A First

Today's the day I'm going to see if anyone wants to buy anything.... a very, very weird place for me to be.  BadAmy has been encouraging me to sell some of my little goodies, and I've been thinking I'd tag along on one of her sales.  She sets a terrific table, if you know what I mean.  When she puts things out for sale, they look so cute and cool, and the lighting and staging are perfect~~the whole package.  I have plenty of strengths but showcasing my stuff ain't one of them.  First and foremost, I have super concerns about if my stuff is worthy.  On the last post, I showed most of the goodies I'm going to try to sell.  I'm also adding live, fresh cut holly and ivy.  Get it?

The event today is the first attempt by the Village of Whitehouse's Arts Advisory Board to do a show and sale.  I think when they came up with the concept, they thought they'd get a couple dozen proven vendors, like BadAmy.  They also want it to be more of a fine arts show and sale.... not the more crafty crap I can handle.  But several weeks ago, they didn't have many vendors, so I figure I can at least take up some table space.  I also hoped BadAmy would have stuff--as in her fine fiber arts--but alas, she had a Cyber Monday sale and sold every cotton pickin' thing she had to sell.  Sheesh.  And there was no time to do more, since she has another club batch to do--that's nearly 100 skeins of hand-dyed yarn to prepare in less than 2 weeks. Yeah. (P.S. Did I mention that BadAmy's stuff sold out in 7 minutes after she posted it?  The discussion thread on Raverly ran over 900 comments and growing......)

So I'm going to lug my junk over to Village Hall and see what happens.  I'm praying they put me in a back corner somewhere..... arg......  I'm the first to admit that I'm the Queen of Hubris, especially when it comes to my programming abilities.  But I'm also the first to admit that this isn't really my thing, and I'm nearly sick to death over it.  Yikes.

The upside is that DH will don his Santa suit--the one I made for my Dad, and will charm the kiddies.  Or scare them silly!  Since we've all been involved in one way or another for this deal, I'm calling us
Big Woods Designs~~Inspired by Nature, Created by hand.

A Week of Threadbanger Heaven!

DD found my upload cord, right where it should have been, and right where we looked for days and days.  So here's a whole mess of stuff from the past week.  I also cut the first of the shrunk-felted sweaters.  It's tough on my rotary cutters--time to see if BadAmy can order me some from her wholesale distributor.

Upload cord~~found.

What you get after a week of fun in the crafty corner.  Even the scraps are cute~

Top:  Quilt my Grandmother made for me (1960ish) and bottom is one I'll be giving to a Great-niece for Christmas.

The one I'll give to the Great-niece.

Some of these quilts will go to a charity and some will go to the arts show I'm doing with BadAmy.

Fun to do girly stuff for a change.

This one has a real binding.  Bad idea.  I self-bound the others, sooooooo much better!

Backs of a couple.

And the fronts.  The McColls pattern fabric is from JoAnnes.

4Patches4Hope blocks. Gotta get them in the mail soon.

Pine cone bags for FTD's sale.

The unglamorous part of the relaxer packs.  I used rice for the base.  Some will have lavender, chamomile, peppermint in various combinations.  Some will be plain.  If you are a female member of my family, pretend you don't see these.

Outsides of relaxer packs.  Some are in Manly Man colors. I'm working on all sorts of ties.

Pre-printed placemats for the sale. 6 of 'em.

Pre-printed mug rugs.  They're supposed to be used as gift tags, but I went with mug rugs.

And some dolly fleece blankets for sale and charity.

Winding with BadAmy

Wanna have some fun?  Spend quality time with BadAmy in her fiber arts studio!

I've been winding yarn for her.  Miles and miles and miles of it.  This year she was coaxed/decided to do a stripe-y sock club.  The gist of it is that folks sign up and send in money for three skeins of yarn that are delivered over a 6 month period.  So 75 folks sent her some serious scratch for sock yarn which they then have to knit into socks!  Go figure.

As the Assistant Second Team Winding Lackey, I actually help unwind the yarn.  It comes in undyed hanks that are in loops about 40 inches in diameter.  We have to get them into loops that are nearly 30 feet in diameter. Lemme tell ya, this ain't no easy trick.  So you need a swift, a warping board, and books on tape to get you though.





This gizmo is an umbrella swift.  This is not how you want your yarn to look.  Oops. 





This is a warping board.  You determine how long you want your loops to be, then find a pattern of pegs that will do that for you. And you wind and wind and wind and wind.  I can do a skein in about 20 minutes, if the knot gremlins stay away.  Yeah, that will work.


 From the warping board the loops go to the tried and true back of the chairs for tying for dying, and washing and soaking.

