Jillian just wrote: “Hey, let the rest of know where Woven Art is so we can go & shop ; ) ”

Okie dokie, you can tell I’m not thinking beyond my own circle here. It’s in downtown East Lansing, 210 Abbott Rd., upstairs (suite 32). Not too hard to find if you can find downtown East Lansing. The closest intersection is Abbott and Grand River (it’s about 2 blocks from the MSU Union).

From Detroit/Ann Arbor I’d take 96W to 127N (don’t take 496 when they split, stay north), and I think the 3rd exit on 127N is Michigan/Kalamazoo. (It’s a little trickier from the North, contact me if you need help from that direction.) The first light at the bottom of the exit is Kalamazoo, the second is Michigan. Turn right on Michigan. You are taking a diagonal toward MSU (you will pass Altu’s restaurant on the left side, just past the Silver Dollar Saloon). When Michigan reaches Grand River, they merge and you need to get to the far left lane. That first light is Abbott. Woven Art is a stairway up, in the first block (two doors before the alley, just before Beggar’s Banquet).

To find parking, turn right at the first light (Albert) and the parking lot #1 is on your right. Park there (free on Sundays, and Woven Art is open noon to 4 on Sundays, so think about that option) and cut through the alleyway at the corner of the parking lot to get two doors from the stairwell. When you go up the stairs at 210 Abbott, Woven Art is the first door on the right.

The strength of Nancy’s shop is artfulness and color. She handpaints most of the yarns. There is color in all senses. There are textured yarns good for stoles, scarves, throws. There are some mohairs, and a few smoother yarns like the one Tony got, which was perhaps a sportweight 100% merino…which comes in a wonderful rainbow colorway as well as the subtle colorway Tony chose.

She also has other textured yarns, including ribbons and eyelash yarns. She carries Swallow casein needles (I finally gave in and bought some shiny turquoise double points, they were too pretty not to try them). So even the needles are colorful.

Once you’ve had sensory overload at Nancy’s shop, you may still want more wool, in which case you should continue to wander down Grand River to Yarn for Ewe. These shops could be no more different than they are. I think the only thing I saw at Woven Art that I might also see at Yarn for Ewe, was printed goods (Knitters Magazine and a few books).

These stores complement each other in every way. You can find commercial yarns in solid colors, smooth textures, supplies for sox, fairisle knitting and aran sweaters, at Yarn for Ewe. There is not a lot in the neon colors I prefer, but then I’m not the average knitter. I particularly love the Debbie Bliss washable merino DK yarn, and the selection of sockyarns which never fails to please.

I actually do the website for Yarn for Ewe, and we just put up the new newsletter/class schedule about a week ago… before the paper copies were printed for mailing. Their website has a fairly good map to help you find them, but basically continue east on Grand River from East Lansing, past Meijer on the right and the Meridian Mall on the left. The light just past the Meridian Mall is Marsh Road. Turn left on Marsh. Pass about 2 mall-entrance lights. At the very back of the mall is Central Park Drive and you should turn right at that light. Turn in to the parking lot at the next left and Yarn for Ewe is almost directly in front of you, to the right of a fishing shop. It’s in a brick building, a small complex called Central Park Place.

If anyone decides to actually do this lovely jaunt (Yarn for Ewe is not open on Sundays, so if you want both spots try Wednesday through Saturday) let me know and I’ll meet you, and make sure you can find Altu’s wonderful eatery for a meal before you leave.

A Day Off
I got a full day off today, and enjoyed it very much. I slept in, ate homemade rice pudding for breakfast, read emails and spent time looking at my modest but wonderful yarn collection. I didn’t have the inclination to think much, so I put off the re-shaping of my Since-September Sweater’s neckline for later.

I also called my friend Tony, to see if he wanted to go to the Grand Opening of Woven Art, our friend Nancy McRay’s new artyarn shop. I was lucky, he had been out already but upon returning saw that I’d called, and he came right over so we could go together to the open house. I was delighted to see him! Tony is just a great friend to me, I can not stay upset long when he is around. I talked him into going with me to the Borders’ Ann Arbor gathering this coming Tuesday, as well. That will give us lots of talking time in the car, as it’s just over an hour’s drive one way. I’m looking forward to that.

The Open House
Tony and I got to Nancy’s place around 3pm, late since it was supposed to go only until about 4. The place was hopping, and it seemed everyone knew everyone, or close to it. The food was just as colorful and pretty as the yarns (most of the yarns have been handpainted by Nancy herself) and the company was excellent. It was quite a mixed crowd as far as age, from college-age knitters to parents of college-age children.

I was delighted to see my friend Diane. I met her originally around 1973, at summer camp when we were in High School. She has moved all over the US and traveled all over the world, and is now back very close to where she was 30 years ago. I am happy to have her in this area again.

Diane was knitting a scarf from some very dense purple nylon eyelash yarn, and I sat down and worked on the gusset decreases for my boring purple sox. (Note to self: never try to decrease gussets when you are talking to people, it’s so easy to make a mistake.)

