open house

I've got the etsy shop fully stocked and open for business now. More seaglass buttons, and press printed blank notecards debuting today. Check it out!

Seriously? If I could figure out how to serve virtual wine and cheese for you shoppers, I'd so do it.
ps I've got plenty of knitting I could show you, and I will. Soon.

bring on festival season

Cathy with her puppet.

Kicking it off yesterday at Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival. You know what I like about the festivals? The culture.

Where else can you be "matchy-matchy with your stockinette style".
Or with your headgear while, watching the sheepdog trials in sunshine.
While next weekend is the Knit-A-Palooza in Maryland, this one is so small and manageable,you park your car, walk for a minute and there you see half the festival as well as the New Haven SnB representing.

NutmegKnitter, CafeEclectic, SunflowerFairy, MissAliceFaye ,Archiknist, (hidden but there, KnittingEwe), some of the blogless, and oops I can't find anyone else's blog that's shown. But they 're there too.
Lots of talent on display.

But I believe the New Haven posse deserves a shout out.

For best knitting in transit. That's Gauss, Editorgrrl & Cottonhollow (rav links for those last2)

vestril

Mulitiple choice! Is this vest
a) an odd fitting piece I'll wear around the 'hood only
b) a mistake that could have been avoided,
c) if I just make a few adjustments like taking in the seams near the bust, a lovable garment
d) all of the above

For sure it falls into the category of a knit not matching the fit & look of the pattern but, more or less coming out as I wanted. Problem is I like the deconstructed oversized look but it doesn't flatter me so much. Never has and I never learn.

Brings to mind a favorite book

the deets
pattern:
One Cable Vest from Blue Sky Alpacas
needles: us 8
yarn:
Cascade Eco Wool +
notes:
Oh this yarn is wonderful. I thought it was merely economonical & sturdy but no, it is lovely, soft and almost felted-feeling, the cable pops like mad.

All of one skein. If you go and buy it at Webs this month you could make this for less than $11.
Love the rustic-y cable on reverse stockinette, the back was to be stockinette but I stuck with the reverse there, too. I like the deconstucted look .
photo by Dave, showing the vest in its intended setting, at home. With wine, its intended beverage.
The pattern was written wonkily. I had gauge, but the dimensions are way off. I had oversized in mind but you know, the boobage space far exceeds the flesh, and how shall I say this? I'm not flat by any means. As Dave observed "It looks like someone gave you their vest and you wear it because you like it but it doesn't fit you ".
Whatever! The sun is shining, I'm on to sweater # 5 in the dodecathalon (rav link) I'm not officially doing (heh), the Ct Sheep & Wool Festival is tomorrow and look!
The day lilies are overtaking the snow shovels. I think spring is really here.

progress report

Cold Spring, NY. Maybe with another name on the sign.

I said I'd let you know what was happening with that Dream Assignment grant competition so I'm here to tell you. It's in the professional judging panel now, winner to be announced at the end of this week. I'm keeping busy. Work, errands, hiking, knitting, yardwork, fussing at my loved ones. Sitting around and waiting? Not my style. Plus, it is a long shot. 1 in 22! Fingers crossed.

Corriente cattle in Springhill, Montana. Am I not subtle?

In the days following becoming a finalist (thanks to you all) , I submitted a detailed amendment to my proposal.I got to know some folks at Heifer International . I don't need to persuade anyone reading this how amazing Heifer is but still....go check out their projects over at the site. Mind boggling. The fundraising materials make it sound so simple but the work they do within communities is multi-layered and fascinating.

Here's one conversation I had with their director of public relations: When he asked how I got so much support in that voting for the competition so quickly, I confessed it was passing the word through knitblogs. There was a little pause. You know, sometimes after you say the phrase "the knitters" you're not sure what response will be forthcoming? I wish I could tell you this next bit verbatim but it was something like:
" Knitters? The knitters? The knitters are in their own category to us at Heifer. Knitters GET us in a way many others don't. Knittters understand the fundamental connections in the work we do. We LOVE the knitters".

