Catching Up

The lack of sleep and the long plane ride finally caught up with me. I crashed about 8:30 last night and slept through until 10 this morning. And then took a 45 minute nap when Dick fell asleep reading the paper. Oh, the life of leisure!

Yesterday's guild speaker, Dr. Robert Liu of Ornament magazine, was very good. He showed the work of various contemporary glass bead artists from around the world. O.M.G. Amazingly gorgeous stuff. The afternoon workshop was making glass beads at my favorite art glass store. Rave reviews from all the participants. I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped - the working distance turned out to be a visual never-never land for me; I couldn't get my eyes to focus on the bead. It was too close to wear my glasses and too far away to see without them. And moving closer to the torch wasn't really an option. Getting a pair of glasses just for beadmaking might be though. I'm giving it some serious thought . . . . .

We got to bring home the copper mandrill beads we made, but the others - like this barrel bead - are being annealed in the store's kiln. Photos on Tuesday after I pick them up.And remember how I said Dick and I didn't like the glass fusion class? That was before we picked up the finished kiln-baked pieces. A kiln is back on our wish-list. Photos tomorrow after I break into Marie's room to get the piece she's already wearing as a necklace.

I Have A Good Excuse . . .

for not blogging in sooooo long. Want to see it? Isn't she beautiful? I flew to Colorado on Friday so I could babysit my favorite granddaughter. Grandpa Jim, John's dad, usually watches Addy but he was on vacation this past week, which gave me a chance to grab some baby time. I couldn't get on the plane fast enough!
Denver's weather forecast for the weekend was mild, 50's during the day and high 30's at night. So imagine my surprise when about an hour into the flight we were rerouted to Las Vegas due to an ice storm in Denver. We were told the delay would be about an hour and we got to deplane. Twenty minutes later - after I'd lost my one dollar in the slot machines - they were chasing down the staff and passengers so we could get back in the air. It was another forty-five minutes before they finally found the last passenger. Not fun sitting in a small plane, with limited air circulation, for that long. Even less fun for the 6'5 guy crammed into the seat next to me.

The good thing about airports layovers and long plane rides is the chance to finish presents for babies. These bibs are crocheted with cotton and took about an hour each to make. I also worked on a pair of baby booties, but ran out of yarn before I finished the toes. I think I have something in my stash that might match; otherwise, I'll be shopping for off-white sock yarn very shortly. (Kimberly, if you're reading this - do you have any more of the red, white & blue sock yarn I bought from you awhile back? I just need a few yards, if you happen to have some stashed away . . . . .)

So what did I do on my Colorado vacation? On Saturday, Rachel, her buddy Tania and I painted pottery. I'll tell more about that when I have photos of the finished pieces. (But it was fun, fun, fun! And there's an almost identical store in Ventura. Anybody want to go painting??)
And I held a sleeping baby. Addy will sleep for hours during the day, as long as someone is holding her. Lay her down and she's awake within 20 minutes. So, of course, Grandma HAD to hold her. She's pretty good about sleeping in her crib at night; she's still getting up about once a night. Poor John isn't getting much sleep.

And I helped her play with her favorite toy. Grandpa Jim gave Addy this Leap Frog chair. She loves it. She puts so much energy into trying to touch the swinging toys - which makes music play - that after about 30 minutes, she's exhausted. The first couple of days, Addy was using mostly her left hand to grab the toys. But then she figured out that she had two hands - and the fun was really on. It was hilarious watching how excited she got.

And laughed at her when she got the sneezes (bad grandma.)
Addy is so good natured, always smiling and making happy noises. And I got to hear her very first laugh while I was there! Rachel got her laughing so hard, poor Addy got the hiccups. And yes, we laughed at her then too.

The only time she fussed? When we took her out to Joann's for beads and yarn. She's not crazy about the car seat. Or maybe it's all the bundling she has to endure when it's 36 degrees out. She looked cute, but she was not happy.

Oh! and I fixed Rachel's busted computer. It's been awhile since I reformatted a hard drive, so I was a tad nervous about it. But Grandma Tech Support rules! Be sure to check out the baby pictures of Addy, Rachel and John. I thought Addy had John's eyes. Guess again . . . .

So what did Dick do while I was out having fun? Worked on the house, of course. We now have the first section of tile in the hallway. The main section of the house has the light brown porcelain tile throughout. Between each room, we're putting different borders to add visual interest. I love the rain forest marble that separates the sitting room from the hall.

