Things are a’ shakin here are Chez’ Mama. Dye pots are constantly full… the skein winder is about ready to overheat!

So…. here is the skinny!

• Blood Orange pre-orders ship next week. They are VEDDY pretty. I am also looking at doing a couple bumps of Blood Orange BFL.

• Clubs are shipping at the end of next week. YEA!!

• Threaded Bliss has a big order of sock yarn in the post!!! If you live in the Brentwood, TN area… you should go say “howdy” to Sheila for me.

• The Warehouse is being updated this weekend between Saturday and Sunday. There are a VERY few lace club spots left. I have added a new base yarn to my collection (merino/silk… to dye for! ) and lots of lacecakes are going up for sale.

EDIT: The Warehouse Update is live!!!
I think that is all for now… The frenzied preparations for the cruise are under way. I can tell you that Amie, Eunny, and I are working on some great classes and getting our “pint lifting” muscles in shape! I am working on the cowboy’s table manners… or lack thereof!

We are actually headed to Phoenix before the cruise to get some R and R with my big-bro and SIL… anyone have a great yarn shop that needs visiting in the Phoenix/Tempe area?

We will also be in Seattle on our own before the flight home. Same questions apply to that city.

Thanks friends! Have a great weekend!

Sunday… the first brilliant blue sky-ed, warm breeze blowin’, play outside day of Spring 2007.

We started the day lazily. D and I were awakened at 10:30 am by the cowboy’s chirping about some train or another. 10 freakin’ 30! That is like when we used to sleep in until 12 or 1!
We were expected at a family birthday celebration brunch at 12:30… (Bethy… sorry to confess…) presents needed to be gathered and children cleaned and dressed. We kind of flew into high gear and made it to the resturant at 12:15 BEFORE anyone arrived. Score for the folks that are generally and usually 15 -30 minutes late!

We went to Hull Street Blues for an amazing brunch buffet (including oysters and poached salmon). The cowboy kept it together until the end. There was birthday cake involved and kept him focused until the end.

We headed to nearby Fort McHenry to enjoy the beautiful day. The cowboy and D had fun checking out all the nooks and crannies in the fort. They especially had a good time making echoes in the underground bunker and having me lock them up in the brig.

Kites were flying, sailboats sailing, and families were spending good times outside together. I love spring!

Yes Friends. It is true. Go ahead! Have your {LACE}Cake and eat it. too!

Here you see the newest line of C*EYE*BER Fiber. 100% Merino laceweight. Just in time for the Lace season!

Want a closer look?

Yum! This one is finding her way up north, across the boarder.

But, no worries friends! There is more where this comes from.

Did anyone say LACE SEASON??

Oh, wait. That was me.

And, being that I love a club…. I am launching a new one.

The Cake of the Month Club!

100.00 for 4 months of lace (May, June, July, August)

I am putting 20 spots {ONLY 8 LEFT!!} up in the Warehouse now. Once they are gone, that’s it!

C’mon folks! Come get your lace on!

Any guesses as to what this is???

I am fortunate enough to have more family than most. I am the child of divorced parents, who each had children with new spouses, and a new family dynamic bloomed in my life.

One of the strongest pieces of that dynamic is my step-mom. She comes from this amazingly graceful, and big Irish Catholic family. That family is made up of 7 sisters and her one brother.

Each sister has touched my life in profound ways. They have walked 60 miles with me to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer 3 Day, they stood behind me when I delivered the eulogy at my father’s funeral, they have taught me to love your family in the face of imperfection, and they have taught me that a good laugh is always the best medicine.

So, to honor each sister, I have decided to make a lace piece for everyone of them this year.

Now, I am a beginner lace knitter. I am trying like crazy to steady myself to read a chart (umm… I was reading them wrong until recently), to knit slowly, and move my lifeline up with each repeat.

But, I thought, if I wanted to improve my lace-knitting skills I better love the projects (or at least the people that they are intended for).

This piece is intended for Aunt Beanie. She gave the blessing at my wedding, held my hand while delivering my dad’s eulogy, and walked 60 miles with no complaints and BAD blisters.

The yarn is Claudia’s Handpaints, “Walk in the Woods” colorway. And the question that inevitably follows is….” Why not use your own yarn? ”

Well…. I am pretty fond of yarn in general. When something is beautiful, it is beautiful. I don’t need to always use my own yarn. Don’t get me wrong… there are some of my colorways that I love and covet. Some you never get to see. I am all about the art of the material. Claudia makes some beautiful stuff.

So…. sister number 1 is under way. I hope I get through my little project by Christmas. I would love to hand deliver each piece with a card to tell them how much they mean to me.

And that, in a nutshell, is why I am listening to the “Essential Bruce Springsteen”.

Little known fact about Mama… I LOVE Bruce Springsteen. I know… there are others who love him more and better than I ever could.

But, alas, I love him.