Of course, then I said, "well, I am one of the knitters...."
(and to prove it, next I should show my vest that just needs seaming to be wearable, it's done).

ready for finding

Buttons, anyone? Come on over, I'm officially open www.SheShootsSheepShots.etsy.com

Take a look around. It's not all up yet, it's a start. I was going to show you a view of my beach down the street where I scavenge the sea glass but I like this of Kelseys Island , it's a 15 minute kayak paddle off shore. It's got a creepy edge after dark, especially if it's windy. (And, no, we do not have anything green on trees here yet, unless you count buds. This is from summer past. I am ready for a new season to get here.)

Ironically, nothing photographic for sale yet but I'm getting some notecards ready. The little gnomes are out back printing them. Or....partying, I can't tell which. Hey, keep it down, willya? I am so not letting them near my drill.

fish food feet

As I've said before, I'll try almost anything once, as long as it's legal. And I don't have to eat raw tomatoes while doing it.

A fish pedicure* asked my sister, as we visited in Maryland this weekend? OK, why not.

Here's sister Marla when she first placed her tootsies in the tank.
You get used to the feeling. After a while.

Here's her feet with all the sweet little orangey fish at work.

Here's the fish I got in my tank. Larger. Fatter, Why? I have no idea. They were hungry though.

Have I grossed you out yet? It felt tingly. I asked the women working there what the difference is between our two kinds of fish . We had a tiny bit of language barrier settling the question. The most I got is sis's do lots of ticklish picking and mine are more like bigger biters (explained with sort of a ping pong sucking sound).

You probably think my pedicurist is laughing as she fans because I'm taking so many pictures. But , you would be wrong. Are you ready? She was cracking up because I'd just admitted this is the first time I've ever had a pedicure.

Mission accomplished. I can barely stop admiring my fish-massaged, bright & shiny digits.
FYI- dudes do not be afraid . This could be a macho pedicure experience. Maybe skip the polish.

* fyi, we had more reasonable fees than the prices quoted in that article.

graft but in a good way

First and importantly: the two contest winners were randomly generated. One winner's been contacted through her blog but the second is Donna who commented at 1:11pm here. Donna can you email me? There's no link to you from the comments. ezisusATsnetDOTnet.
I wish I could send everyone a skein of yarn to show how much I adore you. But that'd be so...Boss Tweed. (Just a thought- wouldn't that be a great knit blog name? Take it, it's yours).

And I grafted what needed to be , finishing my Francis Revisited 2 in time for a visit with a photographer friend. She's not a knitter so didn't realize the importance of telling me one side of the cowl was flipping up. It behaves nicely in real life. In fact so does the formerly flippy hem. No complaints though- she found me the perfect setting.

i'm IN! thank you and you and you and you....

this is how I felt at midnight last night

...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you...and you!

My Dream Assignment made it into the top 20 finalist list, now to be judged by Microsoft & their minion. Keep thinking positive for me...we are amazingly powerful.

I am grateful for that knitters' energy unleashed! I joined into the competition late. Like 36 hours before the final tally. I truly felt the power of your support- Ann & Kay, and Cara and Scout and Norma and Margene and Wendy (who later plurked too )all blogged early yesterday, Amy Twittered, Debbie got the Ravelry boards rolling, and so many many others of you joined in and blogged or emailed or facebooked. wow. Sorry if I am not mentioning and linking to all of you. I held my breath for so long watching the total last night, I'm oxygen deprived still.

I've mostly been running around screaming inside my head since midnight. I'm going out of town for a couple days , visiting a friend in the US from overseas, so I'll get the mohair locks and yarn winners sorted out during that time and announce on Tuesday.
I should find out if there's anything else I need to do for the next level of competition judging of us finalists. From the rules it sounds like they'll be in touch. Little bit of mystery. I'll let you know when it happens. Since my project is to benefit and show the work of Heifer, I was in touch with them, but it was too soon to say much beyond "hey I have this great idea on a proposal" . Now I'd love to have a more concrete connection- so if any of you know someone on the board, or in the executive administration, shoot me an email.
whew. I need to go knit and calm down a little.

contest! help me win my Dream Assignment vote TODAY

added at 10:13 eastern dst:
OK I have less than two hours--and I am so close to being a finalist!! I'm around spot # 25 out of all the proposals and just need to move up to the top 20. Please pass this on to everyone & anyone you can think of!!! Gale
Quick link here to vote, or read below, you win my contest by going to vote. If you
already voted, just leave me a comment and mwah! thanks for your support.

