In search of the next venue

Planning for the second annual silent auction to benefit the Jasmine Charitable Trust is well underway. Last week, when I took time off from my regular SnB knitting group to attend my local knitting guild, I was nominated Chairperson of the JCT silent auction committee in absentia! (Uh, okay... I'll roll with it.) Bev kindly printed out some forms for item submission and I've started hitting people up for things they'd like to contribute. I've already put myself down to do a windsock, and hopefully a Lopi sweater as well. The auction isn't until November, right?

Our next problem is that of finding a venue. We plan on doing a little more advertising this year, so hopefully we'll be able to draw more attention from the general public and have a good turnout. This means that VIMS will no longer be a suitable location, as I don't think I can get an appropriate space to handle the number of people we hope will show up. (And who knows what kind of flaming hoops of red tape I'd have to jump through to do it!?) Currently, our best bet is the Women's Club in Newport News. From the sound of it, they have space, rent is cheap, and they even have a kitchen so we can offer enticing refreshments. If all goes well, we can jump the venue hurdle at tonight's SnB meeting and move on to our main goal of collecting nice goodies for the auction.

Oh, and I've managed to knit a whole 3 inches of the back panel of my tank top. Go, me!

Cozy finished, tank top started

This past weekend, I put the finishing touches on Cozy and blocked it. Zowie. That was an experience! As I've mentioned before, I love the smell of wet wool, but wet silk (Reynolds Mandalay) is something else. When I dunked my newly knit shawl into the sink, it began to exude a horrible stench! The closest thing I can liken it to is the smell of snake poop. I'm not talking about the innocuous dry stuff, either! (You reptile types will know what I mean.) Even though I use a no-rinse wool wash, I rinsed it anyway with a good dose of vinegar to help cut the smell. Now that it's been drying on towels for a few days, the smell has pretty much gone completely. Until I have occasion to wear my new shawl out, I plan on storing it in the cedar chest so as to impart a slightly nicer aroma, and you can be sure I'll avoid wearing Cozy outdoors on rainy days.

This weekend I also treated myself to a trip to my LYS for my birthday and picked up 4 skeins of silky wool to knit a tank top from Lavold's Viking Knits. (I'm going to see if I can juggle this project with the Mathew scarf.) It seems as though my wardrobe has gone the way of white and khaki once again, nearly devoid of all color. I can't let this trend continue, so the next yarn purchase is going to have be something vibrant! At least for now I don't have to worry about stuff not matching...

Home stretch for Cozy!

Life just doesn't give you any breaks! I've been busy once again, with work mostly, and dropping my knitting evenings for music rehearsal hasn't helped either. The concert is tomorrow, so thankfully I'll be able to resume my normal schedule of Wednesday nights at the knit group. In what little time I have had, I've been making very slow but steady progress on my Cozy shawl. I'm currently working on the beginning of the last skein!!

After that I have a decision to make, assuming I'll have time to knit: Do I try to complete something to enter in the Michigan Fiber Festival competition? And if so, what? The item has to be made from natural fiber, and that's not a problem, as most of what I knit already is. (Can you say fiber snob?) I have two projects going that I'm contemplating. One is a pillow cover that's half done, but I will have to finish a whole Lopi sweater before I know how much leftover yarn I have left to complete the pillow cover with. My second option is to get cracking on my Mathew scarf, which has been languishing for some time. It's the most complicated lace I've ever done, and it's one of those projects that takes total concentration. No listening to music or books on tape, definitely not a project to take to a friend's house or knitting group! I have until August, so if I start after I finish Cozy, I just might make it.

Also, I've finally made the decision to join my local knitting guild, in addition to the regular Wednesday night groups I go to. It's only once a month, every third Wednesday... not such a big deal. And I hear they have good guest speakers and activities! So that's what's on the menu.