Off to play with the coyotes!

That's where I'll be all week. Hub will be at home, holding down the fort and [most importantly] watching over the destructo-bunnies.

Blogging will likely be sparse if at all, but I'll be updating the Twitter feed as regularly as I can. With pictures!

p.s. No, I will not actually be playing with the coyotes. But my friend and hostess Heather tells me you can hear them at night from her house sometimes. Cool.

Gotta go!

A little skin for a good cause

Okay. So about a month ago [really, just a month ago], as I was getting ready to go to the airport and fly to Calgary to teach at the Make One retreat, a group of women came over to my house, stripped my living room [and me] bare, redecorated us both and had a little photoshoot.

Uh-whuh?? Yup. The genius women behind The Purple Purl, spearheaded by the insane fearless Miko [that's her in her redheaded glory on the right over there], decided at the 11th hour to do a naked knitter calendar to benefit an important charity. Yours truly was drafted to be Miss March.

The rest of the calendar is truly beautiful. [I'll let you decide for yourself what you think of my page, but I'll tell you that it's a rare picture of myself that I like, and I really like this one.] It's full of knitters of all ages and both genders. The mom of our Tushy Cushy model is featured in all her natural glory while wee Morgana was still tucked safely inside -- she was born a week later.

There is gorgeous knitting on every page -- though my page is more about yarn pr0n than finished objects -- and it's an absolutely beautiful and tasteful representation of our craft.

As the cover pic [above] and the little peek at my page [left] shows, none of our private bits show in this calendar. Carefully placed yarn and knitting did wonders for helping to maintain a minimum level of modesty.

Wanna see my pic bigger? BUY A CALENDAR! :-)

P.S. 90% of the yarn in this photo came from my stash. erp.

You have to have one of these calendars, don't you? Of course you do! Here are the details:

The Purple Purl is looking to raise a whole lot of funds for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation -- Canada’s leading cancer research hospital. The calendars cost $20 Cdn each.

Thanks to generous donations from partners in the yarn world as well as the time, energy and expertise of the models, photographers and helpers means that 100% of the proceeds are going to the Foundation. Your $20 purchase of each calendar will go directly to the Foundation. We think that's kickass.

Are you in or near Toronto?
Get your copy at The Purple Purl - 1162 Queen Street E @ Jones. 416-463-1162.

Can't get to Toronto?
They're very glad to take phone or e-mail orders!

Within Canada: $20 Cdn plus $5.50 Shipping & Handling
In the US: $20 Cdn plus $9.50 Shipping & Handling

Phone: 416-463-1162
E-mail: thepurplepurl@gmail.com

The shop closes xmas eve and stays closed till New Year's day,
so if you'd like one, better take care of it today!

Let's sell out every last copy of the calendar and send a huge $10,000 check to the Foundation on behalf of knitters all over the world!

A wee winner!

Thanks to Trinity for her suggestion -- her comment was the randomly selected winner of my sort-of little contest.

Trinity, send me your address so I can mail you your wee prize!

You want to know what I've bought, right? NOTHING yet. Nothing. I'm still waffling. Turns out the Kindle doesn't work in Canada [blerg], not that it was in the budget. Current idea: someone suggested an Ice Cream maker. I get bored with the low-fat Chapman's flavors [yummy, but always the same], so this just might be the ticket!

In any case, thank you all for participating! I loved reading all your suggestions and clicking on the links. It's fun to dream.

help me spend my birthday present!

How weird is this? I have a birthday-present Amazon gift certificate from my sister and her sweet hub burning a hole in my e-mail box and I cannot, for the life of me, make a decision about what to spend it on! Wanna tell me what I should buy?

I've got $75 to play with [they spoiled me!] and I can ship to their US address, so it can be anything Amazon sells. Things close to $75 but a little over are also cool. Books, music and DVDs are obvious choices, but too easy. I'm looking for...I don't know what! They don't sell yarn and I already looked for a Lazy Kate [not kidding].

If you're game, fill up my comments with your suggestions! Get creative! I don't promise that I'll pick one, but I just might...

I'll pick one commenter at random this Friday morning and send them something from the Knitty prize cupboard, so it'll be a little birthdayish for the winner, too! Let the coveting begin!

p.s. The cake above? Chocolate raspberry truffle. That's what hub got me to celebrate this birthday. It was UNBELIEVABLY delicious. <3 Dufflet.

---

eta: My birthday was a month ago, but thanks for the wishes! Thanks for the DVD recs, but I don't think DVDs this time, either. Sorry I left it out of the original post. It's in now. :-)

Favorite suggestion so far? Kaphine's accordion.
Closest to my own taste: I already have a fuzzy logic rice cooker [bought from Amazon!] and LOVE it huge. Also have 2 OTT-Lites.
Wish I had the budget to top it up for: the Kindle. But I don't. Oh well.

