Hurt, but still worth it!

That would be Interweave's Hurt Book Sale! There are still many bargains left, including hurt copies of my book, Elements of Style: Knit + Crochet Jewelry....

Hurry over and get yours!

This 'n' that

Today I'm feeling kinda random.

Last Sunday, we went sailing on SF bay on a friend's boat. It was gorgeous. Pics soon!

Monday, my book was featured on the Knitting Daily blog! I had a great time being interviewed by Sandi Wiseheart. She is awesome!

I had a knitter's nightmare last night. I dreamed that I had almost finished a stole (I'm pretty sure it was the Kimono Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls out of Royale Hare hard twist sock yarn). When I looked down and stretched it out a little to see the lace pattern, I found all sorts of moth holes in it. It was awful! Thankfully, I woke up soon after.

This is a poem my 9 year old son wrote and read for his swim team's potluck and talent night. He wrote it by himself; I am blown away by him!

The 50 Free

The whistle sounds.
Up on the block I hop,
the clock going tick-tock.
The starter says “Take you mark.”
and the buzzer goes off – “BEEP!"

I bound off the block
like a mad man can.

The splash and dash
cut a gash
of whitewater through the pool.
All throughout the valiant duel
the water so cool.

A trail of whitewater as long as a snake’s tail
slashes through the pool.


He did a great job reading it too!

Hearty

I've been lucky enough to be playing with some of Lisa Souza's lovely yarn lately. I won this skein of Sock! in a blog contest over on Trek's blog and it was the right time of year to be knitting it. It's the St. Valentine colorway!

But I didn't do socks. You know, I just can't get into socks. I have tried! Maybe because I've never knit myself a pair? Only my husband, and he wears a size 13. And likes plain socks with ribbing all the way up. :yawn: Can you blame me?!

So, at any rate, I designed and knitted up a little scarf. There are hearts involved. :) Here it is in the awkward stage.

Waiting to be blocked.

I think I actually knit lace faster than other projects because I want to see that amazing transformation. Somehow, even though I know that lace looks terrible before blocking, I always doubt that it will once again transform itself into something beautiful!

Tune in tomorrow and we'll have the results! Plus a pattern. :)

In other news, I have gotten word that Library Journal will be reviewing my book! Terri tells me this is a very Good Thing. (She should know, since she got a prestigious starred review of her book, Selbuvotter!) I am on pins and needles until February 15. Ulp!

HALP!

Here's the situation. I'm giving a demonstration at TNNA this Saturday and all of a sudden, I am feeling completely insecure about it. It has to do with projects from my book using Habu's silk/stainless steel and/or merino/stainless steel. So let me ask you here: what would you be interested in having demonstrated? Bead placement? How the material creates interesting sculptural shapes? Something else? What questions do you have? Eek - help please!

Blog Tour! and a little Musing

First I want to thank all of you who have been leaving comments and writing to me about Bijouterie. A lot of you have never tried knitting with wire before, and I am SO excited that you are making these earrings! I am really enjoying seeing them all!

This week my book and I are making the rounds!

We've got some great stops planned!

First up is my girl Scout on Monday, December 15th. She is a huge inspiration to me and I just think she is the best! And have you seen her photography? And her yarn? :swoon:

Tuesday I will be over at the Art Bead Scene blog. You must check out this blog. It is full of fascinating studio visits, tutorials, and great jewelry. I've been a reader for some time now!

Wednesday, I'm visiting Steph at ...and she knits, too! Steph, for those who don't already know, completely rocks! And one of these days, I will meet her in person (and probably have a nice long philosophical discussion). Mwah to you, Steph!

Thursday, I'm off to Sweater Surgery. This is a completely wild and crafty blog! Wait 'til you check out the recycled sweater turkey a few entries ago! Really. You must see. :)

And Friday, I'll be TurtleGirl's guest on her special pr0nny Fridays. Can I just say? TurtleGirl is teh awesome. She makes me smile every time I read her blog or correspond with her. :)

A big and giant thank you to all of my hosts! I hope you'll stop by, check out the projects and Q&A, and then stay awhile and look over the rest of these great blogs!

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And a little musing for Monday:

"If you don't try, you've already failed." - me, every day, to my kids :)

Have a great week, everyone!!!

