Mar 09 2010

And The Award Goes To…

Category: Internettage — Mistress Rows @ 3:57 pm

Hey how’s this for a neat way to feel the love?

Elizabeth of Trailing Yarn nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Now, I’m not sure if this award means beautiful in the “whoah-mama” or the high brow “beautiful on the inside” way, so you know what? I will gladly accept in the spirit of both. Heh. According to the rules, I have to list seven interesting things about myself, as well as nominate 7 other bloggers. I’m going to skip my usual suspects (who get many a shout out in the normal course of things) and focus on some of the bloggers I admire who are also folks I haven’t met.

Yarndude, Carole Knits, JennaKate, Lehcar Knits, The Weaving Studio, Yarn Shop Thoughts, & The Panopticon. Yeah, I know I threw in a big name there at the end. Franklin seems awfully down to earth, really makes me laugh, and I admire his work.

And now, my seven interesting things:

  • I am often supercharged by the company of others, so much so that I can become giddy/manic in public, but when I’m home I’m quiet and enjoy solitude/the company of just my husband. We refer to this in our house as Tina being ‘on’ and ‘off’.
  • I would rather eat no chocolate than bad chocolate, and will almost always pass up a regular American milk chocolate candy bar. I haven’t eaten a regular Hershey bar in over 8 years. Life is too short for swill.
  • I didn’t think I’d live to see 30, and was really excited to mark the milestone.
  • In 5th grade I was in the same class as one of the winners of the Toys R Us shopping sprees. Yes, they really were legit, and she had a blast.
  • I haven’t had a smoke in over 6 years and I still miss it.
    I’ve never been drunk. I enjoy a drink now and then, but I have a sneaking suspicion that overindulgence would be like letting the genie out of the bottle.
  • My favorite outfit consists of a low cut top, boot cut blue jeans, dark red lipstick, and black combat boots.

 

 

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Mar 08 2010

Recap: 2nd Annual Stir Crazy Stitch & Spin

Category: Friends & Fun, events — Mistress Rows @ 1:23 pm

Wow. Can I just say wow? I guess I could, but it would be doing the event a gross injustice. I guess putting the extra effort into promoting the event really worked… by the time the event was in full swing there were over 30 people attending, not counting children and visits from little dogs! I was completely blown away by how many wonderful people showed up, but what really knocked my socks off was how many new faces there were. THANK YOU to all who drove from near and (some very) far to join me at the Athens Cultural Center on Saturday, you guys and gals are awesome!

The Ambassador soaking up the sun, and who had plenty of water out of frame.

I got there an hour early to set up, mom and Nuala joined me very soon thereafter. Nuala sat in the window at first, greeting the early guests. What started out as a big, empty room soon started to fill and before long the place was hopping! So many beautiful projects, so many new faces, so much food. Our table was practically groaning from the all the good eats people brought to share. Best of all? Seeing far-flung friends, especially those I don’t get to see very often. I wonder if they feel like rock stars when I yell their names like a rabid fan girl?

Newcomers and lace divas, Ginnie & Kim.

Geri! Geri is probably the world's nicest person.

Things go by so quickly when you’re running an event like this. I feel like I barely sat down, but that was by choice. Greeting people as they came through the door, checking in on everyone individually (or at least trying to), it’s all something I really enjoy. The time flew by and it seemed like barely an hour had passed before it was time to do the raffle. Everyone who came got one chance in the pot, if you made a donation (no matter how small) you got a second chance. By the time I was done, Risa’s beautiful children and I had collected $88 for the Athens Cultural Center. People went home with some sweet prizes too, the donor list had grown to include Daisy Lamont Soap Co. (chocolate soap), Into the Whirled (Falklands hand dyed top), and one of our guests donated a 1oz ball of luscious brown, locally grown Alpaca top from their farm.

Some of the great prizes I gave away.

One of the best parts about the Stitch & Spins is seeing all the beautiful projects that people are working on. I was in awe of how gorgeous (newcomer) Kim’s Feather & Fan Shawl in Kauni lace yarn was. Oohs and ahhs were all over the place, be it from projects, wheels, or the stock some of our Indie vendor friends brought for us to paw through.

Kim's Feather & Fan Shawl from A Gathering of Lace, made in Kauni.

Marjan's (sp?) shawl, adapted from a blanket, if I remember right.

Katherine worked all night to have her quilt ready to work on for Saturday!

