Off to Santa Clara

Cloche avant felting
Originally uploaded by suzipaw

I'm sure I look pretty silly now. I'm sitting in front of the laptop in my cloche, which I made on the spur of the moment this weekend, while it dries to the shape of my noggin. It smells faintly sheepy, which of course is not entirely pleasant. I think it was a procrastination project--ostensibly it's for my trip to New York in a couple of weeks, hence the urgency, but the roses languish unpruned and I have yet to pack for our first conference of the year, a sojourn that begins bright and early tomorrow. I just had to finish it! Not. But I did and I am fairly happy with it. My last felted cloche attempt just didn't fit right and I now employ it as a cozy for the French press, which is not dishonorable, but still...

I'm also wearing the shrug that I FINALLY finished after months of sucking up 2x2 ribbing in front of the TV. My yarn stash has diminished a bit and once I finish the daisy scarf-y thing I started last week, I won't have any pending projects. Ack! Better think of something soon.




As I leave tomorrow, M returns home. He's been wanting to take a motorcycle road trip for ages, and did it late last week, riding all the way down to the seat of his ancestral home in Orange County. If all goes well he'll be able to stop off at my hotel late in the afternoon for a brief visit. It would be heartening to see him. It's been very busy at work lately, what with the show next week which has sold out and the show in NY starting on Valentine's Day which will sell out shortly. I'm very glad that they're both going so well, but it will also be a relief to wrap them up.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I was transported when I saw the February issue of Martha Stewart Living that featured a Valentine making party article. Ah, those were the days! The cards we made at my parties weren't nearly as sophisticated, but they were wonderful, heads-down-glueing-as-fast-as-we-can kind of afternoons, and the glitter never did quite vacuum out of my carpet, a nice year-round reminder. I do miss them.

Among all this work is happy visiting time. My aunt and uncle are coming out from Rochester in just a few days, so at this time next week I'll be seeing them along with Mom, brothers, and families. For the NY trip, I've decided to stay a few extra days after the show in order to see friends and family. And perhaps I'll have time to take the subway down to Poets House and a yarn shop or two. I dropped my overcoat at the cleaners this weekend--I suspect I'll need it.

OK, time to pack. Santa Clara ho!

Roxy Update PS--It's definitely better. No blood has been drawn lately and inter-canine growls are at a minimum. She's in the swing of our little rituals, so is following direction pretty well. She seems to be losing a little weight and getting in better shape. The one big downside--her fur is everywhere, though I comb her regularly, softening the corners of every room and darkening the tops of the baseboard. Guess that's just the wages of a large dog. A Roomba purchase may be imminent.