500

So it seems that I've had at least 500 things to say about my studio life with Piccolo and the Man. This milestone sort of creeped up on me, or I would have planned some type of celebration of sorts.
This is a sweater that I used some bulky weight yarn for an experiment. It's Briar Rose Fibers Beth Ann, now discontinued. Malabrigo Chunky would work well for this, too. Sort of a little project for that next book.
I'm working on finishing some vests, and I'm knitting a pair of gloves for my darling nephew, who will be working on the Norwegian Cruise Line to Alaska for the summer. I was going to make them fingerless until the cruise line and route changed to cold. I would love to see Alaska, but I'm sure I couldn't convince the Man to come along. He hates to be cold. I love it. Ensconce me in wool! This is my first pair of knitted gloves, and let me tell you, they are fun to knit, and fast. Of course I want to knit more.
I'm having some wardrobe issues with a trip I'm making next week. I'll be live on the floor of the Columbus Convention Center, at the TNNA trade show. A book signing on Saturday, and one on Sunday. My debut. I'm clueless about what to wear to look professional, but arty.
For those of you who pre-ordered Doggie Knits from a US book seller, I would imagine that you'll have it soon. Many of the sites show it as being in stock. It's a great value, I must say, for the amount of projects in it. Cheap, but not cheaply made. I often buy a book and then never make something from it. Usually it's when the photography, the look of the publication draws me in. I hope that's what people will feel about this book. I love David's photography!

More Knitted History

The great thing about knitting for my Mom is that she actually wears and appreciates my work. There are pieces that she wears that I knit for her when I was in high school. That's what is good about selecting a classic style of sweater or vest to knit. It turns out, I have knit so many things for her that I have forgotten some of them. I was surprised to see this one. I made lots of vests for her to wear to work. She worked in a medical office, and sweater sleeves did not work under a lab coat. I do not remember where I got this pattern, or if the design was a hybrid of things I was thinking about at the time. I think the color pattern is a Kaffe Fassett design. Done in my "aggressive" style of color work.

I don't recall precisely when I knit this vest, I would guess it was about ten to twelve years ago. It's Lamb's Pride, one of my favorite workhorse yarns, in assorted colors. I am certain I had lots on hand for knitting sweaters for Lucky Penny.

Joke

Sometimes I think that this kind of thing can only happen in my world. Have you ever shopped for books on Amazon? They offer an additional discount if you buy a book with another title. Right now, you can purchase my book, Doggie Knits, with another, titled (get ready!) Doggy Knits. Question to (recently fired) editor: do you think your choice of a title was a little bit generic?

Other Men

I inquired at the quilt shop I frequent about some one to repair my vintage Bernina sewing machine. Even after the purchase of a new, slick modern Swiss machine, I just couldn't let my old friend go. I was given the vague instructions to take it to "Joe in South Elgin" who used to work at the Bernina factory. I couldn't find Joe in South Elgin on the Bernina website, but I found a store, Sew Unlimited on Randall Road in South Elgin. I had a meeting last Friday in Schaumburg, and thought, okay, not too far from South Elgin. Then I had another thought: Marengo, not too far from South Elgin. I didn't make it to Marengo, but late Friday afternoon, when I found Sew Unlimited, and carried in my broken machine, a man in a black shirt, with a ponytail, asked if he could help me. "Are you Joe?" I asked. It was. "I hear you're the Man." The lady working in the shop said "Joe can fix anything." Joe says that my 801 is a "nice little machine." Makes me feel better about investing in a repair.
This morning, I had a meeting with another man. A banker. I had a small IRA account that I've ignored, really for the last ten years. On the occasion that I opened a statement, I would notice that it was actually losing value. I have a pretty cool bank. It was not the original one that I opened an account with sixteen years ago, but with the most recent change, customer service is really ramped up. It's this nice young man's job to watch my new IRA to make sure it's always growing. Nice. Here's the thing. I would love, love, love to make dog sweaters all the time, but I need to be realistic. To do what I want to do, and fund taking care of Piccolo, and knitting for myself, and other activities, I need real money. So, I have to keep a (sort of) full time job, and think about the future. It's just not romantic or sexy to have no money, especially at my age. Diversification of investment. It makes me feel so grown up.
I had a thought about the 2 AM Catholic television intrusion into our bedroom. I wear ear plugs, and the Man sleeps through it. I'm wondering if it's deliberate due to my "living in sin," as the landlady describes it. Sort of a deterrent, if you will. The Man doesn't think so. I can tell you that it's not working.
The photo is another look at the Doggie Knits trunk show that was at Arcadia Knitting last March.

