what did I bring home from MDSW?

In the big barn, the booth that grabbed my eye [on setup Friday before the fair was open] was Bullens Wullens. I might have grabbed the big bag on the right on that day. They've just started offering tussah roving, and in so many colors, I can't begin to describe them all. I went all bluey-greeny this time and found things I wanted to spin in random sequence. A tuft of this, a tuft of that. See what comes of it. The pale blue/green on the left is a direct result of watching Dawn spin her bag of same and finding it irresistable, going back at the end of the show and buying the other three.

What else?



Well, since I finished that 5-year-old skein of Tess Designer Yarns' Cascade Silk, I thought I deserved something to replace it with. These are 400ish-yard skeins of tussah [$20/ea!] that will become an Ishbel. The solid color for the lace section and the variegated for the stockinette section, with some sort of alternating transitioning to get from one to the other.

Also got a few bits of MDSW shwag [shirts] and that's about it. Was too busy having fun selling Jennie's pottery, meeting knitters and spinners and poking about the barns to see what was there for a non-woolly knitter and spinner [lots!]. And yes, had to remind myself more than once about the more than 20 spindles I already had at home. I brought the last two I'd bought at Rhinebeck last fall along with on this trip to remind me that I was not lacking in spindle power.

A busy weekend

We had a great Yarn Roundtable on Friday night. 5 really different yarns, a full house, and a guest in from out of town.

This guest and I, we have fun when we're together. We also do lots of work on Knitty in between the laughing and the trying not to buy really great shoes and the drinking of a coffee or two. We got some great stuff done this time.

Meanwhile, we also did these neat things [all pics are iPhone pics...not the clearest, but they'll have to do]:

Spun standing up at the back of The Purple Purl while Roundtable was going on. That's THE Denny, spinning on her brand-new charkha, gifted to her by a big group of her friends, instigated by that guest woman! Said guest is seen here spinning on her new Journey Wheel. Both wheels were purchased from a woman who was done with spinning, and that made these two women very happy. Everything goes round and round in this world, eh?

Stopped by guest's favorite glass shop...Tank Fire + Metal. They make such glass beads [there should be a better word for the beads they make. The are SO much more than beads] and things with their glass. Guest indulged in something skullish. I went for the earrings I've been looking at in the shop for months. Icy blue-green, transparent discs on silver ear wires.

That afternoon, we stopped by a really cool fabric shop that I'd wanted to visit for months. I'd been reading the owner's blog and loved her style and choice of fabrics. Found some great fabric, and wanted to see if they had or or could order another version that I'd seen on teh interwebs. And was treated by the boss (I'm assuming, since I was directed to her by the nice girl behind the cash) as if I'd asked her to wipe my tushy. That so rarely happens, but it really was disappointing. There are so many nice ways to say, "no, I'm sorry -- I can't get that in" that don't have to make a customer feel bad for asking, you know?

The afternoon was beautifully redeemed by a visit to our new favorite Roncesvalles coffeehouse, Tinto. Guest, other Amy and me Amy brought our wheels inside, found an empty space, and spun the afternoon away. We also got to enjoy their sweet potato/black bean/cheese burrito and good coffee. And the servers were all charming as hell, amused or curious about what we were doing, and we felt very welcome to stay. Yay for Tinto! We'll be back for sure.

In a stunning turn of events, I walked out on a Toronto Police Office ticketing my car, because I'd been too late to get to the meter and refresh. I told him I was just coming to do that and...get this...HE TOOK THE TICKET OFF. I have never had a police officer do that in Toronto and was absolutely gobsmacked. Bought the refresher ticket, of course, and thanked the man.

Then it was Earth Hour, and guest and I pulled out our spindles and spun by candlelight. Quite effective, I thought

Finally, guest, THE Denny and I went to Milestone's for a frozen Bellini -- oh, yeah, and some dinner -- and then a movie. The three of us can attest that Duplicity is huge fun to watch and has made us all love Julia Roberts again. Clive Owen has always been in our love universe, and he is fab in this, as always.

