Tomorrow night, a show in the Biddo. And more knitting.

Yes. This Friday, the first day of summer, at the Oak and Ax in Biddeford, Hersey State will be playing a set with the amazing Vio/Mire (from Providence/Portland) and Laughing Eye, Weeping Eye (from Chicago). Show page here. We Herseys believe this is the first time we've played a show together since the O + A festival last September. (!) The thing I love about Hersey is that all of us in the band, 8 in all, are each songwriters--so whenever we play, we have a lot of songs to choose from. We each bring our own thing to the table and somehow magically make it all sound cohesive.

Here are some things that are in progress. I've been enjoying photographing my knitting first thing in the morning!

First, a log cabin blanket:

Started with some odds and ends I had around, but now it's getting serious(ly big) so time to step up my game. I would like to make this double bed-sized, but it's a square, so the plan is at some point to add just some stripes to either/both ends to make it more of a rectangle. It's fun (read: supremely dorky) to try and guess which yarns I will run out of first, and which colors the stripes will be.

 There's some Quince Lark in there (Bark and Twig), some Tess Designer Yarns left over from the Crocodile (by the way, that was a project from Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen. Ridiculously cute stuff. Also made the elephant.), some Cascade 220 that I never used for my Master Handknitting course, also some Manos and Malabrigo in there. The pattern is from Mason-Dixon Knitting. It has inspired me to check out what other quilt patterns have been translated into knitting...more on that later.

My Caramel, in CEY Princess, which I've heard isn't made anymore. Bummer, because my Effortless is also in Princess (next time!) and it is so nice to wear. The fabric stays a little stiff in the knitting but relaxes and softens up perfectly after blocking.
As an aside, I will say that for a long time, I was a broke musician whose source of yarn consisted of the yarn I was paid in exchange for sample knitting, and any Goodwill sweaters I had the patience to unravel; so I really haven't explored fiber too much over the years. I can say the same thing about music, where I was so wrapped up in my studies as a voice major studying classical music that I didn't start getting into the great Indie bands of the 90s until a few years after I graduated in '98...but I digress. Suffice it to say that I feel I'm always just behind the curve. (Also, I'm the only one in my office that doesn't have 1) wellies; 2) toms; or 3) a smart phone.)

And this...? This is my first design that is slated to be published. I will say no more! Except two words: Chickadee. Lichen.