WIP and Weather

(Excuse the sideways photo as I'm having wifi issues this morning!)

I will have an FO (finally!) Friday, and I have somehow resisted the urge to cast on something new. Instead, I returned to some holiday knitting I started a while ago:

Although you can't tell, at this point I've knit the bottom and sides of the slipper and have begun the instep. Not the most exciting knitting, but I think the finished product will be worth it. I'm hoping so. If these turn out to be as cute as they are in the photo, I plan to knit a bunch for gifts.

The weather this spring has been wet! But we had a beautiful day yesterday and I got on the bike for the first time since I broke my leg in April 2013!

I had grown absolutely terrified of biking -- and no, that's not how I broke my leg! I'm reasonably famous for being uncoordinated. Add to that the fact that breaking my leg made me aware of how fragile we all are. So, I am quite pleased with the 20-minute jaunt I took around my very hilly neighborhood. I need to build up my strength if I'm going to bike with my friends.

I also may need to learn to tolerate biking in the rain, as the rest of the week is forecast to be wet!

It's Even Better When It's On Sale

Friday evening I went out for gallery night with a friend, and we had a great time. It turns out that there are dozens of artists' studios on Madison's near East side, so we spent ours wandering around. Some retired professors craft exquisite etchings using a press that is more than 100 years old! One studio produces striking glassware.

And then there was this:

This adorable yarn bowl was waiting for me on the seconds table at Nstar Studio. You can see that it's a bit out of kilter, but I think it will work just fine. For $15, I could not walk away without it.

Some Weeks Are Longer Than Others

This week was longer than five days. I can't explain how. Maybe there were more than 24 hours in each day this week. I don't know, but by this morning, our 8th-grade team felt the need to jolt ourselves out of the doldrums.

It worked. We got through the day. And now I have a couple hours at home before heading out for gallery night.

I'm going to spend a few of those moments apologizing for neither writing nor reading much in the blogosphere this week. It was a grueling week: long hours, IEP meetings, and challenging students. I spent time with both my parents and Keith's -- something I like's to do more. Doing all those things means less time for blogging.

And I really, really like blogging. The best part is meeting people from all over and forming friendships. The knitters I've met have taught me so much about knitting. They've encouraged me to try new techniques, helped me out of jams, and directed me to amazing patterns and yarns.

Having been a single mom for more than a decade, time management has dogged me for ages. Am I the only one who struggles to find time for other people and myself? I could hole up in my studio for weeks at a time -- but in the long run I'd regret not nourishing relationships. I'm always trying to set boundaries at work. There is so much I could do that teaching could take up every waking moment -- if I let it!

So, where does blogging fit in? Earlier this week, I emailed a former blogger.  She hadn't posted for a long time, but also hadn't said on the blog that she was quitting. I wondered if she was ill or dealing with a major problem. She replied that she stopped blogging because she often felt that she was knitting to "feed" the blog, a feeling I've struggled with, too. My monogamous knitting of the last few weeks has made blogging hard. And this isn't the first time I've felt like the blog was driving my knitting -- which does seem backward.

I really miss this blogger -- she was one of the best -- so we'll try to connect in other ways. Still, it won't be the same. I don't plan to quit blogging any time soon, but I am going to try to not feel pressure in the blogosphere. I know that none of us want that!

Monogamy Has It's Benefits

The downside of monogamous knitting is that it doesn't supply you with much variety for knitting. All I have is ANOTHER photo of my "28's Cousin, 53" shawlette. At least this photo captures the lush color of the yarn

The upside of monogamous knitting is that you finish a project in a reasonable amount of time. The 1x1 ribbing at the bottom (top in the photo) will be finished soon. I'm on row 7 out of 10! I want to point out that each row has more than 500 stitches!

My stitching activities have been more focused on embroidery. As miserable, cold and rainy weather persists here, I find myself fantasizing about spring:

These are about the only flowers blooming now!

I don't generally dread Sunday evenings, but I have a ton of meetings and paperwork scheduled for next week, so I'm feeling a bit of trepidation about the coming week. Still, it was a nice weekend. Dinner with my parents on Friday; vewing an exhibit on surreal art at a local museum; and going out drawing this afternoon. Now I'm off to get some cooking done for the week.

Yarn Store Art

I finally finished this sketch of the the new yarn store, Looped Yarn Works, in Washington, D.C.

Isn't this an adorable store? It's on a second story on busy Connecticut Avenue, the perfect respite spot in a busy city. And the staff is super welcoming. I heard them tell shoppers over and over that they are invited to come knit at the store even if they're not shopping!

I guess I should draw the LYS here that has a coffee shop.  But can I go there without buying any yarn???