I am from New Jersey. Like, really from New Jersey. I can use the “F-bomb” as an adjective, verb, and even a noun. I know what exit I live off of and what exit all of my family (that still reside there) live off of. I love bagels. I love pizza. I do believe it is not a joke that it is called the “Garden State” (state tree… Dogwood). I know every entrance in to the city and call it “Manhattan” (not New York. New York has 5 boroughs… not one.)
Bruce is our hometown hero. We know the in Asbury Park that he sings about. We find home and familiarity in the simple lines of a harmonica and a solo piano crooning through the speakers.

We all knew we were “Jersey Girls”. We love the boardwalk (Seaside, Point Pleasant, and Wildwood). We know that we are fast and sometimes blunt.

But, the thing is, there is no guessing where we stand. United on E Street. At the end of Thunder Road…..

I love Bruce because it reminds me of some very important guys in my life.

My dad. A Chevy Chevette. Trying to throw dimes (YES DIMES!) in the toll baskets on the Parkway out of the passenger side window, over the roof, hook-shot fashion. On the way to the beach… Island Beach State park… eating whole cherries and singing.

It reminds me to be happy, feel young, and live it up. My dad was always so happy hearing Bruce.

Bruce also reminds me of G-Tiddy, my big brother. The one I adored and annoyed my entire childhood. I remember the year we got our Bruce cassette box sets. I remember wanting to find connection to him through music. (I also remember, painfully, that I was too young to see the Born in the USA Tour in ‘85… he could because he was older. I was heartbroken.) I know most of my music because of him and my dad.

I think of them both… and where I come from. And what home and family is. There are times that it feels hard. I feel stressed. I am over committed (or should be committed!). I am ambitious…. but.. tonight… as I dye far to many skeins of yarn to count… I am from New Jersey, dammit.

Play my damn anthem. Because tonight my friends… this baby is Born to Run!

Nothing like a trip to the park to signify the first days of spring!

This is his BEST friend, Lady M. They love each other so much that when they see each other from a distance they both high tail it over to each other to scream and hug. She is allowed to be the other lady in his life.

Warm thoughts!!

Update: I have a class on March 31st from 10- 3 that has a few openings (email for your spot)and am working out some details to teach at 3 yarn shops! Woot!

No, not of yarn. Or raw materials, or dyes, or anything tangible.

The verb kind of inventory. Like to look at yourself and see where you’re at and where you want to be. To look how far you have come from last year.

That is my first dye hand. Kool-aid to be exact. Blogged about on 2/09/06. One year ago.

One amazingly crazy year ago.

The first skein. They turned into these for sockpalooza.

So.. why did I continue to dye? I couldn’t stop.

Quite honestly. I could not stop. I got this churning in my brain and tingle in my finger. That spark. That crazy,creative spark I loved so much in art school was back. Back in full force, sans pressure. No worries about grades. No pressure about deadlines. Pure joy relived.

You know, at one point in my life I thought that having a studio and being an artist was my life’s dream. I am starting to live the dream, friends. And it feels good. Very, very good.

There are friends and fiber colleagues of mine that are doing the same. All around me, in my network, I am seeing this happen. We are holding hands and sharing ideas. We have virtual “salons” and critiques. Many of us do a virtual handshake with our business deals. We are artisans. We recognize that we need other artisans to get better at what we do. We trade information and spark creativity in each other that would be dormant alone.
Why do I sell my yarn? Simple. I have to have it leave to be able to keep creating. I have to sell it to be able to get better at what I do. And, looking back over the last year, I see improvement. I am starting to see a sophistication that was not there even 2 or 3 months ago. I am reading about the process and thinking in terms like an artist again.

No one will ever get rich selling yarns/fiber/knit designing/spinning…. we may make a living. But the millions are not in this field. We do it, I do it, because I have passion for it. I love it. And, as hard as it gets to balance this fibery double-life that I lead, I would not trade it in. Even though, when times get stressful I threaten to. I won’t. I am an artist. I am not happy without this.

So, taking inventory of this year is sweet. I see in one year my little “project” has bloomed into a studio. My need to learn has made way for the room to teach. I am partnering and talking to people who inspire me to dream big. They trust, respect, and value me as an artist. I have amazing friends. Life is good. Life is very, very good.

All of this would never be possible without you all. You test knitters of those first skeins, those folks who bought the first batches, the ones who email me daily for requests, my sisters in knit that listen to my silly yarn dye crap, and the ones who read my silly ramblings… thank you. I am one grateful mama.

Ok… we are all sick again. I blame the flu that we have on Michelle from the Sweet Sheep…. too much IM’ng did it!

But… we are sick. D had to go get a chest X-ray and we are waiting on the results. I was so excited for Spring. Damn!

We had 2 inches of snow today. Another Damn!

But, I managed to do a little spring organizing before the plague hit. And a small amount of dyeing…

This is command central for C*EYE*Ber Fiber Yarns. And a little yarn p*rn for y’all. Those baskets are filled with my favorite yarns. Brooklyn Handspun, Malabrigo, Handmaiden, Vesper Self-Stripe, some Apple Laine. Yum. Who needs flowers? They die! Yarn is the arrangement that keeps on giving!

