Time Conspiracy, Festivals, Family & Obsessions

I have never thought of myself as a believer in "Conspiracy Theories" but.........IT'S OCTOBER ALREADY!!

There has to be some conspiracy theory out there that explains how it can possibly be October already.  I mean seriously, where did September go? For that matter, did I sleep through the end of August?

I have a serious time shortage if I can't find a way to turn back the calendar.  I have major festival & travel plans for the last two weeks of October. If I work round the clock until then....maybe......Nope, I can not be ready.

The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival is rapidly approaching.  This year it runs October 14 - 23.  It is headquartered in Rockville, Indiana.  Shops that are in Rockville year-round are gearing up for big business and the myriad of vendors will soon be moving in.  The variety of hand-crafted items and delicious food is just amazing.

While you are in the area, you need to visit Bridgeton, IN to check out The Bridgeton 1878 House and all the fabulous crafts & food in that area.  

October 14th, 2011 is " I Love Yarn Day"  sponsored by the  Craft Yarn Council.  Locally we will be celebrating at The Fiber Closet.  Cheryl is hosting a "Yarn-a-bration" celebration.  There will be spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, etc......and refreshments!  While you are visiting the Covered Bridge Festival, be sure to stop by & visit with all your friends at The Fiber Closet.

I have been busy in the studio this week.  These little felted nesting bowls have been my obsession of late.  I have made several sets of them.  What's your current fiber obsession?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Halloween set

Fall colored bowls

A baby set

Wouldn't these be cute holding cotton balls, Q-tips & such?



A Christmas set or two are on the way.  I have just been having the best time making these!



I will miss the last weekend of the Covered Bridge Festival as I have a family wedding to attend.  Much more about that in an upcoming post.

Then we are taking a family trip to California to attend my eldest daughters'  PhD Defense.  So excited for Emily (aka The NeuroKnitter)....and that we will all be there to help her celebrate.

Well that's it for now as suddenly the yarn is calling my name.  Back to work!


Happy Crafting!!!

I look forward to reading your comments.

Ramblings.....Courtesy of Benadryl

It is the peak time for my allergies right now in the midwest.  Therefore,  I am on medication.  This causes some minor inconveniences to my life such as.....I can't concentrate!!!

As my mind wanders all over the place, I sometimes come up with good ideas.  Such as this example.  I think it turned out well.

And this idea, which doesn't seem to work quite as well as envisioned while under the influence of anti-histamines.  What!  It doesn't look like an up-side down fluted-edge bowl to you.  Hmmm.  Maybe you need some allergy meds too?

Maybe it is a hat for a stone goose?

I also seem to think I am capable of producing a vast quantity of finished products for the "Creative Friends" booth at Neva's.  When in actuality I am moving in super slow motion.  The annual 10-day Covered Bridge Festival is coming up soon.  This gives me a definitive, set in stone deadline to get things done.  I always say I work best under pressure.  This will be a test of that theory, but don't bet on me........because...

I have been a bit distracted by these little creatures.
Have you seen them yet?  They are called "hexi-puffs" and are the invention of Tiny Owl Knits.  Look out folks, once you start knitting them it is difficult to quit. The knitterly world is becoming obsessed with The Bee-Keepers Quilt


By the way, I found my notes on the Hoosier Hills Fiber Arts Festival.  Hopefully, I will have the much delayed post about that up soon.

In the mean time, I wish you a life filled with happiness & art.





  

A Good Life

I was recently fortunate enough to be invited by Brigitte Pieke of Klose Knit in Urbana, IL to attend a "meet & greet" with Stephen West aka WestKnits.

I carpooled with Cheryl Moreo of The Fiber Closet.  We headed of to Urbana for a wonderful fibery excursion.  After a  delicious early meal at The Courier Cafe where they still serve old-fashioned "Green River Phosphates", we moved around the corner to Klose Knit.  This is a truly lovely yarn shop owned by Brigitte.  It is warm, cozy and full of every fiber you could hope to find. Brigitte was a gracious hostess making sure everyone felt welcome and had time for a personal chat with Stephen.

Stephen West is a delightful young man.  His designs are fresh and fun.  You can not help but be cheered by his smile.  It is wonderful to see this designer gaining popularity.  After his recent mention by The Yarn Harlot, I expect his fame to soar in the knitter world..


Hopefully I will soon have a picture or two of items made from his unique patterns.  I am thinking about starting with Loxley, Transatlantic or maybe the Boneyard Shawl just because I love the name. The new book, "WestKnits Book Three" is scheduled for an October release.  Look for it in your local yarn shop.

While at Klose Knit, I also met designer Todd Gocken.  We had a very nice chat about yarns, pattern writing, publishing, sales, etc.  He offered many fine tips.  His "Brigade" sweater and "Norwegian Snowflake" hat and scarf are just beautiful.  Check him out on Ravelry.

