Friday Fun

I can't tell you how happy I am that it is Friday.  This week has been a long one.  Emily had another procedure done at Children's on Tuesday.  She did great, it was fast and I can't say enough kind things about all the staff at Children's in Minneapolis.  They are caring and warm and compassionate.  Anyway, Emily did great and one more thing is done. 

Between work and doctor stuff, I'm tired.  Like bone weary tired.  I don't have a break in sight until Thanksgiving, so I'll just keep moving on.  Sometimes that is the best you can do, just keep moving.

I did get some happy news, I got a special knitting order from a person who bought something from my last craft fair.  So I'm happily knitting away on two pair of fingerless mitts.  smile

I've spun up a bobbin full of citrusy yellow singles.  I have another 4 ounces to go before I can ply them together.  Not sure how fast that will happen, since tomorrow we will head off to MOA to shop at Build A Bear as Emily's reward for being such a good patient and getting past this procedure.  Lunch at Rainforest Cafe and then on the way home, we will stop at the Wild Wool Festival, I'm participating next month, so I thought it would be helpful to introduce myself and get a feel for the space etc.  If I can remember, I'll try to take pictures of our adventures.

Anna is a bit miffed as I will need to pick her up from a sleep over at the very EARLY hour of 10 am tomorrow so she can go with us.  Boy the eye rolls I got with that one.  smile....

Aftermath from craft fair

Well I survived the craft fair last Saturday.  The day was beautiful, sunny and warm.  Which I think was a bit of a hamper for me.  Who wants to try on wool hats or scarves wearing flip flops and shorts in 84 degrees?  Not too many it turns out.  I can't say enough good things about the fair itself.  Very well organized, over a 100 vendors, booths ready for you when you walked in, check-in lasted all of 3 mintues.  So the fair itself was well done.  There was a steady stream of people, but very few of those people were buying from me or others in my vicinity.  Oh well, that is a craft fair, you truly never now how it is going to go.  The good things that happened were many.  I had so many lovelycomments on my items, they loved the colors and the quality of my work.  Take a look at our booth....

the laundry rack really worked out well I thought, my yarns looked very nice and it was an eye catching start of the booth.  My wheel tucked in nicely in the corner when I wasn't using it.  The brown and white star hat in the bottom left sold.  The lady wanted it for skiing and I think it will be wonderful for that.


Here is Ellen, sipping her coffee as we wait for the start of the event.  You can see her embroidered linens next to her.  She did well and was happy after the fair. 

Now for the funnies.  I did sit and spin, that was a huge draw, many people stopped, some grinning in deilght, others staring trying to figure out what the heck I was doing.  One young kid, just kept muttering "weird, weird"  One gentleman was so fascinated, I showed him the roving, explained the process basically from shearing to dying the fleece to creating the roving to my spinning it.  The best though was a woman, looking intently at what I'm doing and saying "did you make it?"  now I'm thinking, well yes, I am making "it" but I said, yes, I'm making yarn.  She got a very puzzled look on her face and said "no, you made that right?" and she pointed to my wheel!  I said, no, I bought the wheel from a company and she just was shocked and said she didn't know any companies made such things anymore.  I guess she thought I whittled my wheel out of fallen timber from my backyard?  I explained there are many companies that make wheels.  She just couldn't imagine that. 

The other funny thing is that even though I 'm sitting there spinning away, right next to a rack filled with yarn with labels saying "handspun" on them, most people did not realize that I made that yarn.  smile...

It was a long day but all in all a good day.  I gave out many cards with my info on it, I believe several have checked out the blog so far, maybe they will stick around.

Next up is the Wild Wool Market on November 27 at the Susan Hensel Art Gallery in Minneapolis.  Who knows what will happen then!

But the other nice thing of having the craft fair behind me?  I can now knit things for the sole reason I want to.  Not because I think they may sell.  So Yggdrasil is back in the basket next to my bed.  The weather has cooled off plenty so I can happily knit again with a huge pile of magnificent wool in my lap.  And just because I cast on something new a couple nights ago, in the Norwegian-Handknits-Heirloom-Designs-Vesterheim book there is a lovely work day shawl, it is knit as a large garter stitch center section, then you knit a lace border to it.  I think it would be a great shawl, but also a nice baby blanket.  I had a 1200 yard skein of Briar Rose yarn, in a deep red/black mix of superwash wool.  So I am just mindlessly knitting garter stitch rows and it is delightful....pictures next time.

