Apparently, All Roads Lead to Madison

We're on a road trip in Wisconsin this past weekend, and going West on Highway 60. It's getting to be early evening, and we're thinking about lodgings. "You know where we're near!" said the Man. So, back in the same hotel. With a bigger room, but a small bed! Part of the road trip fun is that king sized bed.
There's so much buzz in the Lucky Penny world. Potential month long show in August, and some things I'm applying for in October. I'm in two shows in November, and applying to a December show. It's shaking up to be a busy autumn. I'm in this groove of knitting for me, that I've taken a little vacation from Lucky Penny. And, August, of course is a big month for fiber--Stitches Midwest is next week, and Michigan Fiber Festival the following. I'm so eager to knit wool stuff again. I'm finishing up another linen top, and that's it for non animal fibers for the season.
Piccolo knows what's good. She's snuggled up to some Briar Rose Fibers Abundance, left over from a vest I made earlier this year. Behind her you can see a sweater I've been working up using my leftovers.

Thoughts on a Fair, and an Invitation to the Other Side

So, last weekend I exhibited at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. With the exception of sleep deprivation, pretty much had a blast! The show set up and strike was pretty mellow and painless. I was thrilled that were were under big tents, and I didn't have to set up a 10 X 10 tent that I would have to borrow and transport. For a first time event, I thought the organization was superb. There was a lot of advance information sent from the organizer, so there were no real surprises. My supervisor at work and her spouse came out, and they had a great time, and they're not fiber people! There was good ethnic food (yummy Polish treats!), good coffee, beer if you didn't leave the beer garden, and round the clock entertainment on three stages. I heard some buzz that the local people were ticked off at the admission, but $6.00 with entertainment, and free parking, is a bargain, if you ask me. The setting was the grounds of an old mansion across the street from the beach in Crystal Lake. I thought that the event really showcased the grounds and the community.
Lucky Penny wise, I didn't expect to sell dog sweaters in July. I did work out an excellent trade with another exhibitor, and I'm so grateful. I did get the word out about Doggie Knits, which was really my objective for doing the event. Next year, I'll have books to sell! My mom came out to help me on Friday, and shooed me out of the booth so I could do some shopping. She did some advance stuff for me, and told me about some things in the market worth a look. I shopped the indie establishments! One stop was the Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative, for some handpainted wool, and angora/merino blend that has to be a lacy scarf, or some lingerie. I was looking forward to seeing a favorite, Briar Rose Fibers, and being in the same tent, I had three days worth of access. I have been knitting with this since I first purchased last year at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm so drawn to the luscious colors. Chris is truly an artist.
I'm drawn to both ends of the spectrum when it comes to color--I love what a real magician can do with a dye pot, and then I love what Nature can do on her own. Another vendor in my tent, Frontier Fiber Farm, had gorgeous alpaca. The natural colors were plied and spun into self-striping color blends. I bought some for a super warm sweater for Piccolo, and a little brown/grey combo for a little scarf for me. My mom and I bought little hand knit alpaca travel pillows stuffed with lavender. A furry alternative to cuddle, one that doesn't come with a tongue.
I have resisted wanting to spin my own yarn. I love the look of handspun yarn, and I love to knit with it. The handspun of others. Another exhibitor came by, Carol Larsen of River's Edge Weaving Studio. She took note of all the Noro Kureyon that I use for the sweaters, and we started talking about what it would be like if I spun my own. I was intrigued enough to think about a beginning class at the next Wisconsin Sheep and Wool. But, a week later, I'm thinking about the time suck and all the money needed to set up with a spinning wheel. There's so much that I want to knit now. Maybe in 2008.

This must be knit into a sweater for Piccolo. I love Noro colors, if you haven't guessed already, and don't think that they can be improved upon. But give me self striping in Blue Faced Leicester? You've got my attention, Carol!

The Obsession Revealed

About a month ago I won a hank of yarn in a drawing on another blog I participate on, the Briar Rose Fibers Knit Along. This is Wistful, 500 yards of alpaca, merino, and silk. I was looking for a mate for this hank at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair, but none was to be found. So, I asked Chris, the artist of Briar Rose, for a suggestion for my one hank. She suggested a free pattern from them, Hattie's Rose Garden, stole that will have dropped stitches after it's done, to open up the purl stitches between the cables. I can't bear to lose one lovely stitch. I love the way it undulates and the cables have depth. I started knitting this on Sunday, and I'm about 24 inches along now.

