Days of Tea and Knitting

Finishing the Year

2011-12-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my lovely cousin, Kara and her husband, Mustapha I had wonderful Christmas holiday in LA. On my first day, Kara was excited to take me to this place she found, called the Peace Awareness Labyrinth Gardens. I took lots of pictures of this estate that was like stepping into an Italian villa for the afternoon. The weather was perfect, with a high of 72!

(I'm gonna be short on the commentary here and post some images from the day.)

And then we have sunset, Christmas Day at the beach and Venice Canals:

I was traveling light and actually took these all with my 2 year old iPhone. Still enjoying the miracle of digital images...Happy New Year, everyone.

Mending my...

2011-11-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

I trundled into the bathroom yesterday morning and felt the cold linoleum on my left heel. I had on my only Wollmiese socks. OH NO!!! Just the day before, my old standby socks (on the right) fell to the same fate. It's pair already saw some re-knitting on the heel. When it comes to this level of repair, the only thing that will do is knitting a patch on the heel...because I don't even have anymore of the yarn to do something like re-knit the entire heel. In general, I'm going to have to be careful about always wearing my Berks in the apartment because the floors are a rather rough textured industrial carpet.

On the subject of knitwear maintenance, I did some "re-fashioning" on a second hand cashmere sweater that I've had for years. It's a man's sweater with a high v-neck and it's just never been all that becoming on me. Yesterday took my sharp little scissors to the neck line and changed it to a lower v-neck. I had to do the whole thing by hand because there are certain types of sewing projects I simply do not trust to the
machine. My default sewing method is always by hand. So...sew...I did.

In the late Fall and Winter, I have a uniform: Silk longjohn top or cotton knit topped with one of my old cashmere sweaters and a soft scarf. Add a hat, fingerless gloves and a waterproof jacket and I'm good to go. It used to be a bit easier to find the cashmere sweaters but it's time I started looking again. The oldest one that I bought new is now 20 years old. I'm looking at a little skein of yarn that I got from unraveling a man's cashmere sweater a few years ago. The common issue with a man's sweater is that the sleeves are very wide. I think that's probably why I frogged that sweater instead of just wearing it...oh and I think it was XL! Wow, I actually found a picture of that...

Someone who is not a knitter and who doesn't make stuff was asking me about the stuff I make. She had this crazed look as I was telling her how much I make and that I may or may not wear it after I'm done. She said that thing that non-knitters say all the time: "Can't you sell your stuff?" If you are reading this blog, you most likely know just where that conversation went. You know, about the way our economy in this country is set up. How we couldn't possibly make a living wage of any kind, knitting lace shawls.There are people who do knit for pay, and I have done it but I did it for the experience, not the actual pay.

There are days when I wonder if I should keep knitting. Especially on days like yesterday when I wanted to start 3 new projects (as I do at this time of the year) or just finish one of the sweaters I know I will actually wear when I'm done. I saw myself from the outside for a minute, asked myself WHY am I doing this? There are so many other things I could be doing! And then, just after my existential meltdown, I pulled out some fiber and started spinning.

The End.

Enough?

2011-11-13T12:02:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted here. Not for lack of the fibery stuff though. Can you tell I'm not working? In my last post you can see the great stuff I got at OFFF and since then I've spun some of it up and also tried my hand at a little dying.

This is the merino/angora fiber that I spun into a single above and then plied with a strand of silk from some hankies I had on hand. The competed yarn is a fingering weight and came out to 270 yds and 2 ounces.

I am having a love affair with the angora right now. Paula said that she's planning on sheering Zsa Zsa soon so I'm waiting for a big haul of the fluffo stuff before I do more angora spinning. What I learned with this fiber (to the left) that I just spun, is that blending it with darker colors and then dying it can be just amazing.

So, yeah. The dying. I just wanted to try one solid color for a change. I'm not a big dyer, but I did buy some dye and white wool yarns last year that I've been wanting to work with. What I learned in this exercise is that I have to be really careful with silk. So, I kind of blew through a couple of ounces of silk but I'm trying to spin it anyway. It is a bit more true gold with more brown that it shows, but you get the idea. I did get some great intensity with this merino/cashmere that I spun a couple of years ago.

Then, onto some knitting. I knit this beret with some polwarth/silk hand spun, just a little lighter than fingering. I'm wearing it all the time because it weighs hardly anything.

Then, two pairs of gloves for gifts, a pair of socks (no pics). More angora, knitting with the absolutely amazing, Lush, this deeply cabled scarf.

Hmmm. started a pair of basic socks yesterday in some yarn that was buried in my stash for a LONG time.

There is the sweater that I've been working on this Fall that's going fast but not fast enough, Girl Friday. I'm actually going to block out the back so that I can have the inspiration of knowing it's going to fit! I'm halfway through the fronts now and I'm quite eager to wear this because of the amazing color. Interesting though, I have just looked through some of the things I'm planning on knitting and I see that 2009 was a good year for design.

In non-knitting news, there are two main things going on: NEED WORK and really really miss Brahms and Suki. It's been an interesting exercise of sorts to move into such a small place. It's easy to clean, it's forcing me to get rid of more and more and more stuff. So many folks in this building have pets but I cannot imagine being with a cat in this small of a space. Oh, I've done it before, like in San Francisco, but it was temporary.

Those micro homes are cool but they are not designed for people who make stuff. It's that simple. One can cull down to the bare bones of life and still live well, but artisans need room to create and store supplies. Even if one had a separate studio, it would be an existence "lacking" to not have some space to work at home. Even still, I know I'm not the only one who's drawn to the Tiny House trend. Here's a great blog I found with examples of what folks are doing with this concept.

So, this has been a rambling entry. I should probably blog more often, huh? Will do.

A Day OFFF

2011-09-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

Oh, my favorite weekend of the year. This year, just one day: Saturday. But, the weather's turned a bit stormy so I clearly picked the right day. OFFF was my motivation the entire time I was working my way back to Portland and it did not disappoint. It did however, exhaust.

It seems that every time I buy new fiber or yarn, I have a color theme in mind. Only, I don't notice until I get home! These days I am very aware that my usual autumnal palette needs to change for wearables (for me). The hair has now grown out to gray and my colors are now cooler. (another post all together).

Speaking of color, I spotted my friend Michele and she had on this wonderful plum colored top and she was talking to a friend of hers (Sarah) who was spinning the same color. And, this struck me because I had just bought a pile of merino/angora overdyed roving (bottom left in photo above).

It was hot (and humid) and such a crowd!. Serious spinning going on. It there is a place to become completely entranced with the spin, this is it. And, the training starts early as we can see with this young lady learning to use the thigh spinning method with a supported spindle.

I spotted my new friend Ilisha with whom I just took her JazzKnitting class. She was preparing for her book signing and wearing an incredible piece from her book. It's a peacock piece that's just crazy beautiful. (She looks like she just spotted a faerie, no?)

Ah, and then I spotted this lovely lady spinning directly from her Bunny. So still was the bunny!

And, of course I have to have a couple of sheep pictures. These multicolored Jacob really caught my eye. If you want to see them yourself, the folks at Drumcliffe Farm would love to see you!

And the lamby faces that I love so:

Today I am taking the day off from anything work or house related to just feel the fiber love.

Week 2

2011-09-14T21:22:00.003-07:00

This is one of my many moving boxes from the pull-tab company that I worked for.

The furious activity has slowed down and more internal work is happening, I think. It's hard to gauge what is exhaustion from dust and allergens and what is just plain catching up on the "me-ness" of life.

For 5 months I was renting a room and was never really alone. For an introvert like me, it was slow torture. My situation was really a great one in so many ways, but at this point in my life it was very, very stressful to not have my own place. I like living alone.

The part that is so hard is being without Brahms and Suki. It gives my life a bit of a feeling of hotel living. I've just got to get used to it. So, it's stepping into my "old life" but not really. It's just me and the yarn and a couple hundred fiber-friends and acquaintances! Being back, I have no doubts that this is the place I'm supposed to be. This weekend is WWSIP day (World Wide Spin In Public Day) and next weekend is the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. Then, the rains come and hopefully not before.

I miss working! Looking for some part time Small Biz consulting and Bookkeeping gigs to pay Le Bills. My job experience in Kennewick was just awesome. Hard act to follow, but it's put me a good mindset for a new job, actually.

Tomorrow the bed finally comes and I shall be off the couch (that I just moved to it's new location in the living room. Ooooh. Two whole rooms to live in. Less to get into a mess! Famous last words...

Reunited and it Feels so Good

2011-09-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Reunited with my STASH that is!

The Magazines and notions are at home again.

And, just a little more stash over here and one big box o' spinning fiber not shown here.

Right now it doesn't matter that I don't have any shelving for the yarn. It's enough that it's all in one place.

As you may recall...or not... back in April I got rid of pretty much everything that is not yarn or clothes that I'm really wearing. I knew that I wanted to simplify, It was time to admit to myself that trying to move all this crap was no fun when I appear to have a much more nomadic life that I expected. Life is like that, unexpected. At least for me.

This apartment has one big closet in the bed room and that's it. 550 sq feet is a wee bit small for me. No hallways though and pretty much every inch of this place can be put to work for storage if I were to spend a chunk of change at Ikea. I did get curtains and stuff there the other day. I'm not used to having an open kitchen situation. Fortunately there's a dishwasher so I don't have to look at my always dirty dishes. Yeah, I'm like that too.

I realized yesterday that the fumes from the new carpet are making me feel sleepy and so I planned to spend most of the day outdoors today. Except, I'm really really sleepy...now...

Post 2 on this subject of moving will include my fabulous new views and city life. Soon, I promise!

Brahms

2011-08-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Summer 2010

It's hard to believe that now both of my kittens are gone, but Brahms passed away on August 4th. She had been sick for so very long, and until her last few days her quality of life seemed quite good. Then, not.

I'm still numb and am having a hard time grieving the loss of my companion of 19 years. She took care of me. She was truly better than any person I've known. How can one compare cats and humans? I don't know, but the kind of communication and connection we had transverses genetic differences.

I'm moving back to Portland in 2 weeks and I knew in my heart that she would not be joining me, I just didn't know when exactly she would depart. There was so very little of her on that last day, it's amazing that she stayed as long as she did.

This new chapter is just about me.

The Day Brahms Died

Bloggit!

2011-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still blogging.
Facebook ate my blog? Not gonna let it happen!
Get away, Google+!
I'm not giving up the ship yet, people.

I was taking the train from Portland to Pasco, Washington this past Sunday and had a chance to snap some photos of the changing landscape heading north east.If you've never done the trip, it's the Empire Builder that goes to Chicago and this short leg of the trip is a mere 4 hours.

And, when I was in Portland I took some pictures in and around MAX stops, thankful for pretty scenery as I was waiting for a train. I was waiting for a lot of trains. And buses. And walking!

Bucolic Beaverton...

Downtown bus stop with update screen (I love that part)

Cascades MAX stop in some lovely Summer light.

Trip up the Columbia River, misty in the Gorge.

Just coming out of the Gorge and you see some sandy hills...

Now we've got a bit of green left but the landscape is really changing now.

Here as the sun has made it's departure, the flat desert awaits...

Patterns Available Again

2011-06-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that I've uploaded most of my patterns to the Ravelry pattern store. There was a lot of interest in Florentina as just a pattern and it's up now as well as the other big fave, Oregon Tweed socks. Have at it, pass it on and keep knitting!

It's the '70s Again

2011-05-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is a flannel shirt in my yearbook picture.

I've been listening to music while I work these days. In the past, when I was working on the computer, I found that I could only listen to instrumental works. Now, much of my typing is numerical and I so I'm finding that I can listen to more lyrical music. Sure, my mainstay is the local classical music station, but with my entire musical library on my iphone, I can listen to... well... anything.

Of course, finding the appropriate music for a given day can kind of be like trying on clothes. It just may not fit my mood. Yesterday I found myself in a Neil Young groove listening to Harvest. (1972). The picture above was taken for my High School Yearbook in '77, but it's safe to say I was listening to that album around then. I remember my friend Annie preforming "Needle and the Damage Done" at a talent show when we were around 16. I don't remember what I played.

Anyhooo.....

It was such a relief to listen to music yesterday that was so "un-synthesized". Then, this morning I was on Pam's House Blend watching a little Chris Williamson retrospective. Folks like to joke about the Women's Music movement but seriously, it shaped my coming out years in a serious way. Even at the time, it sounded a little hokey, and running into the music that shaped us can certainly have either a grounding or a humbling effect. There is definitely music that I will NEVER own up to listening to. This reminds me of my ex, Alex thinking that I was listening to the Greats Hits of the Carpenters for "ironic" affect. Uh...no.

I feel lucky to have grown up in an analog and acoustic age. I still look at a digital clock and translate it in my head to hands on the face of a clock. I listen to the "over-souled" music that is so popular now and long for a "real" voice, un-tampered-with.

I do know though that I'm also lucky enough to call up any given musical memory by typing a few keywords into my computer and downloading a digital version.As it turns out, I'm not picky enough or have an ear sensitive enough to hear the difference between vinyl and bytes. I can appreciate the advantage of instant musical gratification for my sentimental moods. It's the best of both worlds by my estimation.

I'd love to hear about your experiences of re-kindling long lost musical memories and how the combination of analog and digital music exists in your world.

Is This a Record?

2011-05-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Is this the longest I've gone without blogging? Probably not, but it certainly feels that way.

Everything has changed.

I closed Krafti-Kit. Not enough capital to throw at what I still think is a great idea, even if it ended up morphing into more of a knitting company. Would have liked to expand the fiber crafts even more. I'm taking a break from designing right now, as well.

One of the most significant changes is that Suki passed away on April 2nd after a protracted illness. I miss her very much but I don't think would have wanted to move again. She was really ready to leave this world as much as she loved me.She left quietly...

