Memories of SS09

Hard to believe a week ago we were frantically dashing through last minute organizing and packing, and I’ve yet to recover from the blur of Sock Summit.

Hard to know where to begin and what to share. The weekend was an amazing calidescope of colors and people. Our booth was on the outside of the first row. Instead of being able to wave and chat with people in booths across from us we stared at a huge grey cinderblock wall.   Being on the beaten path to the restrooms on the other side of that wall wasn’t such a bad thing, there were some booths that didn’t get near the traffic.

We arrived shortly after ten Thursday morning and found very helpful convention center staff who cheerfully directed us where to park and where to go to sign in. There is a certain rushed hustle bustle that always takes over Ed and I when we set up or tear down from a shore. That rush takes over and we are incapable of slowing down, looking around or chatting with other vendors.  Once we were set up and had things more or less organized in that cramped 5 x 10′ booth we took turns quickly cruising through the hall checking out other booths and vendors. I did talk with a few, and finally got to meet Jocelyn , which was one of the highlights of the Summit for me. The hustle bustle seems to affect most everyone and there wasn’t much chance to really connect with people.  A great deal must be attended to before a show opens, vendors must have everything organized and ready as much as possible before the doors open or the first hours will prove either chaotic or dismal.

Our behind-the-booth neighbors, Cheryl and her helper, Kathy, of NewHueHandspuns were terrific. Kathy and I had fun talking violin stuff as we’re both adult learners. We’re planning to get together to play. I’m totally gobsmacked by how much yarn Cherly is able to spin. She’s one serious, dedicated spinner with a great eye for color. How in the world did I forget to buy some of her yarn?

The Marketplace was open to the workshop participants for two hours late Thursday afternoon. The place was like a madhouse (in a good way!) We’d anticipated lots of people going through all the booths checking out all the goodies and making lists of what they wanted to buy. Nope! The buying frenzy began at once.

Ed and I were kept on our toes during the two hours which passed like the snap of fingers. When the announcement was made we staggered out to the car and drove the hour home, already feeling exhausted. Dreams of the marketplace caused both of us to sleep restlessly until 5am when I rolled out of bed and stumbled down the hall to turn on the coffee pot.

Friday morning was much calmer though steady. Ed and I finally worked out a system where he took payments (ran the knuckle buster card machine and kept records while I wrapped the items (I used the silk hankies I’d dyed until they ran out sometime on Saturday – Ed hates touching those hankies) and tried to be available for stepping away from the booth to help people spin and/or demonstrate.

Shortly before 11 there was an actual break when no one was at our booth. Both Ed and I sat down for a moment – the first time I’d sat since arriving, and I’d just started to eat half a bagel to take the edge off the hunger that was beginning to grumble about such an early, long ago breakfast, when who should appear? The Yarn Harlot and Rachel! They were on a fast mission dashing past the booths waving tickets for the Knitting World Record Event taking place at noon. They hardly slowed down and the shock of seeing them pop by so unexpectedly paralyzed me. Then they were gone. Oh! How I’d longed to get in on that record breaking feat! I’d even brought a pair of straight needles and yarn. But I didn’t feel right leaving Ed alone in the booth. It’s tricky to man a booth alone when people are continually wanting demonstrations on using the tools, and most buyers were using credit cards which takes a great deal more time. One of the women from my spinning group was coming to help us in the booth but I had no idea when she’d be there. So with huge regrets I wasn’t able to get in on the world record breaker of over 900 knitters all knitting simultaneously.

Never before have we participated as vendors where I felt so left out of things. I wasn’t able to get to the booksigning and by the close of the Marketplace we were too exhausted to go to any of the scheduled events. We missed out on all the extra stuff.  Even after Sue arrived I managed to slip away long enough to say stop by Briar Rose Booth, looking for Anne Hanson (we ended up only having a very brief encounter when she took time to stop by our booth – she had a packed teaching schedule) and to say hi  to Jocelyn and Chris and eye those gorgeous yarns Chris dyes, then dashed over to get some food with protein only to end up sitting on a chair across from the booth wolfing down the rice and stir-fried beef with veggies, for the booth was busy again and Sue was in high demand as a demonstrator and teacher. She has a knack for helping new spinners learn to spin a lovely consistant yarn.