There’s so much more I could prattle on about, squeeing the whole way, but really… it’s probably time for me to stop. Suffice to say that I am touched and truly grateful to all. Thank you to the volunteers at the Cultural Center who let me use the space, thank you to mom for running to the store for me, thank you to all the vendors who donated prizes for the raffle, thank you to all the guests who came out on such a warm, sunny day to play. See you in June!

Jennifer(?) crocheting a pair of fingerless mitts.

Nora (Cultural Center volunteer) working on her rug hooking.

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Mar 04 2010

Save the Date

Category: WOOL, events — Mistress Rows @ 10:53 am

As the days start to warm up so does my events calendar! I know there are a few of you just itching for the announcement, so here it is:

WOOL 2010
August 5th-8th
Wiawaka Holiday House, Lake George, NY

Registration will open on Saturday, April 17th, 12:00 a.m. (aka midnight Friday night). Night owls can sit by their computers and pounce on sign ups before going to bed, early birds can snatch up the last Lake House spots on Saturday morning while the rest of us sleep in. The anticipation, it burns!

WOOL is all about the good times, you sould totally come.

In two days we’ll be gathering at the Athens Cultural Center for the 2nd Annual Stitch & Spin, and lo it shall be good. I’m expecting more (confirmed) new faces than the last few Stitch & Spins, and that’s very exciting. Better promotion online and off is a good thing! While new faces are wonderful, you know how much it means to me to see old friends from near and far at these events. If the company’s not enough to light your fire, how about the really sweet raffle prizes? Donations are forthcoming from:

There are 75 folding chairs there, so unless you have a special chair (like the gang and I do) don’t worry about bringing your own. Parking is on street-side, so if you can’t park on the same block, I recommend turning ‘round and parking on lower 2nd street, closer to the water. At the very least the river front park at the bottom has plenty of parking. It’s only a block from the Center, and the weather looks to be sunny and warm for Saturday.

The event runs from 12-5, and wouldn’t you know there’s a sweet little restaurant right across the street? Cameos is an American/Italian bistro, I’ve heard great things about their pizza and pasta. Athens is a no-stoplight little town so I’m very happy one of our three restaurants is so convenient for the event. Anyone who likes is welcome to join me for dinner, don’t be shy!

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Mar 02 2010

Gold! Knitting FO: Tilt

Category: FO, Knitting — Mistress Rows @ 6:30 pm

Pattern: Tilt, by Natalie Wilson, Fall 2003 issue of Knitty.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, color 83, and Cascade 220 in Charcoal.
Needles: US Size 8, Knit Picks Options
Started: When dinosaurs roamed the earth. (February 3rd, 2009)
Finished: About damned time. (February 28th, 2010)
Recipient: Me
Techniques: Knitting on the bias, three needle bind off
Mods: Subbed yarn for sleeves, collar, and seaming, buttons on bust only, knit sleeves in the round and split cuff, crochet button band.

Gold!

You know, it’s funny… the optimistic side of me seriously thought I might finish early. The realistic side of me knew better, and boy was it right. I reblocked Saturday night and Sunday morning I finished sewing on the buttons. Thank god for the fireplace, that’s all I can say, or it wouldn’t have been dry!

I love the sweater, love love love it. I can’t believe it fits! I seriously had my doubts. Because I knit by the seat of my pants, it really was a nail-biter when I went to try it on. A good, solid blocking for the body was definitely in order, it was snug unblocked. Once I added the button band and pinned it out, I knew I was all right.

A good soak is good indeed.

 

God I love that fireplace. It totally saved my bacon.

The Noro became much softer after a good soak, and I couldn’t believe how much nicer it was after it dried. The Cascade 220 also became much softer, rather velvety almost, and it’s not like 220 is all that rough to begin with. I’m thrilled with how well the 220 sleeves go with the body, they match exactly. I was so worried when I bought it, I didn’t have a sample of the Noro with me and had to rely solely on memory. Score!

Work it baby.

 

Side shot.

For now I’m going with the top buttons only, I like the look very much. I’m self-conscious that it hangs open over my stomach, but it would close nicely if I decided to add more buttons. Speaking of buttons, I lucked out at JoAnn’s on Saturday and they were 50% off. Huzzah!

Perfect, no?

I have three more, and could use another couple of packages if that’s the direction I end up going in. Something tells me I’ll leave it alone though, my stomach is what it is, and that’s that. I really don’t want to fuss with tons of buttons every time I want to wear it. Why not put a zipper in? Because I love the buttons!

Off center, but it'll do. I really like the crochet button band.

Steve did a great job taking photos, and I had a ton of fun posing for the shoot. You can tell by the look on my face how happy I was. I wore it to work on Monday and got a ton of compliments. Success!

