The Rhinebeck Post

So Rhinebeck. It was nice to get away. I drove up to NYC Thursday night after work to eat at The Chip Shop and get my deep fried twinkie and dinner with friends Friday night. I spent most of Friday wandering around Manhattan.

For anyone who knows of the Japanese bookstore, it used to be a Rockefeller Center. They have now moved to Bryant Park. They're now on 6th Ave between 40th and 41st.

In keeping up with tradition, I was under dressed on a trip to New York (the state). I left the office and forgot my jacket. Hey, at least it isn't January in Ithaca and 20 degrees. And at least there's an H&M every other street in Manhattan. I used to show up week after week in Ithaca dressed in jeans, tank top, and a wool coat. It was a little chilly.

So Rhinebeck. Autumn leaves, chill in the air - it's what autumn is supposed to be. I had a limited budget and I didn't want to buy yarn that I could order from Webs. I also didn't want to buy random yarn off of a farm. I've got enough yarn. I also wasn't looking for generic fiber. It left me with hand dyed/painted rovings. So...

From Briar Rose, I bought a ball of roving. They don't make it out to MD S&W because they haven't been able to get in. They have some really beautiful handpainted yarn but I couldn't justify the purchase to myself.


Four ounces of the "Cottage Garden" colorway in BFL. I've been seeing beautifully spun up fiber in wildly varigated colorways that have knit up beautifully so I wanted to buy something with color to spin.


I wanted to find something from Carolina Homespun and ended up with this pretty thing from Grafton Fibers:

It's my favorite mixture of colors. Red and black mix.

Finally, I had seen an ad on ravelry for Creatively Dyed Yarns. I am normally good on not clicking on the ads but when an ad has beautiful colorways, it draws my attention and I click. So I clicked and saw she would be at Rhinebeck and made it a point to visit the booth. She has some very unique fibers (wool/seacell, milk protein...) and beautiful colorways. so I got:

This is the wool/bamboo blend.

This is the wool/seacell blend. Creatively Dyed will be at Stitches East, but not necessarily with the wool/seacell.

The rest of the photoset from the weekend can be found here.

For anyone who is curious, it's a $100 deposit on a Golding wheel and the official wait is now out 8 years. Mr. Golding thinks the realistic date is 4 years if his son takes over the spindles and he has more time to focus on the wheels. Depending on how you look at it, I either didn't go far beyond my budget since I haven't actually bought the wheel yet, or I went way beyond my budget because I'll be handing over a ridiculous amount of money in 4-8 years for a spinning wheel that spins like buttah!

20 miles

It's nice when the only things on the "To Do" list are:
* 20 miles - run it, walk it, just get through it
* eat
* shower
* nap
* season opener hockey game

Cuz then you are in such a calorie deficit that you can go and enjoy those arena hot dogs that are piled with chili, cheese, onions, and sauerkraut. Mmm, good. Oh, and the introductions to the players and the images of the guys in street clothes with hockey sticks, OMG. Yeah, OMG. My brain just kinda stops there.

And then you go and find that the 20 miles has made you forget how to do math as in algebra and number theory and other things you're going to be tested on in a month. Or maybe it was the image of the Caps in their street clothes. My brain does kinda stop there... Have I said "OMG" yet?

Hmm...

Lorna's Laces Worsted Multi - Amber Rose
Originally uploaded by jyiu7

It's the Jimmy Beans Wool Oct 08 Lorna's Laces exclusive colorway - Amber Rose. I bought 5 skeins in worsted weight to knit a sweater. It came in the mail today and just picture me going: "Hmmm..." (head tilt to left) "Hmmm...." (head tilt to right) ... repeat. It's a lot more bubble gum pink than I was expecting. I'm not sure how I feel about this right now.