(I kept forgetting to take pictures, and totally forgot to get one of Ed wearing the vest I spun and wove which he wore on the other days. Pictures were taken the first time he wore it, I’ll be posting about the vest next time.)

We have a good friend who lives about 2 miles from the Convention Center who welcomed us to stay with her Friday and Saturday night. We both thoroughly enjoyed putting our feet under her table, eating her fabulous vegetarian creations and talking the evenings away. Fortitude is a wonderful person whom we’ve known since living across the street from each other about 24 years ago.

(Fortitude, heading out to meet friends for a long trail hike in the mountains.)

Leap ahead to Sunday morning when I was privledged to have a scheduled hour of  public demonstration/teaching Learn How to Spin using a Turkish Spindle at the Elizabeth Zimmerman Pavilion – ie Marketplace Square. This was the highlight of the show for me. The ladies and man who grouped around the tables were open, friendly and very supportive. It was a blast teaching them how to spin. Since I’d no clue who or how many would be there, and knowing that people would be coming and going at will, I didn’t take any extra spindles for them to work along with me but I managed to give them enough hands on. At the end several ladies told me that I should take up teaching; I should teach at Stitches, at SOAR! They’d taken previous classes but the light bulb went on during my demonstrations. Apparently several others bustled to our booth and bought spindles for by the time I’d finished answering questions and got back there Ed was beaming. Not only had they bought spindles but they also told him I should teach.

Imagine my surprise when at one point I looked up and saw Ed skirting the area snapping pictures of the demo.

Though we only shared stolen snatches of chatter, Ed and I were totally taken in by the dynamic duo of Tsock Tsarina and Gywniver aka Lisa and Jennifer from New York. The pair of them are a riot. They blurt out the same words simultaneously as if they can read each other’s minds. Just as we were about to pack up they slipped over and gifted us with their Empire Apple roving and laughter.

Sock Summit was an extraordinary experience full of cheer, positive people and goodwill. Despite sometimes long lines and crowds, and long distances to cover on concrete floors people were upbeat and thoughtful. We loved selling and talking to buyers face to face. Ed’s passion for woodworking is so clear when talking about his spindles or needles that it’s contagious.

As we scurried out with loaded dollie I dashed back to the Briar Rose booth and had Chris snap this picture. Thanks Jocelyn!

I only wish we could have figured out a way to have connected with some people  in a more meaningful, leisurely way. Guess that pleasure will be one of the joys of heaven!

 

Let the Sock Summit Begin!

Boxes, fiber and paraphernalia of all sorts litter the living room, trailing out from the storage room and office, spilling forth in the kitchen. Even in our bedroom the Sock Summit bug has left its mark evidenced in a couple piles of clothing to be packed tomorrow evening.

Most of our products and booth gear are packed, lists crossed off one by one, except for my long list of things I would have liked to accomplish in the knitting department, and bagging fiber duty. Two boxes filled with sundry sheepy fiber are waiting to be divided into small bundles and sorted into Fiber Sample packs. I’m totally rethinking that whole concept. The amount of time spent pulling fiber into equal chunks, rolling them and writing the sheep type on a tag then making sure each bag with 10 types of fiber weigh approximately the same takes hours. For three hours I sat on the floor last night, surrounded by bags of wool and such dividing, rolling, tagging, weighing. Sadly there aren’t many for that much effort at the price I charge. I should be on the floor finishing up another group of bags but I am tired.

