elementality

the mini-motos are doing splendid at elementality. just finished a fingerless glove special order for an awesome customer of ours and when she came to pick them up, bought a neck-warmer as well!

jordana and donna took us all out for a late christmas/new year's celebration to a local restaurant where they completely surprised (me at least) when extremely generous and thoughtful gifts (pics to come). i'm so thankful to be working with people who really care about who i am in the workplace, but also who i am outside of work, and the things that are also important to me in the rest of my life. i've just started taking over the task of organizing and "running" the local artist aspect of the store, and am really excited about being involved with that process.

our first friday party in february is going to be called "vampire love."

knitting projects

things i made from the yarn i bought at Spinning Turtle...
i call these "mini moto" and you can do a variety of activities while wearing them, such as:
drinking a beer


cutting things


drawing a line with your finger


and you can hold hands


you can even type and play with buttons!



and how about a boho-style hat?

Spinning Turtle Yarn & Gifts

while in athens, rachel and i drove over to nelsonville (about 10 minutes away) and found this great little yarn shop called Spinning Turtle Yarn & Gifts
. solely owned by a talented go-getter named marti. she was full of inspirational ideas and spent a lot of time talking to us about the local economy. because of the condition of it, locals are looking for inexpensive alternatives to the higher-end yarn found at a lot of knitting shops. while maintaining a variety of prices & quality in her merchandise, she tries to make sure her shop has something for everybody. here are some pictures i took.

knitting and snowfall

i came to ohio to see my best friend, rachel, who is pretty much the only friend i have who connects me to a world outside of asheville and school and work. i feel so privileged to have somebody whose company is so fulfilling, the yearn for it forces me onto the road and across state lines to a place not much unlike my own except for the largeness of the college and continual snowfall.

we've spent most of our time working, but it's hard to call what we've been doing work when the company has been so great and the work so enjoyable. she's working on her dissertation, of which i am so lucky to hear little bits and pieces, and i'm working on knitting projects and letter-writing, and blog posting, and playtime with panda. living in a place like asheville where i am supposed to have so much opportunity for artistically enlightening experiences, an outpouring of community cultural projects, and great food, at times i begin feeling stunted. even though i never really go into town except for work, it feels like i've seen it all. of course, i haven't, but these feelings come anytime a person's really settled into a place. my time away, with rachel, has provided me with the intellectual and visual stimulation i've needed to re-inspire my projects and plans, and although i don't want to leave, i am ready to get back to a space where i can continue really working.

here are some pictures of my snow play with panda...

homage

i am knitting a tie-like, kerchief-ish neck accessory in homage to my great-grandmother, whose knitting i've still got some of. her designs were inspired and skills impeccable.

pictures to come.

rachel and i scavenged through an incredible vintage store in downtown athens today called athens underground and found everything from vintage "time magazines" to elbow-length gloves and cashmere scarves to gaudy hats. pictures...also...to come.

ohio

i just made it to ohio a couple of hours ago.
it was a beautiful, long, painful trip.
it was beautiful until i started driving through the coal towns in west virginia, where it was still beautiful, but the houses looked like matchboxes, singed around the edges, darkened by the air, and the water from the dirty river they stand beside.
it went by quickly until i passed these towns and the cars and lights and gas stations disappeared and my gas needle fell and it seemed like i was driving into a disaster...

but then i arrived, and rachel was roasting a chicken and garlic, thyme potatoes, and baking pumpkin pies, and the house was warm, and i was so glad to be in from the cold car.

i am spending my week here catching up on knitting--completing some custom orders--, walking my dog, taking pictures, writing letters, and eating.

He drew on her arm, all the things he had dreamt about, and, feeling the pen's tip impress her skin with hope, fell...