I've moved on to another temporary living situation, just down the road. Regrouping. Paring down to the essentials. Trying to figure out what the next step is, and when. Late Summer? Brahms is hanging in, just. She likes where we live and the big friendly dog and how she can just rest for now.

I can sort of rest right now, but I feel restless and wanting to travel. Only short trips for now as I'm committed to a job.

That's the long and short of it. Mostly the short of it because the longer version is...well... messy. I don't even have a picture for this post so I'll just leave you with a picture of lovely Miss Suki.

Life...Curated

2011-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

I have this theory:
People over age 40 are pretty careful about what they post on Facebook or in their blogs, understanding that they have worked a fair amount of their lives to create a "self" that they have some investment in.
People under age 40 are much less careful about how they "put themselves out there" on social media because they don't seem to have as much "self protection" on the internet.

Now, wait a minute and don't go all crazy on me with comments that start with: But, I... (!)

I know this is a huge generalization. I do. I also know that I'm starting to find this whole social networking thing pretty exhausting because there seems so little I can actually write about! If you take out the complaining, the TMI subjects, religion, money and intimate relationships, you've just cut down what I think about and would therefore write about, considerably! Mostly knitting or business.

I made a joke last night on Facebook "You can't un-ring a bell."

That comment brought out a couple of folks who thought knew what it was I might want to say. In fact, there are so many things I want to say and so often. Most often, I simply don't. Not on Facebook, on Twitter, or even on one of my three blogs. I'm getting to wonder what the point is! I don't think I'm running for president anymore. Ha! Just what am I protecting...?

Back to the title of this post, referring to "curated" content. I read that as a description of how I get my news and current information on my iphone. I know it's someone else choosing of what I might like to read. I accept that the New York Times will give me some pretty interesting stuff to read, several times a day, even if I didn't handpick it myself through the many pages of a newspaper.

I'm starting to think of my social network life as a "curated" version of me. I just don't know if I like it anymore. This is going to be a long conversation with myself on this topic, as it has already been. I'm just sharing it with you now. See...sharing more! Hmmmm. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.
I would like to hear other folks' thoughts on this.

Meanwhile, when I first started this blog, I wrote a fair amount about some personal insights in my life at that time. Those particular insights could have been written just yesterday. Maybe I'll take up that line of thought again. In fact, I'm going to a new zendo in my neighborhood and renewing my Zen practice. It's come at a really good time but it is challenging. I'll keep you posted on that as well. It all comes around to the same thing I'm thinking about. Read the first sentence of this post. An investment in self. How "un Zen."

Back to knitting.

Washington Winter

2011-02-01T13:29:00.001-08:00

Today is more of a photo sharing day than a writing day, but it'll give you a bit of an idea of what I've been up to, knitting and nature-wise.
Above and below is a single that I spun from an interesting batt of wool, angora and alpaca.

This is the newest addition to the lace bookmark collection at Krafti-Kit. Pretty popular and a really fun way to learn to read charts.

Here we have a OMG, it's COLD quick hat and gloves that I knitted for Mitch. The gloves are from handspun.

This was last weekend, driving through Vantage, WA, along the Columbia.

This is a shot taken up in Ellensberg, WA when it was snowing. (photo: Mitch Da Re)

Here we have Leavenworth, WA (The name was an initial deterrent to me, but was instead a beautiful Christmas wonderland of an Austrian flavor. (photo: Mitch Da Re)

So, little random look at my winter. I have so many UFO's on the needles, I'm hoping to post some finished projects soon. Back to the needles and hook. Later, peeps!

Monthly?

2010-12-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been a month since I posted, but for good reason. My computer up and died a very sudden death. This past month has been all about scrambling to get my files downloaded from my off-site backup and to find another computer.

Now I have a loaner computer (thanks Em) that's an older version of my Toshiba Satellite laptop but it's having some problems getting online wirelessly. Lest you forget, I do have an online business :-) Yeah, not so great. In this household it seems like we have multiple computers that each have their own strength, but no ONE does it all. Even this sweet little macbook that I'm on (thanks honey) doesn't work with my shipping software.

I am posting so that you know that I am still alive. I made it through the first round of snow madness here in the Columbia River Basin (how I now refer to this place). Next post will include actual pictures of knitted articles. They are very slowly getting completed. I actually think I've been doing more darning lately. What's up with that? All my socks are giving out at exactly the same moment. I have nothing against darning but it is nothing compared to actually finishing a pair of socks!

Environs

2010-11-15T16:49:00.001-08:00

From the "internal" to the "external".

Since I moved to Washington, a lot of folks have asked me what it's like here. Well, at the moment, very windy as a new weather system moves through. The sky is big here and you can generally see a lot of weather coming through. Fun! Yah!

I have a new camera that Mitch "gave" me (thanks hon!) and I was just outside last weekend taking some shots. What I came up with is a view from right outside the door where we have artificially watered grass, a park with a walking loop and trees planted outside the door. Everything else around here is very...sage-y. Tumbleweed-y.

Oh, and now the leaves are gone because the maintenance folks actually take care of that. Ha!

Above and below, the lovely view from the patio off the living room.

View from the DP (aka dog park) 'cause you know we can't say the words because the DOG goes nuts. It's very desert-y. Yes, Melissa is living with a dog. The cats are KIND of living with the dog because they live in the upstairs and the dog is not exactly allowed upstairs. Gotta keep the peace, people.

The Dog

Ohhhhh. Doesn't she look skeeeery!

Knitting content: Vilai by Cookie A.

I'm actually doing a lot of knitting these days, but these socks have got my attention in a serious way. Next time I post I will devote copious amounts of text and pictures to the MANY projects underway. Promise.

In All Honesty

2010-11-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

In this blog,I try and give a general "outline" of the events in my life, especially my fiber-related life. It's only been on rare occasions that I've written about more. I have two other blogs, one for Krafti-Kit and one for my consulting practice that is on vacation. In some way, all of these blogs have become somewhat "professional" instead of "confessional". That's been a good thing for me. I'm coming up on my 6 year anniversary for Tea and Knitting. Good thing the title still works for me. There has been little else in terms on consistency in my life, though.

My first post didn't have any photos because I didn't have a camera yet. I was more though about what I was feeling.

Tonight I've just gotten back from a session with a physical therapist/healer. She did some amazing work and I feel so very clear-headed. I have homework. You know, small questions like, "What is my soul's purpose?" When I was in the office, I said I didn't know the answer. Now that I sit down to write this I realize that I do know the answer: To transform the lives of others through accompanying them on a deeper journey.

For me, the next part is to figure out how to be okay with that and what it means for my daily life on this earth. I've decided to put this post out here tonight because I am truly not happy. I am grieving the loss of my friend and business partner, Laura. I am a stranger in a very strange land. I am holding my pain in a place within my body that if I do not let go, I will become sick. I've done that before and it did not go well as a life-plan. Yeah. I feel okay to tell my truth. Life is short.

If you are reading this, I'm sure you can relate. So many of us are struggling to "remember who we are". I am there, with you. I curse my dreams and nightmares every night, but really they do show me what's going on when I need a reminder. Someone did tell me recently that I could tell my dreams that they can stop scaring me. I get it. It actually worked.

And now, if you're still reading this, try and find just one small thing that will make you happy for now, if you're not happy. Or try a little Radical Acceptance and decide that you're fine the way you are. I think I am.

Sun and Bunnies

2010-10-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

In the middle of the emotional chaos that has been my life, lately, I had a great time at OFFF with Mitch and Paula. I got to see many old friends, and revel in the one warm and sunny day there in Canby.

The best part for me was FINALLY talking Paula into a bunny. (There was not too much arm twisting, truth be told). She's wanted one since she went to OFFF a few years ago. Enough was enough. The day was here and we were not leaving without a little one.

The first part I had no hand in. A bunny seller simply placed one in Paula's arms. That was enough. We did find out that it was a male and she wanted a female so this fella's sister came home in the car with us. BUT! it was not without some smuggling said bunny into her apartment building. Such stealth performers we were....not. We did it though and I have the pictures to prove it, albeit a bit late.

Meanwhile, Paula says that she and Zsa Zsa (really) are doing wonderfully and that she has chosen the perfect pet. We are all happy about that, for sure.

This was also a fiber stash enhancing experience and I did very well with my small-ish budget this year. 'Nuf said. I got some "good stuff".

...turns into Fall

2010-09-15T14:09:00.001-07:00

I love August. I didn't get a chance to properly say that, and now here in this new place, September is more like late August. I'm cheating.

Autumn is the shortest season. It is the full, ripe, tumbling-over-the-edge-ness that I love. Leaves deepen to their darkest green before moving onto new shades. The insects are slow and lazy, fat with all the berries and sweet they can consume.

Transitional seasons call for transitional sweaters. I went through huge bags from the move and took out only the things I'll be wearing until December because I have no idea where they will all go. This is the first time I've actually donated hand knit sweaters to charity--odd Summer tank tops in ribbon yarn, acrylic over-sized hoodies. Only enough room for the really good stuff.

How can that be you ask? Heck, I've moved to the 'burbs into the huge place, right? Yeah, but I had FIVE closets in my old apartment. I have two big closets here and one is full of fiber. So, that's different. Before it all used to be just in the living room in million baskets. Choices were made, people.

Brahms, in her dementia, is settling in as much as she can. Thanks to those of you who have inquired. There is value in forgetting....and wall to wall carpeting. Suki is happy with the last point in particular and has no interest in going downstairs into Pug Kingdom.

Life goes on. Stick around...

And in crochet news...

2010-08-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

It was awhile ago that we sent off a sample kit to Interweave Crochet and here it finally is! This is my first crochet pattern and it's really a beginner kit. The part of this that was the most fun was the colorway designing of the yarn, with Jen Hintz. I had taken some nature photographs and really had in mind the look of lichen on all the trees in Portland. Jen did a great job with her interpretation. The wool/bamboo blend on this ebony needle is the ultimate in crocheting pleasure, if I do say so myself!

Coming up in the next few weeks are some more exciting mentions for Krafti-Kit. I have to say that putting together a kit is WAY fun. Not only does one write or commission a pattern, but one gets to choose every little detail that goes into the project.

Last but not least, I want to thank Petra again for her lovely modeling of this piece.

2 Trips, 2 pairs of Socks

2010-08-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

On break from the endless unpacking, Mitch and I took a couple of road trips this past weekend. Before I started even packing back in Portland, I had a pair of socks I had designed that I was trying to get out. I had three wonderful test knitters and the pattern was done, but there was no time for pictures. Finally we have lift-off!

Something about these socks made them difficult to photograph. I can't say exactly what it was, but it took several tries. In an effort to get the photos finally done, we took the socks with us as we traveled to Pendleton, OR and Spokane, WA. (Above see designer laughing as we stopped in yet another field for pictures.)

As some of you might remember, I did a spinning demo for Pendleton last year. This was my first trip though the actual mill. Funny enough, it was one of the rare times that the looms were quiet because they were on a maintenance break. That was fine in a way because of the lack of noise, but I expect we'll make it back there when they're in full swing. I have to say that although I walked out with a fabric remnant, I loved all the new fashions for Fall.

The other fabulous place we visited in Pendleton was the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. Huge place with buildings and tee pees reconstructed inside as well as a long house. They were just setting up for a Salmon something-or-other when we left and this fella was right out front.

Yesterday was a trip to Spokane. It's 2 hours from here and I was just dying to get some "city life" time in. It was a Sunday, so it was quiet, but I did capture the sock shots I was looking for and got some REAL tea to bring home.

All in all, I'm adjusting to my new home and am looking forward to getting things more squared away so that more of my time can be creative time. UFOs, here I come! (unfinished projects, but I wouldn't mind seeing some of the other kind...)

The Fiber Has Landed

2010-08-10T14:21:00.002-07:00

August 2005

The fiber moved out of Portland two weeks ago and with that, there were no longer any reasons to protract the moving process. I moved a week early. So, for 4 days I kicked butt and packed the entirety of my life, embedded into the now somewhat grimy downtown apartment I've been inhabiting for these past 5 years. The grimy part is more recent but I can claim that, tail between my legs or not, after seeing the "underworld" left after the yarn and furniture left.

August 2010

I had serious doubts about this move. It was a complicated ordeal, emotionally, but on most days I do think it was the right move. I thought I would miss the noise, but I don't. I thought I would miss being able to walk to about 20 different cafes. I DO. I thought that being part of the hustle-bustle made me feel a bit more "centered". Not sure, but I doubt it. This time my move has to do with no longer being apart and actually being a "part".

Today I'm painting a bedroom that will be the Melissa Takes a Nap and Keeps Sense of Self Room. My office feels very much like me even if the yarn is awaiting shelving and there's still boxes in here. I actually have a sewing cabinet and desk. All of my books are out in a way that makes them easy to browse through. The cats remember that they like carpeting. And, although my body is SO sore from all this putting away and such that I feel really, really old, there is a hot tub with my name steps away.

I have been knitting a little bit but no spinning yet. I have a pattern that's ready to publish but I've gotta take some photos for it. Today is a lovely 85 degrees but mostly it's in the upper 90's here in the Summer. The neat thing is that it gets downright cold in the winter. Yah! I don't think I could even be okay living somewhere without a lot of wool. Oh yeah, San Diego is where I started this blog. Hmmmm....moved, didn't I?

The blog that keeps going and going....cuppa tea, anyone?

Through the Lens...

2010-07-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

...of moving.

Quiet Chaos.
I'm moving in a couple of weeks to a new home and I started my packing early.
Upside: I'll have it done on time.
Downside: I have to live in the chaos longer.