If you are someone I met at the craft fair, I'd love to hear from you...

MN in the fall

Fall is my favorite season, it is crispy blue skies, winds rustling leaves, dry leaves crunching under foot and cool mornings with mild afternoons.  You pretend that you don't know what is soon coming (sshhh snow I'm talking about you).  Instead you marvel that leaves morph from varying shades of green to reds, oranges, yellows and browns.  That grass starts to feel crunchy under your feet in the morning.  Playing and laughing as you can see your breath in the morning waiting for the bus.  Fall is the best.

Knitting has come to a screeching halt as the preparations for the first craft fair is totally consuming me.  I did finish the very last item to go into the fair basket last night.  This scarf was what I worked on at the bus stop for several months.  While it took a looooong time to finish, when you think that all the time would have been lost time, it is a nice thing.  I used 4 different sock yarns, all but one are left overs from other projects.  I made up a very simple pattern and I'm ultimately very happy with it.  I made some fingerless mitts out of one of the yarns, so it can either become a set or be sold separately.  I introduce you to my fall scarf.  (not a very unique name) 

Tomorrow is the big day, I will be at the Maple Grove Community Center from 9-4 selling my hand spun and knitted items.  At this point, I just want to get there, get everything set up and see what happens.  I'm bringing my wheel, if it is slow, I can happily spin away.  I also think it will get people to stop and look at things to.  Kinda like a living historical exhibit?  Anyway, it will be a potentially very fun day.  I'll keep you posted on what the end results are.  If you are in the area, please come and see me, I'd love to meet you.

One week and counting

The Maple Grove Community craft fair is one week away.  I'm ready, on several fronts.  I'm tired of knitting things that I "hope" will sell.  I want to work on my Yggdrasil again, but can't until after the craft fair.  I keep thinking, one more thing, one more skein spun up.  I love what I'm making but I'd like to settle down and finish the great gray beast. 

I have about 30 skeins of hand spun to bring.  There is a variety of sizes and amounts and type of fiber.  But when I look at the picture I see a lack of reds, yellows and oranges.  I just finished a perfect fall orange so that is covered, but I really need to branch out from my love of moody blues and greens.  I love them, but I think I need to change up the color scheme.  That being said, I'm very happy with my yarn.  And if you look to the left of the picture, that is all my odd bits and bobs of left over singles spun with the last left over singles.  I started doing just white with another left over single, but then I just went to town and I didn't worry about what they looked like, I just mashed them together and have been pleasantly surprised with the results.  The yardage varies on those, some only 30 yards, but others up in the 60-80 yards.  I'm thinking of different ways of marketing those odds and ends.  Ideas?

Then I move on to the knitted up stuff.  Emily laid everything out.  I'm happy with the variety of things, would have liked to have more, but it is what it is.  I work full time, take care of my mom and my girls, and knitting and spinning are on the edges right now.  I will share a booth with my friend, so between my knitted things and my yarn along with her beautiful linens, I think our booth will be filled.  Oh you can see the orange yarn I just finished, still on the bobbin, waiting to be wound off on my niddy noddy.  And the plethora of clickers next to my spinning chair and on the edge of my bed.  One for the fan/light, and the other two for the tv.  I couldn't get the tv to agree to work on just one clicker.  I caved and it is just as easy for me to use them as is.  At least I got the tv hooked up and ready!

This weekend will be spent labeling all my yarn, making sure the ends of my stuff is woven in and price tags put on.  Then a week from Sat. let the fun begin.  If any readers are in the metro area, I'd love to have you stop by my booth, there just might be a wee surprise for my readers! 

Charlie Brown

Noah could be pulling up to my house anytime, ready to load us out of our second story windows.  Minnesota is having some flooding issues...yesterday it rained hard, stead, virtually all day.  The ground is completely saturated already so the water is just running off, major freeways are closed, small towns are virtual islands with the roads shut coming into or out of them.  We are fine, just a bit soggy.

