Just in Time for Christmas

So a couple days before Christmas Arlis and I decided to do some more car shopping (with no intention of buying that day), but we came home with this!! We have already taken it up skiing once. It snowed most of the day and started snowing heavily as we were leaving. It was FABULOUS!! It handled well and is super comfortable. I think we are really...

Read More

It Has Been a Web Kinda Day

I never ceased to be amazed how much I can get done when I just put in a bit of focused effort. Today has been a website update sort of day! A few days ago I went through and looked at a few areas that needed some work. Today I got almost that entire list checked off and also added a new page that has been on my to do list for some time! I will probably be updating this one from time to time, but it is not a bad start.I also added several testimonials...

Read More

Cleaning Can Be Fun Too!

So yesterday (and today and by necessity tomorrow), I got the cleaning bug! Over time, the surfaces within my office have become more and more covered with STUFF. Like the chair I have for someone (usually my husband) to sit and talk to me while I am at my desk, has been completely unaccessible for at least 6 months and I bet it is closer to 18 months! But today it is not only accessible, it has also been cleaned.I have thrown out nearly a complete...

Read More

Thanking God for My Safety

Today turned out to be quite a day. I did a stupid thing -- something all of us have probably done at least once if not often, I got distracted for just a second while driving into town. The result was that I swerved off the road onto the shoulder, recovered onto the road, but during the recovery process, over compensated, went into a spin, spun back onto the shoulder where my tire blew, broke the rim and my truck did a one and a half flip resting...

Read More

Traveling and Seeing Old Friends

So I have been traveling a ton over the past few weeks, but I have been loving it!!! This is the busiest that my travel schedule has been that I can remember and Arlis and I were a little worried that it might be too much, but so far, it seems to all be OK. I still have one more trip to go, but I cannot imagine that it will be any problem.Since the last time I posted I have been to Cloverhill Yarn Shop in the suburbs of Baltimore, at Stitches East,...

Read More

Meeting Internet Friends

This past weekend I was honored to be able to teach at a retreat held in the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan, hosted by Rae of Rae's Yarn Boutique. We had 25 knitters, all of whom (or is it who) were absolutely WONDERFUL. They were great students, fun people and easy to be with. I couldn't have had a nicer weekend. Thanks to each and every one of you.However, before I came, I forgot to pack the camera and boy was THAT a mistake. The colors...

Read More

The Next Knit A Long

Today I am traveling ALL DAY. Right now I am sitting in the Atlanta airport during a 4 hour layover getting caught up on some "internet stuff". However, the big news is that I have finalized the design for the next knit-a-long. Well, at least finalized enough to begin the knitting. Today is the first day of a 10 day trip with a number of opportunties for quality knitting time. My hope is that I will have made significant progres on the project...

Read More

I'm in AKD -- Are You?

What is AKD you might ask? Well it stands for the Associate of Knitwear Designers, but it also includes knitting teachers, tech editors and anyone else whose business focuses, at least in some part, on either hand or machine knitting. Why do I bring this up you might ask? Because I have been a part of this group for many years, but I am excited...

Read More

Being Part of the "Buzz"

Beginning this past June, I started participating in some group advertising opportunities. The group ads are featured on the Fiber Buzz website. For each ad, 10 different companies get together and each features a particular product. Every ad, the mix of participants is different and often they have a theme.This has been an interesting way to have a higher profile ad without having to invest the higher profile dollars. It is a little difficult...

Read More

The Postcard Has Arrived

So today in the mail I received my copy of the postcard below. Now we will just have to see who all decides to sign up. I spoke with several of my knitting teacher friends this last week and I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of them show up! The price is so good, and for those of us who travel a lot, the airfare can be covered with airline miles. I hope see some new faces too! And if you are not interested in teaching fiber arts, but would...

Read More

Going Cruising

So today I spent much of the day preparing the adjacent postcard. You can click on it to see a full size copy. I am sending it to all the shops (yarn, needlepoint, threaded needle) that I could get addresses for. I am really excited about the possibilities this event holds and I am REALLY hoping for a mix of fiber arts being represented within the...

Read More

Making Someone's Day

There is nothing quite so satisfying as a little surprise that makes someone's day. Earlier in the month when teaching at Knitter's Connection, Ann took my Build a Better Bag class. During class, most students will actually complete a miniature size bag. Ann informed me that she would be taking the bag home to her daughter who had been disappointed...

Read More

Off to Camp

Just popping in to say that I am off to Stitches Camp!!! Camp is always so fun and this time it is in my neighborhood (OK - 125 miles, but still pretty close). Even better, one of my local students is going too, so I will have some company on the drive. I will try and get a picture or two and get them posted when I get back.Although, I get back Monday afternoon and leave again Tuesday morning for a church conference. This month has just been...

Read More

We Are CRUISIN'

I am SO EXCITED!!! (The capital letters and exclamation points are a dead give away). I have been working with my friend Sally Black of Stitchaway Tours to organize a Teacher's Cruise in 2008. This will be a cruise for all current and wannabe teachers of the needlearts (knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, counted thread, you get the idea). In 2004 and 2005 I hosted retreats for knitting teachers, but since that time have come to realize that...