I'm purging even more than when I moved from the East Coast. On the other hand, I have more yarn and fiber. My sweetie is simply shocked at the amount of (insert expletive here) textiles I have:

Sheets and Blankets
Curtains
Wall hangings
Quilts
Table clothes
Fabric

This next year I will be hitting the "pause button" on my life here in Portland and taking a creative sabbatical of sorts. This is the image I'll put out there and let's see if I make it happen:

Sitting in front of the fireplace, spinning, little dog at my feet and kittens by my side.

While all this transformation is going on, I'm going to be doing a lot of blogging about my new life, so why don't you subscribe to this blog and watch it all happen?

See you all along the way...

Newer Designs

2010-07-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

I've done two designs of late using PicoAccuardi yarns for the kits.

These are both Florentina. I was going with a Steampunk kind of theme here. You can wear like this, with short or no sleeves or under a coat with just the ruffle showing. The fun part was seeing how opulent I could make the actual ruffle. Extreme femininity ahead! It also comes in a pale violet-gray.

This next design is called Mod Thing, worn by the lovely Emily. As you can see, it's also lace but in an entirely different way. One big skein of chunky yarn does it and I love this color from PicoAccuardi again. The kit has a little kit for doing the buttons with a tutorial as well as the stripey fabric. I love the many ways you can wear this baby.

The designs are really different, right? Yeah, I'm a Gemini. For those of you who don't design knitwear, I'm sure you've figured out why so many folks design accessories. No sizing!!! That said, I'm about to release a sock pattern that is sized, in fact. We'll see how that goes and hopefully it'll be the next thing I'm blogging about!

2010-06-29T13:47:00.001-07:00

Yeah, so there's a pattern for sale on my blog now! Woo hoo!

As you all know, this past year I've been writing lots of patterns for Krafti-Kit. I'm now branching out to writing other patterns as well. This experience has given me the needed discipline and other than my wrist giving out now and again, I'm crankin'.

I had these long underwear bottoms, circa 1955 from my mom, red and white striped, cotton. I wore them all the way through college. Now I have some not dissimilar Swedish ones in black and white. Anyway, when I first did this pattern in a solid, you just couldn't see the cool detail on the top going on. Once I did them in stripes, wowee! I thought they might be a bit much for some folks, so you know you can always knit them in a solid black and dance on your toes and do some Bob Fosse moves. Yeah.

The details: Knit flat, multiple sizes, fast to knit and very stretchy.

More to come, People!

The Awesomeness of Roses

2010-06-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Portland has the most amazing rose gardens in Washington Park, the International Test Gardens. In these gardens, only the most hardy, lovely, stupendous blooms make it. Although I took pictures of the blossoms, I could have just as easily taken only pictures of the stems and buds. There were several varieties that were developed to grow in a tight cluster off of a single branch, to form a bouquet. Just amazing.
So, here's the collage and click to see some detail!

Less Crafty?

2010-06-14T17:14:00.005-07:00

I also thought I'd share this little ritual with you that I have where I light a little candle next to my work to keep me company.

Yes, this is my new look. I've been due for a face-lift for a while, I'm thinking. I was in Blogger today, showing Laura how to post and stuff and I realized that there are all these new features and new "looks". Thought I'd try one on. Let me know what you think!

I had to give the fibery stuff a break for a few days because I had WAY overdone it and my right arm was not doing so well. Today I've spent some time with my baby Suri alpaca, picking it into clouds and spinning it.

The day in pictures. I want to get back to posting more frequently and hopefully this little shot in the creative arm will do the trick.

Random Singles Find Their Match

2010-06-05T10:02:00.006-07:00

Clearly, I can take this theme for a long walk...

I've been thinking about doing this for a long time and have sort of held it off as a treat of sorts. Yes, we silly nerdy spinners. Ah, but we have some cool stuff to show for it! The project started when I was spinning up some sample fiber from Susan at Abstract and realized I had spun up two more of her samples and put them aside.

I'm sure every spinner has this, it's a box filled with little "bobbins" of leftover, unplied singles. It comes from what we don't use when we're plying a lot of yarn and it comes from samples that we spin for the sake of deciding how we will spin the bulk of a particular fiber.

Cannibalized Box

I've been letting my little pile grow in a box and thought it would be fun to start plying all the bits up in random and not-so-random ways. Last night I plied 3 entire skeins, to my surprise! Each one has it's unique personality and one skein in particular was partially a very very fine single that Barb spun up and left of one of "our" bobbins. Ah, to get to work with yarn that she spun was a little trippy! The fibers used were various wools, silk, angora, bamboo, cashmere, baby alpaca.

Now, I'm looking forward to seeing the absolutely one of a kind fabric these yarns will make.

The first one is more jewel-toned and full of Merino.
The second one was using that fine single of Barb's and rather earth-toned.
The last one was still in the earth tones but heavier in weight.
Ah, the continual "fiber amusement"...

The Single(s) Life

2010-05-27T08:53:00.005-07:00

Single? Me? Oh right. You should know better that it's always yarn related!!

This past week I've been on a bit of a campaign of sorts. Singles. Non plied yarn spun perfectly so that it is not over twisted. Why? Well, I read something in SpinOff a couple of years ago. A spinner said, why should I spin the wool twice??

Now, I know there are plenty of good reasons to spin yarn "twice" or more, for a lovely plied yarn. It creates a more "balanced" yarn that's stronger. But here I am, buying Malabrigo lace and Noro which are both single ply lovely yarns. When I ply handpainted rovings the color gets at least a little mixed up, mostly to good affect.

Call me lazy, but I wanted to start spinning yarns that didn't need to be plied. I just wanted to be done, first time around, for a change.

I started with Silk/Merino blend. The first skein on the right came out just right and the one on the left is just a bit over-twisted. (click image to see closeup)
Then comes some Corriedale pencil roving that I really wanted to keep true to its vibrant color. (This colorway no longer available)

On the bobbin

Post niddy noddy and pre-soak

Off the nostepinne

I'm thinking about crocheting some of this yarn. No real plans, but I am really happy with the results and I should mention that in the rinsing, I did slightly felt the yarn per the suggestion of another spinner, but I wouldn't have to do that. It did give it a nice halo to do that.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Try the single life, it's kind of exciting ;-)

A Metaphor for Everything!

2010-05-10T13:12:00.002-07:00

Yarn I spun that I'm making a shawl from

What's the most popular subject when creating life metaphors or political or...anything? Sports! I care nothing for sports. As you know, it's all about the yarn, the fiber, the spin and the knit. I've decided that knitting can be a metaphor for everything as well. We just need to educate everyone else so they understand. Or, we can be smug and not tell them a thing. Yeah. Not like us. Never mind...

But first, I'm just going to create a list of all of the textile related sayings that I can come up with:

A stitch in time saves nine
Dyed in the wool.
Telling a good yarn
Woven into the fabric of our lives (I know the cotton council has stolen that from somewhere)

And words...

Whole-cloth
Spinster
Sleazy

Here are some more from Kimbery Wulfert's site, antique quilt dating.

Oh, I've gone astray. I write my blogs in real-time can't ya tell? I went off searching for more when I came up with this incredible book that explains my fascination with this sort of thing. My mother taught me all sort of New England sayings, without really knowing what she was passing on.

So now it's up to you, dear readers to tell me what textile related sayings you know.

I know that's I've gone completely astray on this blog post but next post I'm going to actually come up with some ACTUAL metaphors for life in textiles. Deal?

Textures

2010-04-21T13:55:00.007-07:00

Photo by Micki Da Re
You might note that the title description for this blog is not only about tea knitting but about nature inspiring design.

Before I moved to the Pacific Northwest I was dreaming about the wonderful plant life I would find here. In the Northeast, the cold of winter limits the variety of plants you can grown. Don't get me wrong, the variety back there is still amazing, but give it warmer temps and lots of rain and...

The trees here are enormous. The plants, greener than green. The ground covered with blankets of foliage. So, a little break from the fiber action to post some recent forest and park pics from my outings. Enjoy.

Photo by Micki Da Re

A Designer I Be?

2010-04-02T13:31:00.011-07:00

How many years has it been, gentle readers, since I declared that I would write my designs down? I guess it took an actual job as a designer to force me to do it.

Since I've been partnering with Laura at Krafti-Kit last Summer, I've been much more in the role of designer than I ever thought. We had originally planned to purchase exclusive designers for the entire first year, but way sooner than that we've come to offer our own designs. It doesn't mean that we don't still WANT to work with designers. It's just been more time-efficient at times to do our own thing.

I'm going to start off by saying that one of my biggest time savers has been Knit Visualizer. I cannot say enough great things about this charting software that I've had for quite sometime now. I can use it for needlepoint as well as knitting and who knows what else?

One of my favorite parts of designing has been working with dyers like PicoAccuardi on projects like these socks, knitted in Maple Way. I'm working on a lace project using one of their yarns right now and I'm just loving it. More than just sock yarn!
Then I collared FibroFibers for a wool/bamboo blend for this crochet project (modeled by the ever lovely Petra):
An entire sweater? Yeah, but baby sized:
There have been some smaller projects too:
Oh yeah, knitting with beads too:
And then there's the needlepoint:
At this point, you might think, Wow! That's a lot of designs. Truth is though, that I have a basket of ones that are still in the works that haven't made it to market yet.

I've also been thinking about pattern writing "guildlines" that would be "approved" by some authoritative source. I think it's great that we have the freedom to do things as we like, but sometimes I do like the idea of agreed upon pattern guidelines. What do you all think?

Back to the drawing board, literally!

Really?

2010-03-18T09:47:00.004-07:00

Is it truly about to be Spring? Has it really been over a month since I posted?

Well, the Knitting Olympics have been here and gone, but not without some serious, down to the wire knitting. I started the team, Spinning Knitters on Ravelry. It was more fun to be a team captain because I had the opportunity to interact and inspire all my fellow spinning knitters.

The challenge was to use at least 4 ounces of already spun yarn and knit something challenging in the 17 days of the Olympics. It may seem a bit "beside the point" to use already spun yarn, but for those of us with growing stashes of said yarn, it seemed appropriate. I started out with 7 ounces but when my scarf grew to 72", I stopped knitting. Smart girl. Tired girl.

The yarn I carded and spun was my current favorite in my stash. It was a blend of Polwarth and Angora that I carded and spun to about a sport weight. I used the pattern Alhambra of Anne Hanson of Knitspot. After a false start cast-on during the opening ceremonies, in which I gently frogged my attempt, I started with new needles and knit away. It's all in the tools, people.

I was waiting for the perfect picture of me wearing this lovely for my post, but alas, that's not happened yet. So, here are the progress and finished scarf pics for you all.
This is pre-blocking and I know that a lot of folks said it looked so cool here, but...
Block it, I did. I wanted to see the pattern definition and show off the AMOUNT of knitting I did!

Fae Days

2010-02-07T12:43:00.008-08:00

All photos courtesy of Micki Da Re

I'm not quite sure now of the exact turn of events, but Robert and I had been talking more and more about Fiber Arts, in general because...well, that's what I like to talk about. After some prodding he attended Black Sheep last year and saw a distinct "lifestyle" link between the faerie community and the fiber folk community. We both thought it would be cool to find a way to make that happen through demos first at the Winter Celebration. Indoors, smaller, sooner and the enormous Summer shindig.

At the same time I was building Krafti-Kit with Laura, and although we had no intention of doing shows per our business plan, this seemed like the perfect way for us to get our feet wet in the show world. It would be good to actually see our potential customers because of our ecommerce experience limiting us in that way.

So it came to be, through Robert's generosity, that we got to do all of this and have a big taste of the Fae community to boot. Here, I'll speak more to my experience demoing and then I'll try and get Laura to chime in on the Krafti-Kit blog with her experience.

I love to teach. I forget how much I love to teach. When one does two days of spinning demos, it's like a tease for folks who might have a passing interest to come see what you're doing. In this case, it had quite an amusing turn. I normally have a lot of kids who drag their parents to see what I'm doing. In this environment, where the children often roamed freely, the little girls were all in their faerie costumes, whooping it up. That left the boys to...find other things to occupy themselves:

A fast turning wheel and some fiber magic.

Suddenly I had a 7-12 year old boy fan club. Such sincere curiosity! It was truly great to see the amazement when one boy asked to just hold a ball of yarn because he had never done so and it was "so cool". Yeah, I kinda think so too. Just a little.

And then there was the experience of wearing flowers in my hair for two days. Quite another thing. I think my big glasses rather took away from the entire look, but hey, sometimes reality just has to play into things, even in Faerie Land.

Drafting fiber with my young guy, Gareth at the wheel

Tracy Irwin Helping me out with a spindle demo

I Sing as I Knit

2010-01-18T13:19:00.004-08:00

Singular in my focus? Making a change on that.

Sure, I'm interested in lots of things but when I was a student, years and years ago, I studied voice and piano. You'd think that "once a singer, always a singer". When folks know about my past, they often ask me, "Well, aren't you still singing?" It seems odd to them that I haven't been. I've played piano depending on availability and I have a box of sheet music in the closet, but I've not even been much of a shower singer. Things change though, and for the better.

An article just came out in Neighborhood Notes, an online local news source that I'm quite fond of, about the Flash Choir. They were taking pictures last Monday night at our rehearsal. I've been going for a couple of month now but this is the first time it seems that we're getting some notoriety. We're practicing like fiends this week in preparation for a concert that's been scheduled for a while. Then, on our night for a dress rehearsal, this other opportunity came up for us for sing at a benefit for Haiti.

I've been obsessively watching the coverage of the Haitian disaster on CNN every day while I'm doing my work, my knitting, my whatever. It's been a couple of weeks of planning more than moving great things forward. Mercury Retrograde. Now life has an engine again, so to speak. The Christmas tree came down today. I took care of the neglected plants. Turned on the music to drown out the sad news...