A close up of the pattern stitch. This is going to be my favorite scarf, ever.

Real Love

I'm taking care of three cats for friends while they are out of town for the week. They live exactly one block away, and Piccolo walked over with me this morning. I loved that she participated in the adventure, and she followed me around my friends' house to see what I was doing, and chased one of the cats. I don't know if these feelings are hormonally driven, but every so often this wave just comes over me. These strong feelings for Piccolo. Every day the bond gets deeper. Now, before you think that I'm totally nuts, I've had the same feeling for the Man from time to time. It's not that the feelings are only there sometimes, it's just on occasion they are overwhelming.
I've been meaning to forever, but I really need to get going on some new dog projects. After the last show, it's becoming more apparent that I need to have some patterns or kits. But, I've been in this groove of making things for myself. Fortunately, now with Summer almost halfway over, I'm starting to think about wooly items again. Probably the influence of the fiber show. I don't have pictures yet, but I'm in love with one of my wooly projects. 50% alpaca, 30% merino, and 20% silk. A perfect combination of texture and color. I put the project in my handbag so I can gaze at it and fondle it when I'm at work. When I'm alone with my project, I rub my face into it so I can get the heavenly scent. The really goofy thing, is that my project isn't any thing that someone would find inspiring, like, let's say, a Bohus that's been screaming to be knit. The object of my obsession is a scarf.

The Omission

I wrote a short, really short, bio for the book this morning. At the end, I stated where I reside and who I reside with. I left one out. I decided that perhaps I should exclude the Man because I didn't want someone not to purchase the book because they didn't approve of my lifestyle. Which is not so unusual, unless you live in Kansas maybe. I'm not married to the Man. I have nothing against a good marriage. I would be married to the Man, but it's his choice to have things this way. We've been together longer than a lot of marriages at this point, so I suppose that gives the arrangement some dignity. I'm sure that he won't really care about being left out of it.
I had a lot of fun this past weekend at the show, but not a lot of sleep. My stash sale went pretty well, and helped fund lunches, beverages, and some purchases. No photos yet. I'll give a more detailed run down of the event in a upcoming post, including some musings about someone trying to get me to come over to the dark side (spinning).

Bring the Checkbook, Leave Your Husband at Home!

I'll be in lovely Crystal Lake, IL this weekend. There's really a lake across the street.

It's the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair, at Legacy Arts Park. July 20-22, 2007.

Stop by in the Boutique tent and say hello!

In addition to dog sweaters and kerchiefs, I've cleaned out some of my stash for a little studio sale, cash only, sales final. Really good stuff, cheap!

The Author Bio

I've got to give this some thought. My editor wants a few paragraphs about me, and a photo.
I have to think of something to say that doesn't sound totally lame. In my styling days, there was a photographer who was famous for the head shot where the light pretty much erased the models' features so all you really noticed was eyes. I wish I had a shot like that of me. Every recent picture, and I've made sure there aren't many, look like my passport, which I've only looked at two or three times, it's so horrible.
The Chrysler is repaired! I just need to borrow a vintage drying rack from my friends and former antiques business partners, and I'm in business.

I'll Ride With You

We have not been taking the Chrysler for the last two road trips, because it needs some repair. It's leaking transmission fluid. I have a show to set up on Thursday, and told the Man I wanted to use it, so it needed to get fixed. I asked three weeks ago. It's still not done. This is going to affect how I do my display. I can pack my metal wire racks in my Rav4, but with the car over packed, the racks are uncomfortably close to my neck when I drive. It's okay if I'm in the city and going a short distance, but not for this trip. Also, if I have to use the Rav4, the vintage drying rack has to be tied to the top of the car. Not such a good idea if you have to drive 55+ mph. I'm furious with him. He insists that it will get repaired tomorrow, so it's not an issue. We'll see.

The weather forecast changed for this weekend, and I'm so happy about that. The low 80s, not 95 like was predicted a few days ago.

