I'm a waffle [pour some syrup on me]

First off, thanks to everyone for the generous helping of birthday wishes! The day itself was quiet [work deadlines for hub] as expected, but spa Sunday was lovely. My skin feels SO smooth. I think I'm going to have to do regular facials from now on.

Meanwhile, when it comes to knitting, I'm waffling. I started my summer tweed cardigan and lost faith. Will it fit? Or flatter? It's not like I've just finished a book on the subject with my best girl Jillian. I can't escape the reality of my body shape and size when it comes to knitting enough fabric to cover it, and make sure it looks good on me when I'm done. And you wonder why I've only knit shawls and lace for the last while?

While on vacation, the day of the accident [actually], we'd stopped at Adventures in Knitting in Harwichport and I'd bought every ball of Frog Tree pima cotton, color 652, that they had. I chose it over the cotton/silk blend because of the color AND because I love the twist of this yarn. I've never seen it anywhere else, and it's not very common on the web, either. Not sure why. This stuff is so purty, and quite affordable!

In my wafflement, I started doing the Jillian: I swatched. And I adored the swatch. I wanted to marry the swatch and carry its children. So I figured maybe I could commit to this sweater. Looks like I have enough for a v-necked raglan with waist shaping. Casting on has commenced. Pleasant, mindless stockinette is underway. I hope to actually wear this sweater before the year is out. We'll see.

p.s. amusing spa anecdote: when you have your whole body scrubbed with salt and aromatic oils and then get into bed at night, your sheets feel nicer against your skin. seriously.

happy birthday to me!

:-)

The honorable mention gallery is up

That didn't take so long! I love Flickr.

In every case, the name with the photo belongs to the person who sent in the entry. Cool, eh? [You'll also notice some great photos from the winners that made their entries even harder to choose from!]

Knitty's 2006 calendar!

We had hundreds of beautiful photographs submitted to our first-annual calendar contest. Some were adorable, some were charming, some were silly and some were breathtaking. After much agonizing, consideration and deliberation, we chose our 12 favorites and they're now available to grace your walls in the Knitty 2006 calendar. Grab your copy now!

It will take a few more days to get the honorable mention gallery up, but this week, I promise. You'll really enjoy those images as well, I think. And you'll see how hard it was to pick the winners! Check back here and I'll post the link when it's ready.

WHY Rhinebeck is so cool.

Cause this is what I wondered before I went.

Here's what usually happens to me:
- neat festival of some sort is announced [and i have interest in the stuff, so i start to look forward to it]
- i imagine all the things that might be there. stuff i can't find anywhere else. affordable, of course. lots of choice. stuff i couldn't have imagined existing. stuff i've wanted to see in person but never got the chance.
- i get to said festival. everything's overpriced and beautiful or affordable and boring. same stuff i can get anywhere.

That is not the case with Rhinebeck. Most everything was affordable, beautiful and plentiful. If you are a wool lover you would have found more fiber than you could have spun in a lifetime, in every possible blend and colorway. Yarn too. And for me, the original Silk Ho™, there was more than I could have dreamed of. Every booth had something beautiful to look at and many, many booths had things I hadn't imagined existing or had only seen on web pages before...and I got to touch and feel before I bought.

And the wood. Oh, heavens. Norm Hall, what an amazing craftsman and artist. If I'm lucky enough to get the 1-yard tiger maple niddy noddy he agreed to make for me, I will never put it down. [The man has a 7-year waiting list for his wheels, so I'm not sure where custom niddy noddies fit in to his schedule... but I am hoping!]



But right now, I want to send BIG KNITTY KUDOS to Brooks Farm. Why? They had a finished Clapotis knitted up, hanging behind their cash table [see it up there on the right?] with one copy of the Knitty pattern in a plastic sleeve. And in their cash box, little yellow cards to hand out with the name of the pattern, Knitty's URL, the designer of the pattern AND the knitter of this particular scarf. That's the way to do it, people! I almost hugged them, I was so happy.



Okay, so back to our story. I actually woke up Saturday night at 3:15 a.m., dreaming of my return visit to Shadeyside Farm -- land of Mawata silk hankies. Oh yeah, baby -- she had to restock the shelf after I was done with her. It's also the home of the ultimate crack fiber, but until I give Jillian hers, I can't tell you what it is.