Then the magic happens!  BadAmy dyes the yarn.  As with her ceramic glazes, the exact colors and combos are a tightly held company secret.  I have utterly no idea how she does this.  I do know that she must think in color.  I can look at a blue and a green and say, "Wow, nice blue and green."  She looks at the same colors and says, "This one has yellow tones, and this one has magenta tones, but if I change this to that....." and voila!  An incredible new colorway.  Awesome to watch her work.

To make self-striping yarn, you have to calculate 1) how big an average sock is and 2) how big you want the stripes to be.  Then you have to figure how much yarn gets color A and how much gets color B and so on.   Amy makes special colorway maps to keep track of her designs.


 See how the this yarn, called Kopoho Stripe is black on one end and varigated on the other?  When you knit it up, it makes stripes!  I'm surprised every time it happens!!  Isn't that just freakin' amazing?  This pattern is an exclusive color for BadAmy's current sock club.

These socks were knit by club and Ravelry member Shannonstitches.  Thanks!

After applying the dye, the yarn gets cooked, which can be done in several ways, but I'm not going to divulge BadAmy's secret to super-lustrous color.  Then the yarn air drys, which is where our basement with the radiant in-floor heat comes in perfectly.  Then it has to be wound ::again::, this time back into the 40 inch loops. BadAmy then packages it and ships it out. 

Amy has several other colorways--there are a bunch of Harry Potter things~~something about House colors, but since BadAmy says I'm a Muggle, I don't get it.  There's a Caf-pow, Dr. Seuss, a Halloween Kit series, and much more, but to check all of those out, go to BadAmyKnits on Etsy and find the sold products.

So I hear she needs some Nyphadora or Sytherien or something, so I'd better get back to the winding.

Lest You Think I'm Just Bragging

I truly love BadAmy's work. Always have. She is a genuinely gifted artist. But we StepMonsters are supposed to say that right? Yep.

So I rest my case HERE. BadAmy so impressed one of her fellow-fiber-holics that said 'holic blogged about BadAmy.

See? I was right all along.

Another Birdy, Quilty, Winding Weekend

We've reached the gray days of March, so we're all running a little on empty here. And I managed to catch FTD's cold, just as he was getting rid of it. How lucky for me. He missed another 4 days of school last week. Drat.

I've been winding, er unwinding yarn for BadAmy. I'm using the warping board, which means it takes me 28 to 32 minutes to get a skein of yarn from the 'normal' length (a loop about 4 feet around) to dying distance loops, nearly 30 feet around. She has several contraptions in her basement for the winding/unwinding/rewinding stuff. I don't have the time (or inclination) to drive to West Toledo every day to help over at BadAmy HQ, so we're trying it here. I can realistically only do 4 skeins a day, max, which only helps a little. We might set up a big, honkin' contraption here like she has there. I'd post pics, but I've been sworn to secrecy so as not to give away any company secrets. Hmmm..... are all indie dyers like this??

I needed some fabric therapy after all the winding, so I hauled out the stuff to make more blocks for DD's Hobo Quilt. I got 10 more blocks done last night--5 new block patterns. I'm finding that I really love thinking up new ways to use machine applique instead of the piecing patterns that came with the book. Seriously, I'll do anything to avoid all those itty bitty triangles.

And I actually got out of the house for a while~~just me and DH, for a nice change. We've had a couple of reports of a Bald Eagle in the neighborhood and we went to check it out. There's a golf course 3 miles north of us, across the street from the northern boundary of the Park, and the pro there said he has seen eagles carrying sticks to trees in the middle of the course. There's a nice oak woods there. We spent a good amount of time looking for eagle evidence, but alas, none. There have also been reports of an eagle in the cemetery next to the golf course. We looked and looked over there, but no luck. Then we parked on an old Park road and walked back along Swan Creek, hoping that maybe the birds were nesting back there. Alas, no luck on that run either. But it is good for DH's soul to get back off the main drag in the Park. Me, too.

I'm off today for my annual "What's wrong with MBD's old, fat body this year" testing. The good news is that my blood work rocks~~again~~and we're not looking for anything weird. Whew.

Done and Done-er

My friend Hattie Kate came over two days ago to personally show me how to do a binding. I've been watching the videos, etc., but a real live human is so much better! I did a mug rug for practice, and tadaaa! It looks just great.

After she left, I cut a binding for my Alpine Wonder quilt. But I didn't have enough courage to try it~~until yesterday. I just sat down and sewed it right on. Hattie Kate loves hand-work, and I don't so I carefully pressed the binding down and stitched in the ditch. The back looks a little wonky, but who's gunna see that? Nosy quilters? I'm soooo happy!! This really does open a whole new thing for me. Not intimidated by binding any more. Yea! This pattern is by Mary Lou Hallenbeck and is available at many quilt shops. The reason this 'works' is the special material and then a very interesting fussy cut. If you can't find it, try Corner Quilts in Wauseon, OH. That's where I had this one quilted, too.