Time to think

I was going to go run 17 miles today. Well, it was humid. I felt like crap. And I figured that if you can hear yourself breathe over the music, it is probably not a good sign. So instead I walked 17 miles. I had a lot of time to think. What did I think about?
- The Garden Variety Collection of shawls led me to this blog. I decided to start from the beginning. I came to this post and stopped short. It's a sunflower wreath! The thing is, I've been wanting to make a beaded sunflower wreath. I have a fall berry wreath. I need a wreath for the other 3 seasons! Perfect inspiration. So I worked out how to do the lavender. I've worked out how to do the small sunflowers. I've got an idea on the leaves to do for the wreath. I'm thinking of doing a 3 class set. One for lavender, one for sunflower, one for the wreath. You can pick however many classes you want.
- Work related...I worked out how to start going down a new path for a dialer. I did manage to enforce my self imposed rule of not working outside of the usual hours unless absolutely necessary.
- At knitting, Lisa mentioned she wanted to do the Swallowtail Shawl but as a stole cuz she didn't do the whole triangular shawl thing. Of course, that was like throwing down a challenge for me. The only reason I never truly got into knitted lace design was because I've got too many other damn things to do. However, you want me to modify lace, hell yes, that sounds like fun. So I've been obsessed with this thought and the need to start swatching....even though I have plenty of holiday knitting to get through, Nutkin to finish, and the Maple Leaf Shawl to finish up before the Just Our Yarns trunk show at Bead Obsessions in November.

Compliments

I like compliments. Last weekend, Beth told me of an incident with her mom's orchid. Beth had commissioned a beaded orchid from me last year to give to her mother as a birthday present. Her mother loves orchids. There's a table in her house on which she likes to keep a flowering orchid. When the real ones are bare of flowers, she puts the beaded one out. One day, a friend of hers came over. This friend was also an orchid lover. He saw the orchid sitting on the table and exclaimed "You didn't get that one from me!" She told him to go look at it up close and ta da! No she did not get that one from him.
As a designer, I like hearing that. It means I'm doing something right. I'm not one for abstract flowers. I like to try to stick as close to the real thing as I can.

Whee!

Holiday knitting is moving along. Holiday scarf #1 - one skein down, 2 more to go. Whoo hoo!

Lace Ribbon Scarf

Lace Ribbon Scarf
Originally uploaded by jyiu7

I had sworn off scarves a couple of years ago because it was a never ending repeat. I guess I'm just in need of mindless knitting to do. In combination with short pattern repeats, it's just enough to keep my attention focused. This is coming along and I'm finding that I don't mind knitting it through.

Are you f-ing kidding me?

I am trying to work on the class piece for a new class. I'm making use of those peyote stars. I'm trying to get this into the shop by Oct 1. Well...Thursday night, I start. When I went to trim the tail ends with my thread zapper, the zapper was a little over heated and zapped not only the thread I was trying to trim but thread holding in a row of peyote stitch. I put it aside and go back to my knitting and call it a night. Friday night, I pull apart the previous night's work and start over again with my thread. First a bead snaps from the tension, then another. Finally the thread snaps. Mother f-er. Again, I put it down, pick up some knitting and eventually fall asleep on the couch and call it a night. This afternoon, I've napped and eaten after my run. I settle in and first pull apart the work I did yesterday. I start again on yet another piece of thread. As I'm working through, a bead cracks. I continue. The thread breaks, AGAIN! Seriously, are you f-ing kidding me?

Sahara

I finished. I like bamboo. It's soft.

People are evil

People are evil, taunting me with their yarn. As it is, I probably don't have time to knit through what I need to knit through before the end of this year and therefore, I should not buy more yarn. But of course, evil people are there taunting me with their stores and pictures and blog posts.
Exhibit A: Spritely Goods. I bought a skein of sock yarn from Cloverhill Yarns at MD S&W. I keep thinking about it and I wandered back to the online shop today and can't stop thinking about the yarns. I want some of the to be retired colorways.
Exhibit B: mmmm, green. That is a really awesome shade of green and everytime I see it, I want to go buy some.
Exibit C: F'ing Malabrigo on sale Thanks a lot, just what I need to look at. At least I'm getting good at practicing the art of resisting. However, I think my goal for the fall yarn shopping season is to just buy sweaters worth of Malabrigo. I'll sell off whatever I don't use.

