Pinch Me!

I am so excited. I found out via a conversation with Joan that I was accepted to the Filberg Festival for another year....Wowee, I am so happy. I love this show......Love, love, love it. And Joan will be with me, tents side by side. I am really looking forward to it.

I was just asked to knit baby hats for a movie. Hush on the details until I have them all.

I was also offered a job in the real world, which means someone actually appreciates me for more than just my knitting tension. It's nice to dip your toes back into the real world every once in a while, but no time.....

And all of this on the heels of heading out to Whistler. This is going to be one fun filled week. Panties packed, spinning wheel bagged, okay. I am good to go. Will fill you in from the road...

First Show of the Season

....and only 44 more to go. No really, I added them all up this year including Farmer's Market Days, that is how many shows I will be doing. (not number of days at shows). I guess I'd better get my ass in gear.

No grid walls. This is the first time I have managed to do a show without gridwall. They are evil, heavy and I HATE loading them in the car. So I just threw everything in the car that looked like it might fit on a table.

John was there for the set up, so most of the heavy lifting was out of my hands.

I spent a lot of time sketching out a complete set up last week. This barely resembles the intended set up.

Nice things about the show.

I had some sweet neighbours --- Hank and Cheef --- they have some amazing handkerchiefs (you will want some).

The energy and flow of the market was nice.

I had several friends drop by. Some of them shopped....

One irritating thing about the show. Chocolate. How can that be irritating, you ask? When the little sample papers end up on your table the entire day (and you yourself haven't eaten any) ---Well that is just downright cruel and unfair.

One last little look at the display...

Heading out for a big road trip to Whistler. There will be thrifting, yarn shopping and possibly gelato. Will keep you updated from the glorious final destination.

Caps, Caps for Sale

I remember the teacher reading this book to me when I was quite young. Did this have any impact on my choice of careers later in life? Pearl managed to find this book for me at a thrift store in Seattle (originally published in 1940).

In a nutshell, this old guy stacks all his hats on his head and sells them. One day (on a slow sales day) he falls asleep under a tree and when he wakes up, the monkeys are making a wild fashion statement.

I won't be the spoiler for how he gets the hats back. My friend Holli has a fantastic inventory of children's books that mention knitting. I was thrilled to have my own all about hats.

Pearl, I can't thank you enough for this blast from the past. I will treasure it forever. And one more shot for the day. Pearl in the shop with my favourite thing she has ever knit....giant monkey (an homage to Caps for Sale?) Someone (?) needs to knit him a hat.

Well, I guess I'll go back to tagging inventory for my show tomorrow. I can't believe how much I have knit/crocheted/spun and dyed since the beginning of the year. Really, I didn't think I had done much.

I love them. I hate tagging them on to garments. It can't be lovey, dovey all the time. Such is the nature of relationships.

I'm a Hooker.

I feel like I have betrayed my one true love. I pick up the sticks for the first time in ages to work on some production work and I dropped them a few hours later. That was two days ago and I just realized that I have been crocheting non stop since.

Why, oh why have I turned my back on my first love? I feel so dirty, and yet...

This piece just speaks to me.

Whenever I am crocheting, my mind is free. I am following a path set out by the yarn, twists, turns and curves which all come to me effortlessly. Theus palette is inspired by the magnolia blooms just starting to break forth.

I believe there will be a hat as I am not done with this beautiful fibre. Silk and wool together just excite me. Did I just say that?

And on a completely different note, I spied this on my walk today. Whoever knows what this blossom is, please let me know. The smell was heavenly.

Heavenly, I tell you.

I've Been Tagged

My online friend from Rita Vindedzis blog tagged me the other day and I have no new knitting to share so I thought I'd give it a shot.

What are you wearing now? Yoga pants, my favourite turtleneck.

How often do you blog About 4 times a week.

Who was the last person you hugged? My cat Habib. He's a bit needy.

Which item from your closet are you wearing most lately? My favorite turtleneck. It's been chilly in the house.

What's for dinner? A big ass steak for John, a portobello mushroom burger for me, cauliflower, soba noodles with mushrooms and pepper and a little spice from JP...

What's the last thing you bought Another display piece for the booth from Pier One Imports.

What are you listening to right now? The rain and my dishwasher.

If you could have any super power what would it be? The ability to convert ice cream into pure energy.

What is your favorite weather and why? Sunny, light rain, not too warm.

What time do you usually get up? Between 6:30-7:00.

