overstimulated by social media?

I had a piece run on the CBC a couple weeks ago about my new foray into Instagram @yrnspinner.  Here's a link to the piece:
Self-promotion vs. Self-reflection: How can we use social media better?

The funny thing is that there is always something to post about, and with a shiny new iPad (purchased to help a twin with his Sphero--STEM learning, of course), taking photos and posting is easier.  However, it means I don't post as much here, and I also probably waste more time on it all around...posting rather than making and doing in real life.

Why is it such a time waster?  Well, ahem, if you're me, you might need to look at sheep, and pretty photos of knitting designs and yarn, and see a friend's baby...and it is so easy to get seduced by all the visuals.  It is not even the same as reading a whole article/blog post/email or even, gasp, a book.  It definitely shortens my attention span.

LOOK!  A new photo!  Another person likes my post!  (I can see how people can get addicted to this.)

So, if you're not on instagram, here are some of the photos I posted there.
I bought some Navajo-Churro wool from a Pennsylvania farmer while at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival...while we were in Virginia visiting relatives for Rosh Hashanah. (and yes, I tried it out before the holiday!)

If you're curious, even after writing a book about festivals, like, umm, Fiber Gathering, yes, I still love going to festivals, teaching at them, and speaking at them.  This festival was just a spur of the moment thing, so I went with my folks and my twins and just had fun!

 We came home to Winnipeg and it rained like crazy last weekend.  It seemed like the best Sunday afternoon though.   We had an emergency spinning wheel fix--(someone had been playing and got a drive band caught between the axle and the wheel.  This makes Mommy angry and causes us to do spinning wheel surgery, which involved kid teamwork! Yeah for teamwork!) Afterwards? Playing inside, spinning Churro on my Schacht spinning wheel, and even having the gas fireplace come on at intervals.

The new bulky flyer set up holds a lot of singles.  I also found treadling it made me sore afterwards!  Maybe less is more here? Or maybe I need more spinning as exercise?

 And, here are the bonus photos for longtime blog readers:

We had a lot of cabbage in the frig...when the CSA (community supported agriculture) farm is still delivering, two weeks of produce accumulates fast!  I made Everlasting Slaw.  Three quarts in the refrigerator now.  Fall is here.
 Last, but not least, I am attempting a new fall project...sewing some new clothes for myself.  This involves learning a lot of new moves, including how to make bias tape.  (quality time with my new rotary cutter, my old dependable iron, and some steam.)

More to come soon on this front, I hope!
If you're fasting, wishing you an easy, meaningful one...gmar hatimah tovah! 
 (May you be inscribed in the Book of Life!)

Taking care

The last few weeks have been frenetic around here.  Since before Passover, a month ago, I have been super busy--first with all the household preparations, as my husband, the professor, was out of town before the holiday, and then afterwards, with catching up on all the work that seemed to fall between the cracks.  I've been doing some editing, writing, and even some designing. 

Then, the news (shootings, floods, wars) has been fairly daunting, too--and after a while, a person feels run down.  My piece last week for the Vancouver paper, The Jewish Independent, as about this issue and how to do a little self-care in order to cope.  It's called Staying calm amid bad news.

One thing that kept me busy was getting ready to teach a handspinning class in our local fibre arts community.  I both love teaching and feel a bit out of practice...I started my career teaching full time, but now work almost entirely by myself.  That transition from 'extrovert' job to an introverted lifestyle has meant that sometimes I have to really psych myself up and prepare to do a teaching job.  I still love doing it, but I don't get to do it as often now.  

On Mother's Day, I joined five women who seemed as determined as I was to take time to enjoy themselves and learn something new--and the break did us all good!  

This first photo is of the bags of samples I created for the class: eight different kinds of silk, mohair and alpaca, all weighed and measured in a cheerful and reusable bag in spring time patterns, complete with lists of where to buy resources and more.  I also brought along my books to share for those who were interested in a signed copy.  

These days, many of my students seem surprised to hear that I did actually write books on these topics!  (Alas, although they are still for sale, fame is so fleeting!)  If you missed your chance to take a class on Mother's Day, you can, of course, always order the books online.  Here's a link to Fiber Gathering and Knit Green for good measure...If you live locally, I can also sign your books if you're interested.  (If you live far away, postage may be prohibitive.) 

Meanwhile, back at our household, the Professor and my twins did piano lessons, grocery shopping, and playing with our dogs on their own...and surprised me with flowers and a sushi dinner as a treat.  Sometimes a break from routine, some learning, and some time spent doing something you love... is a good thing! 

Seek peace and truth in 2019...

Sometimes things happen because of luck or good timing.  Canadians don't observe Martin Luther King Day, but as a dual citizen, I can't help but think about it, even as it's not an official holiday here.

The Jewish Independent just ran my piece:
Seek peace and truth in 2019

And this hearkens back to many things I've learned from studying Dr. King's words over the years.

(Note: Jews come from all over the world, and therefore we're a people of all colors.  Also, historically, in some societies, Jews have been seen as "People of Color" regardless of their skin colour.  We share this issue of discrimination and prejudice with King, and many others, even if the country, time period, and context sometimes differ)

An important and interesting conversation has sprung up in the knitting world about race, inclusion, and diversity.  It's all over the knitting web right now, but if you're on Ravelry, the knitting database with 8 million members, there's a good summary and discussion here. 