What started all this hanky fetishing was meeting the wonderful woman who runs Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks, and getting a little hanky tutorial. Steph "I have no interest in spinning" Roy and I bought hankies there and Ms Steph spent the whole car ride home turning them into roving. Nancy Finn...like everyone says, YOU KNOW COLOR. More on hankies in Knittyspin. [man, this is killing my blogging! :-)]

Grafton Fibers caused me physical pain since they're strictly sheepy. Their shelves were like shelves in a bakery. Swirly round cakes of spinning fiber in luminous colors. Weep!

more of the haul:

the pink says "bamboo silk" which may mean it's bamboo+silk, or just that it's silky bamboo. probably the latter. i don't care. it's soft and PEEEEENK. from My Pollywogs. and the blue is a bag of soysilk I picked up at the Lendrum booth [or at least Mr G. Lendrum was there...not sure what booth that was].


you think I'd stop there? from shadeyside farm, silk roving in "latte" -- browns and greys, and a big bag of silk cocoons. for display, at the worst, but i might try to get brave and degum them. we shall see.


that's a hank of beautiful bombyx silk roving in "halle's berries" [not kidding] from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks. Sigh. the niddy noddy is a little one (1/2 yard), perfect for my small skeins of silk. Timbertops, made of yew.


a bag of silk hankies, also from Chasing Rainbows, in "pansies". i want to EAT it.


but what's this? looks like Socks that Rock from The Fold, but it can't be. Socks that Rock aren't Amy-friendly, but Sock Candy is! Cotton with a little lycra. just TRY to picture how happy i was when i spotted these on the wall. socks for me! woo hoo! [why isn't this stuff on their website?]

there is a big bag for miss jillian, so that will not be blogged. i also succumbed to the call of Morehouse Merino and bought a kit for my mom, but she may see this so that'll have to stay hidden too.

After this, every festival I attend will be a letdown.

As so many have already said, I met bloggers from all over this great land and I loved it. We stood around and chatted, showed each other where the best stuff was to be found, enabled like mad and broke fried cheese sticks [with marinara!] together. To my old friends and my new ones, thanks for making a great festival exponentially great.

p.s. by the way, for the record, I'll state that mud was NOT an issue. even the parking area -- all grass -- wasn't that bad, and the entire grounds have paved path with the majority [all but maybe 10] vendors being inside buildings. so don't be afraid of the mud!

We're in with the in crowd

We interrupt the ongoing Rhinebeck blogranting for a brief word about other excitements happening in the knitting community. Do not fear -- continued fiber obsession will return this evening, with pictures even.

One of my favorite designers [and probably yours too, if you like modern cabled designs] is Fiona Ellis. And yes, she's from my town. I just learned today that she has launched her own website -- Fiona Ellis Online, maybe to coincide with the release of her new book? Which looks delicious, by the way.


Jillian and I saw the cover when we were at our publisher's office last June. Yup, we share a publisher. You know who else shares our publisher? Ann and Kay, with possibly the cutest not-what-you-expected knitting book cover ever.

I'd love to show you our cover but it's still doing the back-and-forth publisher dance. Soon, though!

Rhapsodizing over Rhinebeck

Until last weekend, I was one of the curious masses. What could Rhinebeck be like? It's all fuzzy animals whose fleeces burn my hands and give me colds. Is it worth driving all that way? What could you possibly do for 2 whole days?

Let me tell you.
1. it IS worth the drive
2. two days would JUST be enough. actually, i'd like to live there
3. there is a lot of stuff to enjoy, even without wool, alpaca, mohair, llama, angora and the like [which you can find in such abundance that a wool-loving person could lose their mind over it all]
4. because there is MORE SILK than you could ever even dream of
4a. i was in heaven
5. mud was NOT an issue

Okay, enough lists.

There is so much to tell, so for this post, just enjoy the photos. [Click on the sheepy above to get to Flickr.]

Knitty's 2006 Calendar Contest

We have winners! I'll link to the calendar as soon as it's ready...in the next week...but in the meantime, here are your winners:

1st prize: Amy Barker -- Australia

Amy gets a big, honkin box full of knitting books and yarn, and I hope she enjoys it!

