Reading Tonight

So, yeah, it's been a bit longer between posts than anticipated, but between the end of the school year, getting things together for the bike trip, and all the other things that seem to crop up, I only seemed to have time for what I like to call "virtual blogging:"  writing posts in my head and considering it "done."  Hah!  If only (or maybe not).  I hope to catch up over the next few days.

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know about a reading at Bluestockings bookstore (in Manhattan) tonight where I'll be one of the featured writers.  You may recall that I read during the open mic portion of the February reading.  Well, I was invited back as a featured writer after the organizer read some more of my stories.  The other featured reader is Miriam Stanley, a poet.  I'm really honoured.  The reading is from 7-9pm tonight.   Stop by if you're in the neighborhood.

(For those of you wondering about what I'm planning to wear -  the weather is throwing me for a loop because I brought suede shoes, and the forecast calls for rain.  I'll have to troubleshoot that, particularly as I really only brought one "outfit" (most of my clothes are for the bike trip; not exactly the look I'm going for tonight) - and guess what?!  I made the Merchant & Mills dress!  I'll be hemming it today (why not wait until the last possible moment?). )

Community & Bartering & Crafting

As has previously been discussed on this blog (I like to pretend that we're discussing things here so please keep the illusion going), I am involved in a year-long project to knit and sew an average of one item (one knit, one sewn) a month, using materials from my stash.  A caveat I built into my side of the story is that I can trade stash items because, let's face it, we all have some yarn that we'll probably never use or was a novelty purchase.  Of course, I have both.

The boy was here recently for a two-week visit, which really was the best thing ever.  Can you hear my heart squeak?  (Yes, squeak.)  Anyway, no visit to Hamilton is complete without a trip to Value Village where I picked up this awesome skirt:

Yes, the bathrooms have the best light.  Yes, the skirt, made in Great Britain, was $4.99

Of course my mind goes to "What sweater can I knit to go with this?" and Kate Davies's Owls came to mind, a sweater that I've been wanting to make for some time now.  Of course, using up stash yarn was important, and I thought I was onto something when I saw that a number of knitters had used Alafoss Lopi for it.  What do you know?  I have some of that very yarn in my stash!

April - the Month That Just Keeps Giving

There has been a lot going on this month already, and I will elaborate soon.  However, imagine how thrilled I was this morning when I got an email notifying me that I'd won the Madysen Caplet kit (with needles!) from Bagsmith and Knitty!  My comment was randomly chosen from the 171 entrants.

You know I'll totally wear this!

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Off to the Races

Jacket:  J. Peterman
Shirt:  Etro
Skirt:  J. Morgan Puett/Shack
Tights (not seen):  Hue
Boots:  Aquaitalia

The Bike Trip

So my father and I have been talking about a cross-country (US) bike trip for a little while, and a few years ago, I told my dad that maybe he shouldn't wait until I was available to do it (I seem to have a lot going on), but that if he really wanted to do it with me, I'd make it possible the summer of 2014.  Of course when you say this in 2012 or 2011, it seems like a long way away.

And now it's not.  Now we're gearing up for our bike trip, which we've modified to go south to north instead of east to west (for numerous reasons), and we're riding our bikes from New Orleans, LA to Hamilton, ON.  I plan to blog throughout the trip as well as write an article about it.

You can see the route above (for more detail just put New Orleans to Hamilton in Google maps and hit the bike icon for the route, more or less); what I'd be interested in from you, oh dear blog readers, is if you a) have suggestions for things we must see/do/eat along the way (can I tell you how excited I am about southern food?!) and b) if you know anyone who might want to put up two cyclists for a night along the route.  I'll be figuring out just where we'll be stopping along the way soon (based on an average of 50 miles a day).  Right now I'm trying to figure out whether a side trip to Florence, Alabama - home of Alabama Chanin - is feasible.

Your tips & referrals are really appreciated!

Working on Mad Craft Skills

April seems like it's going to be the month of amassing some crafty skills.  Firstly, I'm taking Cal Patch's Pattern Drafting course online at Creativebug.  I have to admit, an earlier foray into online learning demonstrated that I wasn't so good at it; however, I will also have to acknowledge that I'm far more invested in this subject than I was in the other one.

That should be enough (considering I'm also grading end of term papers - yikes!), but this weekend I'm taking the Honeycomb Smocking class at the workroom, and at the end of the month, I'll be at Needlework taking the Fabric Bucket class (perfect to hold at-home knitting/sewing projects).  I'm trying to get as much into this month as possible as May will be all about riding my bike with my dad from New Orleans to Hamilton, ON.  I think I'll bring socks to knit along the way.