novamade

on productivity

I have written many blog posts in my head, I just haven't actually typed and posted them.  We have all been there, right?  I have been too busy actually doing stuff to talk about it, I think every now and then we crafty folk need to do that; do the thing and not talk about it so much (or, if you are like me, obsess over other people's amazing craftiness to the point of inertia, or something like that).

Over the past weekend I went to New Hampshire to craft my little heart out, it has sort of re-energized the craft of crafting for me.  It was supposed to be a knitting weekend; but, I spent a goodly amount of time making buttons.  With clay.  And a toaster oven.

I just think it's funny that one can make buttons with a toaster oven.

 

But maybe that is just me.

These buttons are not assigned to any sort of project at the moment (none of them, and there are a lot of them).  Should you have any great contribution to make to spark my creativity, do share.  I am almost at the edge of being "all tapped out."  Almost.

 

I am particularly proud of my shawl pins.  I know the sticks look like carrots.  Try imagining them with some sort of earthy twig found while taking some walk down some path somewhere.  I know, it's hard to see past the carrots.

But I did also do some knitting; or rather, I did some weaving of ends on knitting.  You know that tomten with the 50 bajillion ends?  Ends woven, surplus cut.  The fact that there is now the zipper and pockets to contend with is something to think on later.  Let's focus on the positive, shall we?  Ends woven.  Surplus cut.

Such a feat deserves a fitting celebration, like pie.  Truly great and excellent pie.

Like carmelized orange tart with blackberry puree (go and print the recipe, I will wait).  Delicious.  Perfection in pie form, really.

Okay, back to the doing.

new york in november

First we were going.  Then we weren't.  And then we said, who are we to let a little thing like sickness deter us from taking three bites out of the Big Apple?  In a spontaneous (for us) decision, we opted to go.  And on the advice of my friend Al, we thought we would take a ferry (long story).  When I say we, I mean Special K.  I came home from work and was told, "we are leaving in 15 minutes, pack a bag."  Good times!

We were sick, but we had fun.  We stopped at School Products.  I bought some yarn.

We stopped at Purl Soho.  Special K got to meet other knitter spouses outside the shop while I discovered that I am somewhat claustrophobic in the shop (tiny shop), try going on a week day, that would be my advice.  I, of course, bought some yarn.  I would have probably bought more if I didn't feel so frantic and uncomfortable in the cramped quarters that was Purl on a Saturday afternoon.

We also went to Purl Patchwork, right down the street.

I was able to see many of the projects from Joelle Hoverson's new book.  The shop is small, but it wasn't as crowded as the yarn shop.  Special K  waited outside with Little Sir for a while but did have to bring in Little Sir at one point though, it was getting really cold outside.  Not that he was complaining.

We also managed to get to Brooklyn to check out Brooklyn General Store. 

I am convinced that it is, quite possibly, the most wonderful place on earth.  Special K mentioned that of all the yarn shops he has been in, this was his favorite.  We won't even analyze that statement.  Just go with it.  It is a great place, the atmosphere is excellent, the staff is friendly and the customers are fun.  A quilter had a really long conversation with Little Sir about her quilting adventures.  He thought she was fascinating. And of course, I bought a few things.

And though we had a lot of fibery fun in New York, we really enjoyed going to The Strand (18 miles of books people!).  I was able to add to my collection of Dorothy Parker books (by and about).  I am a fan.

I think we mostly enjoyed the parks (Central and Prospect) though.  We are fans of public spaces.  And who is going to deny the fun of a park to a kid?

We didn't get as much done as we would have liked; but, we were sick.  And of course, you all are right.  New York will always be there, so we can go back!  Probably when it warms up a little though.  We had some frozen fingers and toes on Saturday!

to maine and back

Lolly has mentioned to me that I need to do a better job giving a head's up when I am going somewhere.  I will try to work on that.  In the meantime, I went to Maine over the weekend; and, I had a great time.   Saturday was rainy, Sunday was perfect (if you are into that whole sun thing). I actually like the rain.  And a rainy day is perfect for shop-hopping, particularly of the yarn variety.  There are many yarny places of fun in Maine, I only had time for two places though.

 

First thing, fuel for the journey. Bintliff's American Cafe (best breakfast place EVAH), worth the 4 hour drive, all by itself. After breakfast and a brief stop in Freeport (L.L. Bean, anyone?), we headed up to Brunswick to visit Ms. Purl Diva. 

I LOVED this shop.

 

Ellen has a great selection of yarn, she is really friendly and the customers all talk to each other like they are old friends. 

Even Loki gets in on the fun.

My search for more Dream in Color yarn was what originally led me to Purl Diva, but I am so glad it was my first yarn shop stop. It was a great visit.  And I will just say I was very successful in my purchases and leave it at that.