Wash and Block!

Sahara is done. It turns out I didn't need the extra 3 skeins of Be Sweet Bamboo I had bought so I'm going to return those this week. I'll post pictures once this is blocked. I'm hoping that the bamboo does ease out a bit cuz it's at about 0 ease right now.

Why I love beads

In certain lights, the mix of colors is just amazing. These pictures were taken with the purpose of documenting some floral assembly. I'm not going to be using these but I just had to share.

When I make my own...

I will be using larger needles. These are 2.25mm. Those are so not going to work for my hands. When I separated the thumb, my hand feels compressed with these. Eunny either has tiny hands...or she knits loose. Or my gauge is off.

French Beaded Hyacinth

French Beaded Hyacinth
Originally uploaded by jyiu7

And now the pattern writing "fun" begins.

Open flowers, closed flowers, leaves. A bulb and yes, even some beaded roots. I've always had a fascination with beaded bulbs.

Purling...Be (Not) Sweet Bamboo

So Sahara. Knit in the Be Sweet Bamboo. It's nice to work with...when I'm knitting. I'm not liking the purling so much. I really have to pay attention so that I'm not splitting the yarn. Boo!

Design Shop

I've moved my design shop. You could say that I've finally just admitted to myself that I don't want to maintain a website in my spare time because I already spend 9 hours a day, 5 days a week doing that. So, you will now find it here. I've also updated the link over on the side.

Lazy Weekend

Yeah, I used the excuse of the storm yesterday to hide out at home. It was nice. Friday night, I started in on my Christmas knitting. I'm making multiple pairs of the Anemoi Mittens by Eunny Jang. I'm using size 1 (1.25mm) needles and it's a bitch. I'm limiting myself to about 10 rows a day so that I don't kill my hands. My progress so far:

The back of the right mitten

The palm of the right mitten.

It's true, the corrugated rib makes the ribbing quite unstretchy. I can barely get it on my own hand. Good thing that the person this is for has smaller hands than me. Well, she is of a smaller stature so I sure as hell hope her hands are smaller than mine.

It's good to know that it fits!

This is Sahara, knit in Be Sweet Bamboo. It's the first time I've tried it on and I'm glad it fits! My gauge was knitting slightly smaller than what was required but I figured it's not that bad and it's bamboo and it should stretch. Hope to finish it soon, along with the hyacinth. I'm stuck on the hyacinth cuz I ran out of the beads I need and I don't know where the other tube is. Doh!

Marathon running

It's amazing to watch the Olympics and the worlds top marathoners run. I watched the women last week and now the men. After an hour and 40 minutes, the men were somewhere around mile 21. For some perspective...I did 8 miles in about 1 hr 36 minutes. Yeah...I'm slow. I am happy that now that I've now seriously picked back up with the marathon training (really late in the summer), I'm back at the 12 min/mile form of last year. Whee! There is a bit of pressure. I managed to pick up a transfer entry into the Marine Corps Marathon for this year so I'll be doing that at the end of October. In addition, I'll be hitting up Memphis at the beginning of December. Yes, I'm already looking forward the greasy burgers I will be eating for dinner after both races.

Oh, and I really hate all the metro maintenance on the weekends. I was at the Braddock St. metro and was trying to get back to Rosslyn. After the Pentagon stop, I just went "Why is the train crossing the river??? It's not supposed to cross the river!!! OH SHIT!" So that kinda messed with my plans for the afternoon and didn't get to my nap until just after dinner.

Next week, we go for 10 miles and a long nap on the couch.

Finished nightie!

I decided the picture doesn't show THAT much...

But it's done. I haven't blocked it yet, but it's done. It is quite comfy. I really may have to take the balls of lavendar GGH Silk that I have and make a nightie out of that one!

Things people do while watching the Olympics

The second picture gives you an idea of scale. I was hoping to do this as a class next quarter.