The View

The view is myself taking a nap on the sofa. I must be in her sight all the time.

I Don't Know

Am I happier since I started quilting again? I don't think it's just the quilting. First of all, I think that moving to the new place helped. It's shabby, still kind of messy, and often I have to sleep with earplugs to muffle the noise of my landlady's Catholic television station at 2 AM. But we're comfortable here, and Piccolo has adjusted very well. Some of my storage issues will be resolved when I move some large cabinet pieces down from my Mom's house, and I'm in love with the idea of getting an antique Hoosier cabinet for the kitchen.
The job is going okay. There's always going to be issues, and some unavoidable craziness, but I have lovely flexibility, and for the most part, it's not too bumpy a ride. I've had jobs before that looked good on a resume, but were just brutal to my spirit. The job fits for now.
Seeing the finished book has made me happy. There's been a fair amount of frustration with the process, and I've learned a lot. I've posted about the frustrations on occasion, then think better of it, and post gets deleted a little later.
Sometimes the Man will do or say something that is so funny, that just thinking about it makes me laugh out loud. Yesterday he went golfing in the suburbs with one of his brothers and a longtime friend. There's always some sort of animal encounter, and often he will record it for me. He'll creep up on a deer, whilstling at it like he does with Piccolo, and the deer will pause, then run away. Yesterday, he chased a goose, arms outstretched, attempting to catch it. The goose was too fast, and the Man fell down.

The top of Piccolo's quilt is done. The pattern is the In and Out by Amy Walsh from Blue Undergound Studios. It's a great design if you have fabrics that you really want to feature. I can't get over the cuteness, I must say. Stripes and dots, and little dogs in sweaters. The fabric for the back is a sweet little floral 1930's reproduction, and the long-arm quilt texture will be dogs and bones, stitched in red. The thing about the quilting for me, it's just another way to play with color. In this case, color and print together. I haven't chosen really daunting projects, and don't think I would in the future. I'm trying to buy fabrics with a specific project in mind, athough there has been just a little bit of stash accumulation. It's an amusement for me, but knitting is my primary love.

The Prettiest Things in My Home

This is the quilt I made a few months ago in my beginning class at Quiltology. I pieced the top, and the quilting and binding were done "by checkbook." I was inspired to choose this pattern (Sunshine and Shadow) and colors after staying up late and watching a show called "Fun Shui" on HGTV. Diamonds are supposed to bring fame, and I think the reds are supposed to bring fortune. Let's see if that happens!
The quilt is really fun to make. You cut fabric into strips, sew strips together, and then cross cut the strip sets to assemble the quilt. I should take a photo of the back. It's a really pretty toile-like print of big peacocks or something. I thought the print was too pretty to cut up into little bits for the top. I think the back of a quilt should be interesting, too.
There's a mirror on one side of this room that I didn't like, but now with the quilt on the (new leather) sofa, when I look out from the kitchen, I see the reflection of the quilt. Now I like that I have a mirror!

It's Pretty

The Man says that the dogs' photos leap off the page. You know what he's talking about. The Thing I've Been Blogging About for Three Years. It has my name and a cute little dog on the binding. I like the back cover, too. Doggie Knits will hit the warehouse next week, so delivery can't be very far behind.

Proof

I was still knitting stuff during all this quilty business. I finished this pair before I left for Boston last month. These vests were for a production of A Comedy of Errors at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. All I can say is, not my vision. I charted the mirror image thunderbolts from a designer's rendering. The designer chose four different yarns for intarsia knitting. Not the best idea. At least they were all wool, I was concerned that they would have thrown a cotton in there. They were just choosing yarn for color, unfortunately. I think the saving grace is that these are on stage, and not under close scrutiny. I was able to finish on time because the backs are plain knitting, and I did them on my knitting machine. I actually find this type of knitting challenging and interesting, and wish I was asked to do it more often.
I would love to get asked to make a dog sweater for a movie or stage costume. That would be the best, the ultimate.

