Time is Not Standing Still....

But instead, is barreling along like a freight train in the middle of the night, propelling me closer to March...And my deadline. Writing? My hand hurts today from all the writing I did in charts at work. I keep begging the Man to let me quit for a while, and all the benefits it would entail for him. Home cooked meals, like I used to. Apple slices that he's wanted me to make for the last month. A tidy house. I do think of walking away from my job and just getting a stupid job with no real responsibility, so I can concentrate on my Art. I only keep this job because at my age, or any age, being a starving artist is not acceptable. I have, I must confess, been spending money like mad on yarn and other things, thinking that this job situation might not last much longer, and I'll regret not having these things when I'm broke.

Dog Town?

I took some more sweaters to Wigglyville today, and a little chihuahua named Rambo was trying on boots. He was prancing in the front of the store, and people on the street stopped to laugh! Rambo is perhaps two pounds, and looked like a little funny wind up toy doing a military step. We're getting closer to finalizing some sweater workshops at the shop. I was looking for a good reference that the beginners have included in the materials kit. The owners of Arcadia suggested the first Stitch and Bitch book. I have it, and not being a beginner myself, never really read the instruction part of the book. I gave it a once over, and it's what I want to use. The nice thing is that the participants will have other projects to try when they finish the dog sweater. I'll use the pattern in the book for the beginning sweater, it has no shaping so is easier than my designs. I've made a few, including one for Piccolo that's in progress now. In Noro Iro. That I'm going to teach using that book as a text is ironic. I'm not impressed by the whole Stitch and Bitch movement, at least not how it's run here. Including the (Chicago) leader slamming my knitting guild in Newsweek. And, I'm not really a fan of Bust magazine after they excluded my sweaters from their Xmas gift guide a few years ago, after I purchased another ad in that issue. I found that really surprising because the editor is supposed to be a supporter of the craft. But, I must give credit where credit is due--it is a very fine book. Chicago was named by a pet magazine as being the most dog friendly city in America. I can't imagine that the South side was included. I saw two dogs on the street yesterday, at two different times, fending for themselves. I think Chicago can be a tough place to be a dog. I've taken in four strays in my recent past--one of whom was little Gidget Alice, who stayed with me for the rest of her life. The others found homes, or the owner that was lost.

Thankful

My two cuties, snuggly in bed. This is where the Man says he plans to be on Thanksgiving. I will be having dinner at my friends Bruce and Gary's house one block north. Making a amaretto cheesecake because Bruce says I'll be turned away if I don't bring a home made dessert. They're making a 17 pound turkey. For three. If you're doing math, it's about 5.5 pounds/person. Sounds about right to me, I told them. My family is all scattered this holiday, and with my niece and nephews becoming adults, who knows what future holidays will be like. We're making new traditions. The Man, I have found out, is my real family. He stuck by me while I went through hell and back, and it wasn't easy. Last year it was just us for Thanksgiving, and I made the complete dinner. Not having a dining room, we ate in the messy kitchen. All that work, and we were finished in a half hour! If I wasn't going to dinner with my good friends, I would be eating my Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant. That will be the new tradition going forward!

Distraction

Having to be creative on an impeding deadline is one of the hardest things I've ever done. When I hit a wall with regards to design, I distract myself with the personal project. This number is Lara, a Debbie Bliss design that everyone has made. Mine is Dzined wool/hemp blend that was custom dyed. I more or less started around the Fine Art of Fiber, and indulged in the pleasure knitting during the show. I'm putting it aside for now! Besides the book samples, I have a Guild exchange project, which is a felted bag that needs to be finished December 20 for the exchange. I'm not doing it next year! What was I thinking? I'm pretty certain that my mom's Christmas sweater will not be done by then. But serious progress has been made off and on this year. In dog news, sweaters are selling out of Wigglyville! We're getting closer to a workshop schedule. The custom sweater for the Italian Greyhound turned out to be an amazing fit. The body shaping modification worked out great, I must say. I think the customer was happy. I still wish that they had been more adventurous with color. Maybe next time, I can steer them down the color road. The other night, when I came home, the Man let Piccolo out the front door. She flung herself down the stairs so hard to get to me, that she actually fell down the stairs.

Pooling

I sent dog sweaters for test shooting in San Francisco last month, some were from Piccolo's wardrobe. I realized that she only had a few here. And, I've been inspired to make some more for her. This is some yarn I picked up at the Michigan Fiber Festival last August, from Foxhill farms in Massachusetts. It's a wool/mohair blend. This picture doesn't do the colors justice. The collar is Cash Iroha, and the tip is some Cloverleaf Farms stuff I had left from a Stitches a few years ago. The colors probably pool too much for everyone's taste, but I like the sweater anyway. I've finished it since this photo was taken, and have to weave in the ends. The custom order is done with the exception of sewing in the label, and will be picked up tomorrow morning. I tweaked the body shaping a little to fit an Italian Greyhound, hopefully it will work. I don't want to knit it again.