The sun was up in the sky today and it actually kinda looked like this. I understand more clearly now why the Nordic folks wear such brightly colored knits. I'm catching on...

So, this is a sample for Krafti-Kit as we didn't have our own. It's called the Seven of Hearts Tam and I've photographed the blocking on a plate process that gives it a distinct "tam" shape. For those of you not keen on blocking, this hat, like many others would just be a "bubble" hat without this process. And, it actually stays this way. Pretty cool. And, for a change, my colorwork tension was just right! My sample is quite a bit more pink than the first sample but I really like it. For more of the reddish-orange, I could have cut the yarn and used more of the end bit.
I'm ever thankful that I do have multiple skills and interests. I hope that by my readers are sometimes influenced to reach outside their comfort zone to try new things that may end up as new loves.
Make, Heal, Love.

Five Eighty Four

2010-01-08T19:38:00.009-08:00

That's the blog post number this is. Wow. New Year, new stuff made. Even with a busy business life, I've been knitting and spinning like a maniac. Truly.

This is going to be a photo content heavy post; the work speaks for itself.

I have started and am halfway up the back of the Forever Sweater. It's a little hard to get each little red crown perfect, but I've actually gotten that part memorized. I've actually finished something I started last year with mixed results. It's the February Lady Sweater (above), or to you knitters, the "FLS" I made it a bit cropped when I felt the weight of the yarn and that's fine but I wish I had lengthened the sleeves a little. You can see in the neckline that I used some ribbon to stabilize and as always, so glad I did!

Finally got to use these handmade porcelain buttons I've been saving.

There were the 2 hats from Vogue Fall 2009. This one below was knit in wool/bamboo sock yarn for the lovely, Dr. Kate.

This is mine, knit in some alpaca that's been sitting in my stash forever. This is the hat I pull on when I'm waiting for a bus and the wind is cold. The second I put it on, all is well in the world! (Oh, and that's a reversible cable scarf I knit a couple of years ago, also in alpaca).

Hmmmm. Then there's the two pairs of mittens. This first pair I started years ago and "shamed" myself into finishing. They came out rather narrow because I was insisting using a yarn that was too lightweight, but I have narrow hands, so that works out.
And then there were these mittens I knit in 3 insane days for Petra. They're really long and gladly, she likes them that way. I do want to knit them again. Knitting plaid is fun.
And then most recently, I threw gauge caution to the wind AGAIN and used a slightly too heavy yarn for these End Paper Mitts and so they came out really long in the hand. That's working out for me as well. I still have my fingertips available for my phone and yet they nearly cover my hand.

There's the spinning, as I try and get the hand of spinning more Worsted weight. There's also some more of other stuff I've spun MORE of to be able to make my projects of choice.

So, yeah. Folks ask how I get so much done and all I can say is that I work at home. Knitting and spinning are my breaks of choice. Oh, but that reminds me: Weaving.

Yeah, another post for that one.

The Forever Sweater

2009-12-26T13:09:00.004-08:00

I cannot remember when this sweater was not a part of my life. It always was. I held onto it as fashions came and went and came again and I'm glad.

Where to start to tell this story? The booklet that the pattern was originally published in was copyright 1957. This sweater was knit by my father and I think it was the first time he tried intarsia. Knit in brown, red and white acrylic, most likely in the 42" large size, It must have been made for himself and then passed down to my eldest brother.

We did ski a little as a family, but it was more of the "idea" of skiing that interested me at 5 or six, when I had little wooden skies with leather bindings. But back to the sweater...I hate skiing.

Even though it was the 70's and this kind of Retro wasn't really in, I loved it. The only clothes that I could get away with wearing that were "cool" and not bought by my mother, were the things that I could steal from my brothers. As they are 8 and 10 years older, and as soon as they left for college, I would rummage through their clothes left behind to find something that I thought really suited me. (If you're reading this guys, don't get mad, it was a desperate situation.)

When I went to college this sweater went with me and I can see that my mother sewed my name in with a label (still have those too). It wasn't until I started knitting in my late 30's that I really looked at this St. Moritz sweater as a knitter. The pattern had been in the box with all the knitting needles at my parent's house. I actually have a copy of it now because their original was lost in the selling of their house and I was able to find another copy online!
I still wear it all the time and last year it occurred to me that I should really knit it myself. I've had the yarn and it's just been sitting there. Some pretty good reasons: Intarsia, scary instructions, fear of failure. I mean, Dad already knit it, will mine measure up??

Christmas Eve was his birthday. He would have been 90. I wore the sweater and went out for a day of knitting with friends, before the stores closed. I had my friend Emily take this picture of me and now I see that I'm really committing myself to something here. I've got so many unfinished projects and I just completed one. So, even though it was just mittens, I'm adding a whole new sweater to the mix.Of course I should have realized this but after scanning the charts I see that they are all hand drawn and pretty impossible to read. I'm coloring them in with contrasting colors. I'm actually going to knit the body in sky blue, and the rest will be the same, off-white and red. (The hat in this picture is the one from the cover of Vogue Fall 09-- pink) that I knit during Thanksgiving.

So where am I today? Committing myself to something I finally know I can do. Sure, it's going to take a lot of concentration and patience. I doubt I'll finish it this year, but you never know! I do know that I'll want to wear it. Who will this one get passed down to? Who can say...

Seriously?

2009-12-04T15:40:00.006-08:00

Folks, I have so many blogs that I manage or write for, sometimes I get caught short when it comes to just writing about stuff!
Here I am, several weeks later, hanging my head in shame....oh, shame has no place here! Just tell it like it is...

That choir in my last post? I joined it. Yeah, two rehearsals and one performance later, I hear that music in my head all day. Now if that were to also mean that I had it DOWN, I'd be in good shape. Fortunately I can sight read because I can't say I've really learned it all yet. Next month a couple more performances and my Monday nights are now spoken for.

Knitting? YES.
There's the stuff for Krafti-Kit that you can oh so conveniently purchase online, like...the Oregon Tweed Socks.
Or, the crochet Faerie Ring Mobius Which comes with the MOST awesome ebony crochet hook that you will most likely NEVER lend out. (Look at the drape of the wool and bamboo on the the lovely Petra)
Then, there are some things I can't show you yet... but I did finish a hat from Vogue Fall 2009, during the holiday weekend. I love it. It's nothing like the pink confection on the magazine cover, but it has sparkles and right now, this girls needs some sparkles...(why can't you see the sparkles in this pic? Click on it to make it bigger.)
Then, there's the spinning. Last in line these days. This weekend is Spinnerati again and I hope to bring the old girl wheel. I do have a fiber confession though. My rational on this on is that I will use up more handspun. I'm entering the weaving world. Don't become afraid, dear readers. I have no intention of slipping down another slippery slope (right...).

What, you want me to stop? My fiber passion knows no bounds, and in a world where I see a distinct lack of passion, I have no intention of holding myself back. I figure that if I continue to teach, and make cool stuff and spread the fiber love around, it's all cool... Yeah. Like that.

Weird?

2009-11-16T21:33:00.004-08:00

Flash Choir Performing

A pirate, deb, me and Petra at our table (photo by Leila Wice)

Deb giving some spinning time to one girl and her sister wants HER turn ;-)

Renegade Rose Morris Dancers, here and above

This past Saturday was the Keep Portland Weird Festival at the Multnomah County (Portland) downtown library. Spinnerati was invited because that's where we meet every month. We're so lucky to be able to grab the space somehow, each month where the room is large, carpeted with tall ceilings and huge windows.

We could see by the schedule, that we would be on the top floor with all sorts of entertainment going on. I was stoked. I spent weeks imaging what fun Portland could come up with.

Portland is a place where, after work, folks actually go out and DO STUFF! Every nook and cranny of this delightful city is filled with extracurricular activities. Some predictable, some not. I think that spinning is a perfectly natural thing so do with my free time, but everyone has their own idea of fun and I think this festival made it abundantly clear. So much in fact that it actually inspired me to join a choir that was performing right in front of us at the festival. Tonight was my first rehearsal and I got to sing the music I heard them perform. How great is that??

So, Sew buttons?

2009-11-02T13:22:00.004-08:00

Many, many moons ago, too many to count, I used to be a professional sewer. or rather, a custom clothing designer. Somewhere along the way, I lot my love of the sew. Well, not the hand sewing kind. That I've always loved. In fact, right before I took up spinning and knitting I was quite the hand-quilter.

In the past years, I've become more and more sloppy when I've sewn something on the machine. Even when it has seemed the fastest way to get something mended or put together, I've chosen a needle and thread to the machine.

I had a little tin sewing machine as a child. It had a hand wheel on the left and it sewed a very nice chain stitch. I look at "toy" machines like that in the antique stores and they are a bit out of my range. I mean, for what they are! So, how come my electric, electronic machine doesn't do a chain stitch???

Meanwhile, a friend from long ago who knows that I sew, asked me the favor to make him a pair of Hakama (samurai) pants out of wool. First came the fabric selection, sending him the swatches and then the decision. Although he sent me a pair of store bought ones to use as a kind of pattern, I realized that to create a pant that was not open on the sides was going to take quite a bit re-engineering. Pockets, ties, flaps, etc. And so, he's not here to try them on and I was unable to make a mock up in time. Fortunately we are close to the same size. I cannot imagine making them otherwise. I think I have success. I'm sending them to an event on the East Coast tomorrow and we shall see if they do the trick.

In search of further sewing success and some clothes that actually fit me and my lifestyle these days, I made these two jacket types things (New Look Pattern # 6920) For right now, the machine is staying on the kitchen table...

This one here is a batik with trim done in a really intense Kaffe Fassitt Fabric that I had laying around. You can't really tell from the pictures, but they button right under the bust and have a little A-line from there.

My Own Worse ...

2009-10-24T19:19:00.003-07:00

I've gotten what was coming to me.

Preface: Please no comments of suggestions, admonition. Only pity please.

Had a little too much caffeine today. Thought I'd take the edge off a little bit with some washing of the huge pile of socks, in a bag in the bathroom. This will mellow me out...this will do something useful with the jittery energy.

So, let's just say that there were around 12 pairs of handknit socks just waiting for me. That's probably about half of what I own, that I haven't accidentally felted at some point.

I'm noticing how dirty they are. Happy to be getting them Lavender soap kinda clean. I've got about 10 pairs, on hangers, on the bath rod. Ah! It all comes tumbling down... CRASH.

This has happened before. No worries. I'll just get some more water out of them and... OMG! There's a hole in the heel of...SEVERAL of my socks? Yes, as I am putting the socks back up on the bath rod I notice that many but not all of my heels have been chewed out by moths.

The were indiscriminate. Didn't touch the Wollmeise, but ate the Shibui. Blue and Red were favorite colors, for sure. My hands are still shaking...

How stupid could I possibly be? For the love of...
I saw moths in the past few months and kept checking my stash and my sweaters. No harm. How strange, I thought!

I will survive. Although I no longer have matching yarn for most of the socks, I will mend them. Although, I have this silly little thought that perhaps I should send them to Brenda to continue with her Pod-Series, Make Do And Mend. (I'm gonna catch what-for from her now on THAT one.)

Carry on..... and don't laugh TOO hard.

It's Up

2009-10-16T12:20:00.004-07:00

Kallerin Designs of Norway

I will now take a moment to say how hard it's been to not be posting about this all the time. For the past 9 weeks, I've been pretty much completely consumed with getting Krafti-Kit up and happening. Today, we finally went live. One day later than expected, but live.

All along I've been working on developing kits for the store and that work continues at an intense pace. I never quite knew I had so many designs in me! It's wonderful to get back to crochet, needlepoint and embroidery as well as continuing to design knitwear.

Building the business in 9 weeks has been completely insane, and I knew that coming into it. I don't think there was any way to prepare Laura. (Maybe I'll have her do a guest post here or on my biz blog).

Thanks to everyone for your love and support.

Spinning Hands

2009-10-11T15:30:00.004-07:00

Yesterday at Spinnerati, I was determined to get some good "spinning shots". Considering most of the action is at "crotch level", it was a little...challenging to get this right. Oh, and then there's the matter of hands moving so fast, I had to keep telling folks, take it slooooooow.

I'm not going to identify who is who. Just for fun, see if you can guess who is who! Or not.
Do all spinners have such nice hands, or is it that our hands just look particularly graceful when we're in the act of spinning. Clearly rhetorical to us.

How I Missed Ya..

2009-10-03T21:51:00.004-07:00

The wool is back. The cashmere is back.

Seems to me this happens every year. The stuff you finish in late Spring never gets it's moment until the Autumn unfolds again. Funny, that.

It gives me hope for all my knitting, but I must confess: I have spent hours and hours on perfectly lovely projects that I simply don't wear. I've been talking and thinking about this for a while, but need to get it together:

A swap for knitted items that you made but don't like. I can't bear to give some of these away in any other context. Seriously complex cabled capes and the like. It's a busy Fall, so maybe in the dead of winter I'll get this together, dear readers.

Meanwhile, I'm just enjoying sleeping in my old cashmere sweaters. The true luxury of my life.

Preparation Underway

2009-09-23T19:51:00.003-07:00

Front and back of card

I just wanted to quickly post the "rack cards" I had printed for Oregon Flock and Fiber this weekend. Banner is arriving tomorrow; not a moment too soon!

I am more stoked than ever for this year. As usual, I get the lovely Barbara staying with me and I get to spend 2 days with all my favorite people. See you at the Festival

Petra, Me and Sailing

2009-09-20T21:55:00.008-07:00

The sailing vessel, Sara

Preparing to leave

Someone with a spinnaker sail

That big rotating bridge, moving just for us.

My she's happy we made it!

See, don't I look really really calm? Yeah, this was on the other side of that bridge.