When I wrote Fiber Gathering and Knit Green, beginning in 2007, I was insistent that the models and designs address diversity--in women's sizes, skin color, and more.  This meant that my first book deal fell through, as that publisher didn't agree with me. I wanted to include models whose sizes looked more like the average woman's size 12.  I wanted to include People of Color.  I wanted the books to look representative of what I saw in our fiber arts communities.  When Wiley & Sons (the 2nd publisher) chose and published my books, they helped with this goal.

Unfortunately, what I noticed, over time, is that some of my favorite projects, when featured as Ravelry ads, did not seem to sell patterns.  For whatever reason, those designs were not selling.

Maybe the adverts or designs weren't good.  Or, was it because of the diverse models who represent what we see around us,  (beautiful knitters -and people- come in all colors)--but don't acknowledge--every day?

When I redid the advertisements so that skin color was less apparent... Guess what?  More people clicked through to see the designs.  To me, this informal ad campaign showed me that sadly, the knitting community, like all of us, still has lots to work on when it comes to loving and appreciating diversity.  Change and inclusion takes time.

This week, I chose to buy an ad on Ravelry again, to support their efforts in a small way.  The photos in this blog post are the ad images I am running.  This time, in 2019, and on MLK weekend, I hope more people click through.

Designs featured in this post:
Bandana
Tank Empire
Spire Smock

Happy 5778! and more

Sorry for the radio silence over here.  Just when the second week of school for twins started here, our dear professor (Daddy) went off to England to do some research in museum insect collections.  I am proud to say that we made it through more than a week on our own.  Two six year olds, two older dogs (one pretty sick) and one very tired Mommy.  Holding down the fort is hard work.

Every day, our professor sent us photos of what he saw while he was in London at the Natural History Museum, in Oxford, and then at a symposium in Cambridge.

Here is a little sampling of his photos.
This is the museum in Oxford where he worked.  The red shirts at the front were volunteers for a day of student visits...he said there were balloons and signs and helpers, and lost looking young people everywhere.

The outsides of these museums and the display spaces are really something to see.  Behind the scenes, according to the professor, are even more interesting--sometimes disorganized, dark, and overwhelming.  He saw very old insect collections (like, 400 years old) and more.  Here is a shot of what behind the scenes looks like in Oxford's museum.

In Cambridge, he got to attend a symposium for his grad school advisor.  (Yes, the professor attended that Cambridge for this Master's degree, he's a Churchill College guy.)

Here's a shot of the punters on the river in Cambridge.

 What happened at home?
My article ran on the CBC here.  I got a lot of interesting and somewhat confrontational feedback.   Little of it seemed to apply to managing responsibly as a single parent for a week.  (You'll understand more if you check out the link, it's about creating legislation and education campaigns for the July 2018 marijuana legalization in Canada.)

The 2017 Manitoba Fibre Festival happened, and I was there for only an hour or two with both kids as I didn't teach or help this year.  It was remarkable to be there as a regular bystander.  Only a few people knew me or said hello.  It reminded me how capable others are--there were great classes, many volunteers, lots of helpers.  While I missed some of it, stepping down from being involved was obviously better for getting over Lyme disease,improving my health and taking care of my kids.  However, I was left a bit hollow about the whole thing, still sorting out my feelings there.  I've taught at a bunch of festivals, given a key note at one or two, done booksignings, and helped start this one.  But for now, I am 'between' festivals.

There was also a really super review of my book, and I was so grateful for it.  I have fallen down on marketing it.  However, the short version is that I'm proud of having written From the Outside In and even more pleased that I figured out how to publish all those newspaper columns both affordably and independently, in book form.  That said, I'd also like to break even on the whole thing, so if you haven't read my book, please check it out!

We topped off this very busy time with a really wonderful family Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, to celebrate 5778.  Happy New Year!  Both boys were unhappy that I didn't manage to invite guests to our holiday meals, but one very tired professor (with jetlag) returned just in time... so now we're back to two parents, two elderly dogs, and two very busy grade 1 students, starting a new week of school.  (Easy by comparison to last week)

It was rainy and cold here this weekend, and I'm knitting like crazy to get ready.  Kids keep growing like weeds and need new sweaters.  Winter is coming!  (Winter is always coming in Canada)  Are you knitting anything new?  Need some pattern ideas?

On making a difference

I was invited to be a guest blogger on Donna Druchunas' blog-- Subversive Knitting!  Want to know more about how knitters and writers can make change?  Here's how it starts...
Today, Joanne Seiff, author of Fiber Gathering and  Knit Green, talks about her newest book, From the Outside In, and on how each of us can make a difference:

Thank you, Donna, for inviting me to post!  I’m thrilled to be here.

Did you ever think about how best you can make a difference in the world?  In our living rooms, most of us treat friends or family to the occasional rant.  I found the rare public “bully pulpit” in a place I didn’t expect....

To read more, follow this link to see the full post.  

Mary Jane Socks + ModeKnits yarn= Fabulous!