Join Me!

I'll be at Knitterly in Petaluma CA this Saturday, December 13th, at 11 am to chat, share projects from my new book and sign books! My friend Susan Mall of Eastside Farm and Zin fame is providing munchies! I'll be there from 11 to 12:30 and then teaching a workshop in the afternoon from 2-5! We'll be swatching wire and experimenting, and then making the swatches into a necklace from my book! The workshop fee is $60, and materials (wire, rubber cord) are provided. BYO needles and hooks. :)

If you like Bijouterie, then my guess is you'll like my book, Elements of Style! I hope you can join me!

A Review!

I was Googling around last night after hearing that my book had shipped from amazon.com and look what I found! My first review! How cool is that? And E tells me she's already started this pattern:

from her copy! I feel all official now. :)

It's here!

First: I am teaching Ice Queen and the Delta Queen scarf at Knitterly in Petaluma this Saturday. There are still a couple of spots left, so if you are local, come on down!

..................

Well...I didn't get to go to Rhinebeck this year. :( But the FedEx man did bring a pretty cool package. :)

It came from Colorado.

Since FedEx has officially declared my little town "The Stix," priority overnight can mosey on over any time before 4:00 instead of the usual 10:30. So by afternoon, I was anxiously awaiting my package, and went running downstairs when I saw the truck from the window. I think the FedEx guy may have been a little taken aback.

I stared at for a long time. And then I went back to work. Somehow, I didn't want to open it.

I started to open it. I put it down.

But then the guys gathered around and the opening began in earnest.

It was wrapped in cool paper.

Taped neatly.

The advance copy of my book!

There was a lovely note inside.

I stared at it for a long time.

And then I opened it!

I thumbed through it and checked out a few of my photos that had been included (very exciting!).

It was surreal.

It seems so long since I worked on it: a very strange feeling!

The verdict? I love it!!!

More about those earrings

I took a few pics for everyone of the earrings I was wearing on Stephanie's blog. (And because I love these earrings.)

They may be my very favorite project in the book!

They use rose quartz nuggets and silver plated or sterling silver wire.

The wire is knit around a frame that you form first. I particularly love

that until you see them up close,

You can't tell they are knitted.

It's your little secret. :)

People are still asking if I intend to sell them. So far, I don't think I will. We'll see though. But you can make your own! And I may even post a few tutorials when the book comes out.

Those Earrings

So! People have been asking about those earrings (and the necklace) that I'm wearing in the pics on the Yarn Harlot's blog. Nope, they aren't for sale on my site, but they are projects from my upcoming book! And you all can totally make your own pair!

Ok, now I just have to say it again: the Yarn Harlot ROCKS! Thank you for coming to Santa Rosa, Stephanie, and for being so wonderful!

That is all. :)

Dudes!

I have a new cover!

I like it. :)

The book is due out in late November. Eeeeeeee!

Dude!

The other day, Prudence pointed out to me that my book-to-be is up on Amazon.com for pre-order! Ulp. I didn't know this, and it was very odd to go there and, well, there was my book! And you can pre-order! I already said that, didn't I?

Those of you who are seasoned authors have taken this is stride, I know, but I am still awed by the fact that my book is on Amazon.com. Wow. Meanwhile, I am editing. It is all very surreal. But look! In my sidebar! There it is! For pre-order! ;)

Somehow, it seems more real

My book, that is. I have an ISBN and a real title, not just a working title! Even though I think the process has been going quicker than most, it has seemed long and drawn out for me, someone who has never done a project like this before. I first started talking with Interweave a little more than a year ago. It has gone by fast! But not, if you know what I mean.

So...my book. The real title is "Elements of Style" and it is officially due out in October. I absolutely lurve the title. Adore it. And am honored by it. And a little scared by it. :ulp: Now is the time - after everything is in and we have been editing for awhile - now is the time that I am starting to get really nervous.

But enough of that!

Thank you for all the great titles! I will announce the boys' pick this weekend. I had a much needed laugh. :)

And now I think I am going to go vegetate in front of a movie and maybe spin a little. :g: Have a great weekend!

Back in the Land of the Living

And it feels good. Yes. It. Does.

