Uncle Leona's Day Camp

Signs that summer is closing down

#1: The kids are back to school. Thank God. These physicals are going to kill me.

#2: Labor Day Weekend is upon us. Looks to be a fun time up on the lake this year. My brother will be up with the family, along with me and the folks. I foresee a lot of cornhole.

#3: It's the last night of golf league. Of course, it's pushing 90 degrees. No point in going out without sweating through another hat.

#4: I'm knee deep in wool yarn. Glen Albyn is chugging along at a decent pace at the moment. I'm about one pattern away from starting the arm steeks:

It's not a terribly difficult knit; I just can't focus on anything else when the needles are blazing away. So far, I have only had to rip out three total rows because of airheadedness. The wine was helpful. I think I may need to take something else up to the lake to work on--I'm sensing sensory overload with the whole family there.

I did finish up a little project, though:

What a fun little felting and embellishing project! I have never tried needle felting, but after buying this kit in Chicago, I had no choice. I have been so inspired that I tracked down those pewter charms on the internet and ordered up some more. Add to that a lot of wool fluff hanging around this place, and it's time for another edition of....

Uncle Leona's Kelleys Island Craft Camp!!!

I'm thinking my niece, who just turned 14, will think that stabbing fluff with a needle is cool. If not, I know my Mom will jump right in. This could prove entertaining. I'll try to remember the camera...

And the first aid kit.

Speaking of sharp items, I now have a new method of rodent control in my back yard:

Haven't seen Chip, Dale, Simon, Theodore, or Alvin recently.

Of course, someone is just worn out from all of this excitement:

Explain to me how this is comfortable?

You may want to pour yourself a drink...it's debriefing time

Finally a moment to sit and reflect on the Stitches Midwest experience. First of all, I have to comment on what everyone seems to want to hear about:

The Wizards (note the tongue is firmly in cheek...).

I have never in my life seen so many people wearing black t-shirts who weren't cool enough to don a black t-shirt. For the uninitiated, Wizard World Chicago was basically a gathering of comic book and pop culture (the pretty nerdy pop culture) fans. Everywhere you looked, there was someone in a Batman or Superman t-shirt.

Who was probably in their mid-30's. Single. And living above their parents' garage. I actually saw one walking around with his mother. Talk about the ultimate stereotype.

Anyhow, they were everywhere. Those not donning Captain America t-shirts were in costume as their favorite character. Personally, I saw Han Solo, Princess Leia (with cinnamon buns), Anakin Skywalker (with light sabre), a couple of Harry Potheads, a very small Thing (from the Fantastic 4...he had to be about 5), and some little girl whose parents were trying to explain what they dressed her as (I had no idea...she looked a little like Robin with wings). Rumor has it an Imperial Stormtrooper was sighted at the ATM.

Speaking of the ATM, apparently the Wizards work in a cash-only economy. The ATM at the Hyatt ran out of money, and the one outside of the Stitches Market had a line of black t-shirts thirty deep on Saturday afternoon. Can't blame the vendors; I wouldn't trust a check from some of those guys either.

Here's the crazy thing, though. They were expecting a pretty big collection of Wizards in Rosemont, Illinois. How big?

Try 60,000.

I know. I can't put my head around that number either. What we knitters all joked about, though, is that we all knew that the Wizards were probably baffled by the number of knitters that were forking out the bucks for something as silly as yarn!

OK, on to Stitches. First a little bit on my classes. I started out with a closures class with Margaret Fisher. I now am empowered. I can do a freakin' zipper!!! Great class--a little over half of the class was dedicated to the lowly zipper, then she finished up by teaching how to make your own buttons and really cool ties. Very useful stuff.

My second class was an all-day Fair Isle affair with Candace Eisner-Strick. She not only helped us all with the actual construction of a sweater, but she also spent a lot of time discussing color use for when we all design our own creation. She had what seemed like hundreds of swatches showing what worked and what didn't, although I liked some of her mistakes. Being the goody-two-shoes-perfect-student that I have been my whole life, I was the only person who completely finished their swatch in class. She told me I'm ready to do my own sweater.

After I shrunk my head back down to normal size, I finished my class experience, ironically, with a finishing class with Chris Bylsma. I took another finishing class at Stitches West last year, but this one was better. She had us make three swatches (big ones), and we did seams, edges, buttonholes, and necklines. Now, I know there's those of you out there who think that someone who has made a lot of sweaters doesn't need a finishing class. Wrong. I always can use a few more hints. The biggest take-home message: don't be a slave to your pattern. If you don't pick up the exact number of stitches the pattern says go in the bands, big deal. Just pick them up appropriately, and you'll be fine.

I love fewer rules. It's rebel knitting.

As always, I met some terrific folks at Stitches. OK, I met them at the hotel bar. Before the Market Preview on Thursday night, I pounded some beers alongside a couple of gals from Michigan, Jae and Marji. We had a lot of fun (perhaps a little too much fun...the Market cost me $200 that night). For a look at a really gorgeous shawl, check out Jae's site. She was wearing that Pretty as a Peacock Shawl--it is absolutely spectacular. I also met a couple of sisters from Minnesota who were Stitches virgins--they admitted to having to pick their jaws up when they walked into the market. I let them in on the "make sure you bring an empty suitcase with you" trick. They won't make that same mistake again! All of these ladies seemed like old friends--it truly amazes me how much knitting brings us all together.

