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Thursday, June 20, 2013

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.

Monday, June 17, 2013

A Brown Bird Benefit and some Knitting.

I realize now that trying to play catch up is the exact thing that's keeping me from posting regularly. Well I'm here to share just a couple of things:
Thing 1
Jeremy and I are preparing a few old Brown Bird songs for this benefit. This will be a very sweet show. You might have seen my post a few weeks ago about our dear friend and former band mate Dave, who is currently being treated for Leukemia. The fundraiser they put together to offset the costs of medical care and not being able to work brought in nearly $68,000 with over 1600 supporters, which is amazing. We are happy to be a part of this. We have to play the old songs, because we don't do that crazy thing he does with the singing and the drumming and the guitar playing all at the same time, (not to mention the fact that neither of us play violin or upright bass) and also, more importantly...these are songs we've loved playing with him over the years. They still need support, so please please come! You can keep tabs on Brown Bird here.

Thing 2
Some knitting-related photos.
Here is an adorable stuffed crocodile I made for my friend's baby. I started this when he was born, in 2010. I mailed it in March. His little face just kills me.


And here is a photo of the swatch that will become a sweater for my sister:
I'm working it in Chickadee by Quince & Co.--colors from the bottom up are Clay, Leek, Lichen, Clay again, Bird's Egg, Delft, Petal, and Chanterelle. Can't wait to get it started!


A few candids from some recent photo shoots I got to assist with. Keeping the garments organized, schlepping stuff around, holding an umbrella over Carrie so her camera doesn't get wet, running out to get coffee and snacks...and of course, enjoying the beauty of Maine! So nice to spend the work day on the beach (even though a few hours later it poured on us).
The top photo was taken at the Black Point Inn during the Knitbot Linen shoot. See some more candids of that shoot here