What is your most challenging goal right now? Trying to keep up with the inventory necessary for the all the shows I've committed to this year.

Say something about the person who tagged you. I miss the time we used to spend together in Toronto hashing out ideas to improve our fledgling businesses. She is a very gifted artist.

If you could have a house-totally paid for, fully furnished-anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Vancouver Island. Probably around Comox Valley. I like the idea of deer running across my front yard.

Favorite vacation spot? Paris - the streets, the museums, the food.

Name the things you cannot live without. Wool, vintage knitting needles, a bamboo crochet hook, my favourite travel mug, turkish cinnamon(it goes with everything) and my camera.

What movies can you watch over and over again. Lord of the Rings, Star Trek-The Undiscovered Country, Serenity and one chick flick - Steel Magnolias.

What is your favorite tea? Kardade- Dry Egyptian Hibiscus flowers boiled. Makes a great ice tea as well.

That wasn't so bad. But now, who do I want to pick on...Definitely Yarn Piggy, Joan,Holli, Stephanie and BB.

The Non Knitting Part of Things

If it was only knitting and fibre, life would be a breeze. There are so many elements to the business that are just not my area of expertise. Like most self employed, sole proprietorships, you don't always have access to the best of the best, but you do what you can.

The last jury submission out the door.....

Sketches for a new booth display.

And now my quarterly GST and PST reporting. No photos of that! One day when the business can afford it, I will have a professional style the display, a bookkeeper and someone to complete all my submissions as well as a photographer. If anyone wants to volunteer for any of these jobs, I would gladly pay you now in yarnie accessories or just yarn. I have plenty.

I had another glorious walk in the rain this morning. And the best view was in my own front yard. The magnolias have finally shown themselves to me...but just a peek. The tree is 85 years old and in a few weeks, I won't be able to see out the front window for all the pink. I can hardly wait.

The to do's are getting smaller .....

....and yarn mountain is getting bigger.

The last application for the season is out the door, all the Christmas shows have been booked. My air miles are enough for Pearl and I to head out for the next show and no more judgments.

When you apply for a job you are under a great deal of scrutiny for your first three months and then you're pretty much in. Imagine having to reapply for your own job (that you've done well at) every year. But imagine that you are interviewed by a different boss. Someone who has never worked with you before and that your interview will last under 5 minutes.

That's what jurying for shows is like. No wonder artisans have such fragile egos.

Now I can get back to the focus at hand..it's all about inventory. Once a week from now until the end of the season I am going to have a destination knitting, spinning or weaving day. Everything I do is transportable so I'm getting my ass out there.

I think I will end up at Grouse Mountain this week. Hmmm. I wonder what Toni is doing.

When science races forward, our souls get left behind.

This is probably the best quote from the series. At least the one that resonates for me. I have never considered myself a technology person. So it was fitting today that I had a 13 hour sci fi marathon while I was carding, dyeing and spinning wool. Pretty low tech.

Posting more than once a day probably won't happen again. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The yarn is piled pretty high but it's time to start building inventory. I just got my Circle Craft contract in the mail today(and my booth is double the size it was last year). Eek.

I found out today that not everyone watches BSG (who knew). Sorry for all the sci fi posting folks.

Episode Seven

I'm in deep folks...hour seven is just starting and the last dye pot is on...That is also seven today. The chocolate strawberry yarn is done and two more are being spun up now. I'm also doing some embroidery work that I hope to have done before 3pm...

Then back to the knitting. The only pure Cylon love child has died and with it the hope of the continuation of the Cylon race without the resurrection ship. It all rests on little Herra now, which puts her in untold danger. Back to spinning.

Kill the Quorum

So, four hours of the marathon are over. One scarf down, felted strawberries completed and 4 dye pots exhausted.

Hour five will focus on yarn spinning. I am a bit antsy from the sitting but the dye watching and then spinning will help. Also 40 lbs of packaging have arrived via canpar which translates to 575 bags. The kits required some spectacular packaging and are a recyclable project bag.

With Felix and the traitorous vice president finally executed at the end of their failed coup attempt, I feel like I can have a little fun spinning...Edge of my seat action.....

Frack-----and guess who just woke up on the Cylon mother ship? Ellen is back. How did that happen?

Maybe today is all we have left.

...and maybe I've earned the right to live a little before I die......Roslyn coming to grips with her impending death.

In hour two of the marathon, I have almost completed the african violets scarf and a caramel latte.
Since I am already off for my one project per hour..I am going to see how I can readjust my schedule. The marathon is amazing. Gias Balthar is a knob. He is the only character that I found so despicable. False prophet and opportunist.......