Maybe we should teach Congress how to make mittens.

Now, I know that all you really wanted to see was the booty from the Market. Here's the take:

The obligate patterns and sock yarn (Fleece Artist):

The also obligate "something other than knitting" craft:

It's an Art Girl needle felted pin. The kit comes with everything you need, including the styrofoam! Very cute.

Superwash Lace Yarn from Tess' Designer Yarns:

For yet another shawl I won't wear. Hey, gimme a break! I'm a process knitter.

Enough hand-dyed mohair for a light cardigan:

Elsbeth Lavold's Classic AL (alpaca/wool) at $2.99/ball:

This will probably wind up as an aran sweater. A $60 aran sweater. You can't beat that with a stick. Or a size 10.

And the obligate "are you crazy?" kit:

This is Canyon Sunrise, which is sort of fair isle, sort of not. Upon further review of the instructions, it looks like I either:
A. Knit the thing in panels, which will require purling back in fair isle.
B. Knit the thing in a circle, which will require playing with gazillions of balls of yarn at a time.

I'll figure that out later.

For those who are dying to know, I did manage to jam all of this stuff into Ikealand. As it is, I need to clear out a project or two before I can truly dive into the new stuff. I have dove into the old stuff. Deep.

It's Glen Albyn, from Virtual Yarns. You may recall I purchased this kit a while ago. It has been sitting patiently for a couple of years waiting for me to get the guts to do it. After my class, I'm ready to go. I finished up the lower band this evening--here's the extreme close-up:

The colors are spectacular. It will be perfect for the fall...and winter...and a good portion of spring. I'm sensing that fair isle is an addiction. Watching this pattern develop has been pretty damn cool. I have already been trolling around the Virtual Yarns site again looking at some other stuff.

Christmas is coming, you know.

Don't fear...the wizards did not get me!

Just haven't had much of a chance to wind down from Stitches; this week has been relatively insane around here. I'll sum things up right now this way:

1. Stitches, as usual, has given me cause to keep working for a paycheck.
2. The Wizards were beyond belief.

More details to come when I have a moment to breathe.

Tomorrow, I shop.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be unpacked in Chicago. That, of course, is contingent on my bag getting to O'Hare, which is always an adventure. I'm getting pretty pumped up--I need this break.

The wizards will be a nice change from children and physical forms.

Strangely enough, I'm not going into this event with a huge desire for something specific. At the last Stitches (West), I made sure to get some Socks That Rock yarn, which you can't get around these parts. Yes, I did manage to get other stuff, too, but that's besides the point. I'm going into this event with an open mind and a credit card with a zero balance.

What could possibly go wrong??

As promised, the stash block pullover was completed prior to departure:

No, you aren't seeing things: the sleeves are different. Wore it to work yesterday to rave reviews from the staff and a few of the parents. I will be making a change on it, however. I HATE the lower border. I was pulling and tugging on it all day. It's getting frogged and replaced with ribbing. Didn't really make sense to have ribbing on the sleeves and not on the bottom, but I was a slave to the pattern.

Time for a slave revolt. It's a one-evening job. And I have plenty of leftover yarn to do it.

I also managed to rake in a few more bucks for yarn purchases this week. On Monday, one of the guys on that silly golf board of mine made it public that I was one post away from 6000 (yes, I am a golf geek...it's what I do), and was curious about what I would do for that momentus post. The guys, of course, post naked women for their landmark posts (they're guys...it's what they do). I wasn't about to do that. So, I posted a photo of my pirate 3 wood cover that I knitted up in the spring.

I sold three in a matter of two hours. $60. Not bad for a few night's work and some leftover Woolease. First one is missing the pom-pom, but it's done:

Shiver me 3 wood!!!

This is too funny

I've never looked better. Grady isn't too pleased, though.

In one week, I buy yarn. A lot of yarn.

It's that time of year once again: my yearly pilgrimage (or so it seems anyhow) to a Stitches event. One week from tomorrow, I'm in Chicago for Stitches Midwest. This will officially complete my Stitches Triumverate; go figure, I save the closest Stitches event for the closest to my home. Never said I did things easy.

Anyhow, I'm getting a tad pumped. Maybe not pumped enough to get enough stainless steel and silk yarn at Habu Textiles to make a jacket, but pretty close. Haven't started to figure out what suitcase goes to the event empty and comes home full, but I'm pretty sure it'll be bigger than the one with my clothes in it.

Thank goodness it's summer. Shorts and t-shirts take up no room at all.

Oh, yeah, I'm taking a few classes, of course. I'll be in a closures class on Thursday with Margaret Fisher (I WILL LEARN HOW TO DO A ZIPPER, DAMMIT!), an all-day fair isle class with Candice Eisner-Strick on Saturday, and yet another finishing class on Sunday with Christine Bylsma. These three classes pretty much indicate what's laying around the house right now: three unsewn sweaters (one with a zipper), one felted bag in need of a zipper, and my Virtual Yarns fair isle kit.

I will be inspired. I hope. I'm running out of space.

So, are any of you out there in cyber-land going to Chicago to worship at Yarn Mecca? I am more than willing to meet up for a bite or a drink. Besides, the convention center is not only host to the knitters this week, but also this group, who I am sure will be checking out the talent at the hotel bar as I'm trying to eat my overpriced cheeseburger and Molson:

Somebody help me. Please. I beg of you.