theraineysisters knitting and so much more

…a Minnesota thing!  Mostly, anyway.  It was really fun reading about all of the traditions and mores from around the country. 

As you can probably surmise, I have done very little knitting of late.  A lot of running around, a lot of shopping, a lot of “preparation.”  But not a lot of knitting.  I have stolen a few moments here and there to work on the Mystic Waters Shawl and bought some really pretty fabric to make a dress/jumper to wear with it.

As for the party, we are not doing a lot to our house — some people do a full home makeover from roof to basement.  BUT, this was the perfect excuse to buy a new sofa for the downstairs family room.  The old one was 35 YEARS OLD!!!!!    It was a rust-colored loveseat that I slip-covered several years ago.  The joy I felt when that thing was dragged out to the dumpster is beyond belief.    It actually had springs poking out of it like in the cartoons!  It was stained, holey, ripped and lumpy.  OMG!  The new sofa is lovely and no lumps, no springs, no rips. 

Now it’s back to work!

I am talking about the obligatory “Graduation Open House” aka “High School Graduate Fundraising Event.”  In Minnesota, everyone has to host these events for the new graduate.  To not do so means that a) you do not love your little darling and b) your child will start out broke.

There are only so many weekends available, so scheduling your event is tricky (ours is next weekend).  This often means trekking from one open house (OH) to another to pay off congratulate the honoree.  The typical OH consists of tables and chairs set up outside or — in case of rain — in the garage.  Food is simple and served buffet style.

I have been dreading looking forward to this fiasco celebration for 13 years — since Laura started her first day of kindergarten.  I am not one for hosting large parties and avoid entertaining whenever possible. 

So, last weekend I attended my first in a series of open houses and had an epiphany.  The hosts are really good friends of ours and always throw great parties, so I knew it would be nice.  It was nice and not overly lavish — yay!  But here is what Gina said that turned on the light bulb for me: “We decided to have the party indoors.”  I should have realized this as I was standing in her kitchen at the time, but I am a little slow on the uptake.

I realized that what I had been dreading all these years was trying to put on an outdoor party: Our garage is crap, our deck unfinished; what about renting tables and chairs and tents and serving warmers, the weather, etc. etc.  How do you keep the hot food hot, the cold food cold….OMG!  Now that we have decided to have the party inside, it is a much more attainable goal.  I also decided to keep everything very simple and not do any of the cooking: all the food is being prepared elsewhere. 

I think I can do this now!  Laura will feel loved, and Laura will not be broke — though of course, I will be!

PS from Susan: I tried to drop a subtle hint to Laura about “eloping” (i.e., give her the $$ that I would have spent, but not host the gig), but then ALL the criteria would not be met: I would be broke, Laura would not be broke, but Laura would not feel loved.  So, the gig goes on!

PS2: Our school also hosted an all-night party the night of graduation.  It cost $175 — my daughter did not want to attend, so we got off the hook there, though I heard it was fun.  She wanted to spend the evening with friends from a neighboring school who would not be able to attend.

Today we reached a milestone of mega-proportions.  My oldest daughter graduated from high school.  It’s true! I know this happens to just about everyone sooner or later, but it still feels pretty special to me.  I am bursting with pride!

It’s hard to believe that the little peanut John is holding (with those unbelievable cheeks ) grew into the lithe and beautiful young woman pictured.

Laura is bright and talented and artistic, and wise beyond her years.  Graceful, gentle, with more than a touch of class and elegance.

Laura, you are special and loved! And, you’re not my little baby any more!

PS (June 1) — Commencement was tonight and now it is official! Hats off to you, Graduates!

Last night was the knitters guild meeting — very well attended with many new knitting peeps!  We had a couple of guests.  The first was Jennifer Castellanos who represented Project Little Lambs.  They need 200 baby afghans by August 1.  The afghans will go to babies and children whose families have been victimized by domestic violence.  The brochure shows how you can sign up to knit an afghan or donate money.  This is a worthy cause and the afghans do not need to be large or expensive.

Contact info for Project Little Lambs: Jennifer Castellanos, 612-335-2759; or Jennifer.castellanos@k-a-c.com

Our second guest was the aforementioned (in an earlier post) Kari Cornell, co-author of Retro Knits. 

OMG!  What a fun book!  She brought the original source material for us to look at — several people recognized some of the sweaters and patterns from their own childhoods (“My mom made my brother that sweater!”).  The patterns have been re-worked with yarn weights rather than the way they were originally written: for a particular yarn brand.  Just as many companies today put out pattern books to support their yarn, so did the companies of yesteryear.  Most of those companies are gone.  It was amazing to see styles from the past that are stylish today: shrugs and wraps, etc.  One observation: the designers were unknown…no names listed anywhere.  Now, we seek out particular, well-loved designers.

So, I bought the book as I expected and Surly, your signed copy will be in the mail soon!

Thanks for the great and supportive comments about my book-buying spree!  I can’t wait until they all arrive!

Kelli already has the Retro Knits book and had this to say:

“I just received the Retro Knit book in the mail today and it is fabulous!!! I actually plan on writing the authors via publisher, asking them to expand on the patterns and do another book. I love vintage patterns. This book is well done with original photos of the original publications. The added tips, yarn alternatives and sizes are also great. This belongs in every knitters library. There is something for everyone in this book.”

That is SO good to hear!  As I mentioned, Kari Cornell will be at Tuesday’s MKG meeting and will be selling copies of the book.  She told me that the book was originally supposed to be out last fall, but the work involved in re-writing the patterns for modern sizing, yarns, etc. was more time consuming than they originally anticipated.  If the book does well, I’m sure they would consider a second volume.  They probably had a hard time deciding on which patterns to include and have dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of additional options.