Tony found some handpainted merino, a natural color with some grays, rusts and taupes, very nice, so he sat down and started right away on a diagonal garter scarf. He showed me a new technique I hadn’t tried, I’ll have to experiment with that at some time.

Nancy’s friend Diedra (who is working with Nancy at the shop), sat down with us as well, finishing some I-cord for purse handles. I showed her how to make faux cables on K2P2 ribbing, and she got some ideas for using that right away. It’s fun sharing techniques!

We sat and chatted, knitting, around the fireplace in the store. And when things slowed down, Nancy joined us as well. The picture here was taken when it was just the five of us in the store (from left to right: Nancy, Diedra, Tony, Diane). It was a very enjoyable time.

Food as Art and Comfort
I came home and made two largish batches of soup (tomato with fava beans, and vegetarian split pea) and froze most of it. I really don’t like the hassle/mess of cooking, especially for lunch when I’m all alone. Therefore, I like having frozen single servings of soup ready for me without fussing. The freezer was getting pretty low, and this was a relief to fill ‘er up again! I feel so nurtured by a freezer full of tasty soup.

Spinning, a Little
I also got out the spinning wheel again and spent maybe 45 minutes on that superwash sockyarn I continue to procrastinate about. The spool is almost full. The colors are gorgeous; aqua/light turquoise, dark emerald green, spring green, and white. They remind me of my mother for some reason. I think she had a favorite outfit in that aqua color when I was still living at home.

I’ve probably got enough of this roving for two pair of sox so I’m figuring mom and I will have matching feet sometime in the very-distant future. I’ve spun for about a year and a half, but I have never knit anything but a mini-sock and a mini-sweater from my handspun. I have a box full of handspun yarn waiting for someday. For now I’m really just happy knitting with commercial yarn, and spinning for the sake of spinning.

It won’t be very long until this wheel (an Ashford Traditional) is no longer mine. I’m selling it to my friend Jacquie so that I can raise funds for a Louet, which I really love. I have almost all the funds raised, and Jacquie will probably call me for the wheel this week. Therefore, I need to move fast saving the remaining funds, so that I will not go without a wheel very long.

I’m sort of excited about this, but I’m trying not to get all hyped until the new wheel is here in my home. One day at a time. I *did* just splurge on a trip to Iowa, so waiting for the next treat is reasonable, I’d think.

I’m so grateful that I was able to get the first wheel. I traded with my friend Jane, for two pair of handknit sox. I thought *I* got a fabulous deal, and she felt the same way. That’s the way trades should be.

This wheel has served me well, and my friend really wants it (she asked me that if I ever sold it, to make sure to tell her first). It’s an early version of the Tradional, which I’m told is an asset. The wheel works fine, really, but tools are so very personal, aren’t they? And honestly, a traditional wheel just doesn’t *look* right to me. I have never been fond of turned wood, or wood at all for that matter. I don’t like the feel of wood for some reason. I’ve never met anyone else who felt this way, but it’s a very strong physical preference for me to not touch wood that has not been oiled. It feels like it is pulling the moisture out of my skin or something, I just don’t like the feel of wood on my hands. It is surprising to me that I prefer knitting with wooden needles, but they are so flexible I love them (and I think skin oils finish the needles quickly).

I rented two different Louet wheels last summer, from the Spinners’ Flock guild in Chelsea, Michigan, and I totally loved them! So now I am going to let Jacquie have the one I have that she loves, and I’ll get one I love as well. (I’m dreaming of finishing my new wheel in a purple finish…) I’ll keep you posted.

Well, after a long day Friday at Foster, I got up early today and went back again for another two short shifts. I have nothing to complain about, my shifts are not as long as most people’s work, and I get to sleep in most days. It’s only the three weekends a month where I teach at 9am, that I have to get up with an alarm clock. I know how lucky that is… I’m not complaining. I guess I’m just explaining why the blogs are shorter and sans pictures these days. This pic is four of my knitters with “shades” on (I drew the eyeglasses to keep some semblance of privacy), last December when we had a special day of dyeing silk scarves with Kool-Aid drink mix.

After teaching a 9-1 computer class today, I was scheduled for computer lab from 2-4 pm. What actually happened, was that no computer people showed up at all (the day started out in the lower 40’s but was a nice sunny day by afternoon, and the kids were playing outside as they should). I did, however, have four knitting kids. Three of them were driven to the center by their parents and dropped off specifically for knitting.

Three of the knitters started knitting just Wednesday and could not *wait* to knit again. The fourth just started maybe a week before the others. We had a wonderful time together. The 6 year old (who just turned six in March) got to the point where I didn’t need to say our knitting poem for her, she could say it herself, and make stitches without waiting for me to walk her through it. She made good progress, and she just beamed in delight the whole time!

Two of the girls had me bind off their small bits of fabric so they could start in again with new needles and yarn. One of those girls made very good time stitching away on her new piece, remarkably so since she just started on Wednesday.

Now they have figured out they can make stripes by changing colors. They love this idea (they love color as much as I do). So now we are all choosing which colors they like with which others. So fun! It’s a good way to use up all the small balls of yarn which have been donated to the center, as well.

