Evil Eye

We are finally getting ready to unveil the new Evil Eye website, so things might get a little weird for a bit.  The new site will launch on Friday, and there will be a link to the blog on the main page.  You will not be able to use the current url for this blog as of Friday, but http://www.evil-eye-emporium.com/ will get you to the main page as always. If any of you RSS this blog (and if you do, thanks!) you might need to update it a couple of times before it settles down, but I will keep you posted.
I am busy updating inventory which was a collosal pain on my old site, but much improved now.  The look of the page may evolve as I get handier with Zencart, but it’s not too shabby.

The website is not the only thing I have been crafting, I’ve actually been spinning a little bit too, as well as knitting.  I can’t show you the knitting, gifts, you know.  But I can show you the spinning.

I dyed this corriedale at Yarn School in April:

And have spun it into these singles, which I am going to ply:

I am curious to see how it plies up.  The colors are muted, but nicer than I thought they would be when I first started spinning it up.  The corriedale is dreamy to spin, so soft and squishy.  I started spinning the single on that bobbin before Victor was born.  I don’t get much time to spin, but even a few minutes a day is nice.  I set him in his play pen where he can see me, and encourage him to play with his toys while I spin.  He almost rolled over yesterday!  Good times for both of us.

I’m looking forward  to some holiday crafting and decorating too, we’ll see how it goes.

I was warned I would miss regular sleeping, and I do.  All in all, I have very little to complain about.  I feel very healthy, I am just having trouble getting a full night’s sleep.  Usually I have some trouble falling asleep if I decided to take a nap, something I still haven’t gotten the hang of doing.  But this time I was woken up by a loud engine starting outside, and a weird dream, and I have been up ever since.  Oh well, at least this time maybe the nap won’t interfere with sleeping later.  Honestly, I am getting enough hours of sleep a day, it is more the frustration of not being able to fall asleep when I want to.  When I was younger I really struggled with insomnia, and I get a little paranoid about going through that again.  But I know it is not insomnia, it is trying to sleep comfortably with a huge belly in the way.

Yesterday Scott and I took an infant care class, reality is really setting in.  It was a good class, it covered the basics of what to do with the little guy once we get him home, what to expect, etc.  Did you know babies lose weight for the first couple of days after birth, before they start to gain weight?

I’ve been knitting of course, and I have gotten back to my spinning wheel and bench after a short hiatus.  We went camping for a week, which was mighty relaxing for me, since I guess no one wants to be the one that made the pregnant lady do anything.  Honestly, I felt kind of lazy, I hardly even did dishes, since at least on one occasion Scott got them done before I even woke up.  I didn’t take my usual walk down to the creek, since that is a tricky hike normally, but we did walk around the woods on some of our well known paths.  When it wasn’t too wet out (of course we got rain) I sat around the fire knitting.  I am still slowly working on the 2 blankets, but I did finish a bib, and am working on this little bunny made out of a knit square.

Plans are coming together for this year’s World Wide Knit in Public Day in Millennium Park on June 14th.  Not only will we be knitting (and crocheting and maybe even spinning) in public, there will also be a yarn swap, and collection of yarn and knitting needles and crochet hooks for Interim House, a woman’s shelter, and the assembling of Afghans for Afghans (if you have any 7″ X 9″ rectangles, you can add them to the afghans.)  Plus, we will have some swag, so please join us.

Also, there is still time to sign up to be a vendor at YarnCon.  So, if you or anyone you know wants to sell goods to the yarn loving public, please apply!

I don’t even know where to start. Yarn School was an amazing experience. I left with new knowledge, inspiration, fiber, and friends. I have been more excited than ever to sit at my spinning wheel and try out new techniques (I am really enjoying spinning silk from the fold, and just used up my sample. Need…more…silk…), and can hardly decide which fiber to try next. There is the stuff I dyed in the dying workshop, there are the copious samples we were given from different dyers and spinners when we arrived, plus the batts I made when trying out the drum carders. Plus, once I decide what to spin, I get to think about how I want to spin it! I’m the one who is spinning!

Nikol Lohr, the teachers, and helpers were amazing. I was feeling a little star-struck about getting to take classes from Adrian from Hello Yarn, and Sarah from Maisy Day Handspun. I’ve been admiring their yarn, and reading their blogs for some time now. Not only do they make fabulous yarn and dyed roving, they are really good teachers, which in my opinion is much harder than just being good at something. Yarn School takes place in an old rural high school, with the grade school serving as the dormitory. It’s a great setting, and we had so much space to work and play in. We had access to fiber, and tools all the time, room to just hang out and practice our new skills or just relax and knit. They also did not mess around when it came to meals, the food was great! Every morning started out with good coffee, and a pitcher full of fresh waffle batter next to a waffle iron! How fresh is that? I wish I had taken more pictures in the cafeteria, but I was sleepy and/or hungry upon arrival, and ready to go do the next thing after meals, so I didn’t think of it then.

Here is a small sample of the pictures I did take, plus a picture of me spinning, and the class picture, both taken by John Wise, and I will leave it at that for now. I wish was more articulate about how great a time I had, but too many thoughts are coming to me at once.

Nothing like a couple of bright, sunny days to get me moving again. I feel like I just woke from a long slumber. The short winter days always make me feel like I am moving in slow motion, and sap the motivation to do anything about it. But this weekend it was Spring! I planted more seedlings, re-potted a couple of houseplants, cleaned up my sewing table at long last, and actually got some sewing done for the first time in far too long. The sewing machine and table had been buried with clothing needing repair or alterations for so long, it was daunting. But once I cleaned it all up, and got to work, I didn’t want to stop! Pants are hemmed, a dress was turned into a skirt, tears were mended, and now I am thinking I want to get to some of the patterns I have laying around.

I love feeling motivated like I did this weekend. I started a new knitting project (yes, I know I have 2 blankets in the works, but I want to wear the “Blue Ribbon Scrap Wrap” from Knitalong at Yarn School) too. I am excited to be knitting it with yarn that I spun myself.

On Sunday we met Khurshid and Amy for dinner at Siam in Uptown for some yummy Thai food. We decided to head over early so we could walk around the neighborhood, and take in some sunshine.

Don’t forget to visit your local yarn store this Thursday, April 10, to celebrate Bobmas Eve!  We have a list of participating stores on our YarnCon Blog.

prices for vinyl fencing test

I have been wanting to knit non-stop, and I blame it on the yarn fumes at Lorna’s Laces. On Saturday the South Side Stitch ‘ Bitch took a field trip to Lorna’s Laces to get a look at where some of our favorite yarn comes from, and to devour buy some mill ends.

Although I said all I want to do is knit, I should add that the pull of the spinning wheel has been really strong, and that was what I sat down to play with when I got home. Well, after uploading the pictures, and taking pictures of my yarn (honest, I was just trying out my light box set up, which still needs some work), and then reading Karen’s blog. Once I read her lovely post, I was spinning away at my wheel, and knitting later that night after a very filling meal at Army and Lou’s. Yummy fried chicken!

I have other projects to tackle right now, which if I can get through quickly, I can go back to my yarn.

Sara has posted the Bobmas Eve celebrations taking place in Chicago over on our YarnCon Blog, so please stop by and check it out. It looks like it will be a lot of fun, and I hope I can make it to a few of the events that evening.

This week Yarn Market News held its first conference, and Sara and I were given the opportunity to attend, and moderate a panel on e-commerce. Shannon Okey was scheduled to be the moderator, but was unable to make it, and we were able to step in for her. On the panel were Rob from ThreadBear Fiber Arts Studio, and Betsy Perry from Classic Elite Yarns. It was interesting to hear their thoughts on how they use the internet to promote their respective businesses, and the relationships they build through the use of e-newsletters. In neither case do they have online stores, yet both make good use of their web-pages and newsletters to promote their businesses and keep people informed of what they have to offer. I have never even been to ThreadBear, but I have been well aware of their store for years. There is no store in the case of Classic Elite Yarns, but again, I am familiar with their collections. We had to opportunity to speak about YarnCon, and how most of the connections we have made with vendors and the people who attended happened via the internet.