This One's MINE

I talked Dick into giving me my Valentine's present at 12:05 a.m. (Hey, it was officially Valentine's Day at midnight. I think I showed remarkable restraint by waiting a whole five minutes.) I knew he'd been working on something, but didn't know exactly what. This . . .

is elephant ivory (pre-ban), ebony, and padauk. Isn't it gorgeous?? I can't believe how tiny the hook looks and how carefully he had to work to get the point exactly right. The good news is that he has more ivory - both elephant and walrus - and plans to make more hooks with ivory. But this one is all mine!

Hooks and Socks And Friends, Oh My!

This is the first 'real' crochet hook (not a prototype) that Dick has finished. It's bubinga, ivory, and ebony. The handle is a little shorter than I like - the next batch will be slightly longer - but Sharon said it fit perfectly in her hand, so it went home with her. Dick has about 10 more handles done, just waiting for him to carve the hooks. Zebrawood, canarywood, tulipwood, bubinga, cocobolo . . . . not sure what others he's done. They look beautiful and the balance is fantastic. (Can you tell that I love them?)

The last part of the sock class was tonight. I was hoping we'd get through the gusset and foot, and at least start the shaping for the toe. That was a little optimistic. The heel turn and gusset took awhile to explain - those 10 rows are the hardest part of the project - but everyone made it through. And the socks all fit! I love all the different colors and types of yarn that were used. Custom-made, custom-sized socks, as promised. Everyone promised to finish both socks and bring them in for me to admire. Can't wait to see them!

Vickie, Wenona, Ellen and I try to get together once a month to craft. We don't always make the 30-day interval; in fact, it's been about six months since we last met. But yesterday we were finally able to mesh our schedules and hang out for the day at Ellen's. Vickie's lockerhooking a rug with fabric left over from her quilting days; Wenona was crocheting the Martha Stewart 'Coming Home' poncho; Ellen was crocheting a prayer shawl; and I worked on a demo sock for tonight's class and got pointers on finishing my knit scarf. It was a wonderful day. Thanks, guys!

Glass Fusion

Part of my birthday present was a glass fusion class at my favorite art glass store - and yesterday was class day. Dick and I were two of five students for the three hour hands-on class.

I love fused glass, especially the clear glass tiles imprinted with shapes. Turns out that's the easiest one to do. You cut foam (not asbestos - we asked) into various shapes using stencils and then place a glass tile on top of the foam. Bake in the kiln and voila, the glass slumps around the foam, creating shapes. We'll see the results some time next week. It takes hours to cook these things, between taking the temperature up gradually to over 1400 degrees, holding it during the 'bake', and then bringing it back down. No instant gratification here.

Next up were sun catchers. Method one was to draw a design (with a scrapbooking stencil - yeh! something to do with all those old templates I have stashed somewhere), create a dam around the design using good old white glue, then fill it in with glass frit. Method two was the one Dick used - cut glass shapes and lay them on the round glass. When they are kiln baked, the frit and cut glass melt, forming the design. (The bottom glass has a higher COE - are you impressed with the technical terms? - or melting temperature, so it retains its shape while the other glass melts.) That's the theory, anyway; we'll see these results next week too. The last part of the class was jewelry making with various types of glass, including dichroic. Dichroic is so pretty, I just took a piece, topped it with clear glass cut into the same shape, and called it done. We also sandwiched different glass types, shapes, and colors between two pieces of clear glass. When cooked, the layers fuse together in unpredictable colors and shapes. So, have we added glass fusion to our growing list of hobbies? Probably not. With flamework, like glass blowing and bead making (that class is later this month), you get to immediately see your results and can make changes to get the effect you want. Fusion requires patience and lots of time. Neither one of us is all that excited about it.

Remember the knitted scarf? Frogged the whole thing and redid it on larger needles. It's much more flexible now, much nicer. AND I figured out how to fix a mistake I found a few rows back, then get going again. Thanks to this site. Love it!

Knittin' Spinster

Susie and I put together a spinning group to build on the techniques we learned in Gwen Powell's workshops. We were surprised - and pleased - to have nine spinners at the first meeting; invites** went out Monday, so there wasn't much notice. We're meeting at the same yarn store where I teach my crochet classes. The owner is a guild member and is letting us use the classroom while her SnB knitters group meets in the main part of the store.

Our plan is to meet the second and fourth Thursday of each month. During the first meeting, we'll study a specific fleece (probably Romney in March); the second meeting will be for individual spinning projects. Despite all the talking and eating and seeing what everyone else was working on, I got almost a full bobbin of a Columbia/mohair blend spun up. I bought a one-pound bag of this at last year's Fair and it's a dream to spin. I'm taking two of my wheels to the next meeting. Several knitters want to try spinning. I'm hoping to entice them over to the spinning side.