I got this shot when I was at the stop light. This is on Lawrence Ave., and Ashland. The van is parked outside Arcadia Knitting. It looks like the dog is wearing a seat belt! Ready to go!

Happy Birthday to the Man

My mate as a baby. Ready to instigate some mischief.

He's always loved hot summers and playing outside.

You're the happiest, silliest, messiest person I know. Piccolo and I love living with you.

Playing the Blood Pressure Card

Hey--I've never had so many comments! It is the hypertension? I had a nurse at work check it again, and it's not any different than it was three days ago. It appears that it's the real deal, and not the "white coat" variety. The nurse told me that this was nothing to be casual about, and it would be a good idea to take an aspirin every day to keep the blood thin. I've been looking on line, and there appears to be a link to menopause, but I'm not certain I'm there yet. So, I've been trying to use my affliction to get some help around the house. It's not working.

We had a 20 pound visitor in the house tonight. The Man found our little friend in front of our house. His owners were not home, and he was out without a collar this time. Almost like they put him out. He is a really sweet dog. I found a collar in the house for him, and had some real thoughts about keeping him here. I ended up taking him back, and they were slow to answer the door. The owner opened up her back door and called for the dog in the yard. I yelled out that I had her dog in front. The negligence and ignorance gets my pressure up!

The photo is ZeeNa, who is my favorite model in the book. A Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. I love the heart shaped marking on her forehead. This is what she does when you yell "bang bang!" at her.

Like a Ton of Bricks

It's a few months away, but already my "fittieth" is kicking me in the ass. I had a long overdue doctor's appointment, and the diagnosis is hypertension. I've probably had it for a while. I have to check my blood pressure at home, to make sure it's not the "white coat" variety. The remedy is exercise (which I hate) and diet, and hopefully not medication. I was reluctant to tell the Man, because I get a lot of grief from him as it is. Every morning I awake to my fleshy bits getting poked and prodded. When I told him tonight, his response was, "I know." To make matters even more fun, I'm wondering if I'm getting hot flashes. It's hard to tell with summer and our household air conditioning issues. I have a lovely HMO, the company does radio spots that features the Bill Withers song "Lean on Me", and talks about "shining through." As if. My plan is going up to $86 per pay period. I was using the family plan to leverage the Man into a marriage proposal. Not so much any more. Add one person to my policy, and the rate goes up to $422 per pay period. Shining. The situation is, this company doesn't want to insure employees of the company I work for, because of their demographics. Meaning that all of us are getting older. So, they write a policy that's so expensive in the hopes that you will go elsewhere. Shining through! I haven't seen the Sicko movie yet, and already I'm furious.
So, there's more medical fun to happen in the next few weeks. Blood tests, and getting my arms squished again and again.

A little more summer knitting has been happening here. This vest is knit with Hemp for Knitting Cashmere Canapa. A cotton, cashmere, and hemp blend. Nice to knit with. I would use it again. The design is from Louisa Harding's book Modern Knitwear. I bought the book for this one pattern. I have plans to make it again, can you believe it?

It's the Heat

I hate being hot. Even a short excursion takes the life out of me in this heat. I live with a Man who loves it. I was home in between errands today, and the Man arrived home, not feeling well. Denying that he had also succumbed to excessive heat. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the show next week has comfortable weather. I've had heat poisoning before, and it's a horrible feeling.

For the most part, I find summer knitting to be not so satisfying. I don't wear sleeveless well with flag arms, so unless I can wear a little 3/4 sleeved t-shirt underneath, shells are out for me. There's not too many cottons that I like to knit with either. I did find something that's not too bothersome to knit with, and washes up really well. It's worsted weight Euroflax linen, color Cedarwood. I resurrected my favorite Rosebud pattern for a summer version, so I knit a double strand to achieve gauge. Mods added to this one were some vertical darts in front. I like this stuff so much, that I'm using it for another Briar Rose pattern, a summer version of their Sleeveless Eyelet Sweater.

Someone else in my household is also a fan of summer, sun, and heat. Go figure. Photo from the deck at the Fontana house, July 8, 2007.