Okay, so that's the weekend recap in pictures. A rather full one for frequent-homebody me, and I loved it. Guest has taken the train home and the house is too quiet without her. That'll last about an hour, and then the phone will ring and all will be well.

It's Monday! I say we all have a great week! Who's with me?

The great joy of the after-Knitty rush

Rush as in endorphin rush [not as in "Rush! You must go somewhere!" because I've just done that mentally for 3 solid weeks]. There is this weird feeling when I put a new issue up for the world to see. First, there are little things that always need fixing. Always. Then people send in the loveliest notes and that is such a fine, fine way to spend an afternoon. Often, a nap follows [more like a passing out with relief, but usually in nap form].

The next day...what the heck do I do with myself? If you read this blog, you'll notice that I start to make lists of all the things I want to do that I couldn't do until the issue was live. So why break with tradition? Here's the list!

- In the middle of the production crunch, Claudia blogged about a sale on Grafton Fibers Darn Pretty Needles [DPNs...get it?]. They'd been out of my price range -- justifiably, since they're not only gorgeous, but totally handmade in Vermont -- but at the sale price? I ordered two sets. Checking their site today, I see there's a new colorway on sale. OOOh, so tempting.

- So what will I do with my brand-new DPNs? Well, there's this big sock thingy I'm lucky enough to be teaching at. And I have got a lot of socks to knit before August, so I'm going to get started! Knitting on pretty handmade needles makes everything even better.

- I'm eyeing the ugly living-room curtains with the same critical eye I took to our naked dining-room window after the last issue was finished. Time to get out the Bernina again! Just waiting for the right fabric to show up at Ikea.

- I have two gorgeous bags of hand dyed silk roving bought at Rhinebeck last fall. I am going to spin and ply all of it on my Ladybug in a reasonable amount of time. It's only 4 oz [though in silk, 4 oz goes a long way]. Will! Do! It!

- The ukulele group I belong to has a rather primitive forum architecture and I have been given supreme administrative powers to slap it into shape. The software is fine, it's just that the nice guys who set it up are musicians first. :-) Am scared I'll make it all go boom, so am taking my time.

- I need to design new Knitty shwag.

- I need to prepare for Maryland, because this year I AM GOING! I know it's crazy busy crowded with spinners and knitters and not as familiar to me as every inch of Rhinebeck is, but that's half the fun. Plus I'm going as part of Jennie the Potter's posse, which means I get in a day early to help her set up. And maybe map out the grounds a little to know what's where.

- I have a few big ideas for Maryland. Watch this space. I'm not telling yet.

- And I'm knitting, really. The top-down raglan in Lorna's Laces new Pearl yarn is going along swimmingly. Amy Swenson, new resident of Toronto [yay!!] and I are working on the design together. It's very simple, designed to take advantage of the drape of the non-woolly fibers in the yarn. Pictures forthcoming, promise.

And now I need to get to it!

By the way, I know my blogging has been pretty spotty for a while, and though part of it is due to the requirements of magazine production, most of it is due to Twitter. It's so easy to whip off a few sentences and maybe attach a single picture that it makes blogging seem ever so much harder. :-)

For those with RSS-feed readers, if you care to read the Twitterings of a geek knitting magazine editor, you'll find the feed here: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/18513281.rss

I will not be abandoning the blog, no sir! But I am loving the Twitter.

Attention Arizona fiber friends!

This has been so long in coming [we started planning last summer] that it's hitting me as surreal...but in 2 weeks, I'm going to be teaching in Tucson!

Why did we choose February? Because that's the month when Northerners feel most comfortable. I almost melted in the blast-furnace beauty of Albuquerque in June a few years ago, so I have learned my lesson. :-) Temperature this week: 75F. Heaven.

I'll be teaching loads of classes at Purls Tucson, hanging with Old Pueblo Knitters, spinners and weavers, and it's all going to be a crazy blur of a week.

There are more events listed in the schedule of the Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild, including the No Sheep lecture, the booksigning at Purls Tucson, and a Spin-In [!] at Kiwi Knitting Company.

