. However, we managed to drive on the two driest December days ever, and that was nice.

Because we drove [we usually fly because you just can't count on December weather to behave], we were also able to stay an extra day and avoid the ice storms threatening our travel route home. And hang with the fam and sample my sister's delicious cooking -- a mexican feast this time.

Oh, and we ordered this with our Amazon gift certificates from my sister and her hub. I do not like reading maps and am, therefore, bad at it. Hub hates getting lost. I hate backtracking. This device is a marriage saver. We call it the lady in the box, and the lady in the box got us home stress free. [sidenote: I'd used this exact model when I visited Scout in an Avis rental car in ABQ last June and marvelled at how easy it was to use, had super-quick recalculation when I decided to take an alternate route and never steered me wrong. The Amazon price was significantly lower now than when I last checked in June. Love this thing.]

---

The buns [both of them] are in great shape. They were fawned over at the bunny spa and came home totally relaxed and happy. We're lucky to have such a great vet's office so close to our home.

We'll be keeping an eye on Boeing, of course. But if she doesn't show further symptoms of the bladder stone, there's no reason to remove it. [If she were a boy bunny, that wouldn't be the case.] We also brought home timothy-based pellets, but confusingly, they have the same calcium content [0.8%] as the alfalfa-based ones we'd been using. I'm going to have to look into this.

---

So that's all for now. I've got new tea to sample, lots of catchup work to do on Knitty, and a serious machete needs to be taken to the clutter in our house. But before I go, this:

via Neil Gaiman's Journal, this delicious set of reviews at Amazon.co.uk. Savor them.

this stuff amuses the crap out of me

Seriously. I got this in my e-mail box this morning out of the blue. I didn't ask for it. I didn't arrange it. Cafepress just sent it out. Oh! Okay, then. Thanks for the discount!

[marketing stuff like this amuses me, especially now that I'm no longer a proofreader in an ad agency! w00t!]

Seriously, if you wanted the 2008 Knitty calendar or anything else we sell in the Knittyshop, I guess now's the time to go grab it and save some bucks.

---

Meanwhile, I started my day by frying up onions and garlic to make a huge batch of sauce. Ragu-ish [a little more moist than a traditional Bolognese ragu, I guess]. I'm no purist. I totally avoided the true soffrito -- that would mean adding carrots and celery to the onions as I fried them. All I could think of was big chunks of limp celery in my tomato sauce in Oslo, and I just couldn't do it.

My recipe:
-2 lbs of lean ground beef
-1 lb of lean ground pork

salt the meat, fry, drain well.

-portobello mushrooms, one huge onion, two cloves garlic -- all minced and fried in good Tuscan olive oil
-three large cans of crushed tomatoes
-little bit of oregano
-nice bit of basil
-good bit of marjoram [that's my secret, if you ask me]

simmer, covered, on lowest heat ALL FREAKING DAY. eat some for dinner, save some for tomorrow's lunch and freeze the rest in one or two-person servings.

---

You don't really care, do you? Okay, I'll get back to work. But man, it sure smells good in here right now.

i fell down at SOAR

Full SOAR report later, but for now, I thought you'd want to see my biggest falling-down.

This, my spinning friends, is the new Ladybug wheel from Schacht. She's all mine.

I didn't mean to buy a wheel at SOAR, though the thought of it as a possibility was in the back of my mind. I roomed with Carla [who had her Journey wheel with her] and Jillian [who has a Schacht Matchless] and watched them spin so happily the whole time. So with an entire room of wheel vendors at my disposal, how did I manage to avoid testing any wheels until the last day? Willpower. Fear. Mostly fear.

The morning of the last day, Jillian casually said, "You should spin on the Ladybug." Because she knows me, what I spin, and what I like. And all day, that's all I could think about. Because, of course, my enabler had given me permission to try it out. So at the end of Saturday, I *did* spin on it. And within seconds, was making yarn more effortlessly than ever before. Deep, instant love.

So meet the new Knittyspin wheel, my Ladybug. My birthday present to myself.


The most recognizable feature of this wheel is...the wheel. It's a red bicycle mag wheel [plastic? not sure. will find out]. Did you know that Schacht's other business is building bicycles? Clever people. The treadles look like ladybug wings, and just to make it unbearably cuter, they include a wee ladybug on each wheel [in a unique position] to keep you company while you spin. Here's mine.



I can't stand it.



They ain't kidding.

So, you might ask, what will happen to my Ashford Joy double treadle? Well, it's a really fabulous travel wheel, which is what it was designed for. It went with me as carryon baggage on even the smallest planes [Embraer 4 jets] in the overhead compartment with no trouble. So it's got a very important job to fulfill. I also was able to have Richard Ashford [himself!] tune it up at SOAR, and he signed it, which he was doing for many of the Joy users. Very coolness.

The Ladybug is, their website says, a great beginner wheel. It's also significantly more affordable than the Matchless [which I've heard called the Jaguar of spinning wheels], and therefore more suitable for me, a spinner on a budget. It doesn't fold up, but it is only 12 lbs and very light to carry. I may hang it on the wall in my office to keep it out of bunny-nibble range!

I'll have much more about learning to spin [finally!] on the Joy and will explore the Ladybug more in future editions of my soon-to-be resurrected column, Knittyspin.

the bag...it's finally here!

Do you remember this?

We sure do. We've been talking to Tom Bihn for several years now, giving them our ideas and feedback on their ideas for a new knitting bag design. Well, it's ready and you can finally get one for yourself!



It's called The Swift, and it was named by a clever group of Knitty readers around a big table at a coffeeshop in Toronto. One of them wrote about it on her blog, and she's clearly smitten. Me? I got to test a prototype or two and I'm really impressed with the final bag. Tom Bihn's famous for producing well-made, well-thought-out bags, and now we finally get to benefit from the best of his design expertise blended with what Knitty readers said they really wanted in a bag.

Because you might wonder, we're not involved with Tom Bihn except as cheerleaders and fans of the stuff they make. We don't get a cut of the bags or anything else beyond our prototype samples. We feel lucky to have been asked for our opinions and ideas on the topic, and we're glad to see the final result of our collaboration.

i blame Emily Rachel H

I can't buy these* [Chuck Taylor All Star limited edition, for those not under similar financial restraints], but my covet bone is aching mighty bad. Emily Rachel H, whyfor you tell me about such adorableness? You are cruel! But you were right -- they're amazing. She says they have sheepy ones, too. Oy.

*I'm going to SOAR next month, and it's a damned expensive proposition. Unnecessary spending must be curbed as a result. But oh! Think of how beautifully I will spin when I get home!

stupid eBay tricks

I slipped.

I'd been eyeing cheap white docs, but the shipping made them less cheap. Then I thought about white...who wants white boots, even if they're graffiti'd all over? And while I was thinking that, I stumbled on these. Which I won, thanks to a sniping service [bidnapper.com] while I was at LK this evening. $44. Oh my god.

Mint green patent leather. Old enough to still have been made in England [which, from reading the reviews of current Docs on amazon.com, is a serious consideration -- the new asian-made ones supposedly are not even close to the quality of the old Brits] and barely worn. Lots of pictures in the auction, and I didn't see any wear except that little scuff on the side of the heel.

Will they fit? I think so, but won't be sure till they're here. But with mint green patent leather Docs to wear on my pale green scooter, something tells me I'll MAKE them fit, if it comes to that.

We are the mods.
We are the mods.
We are
we are
we are the mods.

I am so lame.