Zeneedle...needleart as life

Hats Off to Debbie Stoller

The SnB Grrls feel like we owe a debt of gratitude to Debbie because she planted the seed in Laurie's mind that SLC NEEDED a Stitch 'n Bitch group. We may not have known how much we needed this group, but in the all of it, we couldn't live without it now.  Within a short period of time we went from meeting bi-weekly to meeting every week.  We also share so much more than 2 hours ever Tuesday.  How cool is it that we're no longer all grrls…we always have guy, at least one, who can put up with us all!  Our tightly knit group will be celebrating the beginning year five on January 8th!

When we heard Debbie was coming to town we knew the only thing to do was let her now how much we appreciated the idea that brought us all together. Her books have brought great knits to beginning knitters everywhere, as well as more members to our group.  Last Thursday night Debbie shared with us how she learned to knit, why she knits, and the historical aspects of knitting. She is one savvy, witty, warm lady with a great attitude that has carried her far.  Knitting has had a big resurgence and there is no denying her hand in that surge. Her books and ideas take knitting across lines of age, gender, and thought, and into the region of the cool, funky, sassy and edgy. (If only more pictures had turned out well!)

 

The newest book, Son of Stitch 'n Bitch, maybe the best book yet.   It's full of creative, unique  and classic knits for grrls who knit for guys and guys who knit for themselves. We were all impressed with the patterns, many of which cross lines of age and gender.   Many of the projects were  things we knit for ourselves.  It was fun trying on the items that Debbie let us 'manhandle' and goofing off for each other.  We, the crowd at large, were very impressed with the variety of projects, techniques and yarns used. 

It was a great night and we love Debbie all the more.

Making the Best of Things

While the weekend was full of fun, frivolity, fiber and friends, it wasn't full of Norma and I missed her terribly...we all did!   Every time I saw a beautiful view or had a great time, I thought of Norma and how she should be here.  We will make up for it when she comes out later, but you were missed so much Norma!!

After we found out Norma wasn't going to make it (Kim was able to cancel her flight) Anne let me know she was still up for some fun on Friday. I was more than willing!  We had breakfast with Cheryl and then headed to Black Sheep for some retail therapy. Susan met us and helped me find a red better suited to the other colors of my EPS. (Thanks Susan!)  It was such a beautiful day all the way around and it was great to spend time with Anne.

Saturday, that wonderful thing called serendipity did come our way as Susan and I met up with Teri at Three Wishes and promptly bumped into Marcia (literally!).  It was fun to fiber shop, laugh and chat together.  (I did purchase some goodies, but they're gifts.) Retail therapy did it's job this weekend as did time with grrlfriends!

Saturday afternoon the SnBer's were invited to Cheryl's for a Holiday gathering. Cheryl knows how to host a party and we enjoyed wearing our crowns of gold from the Christmas Cracker's she had for each of us. The SnB gang now has a signature 'adult' beverage called the Mimsical.  It's the creation by our dear Mim (who apparently does a good job of designing more than knits) and comprises of a G & T with a bit of pomegranate liquor...we call it yummy and festive, too!

Because the guest room went unused there was time to finish plying the beautiful Cosmos singles and now have about 700 yds for a Feather and Fan Stole.  A little quite time here and there gave me a chance to start a new project...more knitting the blues, as I started Véonik’s Woolen Gloves.  Don't you just love the Apple Pie Cornflower Blue yarn?

Smith and I made it to Silver Fork for the first time in weeks and it renewed our frenzied souls.  It was wonderful to be in the mountains with the blue sky and pure white snow.  We also carried off a successful Mitten photo shoot...details to come!  Happy Monday, everyone.

Best Laid Plans or I'd Rather Be Knitting

It was a dark and stormy night.  Actually it was very nice when I arrived home, which made a perfect opportunity to take Moxie for a nice leisurely stroll. The beautiful days of fall will soon be behind us. Sadly, it was nearly dark by the time we made it back home and the pictures I tried to take for todays post were middling to poor. Drat!  Another thing that took me off track from finishing up the planned post for today was Lark !  I'd rather visit with a friend any day than sit in front of a computer (even though I know all of you are on the other side of the screen).  She dropped off two skeins of her ultra fabulous alpaca/soy silk lace weight yarn. This is Raspberry Sherbet from Sky Lark Yarns.  Be still my heart...this is such luscious, luxurious yarn! The search starts for just the right pattern to show it off. Mim, what's up your sleeve?

