"Showing" Off

Set up from 11-4pm...Show starts at 4pm sharp. Ends at 9PM..Prayed for sleep(and new feet)


Saturday was a good day. I am looking forward to Sunday at the show. I'm even more looking forward to getting back to Vancouver. I miss the boy and the kids.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Airport

Okay, so I think I can just book plane tickets and breeze out of town without any drama....

Think again. I was running around packing last minute skeins and realized that I had left John with a table full of junk...So I picked up a sheet of glass I had cut from the table. Apparently I tried to pick it up in a way that slices your finger open almost to the bone. No matter. I had not finished my Bacon and Egger Skein, wrapped my hand and got back to the spinning wheel since Pearl was going to be over in a half hour.

I was trying to hold my finger up while I was plying (while bleeding down my hand and on to the carpet) but I was determined to get the skein finished as I had plans for it.

I jumped into the van with all my luggage, a paper towel wrapped around my hand holding the skein in the same hand. No time to stop with a flight to catch. Pearl brought alcohol, gauze and tape and I patched myself up in the vehicle. By the time we hit the airport I was bleeding through the gauze and on to my boarding pass...hell, I didn't care, we had the skein and then I could do this....

The spun Bacon Egger meets the original Bacon Egger.

Apparently the yarn was a bit stressed out and needed a caesar and some yam fries before the flight. I was really excited. I have never been to Calgary. And I loved the airport.

Sorry for the ripped off Yarn Harlot (substitute sock for bacon and egg yarn) being photo'd everywhere. Calgary greeting the yarn with open arms and open mouths.

We were picked up at the airport, treated like royalty. I was rebandaged and then began a late night of finishing for the show. The bleeding is down to a trickle, and the hats are getting done. I can't ask for more than that.

I'll give you a teaser of the palatte arriving at the show, with Pearl beside it for scale and the initial set up.

And now the real work begins. This is our blank canvas. I'm starting to realize that the display is "the thing" and I want to get it right.

Have a great knit night.

Portobello West

All I could formulate today. I did manage to find a small corner for knitting.

More updates from the road.....

Playing the I Need Game....

I need to finish embellishing my felted hats.....

So I carded this fabulous fibre.

I need to seam my kids hats....

So I spun this wool. I call it silk worm on alpaca cocoon. SOLD (while still wet) This is a first.

I need to finish my free form scarves.....

So I rinsed and set the twist on this cotton candy skein.

I needed to clear my head......

So I went out in the garden and took in a nice big nosefull of the lilac tree. I think I finally figured out how this works. Wish me luck.

The Calm Before the Storm

If this is the calm before the storm, then get ready for the fibre tsunami. This unrecognizable feature, used to be my living room.

I have gotten the display and inventory down to 10 boxes weighing I don't know how many pounds. My guess was 200, apparently it is more like 400 lbs. This scares me. And that's not even because in an hour I will be lifting it and packing it into a van. Or because in 2 days I will be meeting it in Calgary and unloading it.

I am at my wits end. Pearl, Toni and Joan, you are my ocean of calm in this turbulent fibre nightmare.

Here is the basement fully packed (oops, no, one more box still upstairs).

And a closer look at the fibre. I'm thinking this is about 50 lbs.

With almost everything packed and just the house mess left to clean up I was able to get a few minutes in the garden. The lilac tree is just starting to waft through the yard. I couldn't get a decent photo as the blooms are really high, so I opted for some more eye level, eye candy.

The rhubard is really ready.

Flowering chives.

And the clematis is going to be bountiful this year.


Yes indeed, the calm before the storm. Now back to that final box.

Late Bloomer

I enjoyed the walk around my new neighbourhood yesterday and couldn't resist snapping off a few pictures.

The later bloom cherry blossoms are even more exciting than the initial blooms. Joan was telling me how it was the later blooms that were all clustered like little puff balls. She prefers the earlier blooms. They are so lovely in their simplicity so it makes perfect sense.

But then I started thinking that we are so hungry for the first signs of spring that we are easy to please. In order to catch our attention later in the season you really have to work to impress.

It made me think about my knitting. The initial designs get such wonderful feedback, but people will not stick with you unless you take the work to the next level. But then where do you go? More hand spun, more elaborate, more dimensional??? Me thinks it is time to scale the work down a bit and revisit my roots. I love some of my original designs. Uncomplicated work in shimmering fibres. I have some wonderful hand painted wool and silk and I think that a holistic fibre day is just what I need.

I'll let myself fall in love with the fibre again, not ask too much of it and see what happens.

A Big Day

I am part of two separate Farmer's Markets. One is the local vancouver collection of markets and the other one is the Whistler Farmer's Market. When we first moved to the west coast five years ago, I never imagined myself a s such a strong proponent of farmer's markets. But now I can't imagine where I would be without these communities.

Today we had our annual meeting and it was surely the first sign of the coming summer season. Old friends, and the wonderful smells of the market, fresh baked breads, fruits and if you want to eat well then come to a farmer's market pot luck and you will eat like you've never eaten before. The smoked salmon was heavenly.

Joan and I presented a workshop on making the most of the market and it was well attended and a lot of fun to facilitate. It's exciting to see so many new faces this season. There was almost a hum in the air and I could tell that I wasn't the only one just aching for the season to start.

After the meeting Joan, Deb and I headed for Shaktea. So rather than yarn pictures...have a gander at these. Oh and this is all in the neighbourhood of the new studio.


My double chocolate pistachio cookie with Moroccan mint tea.

Deb's cheesecake and London Fog tea.

And the most exquisite calla lily I have ever seen from the Flower Factory.

It was a long day, but the most invigorating I have had in a while. It's almost here...sigh