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Thank you all so much for your kind wishes, both about Andy and my long hours working. I wanted to add that, although Andy was the son of my husband's classmate and friend, I was never lucky enough to meet him personally. And, well...it just shouldn't be this way. So much has been lost in Iraq. I will forward your kind wishes on to his family.

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Well, all my book materials are in! Wooooooohoooooooooooooo! Although the day I blogged about was a particularly long one, that's about what happens when you try to squish the workload from a book into an already busy life! And like Junie said, that's why I've disappeared.

So, I'm on to the most important past of my post: my kind, patient and wonderful Secret Pal, SpinningJenny, who spoiled me rotten, picked amazingly wonderful gifts, and is a complete sweetheart. Even when I got completely overwhelmed and dropped off the face of the Earth. Thank you Jenny!

And now since I have had the time to fix the camera software finally, here are some pics of a hank of absolutely amazingly gorgeous laceweight she sent me from Cherry Tree Hill.

Mmmmmm.

I might have gone a little overboard to make up for lost time here. :)

And then she sent me a package with my very favorite candy that I completely forgot to mention in the questionnaire (duh) but that she ferreted out of me in an email exchange: Ritter Sport marzipan bars. She sent me two. The second one didn't make it to the photo session. Heh. Or I should say "urp."

And the hank of yarn? Her handspun. Yes!

Is it not delectable? I wish I could do it justice! It has these gorgeous strands of shiny stuff spun in and it is so soft and lofty. I need to come up with the perfect pattern.

Thank you so much Jenny!!! I so enjoyed meeting you!

Next, we have my only holiday knitting: for my little ones. I used Cascade's Eco Wool + (my favorite yarn now for almost three years running!) with the Fiber Trends kids' felted clogs pattern. Here they are before felting.

And after.

I am always amazed at the magic of felting, no matter how many times I do it!

And believe me, I've been doing a LOT of it!

Here is the requisite modeled shot.

And last of all, I wanted to thank everyone who has written me kind notes about Ice Queen (queue it here on Ravelry)! I am so glad you all like it - and you absolutely make my day when I get those notes. It's been a huge (much needed!) energy boost. Thank you thank you!

And now, I have a lot of catching up to do in my life! Have a great weekend y'all!

A Day in the Land of the Sleep Deprived

12:00 am: Glance at clock and note that it is midnight and you are still working.
12:30 am: Think about going to bed and realize that your deadline is tomorrow and you have 16 hours to get book projects to FedEx. And that you are emphatically NOT a morning person.
1:00 am: Begin playing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" sung by Iz. Over and over.
2:30 am: Begin to think that you know Iz personally. Decide to play a different song.
2:45 am: Realize that you are unable to see tiny black stitches any longer. Even under light. Drag yourself to bed.
3:00 am: Lie across bed with clothes on.
3:45 am: Wake up still with clothes on. Take them off and get into bed.
8:00 am: Awaken to hugs by 4 year old. Realize that this is the definite high point of the day.
8:05 am: Look in mirror. Scream.
8:15 am: Eat cereal. Drink caffeine.
8:30 am: Bead. Sew. Assemble projects.
12:15 pm: Eat left over curry. Drink caffeine. Thank Powers That Be for wonderful husband, currently with kids upstairs.
12:30 pm: Try to retain concentration when husband and kids come downstairs for lunch.
12:45 pm: Fail.
12:55 pm: Realize you are completely brainless and incapable of working with kids in near vicinity.
1:10 pm: Work.
2:00 pm: Realize you have made same mistake 3 times.
2:30 pm: Become frustrated while looking at misshapen felt ball.
2:35 pm: Lecture felt ball.
2:45 pm: Realize you cannot both bend felted balls to your will and make FedEx deadline. Cry.
3:00 pm: Take pictures of finished projects.
3:30 pm: Pack projects.
3:50 pm: Do FedEx label.
3:55 pm: Realize you have no ink in printer. Curse loudly.
4:00 pm: Make pdf and print label from other printer.
4:10 pm: Work on uncompleted project before going to FedEx.
4:45 pm: Decide to leave for FedEx.
5:00 pm: Realize that Colorado is probably NOT west coast deadline of 6:00, but is EAST COAST DEADLINE AT 5:15!
5:05 pm: Cry.
5:10 pm: Become stuck behind three semi trucks turning left.
5:13 pm: Run through possible ways to convince FedEx personnel to take pity on you.
5:15 pm: Arrive at FedEx.
5:16 pm: Find out for sure that Colorado deadline IS 5:15. Stare in horror at clock.
5:17 pm: Find out that FedEx personnel are Good People.
5:18 pm: Celebrate.
5:45 pm: Return home.
6:00 pm: Eat delicious dinner prepared by aforementioned wonderful husband. Feel very very lucky.
6:30 pm: Work.
7:00 pm: Realize you are making same mistake again.
8:00 pm: Put kids to bed.
8:30 pm: Resume making mistake.
9:00 pm: Begin chanting "Don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up."
10:00 pm: Chant. Work.
11:00 pm: Chant. Work.
12:00 am: Collapse.

