Saturday, May 31, 2008

Knitty Yarn Roundtable nights -- June, July & August dates announced!

Do you know about Knitty's Yarn Roundtable evenings? If you're in the Toronto area, or will be in the next three months, you could join in!

We've added virtual yarn sampling to Knitty. In the spirit of Knitty, these events are a social, collaborative project where a group of us will gather around an assortment of yarns from just about every yarn company on the planet, and get to touch, swatch, fondle and tell the world what you think of the yarn. We want to share our favorites with our readers and let them know about surprises that knit up much differently than the average knitter would expect from just looking or squeezing a ball. As is the custom with Knitty, stuff we don't like won't appear in our pages.

Jacquie B. [goddess of all things organized and fun] and I will be there as secretaries and social butterflies for the evenings, gathering your comments and evaluating which yarns will end up in the Yarn Roundtable feature each issue.

We'll be holding the Yarn Roundtable nights at the fabulous, friendly The Purple Purl [1162 Queen St. E. Toronto]. 30 knitters are welcome at each evening, and in order to let as many people as possible have a chance to participate, you can RSVP for only 1 event in every cycle [that's 3 months]. We hold these events monthly (or almost) so there will be lots of chances for everyone to swatch the good stuff!

There's a lot of organization involved in keeping this event tidy and making sure it can run smoothly. Your assistance in following all instructions is very much appreciated!

We've set up a blog just for RSVPs. Each event has its own blog post. To RSVP, simply read the instructions for that evening and if you're eligible, leave a comment to that post. The blog is here. Go forth and be orderly, but with amusement!

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Sunday, May 25, 2008

who says you need a car?


who says you need a car?
Originally uploaded by amysinger
click on the picture to follow my trip to ikea story!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

whoever invented tissue with lotion, thank you.


When looking for inspiration, do not look deeply into the big bag of used kleenex next to your bed. Because ewww.




So yup, cold. I just had one in February, and loved it so much, I had to do it again! I've heard that quite a few of us SeaSoxers caught this thing, and my sympathies to my fellow snotheads. Since when does NyQuil not put you to sleep? Is nothing sacred?

Okay, /end whining.

Meanwhile, I know I owe you more of a recap, but it ain't coming today. I've got Knitty work to do and my precious vertical time has to be spent wisely.

Achoo.

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

We're home!

*
How does one know one was just in Alaska? One finds a polar bear in her shorts.




Um, wow.

If you prefer recaps in pictures, click here. Otherwise, stick, around for the brief narrated version. If you can call this post brief. It's a whole week's recap, so maybe get a little snack first.

First highlight of the trip: we got to visit Tom Bihn & Darcy [!] at his factory.



Many more pictures on Flickr. We had a fantastic time seeing into the inner workings of one of our favorite companies, and spending time with Tom and Darcy was fabulous. Of course, once we got to the shop, we were unable to prevent ourselves from buying a few choice souvenirs. Hub got a Smart Alec backpack to hold his laptop, already protected by the Archetype bag we got him when the computer first arrived. They're a perfect pair. The Archetype has clips that snap into the Smart Alec to hold it in place. So cool.

Me? I finally got to see a Cafe Bag in person, and couldn't leave without the Plum/Wasabi one for my trip. It is a brilliant bag and I adore it. So did everyone who saw it on me during the cruise. :-)

In Swift news [the Swift is the knitting bag that Tom designed with the help of Knitty readers], they now offer it in pink [!] and a cool blue. Yup, I got a pink one. You're surprised?

After that visit, we met up with the first installment of Sea Socks cruisers and took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island. I got to re-hug Kit and John and Deb of Churchmouse Yarns and Teas and watch as my fellow knitters decimated the basket of Shoalwater silk lace [the same stuff I'm knitting my tube out of]. I managed to score the last skein of purple for Keri.

For those not there, yes, Churchmouse is glad to take telephone orders. [I asked.]

My souvenir of the day?

We made it to Mora just before they closed. Strawberry and Swiss Chocolate [which is actually chocolate with dulce de leche and chocolate flakes]. Oh, sigh. Heaven, once again.

The next day, a yarn crawl all over Seattle. You want to see my haul? Sorry, but there's not much to show. My travel rule is that I only buy yarn I can't get at home [unless there's a specific urgent reason to break that rule]. So I bought two skeins of Berroco Comfort DK to play with, two skeins of Muench Big Baby [which I made into a fabulous pair of faux-felted slippers on the cruise] and that was all. The yarn shops were all fabulous and I'm glad I got to see them, though!

Finally, we got on board the ship. Our cabin was fabulous [I never remember to take pictures of the cabin] with a balcony and a larger bathroom than we remember on the Princess cruise we took in 2006.

The next week is really a blur. The weather all week was mostly rainy [until the day we visited Victoria, where it rarely rains], and the seas were stormy on many of the days, too. My patch kicked in after dinner on the first day and I was never queasy again for the whole week. I <3 the patch.