It's becoming a habit

Where I have a lot of pictureless posts and then all of a sudden, I throw up some pictures of projects in progress or finished projects. So, here we go. First up a work in progress. Here are the Nutkin socks and yes, they actually fit now!


And then a nightgown. Those straps you see are my bra. I've weaved in all the ends. I just need to go pick up some black bra straps and sew them on. No, I can not wear this as a strapless dress. That fuzzy fuchsia section up top is looser than the black silk part so the top falls down.


Finally, the hyacinth. Now I have to start in on the next one and get some pictures for the instructions for class but at least I can finally bring this into Bead Obsessions.

Yes, that is a bulb and yes those are some roots.

Nightgown

Well...I'm about the join the last ball of yarn. I sure as hell hope I've got enough. I'm about to start in on the chest increases. What I might do is find an accent yarn to do the upper lace border. Let's see what happens.

I have moved on from obsessively watching NHL playoffs to obsessively watching the Tour de France to obsessively watching the Olympics. It has been a good sports year.

Succumbing to the clap

No, not that clap! I'm talking about this one. Of course, I had to get a Clapotis joke in. I decided that it was time to give in to the crowd and make a Clapotis or two with some of the new sock yarn I've bought.

Beaded Ball Gown

Some of you know that I've been working on a beaded ball gown for Bead Obsessions' Ball Gown Challenge. From the Bead Obsessions newsletter:

Beginning in March of this year, Bead Obsessions and Cindy Sayers of Creative Design Solutions hosted a ball gown challenge and charity benefit. The ornaments and most of the beads were donated by Cindy Sayers and Bead Obsessions. Participants donated their time, stitching skills, and more beads. The completed covered ornaments are being donated to the silent auction at the 2008 Georgetown Jingle.

I didn't make it in time for the shop contest due to my hand. However, I still managed to complete the ball gown for submission for the auction.





The colors were part of an overall color scheme chosen by Cindy and Patricia. I took the idea of "ball gown" literally since that's what I always think of when I see "Ball Gown" listed as a class at Bead Obsessions. When I was in Taiwan in 2006, I also happened to stumble across miniature beaded evening gowns and the idea has always fascinated me. The bodice of the gown is made in peyote stitch. I increased for the bust. I finished it off with peyote stitched straps. Then, I increased a few rows and went right into the skirt which sits, oh so nicely, over the actual glass ornament. The skirt is really just sections of fringe. It is two layers of fringe. There's a silverish lining under the blue outer layer. If I had found bowtie beads that could be strung horizontally and fit the proportions, I would've strung them on the back section of the skirt. The finishing touch came at the last needleweaving study group when I was finishing this up. The gown itself was only hung by the loop on the ball ornament. One of the women there that night pointed out that it would look better if we could emphasize the sleeves/straps and came up with the idea of a miniature clothes hanger, et voila. We have the piece you see in front of you.

Is there any interest out there in a pattern write up?

Knitting again...

16 stitches and 10 rows. I've managed to do more than 1 repeat tonight and I still have use of my hands. That's an improvement! The Nutkin socks...those will not be mine. I can barely get them on my foot and I'm afraid I'll rip them either trying to take the socks off or putting them on. I could add in another pattern repeat but then I think it would be too loose. I made Tina try them on today and it fits her a little better so they'll be hers when I'm done.

Projects, projects, and a time trial

I am always in awe of the Tour de France riders. I also admit to waking up on a Saturday morning to sit and watch the time trials. The tour ends tomorrow and the time trial is one to catch. As for my TdF knit along project, well...I'm still on the third ball. I still don't know yet if I'm going to end up with a nightie or a tank top. We'll see. I was at Springwater's closing sale yesterday and while I was looking at the needles and crochet hook, it suddenly came to me. The issue keeping me from finishing last year's TdF KAL project is the disappearance my crochet hook. I don't know why I hadn't thought to just go buy another one! Duh!

Well, as I sit here and watch the time trial, I have been working on a couple of things besides laundry and packing.


I'm using the Lisa Souza Sock! in Mars Quake. I bought this at Stitches East 2006. The pattern is called Nutkin. I had finished my last sock and in need of a travelling project. It's a top down sock and you actually create a small cuff at the top.