Aargh!

The camera software is bunged up and I don't have any time to de-bugify it. So you are all going to have to imagine the gorgeous surprise that my Secret Pal sent me. It is hand dyed in a plummy purple, it is mohair and it is laceweight. What could possibly be better?! I've been fondling it. It is hanging by my work space beckoning to me to cast on with it. It is my reward. Yes, my reward.

And while you are imagining that, imagine me crocheting, and hand & needle felting for hours at a time. Did you know that hand felting is great exercise for your triceps? Neither did I!

Hopefully I can convince hubby to fix said camera software by Friday so I don't have to take time away from my stealth felting activities. 'Cause dayamn, this blog is boring without pics! (And no! You may not tell me it's boring with pics too! That's TMI for my tiny brain!) ;)

Gen-U-ine Knitting Content

I know things have been fairly sparse blogwise around here lately, what with all the work on my book and my yarnball earrings (scroll down) appearing in Vogue (woooooooo!). But today, I have real, honest-to-goodness actual gen-u-ine knitting content!

I've actually done a little bit of relaxation knitting on the cover project, Komon, from Knit Kimono (I love this book!). I went stash diving and came up with a wool yarn that has a lot of drape to it: the Novelty Buotone from Handpaintedyarn.com, color Treintaytres. I didn't swatch (I didn't feel like it - so there!), but so far so good! :) Here is some tweedy goodness:

And a look at the stitch pattern.

It is super easy to memorize. Perfect for mindless little bits of time, and for Saturday morning knitting group (my "me" time every week!) when I can talk and not get completely screwed up from lack of concentration.

And here is a little teeny tiny teaser for a project in my book.

I know. It's a really small clue. But it is coming out so cool that I can't wait for everyone to see. :) It looks way cooler than the sketch I drew up! Which is a very very good thing, if you get my drift. It's just a good thing that my wonderful editor can see beyond the clunky sketches!

Hope everyone has been having a great week!

Gal with a Hook

Never let it be said that this is not an equal opportunity blog. As evidence, I present my latest acquisition: a set of steel crochet hooks.

Yes, there has been stealth crochet happening in this studio, as well as stealth knitting!

And more importantly, I want to thank all of you so much for leaving comments, even though I have been so ridiculously busy that I haven't been able to visit you very much. You all rock! And it's so awesome to read comments! You all regularly make my day. :)

Back to hookin'.

Friday Eye Candy

First, I want to thank all of you so very very much for all of your kind comments about my Mystery Stole 3 swan and feather pins, and the ball of yarn earrings! And for your orders! You made me feel so great! And now I'd better change the subject before I get all mushy. :g:

Today, we have eye candy up the wazooooo!

Here is the Perfect Purple courtesy of Rowan.

Is it not divine?!

And here, for the traditionalist, we have some alpaca "moulinette" from Misti International.

Moving right along here, we have some gorgeous laceweight linen from Louet. I love this stuff. Absolutely. Love. It.

Here is the color card for Louet's spinning and felting fibers.

Also from Louet...just feast your eyes on this dyed Corriedale top! :swoon:

Look at those amazing colors. They are so incredibly bright and vibrant that it is difficult to capture them adequately. I am in color heaven.