My other yarn stop was Halcyon Yarn. 

Oddly enough, the store was smaller than I thought it would be.  But, I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed (which leads me to believe that a trip to Webs might not be the best idea for me, but I am willing to build my resolve). 

I really liked the way the store was arranged. 

Floor to ceiling color, gorgeousness everywhere. 

I didn't go in with a plan and mostly just looked around.  I wasn't planning to buy much, or anything in particular at all, actually.  I had a vague idea about buying yarn for mitts for Special K and "maybe something suitable for lace."  I ended up getting some gorgeous lace-weight silk orange-red stuff, some light orange wool for something fun (I have no idea, the color was fantastic), and then an inky skein of Malabrigo for mitts for the man.  And then the man says, he doesn't think he'd have any interest in mitts that provide no finger coverage.  Your loss buddy.  I mean, Malabrigo, people. 

After yarn shopping, eating, visiting with friends and sleeping, we ended the trip by looking at some lighthouses and playing in a few parks.

It was a good trip.  Now, back to the knitting of socks.

the road to rhinebeck

I tried to think about what my intentions were for Rhinebeck this year as we drove the three hours to get there on Satruday morning.  My goals for this year's trip to Rhinebeck were not extensive; but, it's still good to have a list, just to keep yourself in check.

1) Probably the best part of these festivals is meeting your knit blogging friends...especially when you have never actually "met" them before.  I wanted to make sure tomeet up with one particular knitblogging friend and her family:

Check (she and her family were even sweeter than I thought possible! And man, does Abi LOVE Rhinebeck!)

2) Buy a sweater's worth of yarn, preferably dark brown, preferably wool:

Check. (I have no idea what I will do with it, but it will be brown, it will be warm and it will be wonderful...a winner, if you will.)

3) No more than two skeins of sock yarn, preferably something that I can not easily acquire:

Check. (On the left, naturally dyed goodness from Ancient Threads Farm, on the right Acero from Brooks Farm.)

4) Yarn for some fingerless mitts...(maybe for dashing, maybe not):

Check.

5) Test drive some spinning wheels, at the very least a Lendrum:

Check. (Hello, pretty girl.  Would you like a home?  I have a home for you.)

6) Look at spindles for their beauty and craftsmanship; but, do not buy one unless my life depended on it...and not even then:

Double check. (It was really, really hard.  But I said "no."  That's right kids, just say no to drugs and spindles that you do not need).

7) Buy a goodly amount of fiber to spin on spindles currently in my possession and possibly in anticipation of a spinning wheel (see #5, above) to arrive, oh I don't know...sometime in December...

Many, many, many checks.

I figured it was time to stop with the fiber when I had to ask if it was starting to look like too much (Special K remarked that "it started to look like too much a few hours before [I] asked..."  I am pretty sure he was joking.).  I didn't want to be too greedy with the fiber, I did tell Kirsten I would leave some for her, after all.

I didn't go to any after parties so I missed out on meeting up with the vast majority of knitbloggers who attended on Saturday.  We ended up leaving late-afternoonish to head up to Saratoga Springs.

It was pretty fun.

my kind of town

Chicago is a fun city.  If you have never been, and the opportunity presents itself, you should go.  I am strategizing ways to make a return trip with the family at some point (I am envisioning great joy in the eyes of Little Sir at the thought of Sue in the Field Museum , but since an empty box entertains him to no end, a skeleton of a dinosaur might just push him over the edge of reason). 

There is tons to see and do in Chicago, and three days isn't enough time to do it.  Especially if one is expected to attend conference sessions about the larger meaning of archives in a digital world, or something like that.  The conference was good (though I felt that quantity over quality was the mantra when putting together sessions this year...some of my sessions were mediocre at best--this is just my opinion though), in any case, there were yarn stores.

I was able to meet up a with a fellow knit blogging archivist, you may know of her, her name is Lolly.  We were able to hit some museums and yarn shops during our brief stay in the windy city.  The two local yarn shops we visited were Knitwerks and Loopy Yarns.  Both shops were pretty great, very different in atmosphere.  Knitwerks was the first shop we went to.

Knitwerks is owned by Cherl, she rocks.

She has only been open for 9 months.  Her shop is well-maintained and is super colorful (just like Cherl's personality).  She has some really nice selections (like Dream in Color, a Chicago dyed yarn).  Lolly and I were very well-behaved:

I got a skein of Dream in color (the choclately one) sock yarn, Lolly got the green Dream in Color worsted and some lovely lace weight dyed in California , it's pretty, see for yourself.

Lolly and I spent Friday morning and most of Friday evening with a Chicago knit blogger, Amy.  Amy spent her whole day off making nice with us.  She took us to see a globe with a knitted sweater (part of a Chicago art installment).

