Crafting Your Personality

What does your chosen craft say about you? This is the question I ponder this week in an essay on CraftStylish. As someone who knits, sews, makes jewelry, whips up lotions and potions, and dabbles in various other handcrafts, I'm certainly a bit ADD, but I'd also like to think I'm traditional, cutting-edge, cool, and earthy, as well as a passel of other great adjectives.

How do you think your craft has shaped your personality or defined you?

Through adversity comes strength and beauty

It's been a bad couple of weeks, I'm not gonna lie.

Putting Mac Daddy to sleep was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. This week, I found out that a book project that I've labored to finish with a crazed deadline was being canceled, along with a group of other titles, for budgetary reasons. Yesterday, I had surgery. But by the time I donned the hospital gown, I figured the procedure was the least of my problems. Indeed, it was a snap.

Along with my friends and family, knitting has helped me. Keeping my hands busy somehow stills my mind. After working on a feather and fan shawl for months—through a bachelorette weekend on Whidbey Island, on Election Night, and through my grief—I finally bound off and blocked the sucker.

Here's the result. Lovely, don't you think? I can't wait to drape it around myself and think of all the comfort and joy it has given me over the past few months.

I'd best start a new project before the next raft of challenges hits. Any suggestions?

Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines

I've been pretty much drooling over my copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines ever since I picked it up. Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne are not only hilarious in that "I want them to be my best friends" kind of way, but they have compiled some seriously gorgeous garments in the book.

Here, in the order that I want to knit them, are my favorites:

• Baby Dotty Blanket
• Fern Kids' Sweater (please, I want the grown-up pattern for this one!)
• Picnic Bag
• Cardi Cozy
• Metropole
• Flapotis
• Margaret
• Mitered Hanging Towel

Usually when I get a craft book, I sort of skim the pages looking for the one or two projects that I can actually see myself knitting up. With this book, there is no weak link. I want every single project.

Those Mason-Dixon gals are at it again

Fellow knitters, check this out. It's from my knitting idols and friends Ann Shayne (who incidentally took that photo of me on the tractor) and Kay Gardiner, the Mason-Dixon Knitting gals (who have a super-duper book out this fall: Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines). They are priceless.

Enter CraftStylish's flower power challenge!

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Create a pretty flower in your own crafty style, post a picture, and you could bloom as one of four lucky winners. Four winners will receive the ultimate embellishment package: an assortment from the new Crafty Chica Craft product line, the fab Crafty Chica book, The Crafty Chica Collection: Beautiful Ideas for Crafts, Home Decorations and Shrines from the Queen of Latina Style, and a copy of the smokin' hot premiere issue of CraftStylish Quick Gifts to Make.

Click here for more details.

Whidbey girls' weekend

Long overdue, a group of us got together this weekend on Whidbey Island at the ridiculously tricked-out Soaring Eagle Lodge to celebrate Laurel's upcoming nuptials. We drank, ate lasagne and pie, read trashy mags, looked at an eaglet in its nest, watched Roman Holiday (see the clip below), hot tubbed, munched on fish and chips at Toby's Tavern (the salmon and chips never, ever disappoint), but mostly spent time with each other laughing and philosophizing. But mostly laughing.

We can't wait to do it again.

Of course I started a new knitting project (a feather-and-fan shawl in the yummy grey/blue/brown yarn I bought at Boersma's last weekend in McMinnville). Even drunk on countless gin & tonics, I had to keep my hands busy. No matter where I go, I'm still there.

Stitch 'n' Pitch

A few images from tonight's Stitch 'n' Pitch event at Safeco Field. The weather was lovely, the food was delish, the yarn booths were plentiful, the knitters were industrious, and the Mariners were victorious. All in all, a perfect evening. (Please forgive my skewed angles on the photo; collectively, they look like an old episode of Batman. POW!)

Confessions of a polygamist crafter

My latest article posted over the weekend on CraftStylish: check it out here.

Modern Knit t-shirts

When I was in Leavenworth a few weeks back, I hit up the charming Wooly Bully Yarns and bought the cutest t-shirts from Modern Knit. One is a classic mudflap pinup girl but she's knitting. The other, shown here, shows the fleece of a sheep, numbered in order of most to least desirable fibers. How cute is this?

