Latvian Lass

I had another charming conversation with Isabella, my young friend who knows how to finger knit. Isabella is a kindred spirit. She loves texture and color, and so when she saw me wearing a colorful novelty yarn scarf the other day she stared at me and then started a conversation.

Isabella: I like your scarf. Did you make it?

Me: Yes, I did. I like your hat. Did you make it? (Did I mention that she was wearing a darling crocheted beret that turned her school uniform into an haute-couture ensemble?)

Isabella: No, I bought it in Riga.

Me: Riga? Isn't that in Latvia? Did you go to Latvia?

Isabella: We went there this summer. My mom is from there.

Me: Oh! How wonderful. I've always wanted to go to Latvia because of the knitting. Did you know that Latvia is really famous for their knitting?
You should see their knitting, it's very pretty with lots of colors.

Isabella: (excitedly) I know! You should see their hats!

Together: You should see their mittens! (giggles)

Isabella and I have decided that we will knit together after school. I can't wait to knit and giggle some more.

A Great Place on A Great Lake

Friends and I enjoyed a "River Brewery Cruise" along the Milwaukee River this weekend. We enjoyed brewery tours at Lakefront brewery, the Ale House, and Rockbottom, but mostly we enjoyed the art and architecture on Milwaukee's River Walk and the absolutely perfect weather. We also discovered Grohmann's Labor Museum on the MSOE campus and had an incredible dinner with city view at Roots.

I love my hometown. We have a world class Art Museum, Public Museum, and Zoo, a beautiful lakefront, great county parks and bike paths, an incredible number of great restaurants at reasonable prices, a symphony, ballet, and repertory theatre. We have comedy clubs and Comedy Sportz. We also have smaller theater groups--Chamber theater, children's theater, and not just one, but two opera companies.

We're known for our summer festivals. We celebrate Festa Italiana, Polishfest, Germanfest, Fiesta Mexicana, Irishfest, and the grand daddy of them all Summer Fest.

We have several small museums that are absolute gems--The Betty Brinn children's museum, the Discovery World Museum, the Eisner Advertising museum, the Pabst Mansion, and the Labor Museum (pictured above).

Oh yeah, we also have a major league baseball team and basketball team.

So why is it that more people don't think of Milwaukee as a tourist destination?
I think a major reason is that most Milwaukeeans don't realize how good we've got it, and people who've never been here just don't know.

Milwaukee is a best kept secret. This last weekend we let 100,000 or so Harley riders in on our little secret. I hope they don't keep the secret, but spread it around. Milwaukee is a great place on a Great Lake.

Squeezing it all in.

Just a quick post about the craziness of getting ready for Stitches. I think I'm ready. . . I was slightly surprised to count up the total number of kits I've added to inventory just for Stitches. I've got 80 new bolo kits and 157 new knit with wire kits. Lots of amethyst and turquoise which is always popular with my customers.

Just a little concerned that I'll be able to fit all of this in the car. I have Melissa coming later with her van to take overflow, but I have to have all my display stuff and some of every style to start off and it has to all fit in my '98 Honda Civic. Plus me, my suitcase, and my husband who is taking off work to help me set up. I'm almost wondering if the empty seat in the car is worth more to me than my husband's muscles. After all, I can always use a little exercise.

I will post a pic after the car is packed . . .

I still have to make a few new signs, pack boxes, and work on the paper that is due for my Grad school class on Tuesday after Stitches. . . . and squeeze in a visit with my college roommate who is here from California for her annual trip to Wisconsin.

Better run. . .

I get by with a little help from my friends

I am so blessed! My knitting buddies have been bending over backwards to help me get ready for Stitches. Last week, I invited Lynn and Kathy over for lunch and knitting, but they decided they'd rather help me pack kits. They saved me hours of work. Then Melissa called a few days later and offered to pack kits on Saturday. Between the 4 of us, we added more than 100 kits to my inventory for Stitches.

Melissa has also volunteered to be my helper at Stitches. We'll be driving down separately because she has to work on Thursday, but she's coming right from work to join me at the market preview. She'll be helping me manage the crowd on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My husband is driving my car back to Wisconsin after he helps me unload and set up on Thursday, so we will be taking Melissa's van back on Sunday.