WIP Wednesday: Slow But Steady

I'm still plugging away at my "28's Cousin, 53" shawlette. The early morning light doesn't show off the sunny yellowness of this yarn, but it was the best I can do.

Going back to school after break yesterday was tough. I thought the 8th-graders would be relaxed and happy for at least a day. I thought wrong! They were wound up and restless. I'm hopeful that today they will be back in the swing of things.

The shawlette is quite mindless, so I'm planning to go home, make dinner, and sit down with the shawlette for a few episodes of "Call the Midwife."

Go on and see what others are working on with Tami Amis.

Yes, There Was Yarn

There's a new yarn shop in the District of Columbia, so I had to check it out. Looped, at 1732 Connecticut Ave. NW, is just a few blocks from Dupont Circle. It is very very sweet and cozy. There is a fireplace and lots of space for knitting. I picked up the two skeins of Quince & Co. Chickadee there. Those skeins are destined to become a Gladys Hat.

I picked up the other skeins at Fibre Space in historic Alexandria, Virginia. I've been to Fibre Space before, and was excited to return. It is a large shop with a truly "gourmet" selection of yarns. This yarn was dyed by Neighborhood Fiber Co., which is based in nearby Baltimore. The colors are just exquisite and the yarn is squishy. I see scarves or mitts or hats as their futures. The green will definitely be a present for my sister-in-law Mary. I stayed with her, my brother and their daughter, Rebecca this past week.

We ended up in Alexandria on Saturday because my other niece, Jennifer, was visiting the area. She's studying economics at Davidson College. She's on the left below, with my daughter, Rachel. Mary and I spent the afternoon hanging out with them, which was really fun.

Unfortunately, Rebecca (below, left) only stayed for lunch before heading home with her dad. Rebecca has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a disorder of the circulation system that causes fatigue, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and a laundry list of other symptoms. It is so great to see her smiling here, because she is in pain/discomfort a lot of the time. She keeps her spirits high and hopeful, which is so inspiring.
 
The best part of my trip was spending so much time with my family. I hate that we are so far apart!

Springtime Stitching

I have had quite a bit of crafting time here in Washington. I've added rows to my shawl, but it doesn't look too much different from the last post. Long rows of garter and stockinette build slowly. However, my embroidery project is coming along nicely.

I do get out to my favorite spots, but spending time with family is what this trip about. Besides, I really need to relax as much as anything, so I am quite happy with my crafty week here.

WIP: On The Road

I started the "28's Cousin 53" yesterday on my trip from Madison to Washington, D.C. You don't start with a little tab, so, as you can see, it doesn't look like much yet.

I love, love, love the yarn. I bought it years ago at the Madison Knitting Guild's Knit-In, and have been waiting for the right pattern to come along. I bought it fro a local dyer, htNevele, who I haven't seen around for ages. The good news is that she has a Etsy Shop. I highly encourage you to visit. Her yarn is beautiful

It's a beautiful if chilly day here in Washington so I took a glorious walk to my favorite bookstore in the whole world, Politics and Prose. I feel obligated to help keep this indie bookseller going (it's a heavy load, but I persevere) so I was happy to find that I book I've been waiting come out in paper is on sale.

Yes, I know. Art geek stuff. What can I say?

It is so nice to be here with my brother, sister-in-law and niece, and, of course, my daughter. I'm thinking I'll take everyone out for dinner tonight. There is an awesome pizza place in their neighborhood.

Don't forget to check out other WIPs with Tami Amis.

Spring Is The Time for Stitching

This weekend, a powerful desire to embroider something totally free-form hit me. Next stop: Goodwill. If I'm going to be daring, I have to feel like I'm not ruining a perfectly good shirt!

Next stop: Picking colors -- the most fun of all. A few months ago, I ordered a whole bunch of embroidery floss from Sublime Stitching. I wound up a bunch of it this morning:

Are these colors not luscious? See why I could not resist?

I've long been an admirer of Jenny Hart, who founded Sublime Stitching in 2001. I discovered one of her books, Embroidered Effects, in San Francisco a few years ago, and she inspired me to pick up the hoop and floss after a gap of a couple of decades. She pioneered a style of designs that are inspired by tattoo art. She has brought embroidery into the world of fine art, with her works appearing in Vogue, Rolling Stone, Juxtapoz and many others. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has even acquired one of her works!

In addition to being a successful artist, she possesses mad marketing skills. Her beautiful flosses have the most inspiring and adorable names and slogans. To wit: A pink called Honeysuckle has the slogan of "Flowers droop and sigh ..." A light green called Sprout carries the slogan of "Hello, world! I'm thirsty." A baby blue called Blue Fondant is paired with "Can you really eat this part?" One more: A yellow called Solar Flare says "I got sunny style."

So here is where my new adventure begins: