Happy Halloween!

My favorite holiday!! Okay, I know you were expecting Elphaba, but two weeks ago we shifted gears. Matt and I love doing paired costumes that play in our height differential (remember Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompa? That was the best!), so this year we're doing a Lord-of-the-Rings-esque archer and dwarf. Our living room has been a flying frenzy of fabric, paint, feathers, and clay. Full pics and details coming soon... Here's a hint: Female dwarves have beards, too!

In the meantime, have a spooky day!

Really?

Work has been slow this week, so I've been home knitting on my Halloween costume and watching a lot of TV and movies. Things I've "learned" include:

1) If you get shot, just take out the bullet and you're fine. Heck, you can break out of the hospital as soon as you regain consciousness and fight bad guys hand-to-hand! Blood loss and infection don't matter, let alone damage to muscles, bones, nerves, and internal organs.

2) If you've overdosed on sleeping meds hours ago, and you're found sprawled out and un-wakeable, all you need is your buddy to induce vomiting. No matter that the pills dissolved long ago and are clearly currently working... you'll be fine in minutes!

3) Genes can change from dominant to recessive as they pass from parent to child. Isn't that clever?

Upcoming book?

I've been thinking about writing a book. It's been percolating in my head for years, actually, but now I'm getting fired up to make it happen. It would contain basic information on how acupuncture works, and how you can use acupressure at home to help yourself and your family. I have a few questions about the content and format, so I'd really appreciate it if you took this 2-minute poll - even if you aren't interested in the book - I need to know that, too!

Your answers will reach me anonymously.

(Sorry about the enormous logo - I can't figure out how to shrink it with the survey software.)

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Rain Trumps Candles

The Paoli Illumination, scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) has been cancelled due to rain. :(

Facelift

Ok, so I finally got sick enough of the pink to overhaul the blog. I even updated my links over there to the right. Yay!

A Few Knitting WINS

One of the “Black Mix” bags I got from the Sheep Shed was black and white swirled together like a soft-serve cone. I separated them as best I could, but there were some strips of roving that were so blended they weren’t worth the effort to separate fiber by fiber. Those went into bag #3. Which I felt strangely drawn to spin immediately. And the whole time I was spinning, I felt intensely compelled to make mittens.

I didn’t think I had enough. I was pondering doing a Fair Isle or striped section with either black or white. In fact, I was so sure I wouldn’t have enough that I nearly didn’t start them. See the ball “left over?” It weighs more than the completed mittens do. I’ve been knitting and spinning since 2001 and I still have no clue how to eyeball how much I will need for a project. sigh

Good news: The mittens came out perfectly the first time, great fit, no 28 revisions necessary. I was considering dyeing them but I believe I like them as is.

Disasters from previous post: The witch socks just got finished off at mid-calf height and I've been wearing them a lot. Very comfy and look great with pants. The cabled socks have been rescued by inserting a few more cables. They're nearly done.

And my latest triumph: A pointy felted hat for my Halloween costume (Elphaba). I just need to firm up the brim a bit.

Parking Wars

Since Matt's most recent appearance on TV, the fan mail has finally died down to mere dozens a day. With his latest blockbuster, however, I expect we'll need to rehire that professional letter-answering firm again.

You can see it yourself on A&E, Parking Wars episode 42, part 2. Funny thing, though, they edited out the part where he showed up before the meter had run out - thus his confused expression when she said he got a ticket. She had started writing him up assuming he wouldn't get back in time. If you listen closely you can hear her explaining they need the car make so they can rescind the ticket. Also, he was wearing a black Utilikilt, no matter what the caption says.

That's our friend Jari in the back. She was trying to hide but her smile is simply unstoppable.

Instant Attitude Correction

If I had still been grumpy when I woke up this morning (which I wasn't - I'm lucky that way and generally don't retain my bad moods for long) the sight outside my front window would have turned me around.

I'm madly in love with "golden hour" light, especially when shining through my dogwood trees while they're waving the big "Fall is coming!" flag.

Come on, October! :)

FRUSTRATION!

Not one but TWO knitting projects have come to a screaming halt. And I do mean screaming.

My incredible witchy socks, which performed so well for me in the foot and heel shaping, have decided to look like crap in the broomstick area. I was trying to insert a lace design up the back of the calf (shaft starting just after the heel, with the whisk section at the calf) but it just isn't coming out well. Plus I'm running out of yarn. Plus the yarn itself has some issues (knots and weird ply-flyaways and thick felted sections) so I think I'll start these over with different yarn. But not this week.

Last night the cabled red socks also decided to laugh in my face. I needed to add some increases to counter the cinching effect of cables all around once I got past the heel, but that meant the yarn pooled in a nasty way. I understand that's all Greek if you don't speak knitter. Translation: I had to make a structural change, which created an aesthetic problem. Further translation: They now suck.

This is the problem with designing your own projects, which is better than simply copying what other people have already done. Even though that means they've already worked out all the problems I seem bound and determined to discover. *sigh*

Paoli Illumination

Want another chance to see me in a ridiculously unflattering costume?

Saturday, Oct 17th, from 7-9pm, is the annual Paoli Battlefield Illumination. There will be continuous guided candlelight tours, going from scene to scene. You'll learn about the Paoli Massacre from first-person interpreters telling the stories of the nighttime battle. 300 luminaries will represent the casualties of this American Revolutionary War battle. $5 per person or $20 for a family of 4 or more.

The Paoli Battlefield is located at First & Wayne Aves, next to the Paoli Memorial Grounds in Malvern.

Reading Roundup

Here are a few more great books I've read lately:

The Thirteenth Tale: Lyrical and involving. I didn't care for the twist at the end but I'm sure others loved it. Not my usual sort of book but really lovely writing.

Under and Alone: True story of an ATF agent who went undercover with the Mongols. In case you're unfamiliar, they are a motorcycle gang that makes the Hell's Angels look like yuppies. A very honest account of how living as a patched-in biker changed him.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: I nearly didn't get this one, due to a review that said it was exactly like the movie (which was good, but not earthshaking). While it's true that the events are the same, the read is a completely different experience. It seems clear that years of research went into the project, but his knowledge leaks out in a hundred tiny ring-of-truth period details. The history illuminates rather than glares. Hansen's writing has a cadence that really brings you into his moment. This book is a freaking time machine. I'm halfway done and already dreading the end - I don't want it to be over. Sample paragraph:

Jesse, on the other hand, was the soul of friendliness and commerce, acknowledging each of Bob's remarks, letting the boy ingratiate himself, rewarding him with trivial tasks that Bob executed with zeal. Then he asked Bob to strike a match as he read the dial of a pocket watch in a gold hunting case, stolen from a judge near Mammoth Cave. The clock instructed him and he retreated into the dark and after some minutes returned with a kerosene lantern and with a burlap grain sack over his arm like a waiter's towel. "You can stick with me, but don't heel. I don't want to bust into you every time I have the notion to change direction."

Bob muttered, "I'm not a moron, for Heaven's sake," but kept his head down - one might have thought his boots had ears.

Living History

Last Saturday was the colonial thing at the Plank House. It was a great day, but I was too busy explaining the sheep-to-clothing process to run around and get pics of everyone else (sorry, I'm a rotten Blogger). There was a girl making lace at an unbelievable rate of speed. Unbelievable because she was flipping her tiny thread bobbins through a complex memorized pattern like a cracked-out hummingbird, yet she says the final product grows by an inch an hour. Ug. There was also a candle maker, quill maker, blacksmith, lap-loom weaver, and lots of others, including those explaining the buildings and clothing. My costume-maker Delores introduced a little modern technology: She had clothes for people to change into, took their digital pics, and printed them out on the spot. The kids were (mostly) really adorable. I should have had her do mine, but suddenly we were slammed and then suddenly we were packing up for the day and I had a sunburned strip on the back of my neck.

Ok, I'll admit it - part of my camera avoidance may have hinged on the clothing. Multiple layers of stiff, heavy fabrics turned my already abundant figure into something resembling a pregnant mammoth. My waist wasn't just hidden - it was lurking in a cave in Afghanistan somewhere. I drew the line at the white apron that was supposed to go over all of that, and I noticed I wasn't the only one.

I started with a pile of raw, dirty fleece, explained the washing process to get to the pretty white fleece, then the carding. The Coopsworth locks turned out to be super rough when spun, so I used that as my table demo. I carded out a handful of locks into a fluffy mass, then handed some to each person. "This is sort of fun, but you can't really make clothing out of it. See how it comes apart? Now put a little twist in it...(Here I showed them how to twirl it into a few inches of yarn, with varying degrees of success)... and see how strong it is?" A few yanks on the ends and their eyes would light up. "That was pretty awkward doing it with your fingers, though, right? We need a more efficient way to do that." Ideally I would have had a spindle, but I can't use one so I just talked about it. And then I'd show them the wheel (my Kromski Minstrel), and my balls of yarn and knitted house socks I made for Matt. Then I'd get them to look at their own clothes and see the tiny knit stitch duplicated in their t-shirts.

If they were hankering for more I got into plying, knitting, weaving, and felting. It was mostly grownups who were interested in all of that. Men wanted to figure out the engineering of the energy transfer with the wheel, while women wondered how long it took to do everything. I used my bag as an example (2 evenings to spin, 3 days to knit), freely admitting that I had skipped the long and nasty process of scouring the wool by buying it cleaned and combed, and the day of boiling and stick-poking by chucking it in the washing machine.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Not too many glazed-over eyes. I let some kids guide in a pre-drafted strip of wool while I worked the pedals, then gave them the yarn they made. I even recruited another knitter to the Wonderful World of Spinning - she's coming over tomorrow to learn. :)

Purse Abundance!

1) I found a vinyl laptop bag that was $20 but looks surprisingly like nice leather. So now my precious Mac will be safe going to and from work.

2) I've been hunting everywhere for a medium sized, lightweight bag that stuff won't fall out of. Seems pretty basic to me, but the "in" thing now is either Big Enough to Carry your Car or Too Teeny for Anything But Your Phone. Plus I love leather but it's heavy, especially with all the extra staps and buckles everyone feels compelled to add now. I have tons of totes, but bad thing happen when you throw them willy-nilly into the back seat. Ask me how I know.

I tried Etsy (awful print fabrics) and lots of stores and finally gave up when Holly told me about Laura Bee. I picked out what I wanted - OMG! YARN FABRIC - in an oxblood Naugahyde (yeah, I know, but it works, trust me!) and convertible straps that can either go across the body or over one shoulder. I loved it, but it was pricey she was backed up and I had to wait 6 weeks to get it.

3) So I cancelled my order the next day and Matt started to make me - yes MAKE ME - the cutest purse ever, with a inside lined zipper pocket, the cell phone pocket. I picked the fabric (which didn't photograph well, but the color is better, keep trusting me) and made some of the piping. Heather did the initial sewing. But he did everything else - the design, the handles, the crazy complex top part that was patterned after my favorite bedraggled bag. It's awesome.

The carrot bag was already well underway when I heard back from Laura Bee, that custom orders are non-refundable (I was hoping that since she hadn't started it yet they'd let me off the hook, but nope). It came more quickly than anticipated, so now I have two cool purses!

1491

I just finished reading 1491. Holy cow. If you are at all interested in history, or the interaction of cultures, or human effects on the natural world, you should read this book. It starts off pretty dry, but stick with it. About a third through it hits pure gold (pun intended).

In short, the true story is a world apart from the image we were taught in school. In both North and South America, the populations were denser than previously thought, and built extravagant architectural systems. They had a much more comprehensive agricultural impact than I would have imagined, too. I don't want to give too much away, but the lasting effects of those Amazon farmers are pretty impressive.

And tucked back in Appendix B, I found something that made my Fiber Artist soul sing: The Inkas (Incas) left behind knotted strings called khipu. For a long time they were considered a sort of abacus, but second look has revealed them to be a form of written record! They used fiber (cotton or alpaca), color coding, and different types of S and Z plying to transmit data. William Conklin says "90 percent of the information was put into the string before the knot was made." Then there's the knot itself, tied going either up or down the string, and the type of knot... wow. They are still working on the translations. I think it's going to take a while. :)

5 years of fun

To celebrate 5 rolicking years of marriage, Matt & I went north to an adorable isolated B&B with a hot tub and a fascinating assortment of wildlife.
Knoebel's, established 1926, is an old-fashioned amusement park with wooden roller coasters. Friday there was was cool and rainy. Absolutely perfect, although a dino chased Matt for his chocolate mint fudge. Click on that skyride pic.




On Saturday we visited the Pioneer Tunnels, a hokey but informative tour of a coal mine, including a ride on old mine cars and a steam train. I always knew in a vague sort of way that coalmining was a rotten job, but wow... Let's just say that I'm even more grateful to be an acupuncturist now. We didn't actually get to ride the steam train, since it threw a seal just minutes before we were supposed to get on and they substituted an electric engine.

Centralia is a nearby town that no longer exists, because there's been an underground coal fire burning since 1962. The government offered relocation packages and even rescinded their zipcode. There are still 6 people living there who refused to move. Video here of steam rising from the ground.

