Fearless

This is my darling nephew, Eric.  We took this photo last Christmas, when he suspected that I was going a little stir crazy in the house, and we took a walk around the neighborhood.  He's currently on a three month tour on a cruise ship, with the itenerary being about half of the world, including South and Central America, and Europe.  He's playing piano for a torch singer.   With the economy being what it is, who knew that the family member in the entertainment field would never be out of a job?  Eric and my niece are fearless.  They take risks, and don't let anything hold them back.  All of the kids in my family (three of them, all my younger brother's kids) are remarkable young adults.  I look at their example when it comes to being fearless in my own life, and being willing to take a chance.

They Knit for Dogs

With the new release of Strikideen fur den Hund, my current obsession is checking the German Amazon stats.  I'm kooky that way.  I don't know what the ranking really means in terms of number of books sold, but the book's been in the top 100 for knitting books consistently, and sometimes in the top 50.  If the top 100 books are a snapshot about what German knitters are working on, it's mostly socks, some accessories, some baby stuff.  Hardly any garment books in the top 100.  It's interesting to see that three other dog knitting books are represented in the top 100.  Work slowly continues on my new coat design. 
This is Lyubi wearing the Gidget Hoodie in Strickideen fur den Hund.

Craftsmanship

I said in previous posts about how I now had the gift of time, but truthfully, lots of time is spent spinning the wheels.  I am prone to losing my focus.  I need to be more disciplined with working towards my goals.  One of which is publishing patterns.  I designed a new sweater/coat for a custom order, but now have to write a pattern from the notes I took on the brown paper that I used to draft the original, and size it and sample it.  Can I get it done so I can display it for my upcoming show next month? I'm going to focus on it.
The photo is the inside of the Yoda sweater from Doggie Knits, Sweaters and Accessories for Your Best Friend.  Now in third printing, if you count the foreign language versions.  This piece is for sale in my Etsy shop. 
Quilting continues in the Workshop.  I think that the Log Cabin will be last year's Sunshine and Shadow for me.  Doing a jumbo sized for the household, which is a lovely blend of my collected vintage inspired fabric collection contrasted against white.  There's one in the queue for my mother, and I'm thinking of a Dog Cabin. 

Seven Years

Seven years ago, I was losing my home, the Man was breaking up with me, and I had found out that Penny was going to die from a rare cancer.  My emotions were raw.  I spent the time commuting from work to the apartment sobbing, as the car was the only place that I had complete solitude.  Once I had moved into my new apartment with only my little Gidget Alice, I found that I needed to fill the empty space with a new little dog.  I found Piccolo on Petfinder, and drove to Detroit to adopt her.  She didn't want to come home with me, and spent most of her first days with me hiding under the sofa.  I coaxed her out with tasty food, and soon she and the Man fell in love, and he came back to us.  I tell her story every year around this time, and I'm so grateful that she fills my heart to where I think it will explode from love for her.  The most special and magical of pets. 

Change is Possible

Our hosts for the New York City weekend are both crocheters.  When we were planning our excursions, Tim wanted us to see the Lion Brand flagship store, at 34 W. 15th St.  Hell, no, was our response.  We had limited time, and didn't need to see that land of acrylic nastiness that we see when we go to the "big box" stores.  Sometime during the weekend, we decided that, more so to please Tim, that we should make the trip.  Color us gobsmacked.  Yes, the Homespun and fun fur is still there, but there's also organic wool, cashmere, and blends that you wouldn't expect, or find at WalMart.   Fresh, clever displays that have me itching to get some topiary forms that I can wrap with yarn for new Lucky Penny display.  The store was so customer friendly, and packed with shoppers.  More crafts that just knitting.  Crochet, weaving, and machine knitting as well.  A few years ago, at the airport, waiting to go to San Francisco for a photo shoot, I met one of the owners of Lion Brand.  He noticed me knitting, and introduced himself.  He mentioned that they were going to move forward with some high quality yarns, and out of the big box stores.  I made him touch the polwarth wool and cashmere vest I was wearing.  If you're planning a trip to New York City, I would recommend this store as a destination.  Look for the knitted tags on the door handles and bike rack in front.

Exploding Soup Dumplings

What did I want to do on my trip to New York City? My reply was shop, and eat.  Legendary exploding soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown.  Judging from the size of a New York City apartment kitchen, I would imagine that most people eat out, so there's lots of places to choose from.  They have cupcakes that are frosting with cake wrapped around.  Are there any like that in Chicago?  Wait, don't tell me.  I'm still recovering.  More in further posts about some interesting shopping, and something that you won't believe the yarn snob in me admitting.

Just so you know, I think Andy Warhol's work is divine.

Quotes of the weekend:
Shoe shine man to me on 6th Avenue:  "Don't hate me, but your shoes look like shit!"
(Admittedly, I was wearing some shoes that needed some work because of anticipated slush)
At the MoMA, while viewing a photo work featuring hair:
Tim:  That's a goatee.
Mary:  No, it's a patch.

What's Next?

I'm in a quandry about what to do for the Ravelympics event that starts on Friday.  I agreed to be on the Briar Rose team.  I have a few projects (!) going, but what to knit for this?  I can't imagine that I could complete a sweater in two weeks, but I found a few that have caught my eye.  There's also the possibility of doing another one of that vest I just finished and love.  I won't knit the project during business hours, as I'm trying to be disciplined about devoting that time to Lucky Penny only.  The project has to be somewhat portable, as I'm traveling this weekend!  If O'Hare doesn't close.  It will be a quick trip, so hopefully a certain person won't have time to completely trash the place like he did at Christmas. 
This is the Every Way Wrap from Interweave Knits, Fall 2009.  I didn't have a strong opinion about the design until I saw the garment in the Briar Rose booth at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool.  Their website has been updated, and looks terrific, if you want to take a look.  This is Abundance.  I'm about halfway through the project.