In the past seven weeks we have made:

360 some spindles – (243 for SS the rest were sent to vendors needing them for workshops & classes)
124 pairs of circular needles. (70 pair were made in early June)
62 Hairpin Lace Looms (35 to go to SS)
As well as many individual and drop ship orders that day went to the Post Office
232 Books printed, cut and compiled, and that many dvds burned to accompany the books.
Copious amount of yarn for sample bits to be knit into tiny socks. (ha, managed to get only six knitted), and to weave into a shirt – which sadly hasn’t happened in time for Sock Summit
Finished my socks – whoo hoo!
Finished Ed’s Vest!  Halleluia! He wore it to church last Sunday. I was so proud I wanted to burst my buttons.  (Pictures to be forthcoming)

Ed’s exhausted. I’m exhausted. Tomorrow we head up to the Convention Center by 8:30 am to get set up. My house is a disaster. Aurora brought her sewing machine over this evening so I could sew the sleeves for our poster (sewing machine disasters this week, long story). While I was sewing, she washed my dishes. Sweet girl. She’ll also water the garden for us. We’ll be coming  back but won’t have time to tend it.

I need to go to bed.

 

Wedding Preps

Exhaustion and slight depression draped over me shortly after the wedding, attended by persistent cluster headaches. Probably a combination of all the long hours of preparations leading up to the day, emotions, and work.  I feel as though I’ve been almost a zoombie except for pushing myself to do the necessary tasks. Forget bloggins; By evening words skitter and flit through the brain, fingers key in wrong letters, cohesion is gone. Ironically, after two weeks of warm/hot weather, clouds moved back in this afternoon and a light, soft rain in pattering against the roof. It’s time to try to blog about the wedding.

Wednesday and Thursday (May 20, 21) I went to the home of Aurora’s future mother-in-law, Ruth, to begin making the salads. Wednesday it was just the two of us – a great chance to get to know Ruth better. I loved working with Ruth in her bright airy kitchen with ample space.

Periodically I’d spy a red tractor outside the kitchen window, slowly moving back and forth, raking up and down the long stretch of grass hay field. It was Grassman.

Raking Hay

Thursday Aurora and her two friends who flew out from Minnesota, Melis and Teresa joined me at Ruth’s for more food making and preparations. This time a cousin of Ruth’s and one of her sisters joined in the food making. Still, 40 pounds of potatoes and dozens of hard boiled eggs take a long time to peel and chop for potato salad. The next day my poor finger nails started snagging and peeling from being wet for so many hours. It’s a good thing that Aurora and friends took on the tasks that weren’t food related – she’d have ruined her beautiful French nails, for sure.

Teresa, Melis, Aurora and Ruth

At the vineyard Friday morning to set up tables and chairs, put together the last of the salads, cut and arrange fruits and veggies. To our immense dismay the refrigerator had stopped working. A part was ordered but it wouldn’t be coming until Monday. No fridge! Ruth took the potato salads back to their extra fridge at the farm, I took the coleslaw dressing back home, (hadn’t mixed it in the salad yet), the pasta salads I’d made on Wednesday would be fine. A friend brought up a huge styrofoam cooler full of ice that was placed on the top rack of the fridge with more packs of ice strategically placed near the wedding cakes with their layers of whipped cream frosting, and between the trays of fruits and veggies. After hauling all that food up there we did not relish the idea of hauling it all home and back again.

Teresa, Melis and other friends helped decorate the gazebo and reception haul. I’d left the house at 9 that morning expecting to be finished and back home by 2. Ha! At 2:45 I gave my apologies for baling out on the crew and frantically drove the 23 miles down the winding hills, through town – getting momentarily caught in the after-school traffic in Silverton (recently voted one of the top ten coolest small towns of the US in the magazine, Budget Traveler), to pick up Ed and frantically change into clothes then immediately turn around and head back to the vineyard for the 4pm rehearsal. Whew! Made it.

Meanwhile, Grassman continued raking the long fields of grass hay. The night of rain on Tuesday had come as the freshly cut hay was still drying. No matter that there’s a wedding coming, the hay must be turned and dried. He daily continued the journey back and forth across the fields and late into the night .  Taking a break only long enough to make it to the reheasal and the dinner afterwards at a nearby golf course.