Today we took the long way home along the Susquehanna River and hit a few antique dealers. I found a terrific milk bottle, just starting to turn purple, for $5. It'll look great in my art room holding the few straight knitting needles I keep for teaching.

We had lots of yummy food, Matt saved a baby bunny from a semi-feral cat, and we stumbled on a friendly gay bar out in the middle of nowhere. Northern Central PA turns out to be beautifully lush and green. The people are sweet. The roads are smooth. Everyone takes excellent care of their lawns and cars. It was much more civilized than the Main Line, in some ways, and certainly prettier. :)

Seattle

Part two of the PacNW Tour: On Sunday I rode up to Seattle with Emma (Dragonfibers), Shannon (Sobeknofret), and Christi (Turtlegirl). That was fun although we were all a little loopy from exhaustion and wool fumes.

The next few days involved some attempted purse making (pics if it ever gets finished), but mostly aggressive lying around at Heather's place. We had a beautiful picnic at Gasworks park (more pics here) and were joined by a surprise guest - Shawn, who was a classmate at OCOM and a witness at our wedding.

I spent one night with Holly (orange hair) which meant taking the ferry to Poulsbo. Click to embiggen - you can see one of the seagulls that love to follow the boats. She and her sweetheart have a little farm out there. Llamas and ducks and cats, oh my! We made megachunky cookies for her shop, Monster Art and Clothing, which is chock-full of locally made, well, art and clothing. Really fun unique stuff. In the pic of the two of us, I'm wearing a prototype "wolf" hat she made on custom request.

Through the whole trip (starting on the flight out to Portland, actually) I worked on my witchy socks. Here they are so far... You can see just the hint of a lace pattern starting on the back. I'll publish the pattern when done.

In other leg news, Matt collided with a bench in the EMP's Jim Henson exhibit. At first we thought it was just surface damage but now it looks like separated the periosteum or even fractured the tibia. He gets an x-ray tomorrow.

Sock Summit & Portland

Portland, Portland... how I love thee... let me count the ways...

It was so great to see the kids again. I forgot my camera was working again (thank you Camera Fairy!) until after we parted ways so no new pics of them, but they are gorgeous and scarily grown-up (13 and 16)! :)

We ate at Burgerville. We looked at houses (Craftsman!!). We reveled in ambient temperatures compatible with human life. We saw our friends Stephen and Nicole, and they introduced us to Rock Band.

This is a game I did not want to play. I thought it would be stupid and auditorally painful. Instead, it was an awesome adrenaline rush and really really really fun! It actually made me think about taking up the guitar again, until reality resurfaced and I remembered I was "playing" a guitar-shaped Simon Says, not an actual instrument. The funny thing is that I screwed up on the easy parts but kicked butt on the trickier high-speed bits (well, on the Easy setting). I loved doing vocals on "Spiderwebs," too, but afterwards Stephen handed me the guitar back and told Nae "You should keep singing. It's really hard to find good singers." Hmm. Message received.

I had to check out Yarnia! They have racks of cones - you pick the combination you want, and they wind them together for you into a custom yarn. I made "Money," something Rach and I were thinking about dying but we couldn't find bare sock yarn with glitz in it. I blended sage, forest, and black wool, with just a hint of green glittery nylon. 450 yards for $8! It's pictured here along with some delightfully squishy Madelinetosh yarn. 2008 was all about the autumn shades - 2009 seems to be the Year of Green. I've been trying to upload a video but Blogger is being cranky, so it's here on Flickr instead.


at the Sock Summit, I continued my calling as Bodyworker to the Knitting Stars. Hanging out with Amy, Heather, Charlene, Tess, Jasmin, Gigi, and tons more wonderful people was just the cat's meow. I took a class on vertically stranded colorwork (design ideas are exploding in my skull) and learned more about what Knitty wants. I am submitting at least one pattern: Lips sealed and fingers crossed for now...

Other snapshots of the hectic fun: Brian knitting 7 pairs of socks at one time on one ginormous needle. Rachel and AJ at the Ravelry party (AJ is a skater chick and has a superawesome new tattoo, but I didn't get to spend enough time with her). Rachel and me at the Rav party, after dark, taken by Wondermike. Replica of a 1500 year old Egyptian sock. I'm not going to bore you with tons of pics from the Sock Museum but looking at how things like heel construction changed through time was really cool.

First, a word about our sponsors...

This was the Woodstock of knitting.

