The b!tch is back

Greetings, fellow travelers! Three weeks have passed, and much has transpired. Here are the Cliff Notes to get you back up to speed:

• Had an audition and two callbacks at the beginning of the month, and was cast as Golde in Eagan Community Theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof. Last played this role [coughtwentysevenyearsagocough] at Winnequah Middle School. We have been rehearsing e v e r y night - but they didn't schedule me tonight. WOOT! Come see it. We have a lovely air-conditioned auditorium...
• St. Paul's Choir threw one heckuva spring gala, complete with a brand new (for us) grand piano and a huge Abba singalong; the songs from which are slowly leaving my brain.
• The school year ended, another batch of 18-year-olds was released onto an unsuspecting world, and the parade of graduation open houses began.
• Animal world update: mollies, mollies, mollies. Oh, and baby snails at J's place. Heh heh heh. AND Mom and Dad adopted the little orphaned kitten they found under their front step one morning. Dad tried to name him Emil (pronounced EE-mull. I know - he was vetoed). Their "mature" cat, Lily, is tolerating him mildly.
• IT"S BEEN HOT AS HADES AND HUMID AS... HADES.
• My summer voice studio is up and running. There is a part of my Taurean nature that loves a structured schedule.
  
• Knitting a little pink sweater during rehearsals and shifts at El Yarnery. It's the twin sister to the little blue sweater previously posted. Photos to come.

So that brings us to my rehearsal-free evening. And how did I spend it? Combing area thrift stores for "black or brown ankle boots with little to no heel". Gar.

The magnificent seven

OK, so in my humble and "unbiased" opinion, it's more like the magnificent bride and six bridesmaids...

The Twin Cities' annual Yarn Shop Hop starts tomorrow! For three days, seven metro yarn shops will be giving out free patterns and enabling your yarny addiction, while helping local food shelves at the same time:

The Yarnery, St. Paul
3 Kittens Needle Arts, Mendota
A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, White Bear Lake
Amazing Threads, Maple Grove
Coldwater Collaborative, Excelsior
Needlework Unlimited, Minneapolis
Zandy's Yarn, Etc., Burnsville

For all the details, check this post on The Yarnery Blog.

I'll be working at El Y on Sunday - hope to see you there!!

Handy McHanderson

Sweet fancy Moses, my lesbian tool-loving blood is racing.

Check this out - it's like a Swiss Army Knife - no, a Leatherman - for knitters. And it's purdy to boot.

Now, how to convince The Powers That Be at the LYS that we need this. Hmm. Must initiate clever mind-control plot. Note to self: must not post that publicly next time.

Facebook or bust

Dang, but The Yarnery is cool...

If you and your knitterly friends are on Facebook, check out our LYS's new FB group page. It's only just been created by our blogging impresario G40, so click to join, then watch for updates and events!

The Mason-Dixon extravaganza

Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner have come and gone, entertaining hundreds of knitters in Saint Paul in the process. Dang, but they're funny.Meema confession: I left my camera's SD card at home. Wha? I know - dumbdumbdumb. My mom and dad were in attendance (in their South Park shirts, no less!), so these pics are courtesy of Dad's camera.

A willing audience member models the Mystery Sweater. It's a bit hard to see, but the torso has a sizable MLK quote chain stitched all around. Can also be knit without text. Wonderful design.

After about an hour of their "blog post" presentation, they began the process of - what else? - signing.

And signing.

And signing some more (see the pile on the table corner?). That's Ann at left, Kay on the right, and a bevy of Yarnery ladies.

Jess, Eric, Scott and I reprised our roles as the Yarnery Family Singers to honor (in order) knitting commerce, knitting communities, and knitting authors. Hope you likey.

Song #1 - Welcome to Our LYS

Songs #2 (On Ravelry) and #3 (Mason-Dixon!)

UPDATE: The lyrics are now posted on The Yarnery Blog. Feel free to check them out, but please ask first if you want to repost them. Thanks!

