YarnCon and Where are you, Robert Mattison

Many years ago, my best friend was Robert Mattison. I have no idea where he is today...let's just say my Google-fu isn't strong, and he might not have choosen to be as active on the internets as I have been/am.

He was a great kid, and I'm wondering what kind of man he grew up into.

And, on to http://www.yarncon.com
YarnCon.

Saturday. 10am-4pm.

I will be there, will you?

Indie-type yarn people...this might be well, probably not your Woodstock, but maybe your Pitchfork?

If anybody is going, and wants to meet up during or after, give a holler.

I'll do it myself

Soooo,

Things were great, and not too crazy, and everything look fine, and then:

Fitted Knits let me down a little.

I'd been whizzing through the Airy Lace Wrap Cardigan, and was down to the cables (yes, cables), when suddenly the pattern stopped making sense. Now, granted, it could very well be that it's because I've never done cables before. And, I understand that my learning curve is, well, pretty steep. Oh, and I know that I'm not a great knitter. I do it for fun. I like knitting and spinning...a whole bunch. I just feel no need to go out and learn how to knit faster, or smarter or better, because, it's not a contest.

I tried it, it looked stupid, because both cables are snuggled up next to each other, and not on opposite sides of the cardigan. I'm I on the crack?

I seriously don't know. I'm setting that puppy aside for a tiny bit, and returning to my old friend, fingerless mitts. Ah, simple tubes with a thumbhole, how sweet you are.

So, if anyone has knit this thing, and you have input, or simply are smarter than me, please, feel free to drop a line, and let me know.

Cheeseworld is opening, and as the date aprroaches, I realize that I simply have a ton to do, because my job got bigger. As much as I love this job (and, I really, really, really do), this comes at a suck time, 'cause now that there's a chill in the air, and the light has changed, I'm ready to spin and knit.

I lost my mojo all summer, and now desperately just want to sit around drinking coffee while I listen to podcasts and surf ravelry, and knit.

Oh, wait, that's what I did last week...oh, and Monday. Oh, and...maybe I should shut up now.

This is where I digress, and talk about how cool Ravelry is. And how nifty it is.

I'm on the 'pro' ravelry team. It's because quite fashionable to hate it in some circles, but, I really think that it's a great knitting resource. I'm always hesitant about 'community' on the internets.

I didn't expect it to take the place of my best friends, and I didn't think I'd meet all these cool people who would usher me inside the velvet rope of 'cool' knitters.

That would be left to me.

That said, because of Ravelry, I've gotten an offer to do some
*gasp*

writing about knitting for something quite large.

No, until that first piece is published, and it's out there, and you all can read it, I'm not telling where or when. Because those things aren't set yet.

I just got a lovely little PM that said that I was articulate, and had good ideas.

Wow. Thanks.

And, that they were wondering if I wanted to write for them?

Yes, yes I would.

Knitters, beer and yarn.

So, just to prove that I'm a total D-list blogger who doesn't deserve to be read, let me show you the fabulous photos that I took at the Knitty meet up on Wednesday.











Waiting....











Waiting....








Waiting...





Still there? Yeah, keep waiting 'cause I didn't take any.








So, there was jpknits, and fujiyamamama, and snickerdoodle, and errs, and bina from the knittyboards, and it was fun and fabulous and they were really nice, and I probably talked too much in run-on sentences, and was too happy.





Then, I got really tired and had to leave right now or I will die.





So, there.





Oh, and there was the candy expo. I worked for a giant corperate conglomerate.





The funny thing was, I didn't think about candy like it was this big, cut-throat industry. But it is. Holy Crap.





I had to learn phrases like "silky sm**th texture is what separates D*** from other brands."


Jesus help me.





And I did it.


I did it for the money, but I did it. So dirty, so dirty.








So, I watched the behavior the the folks who go to the candy expo, and was totally fascinated.





On the last day of the show, people are trying to get rid of their stock, so that they don't have to ship it home.





Traditionally, this day was the day that people brought their children and then brought big duffel bags, and then went nuts.





Kid in a candy shop, anyone?





This year, they changed the rules. They only let one official show bag on the show floor, and they were taking the other bags away.





There were fights with security. Over candy.





Oh, just when I'm trying to find the good in humanity...and I actually have witnessed the Burning man spirit, and I'm just glowing in how good knitters are...this happens.





So, I've come away with some good, and some bad, and like most other things, it's changed me.








All those who read this blog for the non-knitting content...you can probably just leave now.








The photo is of the yarn that I'm using for my next project. Because I finished Jen's fingerless gloves just in time for fall. So, I'm starting on something for myself. I'll probably cast on today.