On a more personal crafting note,  work continues on the "stealth shawl pattern".  I have projects on 2 looms and several UFO's hanging out around here.  The spinning is coming along.  I actually spun some beautiful yarn from Jacob roving.......for about 2 yards.  Then I was back to thick & thin.  But I am making progress.

Life has been busy here with grandchildren, canning vegetables from the garden, and crafting when possible. 

But, it is good.  Definitely a good life!

Babies, Fair Results, Spinning, Klutziness all covered here!

So sorry I have neglected the blog for a bit.  Life sometimes gets so busy.  So to catch you up a bit....

My shawl got 3rd in its' division at the fair.  I was disappointed for bit but it was a good learning experience.

A couple of new pieces were added to the booth at Neva's.  They are hand-knit beaded necklaces from The NeuroKnitter.

 I think they are quite lovely!



I got caught up in a bit of horse trading this week.  I traded my 1st gen iPad for an Ashford Joy spinning wheel, and bought a new iPad 2.  I am sure I came out on the better end of that deal.

Today I had my first spinning lesson.  I should have warned my teacher, Cheryl from The Fiber Closet, in advance but thought "Who knows, I might be a natural at this".  Wrong!  I am still a klutz.  This may require more coordination than I have.  We will see.  We went over parts of the wheel, some basics and she turned me loose.  I am sure it was quite entertaining for her.  That she kept a straight face while watching me fumble all over the place is quite the feat.  But, at least I got started.  You can't learn a thing if you don't try.  Klutziness aside,  I quite enjoyed it.  I have visions of spinning some lovely yarn this winter.  Wonder if that is over-ambitious?

I spent a lovely afternoon with Dee & her college friend, who also just had a baby.  The babies bonded, Lily guarded her Nana from the intruders, and we had tea & cake prepared by my favorite chef!!

The stealth pattern has progressed from writing to test knitting.  It took a late night re-writing session in which I had to break out the big guns, namely chocolate & highly caffeinated tea.  I love it when a vision starts to come together.

I will leave you today with a few random questions:

1. Do you have any favorite apps, crafting or otherwise, that I might be interested in for the iPad or Android?

2. Which is your favorite method for a left-leaning decrease?

3. Do you have any recommended books/websites on pattern writing, publishing, teaching?

4.  What is on your needles, loom, wheel, etc?

Out of My Comfort Zone

I have always heard you need to step out your comfort zone to grow as a person & artist.

Well I am officially taking a small step in that direction.  I have knitted for several years now.  I am always told, " You should enter that in the fair."  And I always answer with "I might just do that."  All the time thinking, "Are you kidding me! Open my self up to be judged?"  Today I am taking the red shawl to be entered in a fair.

Now I sell my weaving & felted works all the time. I don't know why I am so hesitant to be critiqued on the knitting.  I guess because I figure if someone is buying it.....then they like it.  That's all that matters.  But to be judged is definitely out of my comfort zone.

I will keep you posted on how well I survive this.

Till next time.

Hooray, I'm back!!

Hooray, I am back.

Just in case you haven't figured it out by my absence.  My new grandbaby is here. Liam Jeremy made his appearance Saturday, July 30th at 8:30 am.  He came in at 8lb 3oz and is at least 22 inches long.  He looks longer to Nana.

Everyone is doing fabulous. They only had to stay 24 hrs in the special midwife unit at the hospital.  Very neat set-up they have going on there at Carle Hospital in Champaign, IL.  Many thanks to Midwife Ray Spooner, MSN, CSN  He is an incredible guy!

What a mood lifter this has been.  I was able to stay with the family throughout the short labor and delivery.  Then went back to their house and spent the night with newly crowned, big sister Lily.  Oh what fun we had.  We watched some Mary Poppins and Despicable Me, two of her favorites.  We laughed and played on Sunday then welcomed home the new brother.   I will be staying with them on the days Daddy has to work just to help out a bit.  What a lovely time in my life.  I am truly blessed!

So on to knitting.  For some strange reason, I have the urge to knit some baby socks.
I found a really cute pattern for socks not booties and a bit of yarn from The Fiber Closet.  I decided to go with Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo in colors 132 - Putty and 139 - Ming.  I will keep you posted on my progress.

I haven't made much progress on the stealth shawl pattern lately.  I have been a bit preoccupied.  I also have an interesting story to tell you about a box....a magic box.  You see, I came home on Sunday to find a huge cardboard box full of lovely, garden fresh, shucked sweet corn sitting in the middle of my kitchen.  Well I jumped right in and washed, prepared, bagged and froze it.  I left the empty box on the kitchen floor and didn't give it another thought.  Off I went to my daughters house Monday morning.  Spent a lovely day helping them out and snuggling some grandbabies.  When I walked back into the kitchen Monday night.............lo & behold.........the magic box was once again full of beautiful, shucked sweet corn.  My spirits sank just a bit.  I was so very tired but I once again prepared & froze it.  75 ears this time. Took me into the wee hours of the morning to finish.  Then, I stumbled off to bed thinking about all the errands I had to take care of on Tuesday.  I hit the floor running the next morning.  Just as I headed out the door.........I paused.  Hmmmm, maybe one last bit of business to take care of before leaving.  I carefully set that box outside.  It worked!  I have no corn to work up tonight.  Just lovely resting & knitting. Of course I did have a bit of dinner made from the stash I held back from the freezer.