Pardon me, the gals are almost here

The Yarnery is hosting another knitterly book tour stop! This time Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner, authors of the snarkily successful Mason-Dixon Knitting books, will be joining us in Saint Paul tomorrow. Y'all should come! Admission is free, and there are still tickets available. (The Yarnery opens at noon tomorrow, but I think you can come to WM and still get in.)

where: William Mitchell College of Law Auditorium

time: doors open at 12:00, show begins at 1:00 pm

any bonuses? Yes, the Yarnery Family Singers will be there, too. Though it seems Ann and Kay will be giving us a run for our money...

See you there!

Local shepherdess hits the mark

Love buying local?

Love knowing animal products come from happy animals?

Check out the new Icelandic wool being carried exclusively by The Yarnery. From North Mankato, this heavy worsted yarn comes in an array of jaw-dropping handpainted colors, as well as lush naturals. It received a glowing review in Knitter's Review this week (woo-hoo!), and Shelly said orders started coming in immediately.

Go read the review and get to the store.
Now.

Hurry before it's gone!

Slice of the Big Apple #10

OK, this isn't really from New York itself, but on the way home we stopped at Chix with Stix in Forest Park, IL. Great LYS, and friendly, too! We ran in the door about 15 minutes before closing on a Sunday afternoon, and still the two women behind the counter never made us feel rushed (Mom and Dad at the counter below).A large space, open and (fairly) bright, with yarns clearly displayed and several work areas.

I came away with three in-house souvenir patterns from this shop - adorable boy and girl booties (left), and a market bag (right) with both short and long handles. I'm working the bag in Cascade Sierra as you read this. OMG - I might have actual knitting pictures in the not-so-distant future!

And this, my knitting friends, is the mother of all ball winders (a BFBW, according to Papa) - smooooth! You can't see from this photo, but it requires two clamps, one on either side of the counter corner. This winder means serious business.And for $200, you can have one, too.

Slice of the Big Apple #8

We started our Big Apple Thursday in divide-and-conquer mode: Ness and Dad trained over to visit Shea Stadium, and Mom and I headed south downtown for our second yarny indulgence, purl soho. Ooh, it was nice.

See the storefront photo? See the little metal cellar doors in the sidewalk on the right? That's their stockroom. Yes, it was quaint and very Soho on a lovely summer day, but I can't imagine it holds as much charm in a rainstorm or blizzard.

See the (negligible quality) self-portrait of me and another in the shop? I was looking for souvenir yarn and heard a voice behind me mention something to the effect of "we used to carry this at The Yarnery..."

"Excuse me? The Yarnery in Saint Paul?"

Yup. That's me with former Yarnerista Kristi. It's a small yarny world out there.

The souvenir which leapt out of the cellar and into my bag was Lorna's Laces sock yarn, exclusively dyed for the shop.

What I learned from my sister on The Trip

Always visit the loo in any tourist destination you can; you never know what gem you may find.

taken by 'Ness in the WC of Lettuce Knit, Toronto, ON

Slice of the Big Apple #2

This slice should have appeared before Slice #1, but I know you all can roll with the punches.

Here are photos to accompany the second on-the-road post: the trip to Lettuce Knit in Toronto.

Saw it, loved it, recommend it.

Mom came away with two pairs' worth of Jojoland Melody sock yarn.

My Toronto souvenir stash: Fleece Artist Flaxen, hand-dyed in Canada; Socks That Rock superwash, in Kawkaw; and a button jar of pinks for Kidlet's amusement.
Stay tuned for more...

Got milk?

I had opportunity to knit the shop swatch for one of The Yarnery's new yarns: Rowan Milk Cotton DK. Made of 70% cotton, 30% milk protein, it's dairy goodness you can knit. Yeah, I'm not sure how they do it, but there it is.

Here are shots of the swatch, pre- and post-blocking:

It responded well to getting wet; a little color in the sink, but rinse water ran clear. The stitches evened out nicely, and it shaped easily without pinning.