It's hard to believe that there once was a time in my life when I felt I didn't have many women friends. When I was in my late 30's, I found that my high school and college friends had mostly moved or drifted away due to marriage, children, job changes. I found new friends through an activity that most people think of as isolating and anti-social--knitting. The women that I found through my Monday night knitting group are far from the old-fashioned knitter stereotype. They are fun-loving, funny, witty, supportive, creative, kind, charitable, honest and open. They are, in short, the kind of people I'm proud to call friends.

The Great Milwaukee Knitting Guild

No, guild members, that isn't a typo in the title. I know you are the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild, but I'd like everyone to know you are really and truly great.

I did a vendor appearance/presentation on knitting with wire at the Milwaukee Guild last night, and I had an absolutely wonderful time. It was great to see Melanie, Susan, Jean, and other knitting buddies from the days when I was a member. I was impressed by their program events and ideas --they are doing a bus trip to Stitches, and Vivian Hoxbro will be visiting them in October.

I plan on being there for the Hoxbro visit; she is fantastic! (Fortunately, it will be held on a Thursday instead of a Tuesday, so I'll be able to make it.) They also talked about a year long guild competition, with the category being "something made with beads." What a great idea! Hmmm. Maybe that's why so many of them bought my kits. I hope I will be helping someone win.

Someone there also mentioned that a GMKG member won a ribbon at the Wisconsin State Fair in the jewelry category for making one of my knit with wire kits. I'd love to find out who it was and get a picture of the winning item for this blog. I'm always most proud of my customer/student successes. Their success and words of thanks are what keep teacher types like me going. Guild members were most appreciative of my visit and had many kind words to say to me, to which I can only reply, "No, you've got it backwards. I thank YOU!"

Midwest Fiber and Folk

I'm finally posting my pictures from Midwest Fiber and Folk, which was held
July 18-20. What a great festival. I wished I could have been both a vendor and an attendee at the same time. I loved the combination of Folk music with the fiber festival. There were an incredible number of vendors, a variety of fiber arts were represented, although it was mostly yarn. I worked the event by myself, so it meant I really had no time to see much. I only saw a few booths and the mainstage/cafeteria area as I dashed to the bathroom or made a food run while my neighbors watched my booth.



Speaking of my neighbors, let me introduce you to Karen. An amazing woman who runs her own spinning supplies business with her husband, despite being legally blind. I find it inspiring and humbling to meet people like her.

Doing these fiber fairs is hardwork. I was exhausted when I got home. I found this one to be particularly tiring because of the long hours (Friday 4-9, Saturday 9-7 and Sunday 9-5) and because I was working alone. Still, I would do it again.



I had good sales and happy customers. Here is one of them. She was another vendor, but I'm afraid I don't know her name or what booth she was at. She bought a kit on Sunday morning and came back in the late afternoon to model her completed work. (She's wearing "Chain, Chain, Chain" in Quartz Crystal and Pearl) I'm so proud of her!






I took a few other shots of my booth because I'm always asked for booth shots for juried shows. These aren't the best examples of booth set up for me though--the outdoor setting puts some limits on set up and presentation and its difficult to take a shot that shows just my booth without my neighbor's booth in the background. Still these pics are good for showing you what the festival is like, and my life as designer/manufacturer/PR person/sales and marketing manager/web master/President of Knitter's Journey, LLC.

Finally having recovered from Midwest Fiber and Folk, I'm gearing up for the big one. Stitches Midwest, T-17 days and counting. Hope to see some of you there.

Bolo Byways

How can it be that I have my summers "off" of work, and I still feel so busy that I can't get around to blogging? I suppose it is because I've been designing the "Byways Bolo" pattern and making oodles of jewelry and packing kits for the Midwest Fiber and Folk Festival. I'm also teaching one summer school class. The class is not a lot of work for me, but it's taking up much more of my days than I had planned. (1/2 hour commute each way, minimal 1/2 hour prep, plus 1 and 1/2 teaching = 3 hours/day) Then there is my grad school class. Reading, homework, group meetings. Sigh! So here I am procrastinating from doing any and all of the above by blogging.

Here is my bolo design. It has been so much fun to make different colors and different style cords. The flower is wire crochet and I've made both crochet and knitted style cords. This is definitely the most fun to make of all my jewelry patterns.