Monday blahs

Nothing done this weekend, but do have news. Will post later this week, when I've actually accomplished something.

(The building at work tried to poison me Thursday night/all day Friday; I spent most of the weekend recovering. Still not feeling great, though. Seriously, could I please go a year without any health incidents? Just once??)

Starts and Finishes.

Finished something, and something ended. First, the finish. Not in time to up the numbers for October (although I did unravel some socks I'd started, so I did 'finish' seven things in October), but we're off to a good start in November. This is Teresa Wentzler's Tropical Dream Sampler. According to The List, I started it in 2006. I've had everything but the 1-over band, the woven band and the cutwork done since 2006, I think - as it only took two days to get the rest of it done, I'm wondering why I'd put it aside in the first place. (Probably something shiner and newer, and 50% odds it was also a Teresa Wentzler design!) Anyway, here it is:


This brings my UFO count down to 52, the lowest it's been probably since the second year I started being a Serious Stitcher!

Now, the Ending. As I reported on Tuesday, the amazing Teresa Wentzler is closing down her design business. This is a very sad thing for the world of cross-stitch, because there's always this little "oooooo...." when anyone announces that they've actually finished A Wentzler. I actually got a ribbon (!!!) at the Woodlawn Needlework Exhibition a few years back for my version of her Harvest Sampler (the kit for which I got on eBay from someone in Belgium!). There are currently four Wentzlers on The List (The Castle Sampler, my oldest UFO, started in 1992, but it Will Get Finished Dammit!; Day, which I've started, which goes with Night, which I have not; Night Watch, a lovely unicorn-outside-a-window on 32ct black linen, which my husband picked out as the Thing I Should Stitch For Him when we got married... I've since bought a print of the artwork from Teresa and given that to him, as a placeholder for the eventual unicorn-on-cloth; and Peacock Tapestry, since I love all things peacock-y. Plus, I've got kits, charts and patterns for another three dozen. (Why yes, I do have a copy of practically every chart she's ever designed.)

The cross-stitch world will really, really miss TW's contributions to it!


Tiny SoapBox: To anyone selling COPIES of her charts on eBay and other file sharing services, I hope the Karma gets you, bigtime. I'm not the only blogger who thinks the thieves hurt, and ultimately did in, her bottom line. And yes, if you sell or buy a photocopy/digital scan of something that's got a copyright, you're a thief, it is *not* covered under "fair use" and yes, it does put the designers out of business. You're probably not reading this, but the Karma is still out there, and it'll bite you.

Yarn on Thursday - Things That Look Like Yarn, but Aren't

Now that the chill of winter is creeping in upon us (our first frost was yesterday morning), it's time to start dreaming of summer vacation. While at the local elementary school on Tuesday morning to vote, I spent some time parked in front of a bulletin board full of photos from some of the teachers' summer vacations. The photos were grouped into categories of the Arts represented therein, and one of the Arts was "fiber":


Note the umbrella swift there! The picture of the big twine ball in Kansas reminded me of the giant twisted pile of metal from the construction project across the way from work - which, upon seeing it, I thought looked a lot like yarn:


This got me to thinking about things that look like yarn and knitted things, but aren't actually yarn OR knitted things. To wit: Wankette took this photo of some Christmas lights - it looks like yarn to me!


Bloomkitty captured a photo of this Rope Sculpture at the Sheraton Inner Harbor. It does look like fringe... but doesn't rope technically count as really, really BIG yarn? Sorta?


MARTHA STEWART (yes, THE) found this cool yarn-y light fixture at Youngblood in Sag Harbor, NY. I want one. (No, seriously. I need to have a light put in our front room eventually; I want this to be the cover!!)


Chiggers kinda look knitted. Creepy, but knitted. (This was pointed out over on the DemocraticUnderground.com board.)


So, remember the Knit Night Cupcakes over at VeganYumYum.com? There areHow To Knit Marzipan Instructions at VeganYumYum.com, tiny versions of which are here:

Cemedia took this cool photo of Tiny Flowers that Look Knitted:


She also took this photo of a moth - it looks like a shawl, doesn't it? (She's got lots of cool photos, go look!)


Orinda5 found this very cool light fixture at a store. I agree, it looks like knitted glass!





Then there's the Lace Fence by Demakersvan; it's part of a collection that's supposed to officially debut now, November 2009!



This last one has nothing to do with fiber, and a whole lot to do with art. This is Crazy Horse, which, when finished, will be the largest sculpture on earth. Korczak Ziolkowski, the artist, is responsible for Stone Mountain in Georgia, and Mount Rushmore. Korczak is gone, but his family (and a whole lot of other people) are continuing his work on the Crazy Horse Monument, carved out of the Black Hills. Sculpting (which, at this scale, means "explosions") has been going on for a really, really long time. I've been there several times years ago (if you can go over a long summer weekend, Memorial or Labor day, they do a Night Blast on Saturday evening. Very cool.). I got to see the space under the arm open up for the first time, and the last time I saw it, the blast had just happened so you could sort of see where the nose would be. The fact that the face is finished just amazes me - remember, they're carving up a MOUNTAIN. Anyway, it was on the school vacation board, so I just had to share.



Whee!!!

Plus, it was all 15% off because I Voted, and had the sticker to prove it.

The Disclaimer:
The overview picture is mine; the rest are linked back to the original site, but no worries, I am *not* taking up space on other peoples' servers. I am a good bunny, and seek only to allow others to see the pretties and find the way to get the pretties for themselves.

The Overview:

The Store:

Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria
Just a short walk from the King Street Metro Station!
Since Stitch DC closed its Georgetown store, Fibre Space is now the easiest store for me to get to under my own power (this is key), and its hours (the earliest it closes during the week is 7pm) make it super-convenient to drop by after work. Yay, more yarn!!

The Yarn:

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (Designer's Choice)
Color 71 (Flourite Blue), Dye lot 347. I got enough for a big-girl sweater, and then some extra (okay, I bought every skein in the store).

The Pattern:
*
Alice Starmore's "Elizabeth I", originally from her book, Tudor Roses, and reprinted this year in Issue #10 of The Knitter magazine. (Um, seriously, click on the link for an interactive look at the next issue, which was #11 when this was posted. I wish ALL knitting magazines did this! - Ooooo, issue #11 actually has an interview with Alice Starmore!!!) I've missed issues #1 and #9 of this magazine, which makes me quite sad, since it's lovely and my favorite at this point.

The Extra Toy:

Another GoKnit Pouch, this one small and pink (as opposed to the small and yellow one I've already got.) Turns out I was three dollars short to fill up my Space Cadet card, so I grabbed one of these. My Tiger Eye Shawl is now living in it, and getting carried around, and I actually got two rows knitted on it this morning on the way in to work!

The Bonus Prize:
I filled up my Space Cadet card, and was rewarded with a Fibre Space t-shirt, which I'm wearing today (see top photo, right). I now have my Space Explorer card to fill... woohoo!



* While the original image appears to have come from the Virtual Yarns website, I can't actually find where it appears for regular viewing. Lots of lovely stuff over there, it being Where The Starmores Are. Wheee!

The End of something wonderful.

Teresa Wentzler just announced that her company, TW Designworks, is closing. All her patterns are now Out Of Print. (See the details on her blog, http://twdesignworks.com/blog/.

Wow. This is a sad day for the cross-stitch world, but if it had to be, it had to be.

*Sigh*