Our other fabulous winners, each to be featured on a page of the calendar:
- Kelly Griffith, Vermont
- Flo Harrison, United Kingdom
- Kristina Medford, Ohio
- Julia Pollard, Washington
- Sunyoung Park, New Jersey
- Sadie Lewis, Ontario
- Efrat Mendelssohn, New York
- Sarah Banani, Ontario
- Jane Newman, California
- Stephanie Martin, Arizona
- Marianna Brough, Indiana

These wonderful people each get a copy of the calendar. And every one of them will get full credit on their calendar page, so you know who shot/knitted what.

I will tell you that judging this contest was H.A.R.D. There will be a big gallery of honorable mentions, because so many pics were too good not to share with everyone. But we could pick only 12.

We will definitely make this an annual event. So as you photograph your finished Knitty projects, remember to save the best photos for next year!

A quick word from our sponsor [that'd be me]

[If you're on the Knitty Designer list, you just received this message. If you're not, please read on!]

My third book -- this time for Interweave Press -- is in the beginning stages and I'll be sending out a formal call for submissions in the next week. The book will feature a variety of modern classic designs, and none of them will use wool or animal fibers of any kind. [In this book, silk is not considered an animal fiber.]

Because working with non-animal fibers often requires a special approach, I'm going to ask anyone who's interested in submitting, has experience with these fibers and loves working with them, to sign up for the new mailing list, which you'll find here.

The big question: the final knitted pieces must be in my hands May 1, 2006. So you don't have to worry about knitting over your holiday vacation. :-)

Spread the word to your designing friends... and we'll see you at the new list!

i need a cigarette

[i don't smoke.] but the last two days at Rhinebeck felt like really, REALLY good sex. that's all I'm saying.

our internet connection has been down at Knitty central all weekend [and the hub is not thrilled, since he was home working the whole time, and his work is web-based], so the surprise will come either this evening or first thing tomorrow. no lynching. i'm still basking in the afterglow, but have to focus on my day job right now.

[pictures and a full post after the surprise goes up, because i have my priorities straight.]

A little for now, a little for later

Your pre-Rhinebeck tidbit is up...Theresa's fall column on dee-luxe cast ons.

Wait till I get back. Just you wait. Fall surprise Monday morning. Woo hoo!

Off to Rhinebeck in mere moments. I canna stand it! See some of you at 1 outside bldg E tomorrow...and the rest wherever I run into you. I'll be the one not touching the wool.

Rubber-boot alert [eep]

Are you going to Rhinebeck?

Rhinebeck is almost here [or we are almost ready to go, to be more precise] and I wanna know...who's all going? [I love that phrase.]

People have also left a few suggestions about how best to handle the experience, but I could use more. What do you wear on your feet? Is it muddy out there? Does it get hot, even in October? Is there a place to put your stuff while you shop, or do you REALLY need to bring a big wheely grocery cart with you? What's the food like [fried, fried and fried? :-)]

Tell me! Steph and Emma and I are getting ready and we need all the prep we can get!

because Elizabeth asked

This is where we were married. Their own website is under construction now, so that's not much help. But it's an amazing, charming, beautiful place, perfect for our small hybrid wedding. You could just trust me on this one.

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In a fit of delayed domestication, I ran out yesterday at 3:45 pm, bought two chicken breasts, a bag of fresh cranberries, a pack of Swiss Chalet gravy mix, some chestnuts and came home and made dinner. We were missing any sort of green vegetable, but in our house, that's often the case [laziness, not preference]. So yes, we had a thanksgiving dinner of sorts. Hub was amused. I haven't cooked much of anything in a while.

I also spent the weekend trying to get the monkey which is the 2nd book off my back. When this baby is done and off to the printer, I will be the happiest girl east of Ann Arbor. Jillian gets everything west.

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Knitting? Yes. Brilliant Summer Tweed continues to slip through my fingers, over my addis. I have never been so grateful for metal needles in my life. NO, it won't be done in time for Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck? Yes! THIS FRIDAY!

I am busting with excitement, people. I canna wait.