Also, I finally finished:





Crystal Burst Bracelet. This was the class I took with Laura McCabe at Bead&Button. Pretty eh?

Next week, I'll have pictures of my finished ball gown. I finished it last night at Bead Obsessions. I didn't have my camera with me so I'm going back today to take pictures. Ball gown, you ask? It's a Christmas ornament ball gown. However, every year, Patricia adds to the class calendar "Ball Gown" class and I always think it's a class to make an evening gown. So, I've made an evening gown...for a ball ornament. I'll have my camera this week, but I don't plan on bringing my usual laptop. I'll have the work laptop. I don't feel like lugging around 2.

Insanity is...

It's been in the high 90s here in the DC area with a lot of humidity. I don't deal well in this kinda of weather. It makes me want to pack up and move north. So I thought it'd be nice to wear more skirts and show off the legs. So I started knitting Teva Durham's Slip Stitch Intarsia Kilt...in a nice bulky wool. I'm still trying to sort out the logic of bulky wool skirt in hot/humid weather. Here's a little beginning:


Now, if I actually lift this up so that you can see the bits of color I'm working with...


Um...yeah. I'm just pulling the yarn to knit with. I gave up on trying to untangle that.

Owee

In a fit of something, I started in my the Great American Aran Afghan. Quite a few of us came across the cashmere version of it at the 2007 MD Sheep and Wool festival at the Hunt Valley Cashmere booth. You sign up for the "club" and every 2 months, they send you 2 50gr skeins of cashmere in your choice of 4, 8, or 12 ply. They've been coming to me for over a year now and I had never started. But I felt like starting it and so I did. I had to drop down to size 5 needles cuz size 7 was producing a square with a 15 inch side. I haven't been that far off gauge in a while. The other thing I have definitely confirmed for myself is that cashmere is HARD on the hands. Yeah, it feels great but working with it, OW! I'm a third done with the first square but omg my left wrist HURTS!

So instead, Amber and I played with duct tape today. She had been on a quest to make model feet and offered to help me make my duct tape body double if I helped with her fake feet. I didn't realize I had bought black duct tape at Home Depot until I opened it up and as I was doing it, I felt like a dominatrix. Amber will have pictures but think shiny black vinyl type get up. Once I tape up the back, I'll probably even out the neck, arms, and hips and go look for that new insulation foam stuff that you can pump into an area and it expands and fills. If that's too expensive, I'll just stuff it with newspapers. So ow, my hands hurt.

Btw, in watching the Tour de France, I am being tortured by the Bacardi mojito commercial. It is driving me nuts cuz I see it at EVERY FREAKIN' COMMERCIAL and yet my hips start twitching. Oy vey.

Slow and steady...

wins the race. Well, not the Tour de France, unless you were going for the Lantern Rouge award and make it in within the time limit. Me, I am knitting, spinning, and beading at a slow but steady pace. Another puff here, another knitted row there, and maybe a few more beads. I've spun another few puffs of the Autumn Harvest fiber. That is definitely not going to be made into a shrug in time for my friend's wedding in 3 weeks. I hope to have a beaded ball gown (Christmas ornament) done by next Friday since it's due at Bead Obsessions by August 1st. I also want to finish the Crystal Burst Bracelet. I have only 1 half of a 14mm crystal to embellish. Almost done. Almost done. And as for the silk nightie...it might end up being a black silk tank top. See, I only have 5 balls of it. I'm into my third ball and I think I've still got a few inches until the waist shaping. hmm... So I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do.

Some progress

I knit a little, I rest a lot. The silk nightie (TdF KAL) project is coming along. I've finished my 5 inches of lace at the hem and am just over 2 inches into the stockinette body. I need another 8 inches or so to start the waist shaping. In the real TdF, we have entered the mountains. Whoo hoo! Now you see the crazies come out in the mountains and where the fun begins on the road.

