I'm happy to announce that I'm back on my feet, and the first thing I did was make more of those paper beads. Many of them were made into stitch markers for sale, but a few of them I made with the intention of keeping for personal artistic use. This set was made with two-sided red & white paper, so when I tore it, mostly white showed with red fraying edges. Then some silver wire, pink micro-beads, gray powder, and a melty coating. Voila mon beads (doo doo fah fah fah faa-aah):

These next ones were so fun to make because they remind me of my angsty cheese-cloth covered paintings from post-high school & college years. I made them with inked-up gauze and regular printed text. From across the room they look like cigarette butts, but up close they have a really interesting design. They're for sale in the store:

And of course, more bingo beads. These are my favorite because I MISS PLAYING BINGO! I forced Adam to go to one session in Vegas on our honeymoon, but other than that I haven't played since I left Houston. Anyway, these are for sale over in the store too, or you get one free when you buy any of my other things:

I am SO BORED not going to work this week; being injured really stinks. I meant to post this picture the other day but this is the first time I've hobbled all the way back into the computer room. (Now that I'm in this chair, I may not be able to get back out, haha). I'm surprised I'm able to work the scanner through my vicodin-haze.

Anyway, here's a picture of my latest crafty project:

I made these beads and turned them into stitch markers using a tutorial from Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. I rolled up strips of old bingo game boards, then coated them with wire, metallic fiber & micro-beads. I was really happy with the results of my first try, and I plan to make lots more when I'm back on my feet. I'm planning to sell them, but I also might do some kind of incentive like giving one away free with store orders. Email me if you're interested at natasha@grittyknits.com and I'll send you one with whatever you buy.

I imagine those of you reading this are saying to yourselves, "Wait a minute--that means she not only PLAYS bingo, but she saves the used sheets too?" Yes, I am a nerd. You should all know this by now.

The Woolie Ewe's fall class schedule has been posted, including quite a few that will be taught by yours truly. If you live in the Dallas/Plano area and you'd like to take one of my courses, call the 'Ewe at 1-800-460-YARN to sign up. Here are the ones being taught by me:

Full 4-week Course:
Shadow knitting (a.k.a. Illusion knitting): Follow a pattern from our book, or learn to design your own. Monday, Sept. 10, 17, 24, and Oct.1, 10am-12pm. $125 for the course, yarn & book/pattern included.

Mini-classes:
Bead knitting basics: Incorporating beads into your knitted projects. Thursday, Sept. 27, 1-3pm. $20.

Continental knitting: Learn to hold your working yarn in the left hand. This style of knitting is usually considered faster, and can be useful when doing Fair Isle or Double Knitting. Monday, Oct. 8, One-hour class, any time. $20.

Knitting backwards: Knit without turning your work. Comes in very handy for Entrelac and short row shaping. Monday, Oct. 22, One-hour class, any time. $20

Building Blocks classes (FREE on Fridays, 1-5pm):
Buttonholes: Sept. 7
Correcting Mistakes: Sept. 21
Cast-on Methods: Sept. 28
Making i-cord: Oct. 5
Reading pattern abbreviations: Oct.12
Math class: Oct. 19
Know your yarn: Oct. 26
3-needle bind off: Nov. 2
Sewing in sleeves: Nov. 9
Picking up neck stitches: Nov. 16

There are some other great classes as well, such as Entrelac, 2 lace shawl classes, Vintage-style or Felted Christmas stockings & tree skirt, and naturally all the regular beginner courses too.

