Tilt-a-whirl

Fiber, friends and McCartney

I do not know if we could have crammed more into five days of life than we did this long weekend but we certainly gave it a hell of a try. For a change of pace, for our regular November journey to Santa Monica there were no fires or floods or palm tree bending windstorms. Nothing biblical happened, what-so-ever. You know, we have been doing the Contemporary Crafts Market for about 19 years now and we have had I5 close right after we left the lunch stop because wild fires came right down to the highway, torrential rains break our booth and drench stock and of course once many years ago when the promoter added the little tent to the grounds of the Santa Monica Civic (before he learned to jackhammer the tent to the cement) my ex partner and I came back to set up on day one to find that all of our booth had blown away and the promoter and helpers had carried everything into the building for safety. You see, this is why this weekend was so full of great vibes for the promoter and artitst in general. Nothing biblical happened.

This time we had a buddy hang with us for the better part of three days and it was just energizing and fun. Tom Clark

of Pussycaps came up from Orange County and brought caps that he had crocheted from my yarns, which not only got him a little in-person exposure and also allowed people to see what he does with the yarn that most people do not see, simply because he gobbles it up. He shot some pictures of me and has them here. I got The Husband to make sure that we documented Tom's addition to the booth and so here he is crocheting away.

There were times when someone would put their hands on some skein or another that he had stacked on the "desk" and I was waiting for him to pounce, teasing that he would wrestle them for the yarn. Let's just say that there was a lot of charming going on and having him there as art in action was wonderful, especially because he is a crocheter. Here is his treasure box with several hats going at once.

I wanted to turn you on to an amazing artist, whose work just blew me away this weekend. Her name is Patricia C. Boyd and I think that you should take a peek at her beautiful and moving sculptures that emerge from the lowly gourd. They look great in the photos but in person they are so very inspirational.

Last bits for today.

We drove up from LA yesterday and with some sort of extra energy, The Husband almost single handedly unloaded the BAV (we did not want any of the moisture from the foggy load-out to stay in the bins) and then after a few hours of rest we got into the car and headed out again. Yup, just as the rain was beginning to fall here we were off to see out childhood idol, Paul McCartney. Well, I thought that it might be a dorky, hokey evening for all of us oldsters but I was quite wrong. Paul McCartney has more energy than any 30 year old and entertained us for over three hours...maybe I should rethink this vegetarian thing. :o) He is very charming and goofy and warm and sounds fabulous. He pulled out some things deep from his catalogue and showcased new tunes with equal skill. The show must have cost a fortune to mount but the band was tight and happy and McCartney made sure to give each member a chance to have some mic time, to introduce himself to the audience and make himself more than a side musician. It is McCartney's way. He is a very nice man and I hope that he got as much pleasure from the evening as he gave. It ended with Sargeant Pepper...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Amen and thank you.

Some Fun With Friends

It is a freaking yarn store on the road, I tell you. My buddy Tom has been shopping in the yarn wall, and currently has three caps in the works...art in action. I have not been getting too much spinning done, which means that business is good and the folks are friendly. I promise to get some shots of Tom today, to turn the tables on him...he was trying to capture my hands in action, so we'll see how they came out.

Nearly Ready

I admit it, I worked myself into a stupor yesterday, a stupor that ended badly...me on the couch, sewing up Misha's Gold, yawning so completely that I had tears streaming down my face. The embarrassing thing is that this was at 7:30. Seven Thirty. It was no use. I finished the jacket pieces and left the sewing of the ends for this morning. I went to bed. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body and let go. I got into bed, smiled a great big sigh of relief, turned on the TV and 3-2-1...OUT.

Cut to the morning. They are done, these two knitted things. I have pictures to prove it. The commission (which will accompany me to Santa Monica) is for a woman that attends the Cowboy Poet's Round-up (I made up the last part...it is something like that) every year and so I decided to call the piece Pecos, for Pecos Bill.

I used 7 of my precious Ernst glass buttons from my very own stash...how can it be a stash when I haul it with me and let others paw through it? Anyway, they are mighty pretty.

And here it is...the yawner, the cuddly wuddly yummy Misha's Gold jacket.

So what, you say? Well, it has the springy weight of a mink without the death or stifling heat, that's what. Oh, and I used two LARGER glass buttons.

Who needs jewelry?

The mail came last night just before I went to bed...can you believe it?I forgot to open a package that came in from Alison Hyde until this morning. Lo and behold, here are the lovely scarves that she designed for my Aura cashmere. Everybody is trying to help me look gooooood for the weekend. Thank you, Alison.

I tell you, I am looking forward to hanging with Tom this weekend. For those of you that have a hunger for gorgeous caps like this, we are going to give Tom some space in the booth to bring caps that he has made from my yarn. Fun! He was off on some wild abandon adventure in the Greek Isles while I was slaving away in the show pits, in June. HEY! I am ready, ready, ready for another vacation, let me tell you but there will be no jetting off to New Zealand this year...nope, I get to drive like a bat out of hell up to Sacramento to greet my grandson this vacation season. I think that is a good trade-off! The last time that I put my hand on the outside of his cocoon, he was pulled into a tight little ball. He has been very kind to his mama, not kicking her too much, and so we are hoping that he is calm like HER instead of a wiggle worm like his daddy. :o) Hey Tom, you can give me pointers for delivery day...in my day there was The Husband and a whole lot of people with funny hats in the room and NOW it is a party with the mother as the entertainment. Yikes! Now THAT is bonding.

Alright, no more fun for me...I have to go tag and bag some yarn.