It might be hard to believe, but in Winnipeg, one can wear wool socks this time of year.  Today, for instance, we were wearing cardigans outside...a high of about 65F.(17C)  This is a great excuse to post about a collaboration about which I am excited.  ModeKnit Yarn is a brand new yarn company, producing hand-dyed yarns in really artistic colorways.  Annie Modesitt, a longtime knitwear designer, is the dyer extraordinaire, so the yarns are truly something to see.

These folks kindly provided my friend Deb with some of their yarn so she could knit up my pattern for Mary Jane Socks.  This is the result!  What I love most about it?  It is a colorway I could not have imagined and a dyeing, knitting and designing collaboration that went right across international boundaries and many years.  Deb is a friend I made at a special spinning guild, still in existence, in North Carolina.  I left North Carolina in 2002, but some of those folks are still in touch with me.  This project gave me the chance to connect with Deb a bit more often....and a whole new way of seeing one of my patterns from my book, Fiber Gathering.  All good. :)  Enjoy the photos--they remind me of kicking back on a sunny cool day like today.

(At my house, we spent a lot of time today playing outside, walking around the neighborhood, and enjoying the sunshine.  Hope you did, too!)

 

drive-by knitting

I'd really like to get back to posting more frequently, so this is a speedy attempt.  Here are some (not very good) photos I've taken with my iPad to show off recent knitting and life here.  I have finished my version of Kapp, an Icelandic sweater pattern with Lite-Lopi in Size 4. It is too big for our boys now but will be just right come next fall, I suspect.  It was a pattern that required the knitter to already know how to do an Icelandic type sweater.  (in the round, bottom up, attach two sleeves and do a yoke, etc.)  The instructions were well-intended, but minimal.  There is a mistake in this, and it is around the collar area, and I hope you can't really see it because of the buttons (ancestral button stash buttons!) the slanty photo and the collar. :)  Whatever, it will keep someone warm!

Now I am on to the next sweater.  This will be a stripy zip-up-the-front one, I suspect, as requested by my (skinny) boy, unless he goes for buttons at the last moment.  He likes long coatlike sweaters, and this one is being knit at a size 2 width but size 4 length.  There is no pattern to this.  I am just making it up as I go.  Winging it for me is only slightly more complicated than following a well-intended pattern without many details!

Long ago, I started a pair of Selbuvotter mittens, using a pattern from Terri Shea's great book.  However, things got distracting and I found I just could not concentrate on finishing those mitts at the time.  Hah.  You know, when I was writing books and getting ready to move to Canada, but not yet the mom of twins....well, it was the twin thing that did it, I guess.  Put me right over the top. 

I bumped into that little bag of half-finished project recently, and huh.  There was some very nice fingering-sport weight handspun 2 ply that I had done years ago.  It was just waiting to be mitts.  I took one look at that pattern I was trying to follow, and my eyes crossed.  (No, my twins still do not sleep through the night.  5 or 6 wake ups last night alone.  I lost count.)

I just cut the handspun right off the half mitten I'd done and started winging it.  I made some top-down mitts in the 20 minutes before I fell asleep or during odd moments here and there.  They fit fabulously and I was ready to go when I looked at them.  They looked sort of, umm, homespun.  Not bad, but just sort of homemade in a way I wasn't quite satisfied with wearing out and about.

I washed the mitts, gently fulling them in the process.  Then I grabbed some grape kool aid packets on a grocery store errand, and the mitts took a little dip.  They now are a lovely variegated purple/lavender contrasted with rich brown.  They look good and more importantly, they feel very warm, especially with another pair underneath.  Sadly, they do not photograph well in the spare moments when I have a chance to shoot a photo.

Today I was out shovelling and I tried all sorts of angles in the sunlight.  There is very definitely lots of "winter" out here, and while the temperature is tropical (-10 C, around 20F), I still wear mitts when shovelling.

Here's a failed shot of mitts that shows some snow drifts.  Here's also a photo of me in my winter gear.  I've made 2 pairs of mittens for myself this winter and I am now on to a third...I wonder whether winter will beat me and I'll have three new pairs of mitts by the time the snow is done, or -- maybe, (hah) spring will come first.  I somehow doubt it!

PS: I've now managed to download all the currently available pdf patterns from my both of my books to Ravelry...but no one has bought a single one of the new downloadable patterns yet!  There's still time to make mitts before spring!  Join me...?

 

new downloads available!

It's definitely still winter here in Winnipeg.  About -40 with the windchill this AM (that is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius). It has been a real slog, this season.  I am getting tired of putting little boys into snow suits just to go outside! We've got one of the coldest winters on record...and we have ample opportunity to wear woollies!  This post is to celebrate the launch of a few pattern downloads now available for sale.  All of them are relatively quick knits if you are, like me, still experiencing winter. :)

The first pattern is this Icelandic Winter Cap.   I loved my personal version of this design to death!  It is now felted with snow and hard use and battered and perfect for my boys' basement toy box, but still warm. It knits up quickly with Lopi yarns and is an inexpensive boost to your winter wardrobe...covers your ears, too!

