Plains on the Radio and Bayarri on the Needles

Estelle is currently getting her front border put on. Completed sweater photos will be forthcoming in a couple of days.

As far as mail goes, there is no greater feeling than receiving a box of yarn or books in my PO Box:

What's that you say? Where are my other projects I was working on? Irmo? Morganeve's Mitts? The master hand knitting swatches? All got packed up in the move, and ended up E V E R Y W H E R E. Who here knows the reality of being diligent in well-organized packing for about two days and then saying "Meh!" and throwing it all together in a random location and not labeling anything and figuring well we don't have THAT much stuff and we'll be moving soon again anyway, etc? Anyone? Other professional subletters out there? While it's true that the four pieces of furniture we own makes it seem that we don't have a lot of stuff, our books, music, instruments, crafting supplies, and kitchen gadgets say otherwise.

Well I did eventually find these things, so they will be moving forward as soon as I finish Bayarri and some secret items. I've actually never made myself a summer jacket before, and this will also be my first real-live Intarsia project. Thus far I've only tackled stripes (jogless jog jedi, right here!) and any attempts on Intarsia have not made it past the swatch stage. So far it looks passable, though I might have to jostle some weird-looking stitches...

It seems a bit crazy to be knitting with 8 different balls of yarn at the same time, but it looks pretty darned cool...

Tonight, Plains will be heading down to MIT to play on WMBR during Pipeline! with Aleric Nez. If you are in the Boston area, tune in to 88.1 FM--if not, you can stream live at wmbr.org. The show runs from 8-10pm. Always a blast. Jeremy and I have played on Pipeline! as Brown Bird, Plains, and South China. This trip will include Plains' traditional post-show trip to Gilley's in Portsmouth, NH, for our midnight sliders and fries. Imperative.

What's a girl to do when her bosses go to MDSW without her?

Well. While packing and moving me and Jeremy as well as our room mates out of our place at Revere St, I was also assisting Tess' Designer Yarns in getting ready to go down for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival: photographing Tess in the newest garments; packing yarn, garments, and patterns (and everything else); creating, printing, and laminating signs and garment tags; and of course, knitting. I finished a Falling Water Shrug by Margaret Radcliffe in their newest yarn, Kitten (65% Cashmere, 35% Silk, 100g/410yds per skein):

And I blocked out the most gorgeous cobalt Summit Shawl, also in Kitten, made by another sample knitter:

I've been feeling more comfortable taking photos of Tess in the garments. After all, she is a pro, and her mother, the dyer and owner of TDY, has been photographing her and the yarns for over 25 years. So, I have good coaches. They are patient and encouraging.

I didn't accompany them to MDSW because I had a show in Brattleboro, VT, which had to be rescheduled due to a five-alarm fire which destroyed an historic building in the downtown--the fire happened in late April, but there was a benefit concert for the residents of the 59 apartments that were destroyed, as well as the businesses that called the Brooks House home, on the same night that we were to have had our house concert. We'll be doing the show soon, and I'll post details when we know exactly when.

So, when my bosses are out of town, and I have absolutely no plans for the entire weekend, what is a knitter to do? (You're not really going to dignify that with an answer, right?)

Well, as I was helping pack the last bit of odds and ends into the van headed for MD, my boss put an Addi Knitting Machine in my hands:

I knitted a sample scarf for Knit One, Crochet Too:

On Friday, I went to a show at the Apohadion at which my darling husband played. The evening ended with an exciting theatrical number, which you can watch here.

On Sunday, I started blocking the sample scarf, and I swatched for Estelle...

And here, a week later, I am starting the first sleeve, but my photographer has gone to work for the day, so the photo of me wearing the sweater will have to wait.

On Monday, I went into a frenzy of baking, making a few of my greatest hits: Chocolate Mint-Chip Cookies (from Still Life With Menu by Mollie Katzen), Cheddar-Dill Biscuits (my fave recipe is on epicurious.com), and unsweetened granola with almonds, coconut, and raisins (from The Joy of Cooking).

When I drove up to Knit One, Crochet Too in Windham on Tuesday, I met the owner, Helene, and several of the staff that work there. There's a tiny office space that opens into two large warehouse rooms FULL of yarn and sample garments. Deb, the shipping manager, graciously sent me home with a sample ball of Baby-Boo, their bamboo yarn. I picked a light lavender color that I can't wait to swatch. They do a podcast about the inner workings of a yarn company, from designing yarns to designing garments...it's fascinating. Here's where you can listen to it.

Still more to catch up on, it's been tough tearing myself away from my needles...

Back to the land of the living

Wow, I've been gone for a month! Jeremy and I moved to another apartment in Portland, attended my cousin's wedding in CT, and have generally been packing and repacking and unpacking boxes and engaging in some other activities that are as yet under wraps. Lots of news has piled up, a few items of which I'd like to share with you:

News item #1:
The Tea First compilation, that South China contributed a track to (remember the fire ladder?), will be released very shortly.

News item #2:
South China now has a whole slew of shows coming up at the end of June, which you can find out about on my calendar page.

News item #3:
I finished up those mitts and that hat for Mel many weeks ago now, and she loved them. I didn't get her to model them for me, so you're going to have to deal with this weird photo of me:

And look at what she made me in exchange!

I have literally been trying to get a good photo of these cross-stitched/embroidered pendants, but as it turns out, both camera and phone are far-sighted. I'm working on that. In any case, Mel's a genius!