I'm also winding yarn for BadAmy. I'm using the warping board to go from 'factory' skein, to 30 foot loops for dying. I put the yarn on my brand new umbrella swift, then wind to the warping board. Takes me about 32 minutes from very start to very finish. The swift needs a tiny bit of paraffin or something, or just plain use, to make it a bit smoother, but other than that the system works. It's not as fast as we hoped, but I can sit in the crafty corner with the boob tube on and wind away. Speaking of which, she needs to get this batch done, so she can dye it for her next sock club shipment. She hasn't dreamed up a colorway yet, but when she does, it's like magic watching her make it happen!

Birding the Blues .. and the Crafty Greens

You can probably tell that my interests are all over the map. Oh well. I have a blogging Ranger Peep who has about 400 blogs, so he can separate all his interests. Too much work. Anywho, here's today's mixed up offering:

Got Yarn? My darling daughter, BadAmy is at it again. This time is green and sparkly. She has this posted on her Etsy store (there's plenty of it, not to worry~~just an Etsy quirk there) and I think it will be available at the Black Swamp Fiber Arts Fair in Bowling Green, March 26. I love that she's found this great niche in life.

Next up: The Bluebird Winds have arrived!

One of the best ornithologists in the country, the late Mr. Lou Campbell, used to tell us to look for the first bluebirds of spring during the first southwestern winds after Valentine's Day. Well, looky here. Those warm, moist southwesterly winds have brought incredibly high temps to our area--a real teaser, since it's only mid-February and we know winter will hammer us again. And more bluebirds, too. But more interestingly, there are hundreds of bluebirds overwintering in our area these days. In past Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts, we'd have a couple. This year we had literally hundreds, and often in flocks of 15 to 20.

I suck at bird photography (I blames it on lack of great equipment, as opposed to lack of great skill), but I do have one good bluebird pic. Ha! Tricked you! This is BirdGirl Sherrie's pic: Ha! Tricked you again. This is the now famous Western Bluebird that put in an appearance two years ago.

And this is Pat, a local birder who had the chutzpah to say out loud, "I think I saw a Western Bluebird at the Oaks." That whole episode was a blast.

Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah, the Bluebird winds of February. Next up on the bird watch list is Buzzards. I love buzzards. Did I ever mention that we call our place Buzzard Crest? Not to be confused with Falcon Crest? True, dat. And around the same time as the buzzards, the woodcocks will be back. More about them and my hero, Aldo Leopold, in a couple of weeks.

And I shouldn't have mentioned anything yesterday about us all being healthy. I'm not sick yet, but the 'tells' say I soon will be. Now where did I put that vitamin C?

Back to Crafty Stuff

Gee, whiz, this is supposed to be the quiet time of the year~~no such thing around our house. (I just wish I could figure a way to get paid for having this much fun. Got it covered 4 months of the year, but that leaves 8 unpaid-yet-working-my-ass-off months. Hmmmmm....)

Yep, let's see, last weekend organized and ran a first-time-for-us Winterfest with Barb. It was a grand success. Did I mention that? Well, it's worth mentioning again. Did I mention the hundreds of people who attended?

This weekend is DH's Rotary Club's annual fund-raiser. I'm in charge of decorations, most of which will come out of my stash. For at least the past 30 years, the Club has done an auction. When DH and I met, they rented a tent and had the auction in the parking lot of our beloved Swanton Super Valu. That's where The Romantic picked up my engagement gift: a chain saw. No diamond for me, looooong story there. Then about 15 years ago, the club moved the auction inside, and it was still fun, but not as wacky as the parking lot ones. But the auction as they were doing it has run its course. This year they are going to try a higher class, $40/head affair. The local country club is donating the room, which is really, really nice of them. There will be grazing stations, silent auction, and afterwards dancing. We'll see how this goes. Swantucky really isn't a $40 a plate kinda town, but apparently ticket sales are going pretty well.

For the decorations, I sprung for some nice ultra-suede type stuff in wonderful, regal purple, which I've cut up into squares to put under centerpieces. If we don't monkey with the fabric a lot, it doesn't fray, so no sewing involved~~yea. I also went out and bought a ton of silver stuff~~several yards of a gauzy silver metallic material, all the after-Christmas silver ribbon I could find, silver beads, stuff like that. I own a ton of pressed glass candlesticks of all shapes and sizes (thank you, Goodwill) that we'll use all over. When BadAmy got married she used silver, crystally twig wreaths for center pieces and we have 8 or 10 of those still. So the plan is to make each center piece different, using all this stuff. And the best part of the deal is that I bartered an afternoon from BadAmy to come help. I helped wind the yarn for the first shipment of her yarn club, and in return she's gunna help decorate. She's awesome like that.