I think I'm officially a knitter now. Along with the eleventy-seven crochet projects I have going, I have four knitting projects on the needles. Two squares from my knitting block-a-month class, a cotton washcloth and a scarf. The scarf is Blue Sky Bulky, a 50/50 alpaca/wool blend. I'm using size 15 needles and I'm starting to think I should have used at least a 19. Tear it out and start over? Or keep on and wonder if it will be ok? What to do . . . .what to do . . .
I can now watch teevee and knit at the same time (last week I couldn't do that. Any distraction caused violent ripping out of stitches. ) Next up: talking while knitting. Whoohoo! Party time.

**If you're a member of the guild or Knit & Nibble and you'd like to come spin with us, just drop me an email and I'll send you the details.

325 Smackeroos

Yesterday, we stopped at the camera store where we bought my poor broken baby to get her repaired. Other than the cracked glass/plastic covering on the LCD screen, she still works fine. The only damage I did when I smacked her into the airplane armrest was the fairly impressive crack you see. The store owner shook his head mournfully, called the repair people, and said it would be - you might want to sit down here - three.hundred.and.twenty.five. dollars to fix. Oh, and gee, you might as well buy a new camera body, because you're already halfway to the $650 it would cost.

Wrong. Dick told him we'd think about it, brought the camera home, popped off the broken plastic, then cut, shaped and fitted a new piece of plastic. Cost? $15.

Estimate for camera repair: $325

Cost for a new camera body: $650

Benefit of having a very handy hubby: Priceless

$325 my ass.

Crochet Fun

Tonight's sock class was a blast. We had a lot of fun AND got the first half of the sock done. My plan was to get the cuff, heel flap and heel turn done tonight so we would just have the gusset, foot and toe to do next week. Everyone made it to the heel, so 'homework' is to finish the heel flap and try to do the turn. We'll start with either the turn or the gusset next week, depending on where everyone is. I think that will still give us enough time to complete the sock.
The five ladies have varying degrees of experience, but they all were enthusiastic and jumped right in learning the new stitches. The socks start with a double crochet foundation stitch rather than the usual chain stitch. I was pretty sure this would be new to everyone. Sandy was already there when I finished teaching a private lesson, so I showed her the stitch before class started. The other four staggered their arrivals so that I was able to show it to each of them individually. (Thanks, ladies!) That definitely worked out well. Trying to teach that stitch to them as a group would have been tricky, especially with the thin sock yarn we were using. Another thing that worked well was the worsted weight scrap yarn I brought for them to practice on. It's so much easier to learn when the yarn is thick enough that you can actually see the stitches you're making.

I was amazed at how well they all did. Of the five stitches we used tonight, four were new to most of them. Nobody got frustrated, no one gave up and they all "got" the new stuff by the end of class. Mandy even liked her sock cuff so well, she decided to use it as a bracelet. That should impress her students tomorrow.

Sock Class

I'm teaching my first crochet sock class tomorrow night. Spent almost the entire day reworking the pattern to make sure it is correct. (it wasn't. hopefully it is now.) Me, worrying things to death? What gave you that idea? I'd never do anything like that . . . .

Super Bowl, Super Mitts

Although we aren't football fans, we almost always watch the Super Bowl. More for the commercials than anything else. (The Blockbuster Mouse ad was the best this year.) But I need a project, something to keep me busy while the actual game is on.

I have a drawer full of yarn I've spun, beginner stuff that isn't fit for public view. Love the color, love that it's my first real plied yarn. But what is it good for? Tossing it isn't an option. But felting it is. I crocheted oven mitts - without a pattern, as you can probably tell from the first picture - to replace the ancient, charred ones we currently use. Before felting, they were 11.5" and pretty ugly. After two trips through the washing machine, they are a svelte 10" of heat-resistant beauty. The thumb didn't shrink as much as the rest of the mitt; it looks huge and out of proportion. If I did these again, I'd change the way I finished the top of the mitt and make the thumb shorter. But overall, I like how they turned out. And I like that I could use my handspun for something useful. Now, if I can just keep them from getting set on fire like the last pair of mitts . . . . .