*****

Update on the alpaca fiber: I threw it away. After wasting way too much time trying to get it clean, I realized that even the fiber I had finally managed to get white was pretty useless because whoever sheared the animal was obviously not a spinner. First, second, third and fourth cuts abounded, and I would bet more than half of the fibers in the bag ended up being an inch long or less. I got one measly skein out of the whole thing, which I ribbed into this little test swatch-turned-headband. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, My $61 Headband:

One of the yarns I spun last week has big fluffed up balls of black llama fur in it (so big they'd barely fit through the orifice on my jumbo flyer) and, in my head, I referred to them "Llama blobs" which made me laugh. Say it out loud: "Llama blob". It's as funny as saying "Bob Loblaw" like the lawyer from Arrested Development. Here's a scan of some of the stuffs I have been spinning, all of which are up for sale in the store:

On a personal note: Even though I rarely put non-yarn related things in this blog, if any of you were curious what songs are stuck in my head lately, here's my list of recommended listening on Myspace.com:

I Love Math: "Only Clowns are Scary"

Rose County Fair: "Falcones"

Cade Callahan: "Foxhole Prayer"

********************* Edited to add:

OHMYGOD! Amazon has a November release date listed for Son of Stitch 'N Bitch!!! This will be the first real book I'll be published in. Most exciting thing EVAR! Everyone look for my roll-up scarves!

Well, it's taken me what seems like years, but I'm finally done with the hundreds of dollars worth of "regular" wool I ordered long ago. I made the switch over to merino on my last order and the difference is really noticeable. The last couple yarns I've spun have been very easy on my hands, not to mention a pretty bright white. It makes a small difference on my dyeing since I have a less rich base-color to start from, but still very beautiful. The first merino-thingie in the store is this beaded number, with freshwater pearls, swarovski crystals, and a matching slubby skein to go with:

So... I have this idea for a book. Not just a submission, but a whole book full of things, all designed by me, centered around the theme I have come up with. (I won't go into details since I am weird and paranoid that everyone will either a.)think the idea is stupid and ridicule me, or b.) love the idea and steal it from me.) I'm excited about it, but also very worried that I'm getting my hopes up too high. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is when people remember something I said a long time ago and bring it up at the worst possible time, such as "Hey, didn't you have an interview for your dream job? How'd that work out?" Then I have to say, "I didn't get the job. If I had gotten the job, don't you think I would have told you about it? You are an asshat." So my frustration is that being excited about something makes me want to share it with people and tell everyone, but I usually regret having opened my big mouth.

I didn't even pick up my needles or anything craft related at all yesterday. I was too nervous waiting for Harry Potter 7 to arrive all morning to knit, and too busy reading all evening and into the night. (Got done shortly before 4am)

Today I'm going to continue my quest through the alpaca filth fiber and see if I can get enough for a whole project. Right now I'm hovering at a 50/50 ratio of keep to throw-away. If that keeps up, I should be left with 2.5 pounds, which would, in theory, be enough for a pretty good-sized project.

It appears I may have jumped the gun a little bit when I declared my alpaca fleece a waste of money. After what feels like 10 bottles of dish soap and 15 wash cycles, I finally got the fiber to reveal itself as the "Misty White" color it originally claimed to be, and spinning it was like having a ball of clouds in my hand. My first tester mini-skein is hanging to dry right now and as soon as it's done I'm going to knit a swatch and see how it works up. The only problem I am left with now is that after all the work that went into cleaning this sucker, there's no amount of money that could make me want to sell it. This was definitely a learning experience that I'm glad I had ...but hope to never have again.

Here's the gag-worthy sight that awaited me when I opened the box:

Here's me thinking "I am SO glad I put the fiber in the part of the sink with the dispose-all in it, because god only knows what's in this stuff":

And here it is, FINALLY white, on my drum carder, then spun and handing to dry:

Since I still have almost 5 pounds left, I had to come up with a game plan for the rest of the fiber:
1. Throw it into hot soapy water before I even look at it. (This will cut down on the gross-out factor when I have to pick through it.)
2. Sort out the fiber that's 100% free of veg matter and card it into a usable batt.
3. Throw the veg-matter-having fiber straight into the trash can and do not feel guilty about it.
4. Re-wash all the good stuff until it's squeaky-clean and spin, dye, or blend it.