The Cylon - Human alliance passes the quorum as the only hope for human survival. Alrighty--back to the scarf.

Sshhh.

The Battle Star Galactica Marathon is starting in 2 minutes. I have a stack of knitting and a fresh pot of decaf, a blankie, and a log on the fire. Oh, and there will be spinning.

The guild meeting yesterday was exciting. It was wonderful to see someone so in love with fibre. Jane Stafford is a wonderful speaker. It makes me really look forward to the start of my weaving class next week.

Here is the project table for today's episodes.

Episode One. (wherein I will be crocheting a scarf)

"you are the harbinger of death Cara Thrace, you will lead them all to their end"

In which Cara finds her own corpse sitting in her viper on the destroyed earth. Who is she, what happened to earth. Is she the final Cylon? The final 5 discover that they have lived on earth 2,000 years ago and some how survived the earth's apocalypse.

Now who will tell the colonists that their dream of earth is no longer viable. Damn baby, this is amazing. Updates throughout the day......

Completion

Just by being quiet......an unbelievable amount of work was accomplished. I felt happy with myself. I'm usually beating myself up over how much hasn't gotten done. How simple and only if I had discovered this years ago.

I made two other decisions yesterday that will have an impact on things. I have deleted my Etsy store and facebook. The people that want and need to find me will and I don't need these other time sucks to interfere with my goals this year.

I did not delete plurk (but will limit my checking to twice a day) as it provides mini updates to the blog and I have added twitter. So how do I simplify my life by adding another "thing"? This is only for the Farmer's Market and really strictly business since it will interface with the Farmer's Market website. I think it is an amazing tool if used properly. I am hoping that no one updates about their bad gas or most recent pimple. (It will make us all look foolish).

They may seem like silly little decisions, but I think the impact over the long haul will be huge.

I am gearing up for my 13 hour knit in-sit in tomorrow for the BSG marathon. The whole final season in order and the 2 hour finale. No, I will not be answering the phone tomorrow, or taking orders, or cooking dinner. Anyone that is local and wants to plop their butt on my couch, let me know. I will provide snacks and beverages (no alcohol) ---must keep a clear head for production.

I have plenty to work on and the new yarns are dry and ready to be reborn.

What will I do without BSG? I am hoping that Caprica(prequel) is a go, but I haven't heard any geek chatter about it. If you have any insider info, please let me know.

Quiet

I made a giant poster board with an "emergency list" of everything I need to do over the next two weeks. The list is massive and everything on it is important. One task at a time is a new approach for me. There seems to be some measure of success in this.....hmmm.

The living room is barely disturbed. One scarf in pieces, sitting on the coffee table and some wool on the bobbin..that's all. My mind is quiet. This is normal for most folks I guess, but I am used to lots of noise in my head, and designs bubbling close to the surface and hovering..but now they are all on a white board and my mind is quiet.

Lovely.

I went for a walk in the rain, a new addition to my routine. As immersed as I am in a project, I have to get up and get away for an hour or two. Sometimes I think I have felted small bits of my brain (clogged it with fibre).

The silk I dyed yesterday is still drying. I hand painted each metre of it trying to achieve a particular effect and this morning it just called to me and still wet, I pressed it against my face and inhaled deeply. Yes, I have definitely felted small parts of my brain.......and more tomatoes.

Back to Life...

Back to reality....

What do you mean people don't come to your house every day and cook dinner for you? Seriously, people don't do drive by present drop offs each day when you get up? Our weekend was wonderful, decadent and even humbling. In other words, it did not get us out of doing the farmer's market on Saturday.

What hustle and bustle and still so many gorgeous offerings to be had. Veggies and fruit in season and locally grown, translates to delicious. Here is my little corner of the world.

Sales were brisk, and the weather was still nice and chilly. John stayed the whole day and we chatted and sipped warm beverages while chatting with new and returning customers. It was a real treat.

Monday was exciting as well as Joan took me shopping to Daiso where everything in the store is $2.00. It's amazing what can be sold at a profit for $2. I didn't buy much, but I was tempted by every strange little gadget and offering they had. Dosas for lunch and a late afternoon photo shoot with the gorgeous Sophie. Stand in line, I discovered her first.

This is in Joan's backyard BTW. It is an oasis.

Now all I need is to see my magnolia blossoms start to open. They are struggling in this weather, but I can see promising pushes forward. Stay tuned for photos of those.