Teaching is Tiring

I taught my first block-a-month class today - and I think it was a success. Of the seven students, two had lots of experience and were soon far ahead of everyone else. They were happy to work on their own, just asking questions when they needed help. The other five were beginners, including two who had just completed the beginning crochet class. The newbies worked at wildly different speeds, so I just went back and forth between them, explaining the pattern and techniques, and keeping them on track. Six of the seven were great. Friendly, helpful, positive.

I was determined that everyone who wanted to would finish the square today, so the scheduled 3-hour class stretched to f.i.v.e. hours (through lunch time. 10:30 to 3:30. Did I mention no lunch? But Chris brought Dove dark chocolate to share. Hurrah!) The last 3 hours had a party atmosphere; laughing, talking, swapping stories, yarn shopping, cheering each other on. Very fun.

Five of the seven have signed up for more block-a-month classes and two are taking my sock class on Tuesday. And the shop owner is referring customers to me for private crochet lessons. I met with my first student yesterday for two hours and we're meeting again on Tuesday. So overall, I guess I don't suck at teaching.

But today's five hours of concentration and problem solving tired us poor retired folk out. This is how I spent my evening. As a human cat bed. Don't they (we?) look comfy?

Art and Art Critics

Marie presented Dick and I with a new painting yesterday. She's keeping the first one (scroll down) to hang in her room, so now we'll have one to frame and display downstairs.

Dick put this one in the top of his closet, mainly to keep it away from the cats until we can get it framed. (And to let the paint dry. I didn't know about the wet paint. It's still wet. Ask me how I know.) When I took it down to get a photo, Snickers decided to play art critic. This is the first photo I took. And this is the second. It wasn't until the third shot that I finally got one that didn't feature Madame Critique.

Chocolate over-Indulgence

Have I mentioned that Dick is going to build spinning wheels? He's been researching those already on the market and studying construction methods and techniques. I've been doing my part (since I'll be the main beneficiary of his labors) by setting up study dates with my friends' wheels (thanks, Susie!) and searching for books, plans, and websites that he might find interesting. One book that was highly recommended, Understanding The Spinning Wheel by Eric Corran, just happened to be in stock at Village Spinning and Weaving in Solvang. It's a tad pricey ($80!!) so I wanted Dick to look at it before we bought it. Can you say 'road trip'?

And, of course, you can't go to a yarn shop without purchasing yarn. At least I can't. It would hurt John and Marsha's feelings if I didn't contribute to their retirement fund, right? So in addition to the book - which Dick pronounced 'excellent' - I made a slight addition to my yarn collection. (it's not stash anymore, it's a "collection". Check out the rationalization here.)
From the top, there's 665 yards of black 3-ply Superfine Prime Alpaca Yarn (incredibly soft, to make Dick a scarf to replace the one he left on the plane. sigh.), 500+ yards of "Hot Foot" Superwash Merino in luscious purples, blues, teal, and black (to make a shawl for me), and a cone of 10/2 Tencel to ply with my spun singles (to extend those 6 and 8-ounce treasures I just had to have; spun up, there isn't enough yardage to do anything with. But if I ply one spun single and one strand of Tencel . . . .)

In all the trips we've made to Solvang, we've never explored the surrounding countryside. We go to the main shopping area, check out our favorite shops, and then drive back home. We had some time to kill today, so we took a side road and explored. Have you ever heard of Nojoqui Falls? Me neither. The trail head is in a secluded county park about 7 miles outside Solvang. The area is beautiful and the falls are a 10-minute hike from the parking lot. We didn't have hiking shoes on today, but we will next time! We drove through Ballard and Los Olivos - featured in the movie Sideways - and we'll definitely go back there too.

Today's destination wasn't at all influenced by the Chumash Casino's Chocolate Indulgence promotion - Buffet ($14.95) with over 40 chocolate desserts, white and dark chocolate dipping fountains, free chocolate samples - offered only on Thursday evenings through February. They cheated just a touch by counting the various chocolate truffles and candies separately in their '40 desserts', but they had more items than (most people) could possibly eat - chocolate pudding cake, cherry and chocolate crepes (custom-made while you waited), chocolate dipping fountains with every kind of fruit you can imagine, 5-layer chocolate cake, tiny chocolate mousse cups, Italian sipping chocolate (it was like drinking liquid truffles; almost too rich), and cakes and tarts and more truffle-y chocolates than I've ever seen in one place. In addition to the main buffet dishes - two salmon, two chicken, four shrimp, tri-tip, salads and fruits and breads and potatoes and veggies and who knows what else? And all of it was well prepared and delicious.

We showed restraint and were able to walk away from the buffet under our own steam. But it was hard.