I've been really lazy about taking photos of my own sample projects, though I have begun taking photos at work of Tess modeling things that I've either made myself or blocked out to make photo-ready.

As I mentioned before, we moved a couple of weekends ago. We had one last craft night before we really started packing things up:

The bottom photo is a killer chocolate pudding recipe that came from my dear friend Greg's cousin's friend's blog (phew!) and I had Jon take his portion before he left for his show at Port City because I knew this was all going to disappear fast, which it totally did. The best part about making this pudding was watching each person put a spoonful in his/her mouth and make the exact same wide-eyed expression and say the exact same thing, every time: "Oh my god."

And our final moments in the house:

Our bedroom, where most of my blog and Ravelry photos were taken! If you can't see the gorgeous brown walls that Jeremy painted (his color choice), visit my Ravelry page.

Our kitchen, where we made many many batches of wonderful things. Including that pudding.

Our living room, where we had craft night...

Well there's lots more to tell, and far more photos of current, recent, and stalled knitting projects, but this post is already very long. More soon. Sorry, I will do my darndest not to hide for a month ever again.

Most boring blog post ever.

Hey friends, I'm one of those people that leaves doing the taxes to the last possible moment. Probably because painting season starts up again in the spring and we never have the money to pay the taxes early, say, in January.
So during my breaks while doing a year's worth of accounting in five days, I am doing some knitting, but photos will have to wait. I apologize for the silence. Really, it's kind of screechy on my end. Maybe this year I'll train myself to stay on top of these things...

Plains, Brown Bird, and Al Scorch in Portland this very night.

I do have a lot to catch up on here, but I waited too long this morning to get all the photos and links in place before heading to work.

So for now, I'm just going to say that tonight Jeremy and I are playing a show at the Apohadion Theater, which is located at 107 Hanover St in Portland. Tonight we're playing in Plains. Brown Bird and Al Scorch are also gracing the stage. Show will start 8:30-ish, please bring a donation for the traveling folk, and your beverage of choice.

Everyday life is so fascinating and rife with possibility and small wonders. I can barely keep up with myself. Raise your hand if you feel the same way.

Couldn't leave without one photo. Here is Fyvush, our resident kitty, facing down our resident dragons.

Home again, with lots more yarn and a new brother!

It seems like we were away for a whole week.

On Friday, Jeremy and I left the 4 inches (and counting) of snow in Maine and headed south to CT for the rehearsal. The wedding on Saturday was beautiful and super fun (and probably the shortest ceremony I've ever been to) despite my being extremely nervous about getting all of my notes right. Jeremy and I cut the rug big time at the reception. Literally, I have danced with my husband twice in the 9 years we've been together. I don't even remember much of his dancing, since the first time he got up I was laughing so hard I couldn't see him through my tears, and the second time I just couldn't keep up with him. The owner of the Saybrook Point Inn herself came to check out his moves. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the Saybrook Point Inn staff, who were so gracious and sweet. Everything about this day was perfect. And now I have a brother!

 I have my sister Katie and future brother-in-law Jason to thank for these photos, as it is difficult to take good shots with my phone...none of the photos I took came out well. Here we are missing Andrew's forehead, but the shot was so cute I couldn't pass it up. Rest assured, his forehead is as cute as the rest of him is.

 My sisters. A lot of people seem to think we have an endless supply, but in reality there are only four of us. Aren't they gorgeous?

After the reception, we went to Mohegan Sun, my first (and perhaps last) casino experience. I came out of there after a half an hour with ringing ears and a stunned look on my face. Plus my eyeballs were totally dried out.

On Sunday, we drove to Providence and I may have bought some yarn at Fresh Purls.

Berroco Weekend, and the phone camera doesn't do the delightful orchid color justice. The other color is Mouse.

We then visited Dave and Morganeve at Machines With Magnets, where they were working on a couple more songs to add to the upcoming Brown Bird album. (We've met the resident hound there, sweet and friendly!) We were so lucky as to get to listen to the rough mixes late Sunday...we ended the day celebrating a friend's birthday and enjoyed some freakishly delicious cupcakes and carrot cake.

On Monday, chilling in Warren after a crazy weekend, I may have visited Bella Yarns:

More Berroco Weekend in Taffy, plus Pattern Booklet #296, and about 275 yards of Haze by Queensland Collection, Cotton/Corn Viscose fingering weight goodness...perhaps a summery shawl will come from this...

Taking a load off at chez Brown Bird

Next family wedding is in less than three weeks!

Recording and more recording...

Monday night Jeremy and I met up with our sweet friend Dave to do some overdubs for the new Plains album, a record that's been in the works for over a year:

Tuesday night Jeremy, Dave and I gathered again to lay down cello, banjo, and trombone for a Tin Ceilings track, to be released on the next Seasonal Disorder compilation from Burst and Bloom Records.

Wednesday night was for mixing...a perfect activity for starting my new sample project...

Pat Corrigan, amazing artist, illustrator, designer, and musician, has made a short film. If you're like me, and watching cats doing ridiculous things is one of your favorite pastimes, you won't be disappointed. The conclusion of the film is particularly riveting.

There's much more to this week than I'm letting on, but it will have to wait--we're driving down to CT for the wedding rehearsal in this special April Fool's Day blizzard. Slow going.