The next photo is of the Sit Upon.  This is my only crochet pattern in print.  Made quickly with an enormous crochet hook and wool roving, these sit upons can warm up a bleacher seat or dress up your dining room.  It all depends on where you need it!  One of my Sit Upons actually works as a placemat underneath my dogs' water bowl.  It is a versatile and useful thing to have, and very fast to make.

The Mary Jane Socks, a pattern featured in an earlier blog post, are an ideal way to use one of a kind hand-dyed sock yarns.  Assuming all the stars align, I hope to feature a brand new version of this pattern in a special new hand-dyed yarn line.  In the meanwhile though, the pattern is now available as a download, too!

The Deep V Sweater is an interesting pattern and I'm surprised I have not seen more versions of it posted online.  Knit with two strands of cotton yarn, it can be knit with either two strands worsted weight or one strand bulky weight yarn.  It's designed to keep the chill away, whether you're at a festival or at home.  I look forward to seeing more versions of this pop up on line now that the pdf is available.

The last pdf from Fiber Gathering that is now available as a separate download is the Unmistakably Warm Cowl.  I am featuring a photo of this one that shows it around the ears, but it is, of course, also good for your neck!  When I knit this out of lighter weight alpaca, I was living in Kentucky and it seemed mighty warm.  I won't lie, this version is not warm enough for Winnipeg winters (but then, very little is!)--if I were to make this for wear here in Winnipeg, I'd make it out of worsted weight or bulky weight alpaca, and I'd make a bigger cowl, too.  The good thing about this pattern is that it is easy to modify and very fast to make. 

I am excited about being able to market these patterns separately!  Several blog readers have either posted comments or mentioned privately that they think this is great too--thank you so much for the moral support.  I am really hoping that making these patterns available individually will offer knitters more options to enjoy knitting these designs.  As one friend explained, she already has my book, but would love to just have the convenience of a single pattern at a time--no scrolling through an ebook--available on her iPad in her knitting bag.  Here it is, friends!  Thanks for your kind words and support!

(More to come soon...I am already slowly posting Knit Green patterns online as I find spare moments.)

Mary Jane Socks download-a new era

When I wrote Fiber Gathering, it was an undertaking.  It took months of travel, and constant juggling of responsibilities for my professor, so he could manage the photography and his actual work as a professor.  We had to hire dog sitters and house sitters and work hard to make it come to fruition.  In many ways, it was worth it.  I am extremely proud of that work.  I look at writing my two books as some of my most important career achievements.  I love it when Sammy (one of my twins) says that his mommy writes books in her office.  I hope to be able to get back to that reality when the twins are older and I have more time to actually sit in my office again.

However, the small advance I was given for writing Fiber Gathering just covered our travel and expenses.  I did not make any money from writing the book at all.  Despite what look like reasonable sales of the book--I have never earned anything past that advance on royalties.  Since we travelled all over the US to write the book, most of that advance went, plain and simple, for airfare, car rentals, hotel reservations, and eating while we travelled.  (For those that met us on the road, you know we weren't living extravagantly, either!)

So, when my publisher, Wiley, sold off parts of its catalog to a different publisher, I took the opportunity to ask if that new publisher would grant me some of my rights back.  I am happy to say that my requests were granted.
 
What that means is that I now have permission to publish and sell a few of my patterns online as pdf downloads on Ravelry.  I also have rights to make audio books too, and that is also exciting. Time allowing, I hope to put audio book versions of both my books online for sale as well.  Since I will be recording them myself, it may take me a while to do this.  However, it gives me hope that there is still an audience for the content of these books in a different medium.  (I will record the text only, not the patterns, as it would be hard to follow a pattern in an audio book!) 

This is all to say that my first pattern download from Fiber Gathering is now available on Ravelry.  The Mary Jane Socks pattern is one of my favorites.  Designed to use every last inch of a special hand dyed sock yarn, this toe-up pattern can also be used for any sock yarn that knits up at the gauge of 30 sts=4".  Since the book came out, it has been knit in Patons Kroy and other widely available yarns.  I know it is a versatile pattern, and it is one of my favorites.  I have worn out 2 pairs of handknit socks from this pattern myself!

If you read this blog and tweet, blog, or use social media in some way, I would be really honored if you might pass along the word that this pattern is now available as a download.  It is a small step, this one pattern, but it goes towards a long overdue launch of some really hard work.

 
(And, if you were wondering why I haven't been online much, we've had weeks of -40F weather, some serious dates with the plumber over our sewer line, and a bad virus.  I've been trying to think of something non-stinky to say about sewers, viruses, and extreme cold...but now I have something positive to say! We might just need to sell a few patterns to save a few bucks towards a new sewer line in our future. :) 

Check out the new Mary Jane Socks download here! 

More patterns soon, I hope!

 

We did it!

The first Manitoba Fibre Festival was on Saturday.  It was a rousing success, despite pouring rain and cold temperatures.  (It never topped 13C --about 55F)  I was there, helping out and teaching, from 7:45 AM until about 4:30 PM, and the venue was about 25 minutes' drive from my house.  I spent most of the day in an outdoor tent, helping with the information booth, the wool show, and teaching. Gosh, I was chilled to my bones by day's end.

However, we had over 20 vendors, great big crowds, and successful classes.  Aside from one or two class snafus and a very damp tent (it was pitched over a drainage ditch), things went smoothly.  Overall, I am thrilled to have been a part of it.