Read More

Look What I Found

Yesterday Arlis and I walked the valley floor at Yosemite. It is still early enough in Spring that the various falls are still really flowing. We walked for about 3.5 hours and came pretty close to making a full loop of the valley floor. Early in the journey we were walking along the road where they had closed off a lane due to construction. Well,...

Read More

Developing New Classes

I once had the privilege of rooming with Maggie Jackson of MaggiKnits. Maggie is a fabulous designer with a look that is all her own. (She is also a wonderful person putting up with a ridiculous cough I had!) A discussion with her just before bed one evening convinced me that I was not REALLY a designer, but instead was a TEACHER!She described her endless flow of ideas for new projects in the following way (paraphrased of course):If every idea...

Read More

A Sneak Preview of What's to Come!

During Camp Stitches this past week I was teaching an intensive class on Entrelac and thought it would be fun for the students to see what happens between knitting and felting. So I finished up a project I had started just few days prior to leaving and during our afternoon off, went down to the local Laundromat / Tattoo parlor!! We would have gotten...

Read More

The Garden In Bloom

Today is the bi-annual garden tour for our local garden club. We may be a small town (less than 2000), but we do have some beautiful gardens. I suppose that most folks around here are farmers helps, but nonetheless, it is a very enjoyable day. Some day I hope to have my yard on the tour, but I still have a long way to go before it is ready for the...

Read More

Iris Are Blooming

I have always loved Irises. In particular the Tall Bearded variety. I am sure that it has something to do with the fact that they come in a huge number of variations. Mom and I have brought and traded over the years and I have finally decided to try to track what I have!I am taking pictures, laminating them and securing them in the ground next to...

Read More

End of Ski Season

Well -- ski season is just about to come to an end. I was up on the mountain yesterday and actually taught a couple of classes, but the snow is getting thin and just as I was leaving a RAIN storm started up. They are hoping to be open through next weekend, but I am not sure that is really going to happen.It has been a fun year and I hope to doing the part-time ski instructing thing again, but I wish it didn't clash with "knitting season". I have...

Read More

Poetry Day

Not too long ago I discovered a great blog site from a children's writer called Gotta Book The thing that got me there was a new form of poetry he coined called Fibs which he described one year ago today. This poetry based on the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8) starting out with 0 and 1 adding them together to get the next number in the sequence. So in honor of Poetry Day, here is my first Fib:MathGeek.Don't getPoetry.But I like these Fibs.Even...

Read More

Catching My Breath

Old habits die hard -- and for a change -- it is a good one. Early in my career as a computer consultant I got in the habit of tracking my time (usually client by client). Today, I still keep track of how many hours I work on the business each day. When you work out of your living space, it is easy to misjudge the amount of time spent. January was very busy as was February, but this month has been a quite a bit lighter -- at least in terms of...

Read More

I Made It In the Newspaper

Ok -- so it is just a relatively small town newspaper, but it is always good to be quoted with some level of authority! As with many things, we are a little behind the trend curve, but here is the Merced Sun Star's take on the popularity of knitting. Unfortunately, I am not quite sure if we are going to be able to have the class that is mentioned. Hopefully the article will generate a few more sign ups. Right now, we just have too few.Of course...

Read More

Time Flies

I can't believe a month has passed since my last post. Now, last week was a complete loss as I had a MAJOR cold that pretty much knocked me out and the weekend prior was Stitches, but where did the three weeks prior go?!?!I know that I have been busy filling orders -- which is a good thing! And I am already aware of how quickly June is going to be upon me (the next TNNA show). Spring is popping up in my neck of the weeds (oops - I meant woods)....

Read More

Being Too Busy is GOOD!

I have been so busy over the past few weeks since returning from the TNNA show in San Diego. The good news is that it has been both a mix of work and of fun! It is so easy to get caught up in just working -- especially when working out of your home -- that you forget to take time for yourself. With the addition of part-time ski instructing at Sierra Summit into my schedule, I am "forced" to head up to the mountain on a regular basis. And when...

Read More

The Kimono That Could

The Sample Stitch Kimono knit a long was just a quick idea. I had used the construction technique in other classes before, maybe it would work for an "online/offline" class of sorts. But what if no one was interested -- or worse yet -- only a few were interested. It would be a lot of work!But instead over 50 people have signed up so far. Most of...

Read More

Cabled Bag - Version 2

Whenever I have a really GREAT idea -- or least it seems so at the time -- I immediately pick up my needles and start knitting. This is not actually typical for me, since most of the time I write out a fairly detailed plan before I get started to reduce the pattern writing time on the back end. This cabled bag was one of the exceptions -- no formal...

Read More

So Much, So Little

You know how there is always so much to do, but so little time? I don't think it has ever been more true than it has been lately. Between dealing with the holidays, preparing for TNNA, being apart of the PreView Promenade, ski instructing part-time at Sierra Summit, revamping my entire website and spending quality time with my husband, I am just a bit overwhelmed. But I am excited about it all of it and I am not willing to give on any of it. ...

Read More