Wedding details in the next post.

Today Wesley turned one year old. His birthday was celebrated at the annual Hazel bonfire Saturday evening.

 

Preparations

We have been accepted as vendors to the SOCK SUMMIT!!!

Oregon Convention Center in Portland
August 6 – 9

I’m dizzy with excitement, and filled with a small measure of dread at the amount of stuff that will need to be made in this next four months, squeezing in all the extra knitting needles between our regular orders – which have not slowed down.

Ed made a batch of circular needles for several orders this week. It’s my duty pleasure to write the size, etc on them. Those are centimeters on the ruler, I use a Susan Bates needle/hook plate (ruler) to help keep my writing more uniform – impossible on a round surface that’s only 2.25mm in diameter! The file is extremely fine – it’s used for any fine-tuning that might need doing to make the join between the cord and wood as smooth as we can make it. As careful as Ed is when he joins the two there are sometimes minute catches. Do you see the size on that baby? Until a few months ago Ed was not able to successfully turn a US1/2.25mm needle on his lathe without it exploding. His skills are amazing! I seriously do not believe there are many people on this planet who can consistently turn a 5.5″ long piece of wood that is only 2.25 mm. Let alone drill a hole in one end for the cord without drilling through the side.

You all know I’m one of the world’s slowest knitters, but I still fantasize of knitting socks, light shirts, maybe weaving material for a skirt. Hello? With tax bookwork to do (haven’t started – never mind that one hour spent organizing last years bank statements), weaving a wrap for our daughter’s wedding, and finding something suitable to wear for that, a garden that must be planted and tended. Do I need any sleep?

My body thinks so. That cold I mentioned lingering for two weeks. Yep. Still lingering. Most of the week I felt almost normal. Until Friday morning, when I woke up with a scrathy throat again. By evening the sinus were sqeezing my head. Yesterday morning my chest felt almost on fire. I laid low today, except for plying some yarn I spun earlier, knowing there are many orders that must be processed and mailed tomorrow.

You see, I took Friday away from work. Aurora and I had an appointment to keep.

Silver Falls Vineyards is where Aurora and Grassman plan to be married the end of May. By then the senses should be dazzled by the greens of the grass, vineyard, trees and many variety of shrubs, and the scent of early roses.

After taking a tour of the place and talking with the owner about facilities and other arrangements MC joined me for a trip across the valley to Woodland Woolworks. It’s a fabulous place to find all kinds of fiber goods, including weaving yarns, spinning fiber, looms and other tools that goes along with fiber activities. I’d forgotten how far away it is, along broad farm fields, across the Willamette River, through valleys winding around the hills between Portland and the Coastal Range, finally popping out in the small town of Carlton. But well worth the trip when in pursuit of the right combination of yarns to make the special wedding wrap, made even more enjoyable with MC along for the ride.

This week brought two delightful surprises in the form of packages.

The second package came from Sweden, a Moleskine that has now traveled from the Canada to Germany to Sweden, after it leaves my hands it will continue on to Texas, then Tasmania, to New York. Florida, on to California then back to Canada to complete the circle. You see, I joined The International Moleskine Exchange on Ravelry. Go ahead, click over to the IME site and take a look at the pictures of various entries on the Spoiler Picture thread.  This is the first group exchange I was not able to resist when I saw it the day it was formed.  I have loved writing in diaries and journals since a young age. There’s also been a hankering to try my hand at being a bit creative on paper. It’s been daunting, stretching and good fun. There are nine in my group, we each sent out a moley on the nine stop circuit and everyone adds to it as it comes.  The sender in Sweden, Greysparrow included tea and chocolate with the moley last month.

One was a total surprise from a dear blogger who so thoughtfully and lovingly knit me a red Swallowtail Shawl! I was (still am) stunned and touched to the depths of my soul that she put all that time, effort and love into such a fabulous gift. Accompanied by dark chocolate, tea, (Very good things to help soothe this cold bug. ), natural shampoo, felted slippers for Feather – do I feel spoiled? Though distance has prevented us from meeting in real life, we are kindred sisters of the heart.  Thank You!