One of the most interesting parts of the experience for me was seeing how incredibly excited everyone was to finally have this experience.  Many of them knew of festivals elsewhere, and some people had travelled long distances to go to festivals in the past.  However, some fiber-arts people took even bigger risks, considering this was the first time we'd had a fibre festival in Manitoba--one group travelled 5 hours from Sioux Lookout, Ontario.  The fabulous wool judge came from Saskatchewan.  There were so many people committed and thrilled to be a part of our one day, pop up, festival extravaganza.  Spinners, knitters, weavers, felters, rughooking, basket-making, dyeing--it was all there.

What would I dream of for future events?
1) A warmer and/or drier day --but we can't control that!
2) A bigger space
3) More volunteers and help
4) More cross border diversity in terms of vendors...I wish there were spinning wheel vendors, a huge number of fleeces of different varieties on sale and at the wool show, and more.  By cross border, I mean--from the US (just an hour away by car) or from Ontario or Saskatchewan or beyond.  I was thrilled by our local representation but wanted more more more...including chances for people to try out wheels, touch large  varieties of sheep breeds, and talk to more shepherds.
5) Some animals would be nice, but this ties into #4.  We need a way to get shepherds to believe in wool sales, and come along for the ride... never mind those who raise alpacas, llamas, goats, rabbits, etc.

It took me a long time to post about things, to dry out my teaching supplies--heck, even to get warm myself. (a big bowl of soup and a hot shower only made a small dent in it!)

Finally, it took a long while to get my household back to normal.  The only way I could be so involved the day of the festival was by having a lot of help from my family.  My parents flew in from Virginia (thank you!!) and with my husband's help, all three were on twin duty for the whole day.  Their hard work kept everybody on track and prevented 2 year old meltdowns on a cold, wet day without Mommy.

The photo here is perhaps incongruous, but it makes sense to me.  For the past 6 months or more, I have had a basket of spinning in our basement playroom.  Believe it or not, that is where I get to spin most--while supervising the boys as they play (and beat up on each other.).  I brought these tools out of the basement and wandered the tent, spinning as I talked to people.  Many were excited to talk about my spindles, and wanted to learn about how one could walk and spin and answer questions about the festival at the same time.  What I wanted to say was--compared to corralling the twins?  It was easy.  Like being on a one-day vacation with like-minded friends. :)

See you next year at the festival?

1 pair of socks+other random stuff

The other night I finished my Mary Jane Socks (pattern found in Fiber Gathering) and I tried them on before I'd woven in all the ends. Before I knew it, the professor snapped a couple of photos. While the socks themselves aren't exactly the right color here-they are much darker purple in real life- the professor thought the tableau was perfect.

Note the copy of the book, the socks, and Harry the dog snoozing across the room. Beyond, you can see my Canadian Production Wheel. If you happen to have a copy of Fiber Gathering, you may have seen this pattern, these feet, and that spinning wheel before. Quick! Go look at it--does it look familiar? (hint: It should.) Only difference is the shade of yarn used in the socks themselves!

In other news, the professor installed a new wireless router over the weekend to our replace our 7 year old router. Who knew wireless could be this fast? Well, now I do. Whew, it sure does make downloading big files easier!

The other random thing (I'm listing them in threes here) is that yesterday, I was talking on the phone to my very nice knitting buddy, Christine. She's the kind of person who I really value as a friend...as my mom would say, she's got her head screwed on straight. (translation? Her priorities seem really ethical to me and make good common sense.) So, there we are, talking, and I look out the front window. Uh oh.

Ten skateboarders between the ages of, say, 14-20, drive up in two cars. They suddenly start using the construction site across the street as a skate park. They move some wood to make a ramp. They are doing tricks off the second story of an unfinished structure. You know, the kind with big holes and concrete everywhere? The kind of building where the construction workers are working hard every single work day. They didn't deserve that.

I got to make a wee little phone call to the cops then. Christine let me call her back, cause, you know, she is a nice person. Plus, I think seeing someone crack his head open would really turn my stomach. All that blood? Yuck. On a practical note, if they hurt themselves while being stupid, well, we're all responsible for the medical bill here in Canada, aren't we?

Luckily, the police don't seem to be busy on Sunday afternoon, and maybe someone else called too, because they chase the skateboarders away not once, but twice. As Christine would say, Good on ya, police guys!

So, three random good things--I hope this doesn't mean I'm due for anything randomly bad to happen. Anything good happening with you? Do tell!

Those books...

It's hard to believe that just last September, I got to introduce Knit Green on this blog. In fact, in October 2009, I got to introduce a new knitting project from the book in nearly every post! That said, the book release was sort of a quiet occasion. We'd just moved to a new country. I only managed to to travel a small amount to promote the book...(unless I get a teaching gig, I can't afford to cover those travel expenses.) I also sent out some postcards to offer yarn shops the possibility of a trunk show...and I never heard from a single yarn shop. I guess it was a quiet book release!

In fact, in looking back on it, it's only been a year and a half since Fiber Gathering was published. It's been quite a year and a half...

Why am I mentioning this?

