So, I found out very recently that WEBS needed an extra body at Stitches and I quickly volunteered. The rest, as they say, is history. I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet! I'm super excited to be going on a multiple of levels. Not only do I feel supremely blessed to be sent there by my workplace without expense, I get to go with coworkers I enjoy and be in an atmosphere of knitting frenzy (hmmm, this is beginning to sound like a regular day at WEBS).
I'll be surrounded with and tempted by knitting wonder that I am not exposed to on an everyday basis. I've heard tales but cannot actually anticipate what will be there. And! I have never actually been to CA before. Although I'll be indoors the entire time working long hours and may not be able to sightsee I will physically have been there.
Also, I'll be able to visit an old college friend that I haven't seen in years. cordeliaknits lives pretty close to where the convention will be held and has graciously agreed to travel to see me (ahem, and some yarn). I will also have gross amounts of knitting time as traveling will take up 8+ hours each way and if I'm up in the evenings at all I'll be knitting.
My partner is a little anxious to be without me as we've never actually spent a night apart in the (almost) year we've been together. Sappy...adorable...you be the judge. It's never easy to be away from loved ones, but I positively have stars in my eyes...or yarn balls as the case may be.
I promise to report back about Stitches and whatever yarn-booty I come home with.
Lastly, I am adding pics of fxa's shawl since her camera is broken, and I did promise after all.
I’ve finally gotten around to taking some pics of my WEBS store projects this week, so this post may seem like a windfall after a long drought of non-posting. Some of these projects I finished quite some time ago and some very recently.
My most dramatic project to date and the most recent is the Soft Kid Bubble, from Boutique Knits.
This garment was a challenge to my skills as a knitter mainly because it was difficult to visualize with the pattern wording. At my skill level I could have benefited from a schematic or a description/summation of the construction at each section. However, the construction was interesting, the yarn was lusciously soft and the store is all abuzz about Boutique Knits. There are so many interesting patterns in this book, the customers and staff cannot get enough. In fact, it goes so fast that no one can get their hands on it in the store. Sidenote: I greatly benefited from the experience of my coworkers in the labor of this project. Thank you Ladies of WEBS!
Thanks to ZombieHunter who is featured here modeling it in the store.
My coworker, fxa and I began our projects at the exact same time (which was shamefully long ago) and we finished them on the exact same day. We bemoaned our projects, commiserated in our misery and rejoiced together as they came off the needles. Regretfully I did not catch a photo of her beautiful lace shawl and she has not posted it on Ravelry yet, so hopefully I can amend that in the near future. [edit: she has now posted on her blog]
I lovelovelove this yarn. It’s soft and springy and shows perfect stitch definition. I cannot recommend it enough. I can always sell a skein of this in the store with the free pattern. I very much enjoyed working this pattern and it gets constant attention in the store. In fact, I loved it so much I made another for myself!
I regret that I wasn’t able to use Canopy Worsted, for which this pattern was intended, but WEBS doesn’t carry it. However, I was very impressed that I eeked out with one ball of Sheffield. And I was surprised at how much I loved this yarn. It really blooms when washed and it’s so soft, with a nice variety of colors. The mitts were super quick and ultra cute, although if I make some for myself I may forgo the button eyeballs.
This sort of counts as a WEBS project since it was made for our resident dyer KangarooDyer. She wanted to have a piece for her table at the Fiber Twist that highlighted her hand dyed yarn, so I volunteered. KangarooDyer is hands down the most generous woman I’ve ever met and in exchange for my labor I received a large sum of hand dyed goodies!
So, clearly I haven't made the photo display I had envisioned of my projects from 2009. I thought it would be easy enough to whip something up, but my tech skills are sadly lacking it seems. Oh well, something else to work on in the new year. In the meantime I do have my knits on my project page on Ravelry. I have not allowed myself to indulge in any projects until the dreaded store sweater is completed. I am working on the Soft Kid Bubble from Boutique Knits (for those of you who haven't heard me groan about this project). This has been the quintessential nightmare project. I picked it up right before the holidays so it was born in an atmosphere of stress and from there its adversarial powers have only grown in strength. I have had great difficulty deciphering this pattern, suffice it to say it is stretching my knitting muscles to capacity. I had partially taken this project on because I wanted to become more skilled, so in that respect I have no room to quibble. But, I can honestly say I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I will withhold pictures until it is finished and in all its glory. Maybe I'll even do a photo montage of my store knits (hopefully my meager skills can manage that)! Another excuse for lack of pictures is my mid-winter move currently in process. My partner and I are moving across town. But as I'm sure you know, no move is a small move. We are a little ahead of schedule due to my partners' organizational tendencies so until the big day--Saturday--we'll be living amidst boxes (I had to open several boxes to find pasta noodles tonight).