 

Feeling Blessed

The longer the stretch between posts, the harder it is to write. Too many partial posts blogged in my mind that never made it to the keyboard.

Two more hats have been made and only the crown is left on the one I’m knitting for our son. How could I resist when he slyly said, “Where’s my hat?” as he fondled Wesley’s small grey hat. Trying to capture the pattern in written format for three sizes has been a challenge but it’s coming along.  Thank you to all who waved their hands and offered to test knit! I’ll be sending you the pdf as soon as it’s finished.

Feather’s hat is made out of Cascade 220 to see how well the pattern would adapt to a bulkier yarn. It turned out okay but looses the soft drape and wispy charm of the softly spun fingering wool which I’m convinced it partially mohair.
Green is her favorite color these days.

Little Bud was intrigued that Faith has a hat kind of like his.

The cold bug that seems to be going in circles looped around again and settled in for a two week visit. It’s not wanting to depart either. Almost everyone I know has been hit with this bug. Ed’s been keeping it at arm’s length which is good since he’s as busy as ever. He was able to take the weekend off and get away to the coast for the regional Friends men’s retreat.  I packed up the last of several store orders that had pending deadlines on Friday and heaved a huge sigh of relief that Ed was able to make such a massive amount of hooks, spindles and hairpin lace looms in about six weeks, get them finished and shipped. At the moment we have mostly spindles that still need making for various individual.

While getting ready to go to bed a couple weeks ago, I was thinking of all the good in my life and counting my blessings for the things I’ve been able to accomplish. Most times it seems that I don’t do much of anything worthy, or significant and it’d been one of those days of feeling a bit down and insignificant. We all want to leave some mark of our passing life for a brief while in this world.  It was good to take measure of things that I’ve been to be able to take part in:  Raise two children who are doing well as adults; composed a few pieces of music – one, a  jig, which has been written down and met with approval when Crooked Finger Band has played it for several occasions;  wrote a Christmas play that the kids had fun doing; contribute to our business wih the spinning book/dvd,  lifelong friendships…  But mostly what keeps repeating in my head for the past month is the saying that was on a plaque at the head of the stairs when I was little. I could read it by the time I was five. Daily I would stop and read it as I climbed the stairs to go to bed.

“Only one life twill soon be passed,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

I tend to hold my faith quietly and close to my heart. I wish I were bolder in sharing the wonders of the magnificence of our God. Sometimes I want to shout of His incomparable love from the housetops, the mountains – to shout, clap and dance with joyful abandonment. The reality is, I’am shy and feel inhibited most of the time. But, you see, it’s really not about me, I need to get out of the way and let God do the work.

Today I had one of the greatest privileges in my life: give the message at Meeting this morning. The pastor and four other men went to the men’s retreat, including the man who usually backup preaches. Two weeks ago when the pastor told me he’d like to go I’d offered to find the replacement but in the busyness of life time slipped past and suddenly  there were seven days left. What I’d been ignoring was a small inkling that kept growing with each passing day: there was a message I was to give. The first couple days as I processed and packed orders I prayed and thought and prayed. What a wonderful time it was! Inspite of interuptions of Justin dropping by with the kids on Monday, fixing food for a funeral on Wednesday, while working to get out that one huge order (100 hooks + knitting needles + hairpin lace looms) by Thursday,  babysitting Friday morning, there was a strong, steady communion with God. Reading the Bible in the morning as I ate breakfast and again in the evenings, trying to be open and listen to God’s leading, slowly the sermon came together. Gathering my Bible, extensive notess and purse, heading out the door to church this morning I wished for one more hour to meld it into a cohesive written whole rather than pages of written notes and an outline.  But the groundwork was well laid and the Holy Spirit was very much present. When I stood at the pulpit and started to speak the minutes flew by. The verses flowed, weaving naturally throughout the message of the Name that is above all names. The Word through whom and by whom and for whom everything in the heavens, on earth, and under earth exist. The One who spoke a name and I was created. Someday He will give me a white stone and on that stone will be a name that no one knows (Revelation 2:17) – my own unique name, the name that He spoke me into being. Every fiber of my being will shout YES! That is who I am.