I love the book Fitted Knitts. I love almost every single pattern in there, and I think that in many ways, it's an almost perfect book.





I've cast on a v-neck sweater, and I even went out and bought the specified yarn for it.
It's an alpaca/wool blend. The problem is that it sheds like a Persian cat in September.
I wear alot of black. It's not a good combo for the likes of me.

So, that project has become really...not so high on my list. I'll finish it, but me and the light blue sheddiness? Not so much.

So there's this wrap sweater in fitted knits. It's lovely. It's also (in the book) done with mohair.

Jesus.

Mohair sheds.

What I have is lovely Blue Moon Fiber Arts Geisha. It's a light fingering/heavy laceweight, in shades of blue that is nylon, silk and a tiny bit of mohair. 950 yards per skein. That's a fuckload of yardage for 25 bucks.

I bought it at Stitches Midwest, from Toni, at The Fold. I've since found out it retails for about 40 bucks. I bought it for 25. I have two skeins. I'm going to make that wrap by holding two strands together. This should cut down on pooling, and be about the right weight. I lurve this yarn.

I would lurve to finish a larger project that I can actually wear.


I photos I've seen of other finished wraps make me a little nervous, because the yarn, it's bunched up around the waist of the peoples, but, me? I'm hopeful.

Chez Ghetto

Yeah, that's exactly where I live.

I'm not talking about the 'oh, somewhat gentrified area that still has some drug deals on the corner'...no, that would be Logan Square. Or, 'used to be bad, but now has million dollar condos'...that would be Wicker Park. Or, 'still isn't great, but there's a whole bunch of us, and we're trying'...that would be Garfield Park.

I'm in the "where?"

People ask me where I live, and there's a pause, and then they say "where?"

Then I tell them, and they sorta squint. They have no idea where I live. It's sorta funny. Chicago is the 'city of neighbourhoods', and truely it is. It's just freaky that most people, unless they were born and bred in Chicago, have no idea about many of these 'hoods.

Ask your friends (if they live or used to live in Chicago) if they know where these neighborhoods are

Bridgeport. Maybe.
Canaryville. Bet they don't.
Blue Island. Fat Chance
Back of the Yards. Perhaps, but I'll betcha they've never been there.
Ukranian Village. Probably
Oz Park. They've been there, they just didn't know it had a name, because it's been swallowed up by Lakeview.
Austin. My home. Nobody has any clue.
Pilsen. Perhaps. It's my favorite 'hood right now. I wish I lived there.

Oh, and there's all the hoods in the far northwest side of the city, and all the hoods on the south side, and, and....but, odds are, if there's not a starbucks, and there's no faux Irish pub, they haven't been there.

It's sad, really. People fear where I live, and yet, it's filled with kids playing safely, who are called in when it gets dark, and mowed lawns, and construction and people who work for the city and the county...garbagemen and postal workers and cops.

I'll give you two guesses why.

Lessee...could it be race?
Um, yeah.

I'm a little sick of it, frankly. We have nice people living on my block. We don't have shootings on my block. We have families who live and work, and kiss their kids, and paint their houses, and remodel their kitchens and many of them are just like most people in this city. Okay, in the name of full disclosure, my across the way neighbors are not. They are a leetle trashy. The older son just got out of prision. He said it was drugs, but, it's not. I used the internets and he was arrested for sexual assault on a minor. He is creepy. I don't like him. He keeps trying to get into the house by starting long conversations with me, and asking if he can borrow tools. He is moving, soon, back to Michigan. Godspeed, child molester, Godspeed.

The whole west side isn't one drug-deal filled shooting gallery full of thugs. We don't have drug deals going on all night outside our house. We have a quiet block, one that has lightning bugs after dark, and the chirping of frogs when they mate.

Lovely, really. Big trees and turn of the century houses. Seriously. Drop by on a Saturday night. People will be in their back yards. They will be grilling. or sometimes Barbequing. (different things entirely).

However, if you do a search on the internets for your block, you might be surprised at some of the things that happen.

Chicagocrime.org is a great pastime.

Or, you can look up all the child molesters. Illinois has pictures of them all, along with what they've been convicted of, with the first numbers of their address, and the rest blocked out...for privacy.

I'm just sayin'.


Oh, and on the Etsy/craftfair front, I'm thinking that I'll do shows in October, November and December, and I'll start posting stuff on Etsy soon. I'm thinking that I'll get a retailer tax number, and that way, I can order fiber and yarn wholesale. I'm going to jump on the dying bandwagon, and see how that goes.