Tech Photos

Next month will be one year that I turned in the first draft of the book manuscript. We're still adding stuff. What do I do when my photo budget's been exhausted? Set up a white poster board on a little table on the front porch, whip out my Olympus camera, and DIY tech photography. The porch is a good place for this--it's completely covered, so shadows are at a minimum. Here I'm demonstrating how you create the ribbed cuffs for leg holes on a sweater knit using double pointed needles.
I've waited three days for the Man to get it together for us to leave town. He's been working, and I've been getting little housekeeping accomplished except to start washing my vests and Piccolo's dog sweaters. We're both at about nine washed. I have quite a few more to go. And about seven more in progress or planned to knit. The elimination of sleeves certainly steps up production.
I saw the grounds layout for the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair, and I'm getting really excited about the event. I'm in the same tent as Briar Rose Fibers, which is a huge temptation for me. How many more Rosebuds can I make?

My Knitted History

In the absence of photos of anything new to show, here's a look back to the 1980's. This is from a Vogue Knitting magazine, I think Fall 1984. Intarsia before I had a clue about what I was doing. If you look at the sleeve detail, I didn't finish it that well, either. This was knit from Tahki Donegal Tweed and some mohair from a cone, all purchased at Weaving Workshop (the earlier incarnation of Knitting Workshop). I made it for myself, and some years ago, gave it up for my mom to wear on her walks in her lovely Wisconsin surroundings.

These photos are from this Spring, taken on a walk to Belvidere Park, in Fontana, on Geneva Lake.

The sweater ribbing is stretched out after 20+ years. I've offered to take it off and knit new bands, but my mom likes it like this. It's all oversized and comfy.

Piccolo is cowering under the chair in my office/studio as I write this. Fourth of July is a crummy holiday for pets. For fireworks being illegal, I'm always a little frustrated that so many irresponsible people have them, and wonder why more cars don't blow up, parked in the street while they go off, or garages catch on fire. I sound like an old lady right now, don't I?

The Man is blow drying some magazines that got wet in the garage. My nut is probably going to be at this project all evening.

House Bound

Last week, there was a heavy rain that resulted in the basement flooding. Now we get the lovely scent of mildew when we run the air conditioning. Great.
I don't know when we're getting out of town for the holiday. The Man has to work tomorrow. I hopefully will get another re-write of a pattern off to my editor. She didn't answer if she was working the rest of the week. I'm of the opinion that not much gets done with this holiday falling in the middle of the week.
No real housekeeping got done despite my being home today. I'm coming off an eight day work week, so I guess I'm allowed to be lazy. I really need to buy some household items. Did you know that you can wear out sheets? The Man has worn holes into some flannel ones. I've never worn out a sheet on my own. I need some more storage containers for my ever increasing vest wardrobe, and to store Piccolo's wardrobe until this fall. So, tomorrow, I'm going to look for some stores.
In knitting progress, I'm 3/4 done with a CeCe in grey Debbie Bliss Rialto. Just one more sleeve, and then the raglan shaping to do. I'm 4/5 done with the navy cabled cardigan. I'm knitting the yoke now. It's a lot of finishing for this baby, with 5 pieces to sew together.
The photo is a Kaffe Fassett needlepoint pillow, on my Ruth Stegmeyer quilt, with a bear from my Steiff collection.

"If you lie to me again, I'm getting the cuffs out!"

It's city living. The Man is driving on Lincoln Ave. today, hears the sirens behind him, and pulls over. The sirens are for him. He's in our Chrysler mini van, which is a mess inside with assorted newpapers and work equipment. When the Chicago police looked inside the vehicle, I'm sure they were certain they had their man. About four police cars in total arrived to interrogate him. They had him spread out against a car while an officer patted him down. They wanted to know when he was in a particular alley (he wasn't), which resulted in the quote above. Then there's the address on the drivers license that doesn't match the address that he hesitatingly gave for our residence. What happened was that an eighty six year old woman had her apartment broken into, and the description of the getaway car matched ours. They ran his i.d., and figured out that he was not the guy. One of the officers put his hand on the Man's chest and commented that his heart was racing. "Did you cry?", I asked. I would have been crying. Apoligies all around when they determined the Man was not the one. "We're just doing our job!"

This is a picture of the world's smallest police dog, catching a little snooze in her daddy, the Sheriff's, lap. I'm so inspired by this little dog with her police uniform!