Breathing new life into the old blog

There has been a lot of knitting happening over the last few years, and I’ve even started doing a bit of knit wear design.   So this seems like a good time to resurrect the blog, update the logo, and get back to writing.  Watch this space for fiber and knitting musings, rants, and humor.  

And while I’m thinking about it….could someone get Stephen West to stop putting out a new pattern every week?  I can’t even buy yarn fast enough to start all of his intriguing patterns. 

Yarn - A love story?

Did you ever go into a store or business and notice how happy the employees are?  Kind of a rare experience isn't it?  Sometimes retail employees are pleasant, sometimes civil, other time sullen or down right surly.  I've noticed this recently because our local Whole Foods Market is filled with happy, pleasant, outgoing employees.  It really makes that store a pleasure to shop at.  I've even gone out of my way (when they aren't too busy) to ask a couple of the employees about why they are so happy.  Turns out they like the company, they get good benefits, and their boss is great to work for.  So would I like to work for Whole Foods?  Well maybe, certainly on those days when my engineers have been surly and subcontractors are running amok, it sounds pretty darn good.

 

The other notable places that I have recently experienced people who are happy with their jobs/careers are people who are engaged in community development and many of the folks in the yarn and knitting industry.  I don't think I have the skills or connections to find work in community development (or at least not work that pays a salary).  And I'm not talking about every yarn store employee or owner, some of them are down right surly, too.  But many of the designers, dyers, producers, and yes, yarn store owners seem very excited, contented, and satisfied by their businesses. 

I want to feel that way about my job.  In my current job as a program manager and systems engineer there are some very satisfying moments interspersed with lots of plodding, paperwork and spreadsheets. I'm pretty good at my job, but am finding it less compelling lately.  The chocolate chips of satisfaction are getting pretty sparse in the cookie dough.  There could be another program management job that would excite me or peak my interest.  A new project with some meaty work or product line that would be more satisfying.  But what really has my interest currently is yarn and knitting.  I still feel very much a novice when it comes to understanding the technical details of yarn and what to do with it.  For whatever reason, it is endlessly fascinating to me.  After spending 20 some years in an engineering career it seems crazy to think about, but could I develop a career in fiber arts?

I think I'm falling for yarn and knitting and I'm not sure what to do about it. It feels sort of like one of those boys you fall in love with who you're pretty sure isn't good for you, but you go for it anyway. Endless trouble, parents wouldn't approve, but oh so satisfying.  It seems like my right brain is now demanding equal time after playing second fiddle to the left brain in all the engineering activities.  Not sure where to begin exactly, but I think it's time to start investigating.

 

It was amazing to meet the vendors and instructors at Stitches West and to see how many are making a living doing what they love.  I  particularly  enjoyed meeting the small scale dyers and producers and a couple of the designers.  I think I need to find out more about how some of them got where they are and how they do work they love while paying the bills.  

Here are a few of the people and companies that impressed me:

Designers:

Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton   http://www.corneliahamilton.com/

 

Ann Weaver   http://annweaverknits.com/

 

Yarn vendors: 

Cephalod Yarns   http://cephalopodyarns.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pepperberry Knits  http://pepperberryknits.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neighborhood Fiber Co.  http://neighborhoodfiberco.bigcartel.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colornotes Yarn   http://colornotesyarn.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you satisfied with your job or career?  Do you know someone who is?  If you could do something different what would it be?  What is your dream job? 

Stitches and more stitches.....

It has taken me most of the week to recover from the wonderful time I had at Stitches West last weekend.  I was a knitting convention virgin, but I had good guides. My friend MaryLouise and her sister Deirdre have been attending Stitches West regularly for the last several years, so I tagged along with them. 

 

MaryLouise and her husband Dennis live about 15 minutes from the Santa Clara convention center, so they invite me to stay with them.  I used to work with Dennis in Virginia, so it was a great chance to see them both and catch up.  Dennis is also a fantastic cook.   Dennis packed us lunches for Friday and Saturday, so we were able to skip the convention center and hotel food.  He also made us wonderful dinners each night, so we were able to go back to the house for a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres while we compared out yarn acquisitions. Then we were treated to homemade tomato soup and rosemary rack of lamb, swordfish with smoked paprika and pistashio couscous, prosciutto stuffed chicken and asparagus risotto.   

 

 

Flourless lemon almond cake disappearing fast

 

 

We went to the Thursday night registered attendees only session. I decided not to buy any yarn until I had made one pass through the market to scope it all out.  Since we didn't even get through the whole market floor on Thursday night I didn't buy anything on Thursday.  I made up for it the rest of the weekend though.

I took three classes - Estonian Stitches Cowl with Merike Saarniit, Strick-ly Shawls with Candace Eisner Strick, and The Hole Story with Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton.  Very different teachers, but each very good in their own way.  Learning all the new techniques and getting a chance to meet and have a conversation with the instructors was worth the trip.  Here are samples from the Estonian Stitches and The Hole Story courses:

After eating the lunches that Dennis packed for us, we had time to shop in the Vendor market.  MaryLouise and I also went back to the market on Sunday. I managed to squeeze a lot of yarn in my suitcase even though for the most part I bought only two or three skeins from most of the vendors.  How can you resist yarn when it's presented like this:

 

Freia Fine Handpainted Yarns

Australian cashmere booth



The Buffalo Wool Co. booth



Freia Fine Handpainted Yarns

 

I'll write another post in the next few days to show off some of the yarn I purchased and to give links for the vendors and instructors.  Also, in the "and more stitches" category, I recently acquired some beginning sewing books.  Watch for a review of the sewing books in upcoming posts.