Keep commenting! I love your suggestions! Off to see what vintage they've got! :-)

what Julia saw

At Rhinebeck, I was a little light on the camera, but thankfully Julia picked up the slack in one crucial area. Amy + Jillian pictures.

My favorite is the last one.

things!

Urchin, complete. what is that yarn? why, it's my first handspun! silk hankies, bought at Rhinebeck the first year i went, from Chasing Rainbows [colorway, Pansies].

looks relatively cute from the front. from the back and sides, not so much. maybe with a scarf around my neck? the expanse of neckness without hair hanging down over it is a bit startling to me.

- therefore, i've cast on a Gretel. i do believe, however, that darling Ms Ysolda is on crack about the stockinette gauge after multiple tests. we'll see if it actually fits with the finer-gauge yarn i'm using and her same stitch count. the band is absolutely big enough so far, hence the "on crack" thing.

- yesterday was hub's and my 18th [!!!] anniversary. before we fell asleep, we both said we'd marry the other again in a second. damn straight. i don't know how i was lucky enough to find this challenging man who's helped me fix my baggage, but i was and i'm very thankful of it.

- my head is aspin [ha! pun!] with thoughts of Rhinebeck. last year, we did SOAR and had a blast, and i am constantly thinking of Denny who's there right now and what she might be doing. and drinking. and suspending from balconies. but even more, i am so looking forward to seeing all my people at Rhinebeck.

- i might also be formulating a short must-have shopping list because there's no way i'm doing Rhinebeck without a plan. the #1 thing is a specific spindle, and i'm not telling which because if i get there and they're all gone, there will be such wailing you have never heard. after that, it's all gravy. or artichokes.

- my Rhinebeck hoodie is ordered and shipped to Jillian, my unofficial-official US-based postmistress. Cafepress impressed me -- they shipped almost immediately. so if you wanted one, there's probably still time to grab it! just sayin. there's always a coupon on the left sidebar of the shop, just in case you wanna go for it.

- oh, in case you didn't know, Jillian and I are signing at Carolina Homespun on Sunday at 1pm at Rhinebeck. we don't have time to do the author tent this time, so come see us at Morgaine's booth [she's the coolest, you know].

- there's more, but i have to get to work.

in knitting news...

There are no words to describe how much I love Ann and Kay right now.

You girls are righteous. [Where did you get the wigs? If you tell me they were your mamas', I think I'll faint.]

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!

Photographic proof that we wuz there

Mason-Dixon Returns
Originally uploaded by Potter Craft News

This picture mercilessly pilfered from our publisher's blog [Potter Craft News] because though I brought my camera, I didn't take it out of the case once. This happens every TNNA. I get too busy doing to remember to chronicle.

Anyway, back to this picture: this is Jillian and I in our spiffy new Knitty shirts [how cute are we?] simultaneously drooling over the forthcoming new book from our favorite Mason-Dixon women. It's an awesome book and I cannot wait till I can get my hands on a real copy. [This was one o' them b&w proof copies and we had to put it back on the shelf when we were done.] It's full of such goodness, I am at a loss to share. You'll be able to see soon enough.


Also pilfered from Potter [thank you for sharing, Sarah! :-)], a picture of sweet Nathania and baby Ellie and her universe-altering hair. I was lucky enough to get to spend a little time bouncing Ellie on my lap on our first night at TNNA and she is one of those dream, easy-going babies. Plus she smells so good.


Pilfered from Abby's flickr stream [thank you, Abby!], a strange shot showing me just a little too interested in what's on the menu at the Hyatt. Mostly, I was interested in talking to Franklin, but am thankful that there's proof we were in the same room anyway . :-) So that was Franklin on my right and...


Jess on my left. [again, one of Abby's shots]. This is the first time the Ravelers and I have been in the same place at the same time, so there was excessive getting-to-know-each-othering and note-comparing. I really like these three people, the Jess and the Mary-Heather and the Casey. And it's a picture like the next one that shows just why it's so easy to like them:


This is one of Miriam's pictures, again pilfered without even asking first. This captures the true Tip Top experience [TNNAers take over the Tip Top bar in Columbus every time we're there]. Beer, laughter, and Casey flipping Mim the bird with a little freshly crocheted Bob puppet [courtesy of the sweet people at Malabrigo...how cool are they?]. L to R, we've got the KitchenerBitch from the coffeeshop, Casey, Mary-Heather and Jessica of Rose-Kim Knits.

