Arts and Crafts

Today it did not snow in Seattle, though it may have done so somewhere close by. Yesterday the rain contained about a third snow and the wind chilled me to the bone during the time I needed to be in the weather. The sun shone through big breaks in the clouds not ten minutes before I headed out. Just a week ago on the previous Saturday we reached 79F, tying and setting records. We set records again yesterday but at the other extreme.

So in the chilly sunshine today I headed first to Village Yarn and Tea, where I picked up the Hand Maiden Camelspin and Fleece Artist Sea Wool I special ordered at Madrona.While there I had a pot of tea and finished the knitting on my Casbah scarf. It still needs blocking, obviously, and a button and loop. Those didn't happen this evening as I opted for art - as in an evening of ballet- instead of craft.

After the LYS I headed to Third Place Books where I picked up several copies of Stephanie's book for tomorrows talk and signing. I'm still concerned that due to not needing a signing line ticket many knitters won't buy the book ahead of time but will form a vast line to try to get theirs right before the talk. I bought a copy for me, some for friends who both will and may not make the event, and one to get signed for my Blogiversary contest - leave a comment by midnight Pacific time Wednesday to enter the drawing.

On my way into the bookstore, the man sitting on the bench out front watched intently as I walked past. I had the feeling he looked at the hand knit sweater I wore. When I came back out he was gone but in his place lay a hand-knit chenille watchcap, complete with a mistake/ turning row. I do hope he came back for it. The cold day really justified a warm hat, too.

The new book is a cute little hardback - a good size to carry in a project bag or purse. I think this is Stephanie's first hardback. As the title implies, it covers lots of Things that fall in the category of Good Things to Know - starting with the 1st thing 'Beginning is easy. Continuing is hard,' through the 25th thing 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again,' and on to the 45th thing 'I am very lucky,' with a few sidebars of lists of more Things scattered around. It's a wee thing but there's very little blank space or filler pictures and the font, though legible, looks proportionate to the size of the page and not overly large. It looks like there's a lot of reading in this.

Rather than blocking and finishing my scarf tonight, I went to the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Spring Festival Laugh Out Loud. The dances on the programs this year all amuse in some way, mostly by using unexpected variations on traditional moves. One piece by Tony-award-winner Susan Stroman ran to music by Dave Brubeck. Though light, these pieces contained lots of challenging dance. If you're in this area and have a chance to see this company, take it.

Tomorrow I'll probably madly attempt to get my sweater start sorted so I have something to knit at Stephanie's talk. Then I expect I'll give up and start something simple.

Comments

[Emily]

Have fun with the Harlot! I wish I could go but I have pilates until 7:00 and won't have my car, so I'll be missing her this time. Looking forward to reading the book once I get my hands on it...
And happy belated birthday!

[Nicole]

Your scarf looks great! I hope you have fun at the talk.

[Jess]

Hi Karen! Have a blast tonight! I wish I could have made it over there! Alas... not meant to be this time. One of these days...

[Kati]

Have a great time with the Harlot. She is a blast. Sorry I'm going to miss it.