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Mar 01 2010

Randomness & Reminders

Category: events — Mistress Rows @ 11:32 pm

Just a quick little pop-in to update on a couple of things:

  1. I did indeed finish my sweater, truly finish including buttons and blocking and all that jazz. I’m a Gold Medal winner, and it was far more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Perhaps I knew that subconsciously.
  2. I will post about it later this week, maybe even tomorrow!
  3. I’m spinning some more of Carolyn’s fiber, and I’m in love. If Carolyn and I weren’t both otherwise committed, and solidly Child Free by Choice, I’d considering using science to have little fiber babies with her. A collaborative dye session would accomplish essentially the same thing without the morning after factor and latex gloves
  4. The 2nd Annual Stir Crazy Stitch & Spin is this Saturday! If you’re local why not come join me and a bunch of other friendly fiber folk for an afternoon of fun? The Cultural Center offered to submit a press release on my behalf, and all of a sudden it’s already listed at the local radio station and who knows where else. How exciting!

Becky spins beautiful mystery fiber.

Speaking of the Stitch & Spin, if you’re an indie vendor, and planning to attend, would you consider bringing a donation for the raffle? It’s a great way to get your product handled and drooled over by some new (hopefully) faces and some business cards circulating. Leave a comment or drop me a line privately if you’d like to participate. Thank you in advance!

Mar 01 2010

Spinning FO: A Warm Return

Category: FO, Spinning — Mistress Rows @ 7:30 am

Fiber: “A Warm Return” 100% Merino from Into the Whirled
Wheel: Lendrum DT, 6:1 ratio whorl
Weight: 4oz/113g
Yardage: 328 yards, “3″ ply
Diameter: Sport
Techniques: Spun worsted, chain plyed.

A Warm Return, from Into the Whirled

A Warm Return, from Into the Whirled

I spun this up in about a week, start to finish, but it took me over two to get it up and posted. I blame the Knitting Olympics!

Love it!

Several weeks ago, probably just before or after Christmas, a few of us were sitting around at Knit Night, when we got to talking about fiber clubs. Cris and I went back and forth on what it would be like to start one, bouncing ideas off of each other, and the other spinners in the group. As she is a woman of action, it wasn’t long before the call went out on her Ravelry forum that she was doing a club based on member submitted photographs. The top three would each become a colorway, and away she went! The offering for Jan/Feb was based on a photo of Robin’s eggs in a nest, seen in a woodsy bush. Lots of beige, brown, and blue. As the club is a la carte, and I had the $15 to spare, I didn’t hesitate to join up. When my package arrived in the mail I hurried to finish my current spinning project so I could start on the fiber as soon as possible.

 

The single, early on.

As always, spinning Cris’s fiber is an intensely pleasurable experience. The merino was fluffy and easily drafted, nary a nepp or compacted fiber in sight. But what really had me mesmerized were the colors. I knew right away that I was going to chain ply this skein, no two ways about it. I wanted those colors to remain vibrant and distinct, no muddying or barberpoleing for this skein. I realized as I started to ply that I hadn’t done a chain ply in forever, months at least. Like riding a bike, it’s not something you forget.

Chain plyed and just how I imagined it would be.

I was dismayed when I skeined it off the bobbin to find that it was a terribly twisty mess. Not sure what I did wrong, I haven’t had a noodle-nest like this in longer than I can remember.

Noodle nest!

Still, a good bath and brutal whacking seemed to settle the situation and it was hung up by the fire to dry. Fresh yarn drying by the fire is a beautiful thing.

A Warm Return, drying by the fire. Very fitting.

Since I only have four ounces, my options are limited. Do I make socks? I really should, it’s the perfect diameter for some cushy, comfy socks. But it’s so pretty! Socks really do seem like the best idea… I have a thing about wearing clashing hand knits together, so making a cowl or hat doesn’t seem doable. I’ll mull on it for a while, but for now, oh… for now I’ll happily pet my skein and coo just a little when no one’s around to hear me. I can’t wait to see what Cris comes up with for the next installment!

I'm pleased with the results!