Well, I know there are likely lots of people who decided that they'd wait a while before buying my books. Maybe they wanted to know if Library Journal reviewed them well (they did!) or if the price would go down. The prices have gone way down...just check out the Amazon links over there for more information on that...

Books also make great gifts. It's possible you're not a knitter, (what?! Not a knitter?) but given the statistics, (1 in 3 women in North America knit or crochet) I bet you know someone who is. Even if you're not aware of any knitters, there are spinning, dyeing, crochet, rug hooking and other projects in my books. Oh, and if you're wearing clothes? There's eco-friendly information in Knit Green that you will find useful.

This is definitely the time of year that people start buying things for their friends and families. However, I know that times are rough, so it's possible you might not be in a big buying mood. Have you considered asking your library to buy copies of Fiber Gathering and Knit Green? That way you know lots of people can enjoy reading them without any expense at all.

Many people will be getting e-readers for the holidays, too--what about purchasing an ebook? That too makes a great gift...

I try hard not to be too pushy about this sort of thing on my blog...but it is technically a part of my living. So far, I haven't earned anything past my advance on either book. For each book sold, I earn a very small amount. (Think roughly 80 cents to a $1. That's an average many authors have to live with...but unless your book is a best seller, it's hard to live on it.)

I imagine I'm preaching to the choir here, and that most of you have already bought my books. If so, thank you so much! I'm incredibly proud of them, and so happy to hear every time someone says that they've enjoyed them. Thank you for saying that, too. I'm grateful for every kind word.

Now, don't you know someone else who might like a book?! :) (wink wink nudge nudge?)

KAL starts tomorrow!

The Sock Knit Along starts tomorrow on Ravelry! Although most of the participants will be doing the Ploughed Acre Socks from Knit Green, I am going to do Mary Jane Socks from Fiber Gathering. I even got the skein of yarn all ready in a ball to start knitting right away on October 1. (For those that know me, yes, that yarn has purple, green, blue, black, and even a bit of white in it. Perfect to match nearly everything in my wardrobe.)

The hole across the street that used to be a house? Today they poured concrete for the new building's foundation. I could watch the process from my office. After the truck left, the workers walked the top of the wooden shell, carefully smoothing out the concrete at the top.

It's hard to see here through the trees but it was quite an interesting thing to watch. I'm sorry I didn't catch a photo of the enormous yellow crane thing they used to shoot the concrete into the wooden foundation molds...every time I got up from my loom (I wove today) I watched the action! Despite these photos, it was a very sunny day today. I shot these through a window, and the window itself is, well, a bit cloudy.

It's been a quiet but very joyful day here. Lots of sunlight and a breeze to dry some laundry outdoors on the clothes line, some dog cuddles, and I wove about half a rug. Tonight is the first weaving guild meeting of the year, too.

Tomorrow, I get to start my first KAL with friends and I have plenty of time to knit tomorrow for starters! What could be better?

(Mint chocolate chip ice cream with fudge sauce? World peace? A self-cleaning house?)

ebooks

I'm hearing about more and more people who are buying their new books only as ebooks. This way there is a much smaller carbon footprint for their purchase. (No paper, no printing, no shipping--all in all, a very good and green idea.) I'm sort of old fashioned, so I still really enjoy buying my books as, well, books...but even so, I end up buying a lot of my books used so I know more than one person makes use of that original production energy. However, on thinking about it, it seemed to me that other people who were interested in buying Knit Green new might worry about their carbon footprints.

It also seemed to me that if you were, perhaps, driving around to festivals with your copy of Fiber Gathering, it might be easier to transport as an electronic file.

Yet, when I've checked the sales figures of my books, I was surprised. I found very, very few books have been bought as ebooks. (fewer than 20 copies total for each book.)
....so I'll come right out and say it.
Did you know that you can buy Knit Green as an ebook download? You could download and knit designs from this book without ever printing it! You could also perhaps print out just the patterns you were planning on knitting...

Also, did you know you could get Fiber Gathering online as ebook download?

I'm not very good at being a salesperson for my books sometimes. I'm also not too hot at this promotional thing...it makes me feel very self-conscious. However, this topic seemed like maybe it was worth mentioning. I'll be curious to know from you, dear readers, if you are reading more books as ebooks these days. Does this sort of thing tempt you? I'm curious. Tell me if you're tempted by this sort of thing or if, like me, you're still sort of a fan of the old-fashioned, paper and print, hold-in-your-hand book. Inquiring minds want to know...

the stats

This week:
We saw and entertained house guests #4, 5 and 6. It was a joy to see them, but a highlight was having our small friend here for a little while. You may recognize her from the Shearing Day chapter in my book Fiber Gathering: Knit, Crochet, Spin, and Dye More than 25 Projects Inspired by America's Festivals. She is now seven and a half years old. We made her a "nest" in my office with pillows, bedding, and a comforter for her to sleep on and then she rearranged everything. This was so she could sit on my office chair and read aloud to her "class." (The class consisted of various pillows, Pinky the stuffed bear, some dog toys that Harry and Sally loaned her, and other inanimate objects.) Apparently everyone in the class enjoyed story hour!