We also went to the Field Museum; but, there was, of course, the requisite yarn trip.  Amy took us to Loopy Yarns, a fun little shop fairly close to our hotel.  There was a lot of yarn at Loopy.

They have a great selection of vegan yarn choices.

And, of course, their Claudia's handpainted is nothing to sneeze at.

I really enjoyed our little knit bloggers meet-up in the lobby of our hotel Friday night the best though.

It was fun to sit and knit with Amy, Lolly and Rebecca.  There were definitely other knit blogging archivists at the conference (as evidenced by all the knitters knitting in sessions and the random conversation about Ravelry overheard between sessions.

I heard there are plans to organize a little more for next year's conference.  Yes, we archivists, we know how to have a good time.

And lest you think me unappreciative, thank you all for your kind words, congratulations and well wishes in celebration of my blogiversary.  I have had a lot of fun with you all and learned and laughed a lot with you.  I really enjoy being part of this on-line community of knitting fun.  And having this community certainly does make archives conferences a lot more interesting.  Just sayin'.

meet me in st. louis

We had a great time in St. Louis, despite the weather (heat wave, yay).  The groom is still in Germany recovering from surgery, the wedding has been postponed, everyone is smiling...life is good. 

And maybe it will be cooler when the wedding happens.  Because, like I said, it is hot in St. Louis right now.

We didn't spend a whole lot of time outdoors, which is just as well because there is tons of fun to be had indoors in the city. 

We went to a few museums (The Magic House is great for young kids, the City Museum is pretty fun for kids to adults--it's pretty crazy though, there's a lot going on in there).

And of course, there are yarn shops for those inclined to pick up souvenir yarn.  There are at least 3 major shops in St. Louis, I only visited one.

Knitorious is a fun little (actually, it is quite spacious) shop in a somewhat residential area in St. Louis.  If you are not looking for it, you probably wouldn't find it.  The shop has resided in its current location for a little over a year and has existed for around 3 years total.  The shop is well appointed.  There are lots of areas for sitting and knitting. 

They have toys for kids to keep them busy (very smart, that).  There is a large area to sit and meditate on pattern selection.

There is a huge selection of yarn.  The sock yarn gets depleted (and re-stocked) on a regular basis.  One of the offerings is a line dyed in St. Louis by someone who works in the shop. 

Rachel is the fiber artist behind Dyeabolical Yarns, she has her own etsy shop but her goods also sell at Knitorious.  Being the souvenir yarn purchaser that I am, I figured it was totally appropriate to acquire some of this yarn, in the "Knitorious" colorway no less.

I had a really great shopping experience at this fun store.  The owner (Sandy) and the staff are friendly and fun, they will chat you up, talk up ideas, make suggestions, give you assistance.  I highly recommend a trip to Knitorious if you find yourself in St. Louis.

When I returned home I was pleasantly surprised by a truck load of mail.  A Hello Yarn order (yay for wedding anniversary gift certificates!), a Webs order (their summer sale has busted my bank account, anyone else?); a skein of gorgeous yarn I won in Beth's recent contest and, best of all, my Sockapalooza Package--the whole time I was knitting for someone else, I forgot that there was someone out there knitting socks for me! 

I will share some of the happy mail (for those interested) tomorrow.  Oh, and yes, I will talk about knitting too.

hi oregon, bye oregon

I went on a spontaneous (for me) trip to Portland, Oregon over the past weekend.  A very good friend was celebrating her 30th birthday (a huge deal, right?) and her husband was throwing her a surprise do, so we went.  Sure, we just got back from Hawaii; but, you know, needs must.

In addition to a great birthday celebration, we did and saw a great deal during our, way too brief, time in Oregon. 

There are some really great gardens in Portland. 

We only made it to the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden, but I hear the Chinese Classical is pretty great too, perhaps next time?  We went to Powell's Books, of course; and, we took a side trip to Cannon Beach, which was awesome. 

But I am going to concentrate my discussion here on my visit to crafty places, specifically a yarn shop. 

There are some pretty great yarn shops in Portland.  But I wanted to devote my short amount of craft touring time to checking out one shop in particular, Knit/Purl.  I have ordered some great stuff from the store on the internet and had really great customer service (beautiful packaging, quick delivery, personal correspondence, the whole bit); I wondered if the service would be the same if I shopped there in person; or, if I would get that vibe.

Vibe?  Only good ones here, my friends. 

The people at Knit/Purl are just as great in person (greater, actually), they are helpful without being pushy, and they had fun with my kid and even invited him to have fun (which he did, loads--he is koo koo for Koigu too!). 