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Feb 24 2010

I Do What the Yarn Tells Me To

Category: Internettage, WIP, events — Mistress Rows @ 5:00 pm

Ever feel like your yarn talks to you? I think, even if it’s only the voice I give it in my head, that mine kinda does. Don’t you judge me, you know what I mean! “When are you going to blog us” ask two skeins of recently finished handspun. “When are you going to list us” ask the two colors of BFL roving I dyed last week. Strangely enough, my works in progress doesn’t say a damned thing. It sits, smugly, in my project bag and travels with me to work every day. It is secure in the knowledge that I am diligently working away and am this close to finishing. It knows there’s no way in hell that I’m not going to blog about it at the soonest possible moment, and that I’ll photograph it at work (where the light is good), on my lunch, if I have to.

Fear not, little skeins, I’m getting there.

Speaking of getting there, I’ve ripped out the offending collar of my Tilt sweater and am currently reknitting it correctly. I started it with yarn from the virgin skein, just for a few rows, and will be switching to the washed and blocked yarn tonight. The sweater fits great on top, but across my stomach it gaps as things stand right now. I may have to do a button band of sorts after all.

Painfully artsy shot of the once and future collar.

Oooh! I forgot to share some really cool news here on the blog. The 2nd Annual Stir Crazy Stitch & Spin was mentioned in the 57th episode of the Manic Purl podcast! Kim sent me the heads up on that tidbit, and I almost peed my pants in excitement. The episode is called Swatch Like a Champ, and the mention is the first item in the News portion, about 19:30 in. Thanks for the unexpected plug, Manic Purl! The event is only 10 days away, and if you’re a local reader I hope you can join me for a great day out amongst fellow yarnies.

There was something else too, but my brain leaks like a rusty bucket and now it’s gone.

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Feb 23 2010

Olympic Knitting Update: 2/25

Category: Knitting — Mistress Rows @ 12:00 pm

 The sweater, she is done! Or… mostly done. Or she would be done, all but the buttons, if I hadn’t noticed during the blocking that I made a real bonehead error. An error that, for the entire time it took me to knit the collar and weave in a bazillion ends, eluded me. This error even eluded me whilst pondering the collar, and the seemingly odd (but not so odd as to identify itself as a glaring mistake) little leftover flap. This isn’t my first rodeo folks, there’s absolutely NO reason I shouldn’t have caught this before I blocked.

Yup. Definitely made a mess of that. Forgive the flash photo, there's not a lot of light first thing in the morning.

Yeah… feelin’ kinda stupid right now. You can ask Steve though, I did NOT freak out. Not one little bit. Despite the fact that the sweater could have been blogged and worn as an FO tomorrow (had I the buttons), I did NOT freak out. I merely continued patting and stretching my sweater, calmly, from my seat on the living room floor.

Me: (completely conversationally) “Honey, I made a mistake.”
Steve: (tensing) “Really, what happened.”
Me: (patting and tugging) “Somehow I completely forgot to pick up the entire collar’s worth of stitches, so my collar is lopsided, there’s this flap here that’s all alone, see?”
Steve: “Oh… wow. So you’re going to have to… rip it out? Will you finish in time?”
Me: (inspecting error) “Yup, I’ll have to rip the collar out and redo it. But the Olympics don’t end ‘til Sunday, so I’ll be fine. I just hope the seams stretched enough and it actually fits.”

See? No over reacting, no deadly pool of error induced rage while knitting on a very public deadline. No husband contemplating sneaking out of the room when my back is turned to avoid the meltdown. It’s like I channeled my own inner Buddha. Creepy, no?

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Feb 22 2010

The Good Stuff

Category: Friends & Fun, Knitting, Spinning — Mistress Rows @ 4:00 pm

Sorry for the radio silence, but as of Thursday afternoon I was officially wallowing in The Good Stuff. Stuff like good friends, good food, and good times. My friend Amy and her husband John came to visit all the way from Virginia! They were with us from Thursday evening all the way through late Sunday morning, and we were thrilled to have them. Amy is chronicling our adventures over on her newly re-launched blog, Mrs. Darsie’s Menagerie. Apparently our little corner of Upstate New York is rife with gourmet goodness, as there was much time and cash spent in local specialty shops Verdigris Tea, Strongtree Coffee, and our sushi joint, Oscars.

John & Amy in Verdigris Tea Shop, Hudson, New York.

‘What better way to spend a birthday than with friends’, that was Amy’s motto… and we did everything in our power to help ramp up the goodness. I gave her two skeins of Guilty Pleasures in the Mean Girl colorway, which was inspired by one of our shared favorite shows, True Blood, and some fingering weight shawl patterns. Saturday I had some of her Knit Night and WOOL friends to visit, and we laughed, munched, and knit/spun by the fireplace to our heart’s content. Later, we joined a huge group of friends that all converged in her honor at a restaurant in Kingston. The awesomeness was profound, but then so is she.