Rather than fuss about the pictures and try to retake again and again (thank goodness this picture turned out!), I decided to spend the night knitting on a mitten. 

Take Me Out....

It was a perfect night out for a ball game...the best view in any ball park anywhere, perfect temperature, comfortable company (Gwen, Val, and Laurie), and a full moon that came up quickly from behind the mountain peaks. Oh and there was a hot dog, a beer, and the biggest ice cream cone I've had in many a year!   The Trekking sock had a brush with fame (no it wasn't as exciting as Stevie Ray Vaughan) when the Bees Mascot was happy to share the limelight. Sitting in the ball park, watching the game and knitting with friends was so much fun.  We must make it a point to return and enjoy another evening there soon.

It was a late night and an early wake up call as I headed out at 6:00am to the back of the Wasatch and the Homestead Resort. The morning couldn't have been more beautiful or comfortable. It was a lot more fun to drive around and visit with the foursomes instead of sitting behind a desk all day.  This time of year is such a nice time to enjoy outdoor activities in Utah.  The sunflowers are in full bloom and other cultivated plants are showing off just before they start to wan during the shorter fall days ahead. The eyelet cardigan enjoyed a little time in the sun.

The weekend ahead looks fabulous and I just might get caught up on some sleep. It was a very busy week and a nice slow weekend is in order.   Enjoy yours!

Monday In Heaven

Val, Karen and I met early Monday morning and headed right up to Silver Fork for a hearty breakfast. It was such a beautiful morning and we had a hard time leaving the deck, the sound of birds singing and the view.  But, off we went, through the aspen forest, on a trek up the steep trail to Willow Lake.  Early on the day was comfortable and there were only a few high thin clouds dancing across the sky. It was beginning to heat up as we left the canyon to come back to reality.

The meadows were verdent and full of a wide variety of wildflowers (more will come later, too) and the air was so clean and fresh. A walk across the beaver dam brings into view the Wasatch Mountains on the south.  We couldn't proclaim enough our joy at the view, our surroundings or the beauty of the day. This is a quiet, unique spot with few visitors (except the animals who live in the nearby woods).  Moose frequent the lake but, we were not lucky enough to have one come into view.

Thank you Val and Karen for enjoying a near perfect day with me. It was as near to heaven as you can get on earth.

Enjoy your 4th of July and may it be full of all the fun summer has to offer. 

Grrls of the Tea Room

Eliza, Laurie, Gwen, Val, Katherine, Me, Michaele

The Ewe-Tah grrls are a very diverse group.  While most are of the liberal bent, we do have the occasional conservative and Mormon. (They are few but very good natured about our general bitching.)  We are different sizes, ages and backgrounds but, we have so much more in common.  Knitting brought us together (of course) and there again, we have varying degrees of ability. Getting together gives us a chance to bitch, eat, sip, and most of all, laugh and have fun. Eleven Bitcher's joined together at the Beehive Tea Room for an afternoon of very civilized (and yet ribald) conversation, fabulous food, and lovely tea. True ladies of the Victorian Era, may have fainted dead away or twittered behind their handkerchiefs but, this is 2006 and anything goes, eh? 

It was decided hats would be der rigeur. So, to ensure everyone had a hat, if wanted, every hat I owned was toted along. Michaele's outfit was a perfect match to the vintage straw topper in my collection. Val was dressed to the nines in a lovely white and navy sun dress with a red hat, red mules, and a red wrap.  She was spring incarnate.  Katherine arrived in a vintage red lace dress that was the envy of us all.

Despite taking loads of pictures, the poor lighting took its toll and only a few turned out. Gwen and Laurie both have good pictures of the event and have imparted some of our conversation.  This group has fun wherever we go, whatever we do and Sunday was no exception. Little knitting was accomplished but, it was secondary to our day of fun. Utah Grrls Rock!

