Why

Reference

Well, here it is, the why and the how of entering your local county and state fairs? I am going to try to keep this as general as possible, not focusing on any craft or art in particular. Most fairs have a category for anything you can think of, so finding a place for you should be no problem. Continue reading

Here Comes the Judge

Reference

Yesterday was a very interesting day for me. Why? Because yesterday, I was one of the two judges for the weaving and spinning home arts competition at the Maryland State Fair. It was a good time, getting to go over everyone’s entries with a fine tooth comb. Of course, doing that made it a long day. I didn’t get home until 8 PM.

Here are some observations: Continue reading

(Sley) Ride

Reference

OK.  A few notes before I go forward with this entry:

  1. I have changed warps on you. I am using yarn that I spun a couple years ago for the project you are about to see. I didn’t want anyone thinking that weaving had the magical power to turn fingering weight purple silk into worsted weight handspun blue/green/purple mohair and romney.
  2. The information here is not intended to be a complete course in weaving. Far from it. But it should give you an idea of what is done, and maybe encourage you to learn some more. The best beginning weaving book that I have found is Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler. Highly recommended.
  3. A reminder that this is just the way I normally do things. It is not the only way to skin the cat. (No offense to the cat lovers out there.) I say this because I am about to show you how I put a warp on the loom, and this is something that some people get very passionate about.

On with the show! Continue reading

No 1/2 Stepping

Reference

I was pretty darn nervous this morning. I was teaching my first Basic Step class at our new (to Mr. Penney and I) gym. There were two things that were causing the nervous:

  1. Unlike cycling, I hadn’t taught a step class in two years, since we moved to Ellicott City. It got to the point when I used to teach that I could throw a selection of step combinations together a few minutes before class and have a Basic Step class all ready. Now? I am rusty. I kept running through things in my mind about steps I could do, trying to assure myself that everything would flow smoothly from one move to the next, and that I would be able to break down the steps so that everyone could understand and follow along.
  2. Basic Step is a new class for the gym, so I had no idea what to expect as far as turn out or what the participants would expect. Would my routines be too hard or too easy? Were they going to be able to hear me ok? Would I wind up offending someone with something I would say?

It’s a 8:15 am class, so Mr. Penney and I get to the gym around 7:30 so that I can prep and check out the stereo and mic equipment. Stereo sounds fine, but the mic is getting some awful feedback. I twiddle around with a few knobs (my degree in electrical engineering coming into use now) and get the feedback to die down. I sound like I am talking in an echo chamber, but at least the people in the class won’t go deaf.

Five minutes before class: There are three people in the room, a nice lady, Mr. Penney, and myself. Not looking good on the attendance front. Luckily, the nice lady tells me that there are some people in the cycling class that is about to let out that want to take my class. Bless their hearts!

Cycling class lets out, and now I have a total of ten, which is decent for a new class at a neighborhood gym. I turn on the mic to speak and “SCREEEEEECH!!!!” So, it doesn’t look like I will be using the mic this morning. Fortunately, I have a loud enough voice (when I want it to be) that I could go without the mic and be heard by everyone.

After that, things went pretty well. There were a few gaffs, but it is almost inevitable that I get tongue tied at some point and am not able to call out the next move properly. Also? Never ask an aerobics instructor which way is right and which way is left and expect to get the correct answer all of the time. We have to do part of the class facing everyone, mirroring their movements, so in time, left and right become rather vague to us.

In any case, I am now sitting here hoarse, but relieved, in my socks that I finished on Saturday.

STR Carbon socks side view STR Carbon socks top view

Sand on My Feet

Reference

Well, we are back from our vacation. Again, we went to Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Out to dinner with my sister and her family

We had a great time. We got to catch some sun each day, and have plenty of stories to tell, though I am not sure if I will be writing them up here. (Hint: If I title an entry with a song that contains the word “Freak,” then it is one of those stories. How we attract them, I do not know.)

In any case, we still have a couple days for us to recover from our outing. In that time, I will also be practicing my routines for teach Basic Step at our new gym. And practice and practice and practice….

Virtual Insanity

Reference

While this entry could be about how things are going right now (I have a few too many balls in the air at the moment,) this is actually about something I do to make sure my socks are the same size when knitting. Some of the women from the knitting group were curious about it, so I decide (a while later) to post it here in case it serves anyone else.

Sanity lines in STR socks

When someone saw the thread running up the sock, she asked if it was a lifeline. I said no, and then I quipped that it was a sanity line, so that I don’t have to count the number of rows over and over (and over again) while doing the second sock to make sure I did the same number of rounds for each foot when there is no discernible stitch pattern to easily count.

To do the sanity line, I just take a tapestry needle and weave a scrap piece of thread in every five rounds and out every five rounds from the end of the toe shaping to the beginning of the heel. I do the same thing on the second sock while I am knitting it. Breaking all of those rounds up into smaller, consistent groups makes it a lot easier for me to keep track of how many more rounds I have to go on the second sock before I start the heel. I basically do the same thing on the leg of the sock, starting at the end of the heel. Hope this helps.

Waiting Game

Reference

Well, I am sitting here right now, waiting for the air conditioning repairman to call me to let me know when he will be here. Fortunately, today is not supposed to be a scorcher; but I have never been a fan of these unscheduled times off work. I don’t have a lot of vacation time to begin with, so taking time off just to be chained to the house waiting for an appointment leaves something to be desired.

I figured, in the meantime, that I would update you on what is going on in textile land.

One STR Carbon sock is done.

STR Carbon sock 1 done

My impressions so far? At least with the mediumweight, the yarn is ok; but I wouldn’t stand in line to get it. I think STR’s colorways are what causes the big fanbase. The yarn itself doesn’t seem to have much in the way of properties that I expect from merino: elasticity and softness. Would I buy it again? Probably, but it isn’t my first choice.

As far as the diamond brocade sock,

Diamond Brocade stuck

I am kind of in a quandary about that. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to do the foot. Karen is right that the stranding pinstripe is not ideal. I ripped out what you saw previously and tried knitting into the round below to create the pinstriping, but I am not sure about how to go about the decreases for the gusset with this method. Of course, if I rip out the heel and just go with a short row heel, my life would get a lot easier, as there would be no decreasing in the colorwork; but I kind of like the look of the decreasing in the pinstripe.

As for the spinning, I am halfway there.

Woodland progress

To give you an idea of how fine the single is, here it is in comparison to Colinette Jitterbug.

Woodland against Jitterbug

I admit, I am a slow spinner, especially with fine yarns. Hey, at least it makes the experience last longer, right?

And there is a new sewing project on the horizon.

Cotton/Lycra jersey

I got these jersey knits from Gorgeous Fabrics to try my hand at copying a favorite shirt of Mr. Penney’s. We can’t find a knit shirt that buttons all the way up the front anywhere, so I came up with the brilliant idea of making one. I report later on how successful the whole thing turns out. Continue reading

A Little Respect

Reference

“I don’t know why they are doing it that way. That is just so messed up. That’s just gay.”

That statement may seem innocuous to some people, but it bothers me, especially when I have to hear it repeatedly. The statement says the “gay” is synonymous with screwed up, wrong, and bad. Remember when gay was another word for happy?

Now, think about what people who would make that opening statement think about gays. I think about it. And I don’t think they hold much, if any, respect for them. And since I am gay, I don’t think they hold much respect for me. And they don’t know me.