Wow, Did You See The Knits On That Girl

   I have always loved Broadway shows. I am also a huge fan of the TV show Glee. So when I heard about the upcoming new TV show, "Smash", I was determined to watch it and positive I would love it. Just like Indian food on Cape Ann, there is so little of it around that I enjoy with gusto even mediocre fare. But what I did not expect was the knitting fashions which  were special in their design and color choice. Within the first few minutes of the show(easily watched online),  Debra Messing's character,  Julia Houston wears a fabulous froth of a scarf that makes me wonder if she will ignite a whole new flurry of knitters. So Monday night at 10.00 on NBC tune in to see the knits and hear the music. After only one episode it is too early to judge the plot.
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Leslie

I Can Spin!

 

It is a guess on my part that I do not need to clarify that I am speaking of wool and not exercise. I have had a wheel for a few years but never made the time to really focus on learning how. My staccato efforts proved more frustrating than fruitful. So it was that I found myself at the MA Sheep and Wool Show with my wheel and a promise to myself to spin. Saturday evening I brought down my wheel to the screened in porch of the bed and breakfast. The sun was setting and chipmunks were shuttling about the yard. i had finished up the last of the fiber I had brought with me and took out a baggie passed to me that morning by Carole from Foster Farm. Not having much experience with different fibers I pulled out some fiber and tentatively started spinning. For whatever reason I felt like I could enroll in the spinning Olympics and win! I wanted to call her and make sure I had more than the baggie's contents to keep the magic going. Judiciously I waited until next morning. I can't explain how the texture of the crimp when drafted  felt so fulfilling. Add to that the shift of the color as it stretched and twisted in the process. Once home I quickly found online sources for all things spinning. I found The Knitters, Spinners, Weavers House Cleaning pages to be a good source for used spinning wheels. Going to the fiber festivals I was able to bring home my weight in roving.
 This is the first creative pursuit where I allowed myself a learning curve without castigation. Just the doing which I found calming in itself was enough. That the resulting yarn was imperfect was of little matter. No joke, I carried balls of my new yarn and showed it to cashiers in the supermarket or anyone who stood still long enough.
 Since then my spinner's trance continues with no slacking in sight.
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Leslie

Stitches South Booth 333- 335

   Off I go tomorrow to Stitches South this time sharing the booth with Sanguine Gryphon! I am sure that by the end of the weekend I will be determined to revamp my wardrobe. I met Gryphon at Stitches Midwest.  I walked up to her and asked if I could photograph her on the leather banquet in the coffee.  She had on the most amazing dress.   Am I as organized as I hoped? Well....not really. But I do have a bunch of cable needle rings made up and some shawl slides. I will post pictures of both upon my return.
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Leslie

Snow Angel

 The surprise April 1st snow will give way to pansies within the next few weeks.  This was taken at the doorstep of my friend Martha's home. 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stop & Shop

Well, actually in the supermarket early Sunday morning. I walk in to see a bunny, a clown and a manager (man in suit I am guessing) talking. How could I resist the moment? I did volunteer to be the bunny in the future.
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Leslie

Enough With the Worship of Perfection!

    Perfection is a ballerina balancing on one toe of her ballet slipper on the point of a pyramid. How long can she hold that pose and why is perfection a more credible state? I ask this from  the view point of someone who has undermined myself by being self hypercritical, surely a tactic that undermines energy and confidence. Often I come upon an old piece of jewelry that I have made  that I felt missed my goal. Holding that piece I realize that it was a step toward a design that was beyond my original idea. Now, as I expand my creativity into new directions I wish to validate all honest effort.
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Leslie

A Shanty House Warming

 With Cameron's Restaurant now closed, Three Sheets has nowhere to sing until we find another pub to host us. In our third week as nomads I decided that  I could host the group and make it a low key house warming/ Shanty singing night.  And so I did. It was not all I had envisioned it would be but it was. That it happened is what is important.  And I would love to do it again in better weather when we can sit outside instead of being crammed  into a room that seemed large until everyone showed up.
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Leslie