Spinning therapy

I liken the beads to be like crack. It can get to be an expensive habit when you buy it in the quarter and half kilos. But it can also be a cheap fix when you run in for a few grams. A friend of mine likens the yarn and knitting to be like weed. It's a recreational drug for when you're just sitting around with friends, shooting the breeze. Spinning, I liken it to something like an opiate. It takes the pain away. Well, it takes the mental pain away. I can't keep spinning as I'd like, I can only go a little bit at a time. The gripping position in my hands makes them hurt. But I've been thinking about spinning and I needed a bit of the opiate today. I borrowed Lynn's (who needs to update her blog) Majacraft Rose. I'm test driving out the wheel since it's one I'm considering purchasing as my next/second wheel. This is a colorway called "Inferno" and comes from Copperpot Woolies over on etsy

Stray cats, finished socks, a little knitting

I first noticed the stray cats hanging out in my yard when the kittens were crawling around. It made me seriously consider trapping the strays, taking them to the vet and owning cats. But mommy is still around and I'm not getting in the way of mommy. They are so cute. But I'm not getting a cat.



Oh. Such a cutie!


I did start to knit just a little bit at at time. I finally managed to finished the Hedgerow Socks that I had started on my way to Denver.




And now back to the Tour de France. I had started the After Dark Nightie and didn't intend for it to be the TdF KAL project. Well, I didn't have a chance to swatch and I had already started this. And hey, what could be more along the lines of a French theme than a sexy black silk nightie? I'm doing a couple of rows a day and working SLOWLY.

To participate in the intermediate TdF KAL sprint, I'm going with the cycling option. I learned to ride my bike way back when but I just was not physically active and had no interest in it. I really started getting into the sport of cycling when I moved to DC and was taking cycling classes with a woman named Cynthia at the F Street Washington Sports Club. She loved her bike and the sport of cycling. One day, she brought in her dvds of one of Lance Armstrong's wins in the TdF. I want to say it was win #5. She brought in a projector and we watched the tour as we rode along. She had the class planned for certain parts of the dvd. I didn't actually get on a real bike again until a couple of years after that when some coworkers got me on a bike after work one day and I was hooked. I bought my Trek 1500 a year after and have been happily cycling along. Watching the TdF every year inspires me to get on my bike. I really need to buy an indoor trainer cuz I could really just sit here and watch them ride and ride on the bike.

July 4th and the start of the Tour de France

I need a vacation. And so the long weekend comes at a very good time. I had a slow start, didn't get out for my short run until about 11am. Wandered out at close to 4 to pick up Amber to head out to the Mall and watch the DC fireworks. I did knit a little, slowly though. I love watching the fireworks downtown. It's not quite the same as Boston cuz it gets to be SO crowded by the river. I'd only seen the Boston fireworks once growing up there. It was so crowded it wasn't fun. It's more relaxed here. Love the fireworks. Had some yummy drinks a McCormick & Schmick's. They always have yummy drinks.

And today is the start of the 2008 Tour de France. I always sit here watching the tour. It's a strange addiction. As for the Tour de France knit along, well... I had one project in mind but I decided to work (slowly) on the After Dark Nightie. I didn't think I'd be able to knit until half way through the tour but if I go slowly, I'm okay. The organizers were also okay with an injured person in the KAL. I'm riding the team car :D

Still sucks

Still on the knitting/beading ban. It sucks. It may end up being a 2 week ban. That really sucks.

My hands f-ing hurt

And I'm looking for ways to amuse myself that does not involve gripping needles. Obviously, that means no knitting or beading. Boo! But I do have a few pretty things to show you all.

First up is one of my happiest and most favorite purchases. The first time I heard of Leah Fairbanks was reading an article about her in Bead & Button. I fell in love with her beads. She has a garden theme running throughout and her use of color is amazing! I walked past her booth on my last rounds at Bead&Button on Sunday and I had to stop and admire...and buy. She had a necklace around her neck with one of her beads as the focal bead and strung with gemstones and that became my inspiration. I had bought a few strands of faceted amethysts on the first day of B&B and I knew that's what I was going to use them for. All I was missing were the crystal squaredells and I set off on a last minute hunt for them! The last thing I did before I went to bed after I got back was put this necklace together. I absolutely love it! The price is high since the bead was expensive, but also it's going to take that much for me to part with it :) Sorry all!