The show itself was very well run, and I would not have guessed it was their first conference. The panel discussions were great, as was the interaction with the audience. Sara and I came away with all kinds of ideas and plans for YarnCon, and many new contacts. I can’t thank Shannon Okey enough for thinking to ask us when she was looking for someone to cover for her, and Karin Strom of Yarn Market News for asking us to stay for the rest of the panels.

We also ran into the always charming Franklin again during the conference. We also saw him the previous week at the Windy City Knitting Guild meeting, where he was taking pictures for his 1000 Knitters Project. He took his 500th picture that night! How exciting! He was at it again during the conference. I always love the chance to talk to Franklin, and I can’t wait to see the results of this project. I love the pictures I have seen on his blog so far.

On another topic, still relating to yarn, I thought I would give props to Lantern Moon for great customer service. I have a set of size 2 double pointed needles in rosewood that I really like. And I sat and one and broke it. I was sad, but since it was my fault, I didn’t think to do anything about it for a while. I read on Ravelry that someone contacted Lantern Moon about replacing a broken needle, and they did right away at no additional cost. I emailed them, and right away they got back to me and said to either exchange it at the store, or if I could not get to the store easily, to give them my address and they would send me a new set. Wow! I now have a full set of the DPNs again, thanks Lantern Moon! (I actually sat next to the president of Lantern Moon on Tuesday, and had to smile when I pulled out the little Lantern Moon bag I carry my knitting in, honestly, it was like being around yarny rock stars sometimes.)

It seems like I was playing catch up for so long, that I never got into a real work rhythm. I just kept flying through projects, and a lot got neglected, but a lot got done too. Now that I have a little more room to breathe and plan, I feel like my days are so unstructured that I am wasting all kinds of time. Lately I have been making an effort to plan my days better, and to not put off the things I have been talking about doing for so long. Like spinning yarn. I have put that off for so long, and finally I am making some time every morning to get a little spinning done. I feel like I am getting the hang of it enough now, that I am starting to think more about how to plan out how a yarn will look. How plying methods affect the final outcome, ideas about dying yarn and roving to achieve different effects. I am not saying I am pulling all that stuff off yet, but I am confident enough at the wheel to start experimenting a little more.

Here is the yarn I spun and dyed over the weekend. I should say that I finished spinning over the weekend, I started it months ago, and set it aside when other work came along, and never made the time for it.

I dyed it on Saturday at the Color Your Winter with Crafts event at the Chicago Cultural Center. The focus that day was dying, and Sara and I went to volunteer. It was slow in the morning and I had my newly spun yarn with me, and Sam, the dye master, was kind enough to let me dye it, and taught me a new method I had not tried before. It was a really fun day, Sara taught a woman to knit, and got drop spindle lessons, and I had fun helping Sam with the dying, and just hanging out and knitting with Sara and Bonne Marie.

The roving (Cotswold) was given to me as a gift a couple of years ago, along with a drop spindle. I had never even heard of a drop spindle, and didn’t know to call that bag of wool roving yet. I set it aside. About a year later I remembered it, and decided to pull it out, and there was a book on spinning with it too, so I tried, and failed. I went over to Loopy Yarns, and Kirsten showed me how to use the thing, along with introducing me to spinning with a wheel. I went home, tried again and failed and put it away. Kirsten did think it was a heavy spindle to learn on, and liking gadgets, I bought a Louet kit with a lighter spindle and some lovely roving in three natural colors.

After a few tries I got the hang of it, and became enamored with spinning. About 2 months later I ordered my Babe Spinning wheel.

And it’s with the Babe that I am starting my days. I like it. It takes just enough concentration to keep me interested, but not so much I can’t listen to the radio or think about other plans. I’ve had the wheel since last March, but only in the last week have I really dedicated myself to getting good at spinning and making the time for it. The hard part is stopping, I am really enjoying it.I also realize that I can make time for the things I want to accomplish, I just need to be more disciplined about it. I have a tendency to get excited about one thing and neglect other things. I have to learn to balance all these crafty desires out.

Oh, and this week I spun this beauty from ArtGirl:

It’s drying right now, pictures to come soon. I am really pleased with the results, and can’t wait to knit it into something. I think a hat. Oh sure, I just knit myself a hat last weekend:

but, I can always use another hat. Or mittens. I need new mittens.

PS Have I made up for promising pictures for so long?

