Saturday
Saturday morning I drove into Columbus so that I could begin my Columbus Yarn Crawl to promote Sticks ‘N Stitches to the Local Yarn Shop Owners (LYSOs). My mother agreed to go along for the ride so I swung by her house to pick her up. (and by swung by I mean stopped, hung out and then left) We started at Temptations in Dublin, OH. We were able to speak to Karen the shop owner and she agreed to help promote the event as well donate what she can to the goody bags. We also ran into Martha from Ravelry and her mother who happens to live in the same town I do. Small world, eh? We chatted for a bit about all the places we had in common. People recognizing me when we go out is still a trifle weird to me but still very cool!
Next we ventured to The Yarn Shop in the Kenny Center shopping plaza. I dropped off one of my impromptu fliers and bought some handpaintd yarn…even though I have sworn it off. What’s wrong with me? (The yarn was the perfect colorway for a gift for a perfect someone…that’s what’s wrong with me)
Our next stop would have been Knitter’s Mercantile but apparently there is some college football team in Columbus that everyone loves to watch play. Traffic was a mess AND they were paving the entrance to the shopping center so we couldn’t even pull in. Why would Columbus pave a major artery leading toward the game on Homecoming weekend? Why?
Our next mission was to avoid as much game day traffic as possible (4 hrs before the game and it was already an issue…tailgaters!) So we headed over to Knitty Bitty in Grove City. They are located inside Always in Stitches Quilt shop. It’s a gorgeous Quilt shop in a quaint little part of Grove City and the owner of Knitty Bitty is super sweet and helpful. She said she would be glad to help promote the event to her customers.
We tried to get to my brother’s soccer game but due to a pile up on I70 and a low fuel light we wandered toward home still avoiding the game day traffic. Our wandering actually led us close to Heavenly Creations so we managed to get there while still avoiding game day traffic. Hooray! It’s a lovely little shop in Grandview right by where I used to work. The bonus was they had already heard about the event from an excited Raveler at knit night the night before! (Thank you, Stanzi!) They had some Daisy needles on clearance so I picked them up to be my new teaching needles so I don’t have to cry if they wander away.
Monday
I was invited to attended knit night at the Knitter’s Mercantile in Graceland Shopping Plaza (or whatever it’s called now) and wow! This shopping centre has exploded since I left for college. I miss you Burlington Coat Factory and beloved Taco Bell. When I got there I was immediately spotted by Stanzi from Ravelry who had invited me to come. I met some really nice ladies (and a couple of Ravelers!). If I ever move back to Columbus I could see hanging with this crowd more 
The shop personnel (owner included) were very pro Sticks N Stitches. They have agreed to send an announcement about it in their newsletter and to their mailing list which has a circulation of 2000 people! They have also volunteered to be of assistance in any way I may need them. Stanzi has even volunteered to help me put together the goody bags! Hooray! I am getting more excited by this event as each day passes. It’s wonderful how everyone offers to help!
Tuesday
Purlthis of Ravelry invited me to The Yarn Shop’s Pickerington location for knit night. The shop has just moved so they are waiting for their sign to be moved over three stores and they are currently under a Cord Camera sign. It’s a nice store and the owner Joyce had my makeshift flier from the other store on hand. She has also agreed to help out where she can and says she even has a lady who pieces together the Warm Up America blocks for her. Now I have to decide how we are going to handle that. I may wait for guidance from Interweave or Warm Up America on that one.
Last night when I logged into Ravelry I had received a message from the owner of The Needling Yarn in Granville, OH. She is also excited about the event and has asked me to e-mail her a flier to post. I am just floored by all the enthusiastic response I have been getting!
Oh and of all things I managed to win 4 tickets to this Saturday’s Blue Jackets game! I will take my knitting with me to do a trial run
Wednesday
One more knit night to go. Tonight at Temptations. I plan to arrive around 7pm. Hope to see you there!
Greetings fellow hockey and craft lovers!
Good news, I have heard from the Columbus Blue Jackets and Sticks ‘n Stitches plans are rolling along. Our lovely Blue Jackets correspondent, Clint is climbing the chain of command to get everything approved. Right now it appears that tickets will be under $30 ($26-ish I hope - but please don’t hold me to that). Currently ticket prices include - one seat at the game (of course! ) a Sugardale hot dog, popcorn, Pepsi and a Columbus Blue Jackets hat. We will also be receiving lovely gift bags from Interweave Press and will hopefully have additional goodies from other crafty companies.