I look forward to Monday. I think all four of these girls will be back, as well as some of my other regulars. It should be fun.

What was I thinking? I didn’t blog on the 2nd. It was a pretty long day, I worked until 9pm at Foster and then we grabbed dinner and went to Abbott Brothers practice until late. Came home and crashed, in fact I fell asleep on the heat vent because I was really cold (it was 42 degrees outside, not my style). I did wake up and go upstairs to sleep through the night, but I didn’t even sit at my computer after work.

I didn’t knit at all yesterday, it was spent preparing to teach a class I hadn’t offered before, an introduction to Microsoft Publisher. The class went fine. I had to miss the Habibis dancing at Aladdins to teach the class, which was a bummer, but I am always happy to have work.

The only creative news is that two days ago I finished the bottom hem on the Since-September sweater and it looks fine. I picked up and knit down on significantly smaller needles, in seed stitch. Then I went down one more needle size for the last round and casting off. It doesn’t flip up even before blocking, and it doesn’t look (to me) that I added on after the fact. It had been flaring out (potentially letting cold air inside the sweater) and this treatment reduced that problem fairly well. It’s still a huge sweater, really too big, but I like ‘em big and bulky, which is just what I got. You could say that the sweater was done, other than working in the ends.

However, the sweater hangs wrong. The back pulls up. I have determined that the problem is that I didn’t make the collar low enough in front which is making it ride funny on the shoulders and pull up in back. I am going to (gasp) tear out the whole neck, stitch a few more shoulder seam stitches together (the collar was too wide also) and then pick up stitches in a different shape for the collar and try again.

Sock news is boring. Same boring purple sox, picked up stitches for the gussets two days ago and didn’t knit a single stitch Friday. I need to start on my swap sox as soon as I find the folks’ measurements in my email program. That will be fun, because they will be from my hand-painted yarns, a nice change from the last two solid-purple pairs I’ve knit.

Still no pictures. Can you see I’m posting just past 8am? Not my best time of the day, but I work at Foster today 9-1 teaching and 2-4 with computer lab. There is no time to scan anything in right now! At least it stopped raining and my headache is gone. And I’ll enjoy working at Foster today. Tonight Temesgen Hussein performs at Altu’s so hopefully we’ll get to go there for dinner. It promises to be a good, though busy, day.

Well, there are no pics today, as it has been raining for two days and I get headaches from rain. It’s just a headache, but I’m doing only the bare minimum until I get my normal self back.

Family
Brian and I did eat dinner at Altu’s tonight (I will never get over how good her food is) and then we visited my Mom. I hadn’t seen her since she and Fred got back home on Saturday, and I got home Monday night.

It was good to see her again. She is already doing her usual “social butterfly” thing, seeing friends and calling folks. She went to the mall to exercise and saw several friends, including two who also winter in Lakeland. Today she and Fred had lunch at Udon Noodle bakery (I hope I spelled that right) which makes authentic asian noodle soups, with a friend Mom used to work with.

They went square dancing last night. They already have a dinner to attend on May 10 so they will not be able to attend our Abbott Brothers performance at Altus that night. Mom is already inviting this friend to meet that friend, and that sort of thing. She sure stays busy.

Mom told me that she has never gone to Altu’s restaurant, somehow. No wonder Altu keeps asking how my mom is doing. Maybe they haven’t met? I find that hard to believe. Mom makes this wonderful Norwegian flat bread from potatoes and wheat flour, called Lefse. Mom wants to show Altu how to make it, and Altu is very interested. I think I need to work on getting these two together soon!

The Since-September Sweater
I knit a little on the sweater again. The cuffs/sleeves are done. The collar I finished a few days ago. I reinforced the steeked armholes with a crocheted chain, in an inch or so from the first chain I did (I ended up picking up stitches in further than I expected for the sleeves). I used scissors to trim away excess fabric at the seam allowance, because it really looked bulky there.

I still need to figure out how to deal with the bulk/excess stitches inside the collar (I picked up my neck stitches in a curve, below the line where I had knit a straight tube). There is not much extra fabric to deal with, so it may not be a big deal. Then again, if I guess wrong there is not much leeway for error. That’s what I get for sort of making up the sweater on the fly!

The bottom hem was a mess, it insisted on turning up, so I picked up some stitches at the bottom and am now knitting down on smaller needles, hoping that will keep it from turning up. I had done only maybe 3-4 rows in seed stitch (I did increase when I got to the stockinette) but it wasn’t enough to really hold its own. Thank goodness that the yarn I’m using is very forgiving and when I picked up stitches at the hem (I cast on in rib, thank goodness) I was able to knit down in seed stitch and it looks just fine to me. Whew.

The real truth will be when I bind off. We’ll see if that hem stays put with a good 2″ of seed stitch or if I need to be more drastic by putting elastic in or something. Cross fingers for me.

I’ll get to pics of the workshop when my head clears. Back to that sweater hem (lounging on the couch) for the time being. Thank goodness for hot tea!