Flower Of Scotland

I never know where the next inspiration will come from.  Last month's National Geographic Magazine came and Lindsay, as usual, was the first to grab and devour it.  Passing behind her with an armload of (what else?) laundry, I caught sight of the photo she was looking at:

photo by Marcelin Bonnard

Although my mind was anywhere but on work at that moment, I knew exactly what to do for this year's Eeek! Steeks! class project at the Madrona Winter Retreat.  A rectangular stole, with Thistles.  I dropped the laundry like a bad habit and sat down to draw a chart.

Then I sent the chart, some photos, and a vague wish list to the lovely and talented Lisa Millman of Dicentra Designs.  Lisa is a lady who knows her way around a dye pot, and let me tell you, she took the bit in her teeth:

This is one of the photos Lisa and I passed back and forth:  My chart, a photo and her yarn colors.  Pretty sure Lisa loves her job as much as I do.

Here are the finished skeins.  Bonnie Prince Charlie himself could not wish for a more Thistle-icious palette.  Super. Sexy. Yarn. 

And it's arrived just in time to prevent me from climbing the draperies, too.  I'm casting on today, and the laundry will have to suffer on without me.

I thought it would be fun to blog the process of making the kits and sample this year, for the intrepid souls who choose to join me in class.  For those who don't know, the homework for my epic Eeek! Steeks! class is to complete the knitting of an exclusive design, for which I send you the kit.  Class lasts for 6 hours.  During the first half, I teach three different steeking techniques.  Then in the second half, everyone chooses their favorite technique, cuts and finishes their project with me there to hold hands and help.  It's the most fun I have all year.  And that's saying something, because I know how to have fun, and I do a damn fine job of it the other 364 days.

This class holds a select 24 students, so if you'd like to join in the fun, stay tuned HERE for the registration lottery.  As before, if you'd like to have this year's kit without taking the class, they'll be available for sale in the Madrona marketplace.  To have a kit put aside for purchase in your name, drop me a line so Lisa and I can make sure to make enough kits.  The kit is exclusive to the Madrona Winter Retreat, so if you can't make it there yourself, find a friend who'll be attending HERE to pick it up for you.  Pricing for non-student kits has not been finalized yet, but we'll let you know asap.

If anybody needs me, I'll be the one neglecting the laundry in favor of a yarn-induced joy spiral.

Sundays, We Go Shopping

I have finished my Desert Island sweater.  I even wore it last weekend, which surprised me a little because I'm usually out of love with my projects by the time I get them done, and I have to send them to time out for a while before I can bond with them as garments. 

And I'm also delighted to report that it's time to start the class sample for my Madrona Winter Retreat steeks class!  Which I am ready to do, having cleverly finished my periwinkle sweater (for once), right on time. 

Except the mailman still has my yarn.  So I can't start yet. 

And it would be dumb to start something else, because as soon as I do, the yarn will come, and there I'll be.  Yes, I do have the ability to put down one project and begin another, but it just seems like I should be able to control myself for like, A Day.  You know?  I've been catching up on other work instead.  I assaulted the north face of Mount Washmore.  Not that anyone could tell.  I finished the one last mitten thumb.  I hand-rolled hems onto some pretty pieces of silk I got to make scarves with.  I took stock of my dress shirt collection, re-sewed buttons and ironed them.  And when I couldn't find anything else to put it off with, I groomed the Scotties.  They were very good.  Well, 50% of them were very good.  Paisley was decidedly unhappy with the process, and Phillip had to hold her up for me to trim her feet.  But we all survived, and then endured the kitchen scouring that follows every dog-grooming (OCD + Dog hair near food prep areas = guaranteed 1/2 day scrubfest).  After that I decided we all needed a treat, so Lindsay and I loaded the pets up and we went for a doggie shopping trip:

I have it in my head that I really should knit them some sweaters.  But I've never made a dog sweater before, and the patterns I've seen don't look like they are quite right for a couple of long-backed, short-legged hooligans.  No, what's wanted here is Market Research.  We went to the pet store, and tried on sweaters.  Which turned out to be fun for 25% of us.  I did not enjoy squishing the struggling pups into ill-fitting doggy outerwear, and the pets liked it even less.  Lindsay, however, howled with laughter for the whole operation.  Just one more service I provide. 

We took home a couple of machine-sewn acrylic numbers, both for reference, and to keep the newly-shorn cozy while I work out my pattern.  A few new toys and treats may also have found their way into the cart.  Lindsay pointed out that I'm no longer trying to pretend not to be a weird Dog Lady.  "How do you know?" I asked.  "Um, your dogs have on sweaters and they're riding around in a shopping cart.  Which part has you confused, Mom?"  I'm still working on my snappy comeback.  So far, I got nothin.
 
I hope the yarn comes soon.  The Cats haven't got any sweaters either, I notice.
 

Knit and Spin at Aurora

Tomorrow I'm teaching at the Aurora Colony Handspinners Guild, in Canby Or.  Every October this group holds their annual workshops and all day Spin-In.  Workshops are open to non-members for the unimaginably low price of only $25 for a half-day!  If you find yourself close by, come to class with me!  In the morning I'm teaching "Stranded In Your Socks", an introduction to stranded colorwork for socks, and in the afternoon, it's "Start to Finish", where we work on how to plan for the finishing of your project before you start knitting it.  Neither class requires homework, so just bring yourself (and a friend!).  See you there!