But wait there's more! Took DD to the U-Mich Hospital to discuss the results of his first round of tests. Yep, there's something wrong with him and it's not all in his head. In fact, his brain isn't connected to his butt, just like I've been saying for years. Maybe I'll pour out all the gory details in another post. Yuck. Poor kid. He needs one more test for the final diagnoses, and it involves putting him to sleep to check. Back to U-M.




But wait there's more! I actually squeezed a little sewing time in! I'm experimenting with more Kind Lady mug rugs. . . . . .

and ta-daaa! I got the
hobo sign wall hanging for DD's train club pieced together, have the batting and backing cut, and now just have to figure out how to quilt it. I'm thinkin' stitch-in-the-ditch for this one. And I got my Alpine Wonder quilt out of hock from the long-arm shop. I'm going to try to bind it myself. There's a great way to ruin a perfectly good quilt.

So the good news is (knock on wood) that none of us has any flu or serious cold type stuff. I imagine with the colder weather we'll all get hit soon.

Hearts for Haiti by BadAmyKnits

My lovely daughter, Betty Beehive, has donated a really cool bag for "Hearts for Haiti" on Etsy. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BadAmyKnits)

She visited there when she was 19, on a mission trip. An eye opening experience for all of us. So check out her store on Etsy and her blog (via my blog list).

Here on the home front, it's been a day to run the washer full-bore all day. Sheets, blankets, curtains, whatever all needed the proverbial mid-winter deep cleaning. After all this, I decided to treat myself to a beautiful few minutes in our living room. Lots of folks have the feeling of walking into a chapel, and today with the sun streaming through the windows I felt the same. Then the practical Scotswoman in me took hold and decided the windows needed to be washed to fully appreciate the fabulous and unusual sunshine. Alas, only 3 panes were cleaned in and out and 3 just inside, but even that is pretty dang sweet. Now I'm going to go back there and enjoy the thin, simple light of a February sunset.

Bout and BadAmyKnits all in one post

The Glass City Rollers won their first bout ever and they did it before a sell out crowd at the Toledo Seagate Center. How cool is that! My hat is off to those women for ramming around and having all that fun. Check them out here.

And my daughter's stuff made the front page of Etsy! Etsy is an online storefront for crafters and sellers of vintage stuff. BadAmyKnits has been plugging away making sock yarn bags for sale for about a year, but she made the front page with her knitted candy canes. They are so darn cute! But I think the teeny tiny sweaters are the bomb. Way way way too cute. I'm a sucker for knitted winter woolies so I'm totally in love with her stuff. So here's where you find the bestest stuff:
BadAmyKnits on Etsy. You can also find her on Ravelry at BadAmyKnits.  She has a discussion forum, and most of her new stuff is published there first.  Go on, you know you wanna look!

Getting Ready for the Bout

My Christmas shopping is 99.32% finished, the stockings are hung, I can't find the special treat we brought back from Montana just yet, but everything else is coming along. So it must be time for. . . . ROLLER DERBY! Yep, its time for the Glass City Rollers second home bout. Seagate Center, 7:00 Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, tickets available in several Toledo locations. I picked a lime green shirt at the thrift shop tonight, and felt to make banners for each of the girls--really cheesy ones, of course. I'm still amazed that I like this so much. Must be my alter-ego at work.

The Whitehouse Library Home Tour was loverly again. Raised some good money for a good cause. I'm pretty seriously considering having our house in the tour next year. Unless 6 other homeowners just jump at the chance, I'll do it. This year, I'm keeping it simple. Just the bestest ornaments and a few garlands. Okay, there is my Yooper Christmas Village that's taken on a life of its own. YooperVille and ranger-y stuff cover my cutting table, which is taking up all of my foyer, the Acadia Cool Damp & Foggy Village is on the buffet, and there are some other pieces here and there. I could only find one new piece that I liked this year, and a bunch of new people, including Rangers on horseback. They do need to be 'snow painted' though so they fit in. I'll have my crafty corner up and maybe running by Christmas. DH and newest nephew-in-law worked all afternoon in the basement again today. DH has put in a couple of hours here and there. I'm hoping the paneling goes up in the Crafty corner tomorrow or the next day. I'm taking over then. The drywall is up for the 'river portage' wall mural. Yours truly just has to mud and tape the seams and holes. Arg. We have 7 years experience doing this. All 7 years were spent trying to finish the kitchen ceiling in the old house. Finally, I just painted the dang thing, dimples and all. Hey when the house is over 160 years old, who cares about drywall dimples?

I've also been offering unsolicited advice for my daughter's Etsy Store. If you actually prefer handcrafted, made in the USA gifts, check out Etsy and BadAmyKnits. Tons of cool stuff.