The group picture above was taken by a young woman who must have heard our laughter and seen our silly hats fabulous attire. She was from the Community Writing Center and wanted a picture to help stimulate ideas for her creative writing class.  We made sure she paid us back by taking pictures with all our camera's.   

Just for the fun of it please leave in the comments what your first line of a story, inspired by our picture, would be.

Crazy Grrls

Every Tuesday at Stitch 'n Bitch is a fun evening and it often gets a bit crazy.  We laugh...a lot, and tease, and share and laugh some more.  It's a great group of grrls that come to the meetings.  Last Tuesday was especially fun as we had several birthday's to celebrate.  Eliza's birthday was yesterday, Valoree's was last week and Michaele's is the early part of May (she'll be in Italy for her big day, poor grrl).

Susan has been dyeing up a storm and naming the yarns for someone in our group. Valoree received the "Margene" yarn and another beautiful yarn in a celery color was dyed for Eliza. I'm not sure who it was named after, however. Susan also gave Val and Michaele each a pair of hand knit sock earrings.  They are tiny but, oh so chic, eh?
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Michaele gave yarn cupcakes to Gwen (her birthday was in March), Val and Eliza...candles and all!  Now that's a good idea!

Our 'Crazy for Harry' grrl, Teri, has been entertaining us with the Adventures of Lego Snape. Laurie has missed out on his visits and so, she had a moment of quiet communion with Mr. Snape.  Unfortunately, Teri met up with a misadventure of her own and got stuck behind the couch! Snape was quick to help her out of the jam.

This weekend the SnB grrls are getting together for 'high tea'...avec HATS (no red hats allowed) at the Beehive Tea Room!  I know ya'll come back next week to hear about that adventure. Everyone is invited!

To finish up the month of April for Project Spectrum here are the last few pictures of yellow and orange.  First...hey Dave! I bought an orange T-shirt. Cool enough? (He told me I'd be wearing orange before too long.) Second...a PS postcard arrived from Woolarina and it full of flowers and beautiful things in yellow and orange. Cool, too?  And last but not least, PS Tulips! How cool is it that they bloomed just in time to show off for Lolly.  It's all cool around here;-)

Loads of Love

Do you see that? Can you imagine just what it is?  That, my dears, is four of my favorite food groups in one exotic orb...an apple, covered with caramel, covered again with dark chocolate and rolled in almonds.  It is one of the most delicious delights on earth.  Smith knows how to treat a grrl, eh?  And with a $56 gift certificate to my LYS...life is pretty good! (Get it? $56? Cool, eh?)  I love that guy. With another GC from my freaking, fabulous sister...I see a new sweater heading toward the stash (or needles)  in the near future.

Love in a small, Fibery package...that's what sock yarn is. My fingers itch to knit more socks. It will be nearly impossible to decide what sock to knit next! Look at all the color and fine yarn in that pile o'goodness.  The purple on the right is a ball of Karen's yummy sock yarn (Sleeping Dragon) to replace the one I gave away (so I could stay in the StashALong). I am a very lucky grrl and so humbled by all the fibery love that came my way. The Sockotta on top, a gift from Birdsong, has a vintage pin attached. It will often adorn my collar or lapel.

Stitch 'n Bitch was fabulously fun. Kim was in Utah for spring break from VA, and it was so nice to hug her again.  Isela and Tina came down from Logan with Miriam, and it was grand to meet them and see Mim again.  The very creative Teri shared her crafty talents and made several little pockets.  I love the cute little bags she sews up as they are perfect for carrying around a single ball of sock yarn, so you can always be ready to go with a sock in tow (toe?). The top mini-bag is awesome for this months Project Spectrum, too! She also gave me a pair of fancy scissors and papers to start me on the way to creating my own cards.

And then there is Susan, what can I say about a grrlfriend who knits a soft, warm and extra-special hug?  This is her own design, Mountain Stream Scarf, knit with Blackberry Ridge wool/silk.  It feels as fine as gossamer and it is a treasure to be sure.  She also spun a beautiful bright blue wool, with a touch of sparkle, from local fiber artist Judy Jackson's roving. It will make a nice trim for a hat or cuff for gloves, don't you think?

My life is so full because of the knitter both near and far.  No one can be poor who has many friends and you all make me feel so rich.