I will be complete.

 

Christmas memories

On Dec 15th I was smote with the fact that only ten days remained until Christmas. We’d been slammed with work from a record breaking sales month of November and we were just finishing up the last of the orders placed mid-November, now our focus was on getting all the rest of the orders made and shipped in time for Christmas. Except for a brief foray to a couple stores Friday the 12th, no other Christmas shopping was accomplished, nor food bought, cookies baked or fudge made. The days were a blur of emails, phone orders, making and sending items.
The snow started falling late on the 13th and kept falling giving us a rare white Christmas. Twelve days of snow with intermittent freezing rain. Enough to make everything come to a standstill. We’re poorly equipped for the occasional snow that visits the valley floor. The highway dept doesn’t use salt, just plows, gravel, and a chemical that only works on ice and has to be applied before the roads freeze. Heavy cold rains moved in on the 13th, but not enough to dampened the enthusiasm and crowds for our annual acoustic Christmas music sing along at the meetinghouse. By Sunday everything was white. Not too worry, the snow was supposed to end with rain predicted on Wednesday (17th), I’d be able to get to town buy those last few items and groceries.

It snowed all day Monday and a good portion of Tuesday. That evening it warmed up just enough to melt the top layers which then froze into a sheet of ice. Instead of rain, Wednesday’s snow covered the ice and made perfect sledding down Grandview. The forecast for Sunday (21st) made me hopeful that I could get to town right after church. Instead we woke up Sunday to a weather inversion. Snow fell to about 3000 feet where it met warm air currents pushing up from the south and turned to rain until the 1500 level where freezing cold immediately turned all the rain to frozen pellets. Have you heard the sound of freezing rain on your roof? Thousands of tiny frozen shards sending ominous shivers through the soul. Only town people made it to meeting last Sunday, most come from the surrounding hills including our pianist and her husband the worship leader. The road out of town leading up into those hills was treacherous with ice. That morning I discovered that I can play one handed Christmas carols rather decently while the people sang along.   (How in the world was I ever able to read both clefs  at the same time while playing with both hands in ages past? )

As the service progressed so did the snow. By the time I slipped down Grandview, longing for my old crosscountry skis, the snow was coming down thick and heavy. At three o’clock the sun broke through the clouds for the first time in nine days. I grabbed my camera and rushed outside. Five minutes later it was gone, not to be seen again until Christmas day. With the snuffing of the sun the temperature dropped bringing a mix of rain and snow that froze onto our already ice encrusted world. Darkness had barely fallen when sounds of rifle cracks and booming cannons repeatedly echoed throughout the town and across the hills. Grabbing flashlights we wandered out to see and watch the damage as tree limbs crashed under the weight of ice and snow. The cold and darkness finally drove us back inside to the soup warming on our woodstove.  We’d started eating when I had the notion to  get my flashlight. I barely sat back down and picked up my spoon when the electricity went down. We scrambled for the hurricane lamp and candles. Just up the hill from us and the next block over the people in that grid were without power for over two days.

Monday more snow. Ed shoveled off the slight angled woodshed roof and propped 2×6x12 boards under the roof of the back porch to keep it from collapsing under the weight of the snow. That afternoon I stuck a roast in the oven and found we were out of potatoes. A little while later our pastor’s wife called asking if we had electricity. They’d been without since Sunday afternoon, in a house with no other heat source. “Come join us for supper.” I invited. “Bring potatoes if you have some.” They came. The potatoes peeled and water beginning to boil when our electricity went out. Not a problem, the roast was done enough and Ed set up the campstove on the back porch and finished cooking the potatoes and green beans. Another family was converted to our favorite mashed potatoes that evening: plenty of butter, a few spoonfuls of sour cream, enough milk for a smooth consistency, salt, pepper and celery salt – comfort food. We played games with their three great-grandchildren until bedtime. Sometime that evening the main phone line to town was taken out by a falling tree, no phone service until late the next day. By Tuesday I was getting desperate to get to town to finish Christmas shopping and pick up potatoes for my portion of Christmas eve dinner. A neighbor  taking his wife in to work gave me a lift. They’d lived in Alaska for about a decade and so reminisced much of the trip about life up there.