Those who know me may recall that I am not a spinner. Angela tried to enable me with a drop spindle and some gorgeous fiber from Lisa Souza, but alas, to no avail. I love looking at it, but I am trying really really hard not to be sucked into another addictive pursuit at the moment! :g: I'm sure it will happen one of these days, though. My husband has even threatened promised to make me a spinning wheel. Note: why are you all trying to get me hooked?! I know where this will end up.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be swatching. :)

Whew

Have you ever thought to yourself that you couldn't possibly get busier, only to have your beliefs disproved soon thereafter? Whew.

But look at what went out yesterday.

It's the first installment of finished pieces and patterns for my book! And that feels Very. Very. Good.

So today, just to celebrate, I'm going to take some fun time to respond to questions I've received over the past few posts or so while I've been running around like a madwoman without any time to respond! Then it's back to running around like a madwoman again. :)

Sereknity said "That yummy copper coloured one [hemp yarn] in the front reminds me of the yarn you chose to make the campanula? lace s/s cardigan ... what's the status on it?"
Shhhhhhhhhhh! I'm not working on it! I haven't even been able to start it. I sometimes catch it staring at me reproachfully. Especially when it sees me petting other yarn.

Lorraine said "Rosemary- and what exactly are we looking at? Do we have to wait for the book?"
Yes, I'm afraid you have to wait. But I can tell you that there will be wire, fiber and felt projects. And that I am really excited about the pieces!

Shannon said "Have you ever knit with hemp? I like the new Knitty surprise bag and then Eiffel as well, but I'm kinda uneasy since it's...hemp. The yarn is lovely though."
I haven't knit with hemp, but I have knit with linen, which seems to be very close in nature. At first, I tried to hold the linen too tightly, but after some hand pain, I relaxed my grip. And by the time I was finished with the piece (a stole in laceweight linen), I couldn't wait to knit with it again! I love the stuff. You just need to remember that it does not knit like wool, so you need to swatch carefully and relax your grip on the yarn. I knit continental, and I ended up wrapping the yarn an extra time around my pinky to tension it, because my grip was so relaxed. I work with cotton that way also.

Gudrun said "Fantastic colors..esp the orange/reds...is this 100% hemp? Haven't worked with it (or seen it) before but would like to."
Yes, it's 100% hemp from Lanaknits. I love the colors. I could not resist them! I thought your skirt was 100% hemp, but then I just checked and it's Hempathy! Duh! ;)

Tracey said "Must have silver swan shawl pin....cannot even speak in complete sentences because it would be so perfect......;) Hope you're working on a design for your fellow MS3 knitters;)"
Yes! I am! :) And I will announce the pin when it is designed and have a chance for you to pre-order so I can get an idea of how much silver (and copper) to order! Thank you for asking!

AlisonH asked "will you be at TKGA?"
I'm not sure yet! I may drop by and look around a bit. Will you be there?

Knitserland said "Habu items are fabulous! What do you have planned for it?" I love Habu!!! And Takako is wonderful. I just met her this summer at Knitterly in Petaluma. But I digress. I can't tell you exactly what I plan on doing with it, but it is going in my book (if Dr. Destructo doesn't do another repeat performance of this little escapade like he did yesterday, but that's all I'm going to say about what Dr. Destructo did yesterday).

Sarah said "I look forward to this book of yours, when is your publishing deadline?"
Thank you, Sarah! I just passed one deadline and I have two more, with everything due at the end of November 2007. Then there's editing, of course. :) It is slated for release in fall 2008. Somehow that's seeming really really soon!

Gammy aka Peggy said "Wow, that fiber is awesome. What you going to do with it?"
If it works like I think it will, it's going in the book! :)

Marianne said "Just love the Bunny Pin! In fact so much that if you have one for sale next time please let me know?"
Thank you and I will! So many people have asked about it that I think it will be going up on my site soon! :)

And lastly, Joanne said "I recognize the Rosemary Habu. I hope that's it! I hope I know what you're going to do with it, too! :)"
Yes, that's it! I love the color, the feel, the name (heehee). Habu rocks. :D

Thank you all so much for commenting and keeping me sane while I've been spooled up into crazy mode. You're totally the best!!! Mwah!

Oh! And don't forget the contest!