Amish and other assorted friendship

Last night I attended the Pioneer Woman book signing at Borders. It was insane and wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. I was exhausted after having only attended so I can only imagine how she must feel after an entire tour of smiling, signing, chatting and taking pictures.

I spent 6+ hours in Borders, made an assortment of new acquaintances, knitted an entire hat, ran into an old acquaintance, and traded off some Amish friendship goo to someone would is, lucky for her, friend enough to get some goo in a bag.

When I finally did get up to the table to have my book signed I was hoping to have something profound to say [I seem to always be hunting for that profound moment] but alas I was much too tired to come up with something worth remembering.

As for the goo....

If you've never made Amish Friendship Bread you probably have no clue of what I'm talking about and since I have no camera at the moment I am without the ability to show you.

Amish Friendship is a sweet bread that you cook after 9 days of starter bag mushing and share with 3 friends. EVERY 10 DAYS. After last night I am officially out of actual friends in Texas to give this to. Trust me, you'll have bread for months if you keep the process going.

There is a point of this goo story somewhere I promise.

As I handed off the gallon ziplock of bread goo someone else, a total stranger, walked by and raved about how she just cooked her bread and how amazing it was. I would bet money that somehow her bread is connected with my bread.

It's a six degrees of Kevin Bacon moment. I should have taken advantage of the opportunity to interrogate the woman and find the connection but I was working on coming up with something profound.

I may not have something profound but I do have one knitted hat and a cookbook full of amazing recipes. I vote evening well spent.

Mobius or not to Mobius

I keep having this debate about whether or not I like the whole Mobius scarf thing that's going on right now. I'm pretty certain that if I had one I wouldn't understand how to wear it.

Conceptually is a big piece of material that goes around and around and is attached so it has all this so called versatility.

Wear it as a cowl, wear it as a hat, wear it as a scarf, wear it as a wrap, wear it as a shrug. Doesn't that seem like an awful lot of expectations for a scarf? Plus it sounds like something the late great Bill Mays would sell.

"It keeps you warm, it's fashionable and it slices AND dices. For only 6 easy installments of 29.99 we'll even throw in a matching mitten set. What a DEAL"

The sick thing is even though I don't understand them, and I think they are kinda ugly, I still want to knit one. I blame the advertising.

[Image borrowed from ravelry's denicol, beautiful work!]

Mmm Garlic

The best part about cooking something with fresh garlic is that no matter how well you scrub you hands afterwards that smell lingers on.

I was drinking my coffee this morning and suddenly had a whiff of garlicly goodness that didn't exactly add to the experience.

Someone must have a quick fix for this online somewhere.

Hugs and Kisses - Rav Download Live

After nearly two months of trying to understand how get hooked up as a designer on Ravelry here it is, my debut as a digitally published designer. You can visit Ravelry to download now.

Here is my finished product, with many thanks to patterwhisper for taking the pictures.

It takes about a half a skein of NaturallyCaron.com Spa but as you can see from my pattern testers it is a great project for stash busting.

You need basic crochet skills (single & double).

Please feel free to share your feedback in the comments!

I love you Grandma

I just finished reading the Friday Night Knitting Club and found myself in tears for the second time today. [The first was a church when the choir sang amazing grace.] It’s a beautifully poetic story, with great bits that any knitter can identify with, while telling the humanizing tale of Georgia Walker, single-mother and business woman.

What got me started crying wasn’t the content of the story, although it did provoke it. It was thinking about the joy in reading and crafting that my Grandmother instilled in me from such a young age.

So many late nights I remember staying up with her, kitty-corner on the old brown couch reading and eating Oreo’s. I’m certain I was up much later than an 8 year-old should have been but it didn’t matter. I’d have whatever book she’d found for me at the library and she was usually reading a thick mass market paperback, although for the life of me I can’t seem to remember what genre she favored. Often when I put a book down late at night I think about how much I miss her.

It’s like fresh salt in a wound.

I always thought it’d get easier, as time passes but it hasn’t. It’s been over ten years and sometimes something will hit a cord that brings it all open again.

I know she loves me and is proud of me. I just wish I could close my book and see her smiling back at me, reminding me gently, that maybe, it’s time for bed.

Underwraps

As you may know I try to stay current on all the trends and news in social media and I've decided to find a way to put all of the research to good use.

I've begun working on a new project that will take the information I've compiled and put it into layman terminology that will help you, your club, your business or your friends take their social media use to the next level without embedding yourself into internet.

Stay tuned for more info soon.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

This summer I had the opportunity to visit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and I can truly say it was an eye opening experience.

While in college I understood the importance of donating to St. Jude, because it is my sorority’s national philanthropy, but I did not really understand what an amazing place it is until I saw it for myself.

Children from around the world are treated, without any expenses that would bankrupt their families. They have tutors to make sure they don't fall behind in school and specialists who make sure their emotional wellbeing is being taken care of as well as their body.

These kids are sick, but you can feel the hope as you walk through the halls. Kids like Sean, need our support to keep that hope alive.

I am volunteering to recruit teams for the Give Thanks Walk in Dallas, taking place on November 21. There is no entry fee to sign up, and no minimum number of team members. To learn more visit the Give Thanks Walk Web site and or leave me a comment if you have questions.

There are also a number of walks around the country, so if you aren’t in the DFW area check to see if there is a walk near you!