I also managed to grade 19 academic papers turned in by my Engineering graduate students this week. I'm teaching a writing course for graduate students in Engineering. That meant I had to read their work and make comments. I honestly cannot remember the last time I felt so intellectually stretched and stimulated...I learned about Civil Engineering, Bio-Medical Engineering, Electrical Engineering...whew! Probably the last time I had to learn so fast was in graduate school -- and I graduated from UNC in 2001. It's been a while.

Today is also the 12th anniversary of the day the professor and I got married. We don't tend to do much for our anniversary, which is lucky.... I just brought him to the airport as he is off to an academic conference on butterflies in Alberta. His fancy camera is being serviced so I loaned him mine--hence, no pictures here.

Also today, the scaffolding went up to fix our fireplace chimney so we can put in gas fireplaces someday. We also had yet another person rush indoors to see the inside and work up gas fireplace estimates. Cause, you know, we didn't have anything else going on. (I'd laugh here, since if I didn't, I might cry over the chaos of all this!)

Finally, you may remember the purple sweater project. Last night I got ready to integrate in one ball of yarn that came all the way from Tokyo to help me finish the sweater. Sadly, when I started work again on sleeve #2, I discovered that I'd made the cuff too short. So, I ripped out almost an entire sleeve so I could knit it properly. This sweater may be done in time for fall. At least, I hope so. It's a moving target, this sweater project.

So, that's:
+3 houseguests and then -3 house guests
+19 Engineering papers
+one dozen years of being married
-one professor (just for the week)
+one scaffolding
+one more gas fireplace estimate
-one knitted sweater sleeve
----------------------------
one busy and tired Joanne

running in place

I occasionally feel as though I cannot keep up with my own expectations. That is what's going on lately. I've got so many things happening that I hardly know what to post about. At the moment, the piano tuner is here (ping ping ping! PONG pong pong!) so I can't think clearly anyway. So, here goes...

Since my last post, I've dealt with those two loaves of whole wheat, made 4 loaves of challah, and 12 muffins. (all freezer bound...) I've cleaned and made a bed or two. In the end, I just made a list. My list has at least 29 things on it, both work and household related and any way you count it, I'm only able to cross off 12 of those things so far. I keep adding to the list too. Oh, and technically, this is Shavuot and I should be taking some time off as it's a holiday. Instead, I went to an evening program at my synagogue last night, stopped on the way home for some gelato (eating dairy products is a custom during this holiday) and went back to my regular routine. Oh well.

The photos in this post are "slides" I am gathering up. I'm going to try to enter my fiber art into some juried shows and sales this year. That first photo is some of my handspun. The second is a 2 foot by 3 foot rug with "dreads"--essentially locks of wool, interspersed with mill end rovings.

I've also done some textured patterns, including this one, which has variegated stripes of hand-dyed Cotswold wool. I think with the depth of greens, it looks like spring. I think this last photo with the flat white zig zag rug looks a little like a blizzard here in Winnipeg. Here the wind blows the snow around a lot, so it flies all in different directions. It's a bit weird to be talking about snow right now. It's sunny and 28C ( 80F or so). Anyhow, I'm working on trying to catch photos that look like what I've been creating, and that can be difficult. It feels like a test of my photography rather than of my fiber art.

Since we'll be having lots of house guests this summer and I'll be teaching a fair bit, you might not see me here as often. I'll try to be consistent, but we'll see how that goes.

It does also look like I won't be traveling or taking much of a vacation, but that's ok. I can always look back at Fiber Gathering and remember a time when I travelled an awful lot! If you're looking for some armchair travel, that might be just the ticket. :)

Now, on to the question I meant to ask you,dear blog readers. I need to put a theoretical price on each of the things I submit for this jury. I'm a bit challenged there. I can't afford to get less than $100 for a 2 by 3 foot rug, I think, when considering materials and the bare minimum for my time. What do you think a fair price is for a handwoven fleece rug? What about a handspun/handwoven scarf?

Advice is welcome. I'm not even able to show my darker colored weaving here, as the photos don't come out as clearly yet. I'm working on it. Also, list management suggestions also might be a help. I'm not making fast enough progress here, possibly because the ping ping ping of the piano in the next room might drive me over the edge first...

festival, anyone?

Despite my very best efforts, I haven't managed to get the Amazon website for Fiber Gathering to update for the 2010 festivals listed in the book yet...I think there is a delay on posting new material there. Since festival season (and spring!) will be coming soon, I wanted at to post these here. If you don't see one of the festivals listed in the book here on the 2010 list, it's because either that festival no longer is being put on--sad, but true--or the dates are still unclear. If I hear more, I will promise to pass it along to you.

Remember, these are only a very few of the marvelous festivals out there! Make sure to check your area first, as festivals are wonderful, no matter what size. If you're wondering why this post is somewhat brief, scroll down...