I'm really excited! I also get to spend time with my friend Heather and her family, which is a significant bonus.

If you've wanted to take any of my classes and are in driving distance of Tucson, now's a good time to sign up! I can't wait to meet y'all!

---

Boy, do I need a pedicure.

the new kids, adopted at Rhinebeck

the new kids
Originally uploaded by amysinger

There are more pictures on Flickr [click the image at right to see them all] including closeups and descriptions of each new foundling. The secret mission spindle was the one in the middle, the Hatchtown. The spindlemaker only does a small assortment every year and they sell out before you know they're gone. We were there when the show officially opened and most spindles were gone by 10 am that day.

I was quite selective this year, but still managed to drop a bundle of $.

One thing not pictured? A gorgeous jacket [quite lagenlook, Brenda!] from Maiwa Handprints [did you visit the Ancient Textiles booth in the back corner of the barn? If not, you missed some serious gorgeousness. Photos of the jacket on me next time I feel photogenic.



Norm Hall niddy noddy in cherry.


All my spindles so far [except the Avi Wasserman who was hiding].


The only fiber I bought. Sliver Moon Farm. I love them.

Rhinebeck 2008 encapsulates the glory of fall.

I've been to Rhinebeck three times now, and this year was the first that really felt like fall. Brilliant fall colors and a significant chill in the air. In fact, I was so programmed by previous visits where knitwear = shvitz that I underpacked and missed two great silk sweater days. Yes, it was that cold.

For those who'd rather look than read, the full photostream is here. For the rest of you, a brief walking tour.


I met many new-to-me Knitty and Knittyspin readers this trip. This group of glowingly happy women were just the first 3 out of a whole group of them. Happy friends getting to hang together. That's what Rhinebeck means to me. [That sounded like the title of a grade 5 essay, didn't it? Sorry.]


My friend Jennie the Potter -- that's her on the right -- made her first professional appearance at Rhinebeck this year and her booth was continually full of jaw-dropped fiber freaks.


Watch for more on Jennie's newest offerings in the winter issue of Knitty.


I finally got to meet Lynne Vogel, who was as fun as this picture suggests.


Of course, I got to hang with Jillian [far right] and Carla [far left], as well as the bonus hanging with Kay and Ann [and Ann's friend Kelly] as we lined up and lunched on chicken pot pies.


Not all girls, though! Stephen, Franklin [sometimes] and Sean were Scout's unofficial posse as she made her way through her first Rhinebeck, which means I got to see a lot of them.

My pictures are pretty lame when it comes to capturing most of my friends, though. Like where are pictures of me and Scout? Me and anyone, for that matter? For some reason, I was living the fun, not thinking about blogging it. I guess that's not so bad, but it doesn't make for a very electrifying blog post. :-)

Speaking of Scout, she picked me up at the Newark airport and we got to drive to Rhinebeck and back together. It was so good to have a little time with her, since she lives so danged far away, and we laughed a lot. We also found the best pickle [sour new dill] on Route 17 in New Jersey. I will be dreaming of that pickle for a long time.

I didn't make it to any big meetups or the Rav party. I was feeling a little insular and wanted to be with a smaller group of friends this time. I still got to meet tons of people as I walked all through the grounds, and that was great!

Every single button and sticker was passed out to Knitty fans and a lot of you guys were much less shy than you've been in the past. Rock on! You know, you never have to apologize for coming up to say hi or that you like Knitty. That's the nicest thing I can ever hear. And I heard it a lot this weekend. So thank you to each and every person who took the time to poke me on the shoulder and grin at me. I send you all hugs.

---

There are two more Rhinebeck posts coming. Stay tuned!

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Anyone notice anything different about the blog?

if you can't find it, make it yourself!

I've gone to Rhinebeck twice and every time -- as an avowed hoodie junkie -- have been disappointed by the merch they offer. It's very old-school and if you like sweats with watercolor paintings of sheep on them, then you will think I'm crazy. I couldn't even find one with a cool logo + image [i think they do a new one each year] from the festival like you can get at Maryland.