Like most cotton yarn, it splits (silent scream here - I likes me wools). But unlike most cotton, the milk protein keeps the fabric quite light and really soft.

In other news, Kidlet and I went to the MOA yesterday. I usually do a very strategic run-in-run-out surgical shopping attack, but we loitered and explored

Camp Snoopy
The Park at MOA
Nickelodeon Sugar Crazed Mania
"Camp Dora."

Oy. When did I get so centrifugally wimpy that a merry-go-round can make my head swim? Pathetique.

Daily dose of cute

This little guy and four other siblings live next to the LYS. Scale reference: the pipe in the background is only 1.5" diameter. Teeny widdle bunny wabbit!

Shameless commerce

For anyone who has been in a sensory deprivation chamber for the last week or so, this news is for you; everyone else may consider it a gentle reminder.

The Yarnery's spring inventory sale is going on now through April 30. All in-stock merchandise (yarn, patterns, books, needles, and so on) is 20% off, with some clearance items at 30% or more. Make you list, check it twice, and go shopping.

I need a new nametag: "Hi, my name is Meema, and I'm a professional stash expansion enabler. Oh, and a geek."

Yarnover and out

Wow, what a weekend. Thursday and today were my first large-scale knitter events. My people! The Minnesota Knitters' Guild Yarnover was held today, and though I didn't attend any sessions, I enjoyed myself immensely (read: crazy shopping opportunity). Showing much personal restraint, this is the sum total of my haul:

Guild Bling, in the form of project bags.

Colorful stash: green and blue angora/merino blend from Kimmet Croft Fibers, and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock.
[note: the Kimmet Croft web link is not working, so here is the analog contact address: 5850 Schudy Rd., Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54495; phone: USA+1-715-421-012 for Janice Kimmet; and e-mail: jkimmet@wctc.net]

A long-coveted mug and demi bowl from Jennie the Potter.


The highlight had to be The Yarnery's guest for the event, Franklin Habit. I tried to meet with him this fall as I travelled to Chicago, but our schedules did not line up. Then, like today, he was nothing but gracious and friendly as all get out. I sat for his 1000 Knitters Project, which with the participation from today's shoot now totals over 600 knitters. Yay, Minnesota!

Busy, busy, busy

We are officially in the throes of Celebrity Weekend Mania. Really, it couldn't get much crazier and exciting. Squee!

Tomorrow evening The Yarnery is hosting Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a.k.a. The Yarn Harlot, in Saint Paul on her whirlwind book tour. I didn't see her when she came to town last year (scroll to her April 8 blog post), but I understand it was an amazing event. This year there are over 600 pumped-up knitters waiting to soak in every word that tumbles from her Canadian face. Jess, Eric, Scott and I will be providing a musical appetizer to her presentation; more about that tomorrow or Friday. Heh heh heh...

The second Friday each month is Men's Knit Night at Ye Olde Yarnery, under the gentle tutelage of the aforementioned Scott and Eric. In two days our next celebrity visitor will hopefully arrive in town in time to join them: Franklin Habit, another amazing wit and knitter with a penchant for photography. This Chicagoan's blogging makes me LOL ATDT.

Saturday. Ah, Saturday. The Minnesota Knitters' Guild is holding its annual Yarnover at Minnetonka High School in Hopkins. The Yarnery is bringing Franklin to the event to photograph willing subjects for his 1,000 Knitters Project. If you are interested in participating, there is still room on his schedule. Call The Yarnery ASAP to reserve a time - I'm guessing any remaining spots will be filled immediately by walk-ins on Saturday.

All right, knitters. Synchronize your watches. And come Monday, I don't want to hear anyone saying there was nothing to do this weekend.

Hope to see you out and about and proudly knitting in public!

Sunday

Well, just like that Spring Break is over. It's a bit depressing that my next vacation day is Memorial Day. Distraction will be key to survival; this week is crunch time for Solo/Ensemble Contest for my singers on Saturday. I wish they were all ready to go, but I can only imagine the amount of information that fell out of their brains over Break. Yikes.