I'm The Mom of This

I've tried for years to get the Man on board with this. I'm the Mom of Piccolo. Oh yes, I am. I must admit, that I love taking care of her, and also love taking care of the Man. I love that they need me. As much as the Man may deny it, he does. It was a cold and blustery day today, perfect for staying in and watching old movies and knitting. Perfect for Mother's day--Mildred Pierce, with my favorite, Joan Crawford. Tonight I made a Shepherd's Pie with leftover stuff from the refrigerator and freezer, with sauteed leeks and ground beef. Tasty, stick to your ribs type of comfort food.
I finished the top this weekend for Piccolo's quilt, and I love it. It will be sent out for quilting and binding. I have my eye on a quilt texture on the long arm computer program that's in the shape of dogs--just right for the little quilt. I'm finally able to get my cd slot to open on the computer, so photos will be forthcoming, finally! The Man thinks I'm nuts for making one for her. I showed him the one that I'm working on for our bed. "Simple" was his comment. It's strip sets, cut and sewn into random color arrangements. Picture of it to follow soon. The Man made the observation that I appear to have a few quilt tops going at one time. The count right now is three. Seems that I have some ADD with quilting, too.
I need to get moving on a commission project that I agreed to do for a friend--a lace stole, in the most heavenly blue faced leicester. It will be so nice to have that luscious fiber running through my fingers.
I'm getting an advance copy of Doggie Knits on Tuesday!

Scenes from a Knit Shop

For those of you who missed it, here's a peek at the Doggie Knits trunk show that was at Arcadia Knitting in March. It's a spoof of the dogs playing poker painting. The idea was Kathy and Sharon's, but I styled the display after the initial set up. I have a whole kennel of dog mannequins, and the bowls are part of my vintage McCoy pottery collection. I'm happy to set up a show at your LYS, if it's in a reasonable distance from the Lucky Penny headquarters.
I love a trunk show, don't you? It really helps to see the garments, and for this project, I'm proud to have my workmanship under scrutiny. Except for two garments, all samples for the book were my knitting. It was a lot of knitting!

Happy with Piccolo

Yes, I had a snarky, woe is me post, then took it off again. We don't need to show you all the drama, do we? What I learned with maturity is that every one's priorities and deadlines do not always coincide with yours.
The event at Zola Jones was lots of fun. It's always a good time with the team of the Chicago Craft Mafia, and Jason (aka Zola J.) is a delightful host, and the shop is just a little confection. Montrose Ave. had a unfortunate winter. A water main broke, and there was a hole in the street about a block long. It's been rebuilt, and the nearby businesses are just getting back on their feet. It's a great street for shopping and dining. If you're in Chicago, show Montrose Ave. some love!
Yesterday I took the new sewing machine out of the box and powered through some sewing of strip sets for a bed sized quilt for our love shack. My fabrics match this really cool vintage drape that I have up on the window. Hopefully soon I will get that computer repaired so I can post photos. I'm also working on a little wall hanging thingy that I'm going to practice machine quilting on. I've also been playing around with the fabrics for Piccolo's quilt, and might start slicing my fabrics for it soon. Nutty as this sounds, I have two quilts planned for my little cuddle muffin. Who deserves it more, I ask you?
I'm also starting a quilting class this week. The project is a quilt top, and my fabrics are fantastic! I was obsessed with the Kaffe Fasset pansy print that's been discontinued, and a built all the colors around that fabric. I love a project class. It's great to have a goal, and a deadline for a project.
It's a beautiful Spring day in Chicago. I met a friend downtown for lunch today, and did a little (window) shopping. I was looking for the Oilily store. I always find their color combinations and styling so inspiring. I couldn't find it! The mall it was in was almost deserted. So many empty stores. What is happening to retail? Scary.
Piccolo loves the new neighborhood. So many smells, so many dogs to yell at. I find her so amusing on a walk.
Oh, and I still knit.

Get Hand May-ed

What are you doing Saturday? Pop on over to Montrose Ave., for the Chicago Craft Mafia's Spring extravaganza, Hand May-ed! Our lovely host for the event is Zola Jones, source for funky functional bags, at his studio, 1944 W. Montrose. Hours for the event are 11 AM-5 PM.
Spring is in the air, and it has us feeling crafty!