I personally favor the old-school big name in arched letters style if I have to pick. So dangit, I made one for all of us, and it's now in the Knittyshop in case you want one, too. Jillian will be thrilled -- I drove her crazy with the "where are the Rhinebeck hoodies? I must find a Rhinebeck hoodie!" last time we went.

p.s. YES, I know Rhinebeck is about yarn and spinning and making things to wear. But sometimes a sweater isn't what you want, and nothing makes for the cozies except a big, comfy hoodie. Yum.

What has happened since last I wrote...

• I became a cover girl [as designer only. Julia is the super-hot model in my knitwear on the ONLY hot day so far this month. And she looked so good in the cowl, I had to give it to her.]
  
  
• Wait, cover? What cover? Don't you know about Knittyspin? This issue, it got its own cover. Dang well about time, too.
  
  
• Yup, fall Knitty came out, and this time, we've got yer printer-friendly pages for ya! This is why I have been a hermit the last month or so.
  
  
• My uke fingers are all soft again. Poo. Haven't been able to touch the thing in a week. Back at it to get my fretting fingers back in shape!
  
  
• I have been knitting behind the scenes for relaxation! Progress is being made on the Luscious Silk lace Sonnet. Photos forthcoming, but don't you dare make me get the camera out again today, okay?

I'm sure there's more, but I can barely see the screen now, so I say byebye. Big love. Sleepies now.

time for some Tour de Fleece!

the title aside [because I know it's about spinning, not just about wool :-)], i'm in for this year's Tour de Fleece!

summary: pick a spinning challenge, start when the Tour de France starts and finish when it ends.

in the last post, i showed pics from the beginning of my Tour de Fleece experience. here's what you haven't yet seen:


roving from my stash, at least 2 years old. clearly i like to let things percolate.



that's my very pretty, perfectly balanced, incredibly long-spinning Houndesign lace spindle, purchased at The Purple Purl. for my fellow spindlewhores, it's a 19-gram Pau Amarillo lace spindle. my new favorite. Houndesign is a spindlemaker in BC. they're delicious.


and this is the first night's spinning, some of it in near darkness. rock.

oh, i neglected to mention the details of my challenge. it's simple: finish this roving [2 whole ounces], including plying and setting the twist. and spin outside for half an hour a day when it's not raining. i will amend the challenge to add the following: "...when it's not raining, or so humid that i begin to question the sanity of spinning silk in summer." and since the forecast for the next few days is super humid and super hot, i'll probably be doing my spinning inside.

holy crap. i did it to myself.

so i recently went on and on about how newly made stuff breaks too soon, requiring replacement, and how we're programmed to think "must have new" any time we see something shinier than what we have. [i'm sure many of you resist this, and perhaps it doesn't affect some of you. lucky buggers.] i try to resist this horrible condition and often succeed. and sometimes not.

[this post is not going to end the way you think it is. stick with me.]

all the cool kids are getting new cameras. they take really great pictures, although we know a lot of that is the person behind the camera. so this makes me think about my cameras. i've been carrying around a Canon Powershot sd550 since I bought it for our trip to Italy a few years ago. the other camera I had was bulky and annoying. this one was light! it fit in my pocket! it takes pretty great pictures! and it's 7.1 megapixels, which is more than the other camera i had. more is better, right?

seriously. i'd just bought this super-expensive camera less than a year before the Canon. it was to be the Knitty magazine camera. but it was big and only 5 megapixels [oh, dear. less is bad, right?]. once the Canon arrived, i felt that the Lumix was already obsolete, and was angry at myself for choosing it in the first place. instead, i used the Canon for everything. that was more than 2 years ago.

this thursday, Mel and i were excavating my office, transforming it from a pile of piles into functional space -- which is another post for another day. Mel unearthed the Lumix in its rather-small, quite-nice LowePro case [smaller than I remember. hmm]. i took it out and there on the lens i saw this: 12x optical zoom.

oh. right. i chose the Lumix after hours and hours of careful searching on digital camera review websites because it had a kickass optical zoom and a Leica lens. clearly I had forgotten that part.