And to totally throw a wrench into the system, I'm listening to "A Charlie Brown Christmas' music.  I explained to my mom over the phone I was listening to it, long pause, she said "do other people have to hear that?"  See I live in a cube world at work, I laughed and said I have my headphones on.  She just sighed....I love Christmas music, listen to it all year round...and sometimes there is just nothing better than to hear Schroder pounding away on the piano....

Crazy hard curveball of a week

Before I get started, let me put in this picture...it soothes me...hopefully it will soothe you.

I'm working on this throw, it shows 2 completed strips and the start of the final row. (I'm now on the last block of that last strip)  Life has thrown us a curve ball.  My mom had to go to the hospital late Tuesday night, calling 911 is such a scary but wonderful thing.  You call 3 simple numbers and they are at your door within minutes.  Bringing help.  She has a history of heart problems and seemed so very sick.  With 2 sleeping children upstairs, I didn't go with her to the emergency room.  We've been through this several times, I know the wait is long and uncomfortable in the emergency room.  There is nothing I can do.  So I waited at home.  In the dark.  I cleaned upstairs.  My girls sleeping soundly.  Me, crying silent fearful tears as I picked up the clutter in the family room.  Our dog Gadget sitting and following me around as I worked.  He usually sleeps with my mom and didn't understand where she went.  After running tests and tests, mom came home Friday with a heart monitor she has to wear for the next two weeks to give them more data.  In between running to the hospital each day, getting the girls to school, getting Emily to her first round of ortho appointments, I showed up at work.  I'm grateful I have an understanding workplace, because the amount of work I got accomplished during the 3 days I was here last week was not on the grand scale.  I knit and spun yarn late into the night at home.  It helped keep my fears at bay.  I'm grateful.

And on a brighter note, I'm now signed up for two craft fairs.  The first one is at the Maple Grove Community Center, on October 9 from 9-4.  My friend Ellen is doing this with me.  She does hand embroidered table linens.  I will have my handspun yarn and various knitting I've done.  Shawls, hats, scarves, the above lap blanket, another cream ruched afghan, some socks and other delights.  I think it will be great fun, if nothing else a day with a good friend surrounded by crafts.  Then this morning I signed up for the "Wild Wool Market", it is held at the Susan Hensel gallery in South Minneapolis.  I've never been to one before, but how wrong can I be at something called the Wild Wool Market!  I'm participating in the November 27 market, from 10-4.  And this time it is all about me.  I'll have a small space and I'll have my handspun there, possibly some knitted items, but primarily my handspun.  After the last week, I'm looking forward to having some wooly goodness surrounding me.

A fresh start

Yesterday was the first day of school.  My girls are growing so fast it seems.  Both had great days and Emily was just so happy and excited.  Can you see her smile?

She was listening to the Zac Brown Band singing Sic em on a Chicken.  grin...something about seeing such pure unadulterated joy makes my heart sing. 

I finished a scarf on Monday night.  I started working Cinnamon Grace, but I altered the pattern as I went.  The original had the straight section only worked for 17 inches, that would have given me a pretty short scarf, so instead, I knit the straight section for 30 inches, then decreased per the pattern.  The next change I made was to the border.  I just didn't like the original border, I thought it was pretty, but not what I wanted to end up with, so instead, I added a ruffled border.  I love how it looks but holy cow was it tedious to knit that many stitches.  I had them crammed way tight on my needle and I'd inch worm my way around.  I kept weighing my ball of yarn to be sure I had enough yarn left.  I probably could have knit one more row on the ruffle before starting the bind off but just between you and me?  I was TIRED of struggling with the knitting and wanted to get it off the needles.  So I popped in a Stargate SG-1 movie, The Ark of Truth and two hours later the galaxy is saved from the Ori and I had a scarf off the needles that I'm really pleased with.

And finally here is the next skein of yarn I finished, let me introduce you to Caramel Apples.  A perfectly squishy yarn for fall....a hat?  mittens?  cowl?  who knows... for now I'll just enjoy it on the shelf.