First stop: Ketchikan



A little town but very charming.



See? Rain. But we had fun anyway! It was mostly misty stuff.

What's in that bag I'm carrying? Why, yarn! My one purchase on the trip: Raven Frog Fiber Arts Silk Chenille [!] hand dyed in a crazy pink/raspberry/brown/cream combo that begged to be crocheted into tiny granny squares for a scarf. [Dawn gave me a refresher lesson.] No pics just yet.


That is my boy in his new Utilikilt. We drove past the shop in Seattle and I squealed, "go get one!" [He had the day to himself when I was on the yarn crawl]. And he did! I couldn't stop grinning when I saw him in it and I'm rather proud to be married to a man who suits a kilt so well. He wore it all over the cruise. No, I'm not going to knit him kilt hose. There's no non-wool yarn suitable.


That night was Knitty Knits night on the ship. Look at all the fabulous Clapotiseseses! And there's way more in my Flickr album, too. Way fun.


This is pretty much our view for a good bit of the cruise. Grey and stormy. But then...



little iceberglets! We must be getting close to...


the Hubbard glacier!

This was, without question, the highlight of the cruise. We gathered on my balcony and Brenda Dayne's [a few doors down]...


watched the berglets float by and took a billion pictures of the ancient ice.



When the iceberg calved [a chunk broke off] everyone scrambled to take pictures. We couldn't quite work out if we should be glad to see it or mourn it, but we were all fully present, witnessing it. We were told that icebergs are growing and shrinking all the time [not just shrinking, which is what I'd feared was happening due to the warming-up of this planet of ours].

The next day, we arrived in Juneau, where hub and I had signed up for a glacier-view sea kayak excursion.



It was beautiful, as you can see. The glacier is the white bit dead ahead of the kayak. We paddled for more than an hour and got quite a bit closer to the glacier.



It was beautiful and quiet. Hub and I shared a kayak, which we had feared might not be such a wise idea [we don't share moving vehicles very well], but it worked out just fine. We behaved ourselves and I took pictures of him, me and everything around us, including the seals [which you can't see in the pictures] and the bald eagle that came to visit:



Then back to Juneau for lunch at the very touristy, but also very friendly [and tasty!], Red Dog Saloon.



Okay, I've run out of steam. I managed [despite constant hand-washing] to catch a cold which showed itself on the plane home. So I'll finish this up tomorrow. Oh, the suspense! :-)




*On the cruise, the very interesting naturalist told us all sorts of stuff about the glacier we were seeing. And at the end of each little blurb, he'd say, "As I wrote in my kayak journal..." and then spout some kind of weird Jack Handey-type naturalist wisdom about being in the wild, in all seriousness. We were practically peeing our pants with the laughing by the third or fourth time he did this. So I've brought him home with me. I've also intentionally not mentioned his name here because I don't want to hurt his feelings, should he happen to google himself. He was a most cool dude, but the kayak journal stuff was just too too much.

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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

it's big big boat time again!

Hub and I are furiously packing, buying anti-seasick patches for behind our ears and preparing for a week up the inside passage...we're going to Alaska!

I can't believe it's really here. We've been talking (Patricia, the cruise organizer and I) about this for almost a year. And now we get to go!

I'll take lots of pictures and have many stories for you when I get back. Be good and keep knitting!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Dancing Squids!



Guess who went to her college reunion last night? [Ryerson, Radio & Television Arts] This is my favorite part of classmate Tim Burns' epic production, Fuzzy Dice. My favorite moment is at 1:15.

Spread the word. Everyone needs more squids in their life.

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Friday, May 02, 2008

more on the winner

Without busting into her private life, I can tell you [especially those of you that don't have access to Flickr or can't download video files] that our winner's name is Heather Kennedy and she lives somewhere near Manhattan.

She's ecstatic to have won, and scared her husband with the screaming when she got my message. Her little boy somehow slept through it all, but think of the fun he'll have with the boxes Heather's shwag will come in!

She doesn't knitblog, but she is on the waiting list for Ravelry, so you may get to meet her one of these days.

So there you go. That's the scoop. Congratulations, Heather! All of us hope you love your prizes!

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Thursday, May 01, 2008

We gots a winnah!

And to make the unveiling even more suspenseful [can you STAND IT?], here's a little movie that Ysolda* and I made for you.



Does the winner read this blog? Write me! Woooo!

*Yes, I flew her in all the way from Scotland just for this. Not. :-)

p.s. Because people are asking, I had to search for the winning number by groups. 66170 was the first listing on the page. I counted down from 0 to 5 (aka 66175) and that’s the winner!

I also had to cut out some video because it showed lots of e-mail addresses right around the winner’s, and I know people don’t want their e-mail addys on the web like that. That’s why the winner is shown in a still pic.

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