Birthday Blessings

John and I get to be 46 today. We share the same birthday. Not only that but the same ideas, the same pleasures and the same sense of purpose. We both are passionate about what we do and and love every minute we spend on and off the court. It's great to share a birthday with the most important person in your world. He'll hate this post --but doesn't read my blog much, so I think I can get away with this.

We are so lucky to have someone come over and cook dinner for us tonight. JP cooked an amazing dinner for me when John was in Istanbul and now he'll get a chance to see what he missed. The evening will be quiet, but of course my day is less quiet as I have to clear enough space for this awesome, soon to be prepared dinner.

I'll get to finish my felting and spinning today, tidy up and enjoy "being" 46. It's not so hard, I am only slightly more rumpled, enriched and damn thrilled to still be designing and knitting for a living. What other birthday gift would I need?

Except maybe for this fantasy yarn dress. Too much for dinner?

Display Booty

One of the characteristics of my pal Mike is that he can make a silk purse from a sow's ear. Uber talented for refinishing furniture and spotting a bargain, he forwarded an email to me about someone giving away display heads.

Intrigued, I followed up and was told, yes, they were mine for the taking.

They came from a high end sport and lifestyle retailer. They freecycle. Ain't nothing finer! I almost got lost touring through their warehouse space. I had fantasies of hiding there until after closing, filling a 6 man tent with supplies and dragging them home after midnight.

After this coup, Pearl and I went thrifting which was the sweet icing on this nice cake and I got a wool display stand. Well, it once was something else, but now it has new life and I was so willing to part with the $1.00 it cost me.

The afternoon was spent with Mike in the studio. Since I was masked and gloved for the dyeing, he was the coffee guy and nose scratcher. Why is my nose always so itchy when I'm up to my pits in rubber gloves.

Some of the yarn booty.

Wool and silk blend 50g.

Oh, and the finished dog hair has been spun and knit and is ready for shipping.

While I enjoyed the process of blending,carding and spinning these golden retrievers, it is not something I will tackle again. I do however have 2 skeins of Asia to be plied. Some day.

What the Frack, Vancouver???

Look at this poor freaked out lawn gnome I found on my coffee run. Alone, in his lovely patch of greenery, trying to figure out what is going on. Well seasonal lawn creature, if you figure it out please let me know.

I on the other hand have felt compelled to dive in to complete my spring colour collection. As if one more colourway will melt this snow.

Reskeining took the better part of the day yesterday, and I didn't mind it....There was a lot of activity in the house.

I received many presents from Pearl, one of which is a scientific turkey baster. It is a boxed set of 18 pieces.....Now my evil formulas can be completed....(insert maniacal laugh here) and another cool piece was a thrifted rubber vase for a very specific purpose ---no, not part of the evil science experiment.

Toni was working on her Habu scarf. Knitting with 10% stainless steel--now that is one tough chick. Hard to believe she boycotted spinning for a day.

The bus depot has found my jury pieces hurray.... I wasn't worried about the finished goods, but rather the display pieces I sent with them. I am always able to find unique and weird display objects, not easy to replace. Hey and it was only about 20 hours of knitting between the jury pieces so no biggie ---actually I am lying, I had a mini breakdown the other day when I thought these prototypes were lost.

I get to spend the day brainstorming with Joan and I'll make sure that you are all updated as soon as the etsy site is up....There will be kick ass knitting needles, buttons, pins and lots of non knitting things as well. And tell her "MelonHead " sent you!

She's Back.....

Last night was exhilerating! I stayed up until 2Am knitting and finishing. I wanted 5 projects completed yesterday and I was up until it was done. Yippee. I am back. So tired of being tired and glad to see that it was just a temporary situation. I attribute it to juryitis. Too much thinking can wear you out----no really.

I would like to thank Alexyia for her late night plurks last night that kept me going and BB's early morning plurks that were very complimentary and got me right back on the job. It's very isolating to work from home. Not that I am a huge people person, but there's something about a knitting rhythm shared.

(even if they might be only virtual clacks and encouragement) It makes a huge difference.

Toni may pop by today for some spinning, it's our first week not in class. Pearl will be popping by with lots of goodies. Joan is coming over tomorrow. I won't be by myself, but is anyone with a kick ass pair of sticks ever really alone?