Now tomorrow I may try putting the box back in the kitchen as I will be gone all day & my darling husband will be home all afternoon!

I will let you know how this experiment turns out.



My outlook has indeed improved.

• It's still hot but I have air-conditioning.
• I am sleeping because I am not waiting on a phone call & can take Benadryl for the allergies.
• I now have TWO beautiful grandchildren.
• Daughter2 has never looked happier.
• An October visit to daughter1 is a week closer.
• Sock Summit is done so I can get over my envious thoughts - till the next event ;-)
• All appliances are currently working - knock on wood.

So life is good and I am back to my mostly cheerful self!

Until next time, HAPPY CREATING!!!

Beware! Ranting may follow

Let's just get this out in the open right away.

Pick your term.  I am crabby, cranky, bitchy, out of sorts, tired, pissy, irritable.  Whatever you call it.....I don't like being in this state.  And I don't have a good reason for it.  It just is!

Everything is going well in my life right now.  So what could possible be causing this.  Maybe a list will help???

1.  It's HOT.  Heat indices have been over 100 degrees for maybe 8-10 days.  It kind of wears a person down after a while.  You step outside & it smacks you up side the head, takes your breath away.  Just listen to people...they walk out of a nice air-conditioned building and everyone says "UGH".  Seriously, its a phenomenon researched by....me.

2.  I am not sleeping well.  Can't be the heat causing it because I am in an air-conditioned room.  I always have periods of insomnia & usually embrace them as a time to get extra work done, or read a good book, catch up on blog reading, etc.  But if it goes on a bit too long, I take 2 Advil & a Benadryl and sleep great.  The problem is, as I am waiting on a call from Daughter2 that Grandbaby2 has decided to appear & she needs me to come get Grandbaby1, I am afraid to medicate to sleep.  No way am I missing that call & I need to be alert to drive.

3.  Aforementioned Grandson is a bit reluctant to make his way into the world.  My daughter has reached that  stage of  " I am a week overdue, miserable and just want this pregnancy over".  She is tired, swollen, hot and also a bit crabby.  I think she has a pretty good excuse.  But she is still my baby & although there is absolutely nothing I can do for her......A momma worries.

4. Sock Summit Envy.  Sock Summit 2011 starts tomorrow and I want to be there.  Now I have known for quite a while that I wouldn't be there.  I have a grandbaby due.  It's in Portland, OR.  I can't afford or justify it right now.  But that does not lessen the fact that I really wish I was there.  All I can say is.....there better be one in 2013.  It doesn't help that I keep checking Twitter for #socksummit tweets.  I can't wait till the pictures and blog posts about it start appearing.

5. It's hot.  Did I mention that before?  This heat tends to affect my brain a bit.

6.  I haven't seen Daughter1 since April.  She lives 2000 miles away and due to final work on her PhD, she hasn't been able to make it home for her annual summer visit. I am needed here now so it will probably be mid fall before I see her in person.  Now don't get me wrong.  I talk to her nearly everyday, we share tidbits online & on the phone.  But I miss the physical connection.

7.  I have been so obsessed with creating lace objects that my other crafts are suffering.  There are just not enough hours in the day for everything I want to create.  When fiber creations run around in my head too long without an outlet, they get a bit stir crazy.  Right now there is a minor skirmish going on between a handwoven tartan baby blanket, a couple pair of socks, at least 2 lace shawls and a set of needle-felted bowls.  Since all my crafting time is being occupied with pattern writing & swatching the others have to wait and they are not real happy about it.

8.  There is an extreme heatwave going on here y'all!

9.  There is a world conspiracy against me.  Well perhaps that is a wee bit of exaggeration.  But did you ever have one of those times where life just doesn't flow?  Of course you have, we all have.  It happens all the time.  My Dr. relocated to the East Coast.  It's hard to research new Drs and find ones you have a good rapport with.  I have been having to deal with insurance a lot lately.  That is about as fun as beating your head on a brick wall. Several of my favorite products were mysteriously discontinued.  What is up with that?  I have a sneaking suspicion that a couple of my major appliances are thinking about going on strike.  Negotiations to keep them working will take money that I wish to spend elsewhere ( on a new grandson, on fiber art supplies, airplane tickets, fiber conventions, a new gadget).  Just too many such happenings for it to be a coincidence.

10.  Maybe I am just crabby.  No reason or excuse needed.  Just one of those (hopefully short) periods of time when a person a bit off.

Okay, no more whining.  Let's go with reason ten and call it a night.  After all, tomorrow is a brand new day with all new possibilities!