I don't really believe in resolutions, but for the first time my head is filled with good intentions for the new year. I want to prioritize my health (like, go to the gym once in awhile), focus on my family's oral history project and pare down some of my stash (books as well as yarn). I had a great heart-to-heart with my yarn stash and it has been decided that I can only buy for projects that I'm starting ASAP. Of course, I will not be so cruel as to keep myself from picking up pretty skeins from time to time with no purpose. However, there will be no scooping up of bags of yarn simply because they are on closeout. I work at WEBS, therefore this resolution is a big deal. So, so much yarn taunts me daily, I must be disciplined. I recently learned that we are moving in a couple of weeks which necessitates paring down. My partner is a minimalist and I am a packrat, which lends itself to different interpretations to ownership and living space. I'm hoping a new place will be a new beginning. That said, I am looking back at all my projects for this year, as so many knitters are and I do want to add a pictorial view of them. There are a few pictures missing, but it is a fairly comprehensive composite. Seeing the time line of projects really emphasizes how my skills have developed, particularly after my hiring at WEBS. What a difference it makes to be in a community of knitters!
I will put the pictorial in a second post, for fear of losing the text. As a neophyte blogger I am struggling with the posting pictures function, which has slowed my postings considerably. Any tips are welcome!
Yes, its’ official. We’re engaged! She proposed on her birthday. It was a warm fall afternoon on Mt Skinner overlooking the valley. We felt totally insulated from the outside world: quiet, calm and clear.
As happy as it may be, queer engagements are a trepidatious matter. Our crowd isn’t exactly traditional, so they certainly didn’t get too excited. We were pleased that we got a ‘congrats’ rather than a lecture. And our families run the gamut as far as acceptance. Overall it’s been a quiet affair, no one has really seemed to notice the ring, believe it or not. Our families seem happy, and if they aren’t I don’t think they would tell us which, I suppose, is the real blessing. But it’s hard to not share in the joy with those you love.
But, we were sure about each other from the moment we came together, so for us it doesn’t seem so sudden or subversive. So, for now, we’ll patiently wait for the rest of the world to catch up.
Okay, so my promises haven’t exactly come to fruition… in regards to posting more often anyway. So much has been happening lately. My weekends have been booked solid between work and, well, work. No, there have been some other things…
My family came to visit from VA the weekend before last which was wonderful and exhausting. I actually cried outside their hotel room after saying goodbye. It’s becoming more and more difficult to live so far away the older I get. Not only was it great to see them but their visit was very constructive in regards to Xmas. It’s not so easy to observe casual admissions for gift ideas when you live so far away. And as a crafter you must know that September is never too early to start for Xmas.
I’m also glad to announce that I’ve been able to resurrect tuesdays craft night. Dara and I have been trying for a long time to get this off the ground, but have been forced to postpone for one reason or another. Most recently its been because of the poor puppy (10 year old puppy, actually). She tore her ACL when she was jumping up to greet me…absolutely heartbreaking. Alyx and I were afraid if we had company she would get too excited and re-injure herself. Despite our grave reservations it looks like surgery is in Lexy’s future. Her spirit, however, is very much intact and we are unable to keep her from her usual movements.
I’ve been working overtime trying to finish projects for webs to work up store credit but seem to be spending it before it accumulates too much. Oh, the yarn. I turned in my first garment, the Malabrigo Vergara vest, today. I’ll post pictures as soon as they’re on my computer.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to participate in a staff only rigid hettle weaving course. We made a scarf out of Sheep Shop 3 variegated yarn. The results are so lovely, but now I’m a little fixated on obtaining a loom. Sigh. Pics of that coming up too.
Speaking of overloading the craft wagon….Alyx and I went to the Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange, MA this weekend. I’m elated from the experience if only because I discovered some lovely roving to begin my first spinning experience. I’m eager to start immediately since I know the same woman, from Winter Berry Farm, will have a stand at the Franklin Fiber Twist and I’d like to get some more.
okay, okay...i hereby promise to be less, ahem, tardy with my blog posting. or, at least i'll try. when last we spoke i announced my employment at webs, which has been my great preoccupation as of late. I literally dream yarn day and night. i work with yarn, i come home to search Ravelry for yarn and patterns and dream at night about stocking and stashing. if before i could not be verifiably obsessed it is now very noticeable to the outside world. i may as well be branded, wear a scarlet Y, it's official and damning. as far as knitting goes i've been tangled up in work for webs: swatches and now a full vest. all for the glory of store credit. it will likely be followed by hours of hand wringing and circling about the store stroking yarn and mumbling to myself. it won't be pretty. my indecision is boundless in the name of books and yarn. about a month ago i signed up for the ravelympics hastily and without great foresight to the consequence. for those who are not familiar with such an endeavor i will explain. ravelry, the great online community, hosted a contest of sorts to finish "events" or various fiber related projects for the duration of the olympics. i signed up to make an intricate tweed sweater for my girlfriend (i know, i know, curse be damned), despite my aching wrists. thankfully my joint pain has abated, but only after the time of the contest has passed. sigh. i gave it a good try. pictures of projects will follow, i promise.