The charity for this event will be Warm Up America. We will be collecting squares at the game that will be sent along to the foundation. I am not sure if we will stitch some together there or pass them along - I need to discuss this further with our fabulous Interweave correspondent, Annie.
For anyone who is planning on coming I will be needing assistance at the game to pass out goodie bags and to collect donations. If you would like to help please contact me here, on Ravelry or through my contact page.
Tags: 29
Ravelry was on Boing Boing! Check it out! Rumour has it that there may even be a follow up episode.
Tags: 16
Of booze and yoga
Yoga is all about knowing your body and carrying your own weight. It’s a certain sense of balance between your body and the world. As my instructor says every class, “the way you react on the mat is the way in which you react off the mat.” So you know what she says to me after class? “You should drink more”
The backstory…
A couple months ago we were in class and doing the dancer pose I had a little trouble sticking it and I sighed and exclaimed “I can do this when I am at the bar!” This of course greatly amused my instructor and was repeated at the following couple classes. It has also been periodically brought up to me and I laugh, it was funny.
Fast forward to Thursday night when I am eating pizza for dinner and decide I really want a margarita. In fact I have been craving one all week and have held off for the end of the week. My college days poke through as I decide that Thursday is close enough to the end of the week. So I pour the remainder of my pre-made Cuervo Margaritas into a glass. It really ended up only being a half glass.
I head off to yoga class and the boy heads over to the weight room. We are all chatty per usual before class and I say “oh if I have trouble balancing tonight it’s because I had a drink before class.” I get teased for drinking before class and am informed that we will be doing a ton of balancing poses just because of me.
Would you believe I was completely balanced all night? I stuck the dancer pose, I did warrior 3 without help and my shoulder stands were very tall. While in halasana my instructor comes over and says “you were really balanced tonight, you should drink more” and I laughed. I can think of worse diagnoses.
Of Yarn
Friday night is usually date night in our house but due to an unfortunate turn of events for the boy he had to work late. When he wasn’t home by 7:15 pm I darted off to the Late Night Knit and Crochet at Ewetopia in Troy. Can I just say I had a blast? Fellow Raveler Lori was there as were many ladies I recognized from the Dayton Knitting Guild. I met a new friend, Becky and I got all the toe increases done on my second sock. I also won some Eucalan wash in the owner’s drawing. There was plenty of food to munch on and beverages to drink. There was even some wine for those who are so inclined. As I was leaving at 10 pm (when it ended) I received a call from the boy saying he was on his way home from work. I think my night was probably better spent than his. The late night Knit and Crochet seems to be bi-weekly so I may have to discuss altering date night so that I can attend this more often because it really was fun and nice to meet some new folks.
Of Glasses
Friday my glasses finally came in at the Doctor’s office. (Ok it really didn’t take that long, but it is all new and exciting for me. ) I went and picked them up, got them fitted. I think they look pretty good. Lucky me!
Eep. I forgot to blog this weekend that I finished my mother’s birthday socks Sunday night just in time to submit them to the one skein contest that Stash and Burn was hosting.
Description: Mom’s Birthday Socks
Pattern: Sock Class Pattern by Lorraine Gaudet
Yarn used: 1/2 skein of Plymouth Sockotta Sock Yarn - Colorway 14, Lot #991 (45% cotton, 40% superwash Wool, 15% nylon) 100g/414 yds Machine Washable
Needle Size: Size 1 Addi bamboo dpns
Modifications: I made the socks ankle length because I fear running out of yarn. Which is completely absurd considering I had about 1/2 a skein left over.
Finished Size: Ladies Size 7 foot.
Date Started: Late April/Early May 2007
Date Completed: 9/30/2007 I clearly lost my knitting mojo part way through this process. Let’s just say it got hot and another project had to be frogged and I just didn’t want to deal with knitting at all! Notes: I think I will start ribbing my socks so that they aren’t so boring to knit. Also, I would like to work some shaping in so that they fit better by the end of the day. Why do my socks always look so big? 
