novamade

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?

celebrate good times, come on!

It's no secret that I am all about celebrating a birthday.  But I especially like the celebration if it's my birthday.  For a few years, I had a "birthday week" celebration; but, because 7 days  just isn't enough, I now celebrate Novakkah (8 days of celebration, genius, isn't it?!).  I can think of few things better than an 8 day celebration of one's self (truly, you should try it sometime...it's especially fun when you can get your friends and family to play along).

So while Cinco de Mayo is a celebration in itself, I chose to celebrate that day (the first of Novakkah) at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

It was good times.  There was livestock!  Even better, I got to meet people I only knew online through knit blogs, and I also got to see a friend that I met at Rhinebeck last year.  I also ran into a classmate from my college days (no, seriously), but that is a story for another time.  I had a lot of fun.  I got a drop spindle and some roving.  And then there was the yarn.  I am pretty pleased that I showed a modicum of restraint (Special K, perhaps more so).

But all the MDSW fun aside, I am still in the midst of celebration. 

Won't you celebrate with me? 

Leave a comment to this post between now and May 12th, 6:00 am/0600 EST telling me about the best birthday gift you have ever received OR how you celebrate your birthday (or if you are feeling really spicy, share both); it's an international free for all, all commenters welcome.

 

I have a rather festive skein of Socks that Rock in Fire on the Mountain (medium weight), and some other fun celebratory randomness, for the commenter selected. 

I will draw the name on my birthday sometime (that would be Saturday).
 

and i'm back

Thank you all for your time-away well wishes, they were much appreciated and all that well-wishing must have worked because the family de la archivist had a fabulous time.  It was really sunny and warm, and though I don't love the whole overly hot thing, I had a big appreciation for the weather on the left coast after our flight home was delayed due to ice on the New York runways and trying to dig out our car from the snow and ice (nothing says "welcome back to New England" like defrosting your car in 7 degree weather!).  And although I was rather ambitious in the (5...yeah, I know) knitting projects I took with me, it should take no genius on anyone's part to figure out that I didn't spend my whole time away knitting.  While I didn't get a ton of knitting done, I did do some other fun things, like...

I learned that Little Sir is afraid of grass (you know, the kind that is grown in lawns and parks...you know, the legal kind with no medicinal purposes whatsoever).  I tried Pat.  We thought he would have so much fun...no...no.  He won't even touch the stuff.  And it's pretty sad that his parents kept trying to get him to experience the fun that is crawling and rolling around in the grass purely because of his averse reaction to it, seriously people it was funny if not a bit cruel...(and the winners for parents of the year are....).

Although he was not a lover of flora and greenery in general, he was quite a fan of the animals that ate them... like giraffes.  We loved the San Diego Zoo (thanks Parikha for the snack insight, very handy).  And really, who doesn't love a giraffe or two?  I think giraffes might be my new favorite animal.

I was able to make some yarn acquisitions from here and here, both are fantastic places and they are literally down the street from each other.  I am very happy about my purchases.

No really, look how happy I am, even Little Sir got excited about the yarny bits of our trip.

While in San Diego I was able to meet up with a knit blogger.  And while I was excited to meet Theresa who blogs at Knitting Underway, clearly our socks were also ecstatic about the meet-up.

It was fun to meet someone from the knit blogging community.  She was even nicer than I imagined her to be based on her blog.  And I got to see her bright and sparkly ring up close and personal, and she got to see Little Sir up close and personal...who’s to say who got the better deal?!

While in San Diego , I was also able to meet up with my best friend from college.  She happened to be at a house that was a 15 minute bike ride from the Zoo.  The reason we were able to meet was because she did a weekly check of my blog and saw that I was coming to southern CA (yet another reason to love the whole blog thing).  While you might think this wasn't so serendipitous, let me correct you.  She is something of a wandering spirit (who does not knit, the travesty!).  I thought she was in Thailand or Arizona (I know, big difference, just work with me) ...not so much...

On Part 2 (sort of) of our trip we visited Fallbrook, apparently Tori Spelling and her baby's daddy (I have no idea what his name is--ah, Dean...that's right...) just opened a B&B there--in case you are interested. We were there because we have family there and look at the view they get to see every sunset and sunrise.

I get to see street and my neighbor's pick up...

There was a park in Bakersfield , CA (part 3 of our California adventure) that has bark on the playground instead of grass.  Little Sir likes bark, it’s much better than grass.  Apparently bark is the new cool, who knew?

As much as he loved the bark, Little Sir loved the swings and slides most.  I had some great swing shots, but I thought this picture from the slide captures the joy of childhood (well, at least my kid's childhood) perfectly.

And as much as I enjoyed my much needed time away, I think Little Sir enjoyed it more, he was kind of sad for it all to end.

I will have some more evidence of knitting done on the trip to post in the coming days, but there will be a lot of posting fun this week.  There's a big celebration happening at the end of the week and I hope all of you take part in it.  There will be crazy posts and some fun give away action going on (no contests here, life is a big enough contest as far as I am concerned).  And hey, spring, it's just around the corner!

reasons to get away

This week has been a busy one.  I haven't really taken any time to examine the bright spots of my week; but, after receiving a nice little package from Elli, I realized that my week wasn't as bad as I thought it was.  Thanks Elli for brightening up my week with the great package!

Next week is Spring Break at my esteemed institution, thus offering a perfect opportunity to get away for a while.  I am not sure if there is a stock set of good reasons to go on a vacation, but here are some reasons why I feel the need get away for a bit.

This is what my readers and researchers table looks like.  It's supposed to be immaculate, a blank slate even.  I have six different projects going on right now (with more awaiting processing, see those boxes in the back?).  I won't even show you my desk, it's just too ridiculous.

I need some time to turn this

into this.  Thanks to Little Sir for the background artwork, he goes crazy for the paints.

and this

into this.

I would also like to allow Little Sir some time outside.  Clearly, he is onboard with this idea.

When I took this picture this morning, it was 7 degrees (F) outside.  In southern California it's a balmy 90 degrees.  Normally, I am not one for hot weather, but now that Little Sir is mobile (he started crawling last Saturday, very exciting times) he is getting stir-crazy.

Also, I think he might like to go here and here.

A very good friend of mine once noted that any traveling plans that involved family was not actually a vacation. So I am not going on vacation, I am simply getting away for a while.  We are going to spend a week with Special K's family doing things that people do when they have no responsibilites to worry about.  It will be a fun week, I am especially looking forward to Little Sir handling the time change to Pacific time on top of losing an hour.  Hopefully, I will be back with some finished projects; or, at the very least, some fun pictures... And for those that e-mailed thoughts to Kathy, thank you!

festival fun

Rhinebeck was a good time.  I think I enjoyed it more than Maryland...it could have been the weather; but, I am not sure.  It was more family friendly, Special K and Little Sir had a good time.  Some of the more memorable moments of Rhinebeck, for me anyways...

the line for socks that rock yarn (aka, The Fold booth)--in a word, insane.   I got there an hour after opening and was able to get 2 skeins, neither of which were on my list of colorways to purchase; but, really pretty and it was what I could get my hands on.  I also met some really great people in the line that was an hour of my day:

Little Sir was more entertained by my Blogger Bingo button than the whole event that was Rhinebeck...I think he will understand a little better next year...maybe:

 

And then there is the haul...

A goodly amont of sock yarn, some lace weight and enough worsted weight wool to make myself a sweater...at some point.  I was actually pretty good (but that has more to do with the socks that rock being sold out than my being frugal).  Now, back to the knitting.