Next up...and why my hands are currently hurting a lot...I started working on this almost immediately after I returned from Bead&Button. Laura McCabe had one of these in class and I loved it! I was inspired for the color and in trying to bead from my stash, I realized that I had the perfect beads to make the spiral ndebele strap. The ball is Laura McCabe's "Crown Jewel" design with Swarovski rivolis and bicones. Yum.


This is probably my second favorite necklace right now, right after the Leah Fairbanks bead one. There are probably more of these to come. It's also over on etsy.

A preview and some pictures

First the pictures from Bead & Button. I finally pulled the memory card out of the camera and uploaded the pictures.

Second, a preview. I started this inspired by the Crystal Burst Bracelet class. I also am having a difficult time getting the last row of crystals on that bracelet so this is a diversion. Progress is slow cuz my wrist hurts.

Bead & Button continued

I spent most of Saturday in class. I was taking Laura McCabe's Crystal Burst Bracelet class. It was wonderful! Laura was a great teacher. She was very knowledgeable and gave us many hints and tips. It left me wanting to bezel rivolis left and right. I continued with the shopping at lunch and after class. We had another tornado warning and they even herded everyone who was in the hall into the market place. Physically, yes, it was the safest place. I ended up ordering take out for dinner from one of the hotel restaurants. It was pouring outside, I was not going outside. I ate my dinner and wandered over to the convention center where there was the bead social and auction. The woman who was doing the auction...okay, I understand we have a limited amount of time, but geez, how freakin' rude can you be? She seemed to have taken the social out of the social. I didn't stay long since you basically couldn't talk or auction lady couldn't hear you so I just went back to the room to watch some tv and stare at my loot and sleep.

Sunday was Jeanette Cook's Mastering the Curl class. Having taking Paulette's Totally Twisted class, this was a repeat. Jeanette was an interesting lady and I bought a kit from her. I wandered back to the market place after class, and I didn't intend to spend a lot of money. Well...I bought a Leah Fairbanks lampwork bead. It was beautiful. I had faceted amythests I had bought that I knew I could use for the necklace and went on a last minute hunt for some crystal rondelle spacers. Had the components and it was time to head back to the Hilton to get my bags and go to the airport. Well, my first flight was delayed half an hour. That sucks when you only have 1 hour between planes! The plane landed in Minneapolis and I had 10 minutes to get to my other flight. And I got home.

At some point, I have to get the pictures off of my camera and post them. I did start off with the pictures I took by the Milwaukee River on the phone.

---

It was a very good weekend for me. I was able to recharge before the start of a crazy week at work. I was greatly inspired in my beading. Beading is my passion. The knitting and fibers is a hobby. I love the sparkles of the beads.

Bead & Button

Yes, I'm behind the times.

I'm referencing emails I sent to Patricia and Helena to help my memory

Friday

So, I took off for Milwaukee on Friday. The trip there was overall smooth. I took the bus from the airport to the downtown Hilton and got off a block too early. That was also when it decided to start pouring! Of course, I was on the opposite side of the building from where the entrance was so I was a bit wet. Good thing I pulled out the umbrella on the bus. But I was able to check in, get to my room, check in at work and wander to the market place to do some SHOPPING! When I got to the market place, I found out that the tornado warning was over (so that's what the rain was!). I found that lots of the teacher kits were on sale on their websites. I found cabochons and crystals and I met Cynthia Rutledge. I bought her Alyeska's Jewel bracelet kit and held off on anything else. The only thing that kept me from buying her Monet's Garden Kit was that she was out of the color scheme I wanted. I also met the guy at Urban Beader who has been in touch with Patricia. Patricia is still waiting for her bags but I was short on patience and bought one. I finally made myself stop and go back to the room for dinner and otherwise, stop spending money.