We're Experiencing Some Technical Difficulties...Please Stand By

That sound you hear?

Blank Silence.

That's the sound of my digital camera not downloading pictures.

I have no freakin' idea why.

Whatever. I was going to post a shitload of stuff on Etsy, but now? Not so much.

I'll figure it out. And I have another video cord lying around here somewhere.

So, we'll talk about Craft Shows:

October Handmade Market @ Shuba's
Great room, lots of natural light. No customers.

Not one. And it wasn't just me. It was everyone. Nobody sold shit. It was lame.
I blame the neighbourhood.

November Handmade Market @ The empty Bottle
Rockin' as always.

Here's my favorite discussion with a 'customer'...I'll use that term, because 'clueless fuckwit' doesn't sound very nice. The interaction took place at Shuba's.

Clueless Fuckwit fondles my yarn for a while, and her equally clueless daughter of about 40 stands next to her.

CF: So, we pick the yarns out, and you knit it into something for us?

Me: No, people buy the yarn, and then they do stuff with it. You know, knit, crochet, whatever.

CF: So, you don't make it into anything?

Me: Nope, I just hand spin the yarn. You know, like on a spinning wheel.

CF gives me a narrow-eyed look. She holds up a hank of yarn.

CF: So it's almost 20 dollars just for the yarn? That's too much money!

I imagine the satisfaction I feel as I rip the yarn out of her gnarled hand and kick her fragile, brittle bones to dust. I slap on a fake smile.

Me: We'll these are very special. Mostly rare breed, or locally shorn sheep.

I offer another fake, bright smile, willing them to just move on to the next table and torture her.

CF: At most kitting shops they knit it for you!

Okay, so she was old. And, things have changed. I decide to cut her a break.

Me: That used to be true. For a small price, many Yarn Stores (notice my clever phrasing) did have some knitters that, for a small price, would knit a custom item. That's really not so true anymore.

CF: I don't believe that!

Me: Well....

I pause here. She is leaning over my table, lower jaw jutting out, sort of looking like a nasty, elderly bulldog. I hate her. I could continue this exchange, which, really isn't pissing me off, but she would get madder and madder, until her wraith-like body started twitching. She -could- have some sort of stroke. Am I up for this? I take a deep breath.

Me: You know, there's a yarn shop right around the corner. You should go talk to them about it.
I'm probably wrong.

CF snorts, tossing down the yarn.

CF: You don't know anything about knitting.

Okay, so I do feel bad about sending this woman to a LYS. But they were kinda bitchy when I was there...

I will be used, and I'll like it

So, I have been teeter-tottering about this California thing.

Sure it's great that I go. It's awesome. I'm thrilled, really.

But why? Why after almost 5 years of screaming indifference, or sometimes outright hostility, is The Wine One being nice to me? Really, really nice. Almost kind.

It freaks me out. I'm uncomfortable with it.

However, I've decided that it doesn't matter why this situation has turned around, it just has, and as long as I'm not dirt to be scraped of Himself's shoes, I should sit back and enjoy the ride.

Yarnwise, I'm in high gear. I've been spinning every second that I can to make yarn for the upcomming craft fair. At Shuba's. On Sunday. noon to 4pm.

I'm pretty excited. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and stop by and say hi!

New Yarns, upcomming Craft Fair, and Fiber time

Okay, so I had a great time with Sarah, who came over and did some fibery stuff the other day.

We spun, and fondled fiber, and she crocheted. The picture is the finished yarn that I was spinning...I'm calling it 'Grape Jelly' and it's super soft, shiny and delovely. It's in the shop.

Sarah took some hand spun to make into a sample.

People who love fiber are cool.

My right hand (whom I call Mr. Burns), won't let me knit all that well yet. The funky way my hand now sits on my arm is probably at fault...that, and the fact that I can't really bend it, and I have no strength in it. But. No Cast. Groovy.

I'm now experimenting with some royal purple for her, to pay her in trade.

There are some new yarns up in the shop. I am doing the Handmade Market on the 29th of October, right before I fly to California. Cali. Wine. Groovy. Beckmen Vineyards. Hitching Post. Santa Inez. Groovy.

Wine. Yum. -insert Homer Simpson sound of food happiness here-

The new job type thing that I'm doing for the Hospitality Mines is fun. I am the voice of all wine education, which is cool. I just go in, talk about wine, and leave. Pretty fucking ideal, I have to say. I can't beleive that I'm getting paid just to do that.

Cheese world is edging up onto crunch time, and we've had some amazing wine sales...we're already ahead of where we were last season...

So, off to teach about wine.