The Legacy

I adopted Penny ten years ago this month. She was used for breeding for the first five years of her life, because of her beautiful face. I got her from what were considered to be well regarded breeders. They are featured in a book I have about the Pekingese breed. Penny's full name was Sunsalve Secret Liaison, and her papers show one generation of inbreeding! When she came to me, she was a total wreck. She had never had medical care of any kind. There was a build up of pigment on her eyes from being kept in a dirty environment (a crate in a sheep barn with 50+ other dogs) that had left her blind. I briefly considered taking her back to the breeders because I thought she would not adjust to a different living space with her blindness. I was wrong about that. Blind dogs can actually adapt quite well. Gidget ended up blind in the last years of her life and adjusted through two changes of residence with me. I took Penny to an opthamologist to see if there was any treatment before I made my decision, and the treatment was--eye drops! Her sight was restored, not 100%, but good enough that she could find her way around better. This is the best picture I have of Penny. You can't tell from this, but her little body is jammed up against the door, she's so determined to get in the house. Pekingese can tend to be one owner pets, and Penny was mine. When we were first dating again, the Man came to take care of her once and was bit a few times trying to get her outside. When I called to check, Penny was barking at the Man the entire time they were alone together! Penny was never socialized during the first years of her life, and she became a pet for me, but never really fully adjusted. I think that Penny never really forgave me for bringing Gidget home, but I was told by others that they would be caught snuggling with each other when I was not around. Penny's signature color was green, and I had an element of green in each sweater I knit for her. The sweater here was made for sale, in discontinued Annabel Fox Aran for the body, and Lamb's Pride for the bands and trim. This is the photo that became the masthead for the web site. I still love to look at it.

Taking the Fine Art of Fiber to Bed

Some excellent quilts and knitted items from the Fine Art of Fiber exhibit. I've done some quilting in my crafty life, but can't say that I'm really good at it. While I love the finished product, for the most part I find the process tedious. What speaks to me in quilting is what I like best about knitting--the play of color and texture. In quilting, the texture is established by sewing the layers together for a three dimensional effect. I love the way hand quilting looks, but after having taken many years of process to do two small wall hangings, I prefer for others to do the work. My vintage quilts that are coming apart were hybrids of vintage quilt tops, with batting and backing added. I drew on the quilting lines and sent them to a church group in Red Bud, Illinois who quilted them and charged me by each inch of quilting thread used. What I've noticed in contemporary quilts is that the hand work is used mostly for embellishment, and that most of the work is now done on machine. Despite the use of sewing machines, the craft is still labor intensive. All those little pieces of fabric to cut! The play of color just draws me in. The top picture is my newly purchased quilt on my full size bed. The artist is Ruth Stegmeyer. I purchased the quilt on Thursday night, and on Saturday found another quilt, also by Ruth, that I liked better. But as all sales were final, I think I can live with this. It has every color, so will look good with any decor! Yes, that's about one foot of wall space on either side of my bed. Two people sleep in this bed. I guess it helps that I'm in love. My dream is to have a king size bed, and a room to put it in. I tell the Man that he wouldn't even know that Piccolo and I are there. Yes, the dog sleeps with us.

December 20

Your Birthdate: December 20

You are a virtual roller coaster of emotions, and most people enjoy the ride.Your mood tends to set the tone of the room, and when you're happy, this is a good thing.When you get in a dark mood, watch out - it's very hard to get you out of it.It's sometimes hard for you to cheer up, and your gloom can be contagious. Your strength: Your warm heart Your weakness: Trouble controlling your emotions Your power color: Black Your power symbol: Musical note Your power month: February

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourbirthdatemeanquiz/">What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Show Wrap Up

We took down the Fine Art of Fiber show this evening. This event, usually well attended at the Chicago Botanic Garden, was not that well attended this year. I did not sell anything. I usually go to shows with low expectations. That way I'm not too disappointed with the outcome. The only time I had really had high expectations was for the Indie Designer event in August, and that turned out to be a disaster. If you make hats, scarves, and shawls for sale, you pretty much will sell things because everyone has a head and a neck. I know I have a limited customer base. Not everyone coming to one of these events has a dog. I make sweaters for little dogs, so that limits it more. I also charge more for my sweaters than one would pay at a pet superstore, and not every pet owner wants to splurge on their pet. I feel sorry for those pets, but there it is. I sold four sweaters at last year's event, which is big for me. Most of the sales I do these days are custom pieces, and some do sell out of shops on consignment. The reason I do shows is that I really like to display my work to the public. I love to see them all hung together. They look like candy to me. This event is with my Guild, so that also makes it fun, and spending time with people from other Guilds is enjoyable as well. Working with multiple personalities can be a challenge, really in any situation, but seems more challenging when all help is voluntary. But an observation made today, is that the people who complained the most contributed the least in terms of volunteering to make the event successful and fun for everyone. Just saying.