All this time the snow and ice had been playing havoc with our satellite dish so much of the time we were without internet. I managed to get in bits here and there to complete the last of the orders by early Tuesday afternoon. Pushing against the Post Office door, Ikea bag filled with packages, I was stunned to find it locked. Sign taped to the door, ” No electricity – CLOSED”. Imagine. The US postal service closing its doors in the middle of the day during the busiest time of the year. Half an hour later we lost our electricity for the second night in a row. I love having a wood stove. Really, I feel very fortunate – MC lives up in the hills, they were without electricity or water for five days.

Oh, there’s more!

Our daughter is finally engaged! When it came time to open the gifts Christmas eve, Aurora’s boyfriend Farmguy asked her to hand out the envelopes scattered in the tree branches. Snug on the tree top was a sparkly ring.

We wanted to make it to the Christmas eve service but got behind the snow plow coming the last three miles, then our car got stuck trying to cross the snow and ice into the church parking lot. By the time we got the car out the shepherds and wise men were descending the stairs. Later that evening I walked several snowy blocks through snow mixed rain savoring the dark quietly celebrating and contemplating the reality of the person of Jesus Christ.

The family all came over to our house Christmas morning for hot cinnamon rolls and opening stockings. Tender decadent cinnamon rolls with lots of butter and brown sugar.

The snow has lost the battle against the incessant rain that’s been coming down the past two days. Yesterday debating whether or not to make a huge batch of cinnamon rolls for Boxing Day, read a book, or pack a few more orders I turned on the computer to see what had come in and soon was sucked back into a somewhat normal work day. Later in afternoon Ed and I drove into town to celebrate my birthday at one of my favorite restaurants.  It’s been an interesting, and good week!

 

Contest Winners!

We sure like to complicate things some times, like making a contest out of asking what Ed likes listening to. As if you would have any clue. You were good sports and threw out some great answers. We had fun reading what you thought. It was all pretty straightforward and simple with everyone guessing having their name written on a piece of paper, folded and tossed into a hat.

Ed has always liked listening to the radio when he works. His preferred entertainment is oldies rock. He also likes older country. The real stuff, not the kind that passes for country the past few decades. Rounding out music he likes is bluegrass, again preferably the older styles; gospel; some r&B; loves big band. And Hot August Night (Neil Diamond) He is rather eclectic. Yes he does like classical but in small doses. He rarely listens to talk radio. Hates sports with a passion (sorry Pia!) Has never gotten into listening to books on tape.

The drawing took place just a few minutes ago, after Ed got home from fixing a neighbor’s door. It’s been a long past few days. We had the grandkids dropped off Sunday afternoon to spend the night and Monday with us. They both had colds and were a bit peevish. I’m now getting a cold. I’m trying not to be peevish.

Yesterday was catch up day for emails and orders. Ed had invited friends over for dinner so there was that followed by the women’s fellowship/Bible study which I was sort of responsible for leading last night. Today was the monthly spinning guild day. I enjoy that day of spinning with others though I went with mixed feelings since it seems that everyday I’m getting further behind with shipping out orders and doing bookwork. I really wish spinning day wasn’t the first Wednesday. The first week of the month is often my busiest.

Back to the drawing. All had been ordinary and calm until while driving and listening to the radio on Sunday Ed got the wild idea of adding a tricky twist – who is his favorite all time singer?