So, I have to be about the last crafter to post about the New York Times Magazine article, “Handmade 2.0,” but I finally had the time to sit down and read it today.  It’s the most interesting article I have read yet concerning the DIY movement, and they didn’t even pick on anyone’s grandmother, amazing!  It seems part of what makes it a good article is that the reporter took the time to interview people, and attend the Craft Congress, but I think part of why I like it is that I can’t help but compare it to the thousand other “not yer grammy’s crafts” stories, like this one in Cleveland’s Plain Dealer.  Please check out Shannon’s post today concerning this story.

Why do they keep writing this story?  I know it is still new, and I am glad that the movement towards buying handmade is growing and getting attention, so in a sense it’s great that people are still writing these articles, but why the surprise?  Perhaps living in a large city like Chicago, I see that the big stores have caught on to the trend, so I am not surprised that people like shirts with skulls and owls.  Walk into the shops on State Street, Urban Outfitters has knock-offs of the cute stuff I saw last year at the DIY Trunk show and Renegade, H&M will plaster a cutsy skull on anything, at Macy’s you can buy wicked expensive bags with strange creatures like you might find at Rotofugi all over them.  I would like to see more stories the like Handmade 2.0, more about why handmade versus just quirky or subversive.

As for me, I am crafting away myself, getting a few gifts made, and preparing the house for x-mas eve with the family, planning the meal, and all of that good stuff.  It’s always a slow blogging season when I can’t talk about what I am making.  Hint: it involves yarn.

Boy, have I been busy. Today it’s pencils down (yeah, right, I will try to get a few more things made, I know it), and time to make sure everything is tagged, packed and ready to go. What might you find at my booth this year? Here is a peek:

Whew! You’ll see a number of new items for sale, and I will have one item I will be debuting, and taking pre-orders for on Saturday:

As of now, I have this original prototype for you to see and try out.  I will be working on more next week, but you can order yours beginning tomorrow at DIY, and from my website once I have the other sizes made.  I just couldn’t wait to share it.  Super huge thanks for Cinnamon for suggesting I make this ring.  Once she mentioned it, I knew I had to make it.  I hope you like it.  Ok, back to getting ready for the DIY Trunk Show,  hope to see there!

I’m still learning how to best plan my days so I can get my work done.  The house still tugs at me to clean it, since I am home after all.  But I am home to work.  But I wanted to work from home so I could also take better care of the home.  Sigh.  The halloween decorations need to come down from the front yard.  I need to make more jewelry for the DIY Trunk show in less than 2 weeks.  I want to make nice meals, and shop during the day, but I also need to leave time for going downtown to drop off and pick up castings during the week.  Sigh.  I don’t think I really knew what I was getting into with working from home, and I need to get better at scheduling my time, and that can include time for the home, I just need to plan things better.  I have always worked better under a deadline, but self imposed deadlines don’t have the same impact.
Earlier today I was thinking about whether or not my shopping habits had changed after reading an article in yesterday’s Trib about impulse shopping.  I think I have learned to impulse shop a lot less, and to really think about those purchases when they happen.  Well, mostly.  I have bought some yarn this year that I didn’t have anything in mind for, but only on a couple of occasions, which is quite different from how I used to buy yarn.  Really my worst impulses now are for crafty supplies and tools.  I see beads, roving, yarn and think of all the great things I can create.  Books are still a weakness, but I am learning to just put them on my amazon wishlist, with the thought that I will buy them later.  I am learning to just put things down, and if I still really, really want them, then I can go back for them another day.  I rarely go back for them.  Not working downtown helps.  It is so easy to shop, my commute was lined with stores.  I still have the urge to just pop into the shops to look when I am running errands, but I resist.  Just looking turns into finding the prefect whatever, and I don’t have whatevers in that color or fabric, and before I know it I have my wallet out.
I cast on for a new project last night with my newly spun yarn.  I don’t know if it will work out, I am using the cat’s eye lace pattern from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, by Barbara Walker.  If it looks good, it will very likely be a gift, so sorry, no pictures.  Yes, it’s that time of year.  Gift knitting time.

Well, I think it is time I started a stew for dinner, and went grocery shopping.  Yes, that’s on today’s schedule.