Any store that welcomes children (and cameras, I asked) gets a star (a super star, actually--I am authorized to give those out...just like all people with astronomy derived names) from me (but aren't they just cultivating customers for tomorrow?).  I loved the openness of the store, they had great stock, and they sell Shibui Knits yarn (which is my  new love--that brownish goodness so many of you commented on, Shibui Sock), and there is a wall of Koigu. 

A. Wall. Of. Koigu.

I bought an embarrassing amount of yarn, a great deal under the influence of other knit bloggers using some really nice stuff (like Sea Wool...).

At Cannon Beach, I found a great quilt shop. 

It was very well stocked with all sorts of fabric goodness.

I bought a few things, lots of buttons (which I can not find at the moment); but, mostly I just browsed, so did Little Sir (on hiatus from his music making, obviously).

When I returned home there was a mail waiting for me in my mailbox from Oregon.  Sandy from Knit/Purl wrote a note telling me how great it was to meet me and my family.  And the only way I can think of to show my appreciation for her kindness and customer care is to buy more and buy often.  I am not in the habit of telling people where to spend their money, but Knit/Purl wouldn't be a bad place to toss some coin (especially for some Shibui goodness).  Just sayin'.

As much fun as we had in Oregon, I am sad about missing a chance to meet up with Christy.  But she was on her own vacation, and probably didn't miss me at all!

And there has been knitting.  Maybe I will actually post some of it soon...

island in the sun

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain *

I am not a beach person. 

I am not crazy about sand finding its way into places it should not be. 

I am not a fan of tanning (being of natural beige-ness), and I am most definitely not a fan of the sun burning one's epidermis. 

Despite my curmudgeonly views of beach-y places, I had a fabulous time in Hawaii. I even enjoyed the beaches.  How could I not?

Special K attended a conference in Waikiki for a few days (clearly the archivists need to get on board this ship of having conferences in exotic locations) so it was something work related that provided the impetus for this island jaunt, but no complaints here. 

The beaches were beautiful, the ocean blue, the weather perfect; and the mojitos, well, they were unparalleled. 

There were beautiful things to see,

wonderful things to do,

and many things to spend money on

--some things completely unnecessary;

but most were totally justifiable.

A high point for this knitter was meeting up with the Aloha Knitters at their weekly meet up.

(photo taken by Special K)

Thank you for the invitation Barb,

and thanks to the other Aloha Knitters for letting me crash in on the group--they are a lively bunch.

I conveniently sat next to Opal (knitting socks which turned out just perfectly) without realizing that she was the author of one of the many blogs that I lurk on (I am obviously a lurker no more).

It was a very successful trip.  And I haven't even talked about the knitting projects I took with me (and worked on).  Well, not yet anyway.

*weezer

sincerely, little sir

Dear Blog Readers,

Thank you for your months of support in following my knit-wear modeling career.  I just thought I would drop a line and let you know that my modeling career is currently on hiatus.  I am fulfilling a lifelong dream of joining a street band.

It's not just any street band I am joining.  It's a Hawaiian street band...or something like that.  There is a steel drum player (he pretty much is the band, but whatever).

And then there is my mentor, the man with the maracas.

My dad says that there is relatively little musical ability required to play the maracas, but I disagree.  The rhumba shakers take talent,  and I've got tons.

The people love me; and, I love the people--but the music, she is my one true love.

Sincerely,
Little Sir (aka Little Maraca Man)

the state of the single sock

There is something to be said for the instant gratification of completing a sock (I won't go into too much detail here as it has been well-covered by others in the know).  Sure the accomplishment when finishing a pair of socks that can be worn together is incomparable, but finishing one is pretty good. 

After finishing my first toe-up, I obviously had to cast on for another toe-up, just not a matching one, that wouldn't be sporting.  Having given the toe-up sock a go, I think I am ready to knit up a sock for my Sockapalooza pal.  I think I have come to the same conclusion as Kristy, the pattern is somewhat secondary to the selection of yarn.  My pal said she liked any kind of socks, and that she loved bright colors.  So I have the yarn and the start of a toe, I am still unsure about the pattern, but I have narrowed it down to a few selections.  I am sure something will come to me in a flash of brilliance tonight.

I am fairly certain that I will have to knit the mate to this sock sooner rather than later however.  There is a deadline, afterall.  And though starting the socks at the onset of Summer of Socks is notable.  I doubt that single sock counts are the true goal of Summer of Socks...but what do I know?  I am just a girl counting down the minutes till her vacation.

That's right, vacation!  I am in the process of planning my packing.  What projects to take?  What projects to leave?  Should I start new projects?  All very fun things to consider, but due to space issues, I am going to have to be sensible with the project packing.  The last time we went out of town on a long trip, I took way too many projects and only worked on two.  But you never know...it could rain, right?