dudes, i talked myself out of liking something i already owned that was more than good enough for my needs just because i thought there was better to be had. it's a good lesson learned.

i charged up the battery last night and took the Lumix along with me to a Tour de Fleece kickoff party. i have some serious manual-reading to do in order to take advantage of all the features of this camera -- many manual or semi-manual options, even -- but here are a few point-and-shoot, low-light, no-tripod shots from last night. i know they are nothing special, except for the subject matter, which is lovely. but i'll be able to do better shortly, and soon, without spending a penny on anything. i love that.










bokeh, here i come.

what I did during Earth Hour

I was reading the latest issue of Spin Off by battery operated lantern light and realized that if I didn't pull out the wheel right then, I was clearly missing a strange anachronistic opportunity.

So this was me, spinning by candlelight [and a little battery-operated Coleman lantern], and it was very nice. I'm working on filling a bobbin with aqua-blue bamboo, and got quite a nice bit done tonight. Remarkable how much of spinning is touch-based, so not a lot of light was needed. Then again, I haven't really looked at what I spun in the dark. :-)

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my Schacht Ladybug? I do. I will elaborate in the next Knittyspin column.

p.s. in case you somehow missed it, Earth Hour details here. sure it's a gimmick, but anything that gets us to remember to turn off the lights is a good gimmick imo. our whole neighborhood is pretty much still dark and it's 10pm. really cool.

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.

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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!

2007 recap in pictures and short phrases...

...because why not, really?

I'm a little stunned at all that's gone on this year, now that I'm looking back. It certainly explains the current state of my house.


No Sheep for You was published [and I got my preview copy + chocolate early in the year.]


I got to hang, briefly, with the Purlesence girls while at the big knitting trade show, TNNA.


I bought my first Habu kit, which is still in this exact state [though Henry has grown] because my brain can't process the pattern.


Cupcakes came to the beach. I have visited Life is Sweet many times since then.


I finished a sweater and started a new one.



Jillian and I had the final photoshoot for More Big Girl Knits...at the cupcake shop, of course!


The year of speaking engagements/travel began at the DKC!


I got to do Breakfast Television again with the sexiest models ever!


I finally got to visit The Fold and my head exploded.


I re-visited the KW Knitters' Guild and managed not to faint in front of Sally Melville and Debbie New this time. Progress!


Loopy Yarn love in Chicago!


Jillian and I made a pilgrimage to the homeland of her heart...Hill Country Weavers in Austin, TX. I fell in love with the place, despite the shvitz factor.


I knit with steel.


I crocheted. And liked it. Haven't done it since, though.


I discovered Zulugrass and met the kickass Scout on her home turf [Albuquerque] where she dyed me some matching yarn.


I bent sterling silver.


Hub put the dead cedar hedge out of its misery.


Massimo the Vespa joined our family, a gift from Grandma.

The next three sort of blur together in a delicious happy memory:

Bainbridge Island, Washington

Portland, Oregon

The Purlescence girls of Sunnyvale, CA, show me San Francisco and, most importantly...


No picture here. My gallbladder and I broke up, permanently.


While I was healing, Hub had a fence put in our backyard to replace the hedge.


I healed quickly enough to visit Loop in Philadelphia!


I went to SOAR and so did Denny! I can now spin yarn that I'm proud to show off!


Hub and I went to Oslo, Norway, and finally met Theresa!


Hub and I went to London, England!

And then it got nice and quiet. It's been, as you can see, an incredible year. Actually, rather more mind-blowing in retrospect. I have Flickr albums full of memories, many more blogs to follow of new friends met all over the world, and now, one last thing.

One of my favorite things about Norway was...the bedding. Really. Everyone gets their own duvet, even in a shared bed. And in the morning, you get up and fold it in half [the long way] and it looks so very Scandinavian and insanely tidy with zero effort. I loved it. No trying to fluff a huge king-sized duvet. No fighting for covers. Then Theresa made new duvet covers and that was it. I was lost:


I ordered us a pair of basic twin duvets [no, not the Icelandic Eiderdown at $2900/ea -- try the Anniversary]. We didn't get each other presents for whatever holiday it is we're celebrating this time of year, so dang it, we could have them. I have enough Amy Butler fabric and vintage linen put aside to make two perfect covers. And sewing two twin covers well seems much more achievable than sewing one huge king-sized cover, though I could probably have done it...badly.