That's all that everyone's uploaded so far. I sadly missed out on the dry-ice madness (see the Harlot's blog for full details and photographic proof of the madness, but I had many adventures of my own. And I'll write more about them tomorrow, including how I lost my voice the night before the whole show started and had to go through 3 days of working my favorite trade show unable to speak.

Now, though, bed. Knitty summer is coming so soon, it's ridiculous, but not tonight.

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.

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?

alive! and More Big Girl Knits launch party nooz!

So it's like this. I came home from Ann Arbor, popped out a Knitty :-) [why does that sound dirty?] and then got in the car with hub and drove to Vermont.

The Mindful Knitting retreat was amazing, eye-opening and huge fun. Full deets are being saved for a future article in the Knitty.

Of course, while relaxing, I got a[nother?] cold. So maybe the post-Florida thing was allergies, because this certainly ain't. I have never gone through so much kleenex in 4 days in my whole life.

---

Super-quick party announcement, aka SAVE THE DATE!

More Big Girl Knits launch party, v 1.0
location: Threadbear Fiber Arts, East Lansing, MI
date: April 13th, 1pm
the boys know how to throw a big party and we can't wait!

More Big Girl Knits launch party v 1.1
location: Lettuce Knit, Toronto, ON
date: April 26th, 7pm [conveniently timed to let you finish up at the Knitter's Frolic and then come and join us in Kensington Market!]

Jillian and I will be at both parties, as well as
- samples from the book [possibly their only appearance en masse as we have to return them to the designers shortly]
- cupcakes
- the new Big Girls book in the flesh [both shops will have them for sale]

and other surprises!

Bring your friends, turn it into a road trip and let's make these parties huge and memorable!

the face of my weekend

That'd be Henry, Jillian's baby, exactly as I saw him all weekend. I had her kids blasting out PhotoBooth photos on my laptop, and Henry took this one of himself by himself. He's superhero and robot and scary monster all rolled into one, including sound effects...look at the blurry hands the little camera managed to capture!


Of course, Isobel would rather reconstruct anatomy. This is the creepiest of the pics without being gross. You don't want to see the gross ones.

I love these kids. It was a bit of a rough weekend for other reasons, and H & I kept me smiling and giggling all weekend. They don't have to love me, but they do, and it's possibly the most amazing thing I've ever experienced.

Meanwhile, in worky news, the weekend trip to AA was all about the speaking engagement at the big library in town. This place is amazing, and I was treated like royalty [which isn't something I mind at all :-)]. Here are the folks that came out to say hi:



The left side of the room had to deal with flash problems, so their waving is a little worn out [don't blame 'em]. A nice full house, and that always makes me feel good.

The AADL runs a tight ship, and is fully tech'd out. For the first time ever, I handed off my laptop and cable to someone who made it all work [and it wasn't as simple as my usual low-tech solution]. All I had to do was walk up to the podium and try not to pee my pants. [I succeeded.] The event was recorded and I'll link to it here when it's on their site. I had to keep forgetting that they were recording me or else I'd have never said a word.

I also discovered Flax when Jillian and I popped into Acme and bought myself a jacket on megasale to wear at the event. And a clock in vintage green. Which looks amazing in my living room. I could live in that store. And just might.

And Saturday night, I got to hang with Jillian and the SOAR girls -- Carla, Lynne, Beth and Dynese [did i spell that right?] for an evening of amazing food and drink, spinning, and most importantly laughter. These girls make me howl and I'm so glad I've gotten to know them.

---

Tomorrow, hub and I are off to Vermont [by car...so please think dry road thoughts for us] to spend the weekend with Tara Jon Manning and attendees at her Mindful Knitting Retreat. I've wanted to go for several years and this year things just came together. It's also hub's birthday this weekend, so maybe we'll get a chance to sneak out to Sarducci's in Montpelier for dinner. It's our favorite place.

I think I'm sounding a little scattered. This issue of Knitty had a whole bunch of new stuff happening in it and it took more brain power than usual to make it go. People seem to be liking it and that makes me really happy.

---

Stand by: We'll soon be announcing launch party dates for More Big Girl Knits for two locations: East Lansing, MI and Toronto! Dates are in April, and we should have news shortly. We hope you'll come and party with us!

Remindah!

I'm going to do the speaking thing at the Ann Arbor District Library this weekend! I'll be giving my No Sheep for You talk, complete with laptop and clicky thing and a microphone, even. I'll bring swatches from the book and we'll talk non-wool fibers and Knitty stuff until the cows come home, or they throw us out. Whichever comes first. There will also be a sneak preview of the new Big Girls book -- More Big Girl Knits...including your chance to rub shoulders with my beloved co-author, Jillian Moreno. Like all library stuff, attendance is free! Woot!