One Goat at a Time: Showing the Heifer Project Change Lives & Better the World
I need your votes TODAY (Friday April 3) to be a finalist in the Dream Assignment competition that Microsoft is sponsoring. My proposal is to show the Heifer Project in action around the world. They are an amazing organization, helping people by offering livestock & training to be self-sufficient and change lives.
This is an incredible opportunity to get funding for a project that can spread out and do good in our world.
To thank you for supporting my proposal (or any other ones at the Dream Assignment site) I am having a contest!
CONTEST:
• go vote, hopefully for me . You get three votes for 3 projects, so go with your heart.

• Come back and leave me a comment saying you did, and I will enter you once.

• Forward a link to this or link to it on your blog to help me spread the word, let me know in your comment and I will enter you twice.

• Contest ends at 11 pm tonight Friday April 3 (US east DST).

Two prizes will be chosen for randomly chosen winners.
- a bag of hand dyed angora goat (mohair) locks from Kai Ranch
- a skein of yarn from Farmhouse Yarns

I know they ask you to sign in on that site, I would never ask for anyone to do that but it is such an unusually good cause I hope you'll forgive me. (use a gmail account that you can ignore, if you have to).

Vote for my dream assignment!!!

I'll post more on this later today--but go vote for me now, please!!
If the button below doesn't work, try this link

yes that is a warshrag on my wall as art

and answers to other questions

Back when dinosaurs roamed, pre-blog, before the Mason Dixon Knitting gestalt entered my consciousness, long before I went into residence as both a Mason & a Dixon to photograph the grooviest of knitting books, I thought handknit dishcloths were folly.

I was wrong. No 4/1 joke. Kay passed me a book by mail this week. The packing materials, I kid you NOT: Noro scraps and this utterly wonderful washrag. I mean really? Who even noticed the book was in there. And who else would pack a book that way? No return address necessary.

I'm having crazy stress and with a lightening bolt strike knew that this humble handknit artisanry was classing up my whole week. As well as my kitchen .

You know how some people mix juicy & dull? Not us. We're all about the juicy. My kitchen floor is old school red linoleum. You can see the mango yellow walls, and the 1940's cabinets are painted periwinkle.They have glass front, my dishes are every color Fiestaware. (I'd show you, but the counters along them are too cluttered).This is a perfectly juicy warshrag. It just goes.

And in answer to other questions which haven't yet been asked, or I'd have answered from the comments except %$#&Blogger makes most comments "no reply"

- no that doesn't mean I'll knit some myself. puh-lease! babysteps folks!

- you're all correct, my stripey mismatched cuffs are only going to be noticed by me. (see previous post) They were knit in the round, what I did is start one cuff following a brown knit stripe, and one cuff following a yucca knit stripe. The cuffs are purled- so you get the little ridge at the changeover looking like sewn running stitch, I love that.

- this Francis v2 sweater is finished. Straight off the blocking towel I slipped it on to see how it hung. LOVE! so much so, I am wearing it for 3 days now and have not yet grafted the open armpits or tacked down the collar (photo soon). I look weird but I am mostly working in the home office this week and the dog doesn't care. The fit and drape are perfecto.

- Kimberly, you didn't ask but I'll tell you: even I don't know what I wrote on this blog way back when I started it, you deserve a medal of endurance for reading all that, and thanks for wanting to, mwah. Also, I maintain those Trader Joes sea salt & dark chocolate covered almonds are the snack of the gods. Let's get everyone eating them so they are not discontinued as the late lamented YinYang peanuts were. (sniff)

- Vestuary? no. Varch? nope. I am on my way to Vestril (details near the end of this post). I'll show soon. Adoring the Cascade Eco wool which is on sale for a steal if you click that link to Webs, talk about budget knitting! One skein=one vest.

- The seaglass buttons.(again you need to scroll down on that post).There are more. I am opening an etsy shop for them. I'm hanging shelves and painting now, there'll be a virtual wine & cheese open house for you all (and if you spill the red wine on the new floors, I'll be OK. Virtual shopkeeping means never having to say you're sloppy.)