things that are beautiful

Yes, I could make this post about yarn.

But let's not and say we did.

Let's talk about other things that are beautiful. Things like:

The cotton candy clouds in the Minnesota twilight.

Things like:

The Ranunculus in my kitchen window.

Things like:

Duluth's rose garden in full bloom.

Things like:

A field of clover near Lake Superior. Don't you want to just roll down that gently sloping hill?

No? Just me?

Things like:

A morning latte on an outdoor patio with a friend. Sans children. Sans humidity.

Things like:

The perfume counter at Bloomingdale's.

Nice job, merchandising department.

Kudos on the Jo Malone display. I wanted some, and I don't even wear perfume.

Things like:

The brush-wielding girl at the Bobbi Brown counter.

Why yes, I am looking for something special, and yes, I do want to try this season's newest blue eyeshadow.

(Blue eyeshadow is back, girlies!)

(Side note: Boy Aaron calls this my Dislocated Eyebrow Face. This is the gentle version of Dislocated Eyebrow Face. I reserve the full view for when he's trying to tell his 17th grody boy joke of the day.)

Back to the beauty! No getting sidetracked!

I think this is beautiful:

House made papparadelle pasta with leeks and sausage in a parmesan broth.

And this is beautiful:

The misty, rugged coast of Northern California. 52 degrees Fahrenheit in July.

Yes.

Some people from the Midwest think California is the land of endless sun and bikini wearing. Not in 52 degrees, it ain't.

I lurve this:

My dear friend Colleen. She's a beauty and a talent, and understood my desire to eat in restaurants that do not serve chicken nuggets.

I also like that Colleen took me to a bakery that made these beauties:

And there's nothing better than this:

That's hubby's hand, not mine, meaning I am not cooking dinner. Surprise steaks on the grill at the end of a long day of Yarnista-ing?

That's beautiful.

let's try something new...

You give me a name for a colorway. I'll try and make a colorway with that name for our next Carpe Yarnem: Seize the Dye stocking on 8.16. (A little more than a week away!)

The name can be pithy or beautiful, poppy or quaint. Hit me with your best shot, I'm on a tear.

P.S. The stocking will be next Monday at 3:30 pm Central Time. WOOT!

Dear Roving

Dear Roving,

I love you. I hate you.

I love your fluffy, softy goodness. I hate that it takes you 71 years and four days to dry.

I love your fluffy, softy goodness. I hate the piles of fiber you leave on my floor.

I love your fluffy, softy goodness. I hate that I can't manhandle you, lest you disintegrate.

I love your fluffy, softy goodness. I hate that you felt so easily and that I cannot use my usual Yarnista tricks when I dye you.

I love your fluffy, softy goodness. I hate you.

And also, I love you.

Most sincerely,

Yarnista

Sea Flower

Yes, indeed.

A new colorway has arrived. Sea Flower.

Can you see the little clown fish at the top, the orange and white with hints of black?

Can you see the anemone that the clown fish lives in? The pale olive khaki? The soft pinks? Can you see the anemone's perch, with the deeper roses and browns?

Perhaps you need a Sea Flower to liven up your home?

Sea Flower -- be still my heart -- is available now at  A Good Yarn Sarasota. The colorway is based on the photograph above, taken by Murray Post in Indonesian waters. After creating this colorway, he sent me a signed print of the photograph, which I'm going to hang in the studio.

This type of colorway is what I call a transitional handpainted. which means that it's designed to transition from one shade to the next after the skein is twisted. I love doing these -- they're a challenge (and I love a good challenge), and the end result is so unique, really a small work of art.

You can read more about the origin of this photograph on A Good Yarn Sarasota's blog. And should you wish to have a small work of art for your very own, you can give the shop a call -- they're friendly! -- at 941.487.7914. You can also email them at info@agoodyarnsarasota.com, and they'll be happy to help you.

I'll be at A Good Yarn the first Saturday in December for a workshop and trunk show, so mark your calendars!

workshop + trunk show = awesomeness

It's a good thing that I always speak in perfectly standard English and never make up words like awesomeness. I'm sure this makes you feel better, too. That's why I do it.

I just returned from Awesomeness Central, Bobbin's Nest Studio in Santa Clara, CA.  After jet setting my way there, I drove immediately to the super cute shop owned by Erin McGee and staffed by some skilled and friendly knitters and seamstresses.

Erin is sophisticated, fashionable, and laughs easily. Sharon is silly, wears Crocs all day, and makes up words pronounced in ridiculous fake accents.  We're quite the pair.

Bobbin's Nest Studio has a modern whimsy vibe to it -- the location is modern, but there are fanciful touches throughout, like antique sewing machines and suitcases, retro fabrics, and yummy displays. It's bright and cheery, and the mix of knitting, sewing, and hand embroidery supplies made me want to try my hand at other crafts. I may have come up with some books on sewing. I may, and I'm not sure honey, I'll have to check, may have come home with some fabric and dressmaker's shears.  But I promise that if I did I will find a place for them that is not the middle of the dining room table.

If you didn't want to sew before, I bet you do now.

And I bet that if you didn't want to take up sewing after the previous picture, you do now that you see these adorable oliver +s patterns and garments.

Bobbin's Nest Studio has an exclusive line of project bags that are luscious. I may have come home with one of those too.

Dear Bobbin's Nest Studio, I would like to order 650 tiny stitch marker bags for my club members. I'm sure they will be quick and easy to produce. Get them to me right away. Thank you.

They also have a great selection of books. I found titles that even I do not own, which is really rather remarkable, seeing as I single handedly keep the entire knitting book industry afloat.

The shop is full of adorable samples. I tried to steal one. Everyone acted like it was fine if I stole it, but I think that deep down they were hoping I would put it back before they had to intervene.

(Yarn: Springvale Super Merino, Colorway: Erin)

While I was there I taught a workshop on knitting with hand dyed yarn. I was able to use my trusty laptop and a projector provided by the studio, and we looked at samples of the same colorway knit up into various garments to get a feel for what I call the Nine Laws of Pooling. 

My students were wonderful. They sat quietly and did not throw spitballs or pieces of their lunch at me. They asked questions and smiled and chuckled and knit with the world's ugliest yarn just because I asked them to. Thank you all again for coming, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I've known this person for years and years, but we've only met once in person:

She drove a long way to see me, so thank you, Ms. Angela!

Kelly has beautiful children who appreciate good yarn. She's clearly an excellent mother.

Here's the garment that I wanted to steal -- a feather and fan scarf knit from a set of our "Ocean" gradients on Westerly SeaSock yarn.

Everything looked scrumptious at the trunk show. I can only take credit for the yarn -- the display was all Bobbin's Nest!

 I have more to share, but I fear your monitors are ready to burst from picture overload.

A huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who came to the workshop and trunk show, and to everyone at Bobbin's Nest Studio for having me. You can see some more photos here.

P.S. I would love to come back anytime!