You may have heard about this legendary library from another knitting Torontonian. Well, now it's my turn. Except I won't need to fly in, thankfully...I'll be taking the train. :-)

No Sheep/Knitty® Knit-in

Date: Sunday, March 9

Time: 2-3:30pm [knit-in following the program; library closes at 6pm] -- don't forget you'll be setting your clock forward before you go to bed on Saturday night! I don't want to miss you!

Location: Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library, 343 South Fifth Avenue, (at the corner of Williams and Fourth).

Notes: Parking is free on Sunday at the lot next door. The Library will open at noon. Seats at the program are first come first serve. In the event of a capacity crowd, overflow will be simulcasted from the 4th floor Boardroom.

Program information:
Learn the ins and outs of fibers that aren't wool and never had four legs. We'll learn about cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, lyocell, rayon, soy, the new synthetics and more, plus the most delicious non-wool of all: silk. Learn about the GeeKY thing [hint: it involves knitting]. It's the tool that will help you to how to substitute non-wool fibers when the pattern calls for wool and get a great result. Here's a secret -- it's WAY more than matching the gauge.

Bring your non-wool questions and your knitting! I will be glad to sign copies of No Sheep for You [someone will have them for sale at the event if you don't have one and would like one], and if we've got time left, we'll have a knit-in!

---

Okay, so that's the story. Will you come? I would love to fill up the room with Knitty-loving knitters -- non-woollies, woollies, girls and guys of every size and every other kind of knitter. I'm up for a massive knit-in if you guys are...so please come and bring your knitting peeps!

Will I see you there?

don't you call me crazy.

So last night I began the new project. Here are the supplies:



Want a closer look?


Yes, that's correct. Size 0 needles.

Here's what the fabric looks like:


Do you see those perfect, tiny stitches? Well, trust me, they're there.

This is a simple tube, knit as small as the 16" circs would allow, which meant 190 sts. On each side, a faux seam [p1, k1, p1] so that it will lay flat like the inspiration scarf. Both ends will be seamed shut so it will not curl at the bottom, either.

Now all that remains is a year or so of knitting. I can do that. It seems crazy, but it also seems crazy not to even try. It's easy knitting -- I just have to be careful not to drop a stitch, especially at this tender beginning part.

---

p.s. Dear Skacel,
Whyfor you no make Addi Lace Turbos in size 0? Surely lace yarn requires small needles, and there's no more serious need for a tiny needle with a little grip and perfect scoopy points than this project.

I'll be knitting this for a while, so feel free to get on that development wagon and let me know when they're ready. The regular Turbos will have to do for now, but please...save my sanity. Make size 0s, okay?

Love,
Amy



---

Meanwhile, last night's Knitty Yarn Roundtable went very, very well. I can say that because the person responsible for the wellness is not me, it's ms Jacquie, hero of my world. She made everything happen including set up and wound balls of yarn [special props to Keri and Sherri on that count] and take down. Thank you, Jacquie! The Purple Purl hostesses were so sweet to us, and it was just an all-around fuzzy kumbaya kind of evening.

We've got three more scheduled: February, April and May. Dates forthcoming soon.

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.

Working with my hands [without yarn!]

It's really nice to have a new creative outlet that's not knitting-based. [When you make your living from your favorite hobby, it can get a little, um, inbred around here.]

So I'm taking an intro course in silversmithing. We cut the bands for our rings last night after fumbling over installing saw blades, learning how to read the alethiometer [or whatever you call that measury thing that jewelers use], messing about with annealing and soldering. I like playing with the propane/oxygen torch. Fire good.

We get to build a basic ring first, then create a bezel and set a cabochon on the ring [like this one that another student did]. And we get to do another project of our choosing as well. So I've got to get trolling the web for ideas.

Great. Just what this shopaholic needs - an excuse to obsessively browse Etsy.
Our teacher is Sarah Wan -- take a peek at her work. Totally inspiring!

Can you see how big I'm smiling? This is great fun.

---

And big Michigan news...are you within driving distance of Lansing, MI? Read on!

As part of its September issue, Figure Magazine (plus-sized grooviness) is conducting a knitting roundtable. Guest star speaker: Jillian Moreno, co-author of Big Girl Knits!

We're looking for women who are willing to talk about being plus-sized and knitting & appear in the magazine. We just need two more. It'll be a really cool experience!

It's going to happen May 22 (Tuesday) from 9am-Noon at Threadbear Fiberarts in Lansing, MI.

If you are interested, please contact Lindsay Wurst: Lindsay.Wurst@meredith.com

p.s. No one is getting paid & all must provide their own transportation.