By last night Ed felt bad about being tricky so I removed all the names of everyone who actually guessed a person’s name leaving the names of those who only guessed what he listened to in the hat. Shaking the hat vigorously Ed reached in and removed a thrice folded paper.

Mary H AKA Turtleknitter Mary, you get the #7/4.5mm 32″L circular needles.

Please understand that as a rule Ed is very straightforward person who calls it as he sees it, no tricks, especially no puzzles or guessing games with him. So the truth is that his contriteness lead him to declare

To the six who braved a singer’s name

Marjorie
Beth
Granny Linda
Elizabeth
Jo (Limegreen)
Pia

he will make each of you either a pair of circs or a crochet hook in the size and wood you’d like. Let’s communicate tomorrow (Nov 6th) as to what you’d like in size etc.

Ah! But wait!!! There was a winner who did actually guess the name of Ed’s favorite singer but because of Ed’s deviousness she didn’t think it could be Patsy Cline!

Marianne of Okalahoma take a bow.

Thanks everyone for hazarding guesses and playing along!

 

ISP Woes

Wouldn’t you know it. Plans for last Sunday evening included email correspondence and leisurely reading blogs.  I settled into my chair, computer on lap. What’s this? No connection? For unknown reasons the servers supplying the wireless broadband in this community are not functioning. After a couple years of relatively fast internet reverting to dial-up is excruciating. Aggravated by a very slow dial-up connection of around 26kbs, if we’re lucky.

The person who owns the T1 line is in the final throes of getting his house built: final inspection this Thursday, builders took six weeks longer than initially projected, they’ve been “camping” these past several weeks while doing everything they can to expediate the process (and save dollars) as well as working full time. Providing internet service is a type of hobby sideline. Understandably taking any time to try to figure out what’s wrong is not high on his priority list. Really, I am trying to be patient and understanding, especially after talking with him Monday evening and realizing he’s on the edge of exploding from so much stress. Still… It’s very hard to be efficient with the online time when we have only one phone line and a business to run – doing a kind of tap dance between being online and off so phone calls can come through. Loading and downloading messages and webpages creep slower than a slug.

The Broomstick Lace Hourglass Jacket is coming along. The body is finished with only the sleeves left to do. I’d love to wear it to the Knit and Crochet Show taking place at the Portland Convention Center this Saturday when Ed and I are going to be at Stitch Diva’s booth signing crochet hooks and knitting needles at noon.  Please stop by if you’re in the vacinity!

Work on Ed’s vest has slowed to a crawl since my fiber time has been mostly devoted to the Hourglass Jacket. (I’m not even going to attempt to load any pictures today.)

Yesterday Faith and Wesley spent the day with us.  I got next to nothing accomplished work-wise, and I admit I was relieved when Justin came to pick them up when he got off work. But the joy of being with them outweigh my pursuits. Faith is such an agreeable, adorable child when she’s here. And Wesley is a cuddly, happy baby who seldom sees a need to cry unless he’s tired or hungry.

 

Three Sentences

A couple days ago John Carlton wrote an article titled: You, the Movie, tell your story in three sentences. This is a fun exercise which I plan to incorporate periodically in my blog.

Three Sentences: A story:
The plan was to spend predawn hours writing before the non-stop day with two young children sapped any creative energy. Quietly stealing into the kitchen for that wake-up cup of coffee, my heart fell at the sound of daughter’s cheerful voice heralding the day. A light sleeper with radar ears doesn’t bode well for early morning writing solitude… I took up running.

Hood to Coast ‘85

 

Short Video of Hairpin Lace

The video is less than two minutes. It’s not a teaching video, instead I hope it will provide a tempting little morsel of the working of hairpin lace.

The gauge of the wire is 22,  which I think is heavier than it needs to be. The steel hook is a 6, the loom is our Jenkins Walnut loom with the pins set at 1 inch. The heavy gauge meant using my fingers quite a bit to manipulate the wire as well as putting the hook to good use.

A trip to the local bead store is on the agenda for tomorrow to find a clasp to finish the bracelet by Thursday.