Magical evening

What a magical evening!! For those of you who don't know, the picture above is of Ysolda Teague, myself, and the Elijah's. I stopped by Wonder Knits yesterday evening, on my way to Knitters' Connection, to see how crazy things were for Ysolda's book signing. To my surprise, Ysolda was sitting on the couch, knitting away with staff from the shop!! Unfortunately, I did not get to stay too long, but did get to chat with Ysolda for a bit. I bought a copy of her book 'Whimsical Little Knits' and had it signed. I also got a chance to look at all the wonderful samples she brought with her. Can I say that I was completely shell shocked and felt like I kept rambling on to fill any silence that occurred. I felt like if there was any silence I might freak out a bit. Ysolda was so nice to talk with. She has a nice soft spoken kind of voice with a little hint of a Scottish accent. She said she had gotten to go to Jen's for some ice cream earlier in the day (which is the best ice cream in town I must say). I told her how sad I was to have to leave and we talked a bit about Knitters' Connection. She said she had gotten a chance to meet Cat Bordhi (who's class I am taking tomorrow) and that Cat recognized her! She said that Cat also tried to drown Mousie!! When I left only one other person had stopped in to meet Ysolda and I so hope more came through the evening!! It was such a delight!!

After I left Wonder Knits, I headed to the Convention Center for my lecture with Sandi Wiseheart. I got there a bit early and got a chance to look around the Knitters' Market. There were lots of new vendors this year. I stopped in Ivy Brambles, where I fell in love with a cute little toddler vest!! It only uses one skein of yarn and I bought the color that the sample was made in. Their website tells about how they use nature as the inspiration for their colorways and they do a wonderful job. I only wish I could have purchased more!!

In the lecture, Sandi Wiseheart talked about making sweaters that fit. She did a wonderful job. She told us that really no one can knit a garment exactly from the pattern. We talked about measuring ourselves as homework, ways to make mock garments from the schematics (if they are done accurately), and that we all knit something that will need frogged (even Sandi Wiseheart who made Rogue for her hubby and the sleeves were too long). Lots of other wise knitters added to her presentation at the end as well. It was a very educational and magical evening indeed with knitting celebs all around!!

Can't wait to fill you in on all the excitement in store for Friday and Saturday!!

Curly Stuff

Lots has happened this week. First off, I went to Shag Hair Studio this week to get a curly girl cut. I had a good portion taken off to get my hair to one length, instead of all those layers. I learned lots from Maria. So I've been practicing new techniques and trying new things. The biggest thing is using conditioner on my scalp once in a while. I have been worried this would be too much for my hair and would leave me looking really greasy. But I tried an exfoliating version of it this morning and my scalp feels clean and my hair is softer! The book, Curly Girl ,talks about using a mix of brown sugar and conditioner on your scalp once a week to exfoliate it. Well, I have been super itchy and have had dandruff since I stopped washing my hair everyday. So far this mix has helped, if the itching persists I am going to try the heavy whipping cream on my scalp, which is recommended in the book for itching in particular. The other thing I have been trying to get right is using clips on my hair to give it some lift at the root and to help encourage more curl/wavy. I feel like this makes the curls a bit looser in the front, but it helps the back. The back of my hair has always been a big problem for me. When I wore it straight it was wavy, now that I want it wavy it wants to be straight!!

In terms of knitting, I did some reorganizing of my stash this week. I stopped at the Container Store and got some cheap stuff (a three drawer plastic organizer thingy) to hold the yarn that was sitting in boxes and bags. I also did the unthinkable and pitched some things. Little bits of scrap yarn that wasn't going to be anything, some unfinished projects that were not ever going to be finished (like the first sweater I started making for Ollie that was in pieces and weird gauges). It felt good to let go of that stuff. Freeing. I still have a box of acrylic to use or donate and I need to make bookshelf space for my books (which are lining the wall now, instead of sitting in piles). I also still need a bigger binder to organize all my patterns which at least are all together now.

Well, that is all the news. I am off to finish my Crazy Monkey sock. I am ready to try out EZ's bind off on it. I'll have to take pics to post next time as I work on it's mate. I have a week and a half to finish it up before Knitters Connection and my Cat Bordhi class!! Can you tell that I am soooo psyched!!