Mrs. Darsie.

After John and Amy left on Sunday we pretty much collapsed. I hadn’t been feeling truly “on” while they were here, and I feel bad that I wasn’t as sparkling and interesting as I would have liked. Friends love you anyway, right? We didn’t budge from the couch for anything but bathroom breaks, food, and reloading DVD’s for the rest of the afternoon, that’s how vegetative we were. But… I did finish my Olympic Knitting! It’s all over but the blocking and the buttons! Well, that is, unless the seams give me trouble and don’t block out the way I’d like. Then I’ll have to unweave the ends and unzip them. I’ll have my fingers crossed.

I didn’t knit a stitch on my Olympic knitting until Sunday, instead I spun the entire time they were here. I bought a braid of Carolyn’s roving off of Harriet when visiting her earlier in the month, some new-to-me Falklands fiber. I didn’t get a lot of spinning done the day I bought it, so in essence I spun and chain plied it in four days, while gallivanting with company. Not bad!

"Carribean", Falklands wool from Seekay Craft, pre-plying.

Before I wrap things up, I want to thank everyone who left me such supportive comments on my last post. I forget sometimes that there are far more people who read this blog than comment*, and it means a lot to me that I’ve been tapped for this. The CBS 6 blog area might be small, and just starting up, but I believe I can write some fun and informative content for them. I can only hope that the readership will grow, and I thank you all again for leaving comments over there in support of the new blog. The next post goes up tomorrow!

 *It’s a good thing I never write anything here I wouldn’t say to a complete stranger.  I have a wide mesh filter.

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Feb 17 2010

News Flash!

Category: Internettage, Life & Stuff — Mistress Rows @ 3:00 pm

There’s been a bit of an uproar over the past two days, as some of you know. I have been contacted by CBS 6 News (WRGB) and offered the opportunity to write as a staff blogger on their website! They’ve recently launched an interactive blog section, and have invited pre-screened bloggers to write on a wide variety of commentary and special interest topics. I almost thought the email was a hoax, so I called the office number to see what would happen. It was legit, so via email and phone, we worked out all the details. They told me my blog had not only really high traffic for the area (really?!), but they very much liked my voice and quality of content. Let me tell you something, *that* was quite the affirmation. I do this because I love it, but it’s always nice to hear that you’re on the right track. 

I’ve been given sole authorship over the blog, and complete creative license as to what I write about. Of course, my first choice was to write about fiber arts, community, and festivals. I floated the name “Fiber Lust Confessional” past them, unsure if it was too risqué, but the reply was “we LOVE it!” Some of you might remember that as the tagline from the Phoenix Blog. I spent the evening working on the first post, on the promo graphic and banner, and getting the back end set up. As of right now, I’m all set, my first post will auto publish tonight at 5 p.m.! 

Click on the image at 5 p.m. to see the new blog!

 

In case you’re wondering, these kinds of gigs are almost always unpaid, so the compensation comes in increased readership, exposure, and the ability to claim a writing credit. They don’t have an about the bloggers section yet, but it’s coming. When it does, you’ll see a short bio and a link to Rows Red from there. 

Seriously, I totally wasn’t expecting this. My handler, Chris, is 100% supportive so far and I’m over the moon. Over the moon, I tell you! And let me not forget to mention that just a few hours later, that very same evening, I got an email with an invite to blog at the Time Union with Harriet’s gang. What are the odds? I would have loved to blog with Harriet, Aaron, and the rest of the group over there on the TU. Since I’d already started negotiations with CBS 6 I had to decline, but wow. Exciting! 

That's abut how excited I am.

 

The blog section on CBS 6 is just starting out, but if you’d like to read my patter over there as well, I’d really appreciate it. You can find my blog here, though right now you’ll get an error because I have no posts up yet. Don’t worry, that’ll change come 5 p.m. Eastern. If it doesn’t, don’t worry, I’ll fix it as soon as I get home (5 p.m.). What will you see when you get there? Well, a rather goofy photo of me, for one, but I have so few good headshots that aren’t of me at work, or with other people at fiber shows. Today’s post will be just a light hearted intro, future posts will cover the gamut from product/shop reviews, festivals, interviews, personal projects, news, stories… pretty much anything and everything. 

Wish me luck! And you might want to put your raincoats on because I swear to god, I think my head’s going to explode. It could get messy. 

P.S. – The blog banner looks really choppy on some computers, not sure if it’s a browser thing or not, but I’m going to tweak the file tonight when I sit down at the computer.

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