Back at the slip, all relaxed, like.

All the comforts of home

Ah, yes. I believe the wine was poured by this point...

There's a lot of story to this. Oh, I wish I could just tell you all over a cuppa. Seriously funny, amazing, a little scary and yeah, amazing.

I manned the tiller and gave us direction, eventually trying to find the wind, catch the wind and still sail down the river with Petra adjusting the sails and talking non-stop about what was happening. None of it was easy, but somehow it call came back to me. The parts of me that knows about boats and hopping, yes hopping off to safely guide them into slips. I forgot what I knew.

The most amazing and no doubt stressful time for Petra was when we found ourselves on the other side of a massive steel bridge (Hey, let's just keep going to see what we see!). We get up on the bridge and see some other boats hoavering. Hell, let's just move beyond and wait a little down river until they raise that side of the bridge. Oh no! They're raising the bridge and now we're far away and look! They're moving it back again.

We have no radio. We don't know what to do. Petra pulls out the airhorn and I try and look up how many times to signal for "let up the bridge, please!" There's a wee little house actually on the bridge where there's some guy who comes out to see our little 20' Ranger sittin down there blowing our air horn for dear life, going around in circles. Next thing we know there's two speeding trains, racing across the bridge. Well heck, we think. At least there's actually trains. Maybe he really does see us. Maybe that far off signal was, Ok, don't get your panties all in a wad!

Yes, the bridge eventually rotated back to the open position. Mr Man blew his horn in a Howdy Ladies kinda way (seriously, we thought we were gonna have to lift up our shirts any minute because he didn't seem to see us batting our eyelashes) We passed through.

Ummm. I guess she needs a radio for occasions like this.
We did fine. I know I'm gonna be crazy sore tomorrow and that I've gotten myself into "something" there.

World Wide Spin in Public Day (WWSIP)

2009-09-19T16:27:00.014-07:00

This is the way my day started, waiting at the MAX in the drizzle in my socks. Only in the fiber arts community is it cool to wear sandals with socks. And so you'll be asking, Nutkin, knitting in the Paul colorway of Wollmeise.

And so I get there, and Bobbie, above, smiling to the left already has the Journey Wheel ready for it's hand-off back to me. Here she is demonstrating carding technique with what I believe are dog combs.

And above we have Carrisa, showing off some sparkly art yarn to Sara on the right.

Left to right, we have Melinda and Jessica down from Vancouver and Sara's delicate hands doing their thing. Oh, so was that great banjo, mandolin and guitar player right above her.
Here we have our very organized spinning organizer, Sheila January with the Black Sheep Gathering shirt on. We compared notes about spinning guild organizing as well as fiber-related trips to Sweden.And thanks to Tami Hawes for organizing this shindig and landing us these great swag bags!

I Finally Did it

2009-09-16T11:47:00.003-07:00

As many of you know, my dad had a phase of spinning. It was after he had lost most of his site after some eye surgery. I made some beautiful yarn. His resources for fiber were really limited, but he turned out some great natural colored yarn. I have a couple of sweaters he knit from that yarn and some that I've over-dyed, as you can see in the hank to the left above.

Thing is, I've really gone more to the sleek worsted style of spinning and have had a really hard time replicating the woolen style of spinning that he was so good at. I love the light, airy quality it has. The ply is really angled nicely. The whole package.

Last night I gave it another try. I pulled out some wool/mohair blend that I picked up at black sheep. I set my ratios for a fast spin and I just let 'er rip. As I finished two bobbins of singles in about an hour, I wasn't really quite sure of what I'd come up with. It was only after I plied them that I thought, Holy cr*p! I've done it!

So, here you go. Dad's is on the left and mine is on the right. Oh, happy day.

Now off to finish preparations for the multitude of "end of season" happenings.

It's in The Stars...

2009-09-09T22:04:00.006-07:00

...and in the wind. The words that is, to pluck out and put down.
This is one of those posts where I start with no exact idea, no images and then somehow it coalesces and appears on this page.

I was just visiting with my dear friend Paula tonight who has graced the posts of this blog for years now. She is one of the most singularly talented people I know, and for sure, in fashion. These days we seem to be coming to some of the same conclusions about "just doing it."

Today I taught my friend Laura how to hand sew. No one has ever asked me to do that before. To me it's like knowing how to speak or read or walk. How do you teach that? My brain was at a loss for a moment and then I thought about being maybe 5 or so and how I might have learned. (see picture above in making mode) With anything, hands awkward at first and then it just starts flowing, one stitch after another.

Paula and I talked about the gift of being able to make things no matter what. No matter how awful we feel, how anxious or scared. We just keep making things. She told me a story of staying up nights, mending clothes because she was worried about her Grandmother and it seemed like the thing to do.

We all have stories like that in this community of makers. What I seem to be focusing on more and more these days is the passing down of the gift. I was so lucky to have the parents I had who taught me everything I know about making things. My New England heritage is very much about that simplicity of purpose. You make a dress because you need a dress.

I learned to take my brothers' old oxford cloth shirts with the frayed collars and turn those collars to the un-worn side. You pick out all the tiny stitches of the collar from the band and then you turn it upside down and stitch is all right back in place. I did it because you couldn't find things like that for girls when I was 16.

A purpose filled life is a happy life. You can take the girl out of New England but you can't take the New England out of the girl.
"Dyed in the wool" as we say.
A favorite phrase, still.

Time Bisected

2009-08-28T10:00:00.003-07:00

Yes, we have a logo.
Right now most of my time is spent of getting this business up and running, ASAP. On the other side, today I am about to start developing some of my own kits under the Krafti-Kit name.

Believe me, I know the most time consuming part of making a kit is writing the instructions. Fortunately we have a team of testers up for the task of checking each pattern before selling. As someone who has been a pattern tester for knitwear designs off and on these past years, I know what that means. It is somewhat a thankless job, but the reason I've always done it is to expand my skill set. In this case, we're going to try and do the same thing by having knitters to needlepoint, crocheters doing spinning, etc. An adventurous type is needed, for sure.

On the personal knitting side, I'm trying to finish some languishing projects that I now I'll want to wear soon. But, you know it's kinda bad when I shorten a sweater because I can't stand to knit on the body of it anymore. UGHH! Knitters need a sense of humor, don't we? If not, those pointy needles would become objects of torture for us or those we love...

Oregon Flock and Fiber is next month and if nothing else, it means that I will be immersed again into the fiberarts community again for 4 days. Here's hoping the weather does it's normal sunny September thing here in Oregon. It's great spinning outdoors. It's also great teaching and showing the little ones what we do. In fact, I think I've had more of that going on than ever. When we meet at the downtown library for the monthly Spinnerati meetings, more and more kids drag their parents in to see what we're doing.

Okay, folks. Back to work and dreaming of the next projects to pull together!

Sock Summit -- Experience of a Lifetime

2009-08-19T11:33:00.007-07:00

photo courtesy of Deb Accuardi

I am not going to do an overall recall of my entire Sock Summit experience. That's why this is so late in coming! There's too much to say and so many feelings about the whole thing. As many of you already know, I spent 3 days doing registration. I have NO regrets about that. It was a wonderful way to meet my sock buds and celebrities alike.

The part of my weekend that was really unexpected is that I was asked to assist a teacher on Saturday afternoon. I didn't know who she was, or what her work was like. I was just looking forward to helping a teacher in any way that I could and get to be a fly on the way of her class.
The teacher that I was assigned to was Marjan Hammick, aka yarnissima. Traveling all the way from her small village in The Netherlands, her tales of rural life and growing up in a knitting culture were fascinating to me.

I'm generally pretty clear about what I find to be "fun" to know socks, and um...NOT. If I had time to examine Marjan's work in advance, I might have been more guarded about the class. What happened instead is that I saw her patterns and was called to the challenge. Marjan's design's caress the foot in the most amazing ways, bringing in traditional twisted, Bavarian stitches to truly fluid and inspired designs.

That Saturday night I went home and immediately cast on the most simple socks "Brainless" using techniques that I was not so very familiar with. A week later I had the socks complete and any worries I had about fit cleared up in the relaxing of the yarn in the first wash. The only thing that I did differently was to work the whole upper leg in stockinette, as it seemed in the pattern to be optional. Probably not, but moving up a needle size, it worked just perfectly for me and it added to the elegance of the design.

Yesterday I cast-on her latest design, Sottopassaggio.

Although better pictures of all of these socks exist elsewhere, these are my pictures of the same socks when I got to actually feel and examine their textures and construction. These were taken my my moment of glee!

Look at that calf detail!
And finally, below is my "brainless" using yarn from Miss Babs.
And for those of you who know me, I always make time to knit, right? Sweaters are just going to have to wait until I get a little of this out of my system!

New Business Venture!

2009-08-10T12:53:00.003-07:00

Right now I'm embarking on a new business venture with my friend Laura Cohen.
We're very excited to say that we're looking for craft kit vendors to sell to this new business,
Krafti-Kit

We've really been looking forward to the day that we could formally announce this new project and hope that you know some craft folks who will be interesting in contacting us with submissions.

We really see this as a start for some new "cottage industry" and a way for folks to get more exposure for what they're already doing.

Our time line in...ummmm. NOW!

Sock Summit Post 1

2009-08-06T10:15:00.003-07:00

This is the sweater I finally finished and will be wearing today to the Sock Summit.

And yes, day 2 of registration. Yesterday I started at 5PM after the folks before me had been there for 4 of the first hours. The message to register before the whole shindig started got things going on the right foot. Although it took me about 20 minutes to catch onto the process, all went smoothly for me.

Won't even TRY and process the whole event until it's over, but so far am as excited as can be. I feel happy every time I send a student on their way with tickets, book and schedule in hand. I have to say though that I was so tired by the time I got home last night I just flopped in bed. And seeing how exhausted the planners were just made me feel like a wimp! I hope they got some decent sleep, although probably not.

Was Flumoxed, Now Finished!

2009-07-31T10:19:00.003-07:00

Wow, am I every happy that I got my new blocking squares this week. This scarf, thankfully grew another foot after blocking! I'm so pleased. Although the wool will not be worn for a bit, I know I'll wear this one a lot.

Flumoxed!

2009-07-25T20:42:00.002-07:00

This picture was taken a while ago. It's now 2/3rds done.

Jeez, I took out an old ufo (unfinished object) today because of a message I got on Ravelry. The message said how great it was that I had a "zillion" works in progress. Oy. I know I don't even have them all up there. But....

I knit like the wind
I actually finish a lot of projects
I crochet and spin as well
I start too many things that are charted.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it! Never MIND the fact that I de-stashed an obscene amount of yarn this past year. I admit to having some kind of guilt, but I'm not sure what it is.

I'm thinking about Sock Summit. I'm thinking about what I would wear each day to show off my knitting prowess. Uh...I've got lots of tank tops that I've knitted and I'm almost done with a little summer sweater that I ran out of yarn for. Maybe I need to start another quickie shrug, or tank top, or...

Yeah, maybe I just need to stick to finishing what I have on the needles right now! For the love of fiber, how to we get this way??? Oh, right. That would be, For the love of fiber.

The Pink is Back

2009-07-16T16:34:00.004-07:00

Don't forget to click the image for a really close up look!

These are both rather unbalanced 2ply yarns and for good reason. I'm learning plenty about what I do and do not like to spin these days. Both of these fibers are from Spunky Eclectic. I love her stuff. The one on the top is s silk/merino blend in Tahiti, plyed with a tiny silk single. This skein is really light and airy and was easy to spin.

Then came the merino/Tencel in Pink Elephant. It was so slick it was pretty hard to manage. It just wanted to pull as much fiber in as possible and not "hold" the twist. So, I let it do it's thing and then I plied it with a thread of iridescent Mylar. It looks way better than you can tell. I have another 2 oz of this to spin so I'd best get anther spool of thread. If I had plied it against itself, it would have been so heavy. That's what happened when I tried to do that with Optim. So, now I'm seeing that if I want to get this weight of yarn and not laceweight, I should just ply it with a tiny single for strength.

Come Engage!

2009-07-13T18:03:00.002-07:00

Next Monday I'll be doing a tele interview for the blog Woman on Quilts at 5pm PDT. The focus will be creating and business. Call in and have the opportunity to ask questions on the many different facets of this topic!

Tricky Latvians

2009-07-09T14:37:00.003-07:00

My new knitting buddy, Petra showed up to group yesterday with the coolest little way of counting pattern rows! It's a length of yarn, (see white strand above) knotted in one inch increments. You move along to the next knot to as you go to the next row! When I asked her what the origin of this technique was, she said:

I just confirmed the source. In Joyce Williams' book "Latvian Dreams," she cites Lizbeth Upitis (author of Latvian Mittens) as the source.

Coooool. Low tech and free.

So, you'll also see these funky mittens that she's knitting in Noro as well.

When the Wheel's Away, the Spindle Will Play

2009-07-05T13:16:00.002-07:00

Ever since I obtained my funky little spinning wheel, it's been a little tricky, having only one bobbin. What I've been doing is filling it up, winding half of it off and then plying it with a drop spindle. It's been exercise. I think my upper body strength has benefited. But, along with that challenge is the challenge that once I commit myself to spin a fiber, I've gotta pretty much stick with it until the bobbin is full.

It's been hard to find someone to make me some new custom bobbins, PDQ. I did find someone and then it's been a matter of letting my bobbin go for about a week to have the "babies" made. I have plenty of knitting to do, but there's this certain mindset that's just right for spinning. Hard to describe. Slightly distract-able, but still wanting to do something. Knitting won't always fill that void.

Thus, my lovely Spindlewood Spindle came out to play. It's a little snobby though. It only likes luxury fibers (go figure). Last night, in the heat of the night I started spinning some silk. It's pretty satisfying. I haven't dropped it too many times. The fiber is from Chasing Rainbows in Abalone.