That is so true!

Wanna see my new dyeing?

Blood Orange Merino Tencel

Black Cherry Merino Tencel

Red Maple (Kettle Dye Version)

They are all up in the shop now. I am off to take more Dayquil and get the cowboy something to eat other than the Swedish fish stash he just discovered.

Stay well and knit lots all!

My girl, and hand-dyer extraordinaire, Heather is doing a really cool fund raising drive for her daughter’s school and her daughter’s sister school in South Africa.

Here is her post:

“So I’m really not one into fund raising or soliciting money from other folks BUT this is for a good cause I feel in my soul that I needed to come to my fellow knitters for a bit of help. My daughter’s Montessori school is holding a pledged based reading incentive program to help not only fund raise but to get the kids more excited about reading. Our goal is to have each kid in the school read over 300 minutes in the next two weeks (or in my case read to my child since she is a pre-reader.) This also encourages parents to spend more time reading to their children and spending one on one time away from the TV. I will be keeping a reading journal to make sure she stays on track and at the end of the two weeks, she gets a cute little certificate.

Where the money goes - The pledge program is being sponsored by Usborne Books -those of you who know them will know they have GREAT books and are a great asset to all types of educators. 50 percent of the pledge money will go directly to Amelia (well not to her directly but to the school and then to her) to pick out books for her own personal library from Usborne books. She is choosing to donate 50% of her cut to purchase books for her classroom and the school, which I’m just floored by her little 4 year old generosity. The other 50% will go directly to pay for books for our sister school in South Africa. Our sister school was actually co-founded by my friend Anne, who just recently moved here from South Africa . The story is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once, but it’s also entirely too long to tell all of it right now but I’ll give you the basic details with more info to come over the next couple weeks. There was no formal preschool education in this extremely impoverished South African community in which Anne lived. So the women at Damion Chrysler pooled their own personal resources to start a school for some of the local children who would probably never have an opportunity to attend any sort of formal schooling. This community has literally THOUSANDS of CHILDREN in it, the majority of which are living in conditions with NO RUNNING WATER, NO PLUMBING, LITTLE ACCESSIBILITY TO MEDICINE, AND VIRTUALLY NO FOOD. And if this is not enough, the entire community has been devastated by the HIV virus as well as drought and famine. The preschool started in a shack, moved to a clinic and is now in a brick and mortar building, it is run entirely by VOLUNTEERS who pay for all expenses out of their own pockets. The school has room for 60 children, all of which are chosen by a random lottery. They are provided one meal everyday, which for most of them is their only meal, and are taught English and other skills that will help them survive in their economically devastated community.

So why am I here? To ask for pledges from all of you, not only will this teach a valuable lesson to my daughter and her school about the importance of generosity but it will help in the continuation of this grassroots preschool and could literally assure that most of these children will have the opportunity to grow up and teach their own children.

What am I doing? Well I’m going to do my own pledging but with yarn rather then money. If you pledge $20.00 I will send you a lovely skein of my hand dyed sock yarn. If you pledge $25.00 I will dye a special skein just for you.****** And if you pledge 50.00(which I’m not expecting in the least bit) I will dye an entire pound of yarn of your choice for whatever project you might want at 50% of cost for wool blends and cotton or cost for 100% silks , which will be crazy cheap! Think luxurious silk blends or nubby wool or naturally dyed cotton, lovely hand dyed sweaters or drapey shawls, think big and 1/10th of the price as in your local yarn boutique! All those who donate will be entered in a lottery to win some other small prizes which I will list in the next couple days (if anyone wants to donate prizes drop me a line.)

This drive will continue until March 19th and with final donations being received no later then the 21st or the 22nd of March but the sooner the better. I will begin yarn dyeing now but please allow a couple weeks or a month to get your package.

Accountability - at the end of the drive I will make a copy of the pledge sheet with private information blocked out of course listing all the pledges that were made so you know your money will be going to where it needs to be. I will also attempt to keep a running total in my side bar (does anyone know how to do this? Drop me a line if you do.) Donations will be accepted through checks or paypal - if pledging by check drop me a line at zolzer @ olypen dot com for information, checks will be made directly to my daughters school. Funded paypal pledges can go to athyarns at yahoo dot com. This account will be set up to deposit directly into my daughters school.

I have not yet set a goal but hope to do so in the next day or so. I need to think in my heart what is a realistic number, I do not want to shoot to low nor do I want to over estimate and unintentionally disappoint Amelia if we don’t make it. Thank you ahead of time for taking the time to read through this and at the very least considering pledging to this worthy cause. As a personal favor I would appreciate it if you could add a little blurb in your blogs about this, the more the merrier! Thanks so much!

P.S. Due to the overwhelming response already that will have me dyeing for the rest of my life, I’m asking a few of my close dyeing friends to help me out. So the yarn you get might be from any number of small yet FANTASTIC hand dyers but we’ll work the details out later! ”

So… go donate NOW!!!