Here's the list:

2010 Fiber Festivals mentioned in Fiber Gathering
Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
May 1st & 2nd, 2010
Howard County Fairgrounds
2210 Fairground Road
West Friendship, MD 21794

New York Sheep and Wool Festival
October 16th & 17th, 2010
Dutchess County Fairgrounds
6550 Spring Brook Avenue
Rhinebeck, NY 12572

New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival
May 8th & 9th, 2010
Hopkinton State Fairgrounds
392 Kearsarge Avenue
Contoocook, NH 03229

Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair
October 22nd, 23rd, & 24th, 2010
WNC Ag Center
1301 Fanning Bridge Road
Fletcher, NC 28732

Michigan Fiber Festival
August 21st & 22nd, 2010
Allegan County Fairgrounds
150 Allegan County Fair Drive
Allegan, MI 49010

Black Sheep Gathering
June 18th, 19th, & 20th, 2010
Lane County Fairgrounds
796 W. 13th Avenue
Eugene OR 97402

Estes Park Wool Market
June 12th & 13th, 2010
500 Big Thompson Avenue
Estes Park, CO 80517

The Wool Festival at Taos
October 2nd & 3rd, 2010
Kit Carson Park
Paseo del Pueblo Norte
Taos, NM 87571

PS: Thanks so much for all your empathy and kind moral support last week! I've been reassured by several local friends (who fondled the rugs) that there is indeed a market here for my fiber art. I will need to go to the more artsy festivals, fairs and shops. In the meanwhile, they told me to keep weaving, build up my stock, and not to worry about it too much! The market, they say, might just come to me.

PPS: This weekend the professor is rewiring part of the living fixtures with a colleague of his. I've been told the electricity will be shut off at some point, so I've posted in a rush. I will post "before" and "after" lighting photos later. The goal here is to make the living room brighter at night, so that knitting and reading, for instance, can happen without squinting in the dim corners of the room! His colleague is a cheery, capable person who has already rewired the fixtures in his new house, as his family didn't like the ones there originally. Apparently, this isn't exclusively an "older house" problem. In the meanwhile, I'm off to spin, weave or knit--all things I can do without electricity. :)

and the winner is...

Well, this afternoon I popped numbers into the random generator and out popped a name. That person will be getting a signed copy of Fiber Gathering... and the winner is...(drum roll, please....) Diane Mulholland!

I'll be emailing Diane as soon as I finish posting this. Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who "played", I loved your notes! Aside from the whole book signing thing, I should mention that I've noticed that my book (list price $27.99 US) is now selling very affordably on Amazon. That is, somewhere around $12 or less...and I have no control over such things! So, if you were hoping for a copy but didn't win this time, click on the little image on the right of my blog for an affordable purchase.

The only shopping around here today would happen online, as nobody's venturing outdoors much. We're having weather that can be described as "Ithacating." What's that? Well, if you've ever lived in Ithaca, New York, (home to Cornell, where both the professor and I went as undergraduates) you know what I mean.

It's this goop that you can't see out a window. It comes from the sky and hits you on the face, stinging as you walk. It's sometimes snow, sometimes rain, sometimes sleet, and it's just damp and slushy and icky. Apparently a part of our mild January temperatures (roughly between 10-32F) here in Manitoba is a nice 3 day storm with lots of "ithacating." Of course, the temperatures here will drop very soon, which will result in an ice rink, with lots of blowing precipitation, but for now, we're holed up inside....cause there is no telling when the temperature will drop and leave you to skate home...in your car!

Overcast days seem to allow our dogs to nap for longer and longer sessions, which is nice and quiet. Harry in particular seems to be taking the medal in the dog Olympic finals of napping.


Sally dog has been enjoying the dog bed in the professor's office, where she keeps some toys stashed beside her bed. Sadly, just as I walked in to snap a shot of the runner-up in the napping competition, I woke her up and disturbed her chance at Olympic level napping.

(And, if you think we in Canada now have Olympics on the brain, you'd be right! It's day and night excitement around here, waiting for Vancouver 2010. I've written two essays about it and tried to sell them to U.S. publications. No dice. Apparently either those publications already bought all their Olympics writing already--or it's not on their radar the way it is here!)

I've spent my time indoors hard at work. I'm now onto scarf #3 on the endless handspun warp that came with my new loom. With each scarf, I'm learning more, and with something like 9 meters of warp, well, I have at least another scarf to go before I have to figure out warping again. (Whew! It's warping from scratch that scares me...)

Scarf #3 has an interesting weft--a blue tweed handknitting yarn, Rowan DK, I think, interspersed with some very lightweight silk (3 strands wound together) in shades of teal and grays, purchased several years ago on Granville Island at the the silk weaving studio. (No, I wasn't weaving then, but the silk was too beautiful to leave there, so I bought some anyhow!)

On the knitting schedule was a reknit of my Heart's Ease sock pattern. The yarns originally called for in the pattern were, in part, no longer available. The "new" pattern is now available here on Ravelry and will be updated on my website shortly. The only changes to the pattern were very minimal...just a switch from a yarn called "Red" to one called "Serrano" and a new photo. Here it is, just in time for Valentine's Day knitting:

Lastly, heartened to hear from Geek Knitter that apparently the police have been hard at work in Crete. There have been some arrests in these two arson attacks at the synagogue in Hania. There has also been a lot of community and world-wide support to help this small building and congregation back on its feet. It's nice to hear some good news!

I hope you're all enjoying a little quiet and restful winter hibernation, wherever you live. I'm thoroughly enjoying a cloudy, wet, snowy, messy day...inside.