April 2008 Archives

As I was prepping for this post last night I realized this will be my and Christy's fifth year at Maryland Sheep & Wool. I can clearly remember each year -- meeting different people (what is it with meeting so many of you in line for the ladies' room?), finding new-to-me vendors (including a time when Socks That Rock was just another hand dyed sock yarn!), and sitting on the grass knitting and enjoying the beautiful day.

If you're new to sheep and wool festivals, I wrote a post with some suggestions a couple years back and it's still good advice.

I've been planning what I want to see and buy this year. The list isn't too long:

• Yarn from a small supplier to make a sweater from Lisa Lloyd's A Fine Fleece (view my review). I'm especially obsessed with Le Smoking right now.
• Multicolor hand dyed sock yarn. I want something with a big variety of colors to knit up a special pair of socks this summer.
• Sweater yarn from Tess', Brooks Farm or Ellen's Half Pint Farm. I'm jealous of all of you and your gorgeous post-fest sweaters!
• Something new - a new dyer or a new yarn. Something different that I can't get locally.

I'll also be there getting the word out about Knotions, and I've got some shiny new buttons to give out.

Four days, people!

I am *so excited* to go to MDSW this year! I've been counting down for weeks.

I decided it was high time I did a little sewing. Much knitting has been happening (nothing I can blog about just yet) so a morning with the sewing machine was a nice break.

Every time I sew I'm reminded why I love it so much -- it's SO FAST!! I made a whole bag in just a Sunday morning. I prewashed, dried, cut, sewed, pressed, and even did the clean up (if I don't clean up right away it's likely that you'd find the sewing machine on my dining room table a week from now too).

I wanted to carry around something unique and this fits the bill. It's the Amy Butler In Town Bag and I got the pattern and fabric at Spool -- the new fabric store co-owned by Craig (of Loop) and Laura. It's right next door to Loop so if you're in the Philly area make sure you check them out. They have one of the nicest selections of fabrics in the area, and have a big, brightly sunlit room in the back for classes.

I followed the pattern except for a couple small changes. I added an interior pocket to hold a pen, notepad and flat wallet, and instead of making the bag flat I gave the bottom some depth to help it sit up better.

To make the bottom I added 1" to the length of the bottom piece, and 2" in width to all the bag pieces. The pocket is just a remnant of the bottom fabric. I made it about 9.5" x 10.5" and sewed a bunch of topstitching along the top of the pocket to give it some firmness. Then I sewed a channel in the pocket about 1.5" in to make a small area to hold a pen. The bag is meant to be cinched shut but I don't like the look so I plan to sew in a magnetic closure instead.

I love this little bag, but the best part of this post has to be MDSW is in 6 days!! Will I see you there?

Yep, today I turn 36 years old. As someone who doesn't have much of an affinity for even numbers, I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I realized it's at least a square -- if it's got to be even, at least make it a square or a power of 2. Not sure what that means when I turn 38 (maybe I'll turn 37+1?).

This year was different birthday-wise. Since it's on a Tuesday I knew I wouldn't be doing too much today, so instead I did a "Birthday Weekend Extravaganza" (BWE for short) and it was great! Dinner at the Melting Pot, shopping at Rosie's Yarn Cellar (first yarn I bought all year...I think), lunch and drinks at Maggiano's, and a steak dinner on the grill on Sunday. It was one of the best weekends I've had in months. I highly recommend the BWE...it totally makes up for having a birthday on a random Tuesday.

Last year I decided that I would make a decision to change something or do something new in my life with the passing of each new year and each birthday -- as a way to try and make permanent, positive changes in my life. They're things that are really focused on me. For new year 2008 I decided I would eat oatmeal at least 5 days a week (eating a good breakfast is so important) and I've mostly kept to that (sometimes it's a whole grain cereal or farina but that's still better than a buttered bagel or a fried egg sandwich, or nothing at all so I'm starving by the time lunch rolls around).

For my birthday I've decided to get back to wearing makeup every day. I love how I look when I wear makeup, but often I skip it because I feel like I'm in a hurry and it's the one thing I can cut out of my routine. I started it on Saturday and can I just say -- those magazines that say you just need 5 minutes? They're crazy. I can't get it down to less than 10 and that's just a light foundation, powder, blush, eyeliner, lip liner and lipstick. I just don't see how I can do that in 5 minutes. If you have any tips let me know...maybe I'm just out of practice.

This year has already been about so much big change -- Knotions has taken up much of my free time, but I absolutely love it. The thing I really miss though is this blog and my Flickr friends. I'm going to have to find a way to get more blogging and photography back into my life because I really miss the camaraderie and friendships that I've made with so many people. I suspect it will be a few months before I'll be able to blog regularly (and by that I'm hoping for once a week here) but I do want to get back to it. I miss you guys! So, even if my posts continue to be infrequent and sporadic for a while, don't for a moment think I've forgotten about you all and this little blog. (and I do have a post brewing about the goodies I got at Rosie's this weekend...new yarn after over 100 days of no buying...is there anything more exciting?)