I worked a great shift at The Yarnery yesterday. We were dead for stretches, which was nice for conversation with coworkers (I love the variety of people there!), then crazily busy in spurts. I actually was able to complete the Log Cabin stripe I started on Friday, so hey, can't complain when knitting progress is made. It's always fun when someone I know on "the outside" comes in while I'm there - commenters Deb & Phil came to scout laceweight yarns for a specific project.

I leave you with a new element to my blog: Just Say No. Some things in this world make you shake your head and utter Nancy Reagan's gift to the American lexicon. Call me quirky, but there's a fine line crossed when a person takes their doggy out of a bag, and actually turns their little friend into a bag.

I [heart] Carl

As an avid Minnesota Public Radio listener, there are several shows I look forward to on a regular basis. Car Talk makes me laugh uncontrollably, especially if I imagine my father's reaction. Wait, Wait - Don't Tell Me is another favorite. It's a weekly news quiz show with an outrageously intelligent and clever panel. The best part is the prize: Carl Kasell, the show's official Judge and Scorekeeper, records the outgoing message on your home answering machine. You may not understand this, but
I.
Covet.
This.
Prize.

And today I heard one!!!! While "working" at The Yarnery I was contacting customers who pre-ordered the Yarn Harlot's new book, and, lo and behold, the dulcet tones that met my ear were left by one Mr. Kasell. Sigh. Some people have all the luck - or at least know their weekly news trivia.

The Love Boat, and then some

Do you remember watching Captain Stubing and his crew on Saturday nights? Oh, how I loved that show growing up – and how cheesy it is in retrospect! I don’t think there were many episodes where Shelley Winters, Charo, or Carol Channing weren’t sailing. (If you missed this gem of the ‘70s-'80s, the plot basically consisted of shipboard goofiness and chaos-turns-to-love.) The truer test of my adolescent mettle was if I could make it through the show that followed: Fantasy Island. Most episodes weirded me out a bit. Things haven’t changed much – no me gusta with the suspense or horror genres as a rule.

It's been a smidge of time since I last posted knitting pics, so feast your peepers on these:

pattern: back panel of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Heart Hat” (Spun Out #8 leaflet from Schoolhouse Press, or Wool Gathering #20 from same)
yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Sport (conversation hearts and white arrow), Malabrigo Worsted Merino (arrow heart), Nashua Handknits Julia (dark pink writing, contouring)
needles: Denise Interchangeables US#10.5 (arrow heart), Knit Picks’ Options Harmony Interchangeables US#7 (conversation hearts), Fiber Trends’ needle felting kit (detail work)

I was inspired by a mini-clothesline of these hearts in various reds on display at the LYSTTS, and decided to learn the pattern (Malabrigo) to make Kidlet’s Necco-themed valentine out of something yummy (alpaca, natch). They knit up quite quickly; after the third heart, the pattern was basically memorized. note: The Spun Out leaflet contains five(!) hat patterns by EZ – a great addition to your arsenal for just over $2.00US.

Speaking of Julia, its creator, knitwear designer Kristin Nicholas, will be in the Twin Cities this weekend for the Knit & Crochet Out 2008. She is having a meet-and-greet-slash-book-signing at The Yarnery from 2:00-3:30 on Friday afternoon (that’s tomorrow - her yarns and newly released book, Kristin Knits, are available at The Big Y). Friday evening she will be delivering her main presentation, entitled “The Joy of Color,” at the Textile Center of Minnesota at 7:00 p.m. You can read more information here on her blog. After seeing – and then purchasing – her book, I realized my personal color choices tend to be fairly “safe” and conservative. Her yarn line and patterns use vivid contrast and lush, saturated colors, which I can hardly wait to incorporate into my own work.

Squee!! I just learned that another knitter of renown is coming to MSP. I'll post info as soon as the announcement is official...

Happy, colorful knitting to all!

Addendum: It's the Yarn Harlot on April 10! Check the LYS web site for more details. Woo-hoo!