There wasas well, the slightly manic spinning BEFORE I let got of my bobbin, pictured below. I had to do finish off what I had started before I let go of the bobbin for baby-making. You really can't tell in this photo, but this is Ramboulet, Silk and Sparkles, in a intense, deep blue. It's my idea of "dessert" spinning. It's something that I save up for fun, adventure and color satisfaction.I admit it: I'm a kinky spinner. I have proclivities that can hardly be explained. But, I have NO shame. Well, almost...

I Couldn't Wait!

2009-06-21T15:03:00.008-07:00

I couldn't wait to post all these pictures from my time yesterday at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR. This is my third year and was really the best ever. I went with my friend Melissa who is NOT a fiber person but a jewelry person. She's so inquisitive though that it made it really really fun. I love talking wool. I love talking all things fiber. And Melissa, well, she likes talking! (I may catch some sh*t for that last comment).

The whole day instilled me with new enthusiasm for my fiber-life. I paid more attention to the sheep breeds and their temperament. I found myself more open to every aspect of the day. And yes, I did have lots of business cards with me! This picture above is one of my favorites of the whole day.
There's Melissa (top left) just dreamy with thoughts of sheep.
This is my buddy from Twitter, Velma who was there showing her ColorBomb Creations.
And here is the bunny lady, Debby who I am always so happy to see. We found each other in the Toots Le Blanc fiber booth.

Then came the judging.
Each farm presenting their sheep breed would show in groups of three. Here are two being wrangled. They show the livestock with their butts facing the interior of the ring, to be judged first. Interesting.
This wee gal had the third in that group and you can see she had quite the steady grip on this sheepy.
How can you not be fascinated with the different horn shapes?
The amazing monotone but gorgeous texture combination is really highlighted with this ram.

But you look at this one and wanna say, "Hey! You've got a great haircut but let me get that straw out of your 'do! Ah! The conditions there are just not up to a fashion icon like yourself!"

So, as you can see, I've taken no pictures of the fiber this year. Yeah, it's all just gorgeous. Does this mean I'm about to buy some goats or sheep in the near future? I think not, but the focus in my spinning it changing a little.

The Day After

2009-06-14T12:44:00.006-07:00

I hand lettered an insane amount of these armbands, not knowing how many folks would show. I mean, Through a combination of Knit/Purl and Larissa Brown I ended up getting a lot of press! All in all we ended up with a great situation of being able to snag use of these great Adirondack chairs that were in place for the floral exhibit. I felt like we were having a garden party.
And here we are, right in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square, a rotating group of enthusiastic knitters. I stayed 4 hours and then gave it up to those who arrived much later. Thanks again everyone for coming, and for Emily's fantastic vegan cookies. It was great meeting some new knitters and hooking up with old friends.

The Day Before...

2009-06-12T09:19:00.008-07:00

From this fiber

To this yarn that reminds me of a wool dress that my mom made for me when I was a girl.

This is from pencil roving and might actually get knitted into something!

Tomorrow is WWKIP day (world wide knit in public). This is the first year I'll be an organizer and I stepped up to doing the gathering here in Portland, OR, specifically downtown.

I signed up for this way in advance out of concern that there would be a lack of interest. Portland has such a huge knitting community and we get together all the time. I think folks often wonder, why bother? We bother because we are showing folks what we do and how we value the craft of knitting. Important stuff.

Yesterday I went to my friend Melissa the jewelry-maker's house and she made me whatever kind of stitch markers I wanted. She had never made any before and I doubt she will ever sell any. That said, I get to show mine off to you in pride ;-)

The Party's Over...

2009-06-05T13:11:00.004-07:00

...and this is what's left! Cake gone of course...

I'm giving away my age this year because I'm actually pretty proud. It's been an incredible year. Lots of challenges that have ultimately moved me to completely commit to my dreams. Not a minute too soon, I say. But, things take just as long as they take, I suppose.

This year was also the start of Portland Spinnerati, MelissaBarton.org, getting my knitting stash down to bare bones to move other areas of my life forward and reconnecting with some VERY old friends and mentors.

I've had a truly amazing year and I want to thank you all for your part in it.

Sit and Spin!

2009-05-27T12:52:00.004-07:00

Jacey Boggs of Insubordiknit sent me her amazing dvd for my review. First, let me say, that I have never had ANY interest in spinning "art yarns". Little did Jacey know just how hard this sell was gonna be.

At first, I was a little put off by the eyeball yarn images on the front cover. I think I'm just under the wire of a month to get this review out because I had some major reservations on all the new-fangled stuff.

The wonderfully filmed, shot and organized video was so instructive I would have to say that in each of the 39 chapters I learned something completely new. Between each chapter, which was comprised of individual segments on related techniques, you get to watch the best, silliest fibery music videos. Just enough of a breather to get you to the next technique.

The 5 types of techniques she covers are Puffs, Coils, Wraps, Loops and Foriegn Objects. In each segment you have the ability to watch a video loop of the technique. Yay!

I watched this whole dvd straight through without actually spinning, which might be a good idea so that you'll have your materials set up and think about what you might like to try. The way the video it shot gives you the best possible view on what's going on. I would even say that it's better than an actual class. Jacey does each technique at different speeds and shows you the crucial steps in making this work. My only question is, don't her students (in the video) every talk? (Two silent students flanking her.)

Sure, classes are great but I have to say that having this in your library would take the place of many many classes. All in all, I have to give major praise to Jacey for every excellent aspect of this kick-ass dvd.

The Last on the Block

2009-05-20T11:55:00.004-07:00

There are trends in knitting and then there are TRENDS in knitting. In this case, I am probably the only knitter I know who has not knit a Clapotis. Pronounced Clap-oh-tee. It appeared in Knitty in 2004 and here it is 2009. Better late than never.

I have to say that one of the things that held me back is that I really hadn't seen one I loved. It was an issue of yarn. Wool is generally just not drapey enough. That even goes for the one they used for the sample in the photo.

I chose rayon. I order a lot of this rayon from Yarntopia Treasures on Ebay. The type of base yarn they use has finally become consistent and it's a really good deal. The way it is with handdyed yarns though is that you never know how it's going to knit up. Especially with a pattern like this. So, I had one skien and I had sold the second one to my friend Duffy, months ago. I thought I'd try it scarf width to see if I'd enjoy knitting it.

You know what happened next. I ran out of yarn. I ordered new yarn and the color was off and then I asked Duffy if she would trade me. My buddy not only agreed on the trade by she drove it right on over, to my lame protests. She of course is laughing right now because of course I spent the weekend finishing my Clapotis so that I could wear it.

This one was so much fun to knit that I've started another one, full width. The colors on this one really "pop" and I'm rather pleased with it.

There are less satisfying projects in the works as well, right now. I'm hoping that some time with the knitting gals tonight will help me get over my pattern struggles.

I'd like to end this post on a serious note though. I knitter that I have known from my online knitting community for many years, Witt, just passed away. It was unexpected to us all and I am here to tell you that knitters are just the most wonderful people and Witt was one the of the best. We will all miss him.

Worlds Collide

2009-04-26T17:24:00.009-07:00

The collision is between my fiberarts world and my business life. There have been several instances where I was doing test knitting professionally, and still do, but It's not my "real" job. You know, mentoring professionals, consulting in various areas of business. The line is blurring more and more these days. I felt it most recently when I ended up cross posting from this blog to my biz blog for my interview with Brenda Dayne.

More and more I'm working with fiber arts professionals and that's a great thing. I know the market, it's strengths and limitations. Talking with non-fiberarts folks has given me the most clarity on what we're all doing. People ask me how many people are knitting. Once I get past the most basic points on the history of fiberarts that have brought up to this exact time in history, then we come to a really common question:

What is this all about? Is it a JUST a "hobby"?

A Hobby? I find myself taking offense at the term. It seems like something cheap and insignificant and "old-timey". Within me, I feel a passion. A drive to discover the very best in knitwear design right now. What makes this different than just someone looking at a fashion magazine and saying, "I was to buy that" is that I am able to have the instructions right there in a magazine, book or web tutorial. I make that fabulous garment. I own a part of it in a way that's very different.

As I write this, I realize this was my experience in making music, in playing the piano. Not in all ways, but in this way: When I read music, it's like listening to the composer's thoughts. I have a video of myself explaining this to my niece when she was just a wee one. I was so sincere. It was so important for her to understand. Reading a pattern is like listening to the designer's thoughts. I can recreate the object based on their charts and words, like notes on a page.

Now I surround myself with people who appreciate many of the same things I do. When I do come across someone who wants to understand what this thing "I do " is...well...mixed results. It's a difficult thing to explain why I would spend an entire weekend knitting one pair of socks, hour after house, like this weekend. I can say it's grounding, that it's something beautiful I get to wear. It's more than that. It's how I'm hard-wired. It's what I did as a child. It's what I have always done. It's what I consider to be essential to my existance. I will always do this and it is the one thing I have no doubts about.
This is something I knit from yarn that I spun from cashmere/merino fiber .These are the socks that I knit just this weekend.
This is part of the top that I started crocheting last Summer and finished this week.
These are socks that I finished this week that were started long ago.
The embroidered motif at the top was part of a large white shirt that I embroidered all over and I did another one as well. That was last weekend.

A Greener Spring

2009-04-21T10:35:00.005-07:00

I received this vibrant green yarn from Teresa Levite Studios just the other day. It's hand dyed on a base yarn of 63% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 15% Nylon and 2% Silver (real). Fingering weight, put up into 420yd skeins, just waiting for your next sock project.

The subtle gradations of color, even though it's bright, would make it great for a pattern with plenty of lace or cables. Sure, colorful varigated are fun to buy, but when it comes to knitting an interesting pattern, the texture you knit can be so easily lost in all that variegation. This yarn has just enough for me.

Find Teresa's offerings:
on Etsy
on Artfire
And Teresa's own website
****************************************

Teresa Levite:
I love all things fiber! My current passion is dyeing. I'm fascinated by the changes that take place when a few chemicals are combined with a handful of wool or silk and something very different comes from the dye pot. Common to many fiber artists, my love of fiber goes across the board and includes crocheting and quilting in addition to dyeing, spinning, and knitting. There are still a multitude of crafts and arts I haven't even tried - yet. I'm hoping to soon as 'weaver' to my list of titles.

Spinning Spring

2009-04-19T17:31:00.003-07:00

This is a closeup of the simple shawl I knit from the kid mohair and silk yarn below. I was just teaching this technique last weekend at the Spinnerati meeting. It's always interesting to see what pattern in the knitting show themselves when you've pulled in colors randomly in spinning. The actual spinning can be quite fun because it's all about "giving up controlling the fiber." It was interesting to see what the other spinners who had never tried this came up with. I think I have some converts...

I have felt somewhat "plagued" by working with silk hankies in spinning. Unlike silk roving, it's really sticking and hard to draft. That said, now that I've found a good use for the fine single I spun, I'm finishing these up to ply with a "sherino" wool yarn.
These are the Sherino locks, picked into clouds, spun into a tweedy single and then plied with the silk. (Don't forget to click on this image to see it better)

A Nation of Makers

2009-04-11T16:30:00.009-07:00

Last weekend was the Portland debut of the film, HandMade Nation and the Museum of Contemporary Craft had quite a weekend full of events. I wasn't able to get tickets to the two big screenings, but when more were offered on Sunday, I went with a friend to that one. I did attend the panel discussion with the filmmaker on Saturday afternoon after a fine breakfast with some new local crafty friends. New to me, that is! By way of Twitter, I found this little cluster of folks going and meeting up and we all got our acts together to meet and hang.

While I was in the middle of writing last week's post here and try to make plans for the confligration, my internet went down. Well, it was stressful, but I spent some time downing Chai in a free wifi cafe and got it all together. Lesson the in pleasures and dangers of the Internet and it's power in my life. Yeah.

I kind of found myself in the role of interviewer in many ways. There were so many things I wanted to know about everyone's process, and business and lifestyles as crafters. So much of what I'm trying to do right now, business-wise is connected to assisting creative folks maneuver the business world better. Some I see are really quite savy and I was clearly the one learning from them. Delightful.

On the left we have Adrienne Shaffer of MmmFiber and Amanda Siska of Bread and Badger etched glass.

Here we have Heather of CroqZine with one of her two little one's that Saturday morning at Byways Cafe in the Pearl.

Here, left to right we have two folks (who's names I do not remember. UGHHH) who have started a new craft happening in Vancouver, BC called Got Craft, Kim Werker, and Amanda and Adrienne (stealthfully holding her business card ;-> )

I ended up finishing this shrug and wore it to the screening with a headscarf that I crocheted the previous day from a skein of Koigu.

On the way out of the panel discussion I ran into Kathy of Pendleton! Her office is just around the corner from the Museum and I was glad to see her and catch up. It then occured to me that I had never posted a picture of the wonderful blanket I got in exchange for my spinning demo at the Home and Garden Show.
So, here we go on that! It's the Mt. Hood Sesquicentenial blanket on a one-off colorway that was never mass produced. I just love it. It goes perfectly with my bedroom.

End of Days- Interview with Brenda Dayne

2009-04-03T19:55:00.001-07:00

I was so pleased that Brenda was willing to take some time (a lot of time) to answer a few questions for my eager readers. Although Brenda is a writer, most folks know her from her wonderful, ground-breaking podcast, Cast On. Her honesty in this interview has touched me deeply and I hope it does you. With that, I give you Brenda Dayne:

MB: So, I can see the way your podcast has evolved into a world unto its own. I know from a while ago that you weren’t sure how it was all going to play out. Just between us, has this become a business for you?