I am most pleased with this and the hours of enjoyment it gave me to knit it. The hand dyed did not behave the way I wanted it to, and yet, I enjoy it. The colour (geranium) gave me great pleasure to knit and the cowl neck collar on the baby sweater makes this a really one of a kind piece.

I get to load up on accessories for my snow trek for coffee, put on my funky boots and kick up a bit of the white stuff. I love this late snow, the magnolia buds on the tree are completely covered making them look like giant pussy willows on the tree.

Knit something great today.

It is Official. Today is F.O. Day!

I hadn't been very focused this week. I bounced from project to project. My mind active, my hands busy, but no final stack of goodies.......until today.

The five hours crocheting in the coffee shop yesterday helped enormously. No kitties on my lap or computer distractions. I worked like I was crocheting my own life line. And yet, it was a very natural pace. Having my own colours to work with is a creative blessing.

Having Joan's buttons to add the finishes to my designs is icing on a really delicious cake. She knows my work and without asking, these beautiful buttons keep arriving and finding their way into projects. Joan will be opening her own etsy shop soon and when she does, I'll make sure to post it. Her work can't help but resonate with knitters who want the perfect finishes to their garments.

It's only 3pm on a gloriously sunny day. An early morning walk for provisions netted me the ingredients for a wonderful breakfast. Sour cherry crepes with almond yogurt and drizzled chocolate and some heavenly organic cranberry and blueberry jam. Perhaps it was the sugar high that propelled the quest for results.....

FO number one. Aren't Joan's buttons wonderful....Joan, if you are reading this, hint, hint....

I put the challenge out to a couple of plurk buddies today and one has already answered the call and finished some kick ass baby booties. Are you finishing anything today?

A Matter of Interpretation

Last year I managed to spin some rather offense yarn. Correction, I spun a great yarn with an offensive name (Clown in a Blender). Sometimes I spin something and know it is the final product for me, I am just done.

I'm selling yarn, but never see a finished product. This made me feel weird. Was it sitting on a shelf somewhere, lost, unloved, unused? I've talked to people who have it and the inspiration is all different. One wonderful woman liked it on the "inspiration shelf", unknit, but brimming with potential.

And Marigold shelved hers until it called to her and demanded to be made into this....

Now THIS is a hat. Super, stupendous, gynormous and a big woolie wonder. I spied her yesterday walking past Arts Off Main, where I was visiting Joan and we were having blog chats....If you are in Vancouver and you have not been here, you must go...Support local artists doing great work. But I digress.

BTW, Marigold is a fabulous woman who is a volunteer and advocate for our local farmer's markets. Anyone who volunteers for sustainable living is someone who deserves to be applauded. Also designing (and wearing) this uber toque which is just fabulous and nervy.

It really made my day. Thanks chickie.

Dyeing to Spin This

I have been dyeing a lot of commercial yarn this week. Blek.....Don't get me wrong, the colours are okay (not mine) but I have been experimenting and they are bright colours for spring.

I have decided I hate turquoise. This came about after one skein of monumental proportion just would not stop bleeding turquoise. I've been lucky with setting colours. They are intense and fully in the fibre. I can usually rinse and wash once and the water is crystal clear -----BUT this turquoise has defeated me. I am on my 3rd rinse, my proportions were correct and yet it is still taunting me "rinse me if you can"

Frack you turquoise. I have other things to do today....

Now to the happy.......

Mommy loves you many beautiful ounces of tussah silk. Hand painted in the most springy, sprongy hues. Dried lovingly last night by my bedside on a vintage linen towel on the radiator, gently warmed and cuddled until you ended up in my arms this morning. You were the first thing I saw....coveted. We've had some good times you and I----today, but I will enjoy you more as yarn and a finished good so it's time to say goodbye.

Peeling Back the Layers

I knit because I am compelled to. I need and want my hands to be in motion. Therefore knitting is a useful and legal option.

I crochet because sometimes my hands are tired from knitting and my fingers need to remember different motions. I also enjoy curves. Knitting is satisfying, but angular, more sharp. Sometimes it's about the flow.

I hand dye the wool because my mind's eye has its own range of colour. I see colour beyond the ones I am presented with. Beyond what sits in pretty baskets in yarn stores.

I spin the wool because my hands demand the variety of texture and nuance. Smooth, lumpy, rugged, sheepy, fuzzy and sleek. I also see a need to challenge how yarn is presented and used.

I am weaving so that I can create a new shiny surface, a new tapestry for my life. I want to unravel the mysteries of the fibre and see myself unfold in their textures. Each layer of fibre a key to understanding myself.