Celebrating My Voice

So, I've been a little bit obsessed and freaked out about the sudden abundance of dog knitting books that are getting a lot of attention. I either hope that an appetite for more such books will be created, or worry that the marketplace will be pretty much saturated by the time mine appears. I confessed this to a wise friend, a woman I have great admiration for. She spoke about how there may be many out there, but only one that has my voice. I shouldn't be concerned about the other voices, just work on making mine the best that I am capable of. The book will be my voice, not the creative properties of others that I have picked over to find the best. Hopefully my voice will speak to some, and they will appreciate what I have to contribute. I need to focus on that as these next few months fly by.

Fun at the FAOF, part 1

Today was set up and opening night for the Fine Art of Fiber. This is a picture from last year, of customers being awed by the Lucky Penny display. My set up looks pretty much the same, only one of my grids appears distorted. Could it have melted in the 100 degree heat at that awful show last August? Anyway, this show is just a great time with my people. Knitters, weavers, and quilters. I did some purchasing tonight--I decided last year that this would be the show where I bought a quilt--so I bought it early because this artist's work usually sells out fast. I have a small quilt collection of vintage tops that I had quilted, and they have been used. The fabric in the quilt tops is 80+ years old, and now deteriorating to the point where repair would be costly and mostly impossible. Last year, I bought a superb woven shawl, museum quality I've been told. It's really beautiful, and I must confess I don't have a wardrobe worthy of it. I bought a scarf made by Cathy Montoya, that has a funny story that I'll save for an upcoming post. Pictures from this year are in a camera borrowed from the Man, so they will follow too, including my lovely purchases, and some works in progress. If you're in the Chicago area, the show is Friday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm at the Winnetka Community House, at the corners of Pine and Lincoln, just east of Green Bay Road. Support your fellow fiber artists!

A Conversation

Him--"You don't mention me on your blog, do you?"
Me--"Well....Yes. But I stopped using your name! I just call you The Man now."
Him--"Stop."
Him--"Do you use pictures of me?"
Me--"I have a few."
Him--"Don't use my pictures."
Me--"No one who knows you reads my blog, and only about three people I know do." (Hello, Debi, Mary, and Bonne Marie!)
I can't help it. He is the most interesting, joyful, irritating person I know. And, he loves my little dog! Piccolo and I are eagerly waiting for sweater weather. The Man, not so much.

A Mile (or so) in My Danskos

Today I had to go downtown, to the State of Illinois building, also known as the Thompson Center, to see the Illinois Department of Revenue. Regarding my sales tax. I fell behind on filing. I never got forms in the mail, and for some crazy reason, the ST-1 form is the one that can't be downloaded from the internet. I got to take the CTA rapid transit downtown. I hardly ever get to do it. I wish I had a job that I could use it for, often it's so much more convenient and less costly than trying to park a car. It's always interesting to see the "backyards" of places I normally see when I'm in my car. But, the humanity! Often my annoyance threshold gets pushed a little. Stuffed on to the train with gum snappers! And sniffers! Don't they know how to use a tissue? Heard lots of cell phone conversations. Mostly not so interesting. I was able to knit a little bit on a sock, but the train rocked a bit, so it wasn't easy. The experience with the Department of Revenue was not so bad, and I'm caught up! Going home, I made a quick stop to one of my favorite places, Pompeii Bakery for some lunch to go. Then took the el the rest of the way, a short walk home, and then the company of Piccolo for lunch. Got an order from Barnes and Noble today. One a new book of dog sweaters and etc. I purchased it to make sure that I wasn't duplicating something that's already been done. I'm not, fortunately. That would have freaked me out. But, damn, this book is cute! I'm super freaked out about that. The Man's comment was "but yours will be cuter!" Sometimes he says exactly the right thing.
The sock is another Step Ladder in Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz. This time in Java. When I finish the mate, I will have three pairs of the same design, same yarn. When I find something I like in a sock design, I tend to repeat it a few times.

That's What I Call Color!

There's a little technical difficulty here in the Workshop. I have not been able to download photos from my camera or media card directly, so I have to stop at CVS pharmacy and get them on a CD first. This means that there is a delay in finishing a project or activity, and having a picture available to post. This is the set up for the terrible show I did at the end of August. Before the show promoters "kicked me to the curb", literally. This is what the New York Times didn't get to see. Do we think I'm holding a grudge? You bet! I love to see all the sweaters together. I think this strongly illustrates why knitting a mostly gray dog sweater kind of leaves me cold.