BD: I wouldn't say it's a business yet, but it is in the process of becoming one. When I began podcasting it was still a very new medium, and there weren't any solid business models in place. They didn't exist. There were a few ideas, and a lot of grand hopes for connecting independent media producers to advertisers looking for new markets, but nothing much ever came of it. As with a lot of Internet based businesses, there were a few independent producers who caught the wave early, and managed to find sponsorship, but most didn't and still don't.

I think when it comes to online content, most Internet marketers agree that there are only three ways to profit from what you create. You can sell advertising. You can sell the content. Or you can use your content as a vehicle to market and sell product. So I looked at all of these, at one time or another and, for a variety of reasons, rejected them. I couldn't see how to integrate them with my own value system, which is basically rather anti-consumerist. I don't really want to influence people to buy more stuff. I think people have enough stuff. Stuff doesn't interest me. Ideas do.

It's taken me a few years of floundering around, relying on listener donations, and a few small niche specific sponsorships, to wake up and get serious about figuring out the business end of what I create. I realize that my perfect business model, the one I can live with, that's in complete alignment with my values, isn't going to magically float into my life on gossamer wings. I have to create it. So that's what I'm doing now.

What was your original inspiration for cast-on and how has that changed over time?

BD:I was probably most inspired, at the very beginning, by Adam Curry's Daily Source Code. His was one of the first podcasts I listened to, in the summer of 2005. I had no idea who he was when I discovered his show; he wasn't a famous person to me, he was just some guy, talking about podcasting, and telling stories about his life. I find him honest, and real; charming, and endearingly human. He’s muddling through life, sometimes with a grand plan, sometimes on a wing and a prayer, just like the rest of us, and that really comes though in his podcast. Listening to Adam Curry had a very profound effect on the way I approached the microphone, right from my very first podcast. He set a benchmark for a level of emotional honesty that I wanted to emulate.

I launched Cast On in October 2005, with a clear vision of what I wanted it to be, but not clear at all about how it would pan out. I thought that maybe if I discovered I was good at it, and it was fun, I might possibly, someday, down the line, look at ways to make money at it. But it was all rather amorphous at the beginning.

The first year the process of learning that inspired me most. I put out a new podcast almost every week, and I had little time to think about the business side of things. I was too busy learning the craft. I created about forty hour-long episodes in that first year; an amazing amount of work, it seems to me, looking back on it now. Especially given how little I knew about the technology or the medium.

In the second year I slowed down a bit, and I began paying more attention to the quality of the audio, as well as the quality of ideas that I presented. I attracted a few sponsors, more by accident than design, and still felt I was too busy gathering technical skills to pay attention to business. I listened more intently to the radio, and learned how the pros use audio to craft their stories. I realized it was not unlike print journalism, and as I got faster at editing, I began to see audio production as the creative process it is.

My third year of podcasting, quite frankly, I would very much like to draw a line through, as it was a very difficult year. I was dealing with a major health issue that began about six months earlier, and took over my life for a while. I slogged my way through the third year and summoned the energy to create a few podcasts through sheer force of will. It helped that I had finally mastered the technical end, and developed my own production techniques that simplified the way I created each podcast, but the process exhausted me. I’d produce a podcast and then need two weeks to recover.

I was also done learning, and that really changed the feel of the process for me. I was getting burnt out, and feeling out of ideas. As I struggled with my health the podcasts became fewer and further between. I became more and more concerned that I wasn’t meeting the expectations of my listeners, and for a while there it seemed like I couldn't please anybody, much less myself. I began getting negative comments and email complaints. Those really hurt.

Up until that point I had always believed that my listeners could hear the real human being inside the podcast, just as I had, when I discovered a sense of the real man behind the microphone in listening to Adam Curry. They thought they knew me, and I thought so too. I had been as emotionally honest as I knew how to be. It was horribly disappointing to realize that many of my listeners didn't really give a damn about what was going on in my life. They had their own lives, and their own problems, and I was just entertainment that they funneled into their earbuds, on schedule, once a week. If I wasn’t entertaining them weekly, they weren’t interested.

And you know, quite frankly, that kind of pissed me off. I was sick. I was tired. I still hadn't figured out the business end of the podcast. That was my choice, and I own it; I was the one who decided to focus on making podcasts, not making money, but it did add to the general resentment I felt. I wasn't earning nearly enough, and certainly not what I thought I should be. I was busting ass to produce content for a bunch of schmoes who didn't care, and who left nasty comments and complained all the time. The injustice! I was sorely aggrieved.

I haven't listened to the podcasts created during that time since I produced them. Given that a high level of emotional honesty is what I always aspired to, I am pretty sure that my anger and disappointment and resentment came through the podcast, right into people's living rooms, loud and clear. It had to. The wonder isn't that I received negative feedback during this time, but that I received so little. It was not a good year, and in retrospect, I really wish I'd given myself permission to take the extended break that I so clearly needed.

Eventually my health and energy returned but, as I began the fourth year of the podcast, I reached a point where I knew something had to change. I had to either fully commit, and take Cast On to the next level, whatever that meant, or walk away. I produced a few episodes through the autumn, still dancing around the question of whether to stay with it, or let it go. The work wasn’t as satisfying anymore, and I couldn’t figure out how to make it better. In early December 2008 I began planning the final episode of Cast On, hoping to to have it ready to upload on New Year’s Eve.

That same month, in a stunningly honest blog post, Kim Werker announced that she was giving up her post as Editor of Interweave Crochet Magazine. The surprise announcement was followed by a host of personal revelations; things she had realized about herself that were essential to her happiness on the job, and in life. Her story was so compelling, I wrote immediately and asked her for an interview, seeing in her decision a mirror of my own. I thought she’d be the perfect interview for the last ever episode of Cast On.

All through my conversation with Kim, and right the way though the editing process, I was convinced I was working on my final episode of the podcast. During our conversation, as she spoke about her decision, I said aloud, a number of times, “I understand. I also think that I’m done. I believe I have said all I want to say with Cast On.”

I listened to the final edit of our interview, and sat down to write my show. As I wrote, I thought back to the early days of the podcast, and the people and the work that inspired me. I remembered the real joy I’d once felt in telling a story, and producing a body of work that I could be proud of. I reached the place in my writing where I had planned to say goodbye, and I somehow ended up writing instead all the things that needed to change if I were going to keep producing Cast On. My letter of farewell became a manifesto. It wasn’t goodbye I was saying, but it was the end. I was done working to meet other people’s expectations.

I must tell stories. My favorite thing. I must produce the work that is important to me, to my own standard of quality, and in my own time. I must stop caring about what other people think, or say, or write about my work.

In the early days of Cast On an unwritten contract was created between my listeners and me. Or maybe there were two contracts – one that I created for them, and one that they created for me, each spelling out clearly the ways in which we were all to behave; but never negotiated, never agreed to. Somewhere in the third year of the podcast I ceased to meet the expectations of a great many listeners, and they ceased to meet mine and the contract was broken. And that, as it turned out, was probably the very best thing that could have happened to me, and very best thing for Cast On.What inspires me now is the work. What inspires me are the stories. There are so many yet to tell. I can’t wait to get started.

Brenda Dayne is a rabble-rouser and applecart upsetter who, following routine gallbladder surgery, led the patient revolt on Ward 5, resulting in fresh toast for all, and an early hospital discharge for herself. She has been writing manifestos since the age of nine, when her fourth grade teacher disallowed dancing at recess. She makes podcasts to please herself, and is glad that you like them.

Finishing is Happening

2009-04-01T22:09:00.004-07:00

As you can see, this is what my tomorrow will be like.
For the past week, it's been jackhammers and crazy-loud stuff going on outside my window. It started last fall when the water main broke inside my building. Now, finally, they are going to fix the source of our woes. I was just waiting until the day would come when they would replace what needs replacing. The city.
I intend to escape to a cafe with free wifi for as much of the day as possible. Oh, and I'll bring knitting too...

I know that I'm supposed to have pictures of finished stuff to go along with this post, but I feel so guilty about my lack of posts, well...So, here you go. The first picture on my last post, the green thing became the shrug that it was meant to be. Too damn cold to wear it. Seriously.
The baby blanket not shown? Done.

But, back to the weather. Normally when folks ask me how I feel about living in "Rainy Portland", I'm all cool about it. "Oh, I like having weather!" I say. Yeah. Until now. It's April 1st. It's darn cold and wet. It's the cold that's the total drag. I didn't even walk home from knitting tonight because even though the clocks have changed, (this early change is nuts) and it's light out, I just couldn't brave another possible sudden downpour.

I think right now in my nighttime too-much-computer-delirium, my mother's words: Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink...
That would be tomorrow, puddles on the streets, rain pouring from the sky and no water in my faucet. Just to spell it out for ya.

Confessed UFO's

2009-03-26T14:19:00.004-07:00

Almost finished shrug started last Summer

I know I haven't posted much actual knitting lately, but that doesn't mean I'm not knitting! Somehow though, things are just not getting finished. There's also a couple of secret project like gifts and test knit projects not listed here, so add on 3 more large projects!

February Lady Sweater started this Winter.

Trident lace socks, 1st one almost finished

Basic socks, second one on the needles

Forest Canopy Shawl knit in Malabrigo Lace

First of two 3 skeins spun of merino/silk

First of ? Skeins to be spun from Mohair locks and silk thread

This is a different colorway of the yarn above that I've finished and am know knitting into shawl

So, I have this friend...

2009-03-22T11:51:00.005-07:00

This friend is the one who helped me come up with the coins on the spinning wheel. They were actually her foreign coins.Wendy and I met briefly in San Diego when I lived there. We went to some of the same knitting meetups, but we never got a chance to really talk. The first year I moved to Portland I was on my home from a knitting store and there she was, on a bus with a friend. They bad both attending some kind of fiber event and were just in town for the day.
Since then, we haven't seen each other much but she does live closer now, in Northern, CA. After she moved there I realized that I had a pound of white merino just sitting here. I knew I was not going to dye it myself. Hmmmm. Let's make WENDY do it. Yes, that girl who would cart a spinning wheel to Starbucks and had become quite the master dyer was my first pick for turning white Merino straw into gold.
I waiting months, then 6 months and I really didn't give it a thought. I knew someday it would come back to me, fabulous.
Last week there was a mystery package waiting for me and there it was!
although Wendy's business is in a bit of a hibernation stage, I knew you would all want the link to her stuff after seeing this beauty, so here you go.

Gaia's Colours!

2009-03-18T20:22:00.007-07:00

I love Gaia's colors, I mean the colors that she (Ursa) chooses! The base yarn is really nice as well. Nice and dense, high twist. I have fondled this yarn properly, had it sit in different places in my apartment and it is particularly fond of a bronze handbag that I have. They look good coupled. (I hope they don't run away together....)
So, this means I will be knitting very, very soon with this particular yarn. Check back in with me. Meanwhile, I asked Ursa about this particular colorway:

"This colourway, "Cernunnos, variegated version", was inspired by Cernunnos, "a pagan Celtic god whose representations were widespread in the ancient Celtic lands of western Europe". He is associated with the hunt, with wild animals, especially horned animals, and is often shown with large horns sprouting out from the top of his head. The snake is also associated with him. He is linked fertility, death and rebirth and all things "wild". I have a solid version of this colourway - a deep brown, but with the variegated version I wanted to bring in lots of earthy colours - deep gold, orange, brown and olive green. These reflect many of the colours of the wild - hooves and horns, fur, feathers and scales, earth and bark and leaves, in their living and dying cycles."

Ursa Hawthorne is the woman behind Gaia's Colours Fibre Arts, a West Coast Canadian company that emerged in the spring of 2008. Gaia's Colours is a hand-dyed yarn and spinning fibre company inspired by the many names and faces of the Gods, as well as the colours of our planet Earth, Gaia. Ursa uses her love of nature and World Mythology to create lovely and unique colourways for a variety of yarn weights and fibre types. Ursa's passion for dyeing yarn was born of her love of knitting, plus discovering the incredible world of Etsy.com and the assortment of lovely indie dyers in the online world. As a stay-at-home mother of two young boys, Ursa needed a creative outlet, some "playtime" of her own, and dyeing seemed a natural extension of the creation process of knitting. She currently sells online through Etsy, at her own online store, and at one local yarn & fiber store in her resident city of Victoria, BC.

Knit a Lace Bookmark!

2009-03-13T12:35:00.006-07:00

Mary McCall sent me this great kit to try out. It's a lace bookmark kit complete with a little hank of slubby silk yarn and charted instructions.
Oh, how I love kits!
When I first considered knitting lace, some years back, a friend said: Make a bookmark!
I didn't. It meant I had to figure out what pattern to use, make sure it was charted, buy a skein of something that I may not use all of, etc. This is the way to go, you beginning lace knitters!

You can reach Mary McCall to order at Wool and Fiber Originals

Sure I Can Bake!

2009-03-12T18:54:00.002-07:00

Don't ask me for recipes. Not digital. Old fashioned cookbook. Seriously old fashioned cookbook. The one I grew up with: Fanny Farmer. That would be Oatmeal Bread at the top and Cream Scones at the bottom there.
So, I was in a mood. It lasted one whole day and this is what came of it.
Back to spinning, knitting and way too much time on the computer.

A Walk on the Beach

2009-03-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Jeez, it's Saturday already and I can tell that trying to post to my Biz blog everyday is making this a little hard to manage. But, yesterday I said, what the heck and took a day off and shot some cool new photos. I have to keep my nature images up, I was thinking. The way it came out though was really just a walk on the beach...

New Yarn and Sunday Knitting Again

2009-03-02T09:32:00.006-08:00

Sometimes when one is more in the destashing stage, it's a thrill to get a skein of yarn in the mail that really floats your boat. I did a trade and got this lovely merino-silk lace weight from No Two Snowflakes. This of course assumes that I will finish my current lace project(s) to be able to start a new one. This is certainly inspiration.