I had dinner at a place called Mo's Irish Pub that was down by the river and a couple of blocks from the hotel. I had some clams steamed in Bass Ale. I don't like drinking beer but I'm finding that I like stuff cooked in beer. I also had some steak and garlic mashed potatoes. After dinner, I walked a few blocks by the river, took some pictures and wandered up to Old World Third Street and the sausage factory. The buildings are definitely unique with old world character but it was getting dark. I wandered back by way of the Hyatt to see what beady goings on there were and I think I walked by Sherry Serafini. She was tiny with long blond hair. But even more characteristic of her, there was a huge but BEAUTIFUL beaded collar around her neck. From there, I wandered back to the room to watch Law & Order and rest up for the next full day of class.

Spinning spinning

I spent a few hours this past Saturday at Stitch DC Georgetown while Amber was working. They FINALLY got a new computer in the shop but with Vista, hadn't been able to look Quickbooks so I went in to take a look. I knitted for a bit on the silk nightie and now I must stop knitting for a bit. Knitting a row and I can feel my wrist hurting again. boo! But my progress:



That's the lower edge. I hope I can finish this before September.


So, instead of knitting, I spun this weekend. I was able to ply the first skein:


I have another half bobbin full of plied yarn. Must keep spinning. I didn't bother with the navajo ply and instead spun up 3 bobbins full of singles and started plying.


Friday, I head off to Bead & Button. Whee!!!

Projects

Memorial Day is gone and past and now we go for a big push at work and an even bigger push on the home front. Work...I won't get into. But on the home front:

• finish up my Pinwheel Sweater. I'm now on the crochet edge of the first sleeve


• spin up fiber to knit myself a shrug. the shrug must be in wearable form by August 2, 2008 to my friend's wedding.


• I started knitting the nightie from Mason Dixon Knitting using some silk I had bought last year. Yes, it's a silk nightie. mmm, sexy. I admit, I hate wearing pants when I go to sleep but I do it when I travel with people. A nightie seems to be a good compromise here. And the silk...well I sure as hell am not going to be making a wool nightie cuz that just defeats the purpose. I also hate sleeping when it's too warm and wool wouldn't help that.


• I've swatched and am also ready to cast on for Flying Fox in some Be Sweet Bamboo. yay!


• oh, and lots of fun beading projects.

Persimmon Tree Farms - Autumn Harvest glitz

Persimmon Tree Farms - Autumn Harvest glitz
Originally uploaded by jyiu7

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Just wanted to show off some spinning progress on the Autumn Harvest. I haven't done much this week since I've spent a lot of that time lying mostly lifeless on the couch. However, the yarn is delicious and it spins up nicely and quickly.

At the end of the weekend

Friday night, I sat at Bead Obsessions and made a ring:

I like it. It's a little loose for me when my finger isn't naturally swelled up. Yes it is for sale if anyone wants it.

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I taught class at Bead Obsessions. It was the calla lily class. I've decided that I must ban the use of gold wire in class. For whatever reason, gold wire is extra fussy and kinks and coils all over the place. While there, I also started work on a beaded hyacinth pattern. I know there are patterns that already exist, but I wanted to do one myself, that also involves a bulb. I like the look/scent of forcing hyacinth bulbs in the winter. The one thing that bothers me about those is how short their lifespans are.

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I also visited evil Amber at Stitch DC Georgetown where she was working. She was knitting with some Be Sweet Bamboo on Thursday night and it felt REALLY GOOD and she mentioned they still had sweater quantities available. And there was a last minute sale at Stitch DC. So I went and picked up some of the stuff in a nice Barbie pink.

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I also finished spinning up the Spunky Eclectic romney in the "Sangria" colorway. It has been washed and is now drying in the bathroom. Therefore, I started spinning up some of the new Autumn Harvest Glitz I had bought at sheep and wool. Spun up a small amount and Navajo plied in the hopes that I would get worsted weight yarn. Set it, dried it and yes! Worsted! Whoo hoo!