bouncing off the walls with excitement

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

I just had my first article proposal accepted! Theoretically, come October, I will be a published author. I've submitted a proposal for an article on looking for inspiration in vintage patterns to Crochet Me, and it was accepted for the October/November issue! Here's a rough idea of the article:

The title of the article would be "Everything Old is New Again," and it would focus on vintage patterns and the possibilities of creating modern, fun garments from these patterns. I believe it's too easy to focus on the hideously ugly patterns of yore. But by looking at the lines of the garments, rather than the outdated color palettes and crunchy yarn choices, modern crocheters can use vintage patterns today. Fashion is all about revisiting the past and updating it with a twist. I can't endorse the current 80s revival, having lived through it the first time, but it's an example of a recycling of fashion. Much of 70s fashion was merely a reinterpretation of the long clean lines of the 30s.

And here is part of the response I received from Kim, Crochet Me's editor:

Thank you for sending me your idea! I absolutely love it -- especially since many non-crocheters have a pigeon-holed view of crochet as "hippy" or simply out-of-date. Busting open people's imaginations by giving them some inspiration and information to retool vintage patterns would be fabulous.

Even more fabulous -- she thinks there is enough there to justify a multi-part series! I can't think about work right now, I'm too excited. Hurrah!

Walking the floor over ... yarn

The FiberArts Market up in Oakland (offered in conjunction with the CGOA and the knitting equivalent which I can't remember the name of for the life of me) was fun and I dropped loads of cash. Smaller than Stitches West, which I went to earlier this year, but also less packed with crazy people. Jenny was working for the Stitch Diva for a few hours, so I had plenty of time to walk the floor (hence the post title). What did I find out? Well, apparently, crochet & spinning are hot because there seemed to be a lot of interest in demonstrations. And, to no one's surprise, the CGOA still seems to have no idea how to reach out to younger, more fashion forward crocheters.

But, soft! What light from yonder window breaks? It is handspun, hand-dyed yarn in a plethora of colors and textures. I found incredible yarn of the same weight and feel as recycled sari silk, but which was made of banana leaf fiber (bought 4 skeins to go with some great Art Fibers yarn I bought back in December). I purchased a huge hank of hand-dyed loopy mohair -- 8 ounces, 900 yards for less than $30. That's a whole sweater! I also got a hank in the same colorway (brown, green, gold & purple) in a tencel ribbon (400 yards) that will make a fab tank. I also visited the booths of stores I'd purchased from at Stitches, West Valley Alpacas and Lisa Souza Knit & Dyeworks, and got more yarn to complete my (yet-to-be-designed) hippy cardigan. And I found a few vintage (1970s) knit magazines to add to my collection (not that I need more, not after visiting Fern, but an obsession is an obsession). Ooh, and Jenny picked up an advance copy of the Stitch Diva's new crocheted bolero for me -- I'll finally use the Habu Textiles bamboo I picked up in New York last year!

Jenny also go to meet Kim, the editor of CrochetMe magazine. Jenny will have a pattern in the upcoming August/September issue (it's her swinging hippy vest), and I wrote the description (well, dictated over the phone while at a WeHo SnB meeting is more like it), so be sure to check it out when it's up (I'm sure I'll post about it). Jenny has inspired me to submit some articles and maybe even a pattern or two, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Insomnia sucks. Tylenol PM, which has been such a friend to me in past experiences, is letting me down. Tuesday night, it seemed to help, but not last night. I finally fell asleep sometime around 2:30 a.m., and the Deano decided to start whining loudly in our bedroom around 5:00 a.m. I fell back asleep until the alarm went off at 7:30. I know some people have a hard time staying asleep, but that's not the biggest issue for me (Deano not withstanding). For me, it's the difficulty in getting to sleep that is driving me slowly insane.

Other than the insomnia, I'm doing pretty well. I'm heading up to San Jose tomorrow to see my old dance studio's recital. My friends Carrie, Christa & Allison still teach there, and since I didn't get to see much of them in Tahoe (especially since Carrie didn't go), and I have a free weekend, I decided to head up there. While there, I'll check out the Fiberarts Market (sponsored by TKGA and CGOA) in Oakland. My sister Jenny is going to be working the show for the Stitch Diva, whom she knows through the store she works at. Not that I need more yarn, but Lisa Souza Knits is going to be there, and I love the yarn I bought from her at the last shows, and I need more if I'm going to actually make the hippy-inspired cardigan.

Also, this weekend I will be able to give Allison & Iggy the Pretty Princess cardigan for Miss Margaret Allison. The colors (especially the green) aren't exactly true in the photo, but you get the idea. I've knit & crocheted blankets before and I've sewn baby clothes, but this is my first crocheted baby wear item.

My second baby wear item, the knit sweater from Rebecca, I ripped out. It just wasn't thrilling me anymore -- not because of the pattern, but because of the yarn I was using. I'm trying to go through stash yarn, and the combo I was using just wasn't working. So, instead of going to bed at a decent hour, I decided to work on the "denim" vest pattern from "Candy Babies." I'm using a cotton chenille in yellow, beige, brown & green that I made a lacy tank top from, and I have a beige fluffy GGH yarn ( I can't remember which one) for the edging. The color combo is turning out kind of camoflage-ish, so this vest will be for the baby of Rich's best friend, Stephen, who is expecting a boy (well, his wife is expecting... you know what I mean).

Got to run into a meeting now.

hungry, hungry hippo

I am feeling pretty much like a blob lately. I'm getting next to no exercise lately and I know it is affecting my mood and energy levels (although the ongoing lack of sleep isn't exactly helping). I stated at SnB last week that I was going to start walking to and from work (2 miles each way), but I haven't managed it yet. I'll try it tomorrow -- if I'm in agony, I can always walk to a bus stop. But I feel so fat & lazy when I drive to work -- it's barely enough time to listen to one whole news story on NPR, and I don't need my car during the day (for the most part) so it's kind of pointless to drive every day. My goal is to consistently walk to and from work twice a week. I'm also planning on signing up for kickball again for the fall season, although I'm not sure if that really counts as exercise. It' s got the same pacing as softball, i.e. a lot of waiting around and then some frenzied running & throwing.

Not a lot of crafty stuff was done over the weekend, since it was the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 652 pages, I think? Let's see, it arrived at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening and I finished at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning. And now we have to wait at least 2 more years for the final installment.

I am working on a knit baby sweater from the most recent baby issue of Rebecca magazine. This is a baby stuff summer. Obviously, there is little Miss Margaret Allison, and there is the currently gender unknown Reng baby, and there is Rich's best friend, Stephen and his wife Lee's (as yet unnamed) boy all due this summer/fall (November, August & September, respectively). Rich has chosen the "denim" jacket from the Candy Babies crochet book as the project we should make for Stephen & Lee's baby, so I need to get cracking on that. No rest for the people whose friends are now beginning to breed!