Forever ago, I started a Norwegian sweater. I got the entire body done. (This was the design your own Norwegian sweater from Donna's Ethnic Knitting Discovery book) Then a year passed. I realized that I was not going to finish this sweater because I didnt' feel inspired to wear it. I've changed my sweater style and am going to thinner layers instead of heavy. My colorwork sweater there was DK weight and quite a lump-o-wool. Last week I decided to make it into a felted totebag. Here is the "before" shot and I will post the "after" shot when I have some handles on it and line it.Yesterday for Sunday knit together we went to Gaby's and saw my 2 year old boyfriend.
Paula finished her latest sweater and modeled it for us. A good time was had by all, but especially me.

Lisa's New Sock Pattern

2009-02-27T19:08:00.007-08:00

Steel Toed Boot Socks

I haven't knit these socks yet, but after having the pattern in my hot little hands, you know I will. Lisa of Be Still and Knit sent it to me. I really like the look and format of her pattern. I know I don't love toe up socks, but I think I'm going to make an exception here. Really elegant and easy to read pattern, and just between us---SUCH the bargain. Check it out.

The fair Lisa

Fiber Untitled 1

2009-02-25T13:06:00.003-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I was at a knitting meetup and decided I'd rather ball up some handspun and measure it than actually knit. Low attention span. Again, I was surprised by how much more l liked it balled up. It showed me more of what it will do, knitted. Enough for a shawl.
This is the merino I spun at the Pendleton event, using their merino top. Wow. Really spingy stuff after setting the twist. My irregular spinning was in no doubt because of all the talking I did. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
This past weekend, 21 people showed up at the monthly Portland Spinnerati event at the library. Really pleased with how that's going. That said, I'm still learning the social behavior of spinners. It's different than knitters, but mostly because we've got this big wheel in front of us. Other things too. Not sure yet though how to describe. Comments from the Spinning Gallery?

New patterns emerging in my life: melding of professional and fiber art life. Tune in for further developments...

The Pull Towards Spring

2009-02-23T16:26:00.005-08:00

The rain stopped and the sun came out. I felt kind of sleepy but wanted some pictures. I opened the windows and this is what I saw.
(You do know you can click on any picture and see it really big, right?)

Meet Anne Hanson

2009-02-21T10:48:00.009-08:00

Knitspot owner and designer Anne Hanson, a life-long knitter with a background in the fashion and graphic design fields, began designing knitwear sometime in the 1970s. Anne also teaches and writes about knitting, spinning, and designing at her blog, knitspot.com, and lives in Ohio with David, who loves wool, too.

Anne’s background as a patternmaker/draper, technical designer, and costumer in New York City’s garment district informs her work, providing a rich source of experience in garment construction and fit, as well as knowledge of a wide range of fibers and fabrics.

Anne’s design work has been included in Knitty, Interweave Knits, and Twist Collective, as well as several upcoming publications. In addition, her designs have been commissioned for several popular sock and lace clubs, including the Rockin’ Sock Club®, the Woolgirl Sock Club, the Yarn4Socks club, the Fearless Fibers “Seven Deadly Sins” sock club, and the Wooly Wonka Seasons of Lace Club.

(Let me to preface this with the comment that I thought that Anne would have an impossible time answering this. I was really having fun with this thought...until this morning when Anne answered it in the most succinct way!)

If you had to choose one element of nature with which to draw your inspiration, what would it be?

Light.

I love to look at light in all its forms and the effect it has on objects and air. I'm fascinated by the negative spaces in nature, the shapes that are created around light, almost anything from a spider web to criss-crossed twigs to flower create spaces between and translucent light effects that interest me. I assume that's why lace and textured fabrics appeal so much to me in my work!

100 Years of Pendleton

2009-02-20T11:13:00.005-08:00

This weekend in Portland at the Home and Garden show at the Expo Center, Pendleton Mills is celebrating their century mark. I was really, really honored to be a part of that celebration yesterday. Last month I was tapped to find some spinners for their "wool story" exhibit.
In the picture above, you can see they had bleachers set up for the 3 demo's of the day. What actually happened is that folks just flowed through the space all day and we just kept going. The wonderful Kathy Monaghan was the organizer at Pendleton that I had been working with and the lady was on fire! She talked each person who came to see us through the entire process of making a blanket. I certainly learned plenty.
You can see here some of the fabulous fashions, past and present, on display.
Here you can really see the amazing display of 100 blankets representing 100 years of Pendleton.And there's my weird little wheel where I was sitting on a platform all day, yesterday. To the left you can see actual 50o lb bales of wool that they purchase for making their wool blankets, etc. Young and old alike were asked to take a bit 'o wool with them. The kids loved it! The orginal plan was to have live sheep there, but then upon the realization that it's lambing season and on top of that folks couldn't touch the sheep (because of hygene reasons) we had a lot of "stuffed" sheep instead. Still went over well...

I ended up talking to folks the entire time about just how it all works. I ended up spinning one whole bobbin of laceweight merino. They had this huge round of about 50lbs of sliver just to my left. Today I've been plying it. Really gorgeous stuff I had to work with. I actually tried first the "craft wool" that they sell for felting and that didn't go too well. The staple was too short.

So, "my people" will be there today, Saturday and Sunday. I'm not sure I could have done all four days even if it had been suggested. I actually carried my spinning wheel on the MAX train, after walking about 7 blocks with it. It rolled along on a carrier, but because of my height, I have to bend a little to use something like that. I did get a ride home though from my fellow demo gal, Lise who was weaving just in front of me, to complete the circle. The circle of the WOOL.

Marnie MacLean

2009-02-18T17:02:00.006-08:00

This is the first in a series where I ask knitwear designers all sorts of probing questions. Since I'm really interested in the way nature "informs and inspires" design, my first interviews will focus on that. So, will a drum roll, I give you....

Marnie MacLean is a knitwear designer in lovely Portland Oregon, where she lives with her two adorable dogs and a spectacular guy, all of whom are endlessly patient with her ever-growing supply of yarn. You can find Marnie online at http://marniemaclean.com

Is there a singular inspiration for you in nature?

There is really no one inspiration for me in nature. I certainly combine various aspects of it into my designs, like Astoria, with it's wave motif and Lily with it's lily of the valley motifs. But neither of those were necessarily triggered by nature itself. I'm more inspired by the way shapes, color, and fit can flatter (or not!) the human form. So first, I have a concept that I think will be flattering, then I fill in the details. For instance, in the case of Lily, I wanted a motif that ran up the sides but would look good split to follow the raglans. The idea being that the details would draw a visual line inside the torso that would slim the whole body. With Astoria, I wanted a colorwork combination that would emphasize an hourglass figure, by drawing attention at the bust and minimizing the size of the waist. Dark color and darts in the waist area, are meant to achieve that. While the colorwork band is lighter and busier, adding emphasis to the area. In the pattern itself, I give suggestions for flattering other figure types by changing the colors and the location of the motif.

My Blog Wasn't loading!

2009-02-17T10:35:00.003-08:00

To test this problem and apparently solve it, I needed to put kittens on my page. Go figure....

A Color Trend?

2009-02-16T12:31:00.005-08:00

I wasn't really thinking so, but perhaps it was my tribute to Valentine's Day. I had several pounds of natural aran weight and have been waiting on doing something with it. I waited no more. I had at it in two kettle batches. It was only as I was about to post this that I realized that in my last yarny post I was working with the same colors, kinda.
This is enough for a sweater so I think I'll blend the two lots in alternating rows and maybe take that one really scarlet one out for something else.Yes, this is the yarn I spun in a previous post that got make into a hat. It did fun color repeat stuff that accentuated the lace pattern. I like when it works in our favor!

New Cooperative Marketing Magic

2009-02-13T19:52:00.003-08:00

As many of you may already know, I've had this blog, "just because", for many years now. I want to formally thank all my new and old faithful readers. You've been great to have along on my ride. Now I'm introducing a new "curve to the ride". I've never had any regular features here but right now, today I am announcing a brand new one:

Cooperative Marketing

This is the way it's going to work here on Days of Tea and Knitting:
Once a week, I'm going to do a feature on a bunch of fiberarts folks who want to get their products out there. I will show a lovely picture of what they are selling, I'll review it, I'll tell you where you can buy it. It's that simple. The artist gets a free advertisement for their product for the minimal cost of sending me something in the mail.

If I use the yarn or fiber (or whatever) in a project, I will link to them again with pictures galore.
This is cooperative because the Artist will then link to me and my readership will rise and there will be more and more people reading about the cool stuff you send me.

Listen, I know from doing one contest on this site how long this can take in terms of my effort, editing photos that may not be quite right, sending more emails to an Artist if something doesn't come through right. But, I'm willing to do this to support the Artist.

What I'm asking from everyone who reads this blog and has a blog is to now LINK to me, please. I know from my stats that most of my readers come from links from other blogs. Let's all benefit from social media and help each other out!

If you decide you want to send me your work to feature, I'll send you a Word file with an agreement of how everything will go, where to send, etc.

Meanwhile, I'll promise to still show you my lame and not so lame projects and pictures of Portland and all that other stuff you've come to expect from me.

Family Colors

2009-02-06T13:33:00.006-08:00

This is fiber that my dad spun sometime in the 1980's and I just dyed it a month ago. I love the way the dye took. It's rather mottled because he apparently used different fibers carded together but didn't note that at all, so I don't know what kinds of wool he used. My mom made all these little notations on the labels that are very vague and cute though. Like: "thin", "heavier" in her little pencil handwriting.
These are some blocks that he carved for me in 1986 when I was in NYC and had a small business, block printing simple kimonos. I took the designs from a book and he carved them for me. Well used as you can see.
What you see here on the nostepinne above is what was spun below (plus some color correction on the photo) I knew that I was spinning to intentionally create a long color repeat thing goin' on here, I just couldn't see the success until I got it put up in a ball. Cool, huh? Fiber is silk/merino from RedFish, although they don't sell roving online so I got it at a show.
I'm knitting a hat from it right now but would rather blog a picture when it's done tomorrow. I know, deadline knitting but this one's personal.

Not feeling very "wordy" today. Just wanted to share some stuff I was looking at in my world. I'm doing much more blogging--daily-- in my biz blog right now. Have no fear fiber friends. I will never abandon you!

What, Finish Something?

2009-02-02T19:37:00.004-08:00

When on Saturday night I was whining about "oh, I have all these projects and I don't want to work on them. I want something new..." a friend saw me on facebook and said 'only if you can finish it in one day.'
I decided that was reasonable, as long as it was 24 hours, not 8 or 12 hours. I mean, I started a new project Saturday night and finished Sunday night. Great, huh? Well...except for the fact that this is new ammunition in my desire to postpone working on anything I've started.
Ah, perhaps it's a phase. Seriously, I thought KNITTING was a phase, at first.
Okay, I'll try to be reasonable about this. But, I did start another hat tonight, and above it the one I finished last night. It's the Inga hat, made a bit shorter by starting on row 23 of the main chart.

January in Portland

2009-01-29T18:40:00.002-08:00

Yes, it can vary quite a bit. I thought that I would join the other desperate sun seekers today and head out for a while and take some pictures for you all. You know, the "inspired by nature" part of all of this.

Knitting Group Day

2009-01-25T14:50:00.003-08:00

Sunday is Knitting Group Day and Strong Chai Day....and....well, so is Tuesday. Days to truly live for, in my opinion. Never you mind that I've already drunk my allotment of caffeine today. Buzz, buzz, buzzzzzz.
No, awake and thinking about how my projects are just not coming along fast enough right now. No feelings of serious accomplishment. I'm working on the shawl above and it's going slow. It was actually meant go to slow because I have a lot of shawls in the pattern in different yarns. So, I work on it in bits. I'm actually working on the crochet because it's way faster and has that sense of accomplishment to it.
I've set aside the pattern for of the shapings because I like the way I shape crochet better than any pattern I read. It can be an improvisation to smooth out the rough places and make the crooked places straight (thank you, Handel..)
Ughhh, I keep stretching here at the computer. Been here so much this weekend.
I've started a business blog and I invite anyone who is considering starting something up or if you're already in business for yourself to check it out and pass it along.

Greeting a New Day

2009-01-21T15:40:00.002-08:00

I know that alot of people will have blog posts with that title today and be talking about our new Administration. I'll spare you. I don't have anything to say that's better said than what's already out there.
For me, it just a new day. Every day a new day. I saw dawn for a change this morning. Was actually thinking clearly enough to take this picture from my kitchen window. I then watched some news and headed back to the bed that was not yet done with me.
Just thought I'd add this picture and single thought to the river of thoughts that are flowing out there, people...

Less Yarn, Not More

2009-01-19T12:20:00.005-08:00

I'm sure to some folks that might seem reasonable but to me right now, it's a rip. I am de-stashing down to what I consider "bare bones". What's that?I will sell: Non-sweater amounts of yarn, Too much of a particular sock color Yarn that I NEED to keep is yarn that's discontinued that I KNOW I will use, yarn that I will never get enough money for and I still like, most of my handspun, Sock yarn that I can't live without.
These are always subject to change, just like the rest of life, huh?

But for those of you who might be interested, I'm doing it on Ravelry so drop by and see what you may see.

In another area, as someone who test knits other people's patterns it's always been a question of whether I'm ever going to get down to writing patterns. I actually have one nearly ready to go and I'd just rather knit. Lazy me. I hope again to change this in 2009. I've got some crochet pattern books on their way and may do something with designing crocheted accessories.
Stay tuned. Leave some comments, people. I like to hear from you and if you can't bring yourself to write, please note the "reaction" buttons below. Gotta love those!