Small pleasures

Camille came over last night for crafts, Thai food, and a Flight of the Conchords DVD. I needed a small project so I unearthed some cotton yarn and started this dishcloth, from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I think this might be the new gift for friends: a hand-knitted dishrag and some sort of household cleaning product. I am considering knitting a whole passel of them for my mom and throwing her ancient gray dishcloths in the wood-burning stove the next time I'm in Michigan.

Seriously.

A meat and three

I just arrived in Nashville for a Worst-Case Scenario Dating, Sex & College lecture at Belmont University tomorrow night. Nashville is fast becoming one of my favorite cities, for the great music, culture, and yep, food. After wading through an avalanche of e-mails, I headed out to the corner steakhouse for some ribs, mac and cheese, yeast rolls, and sweet tea. Needless to say, I'm slightly illin' right now.

I was happy to see that my favorite "meat and three" restaurant Swett's now has an outpost at the airport. Since I have an evening flight on Friday, I will happily shove some pulled pork and three sides into my piehole.

Until then, I'm going to lunch with another author tomorrow. Ann Shayne is an amazing knitter, blogger, and author. Check out her blog with Kay Gardiner: mason-dixon knitting is the third-most popular knitting blog out there, which is saying a lot. But when you read Ann and Kay's hilarious, faux arch posts, you'll be quick to subscribe to the blog. I'm so excited about seeing Ann that I had a dream about her before I left Seattle. In it, she was wearing a knitted western-wear shirt, complete with fringe. I guess that's how my subconscious imagines a knitting author from Nashville. Go figure. Anyway, I'm looking forward to both lunch and good conversation.

And then I'm hitting a slow food breakfast (I don't know what that quite means, either) on Friday with another writer. Usually my lecture trips involve flying into a remote location, giving a lecture, hitting a drive-thru, and leaving at the ass-crack of dawn the next day. Luckily, I have a bit more time on this trip. I'll be able to savor a pulled pork sandwich or maybe some sweet potato pie at the airport, probably while listening to live music.

Project Funway

The gals over at Mason-Dixon Knitting are sponsoring a kooky contest inspired by Project Runway. Knitters have created couture garments for all sorts of critters, from stuffed animals to taxidermy and models include rats, sloths, cats, dogs, and even armadillos. Who knew Godzilla liked a good Cosby sweater or that Kermit goes gaga for entrelac?

Check out the entries at flickr and vote by Thursday!

Spinning a yarn this Saturday

My favorite yarn shop in town is Hilltop Yarn, a Craftsman house that's been converted into a cozy retail and classroom space, chock full of yarns in every possible color and fiber.

Yum.

I also like the store because of the friendly staff. When I first moved back to Seattle a couple of years ago, I used to walk over there and pet the yarns. I was finishing up a knitting book (Getting Started Knitting) and needed help. Owner Jennifer Hill was only too happy to supply me with the necessary items to complete the book. When I taped an episode of Knitty Gritty (which I still haven't seen!), Susan was a study in patience as she helped me figure out a complicated Cat Bordhi cast-on.

So I'm tickled pink to be talking about The Prairie Girl's Guide to the Holidays this Saturday at Hilltop Yarn. Stop by, pick up yarn for last-minute gifts, get a signed copy of The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life, and join the conversation about how to make the holidays more meaningful and less crazed.

Where: Hilltop Yarn, 2224 Queen Anne Ave. N
When: Saturday, December 8, 1–3 pm

Craft services

I was at a friend's house once, hanging out with a few pals and waiting for a potential love interest to show up. While I was waiting, I picked up a scarf Alison was knitting and worked a few rows. Both male friends in the room told me in no uncertain terms to put the needles down and out of sight. Jared told me, "Honey, knitting is so not sexy." Josh agreed.

Wha wha WHA?!

Knitting is not sexy? What could be more smokin' than showing off my nimble fingers, all the while crafting some cool scarf or hat or bikini top? Okay, I'm not usually knitting saucy undergarments or beachwear but the point is that I could. I can make all sorts of things, do all sorts of things with these hands, and I think that's hot.

What do you think? Knitting, embroidering, crocheting, and other rustic crafts: hot or not?