It may be hard for non-fiber addicts to understand, but it was massive (see the Tsock Tsarina's blog for a great representation of the nutter hilarity that imbued the long weekend). We took over the Oregon Convention Center and multiple hotels. We had the Grand Dames of knitting - major celebs, each one - teaching us classes. We had a museum of sock history stretching back 2000 years. We had a marketplace filled with hundreds - yes, hundreds - of vendors, many of them independent business owners. Oh, the handpaints! Four days of shared knowledge. Thousands of attendees. Literally tons of yarn. *swoon*

Ok, here's what's cool about the Luminary Panel. These are not women famous for looking hot, or mouthing someone else's lines. These are women who rescued creative, intelligent designs and skilled handwork. For millenia, people had to make their own clothes. Most were too short on time and resources to do much beyond the basics. Generally, only nobility and the very wealthy had decorative garments, but everyone knew how to produce the basics. After the industrial revolution, everything changed. Machines did it all. In the ever-increasingly technological age, people lost the ability to make something with their hands.

Our heroines - Barbara Walker, Elizabeth Zimmermann, etc - they brought back the ancient techniques, improved them, and turned them into therapy, into intellectual challenges, into personal expression. And they did this in a time when women were not supposed to run their own businesses, and they did it with a wicked sense of humor (Yes, Lucy Neatby is carrying a chicken purse).

Thanks, gals. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, brain, and fingers.

I still miss her

It's been a year since Blackberry left us. I still miss her terribly. Our lousy landlord won't let us get another rabbit... just another reason to be excited to go home in March.

Sometimes one of Matt's giant black shoes will be lurking under the glass coffee table and just for a second it looks like Blackberry is meatloafing there. It breaks my heart. Figgy is obnoxiously bored and pesters the other cattle. She's left a huge hole here for such a small rabbit.

Socks for ME!

I just finished the cutest little socks! I started with Brenda Dayne's Pembrokeshire Pathways, but instead of a wool knee-sock I wanted a lightweight summer fling so I used Panda Silk. Did a different heel and toe, just because I'm ornery like that. More pics and info on my Ravelry page.

Due to popular demand: The shoes are White Mountain brand, Mohawk style. I got them at DSW last week. :)

This is so exciting - both of my haikus were selected for the Spin-Off 2010 calendar! I'll be featured in August and November.

Fibery update:
Matt's kilt hose are done and he loves them! I can't show them yet since I think I want to submit them to Knitty. But they are ultra-cool if I do say so myself.

I'm currently trying to finish not one but 2 new pairs of socks to wear for the Sock Summit. Good thing I have small feet!

Why didn't I get involved sooner?

Battlefield Illumination, Saturday October 10, 2009 7 PM

"Three hundred luminaries will be set up at the battlefield representing the number of American soldiers killed, missing and wounded during the Battle of Paoli. Along the lighted pathway visitors will be able to observe seven vignettes telling the story of the battle from the military and civilian points of view. These accounts are based on Tom McGuire's book "The Battle of Paoli." Tour guides dressed in period garb will lead visitors on a 45 minute tour of the battlefield."

I'm going to be a tour guide - I even get a few lines to say as I lead the groups from station to station!

Back in Time

I was recruited to be the demo spinner at the Historic Goshenville Miltown-Hickman Plank House! It's only a one-day event but I'm super excited! I'm plotting my table of explanatory props and a basketful of natural yarn to show off (they said I could sell some, so I'll be ready for visiting knitters / crocheters). I'll hide my blue hair under a bonnet, take the paint off my toenails, and *bam* I'm ready to go. They're even feeding us volunteers with accurate colonial food made on site. This weekend I'm meeting with my hook-up, Delores, for a costume fitting.

It's Saturday, Sept 19th from 11-5 at the Plank House, 352 & E Boot Rd in West Chester. There will be lots of other demos and fun historical geekery including a functioning forge. Come play!

Tucson Piggies

Matt is visiting his parents and snapped these out the kitchen window. They have an amazing place on the side of a mountain, and are surrounded by wildlife. Having St. Francis hand out some pig chow doesn't hurt. As always, click to embiggen.

And the rocket's red glare...

Pyrotechnics by Matt, photos by Jari.

Gettysburg, yet again

Me, Matt, friends Derek & Jari, their kids Jared & Jalane, and my Mom all converged for a fun day. The new Cyclorama exhibit is terrific! Crazy rainstorms evolved into dramatic skies.