Well, yes, I could stand to lose more than a few el-bees, but I am talking about a book diet!  I have been stuffing my fat face with new books lately and it is leaving me very little $$ for yarn (or food, or gas, or…).  Here is a sampling of the books I have on order:

Numero Uno:

This delectable book is due out in October and was written by my blog friend Romi Hill.  I couldn’t diss her by bypassing her book, now could I?

The next sweet lil morsel is brand new and co-authored by someone I know IN PERSON: Kari Cornell.  Kari is a member of the knitters guild and will be talking about this book at our meeting on Tuesday, May 20.

Again, would it not be rude to diss a member of the guild? 

Okay, another luscious tidbit (tres cher, like high quality sushi) is this acquisition:

And like sushi, an acquired taste — there are some German patterns, translated into Japanese with a few English pages thrown in for reference!  I feel like I’m in a WWII movie.  There is a pattern that I am very interested in which I will describe in a later post, I’m sure ;).  Yvonne asked for the source of this book: I bought it from Lacis ($67 plus handling).

This is bad, very bad!  Each book contains potential projects and another trip deeper down the rabbit hole.  My bookcase is overflowing.  Where will it end?

Now, many of you are probably thinking: why doesn’t Susan just go to the library like all frugal/smart people do?  One phrase stops me in my tracks: OOP — out of print!  G-r-r-r-r-r!  So many great knitting books go OOP and become a) unavailable and b) highly sought after. 

I decided to take my dad’s advice: buy every copy they have before the hoarders get them! 

What a fun few days we had!  Seems like we’ve been gone forever or never left — that strange time warp that occurs with travel.  Anyway, we are back and ready to share the adventures of our sisterly travels.

Friday, May 2: Susan Arrives in DC
Susan arrived fairly early, so we felt we could get in a quick trip to a yarn store before lunch.  We headed for Knit Happens and paid a lightning fast visit — no stash upload there (we were saving ourselves), but we discovered Le Pain Quotidien across the street and had a wonderful lunch.  We found out that they also have multiple New York locations which came in quite handy :).  The rest of the day was very low key.

Saturday, May 3: Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
We got an early start and arrived at the Howard County Fairgrounds by 9:30.  The hordes had already beaten us there!  This is the largest sheep and wool festival of its kind in the country.  But it needs to be twice as large: twice as many exhibit areas, twice as many bathrooms, twice as many food vendors…!!  It was difficult to see all the exhibitors because the crowds were packed in so tightly.  Here is a little taste of the event:

Very fun and very exhausting!  We bought a tiny little amount of yarn for us: some lace weight, some roving, a finished garment (such a luxury).  Sally did not bring anything to display this year because we would not be able to pick it up on Sunday — we were going to be in New York. So no going to the Exhibition Hall to look for ribbons. Le sigh.

Sunday, May 4: New York City
Up early to catch the train to NYC.  We absolutely loved our hotel — The Casablanca — SEE PS BELOW!!  Sally discovered this little gem.  It definitely has a European flavor, and we were very outnumbered by British and Irish tourists.  It is small, older, cozy, and charming.  The big selling point for us was Rick’s Cafe:

This spacious and welcoming sitting room is open 24/7 with coffee and snacks, and a happy hour from 5-7.  They also serve a lovely continental breakfast:

Needless to say, we were very happy to have a comfy knitting nook at our beck and call.  Sunday evening we went to the theater and then dined at a fabulous restaurant.  Quite a whirlwind of a day!

Monday, May 5
We did a little sightseeing and yarn shop touring.  We strolled through Central Park briefly:

CP is the most amazing place — cannot be believed! 

We went to these shops: String, Knitty City, and Purl Soho.  String specializes in HIGH end (very high!) yarns and their own pattern line.  It was nice, with some lovely patterns, but the prices were a bit daunting. (Note to selves: start saving $$ for more cashmere.)  Knitty City was a real knitters’ knitting store.  Nice yarn, nice people.  Purl Soho is a small, but lovely shop (we were there on our last trip).  They carried a yarn that we really wanted, but could not justify.  We’re keeping it on our “must figure out how to justify it” list.  It’s called Road to China Silken Jewels — this picture was taken by Jess from the Yarnery:

The picture does not do the yarn justice, but trust us! 

After our grueling shopping excursion, we stopped at Le Pain Quotidien for take away coffee and a chance to relax in Bryant Park:

That evening we hung out in Times Square — it was a Monday night and you would think it was Saturday!  People were out milling around all night long. 

We had a great time.  The weather was perfect, everything we did was fun.  We were recognized a few times along the way and felt like rock stars.  (Thanks especially to all of you who said hello to us at the Sheep and Wool Festival.) It is a little bit of a letdown to get back to reality, but our many fond memories will keep forever.

PS — You never know who is reading your blog!  The lovely people at The Casablanca read our rave review of their hotel and are making the following offer for visitors over the summer months:

“We are so delighted you enjoyed your stay with us at the Casablanca Hotel! It was so kind of you to refer your friends to us, so tomorrow, in your honor, I am going to set up a special promo code “sisters”. That way anyone who uses it on our website for a reservation between now and Labor Day, 2008 will get $10 off per room per night. Okay, so it won’t pay for your flight or anything, but it will probably buy you a nice cocktail out or an “I love NY” tee shirt, and most importantly, it is just our way of saying THANKS! adele@hkhotels.com ”

Thank you, Adele!