There’s something to be said for a train ride!

The title “grandmother” has certain responsibilities. Like taking part in a new child’s life. Unfortunately, my 6-month old grandson lives in the northwest Chicago suburbs - it’s not easy to pop over and say hello. So, Sunday, Mother’s Day, I climbed on the train at oh-dark-thirty (as we used to say in the Army) in Flint, lunched in downtown Chicago, hopped on the Metra for another 90 minutes and finally arrived to find said grandbaby and his daddy waiting to retrieve me at the train station. As you can see, Luke is doing just fine. He’s a cutie pie and I got to spend a lot of time with him (teething . . . fun, fun!).

I actually look forward to the train rides to see baby Luke and family. I get peace and quiet (well, on the way over when I rode in business class, anyhow) and time to snooze, read and catch up on TV shows (thank goodness for iPods!). Mostly, tho I worked and I can share some of that with you. I was busy scheduling classes for the next year. Yes, I schedule my life and some of the instructors lives that far out. Sitting on the train with nothing to stop my work I plowed through piles of notes, printouts of emails and relied heavily on a well-scribbled on calendar. Scheduling classes give one a whole new appreciation for what happens in high schools and colleges!

One of the cool things you will see happening in our classes is that Becca, our young weaver, will be teaching more classes. Those of you who have had Becca as an assistant have loved her and agree she knows her stuff. Well, we are putting that stuff to work in two classes. A learn to weave in a weekend class and project based classes for new weavers. She’ll be weaving us samples for the project classes. This first year we will offer three different project classes: a pillow, placemats and dishtowels.

Based on the feedback from this just-graduated Spinning Boot Camp, I have extracted the spinning the breeds lesson from SBC and am turning it into a Focus series for spinners in the form of a class called The Breed of the Month. I’ll have washed wool for you (and an unwashed sample) and all the research done. Together we’ll explore the wool and decide how we best like it prepared and spun. I think it is going to be great fun and participants will build a helpful library of wools. The BOM class is on Wednesday evenings and we’ll kick off with Gotland. Limited to 12 students, don’t wait to sign up!

We’ve added three new Focus classes for knitters: Focus on  . . . Shetland Lace, Fit and Socks. Jae (www.someknitreq.com) is teaching the latter two. In addition to these classes, in the fall, I’ll also be running Focus on Fair Isle again. Love this class!!! Watching what happens with color is incredible.

I also scheduled some old favorite classes, including: the Wallaby, Baby Einstein, the Fish Sweater, EZs Baby Surprise, and thrummed mittens. Plus, we have a group of classes that feature our original designs, among them: Joy’s 4-ruffle scarf (pattern is now available and the scarf is on display in the shop) and Joan’s Mariko Scarf, Quick Flap Cap and the Geometric Beaded Scarf.

By no means did I finish my scheduling work on one train trip, but I sure made a dent in it. Watch the newsletter and website over the next month or so as we add new things. And, if you have ideas for a class that you absolutely must have, please let us know.

Heritage Strippers & a new wrap

This photo captures Stacey assisting Deb in a front porch photo shoot. I promised Deb that nothing would show but the skirt . . . but they agreed that this photo was too fun to hide in my computer. Our front porch hosts many photo shoots. Sometimes I’ve got stuff sitting on the porch and I’m laying on the ground. The neighbors must think I am nuts. Of course, they usually take place when it is pretty quiet around town, so not that many people get to view our craziness. Check this week’s newsletter to see the “real” photos of these garments.

 

     

This is your first introduction to the Nomad Wrap. So called because of the wandering lace pattern that travels from end to end. That’s Sophia being a sport and modeling for me. The wrap is knit from our Bloomfield in the Trout colorway. It is a fairly easy lace pattern that looks great knit up. I promise to have the pattern available real soon in the shop. In the meantime, you can come in and see it in person.

Back at It & Island Time

Well, the Estonian Garden Wrap lives again! I ordered more yarn, two cones of Jaggerspun4/8 Zephyr, just in case the dye lots didn’t match my earlier knitting. It was my luck: they didn’t match. But, I decided that I liked my (now) swatch enough to start again from the beginning. So, here’s where I am so far. About a third done with the middle. The Lily of the Valley pattern goes on each end. To see my “swatch” scroll back a couple blog entries. Thankfully, I am now to the point where it is conversational knitting. I haven’t had any of that in a long time, so this is a treat.

This past weekend was the last Heritage Fiber Retreat at Insel Haus. After this, Christa will host them. For more information visit www.yarndreamer.com.

This was (we think), the 13th time I have taken a group to the island and I did a lot better with my planning and menus. That means that I was able to enjoy more knitting time than usual (see the results in the pink shawl above!) and also did a bit of weaving. This bag was woven on an AshfordKnitter’s Loom with a warp of commercial alpaca and a handspunweft. It took me, all told, from warping the loom to hand sewing the double-pocketed bag, about six hours. Not bad. Christa helped me with the finishing - she made a braided cord (one of these days I’ll figure out her technique) and a beautiful double-knit tassle. Her touches make the bag! It is a sample for a class I am teaching next year at CNCH.

This was probably the most intense island weekend we’ve ever had. One group worked with Christa making her cobweb lace mittens, scarf and vest. Another worked with me on the Estonian Garden Scarf and Wrap. Lily of the Valley practice was the focus of the second group. Sorry, no pictures, I was too busy knitting! Okay, I left my camera in the car on the mainland. The bag photo is compliments of Donna.

Not every minute was spent inside. Annie and Christa and I snuck in a visit before Sunday brunch to a log cabin under construction on Lake Thompson, one of the island’s inland lakes. One of the cool things about the island is that many of the homes are built with lumber from the island. The logs in Steve’s cabin are massive. It isn’t a big cabin, but it sure is nice. Still very rough, you can just imagine the potential. Late Sunday, Annie and I went rock hounding at the beach. The water level is up a bit from last year. It was good to see. I was looking for smooth rocks for stone massage, but didn’t really find much. I did, however, find two rocks that I am pretty sure are agates. I remember looking for them when I was a kid and never found any then. Brought back memories.

It was a good weekend. I’ll miss the retreats, but not all the coordinating. I have promised Christa that I will teach on some of her retreats. Both times scheduled so far are in the winter, my favorite time on the island. It is so beautiful there then . . . quiet, peaceful, perfect for knitting. It is not too early to make reservations!