Guess what I'll be doing this week?

Happy new year, everyone!

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.

eee!

this is it. my last stationary day for 3 weeks. i'm off to SOAR tomorrow!

eeee!

freaking out? yes. but happy freaking now.

my suitcase? is not big enough. jillian and carla have filled an entire station wagon with their stuff [and maybe a few things for me :-)], so i guess it's not surprising that i'll need two bags.

eeeee!

i'm *this close* to binding off both sleeves for the Artfibers silk coat and must finish tonight. knitting from 4 cones of yarn at once is not good plane knitting. but i'll bring the pieces with me and hope to come home with a finished coat!

the churning noise my macbook is making now? it's encoding my copy of Lucy Neatby's Knitting Gems Vol. 1, so i can bring it with me on my iPod. why? because she's got a billion different ways to do a button band and all of them are smarter, easier and better looking than knitting a strip and sewing it on. i don't retain new techniques well at first, so it's a real treat to bring Lucy with me so she can show me over and over again until it's locked in my brain.

plane/downtime knitting? new sock. two skeins of Sock Candy in Little Bunny Foo Foo. pattern? in keeping with my love of the mindless, easy knit, something new, spotted first on Harlot's blog, thanks to Presbytera. a sock that starts, toe up, with 8 sts by 8 rows? dear lord, i am in heaven.

did i mention that my suitcase is too small?

eeeeeeeee!

i'll be bringing my portable solution with me, so i can make sure you get a special treat on Tuesday morning.

it may not be an iPhone or even a Treo, but i can use it to blog, view the web in full color on a rather large screen, check e-mail and do all sorts of other stuff. handy, eh?

for now, must sign off. will blog if i can on the road, but mostly, i'll just be having fun with the girls [and boys?] in the UP.

post-issue randomness

Ah, the relief of another issue gone live without accidental amputation [it could happen, you know. one must be careful].

Here are the latest things on my mind:

1. When will I hear a yes or no from the SOAR people? I am on the edge of my seat with the waiting! Certainly no one would argue that I need me some serious spinning lessons. Today, maybe? Perhaps I'll hear today?
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2. Chiao Goo makes one hell of a small-gauge crochet hook. For some reason, above a size E [like I even know what that is yet], they change from this loveliness...



to a solid bamboo crochet hook that looks just about like every other. A plain ole bamboo round stick with the hook on the end. Why? I think they did the smaller ones in metal because they couldn't do them in solid bamboo, and as a result, have come up with something magical. The metal/bamboo hook is light, comfortable to hold and ridiculously affordable (suggested retail is below $4 a hook!). If they came in a full range of sizes, I'd buy a whole set. You may quote me on this.

So people...do you crochet? Do you agree with me that the bamboo/metal is an amazing thing? Write the company! I told them this on the floor at TNNA, but if a lot of you write them, they might actually add larger sizes to their metal/bamboo line. Here, this is their parent company's web page -- with an e-mail addy right there for you to use! Their sales manager's name is Juliana -- write and tell her what you think!
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3. My feet. Longtime readers know I've got crappy feet and Birkenstocks have been my salvation. A few good friends have been raving about the superiority of Danskos, so I finally sucked it up and bought a pair. In PINK leather.

Seriously. It's fuschia leather.

The arch is noticeably higher than in Birkenstocks, but not uncomfortably so. I find the height of these shoes amusing [I usually wear flat things] and have worn the shoes twice with socks with absolutely no discomfort. Early verdict: love.

For those who need similar footy gratification, see ShoeDawg.com.
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4. No one prodded about the Americo, but don't tell me you didn't want a little yarn pr0n with your Tuesday coffee.

Cotton wrapped in silk in charcoal and ice green-blue. 1 each. Yum. Don't ask what they're for yet. I don't know. That's half the fun.