15, and the bunnies

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the day hub and I stood in a really cool building in Chicago, surrounded by the people we loved most, and bawled like babies.

[I could rhapsodize about him and our marriage, but that's private stuff. Let's just say that the last month or so has put us through stuff that could test any marriage and we're doing really well. Is all I'm saying.]

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So, I bring you a bunny update. No pics. Later, maybe.

Boeing is queen of the mushpile. She will stop almost anything, including eating, to be rubbed. This is why we chose her. She tooth purrs, which I've never heard another bunny do. But she doesn't give kisses. Maybe one day. Her feet are huge, at least for a mini rex. So are her ears.

Then there's Squeeze. Dear lord, that bunny. She is non-stop energy, in charge of the universe and a total pushy maniac. She gives kisses, but also gives little nips and is queen of the head butts. You in my way? Butt! Charming, especially in one so small. However, it's been just over a week and a half since her escape act, and she can no longer fit through the bars.

They're both still quite skittish, which is to be expected. Noises freak them out mightily. But they know us a little already and are very attentive to the sound of the pellets being loaded into their bowl. I hope to provide you with pics of them grooming each other, which is more frantic and goofy than beautiful and poetic.

Tomorrow, they both get to meet the head of the bunny spa (sssshhh: v.e.t.) for a meet-and-greet. There will be weighing. There will be Awwwwing. And we're looking for firm verification that Squeeze IS a she. It's easy to mix that up with tiny bunnies, and she was mighty tiny two weeks ago.

So that's all. Happy Thanksgiving weekend to my fellow Canadians.

[p.s. as much as I embrace all things Canadian, I still cannot get used to Thanksgiving in October, and I've lived up here since I was 6. Maybe I should just suck it up, eh?]

I'm feeling quite proud. And really lucky.

This book just arrived today. I'm in there, on page 134. And as I saw my name and my words on the matte cream paper, I felt more like a published writer than I ever have. An essay in an anthology. I'm tingly!

I read it again and it felt good. I'm really pleased with the piece. It's called "Really, it's not so bad orDermatitis of the lambs." You can guess what it's about.

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Other good things that happened today:

1. Hub and I picked up our new car. A Subaru Outback Sport in deep shimmery grey, just like our Noot. I know that's silly, and we didn't actually get to choose the color [this was the only one they had in stock], but we like it and it doesn't hurt that it gives us the warm fuzzies that way. It's a beautiful thing, as were all these beautiful things that made today possible:
a) Pottruff & Smith, our insurance brokers, who made sure we had good coverage in the first place, including an inexpensive bit of coverage that means our insurance rates won't go up as a result of this accident
b) Aviva Insurance, who settled with the leasing company over the Forester in a very fair and quick manner
c) Andy at Hing Lee Subaru in Toronto, who not only took care of us, but made sure our new license plate only contained lucky Chinese numbers [at my request]. The digits are 738, which adds up to 18. Chai (life) in Hebrew and wealth in Chinese. And there are no unlucky 4s or 5s. We love Andy.

2. My spinning wheel arrived today! I can't tell you about it...gotta save that for Knittyspin. But I can tell you that it's VERY cool, sleek and sexy. Maybe if I'm very good this weekend, I'll try spinning on it.

Going to rub the bunnies now.

The bunnies have names.

Meet the buns. The little one, catching up on her sister sizewise, is Squeeze. Because that's all she does -- squeeze into tiny spaces. Named by hub.

The bigger one is named Boeing. Two syllables. Named by me. Cause she flies high, and cause she's going to be as big as a 727 one day. Look at the size of those ears!

The names aren't firm and final yet. We're trying them on. But nothing else seems to work with these two.

Going to cuddle them now. Or at least Boeing. Squeeze is too full of hormones and energy to sit still for more than a second.

Team Knitty rides again!

Who do those well-dressed backs belong to?


Meet Team Knitty 2005. L to R:
Lorena, you know who, Shannon,Dr. Steph, Jenna and Katherine. All told, Team Knitty raised $5,712 to help fight breast cancer. Thanks to all of you, and thanks to Zib, who came through at the end with an evil plot to help push us over the $5000 mark. It worked! If only all evil plots were this productive!

Until next year, folks. If only we didn't NEED it next year, you know?